Of Jews & Gentiles, Part 3
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INTRODUCTION:
*Open your Bibles with me to Romans 11
Illustration: While you find your place, let me tell you a story
A father made a giant bowl of popcorn for his oldest son to enjoy during a football game
The oldest son said he didn’t want it, and so the father offered it to one of his younger sons.
As the second child was eating, a third came in and asked if they could have some
The second brother refused to share until the father forced him to.
The two boys were eating when their sister came into the room. She, too, wanted popcorn
They didn’t want to share, but made room begrudgingly
Finally, the oldest came back in the room to find his 3 siblings eating popcorn. Suddenly worried there would be no snacks for him, he came to join them
And so all four of them ate what was given by their Father, the last as much as the first. The first as much as the last.
TRANSITION:
In our journey down the Romans Road, we are in the last part of what has been a small mini-series entitled “Of Jews and Gentiles
Paul has been reminding us of the special place that Israel holds in the heart of God
God is not done with Israel-He will still save many
In fact, God used their rebellion to make a place for our salvation as Gentiles
And now, He is using our salvation to draw the Jews to Himself by jealousy
Over the last few weeks, we’ve continued to circle back to two verses that are key to understanding what we need to learn from this section if we want to follow Jesus well. The first is Romans 9:6
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;
Remember, not all of Israel is Israel, but rather those God has chosen for Himself, who believe by faith
Secondly, Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
God is using everything and everyone to draw those that He calls to Himself, both for our good and His glory
And so, let’s pick up where we left off last week, in Romans 11:25
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
“This is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”
From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,
so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.
For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Pray, INVITE THE CHURCH TO SIT
*LISTENING GUIDES OUT
Sometimes, it is easy for us to lose the forest for the trees.
It is easy to get a calloused heart as one who is saved towards the lost and dying
We look at the Muslim world, full of people who hate us because of the God we serve, and we are tempted to feel the same way, to treat them as though they are more evil than others
We look upon those who practice sins that are heinous and egregious to us, and we are tempted to treat them with contempt and disdain for the things that they do and the way that they live
We even look at an Israeli state, where more than 70% of Jews profess to be atheists today, and we shake our heads and wag our fingers at them
After all, don’t they all deserve the misfortune they face in today’s world?
They are the ones that have rejected God
They are the ones that have chosen to sin
They don’t deserve a second chance at the Gospel, when they hate those that would carry it to them.
But this morning, as we close this discussion of Jews and Gentiles, we find in Israel some lessons that need to sink into the depths of our heart
In Paul’s reminders about Israel, we find a picture of the heart of God
Look at verse 25 again:
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
“This is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”
All of Israel will be saved. Now, Paul is speaking of those that are the “true” Israel, those that God has set apart for Himself...
but ALL of them will be saved
they won’t be saved because they do anything to earn it
they will be saved because Jesus will take away their sins, just as He has done for you
If you’ve got your listening guide this morning, this brings our first point to us, that
There are many people that we think are a lost cause that God will save
There are many people that we think are a lost cause that God will save
Notice here, who does it say saves Israel? Who will take away their sin? Who will remove the ungodliness from Israel?
THE DELIVERER, Jesus Christ
It is easy to look upon an unbelieving nation of Israel and to pass judgment
They had God’s Law
They have always been His chosen people
They are the race of the Messiah
THEY HAD THEIR CHANCE!
Remember, God allowed their rejection to harden in them so that you could be saved
let this draw you to compassion for those that God would save among them
It’s easy to look and the lost and unbelieving nation around us and think the same thing, isn’t it?
After all, the Bible is freely available, isn’t it?
Yes, but many have never heard of it
Surely, everyone has heard, haven’t they?
No, they haven’t
Anybody that wants to go to church can, right?
Not by a long shot in many places in this country
REMEMBER, friend, that you were once a lost cause
A Gentile, born outside of the family of God
A sinner, who deserved death for your crimes
One who had not heard, or who had denied the power of the Gospel
If God saved you, He can save others to, and His Word promises He will
If God saved you from among the nations that hate God, surely He is capable to save those He chooses from among Israel, or anywhere else that He chooses
The only difference between the saved and the unsaved, the dead and the living is the blood of Jesus
Let’s continue with verse 28:
From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,
so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.
For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
The second thing we need to make note of this morning is this,
There are many enemies of the Gospel that God still loves and will save
There are many enemies of the Gospel that God still loves and will save
How can you be an enemy of the Gospel, and not an enemy with God?
You cannot!
Those who hate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who hate Christians and Christ’s church are enemies of God
Isn’t this reason for us to ignore and to shun the Muslim? Should we not refuse him compassion for his hatred?
Isn’t this reason for us to hate the Jews, for they live in arrogance and look down on the rest of the world, even as we help them to remain a sovereign nation?
Isn’t this reason for us to hate the homosexual, the cross-dresser, the flagrantly immoral who are openly antagonistic toward Christians and the Gospel we proclaim?
shouldn’t the enemies of God be our enemies as well?
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Let us not be so short-sighted, friends
You and I were enemies with God
You and I lived in flagrant disobedience
You and I were arrogant in our sin, deserving death
Jesus loved us enough to die for our sins when we were His enemies
Jesus loved us as His enemies enough to make us coheirs with Him to the heavenly Kingdom
God used Jewish rejection of Christ to bring you salvation
Now, He will use your salvation to draw the Jews to Him in jealousy
Verse 32 makes all of these things so clear:
every man, woman child, Jew, and Gentile is guilty of sin
THEREFORE, in His justice, God can show mercy to whomever He chooses
Remember: It is God that calls us, it is God that saves us
ANYONE can be saved from their sins by turning to Jesus
ONLY those that turn to Him will be saved
Not because of who you are, but because of His grace
This is just before God because ALL are guilty and all are saved the same way
And maybe the hardest thing for us to understand is that in all of these things God is glorified
Look at verse 33
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
The last thing that I would have you note this morning is this, that
God is glorified in all things and we are incapable of understanding this truth
God is glorified in all things and we are incapable of understanding this truth
God’s wisdom and knowledge are infinite and eternal
you and I could never know their fullness, even with all of eternity to learn
We cannot understand His ways, His thinking, or His judgments
We cannot offer Him counsel or advice
There is nothing we can give to God that is not already His
But the reason that you and I can’t stand in judgment...
the reason that we should be filled with compassion for every lost soul
the reason that we should give glory to God in all that we do is
GOD created all things
He was the means of creation
He was the supply of creation
He set the purpose of creation
And all the glory that is exists because of Him-and all of it is His
The glory for your salvation
The glory for those who hate Him now but will be saved later
Even the glory of His eternal wrath punishing those that live in rebellion
INVITATION: This morning, let us not be so arrogant, as to be the ones that would judge
Let us share the Gospel
Let us love the lost around us, even those that hate us,
Let us leave the choice of salvation and glory in the hands of the only One who can save and the only One worthy of Glory
PRAY