Romans 11:11-24

Review & Overview

1. Last Bible Study’s Review

Now if you remember, Chs. 9-11 Paul turns his attention to Israel:

Ch. 9 - Israel’s Rejection

Ch. 10 - Gentiles Reception

Ch. 11 - Israel’s Restoration - Here Paul anticipates the question his readers would naturally ask after reading Chs. 9&10.

Has God Cast Away His People? Certainly Not!

And last time together Paul set out to prove that God has not cast away His people & he did it in 2 ways:

He Proved It Personally - Because Paul is a Jew and he is saved, so God is not done with His people.

He Proved It Prophetically - With the Prophet Elijah, Elijah thought he was the last prophet of God & after they killed him there wouldn’t be anybody else left but God had 7,000 prophets - So God will always have a remnant.

2. Current Bible Study’s Overview

Now this brings us to Vs. 13-24 and our study for today. READ...

Israel had every opportunity to be Restored, to be Saved, & all they had to do was Believe.

In light of that, Paul talks about Salvation of the Gentiles & their Relationship to the Jews.

4 Things we want to look at today...

Israel’s Life Vs. 11-12

Paul’s Life Vs. 13-14

Spiritual Life Vs. 15-17

Our Life Vs. 18-24

1. The Benefit from Israel’s Rejection Vs. 11-12

1.1 The Fall of the Jews Vs. 11

Paul now raises another question, have they stumbled that they should fall?

Here, the word fall could substituted with the word finally or forever. Did they stumble that they might fall and never be restored?

Paul denies that notion emphatically - God’s purpose is to restore Israel.

God’s purpose is that as a result of their fall, salvation might come to the Gentiles, thus provoking Israel to jealousy.

This jealousy is designed to bring Israel back to God eventually.

Now, the fall here Paul is talking about is their lack of faith in God’s Messiah. Turn w/ me to...

Romans 9:30-33 - 30What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

Jesus was a stumbling stone to the Jews.

1.2 The Fullness of the Jews Vs. 12

So yes, we are blessed because of the fall & failure of the Jews, because they rejected God’s Messiah salvation came to the Gentiles.

But God has not utterly cast them away - There is a remnant

But one day, the Jews will be totally restored .

This will happen at the end of the Great Tribulation when Jesus establishes His Millennial Kingdom.

When that happens Paul calls it their fullness at the end of Vs. 12 

Fullness Greek - pleroma - It means to be complete - or the state of having every necessary part or component.

And the part or component that the Jews are missing is Jesus - without Jesus they are not complete, but with Him they are.

And the same goes for us as well...

Colossians 2:10 - ...you are complete in Him...

APPLICATION:

ILLUSTRATION:

2. Paul’s Ministry Because of Israel’s Rejection Vs. 13-14

2.1 He Exalts His Life Vs. 13

Apostle Greek - apostolos; it’s used 81x in the NT - One who is sent out. In...

Acts 9:6 - Paul was sent out by Jesus Christ - And he was sent out to the Gentiles.

Galatians 1:15-16 - But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,

2 Timothy 1:11 - to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

Magnify Greek - doxazo; it means to exalt

Ministry Greek - Means service - We would say his life.

Acts 18:3 - Paul was a tentmaker - That was his job, but it was NOT his life.

His life was telling people about Jesus, that is what he magnified and what he exalted.

APPLICATION: And what is true for Paul is equally true for us because our job is not our life, jobs might change.

Colossians 3:4 - Jesus is our life...

APPLICATION: Our lives should involve telling others about Jesus

2.2 He Explains His Life Vs. 14

So even though Paul was called to the Gentiles, he had a heart for the Jews.

Romans 9:3 - I wish I were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, the Jews.

And just as God will use the Gentiles to provoke the Jews to Jealousy...

Paul explains that he hoped God would use his life in the same way.

APPLICATION: For us the point is simple, maybe God has called us to a particular area of ministry in our life.

APPLICATION: Great, good job, but let’s not forget to be open to all the other opportunities that the Lord puts in out path.

3. Spiritual Life in Spite of Israel’s Rejection Vs. 15-17

3.1 Their Casting Away Vs. 15a

In Vs. 12 their fall is the riches for the world - Here their casting away is the reconciling of the world.

Since some Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah the Gospel of salvation has gone to the Gentiles, the world.

So it is through their fall or being cast away that anyone in the world can be reconciled to God.

3.2 Life from the Dead Vs. 15b

We’ve seen that not all of the Jews are cast away, some get saved, Paul did.

In fact in Vs. 25 hardness in part has happened to Israel, so when Jews do get saved there is Spiritual Life just as it is with us.

Now, this could also be talking about Israel as a whole - In Vs. 26 we will read that all Israel will be saved.

again this points to the Millennial Kingdom.

Now this Spiritual Life is Illustrated in 2 ways here in Vs. 16 & 17:

First Fruits Vs. 16a - In Numbers 15 the first harvest of the grain was holy and consecrated to God - It belonged to God.

Since the grain was holy, the lump or the dough that made the bread was holy too, it belonged to God.

APPLICATION: This is a good principle for us - It’s not our dough, it came from God it belongs to God.

1 Corinthians 4:7 - what do you have that you did not receive...

APPLICATION: Nothing, everything we have we’ve received from God - Therefore it all belongs to God.

1 Corinthians 6:19 - we’re not even our own, we’ve been bought with a price.

APPLICATION: So ultimately everything we have & everything we are came from God & belongs to God - So we hold everything with an open hand.

APPLICATION: We should say, Lord do with it as you see fit - add to it or take away from it.

Olive Tree Vs. 16b-17 - Because some of the Jews rejected God’s Messiah, Jesus, they were broken off which enabled us to be grafted in.

So we’ve received the fatness of the olive tree or the riches or blessings from God.

Ephesians 1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

So we saw Israel’s Fall - #2 Paul’s Life Vs. 13-14 - #3 Spiritual Life Vs. 15-17

And since Israel will be Restored & since we are grafted in - How should we life Our Life?

4. Our Life Vs. 18-24

Here in Verses 18-24 we should live our lives in 2 ways. 

4.1 Without Pride Vs. 18-20

The Jews Support Us Vs. 18 - The Jews are the root, so we’ve become a part of them.

SHOW ILLUSTRATION.

This is one reason we love the Jews & Israel because God has allowed us to be one of them.

The Jews Unbelief Vs. 19-20 - We were not grafted in because we’re so wonderful or because we’re so deserving or even because some Jews have been broken off.

We are grafted in by FAITH by putting our faith in in God’s Messiah, Jesus Christ.

4.2 Not Being Overconfident Vs. 21-24 (It’s overconfident to think 2 things)

That God Will Spare Us Vs. 21-22 - Turn with me to...

Since God cut off & cast away the natural branches because of their unbelief, it’s overconfident of us to think that God won’t cut us off & cast us away as well, because He will. READ...

John 15:1–6 - 1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

We are eternally secure in Christ but the moment we stop abiding in Christ we’ll be cut off.

We’re not talking about working for salvation, obviously but the moment we stop abiding. We are cut off.

That God Won’t Spare Israel Vs. 23-24 - It’s overconfident of us to think that God won’t spare Israel - That God won’t Restore Israel.

And one day they will as we have mentioned.

But the question for us is simple: Are you grafted in? have you become a true olive branch?