The previous chapter ended with the verse which says, in Rom 10:21 “But as for Israel [God] says, "ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.” And we determined last week that verse emphasizes the patience and mercy of God, in waiting for and calling to a rebellious people that are always resisting His call. It emphasizes that even though Israel as a nation rebelled against God, He is pursuing them even to this day. Yet this rebellion raises the question which Paul asked in vs 1, “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He?” It’s a question that expects a negative answer, and so Paul answers emphatically, “May it never be!” The Israelites may have rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah, but God has not rejected Israel.
And Paul gives evidence of that by saying on the basis of his own salvation that God has not rejected His people wholesale. He is a Jew, in fact, a Jew of Jews, of the tribe of Benjamin and yet he became saved on the road to Damascus by the grace of God. So there remains a remnant in every generation that God will save.
Salvation has always been on an individual basis. The just shall live by faith. Not the nation, not the country, not even a generation, but individuals. God made promises and a covenant with Abraham that from Isaac His seed will be called. But from Isaac came Jacob and Esau. And Jacob He loved and Esau He hated. So right from the beginning, it was evident that God called individuals to salvation, and did not grant entire nations or peoples salvation.
Paul says in vs 2 that God has not cast away his people "whom he foreknew.” So those individuals, that He foreknew, that He elected for salvation, have not been cast away. He is not necessarily talking about a people or a nation, but individuals. And the reverse is true as well. When Paul said that the Gentiles have received the grace of God and the resulting righteousness which Israel rejected (Romans 9:30) does God then mean that all the Gentiles will be saved, or that all the Gentiles were being saved? Of course not. We know that not all Gentiles are saved. Far from it. In fact, it might be argued that only a remnant of the Gentiles are saved out of all the nations of the world. So if not all Gentiles are going to be saved, then it stands to reason that not every Israelite is going to be saved.
Paul uses the illustration of Elijah pleading with God that he was the only one left when Israel as a nation was persecuting him, and had put to death the prophets before him. And yet God’s answer to him was ““I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.” So even though the king of Israel was against him, and the nation as a whole was against him, yet God had saved 7000 men out of the nation of Israel even in a time of national apostasy.
Vs5 “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God's] gracious choice.” In the same way refers to the days of Elijah, when God had reserved 7000 men in a nation of apostates, in the same way at the time of Paul’s writing, God had sovereignly chosen a remnant to be saved. And this is not just a principle applicable to the Jews only, but it’s applicable to the world at large. It’s a remnant, a small number of people who will be saved. Remember the words of Jesus who said in the Sermon on the Mount; “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt. 7:13)
Paul quoting Isaiah says in Rom 9:27 "THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED.”
But notice that Paul says in vs 5 that the remnant are saved by God’s gracious choice. They are saved by grace. This is the real point that Paul is trying to make in this whole chapter, that those that are saved are saved by the grace of God. Grace means God’s unmerited favor. But on the other hand, Paul has made it clear in chapter 10 that we are saved through faith. Faith means we must believe. Rom 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Now how does this work? How does grace save us, and faith save us, both at the same time?
The answer is that our faith is in what Jesus did. And the work that Jesus did is the grace that is given to us. So salvation is not by what we do but what Jesus did for us. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and God accepted His substitutionary atonement on our behalf. He applied our sins to Jesus, and transferred His righteousness to us. That is God’s unmerited favor towards us. That is grace; God doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Our faith then is simply believing in who Jesus is, and trusting in His righteousness and His sacrifice as our representative and substitute. Paul says in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” So grace and faith are combined, bringing about salvation, not trusting in my works, but in Christ’s work on my behalf.
So then we must agree with the statement in vs 6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” Grace and works are diametrically opposed in salvation. Salvation produces works, but salvation is not gained by works. There must be a divine transaction that procures our salvation, and Jesus paid that by His death. Any attempt on my part to obtain my salvation by my works is simply an exercise in pride and self righteousness. Salvation has always been on the basis of grace. The Israelites were saved by grace through faith, and the Gentiles have been saved by grace through faith. We must believe in the work of God’s favor towards us. In the OT they believed in what Christ would do, in the NT age we believe in what Christ has done, but in both cases it is by grace that we are saved, not by our works.
So what does that mean for Israel? That’s what Paul asks in vs 7; “What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, "GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY." And David says, "LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM. "LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.”
What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained. What Israel was seeking is a right standing before God. They were seeking righteousness on their own merits. They thought that by keeping the law as they interpreted it, they would be accepted by God as righteous. Back in chapter 9 vs 31, Paul said, “but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at [that] law. Why? Because [they did] not [pursue it] by faith, but as though [it were] by works.”
Paul quotes 2 OT passages as illustration of this principle. The first is from Deut. 29:4, and the second is from Psalm 69:22. There was a hardening that occurred in Israel, a dullness, a stupor that prevented them from believing the truth. And he says it was given to them by God. I think that speaks of a judgment that God gives to those who are unbelieving and obstinate in their hearts and the point comes when God gives them over to a reprobate mind.
Paul spoke of this in the very beginning of his epistle; chapter 1 vs 28 saying, “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.” They refused to submit to God’s truth, and in trying to establish their own righteousness they actually rebelled against God, so that He gives them over to a depraved mind or better translation, a reprobate mind. Reprobate mind means a mind that is not approved, it does not function as it ought to. Because they have resisted the Spirit of God, then God takes away that same Spirit which brings understanding, so that they cannot see the truth but believe a lie.
