All Israel Will Be Saved (Rom. 11:25-33)

Introduction

· Alix asked before he left on his missions trip what my sermon schedule was going to be for the summer. I counted out the weeks ahead and told him we’d probably be around chapter 12 by the time he returned. His eyes bugged out to learn it was going to take us three months to get through chapters 9-11! Now, to my defense, my family was on vacation, and with VBS, I did have to take some weeks to do other studies. But Alix, it’s very good to have you back, and believe it or not, you are here for our last study in Romans 11. So rejoice, you didn’t miss our study of Romans 12 which starts next week!

· One of my favorite sections in JR Toklien’s book the Hobbit is called Riddles in the Dark. It describes when Bilbo Baggins gets separated from his friends the dwarves after an intense battle with the goblins. He ends up being all alone in a dark cave and travels further and further down until he meets a strange and slimy creature named Gollum. Bilbo and Gollum begin to talk, and get into a duel of riddles. Taking turns. Gollum agrees to release Bilbo and lead him to the surface if Bilbo wins. But if Gollum wins, then Bilbo will be eaten. Bilbo’s first riddle goes like this. See if you can solve it. “Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still.” -- The answer of course, is “teeth.” That one didn’t take Gollum very long either. Riddles are great when they are in a story. But riddles in life are a much different thing. God did not give us a book full of riddles. He wants to be known. He wants his plans to be known. He wants his will for your life to be known. He even wants you to know some things about the future.

· In chs. 9-10, Paul has been addressing the issue of the future of Israel. The city of Rome was at the very heart of the Roman Empire. As you might expect, it was mostly comprised of Romans, which were Gentiles. But Jews were known to live in the area, and some had even become Christians and attended this church (Acts 2:10).

· Key verse: Romans 1:16-17; 2:9-10. No partiality. No distinction. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Jew or a Gentile. There’s only one way to heaven, and that is through the narrow gate of Jesus Christ. You must have faith in Christ.

· Look around the room in the church, and it was full of Gentiles. Just listen to the names in ch. 16 – Prisca, Aquila, Epaenetus, Andronicus, Ampliatus, Urbanus, … Narcissus, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, Philogus, Julia, Nereus, Olympas. These names were as common to them as Tom, Dick, and Harry would be to us today. They were members of the church and close ministry partners. And the names are overwhelmingly Gentile.

· 25 years earlier, the Jews had rejected their Messiah, crucified him, and hardened their hearts. Even when he rose from the dead, most of them refused to believe. Once God’s chosen and elect people, the Jews now seemed destined for the dustbin of history. God had turned to the Gentiles. As Paul writes, Roman armies are already on the move. In another ten years Jerusalem will be sieged and the temple destroyed altogether. It seems Israel will soon fade away and be forgotten. They had their chance and they missed it. God is done with the nation of Israel. … Or is he??

· Read Rom. 11:25-36.

· No riddles here. THREE SIMPLE TRUTHS…

God Will Restore His People (25-27)

· i.e. the nation of Israel. Today, the church are the people of God. But this does not replace the very special place the Jews still have, even now, in the heart of God.

· Mystery – previously hidden. The plan had been there all along, but was just now coming to the light. Like a stage prop out of sight of the audience, kept behind the curtain until the final act. Cf. 16:25-26 “kept secret for long ages but now disclosed.”

· Israel’s present hardness of heart is only temporary, until God finishes his work with the Gentiles. Then, God will return the Jews to the forefront of God’s kingdom program.

· When you read through Revelation, you will notice the “church” does not seem to be mentioned in the Tribulation, from Revelation 6-18. This is one, among several, reasons I prefer a pre-tribulational rapture. Terms like “Saints” are mentioned, but those seem to be mainly Jews or those identified with the Jews and their God. Why is that? Because the “fullness of the Gentiles” will have already come in, and God will shift his attention back to Israel. The purpose of the Tribulation is to judge the nations, and to purify Israel for the Christ’s coming kingdom. At Jesus’ first advent, John the Baptist proclaimed, “Make way for the king. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” At Jesus’ second advent, the bowls, seals, and trumpet judgments will accomplish much the same purpose. They will make way for the king. John may have even been alluding to this when he said. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat...” See also Luke 21:24 … Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

· But after they repent, Jesus will heal his people and rule over them.

· Foreseen many places in the OT. Let’s look at just one. Isaiah 61 (please turn there). Quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18. His quote abruptly ends after v. 2a, “proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.”

