Romans 11
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Last time we finished chapter 10, and tonight we are going to cover chapter 11. Next week, we will start a new study in Nehemiah. Let’s look at the chapter in 3 sections. 1-10, 11-24, 25-36
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
OK, so as we start, again, we want to remember that just because we are in a new chapter doesn’t mean we’re in a new argument. Paul is continuing his line of thinking here.
So let’s make sure we have the context down.
Paul has been looking at the difference between the Gentile - to which the law was not given, but who have been given the gift of salvation by God’s sovereign providence - and the Jews - to whom God chose for His own glory, giving them the law, knowing they would ultimately reject His authority and His Christ.
A bit of an over-simplification, or an over-generalization, but you get the drift of what I am saying.
The Jews felt like they were God’s chosen people. PERIOD.
They felt that if the Gentiles wanted in, they needed to convert to Judaism.
Now, we know what Paul thinks of that (see Galatians).
What Paul is and has been trying to show the church at Rome is that God’s chosen people is not a racial demographic. It is a people who are united by Christ.
Christ is the key. Those who believed God and trusted Him regarding Christ had that counted to them as righteousness (see Romans 4).
So Paul has just contrasted how the Jews reacted, fulfilling all of these prophecies by Isaiah in particular, and he quote’s God’s own words at the end of chapter 10:
21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
Which Paul is quoting from Isaiah 65:2
2 I spread out my hands all the day
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
So, we see him continue on by asking a question:
Has God rejected His people?
And he doesn’t wait for them to try to answer. He tells them flat out:
“By no means!”
Literally in the Greek, the words here indicate an emphatic “No! It won’t come to pass!”
Romans is a masterclass on rhetorical argument. Paul uses this question and answer style to work through all of these issues and questions to drive home his point. And for this one he also leans into his own heritage.
Paul reminds them that God could not have rejected all of his people, the Jews, because Paul is a Jew. He’s a descendent of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. We see Paul lean on his heritage several times when he is making points.
22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Paul wrote 2 Corinthians probably about a year earlier than this (~55/56; Romans in ~57), and most likely Philippians was written about 5ish years after this (~62). We see how Paul was not afraid to throw his credentials around when he needed too, but mostly he uses them to make the point that God used him in spite of his pedigree, not because of it.
In fact, R. C. Sproul points out in his commentary on Romans that Paul is a great example of a Jew rejecting God and still experiencing God’s grace:
The Gospel of God: Romans God’s Grace to a Remnant of Israel (11:1–10)
There is, within the nation of Israel, some whom God determines in advance to save, to overcome their rebelliousness; and exhibit A for that is Paul. Who was more rebellious than Paul? Who set out to destroy the Messiah and his people more than did Paul? And yet, when God intervened in his life on the Damascus Road, giving him the vision of the risen Christ, his life was changed.
See, Paul uses himself as an example to show that God has indeed preserved a remnant (see verse 5), and this shows that God isn’t done with Israel, but they must come to God on His terms, not their own.
2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
We come again to this idea of God’s foreknowledge, and we have to deal with it. Again, your more reformed and your more free-will folks are going to take different sides on this issue, but we must deal with the fact that God foreknows.
This language points us back to Romans 8:29-30:
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
There is a great study note there that ties into this verse (11:2):
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 8
Verses 29–30 explain why those who believe in Christ can be assured that all things work together for good: God has always been doing good for them, starting before creation (the distant past), continuing in their conversion (the recent past), and then on to the day of Christ’s return (the future). Foreknew reaches back to the OT, where the word “know” emphasizes God’s special choice of, or covenantal affection for, his people (e.g., Gen. 18:19; Jer. 1:5; Amos 3:2). See Rom. 11:2, where “foreknew” functions as the contrast to “rejected,” showing that it emphasizes God’s choosing his people (see also 1 Pet. 1:2, 20). God also predestined (i.e., predetermined) that those whom he chose beforehand would become like Christ.
We see this contrast of rejection and selection. The Greek word here for “foreknew” (proegno) carries a connotation of exclusivity of choice relative to those not being chosen, or “rejected” (aposato) - which has the connotation of being pushed away.
Paul is making it clear that God has not done away with all of the Jews, but those who he predestined (Romans 8) are chosen.
In making his argument, Paul calls to mind the episode in Elijah’s life where Elijah has a sort of crisis of faith. He is tired, he feels defeated, and he complains that he is all alone doing God’s work.
This is right after his Mount Carmel moment where he defeats the prophets of Baal, when God rains fire on the alter, and then sends rain.
Elijah flees, and he complains about all the work he’s done alone. It’s from 1 Kings 19.
