Romans 11:1-10

Review & Overview

1. Previous Study’s Review

Now if you remember Chps 9-11 deal with God’s Sovereignty as it pertains to Israel.

Ch. 9 We saw Israel’s Rejection - Paul highlights the Sovereignty of God - We saw how God chose Israel to be the people group by which the Messiah would come into the world.

Ch. 10 We saw The Gentiles’ Reception - Paul highlights the Responsibility of Man - Just because salvation is offered to the Gentiles it doesn’t mean they’re automatically saved, they have to confess with their mouth and believe in their hearts.

They have to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

2. Current Study’s Overview

Now let’s come to the 3rd & final thing in this section: Israel’s Restoration in Chp. 11

Here Paul anticipates the question his readers would ask: Since the Jews rejected God, has God rejected the Jews totally, permanently, fully? The answer is NO, God has not cast away His people. READ...

Here Paul drives home the fact that God has not utterly cast away His people - But there are many Jews who have the spirit of stupor, who’s eyes are darkened because of their rejection of Jesus as the Christ.

There are 3 things we want to look at that involves Israel’s Restoration:

Involves a Remnant Vs. 1-5a

Involves God’s Grace Vs. 5b-6

Involves Partial Blindness Vs. 7-10

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1. Israel’s Restoration Involves a Remnant Vs. 1-5a

A. Paul’s Question Vs. 1a

Now a couple of things regarding this question:

Number 1, this question is rhetorical in nature - After reading chs. 9&10 Paul’s readers would no doubt would be thinking that God is through with His people.

That He’s done w/ them and that He’s finished w/ them - But that is not the case.

Number 2, this question is a literary type of writing - Paul is alluding his audience to the OT.

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Psalm 94:14 - for the Lord will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance.

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Deuteronomy 31:6 - I will not leave you nor forsake you...

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So why is this question important? And how does it involve Israel’s Restoration?

Well, because many today believe in what is called the Replacement Theology.

Which means that the Church has Replaced Israel - And that we are currently living in the Millennial Kingdom and we’ll go through the Great Tribulation.

And to believe this, you’d have to throw Romans 11 out the window - Nothing can be further from the truth.

And Paul sets out to establish that fact - The fact that there is still a remnant a small remaining group that is still God’s Chosen People.

B. The Testimony of Paul Vs. 1b

So the first peace of information Paul gives to establish the fact that God is NOT done w/ Israel is himself - And Paul is about as Jewish as you can get.

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Philippians 3:5 - circumcised the eight day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee...

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So clearly God is NOT finished w/ His people & the church has NOT replaced Israel.

Now this is interesting, because this not only points to the fact that Paul was saved, but how Paul was saved - Because Paul is a picture or a type of Israel in a sense.

In Acts 9 when Paul was on the road to Damascus he was blinded by the Lord, he couldn’t see for 3 days.

Ananias laid hands on him & prayed for him & in Acts 9:19 scales fell from his eyes.

Then Paul could see clearly, he was born again, baptized & filled w/ the Holy Spirit.

Today many Jews are blinded to who Jesus is - In Vs. 8 they have eyes but they can’t see - In Vs. 25 says a hardening in part has happened to Israel.

So there is a supernatural blindness but one day their eyes will be opened and they will clearly see who Jesus is - At the end of the Tribulation at His 2nd coming.

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Zechariah 12:10 - …they will look on Him who they pierced.

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In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight.

But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing.

Virgil's first experiences with sight was confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was difficult.

Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits--his behaviors--were still those of a blind man.

Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo . . . that is so terrible."

To truly see Jesus and his truth means more than observing what he did or said, it means a change of identity.

C. The Testimony of the Old Testament Vs. 2-5

Elijah’s Pleading Against Israel Vs. 2-3 - In 1 Kings 19 after Elijah tells Obadiah to get king Ahab & gather 450 prophets of Ball & 400 prophets of Asheran (false gods) to go to Mt. Carmel.

He lays down a challenge - He calls down fire from heaven.

Elijah killed 850 prophets but he runs from Jezebel to the cave of Horeb & said: I alone am left & they seek to kill me. But, look at Vs. 4

God’s Divine Response Vs. 4-5a - The point is simple: Just as God saved some of the prophets, He’ll save some of the Jews.

Clearly God is not done w/ His people, clearly He has not cast away His people.

It says in Vs. 5 at this present time there is a remnant - During Paul’s time he is saying there is a small remaining group that still truly believes in Jesus.

There always was a remnant and there will always be a Remnant. Drop down to...

Romans 9:27 - Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved.

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Ezekiel 6:8 - “Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries.

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Zechariah 14:2 - For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

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2. Israel’s Restoration Involves God’s Grace Vs. 5b-6

So this remnant is according to the election of Grace, God’s sovereign grace.

Grace is getting what we don’t deserve - Unmerited favor.

Saving a remnant of the Jews is not based on what they did, their good works or good deeds - It was based on God’s Grace.

BUT, the Jews rejected the righteousness that was offered by God through Jesus Christ by Grace - They chose to try to establish their own righteousness by good works.

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Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

We see here that we can’t work our way into heaven, we are saved by grace - So we need God’s Grace for our Eternal Life.

But many people don’ t know that we need God’s Grace for our Temporal Life - God’s Grace is for everyday of our life.

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Acts 20:32 - …His grace, which is able to build you up...

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Romans 1:5 - Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience...

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Romans 5:2 - through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand...

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Titus 2:11-12 - For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly int he present age,

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Hebrews 12:28 - Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

But how do we receive God’s Grace?

Through humility...

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James 4:6 - But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

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3. Israel’s Restoration Involves Hardening Vs. 7-10

A. The Elect Verses The Hardened Vs. 7

Many Jews did not obtain righteousness because they sought it by works and not by grace.

But the elect, those who sought righteousness by grace through faith - They were the ones who obtained righteousness.

The rest were hardened, why? Because they chose to reject the only means by which they could be made righteous.

They hardened their own hearts - They did it to themselves.

APPLICATION:

And Paul will back this up w/ scripture here in Vs. 8-10

B. The Reason for the Hardening Vs. 8

This is from Isaiah 29:10 and the reason God gave Israel a spirit of stupor and eyes they they should not see is found in verse 13 of Isaiah 29.

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Isaiah 29:13 - Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me...

Jesus quotes this same verse in Matthew 15:8 and tells us the problem is Hypocrisy.

So please don’t picture God running around hardening people hearts for no reason.

The problem is hypocrisy, in that outwardly we’re doing the right things but inwardly their hearts are far from God.

This goes to the issue of Lordship, we call Jesus our savior but is He our Lord, Master, & Ruler.

Because it’s not just about our actions, it’s about our heart.

Matthew 7:22 - Many will say to me in that day… depart from me for I never knew you.

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C. The Results from the Hardening Vs. 9-10

This is from Psalm 69:22 a very Messianic Psalm that speaks of the Rejection of the Messiah.

Here King David too anticipated the judgment of God on Israel - He described the rejected savior (Jesus) as calling on God to turn their table into a snare and a trap.

The table here means the sum total of the privileges and blessings which flowed through Jesus Christ.

So, what should have been a blessing was turned into a curse.

And the point is simple: By continually rejecting Jesus Christ there could come a time when God says ok, if that’s what you want.

Your eyes will be darkened so that they do not see...

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"If you live in a graveyard too long you stop crying when someone dies.”

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Romans 1:28 - And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;