Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

If you’ve been with us recently then you know that we are studying Paul’s letter to the Romans.

And this morning our text is Romans 11:11-36.

So if you have your Bible’s you can go ahead and turn there.

You can also use The Bible app and navigate to the events page on that app and find our service saved there.

You can follow along, make notes, and save your content for future reference too.

Next week we will start a new section in Romans where Paul takes all of the truth of what he has taught so far and answers the qeustion: so what do we do with all this truth?

But before we turn to next week we need to finish with chapter 11.

And I will warn you—I usually preach for 30-35 minutes but this morning we’ll be in the sermon for about 10 minutes longer.

In 2 Peter 3 Peter says about Paul’s writings, “some of them are hard to understand” and I have to wonder—most likely along with every other preacher who has taught these texts that maybe Peter had Romans 11 in mind when he said this.

In fact Tony Merida tells a story about when he was preaching through Romans 11 and he was talking about it with a friend and his friend said, “Oh yea, our church is going through Romans too, but when we got to Romans 11 our pastor said that it was too hard to understand—that today we would pray for VBS—and then move on to Romans 12 next week.”

And I understand that sentiment, but all of God’s Word is for us and so friends this morning wade into the deep waters of Romans 11 with me.

This morning as we read through the text together we are going to see 5 Explanation and 5 applications in Romans 11.

Let’s dive in together.

Explanation 1 (11-12)

First Paul wants his Gentile readers and us by extension to know that even though Israel has fallen away from the Lord their fall is not final—they are not without the possibility of redemption.

As we’ll see a littler later—though they currently be cut off, they can be grafted in again.

God is not done with Israel.

Paul also wants us to see that God’s current rejection of Israel and their rejection of Him—is purposed by God to accomplish 2 glorious things.

Number one, that salvation may come to the Gentiles.

He says, “through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles”.

And number two, that God’s blessing on the Gentiles would stir Israel up to gospel jealousy.

And we are going to come back to this idea in just a moment.

What Paul is making clear is that God is in control—He has a good and wise plan—wherein His grace will reach all of the people that He is calling to Himself.

Verse 12 Paul then exclaims that Israel’s future return to God can only mean blessing and riches.

He says, Romans 11:12 “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!”

God’s Word tells us that Israel’s full inclusion means greater blessing for the world—greater than we’ve seen.

And I’ll just make a brief not here, because we are going to get into it further in v.26, but “full inclusion” does not mean every Israelite that has ever been.

There is a theology that would say at the end of times every singles Israelite will be saved by the virtue of being “God’s special people” But that goes far beyond the context of our text and the rest of the Bible.

When God’s Word, penned by the Apostle Paul, says full inclusion here—Paul means that when Israel returns to God they will not return as 2nd class citizens—the Gentiles will not be able to boast over Israel because Israel will be fully included.

So what do we do with that personally?

What application do these awesome truths have in our lives?

Friends, as we see the plan of God unfold for entire church throughout redemptive history—be in awe of how glorious our God is! His plans are perfect and elegant.

His control over such complex issues hint to us the massiveness of His intellect—of His wisdom—of His glory!

This is why at the end of our text after all that Paul says in Romans 11 He exclaims,

This is an appropriate response to God.

As you read your Bible friends—and I hope you are reading it—as you read it build in your hearts and minds the image of God that His word portrays!

Do not get used to God—do not miss His excellence!

If you go to a fine arts museum and see the great painters—you can rush through the exhibits and let your eyes only skim their work—and you’ll hardly be affected.

But if you gaze into the painting—if you notice the colors and the composition—if you make note of the different brush strokes—and take in the story of work—if you seek out is emotions—then you will come away deeply impressed by the artist.

Church the Bible is a master work of literary art from God Himself.

Unlike a painting it is living and active (Heb.

4:12).

Dive deep into—don’t just skim it with your eyes, but ponder every word—seek God in His Word and stand amazed at who He is!

If you have a biblical view of God in your heart—which is full of glory and majesty—then it will transform your daily life as you are drawn to worship your God.

Church be in awe of your glorious God.

Explanation 2 (13-15)

Romans 11:13-15 “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles.

Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.

For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?”