What does God say to him?
The words that Paul uses here to remind his readers that God has not forsaken Israel.
4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
God reminded Elijah that there were 7,000 prophets who had not bowed the knee to Baal.
18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
God tells Elijah to suck it up, that he isn’t as alone as he thinks, and that God has this in control. None of this is bigger than God.
Paul uses this story to illustrate how God has been making a remnant of faithful believers in Israel for a long time.
We see that in verse 5, where Paul ties the Old Testament scripture to his current time. Just as then, God is also now saving a remnant. This remnant is chosen by grace.
Then comes an interesting verse.
6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Paul is circling back to the idea that works and personal merit have nothing to do with salvation. We see this earlier in Romans 4:
4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
Paul wants to make sure that the readers in Rome are very clear that merit is worthless. In fact, this idea of grace over works is not just a New Testament thing.
4 “Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. 5 Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
We see in this passage from Deuteronomy the same thought process that Paul is drawing on here:
‘Don’t you dare think that God is doing this because of something special you have done! He is doing this because it is what He desires to do.’
Paul plainly says that if salvation came by works, grace wouldn’t actually be grace.
I like how Sproul sort of sums this up:
The Gospel of God: Romans God’s Grace to a Remnant of Israel (11:1–10)
The Elijah syndrome is a syndrome of arrogance; it is a syndrome that lacks charity and works on the basis of hasty judgment. Of course, we have to be astute enough to recognise heresy when we hear it, but even at that point we are to realise that authentic Christians are capable of serious error, and we are not to write people off as being enemies of God too quickly. This is the warning that Paul is giving here. So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace (verse 5). There is a small number of Israelites whom God has chosen, because of his mercy and not because of what they have done
And again, we see the conversation turn to election.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 11
Election and grace are inseparable, for both show that salvation is God’s work alone, and that it has nothing to do with works.
Look at verse 7-8:
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
Israel was looking for something, but didn’t find it. They were looking for a messiah made in their image, not to be made in the image of the Holy God of the Universe through His Messiah.
Sproul:
The Gospel of God: Romans God’s Grace to a Remnant of Israel (11:1–10)
The people of Israel did not find what they were looking for. It was the small group chosen by God who found it and the rest grew deaf to God’s call. What happened was that in their disobedience they did not just remain the same but grew more and more immune to God’s Word. This was anticipated in the Old Testament (Deut. 29:4; Isa. 29:10):
Verse 8 is a combination of two passages:
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).
and Deuteronomy 29:4
4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.
Sproul:
The Gospel of God: Romans God’s Grace to a Remnant of Israel (11:1–10)
This blindness and deafness is visited upon people as a judgment for their earlier and prior refusal to see and hear. It is what we would call ‘poetic justice’.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 11
The composite citation from Isa. 29:10 and Deut. 29:4 clarifies that God has hardened Israel so that they would not see or hear. Paul then prays for judgment (Ps. 69:22–23) over the Jews of his day who have rejected Christ.
This next bit is Paul quoting from one of the imprecatory psalms:
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
The quote is from Psalm 69:22-23
22 Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
In quoting from this, Paul is implying God’s righteousness in judging the people.
And just a note, the imprecatory psalms are psalms in which judgment or curses are called down on people. One of the most famous of the imprecatory psalms is Psalm 137. (summarize)
Paul uses one of these types of psalms to strengthen his argument that God, in His righteous judgment, has the authority and, one could argue, the duty to judge those who reject Him.
This can be hard to read and understand. When we see things like Psalm 137 or this passage in Romans 11 where God deals wrath and judgment, we get uncomfortable.
But it all goes back to how we understand humanity.
We talked about this a while back. When we view humanity as morally neutral, then yes, it seems harsh for God to do some of the things He does.
But humans are not morally neutral. We come into the world in sin. God graciously allows provision for those who are incapable of recognizing their sin and confessing it (babies, mentally handicapped, etc.), but we are all guilty of sin. We have all committed treason against God. We all deserve death.
God, in His mercy and by His grace, allows some to be set apart, to be the elect.
This isn’t God being petty and picking and choosing His favorites.
This is God being kind, and not giving all of us what we deserve. God, in His kindness, allows for salvation for a remnant.
When God judges those who are not elect, that isn’t mean. It’s just. It’s right.
God is good. His ways are good. He is kind and merciful and holy.
The closer we get to Him, the more we should see that, and grieve over those who reject Him.
Now, one thing we need to understand here is that just because we see this punishment doesn’t mean that God isn’t faithful.
Section 2:
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
As we look at this section, we see some hope:
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
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Section 3:
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Let’s pray.