· Fulfilled in the final chapters of Revelation.

· Application: Be ready for Jesus’ return! Life is short and Jesus is coming. We do not know the day or the hour, but he does want us to be ready for his return, and eager for him to restore his people.

· >>But they have persecuted the Christians! They despise Jesus and his followers. Why would God do this?..

God Will Keep His Promises (28-32)

· Because of who they are. God’s chosen people. He made a promise, and he’s going to keep it.

· Remember Romans 9:4-5 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises…

· Promises to Abraham. Genesis 12:2–3 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

· Kids – notice your sermon Sheet has picture of Abraham on it.

· Promises to David. 2 Samuel 7:16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ” Jeremiah 33:14–15 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

· These promises were “irrevocable” (v. 29). Will not be revoked or re-written. But God never does that. He may temporarily pause his covenant blessings with Israel to bring more Gentiles into his kingdom but he will never cancel his original promises to the Jews.

· God is a promise maker, and he is a promise keeper. But he is not a promise breaker. That is something he cannot do. It is against his very nature.

· God’s faithfulness to Israel is not ultimately for Israel. It is for God. So that God can give an outlet to his love and mercy. So he can receive the glory he is due. Because of his immutable nature and character. And so as we near a close in chs. 9-11, we see a shifting away from a focus on the Jews, to the true hero of the story, God himself.

· May now receive mercy (31). What is the one thing standing in their way? Faith. They lack faith. This will happen when they repent and believe.

· One of my main takeaways of these chapters: “No contradiction between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Despite God’s sovereign election (9:22) and judicial hardening (11:7) of Israel, Paul still prays for them (10:1), evangelizes them (10:15), and believes there is still hope for them to be saved (11:23).

· Gentile blessing intended to provoke to jealousy (11:11)

· Application: God is rich in mercy. Keep praying and reaching those unbelieving neighbors and friends.

· The other day a friend asked me how he could pray for me and our church. I said pray for our witness in this community. We don’t just want transfer growth, we want gospel growth. Radio broadcast. Partnering with local schools. We want the Mary Magdalenes of our day and the Zacchaeuses of our day to meet the living God and find the gift of eternal life.

· >>God will restore his people, he will keep his promises, and lastly…

God Will Display His Perfect Wisdom (33-36)

· Closes out this section, and in many ways, his entire letter thus far, with a beautiful doxology.

· You and I will never fully understand God. He is infinite in wisdom. All of the internet, and all of the libraries of the earth do contain even 1% of God’s knowledge and wisdom.

· Lists several words that describe the mind of God: his riches, his wisdom, and his knowledge. Later, his judgments and ways.

· Oh the depth! Unsearchable…inscrutable. We’re out in deep waters now.

· NLT “How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!”

· How silly for us the creatures to think we have God the Creator figured out. That we can really understand what he is up to, or anticipate his next move.

· Went outside on our patio last night and looked up at the stars. Spotted the Andromeda constellation in the eastern sky. I lifted up my binoculars and if you look carefully past our nearby, if you know right where to look, you can spot the Andromeda Galaxy. It’s just sort of a fuzzy spot through the binoculars. It’s our closest neighbor, and is a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way. Scientists now estimate that one galaxy is made up of close to one trillion stars. That’s a one followed by 12 zeroes. 1,000,000,000,000. Just how big is that number? To put that in perspective, if you were to count one number per second, one…two…three…four...five. Do you know how long it would take to count to 1 trillion? 31,546 years. And that’s how many stars (like our sun) in are that one galaxy, our closest neighbor. Andromeda is 2.5 million light years away. Light whizzing toward us at the speed of light would take 2.5 million years to make the journey to earth.

· Mind blown? God made all of it in an instant, with a simple spoken word.

· Quotes from Isaiah 40 and Job 41

· From him, through him, to him. God is the source, the agent, and the goal. All things, including you.

· If you have not surrendered to Christ, do so today.

Review

(Review chs. 1-11 here)

_ The gospel is the power of God for salvation

_ His invisible attributes and divine power are on display

_ All stand guilty and condemned

_ His wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness

_ We are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

_ The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ

_ Suffering produces endurance, and endurance leads to hope

_ God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ dies for us

_ Our members are now instruments to God for righteousness

_ There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ

_ Israel will be restored

· To him be glory forever!!!!!

Conclusion

· After eleven chapters of heavy theology and sublime truths, we are moving into the practical section of the book. Stay tuned!