Paul says, “I magnify my ministry to make my fellow Jews jealous—that some of them would be saved.”

And then in verse 15 Paul again makes the point that Israel’s return to God will include great blessing.

Here he says, “For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world—if their rejection means the gospel goes forth to the nations—what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead.”

Of Romans 11 verse 15 and verse 26 has been the genesis for much ink put to page.

There is lots of commentary written on these verses.

What does Paul means when he says “life from the dead”.

One commentator says that this is a statement of positional joy (Benson commentary) and that when Israel comes back it will be like receiving a beloved brother back from the dead.

But it seems clear Paul in the context of the surrounding verses is pointing to something unprecedented: what will their full inclusion mean, what will their acceptance mean but “life from the dead”!

Whatever it is that “life from the dead” signifies here—it is more than a sentiment on behalf of the Gentiles.

Another view is that Paul is simply stating that Israel too will experience eternal life in Christ—life from the dead.

That Paul is just expounding on his meaning behind what Israel’s full inclusion means.

That when they return and accept Christ as messiah/savior they too will be saved from death.

But this would be redundant to say—needless—all that Paul has proclaimed about the gospel—as clear as he has been there there is life no where else but in Christ and that Christ alone saves us from the death of our sin—it would be redundant to say that when they accept Christ they will receive salvation too.

To accept Christ is to receive salvation.

A third view and the one that I hold myself is that this phrase “life from the dead” is pointing to an end times event.

Paul is talking about how God has rejected Israel so that the Gentiles would be saved—and that there is coming a day when Israel will return and when they do there will be unprecedented blessings—that’s what verse 12 says—and then expounding on it here in verse 15—what will these blessings be?--- “life from the dead”!

I think that the best understanding of this text is that Paul is pointing to the future coming of Christ when our resurrection—our life from the dead—will be made complete.

Friends, right now we live in a constant struggle with our flesh, but there is coming a day when you and I will live in eternity with no sin struggle.

We will be delivered fully from death.

And Paul is saying here: when God gathers Israel back to Himself this will trigger the end of redemptive history.

Later in our text Paul will talk about when the “fullness of the Gentiles comes in” and it holds this idea that God Israel is rejecting God until every elect Gentile is saved and then, when this work is complete, God will bring Israel back to Himself and when He does this

Christ will return for His church and the beginning of the blessed eternal state will begin where all God’s people will exist with their sanctification complete—in bodies free from the death of sin and completely alive.

“Their acceptance will mean life from the dead.”

This is the view that the early church Fathers held and it is the view that makes the best sense of the passage, in my opinion.

So what do we do with that personally?

Let me draw your attention back to what Paul said in verse 13.

Paul says, “I magnify my ministry to make my fellow Jews jealous—that some of them would be saved.”

Are you, like Paul, leveraging your life to make others feel a gospel jealousy?

Paul says I magnify—i draw close attention to— my ministry, my walk with Christ, all that He is doing in and through me.

Why?

So as to make other people jealous for God.

Friends, are you set apart for Christ?

Are you noticeably different so that people can see God moving in your life?

They might not know it’s God but they can see something is different with you!

I don’t know where this idea came from, but from the pit of Hell, that in order to win people to Jesus the world needs to see that Christians are just “regular people”.

We like the same things, we do the same things, we watch the same things, we think the same way.

That the world needs to see that we aren’t different.

We’re really the same as them.

The evangelistic strategy of many Christians is to cover themselves with the stench of death in order to draw people to life?

What kind of sense does that make?

It doesn’t!

Friends, if you are saved, you are not a regular person!!!

We are the born again sons and daughters of God, most high!

We were dead and now we are alive!

There is nothing regular about that!

We have been personally called by God himself to join Him in his work of building the Kingdom of Christ!

That’s not regular, that’s not like the world, it’s not supposed to be!

Do not try to hide what is most glorious about you with a blanket of commonality!

Dead people’s biggest obstacle to salvation is not that they think Christians are weird—their biggest obstacle is that they are dead.

You are meant to stand out in your holiness—in your set apartness—the lighthouse doesn’t try to blend in with the rocks, amen?

The lighthouse stands among the rocks to shed light on the danger of the rocks.