And as such their table becomes a snare and a trap. The thing they were trusting in, their self righteousness based on their interpretation of the law, becomes the very thing that is their captor, and by which they are enslaved. It’s ironic how sin works that way. Sin promises freedom, but produces captivity. Sin promises fun, but it ends in suffering. Sin promises wisdom but it produces foolishness. Sin is a trap by which the devil enslaves and then destroys the human soul. And the first sin was the sin of pride. It is the mother of all sins.
But this hardening, this rebellion, this sin is the very thing that produces grace which brings about salvation. One cannot be saved until he first recognizes that he is lost. Because of the sin of Israel, grace was given to the Gentiles. And if Israel’s sin means the riches of grace were given to the world, how much more will grace be effective for Israel?
Vs11, “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation [has come] to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!”
Israel did not fall so as to be removed forever from God’s plan to save them. But in God’s view this is a temporary stumbling, which He uses to bring Gentiles to His kingdom, and which He even uses to make the Jews jealous of the Gentiles, so that eventually the promise of Israel’s salvation might be fulfilled. God’s grace towards Israel is still working.
And so Paul speaks to the Gentiles in his audience in vs 13 saying, “But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.” So even though Paul’s main ministry was to the Gentiles, he wants to use that ministry as a tool to make His countrymen jealous so that they too might come to be saved.
Vs15 “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will [their] acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece [of dough] is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.” Because of Israel’s rejection the world received the gospel. So then, their acceptance by God means that they will receive life from the dead. That which was dead spiritually will come back to life by the gracious act of God in bringing them to salvation.
Now notice in vs 16 Paul uses two analogies; one of a lump of dough, and one of the roots of a tree. In both cases he is referring to the heritage of Israel. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were set apart by God. The Israelites were descended from them. And so God has set apart all Israel to live for God. They were to be His people. They had been given every privilege that God could give any nation because of God’s promises to their forefathers. And having been set apart, or appointed unto salvation, God will bring it to pass.
Now the next passage is one that I am going to read to you in total and hope that you can follow Paul’s logic without having to resort to a lot of commentary on my part. I believe it is self explanatory to some degree. Paul has already introduced the analogy of the root and the branches, and now he is going to take that a step further, and talk about God grafting branches into the tree. The olive tree is a picture of Israel, particularly the roots being the patriarchs, and the trunk the nation that came up from them.
Vs.17 “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, [remember that] it is not you who supports the root, but the root [supports] you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural [branches] be grafted into their own olive tree?”
So to the Jews belonged the promises and the covenants of God. Jesus said in John 4:22, “Salvation is of the Jews.” The rest of the world is pictured as a wild olive branch which is grafted in to the tree. This grafting of the wild branch into the cultivated tree is a picture of the grace of God. Paul warns us in this analogy that we should not be arrogant or prideful then in our position, because it is only by grace we stand. And if God is able to graft us in, then how much more so will He be able to graft in the natural branches, that is the Jews.
And in this analogy we also see two aspects of God’s nature; His mercy and His justice. Paul describes them as the kindness and severity of God. God’s justice rightly falls on those who continue in unbelief by cutting off those branches, but His kindness towards those who believe by grafting them in. The gospel depends upon both the mercy and justice of God being fully operational in salvation. It is a aberration of the gospel to only preach God’s love and mercy and not God’s justice. If there were no justice of God then there would be no need for the cross. God must satisfy His justice before He is able to show mercy.
Now how the mercy of God works is what Paul calls a mystery. The mystery is the plan and purpose of God in salvation and how God is working to bring it all to fulfillment. Paul explains this mystery in vs25 “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.”
Paul is saying that Israel’s hardness is temporary. Once God has fulfilled His plan of salvation in regards to the rest of the world, then he says all Israel will be saved. The fulfillment of God’s plan with Israel will result in their believing in Jesus Christ as their Messiah, the Son of God, who came to be their Savior. Salvation is simply God removing their sins by placing them on Jesus Christ who died in their place. And then God transfers to those who believe in Him the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
But notice vs 26 says, “and so ALL Israel will be saved.” How is that possible? The answer is If they do not continue in their unbelief. Vs 23, “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” So the principle of individual salvation has not changed, nor has the method of salvation changed. It is by faith, and faith is an individual decision. Exactly how many of Israel will be saved in the last days is the common question that arises out of this statement. But the correct answer is simply that all of the elect will be saved. All that God has worked the wonders of His grace in that they might believe in Jesus Christ.
One thing is clear, and that is that the method of salvation will not change. Salvation is by grace through faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. The same sun that hardens clay softens wax. And God who hardened Israel in their unbelief, will one day soften Israel in their hearts to believe. And just as you cannot say that all Gentiles will be saved, neither can you say that every Israelite will be saved. But what you can bank on is that all who are foreknown and chosen and called of God will be justified, and will be glorified.
The point that needs to be taken from all of this is that as vs 29 says, “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” What God promises He accomplishes. Whom God predestines, comes to Him. Salvation is of the Lord. He is sovereign. But thank God He also merciful.
Vs30 “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.” That is the principle that we can take away from this; that all are disobedient, both Jews and Gentiles.
Listen, Rom 3:10-12 says "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE." All of us are sinners. All of us are disobedient. But God even uses our disobedience to bring us to recognize our need of a Savior. And God uses our disobedience to display His mercy towards us.
This revelation of the mystery of salvation has such an impact on Paul that he breaks out into a liturgy of praise. He concludes this great argument about the sovereignty of God and His mercy and grace towards those who were undeserving, by declaring this doxology in the final verses.
And we too will conclude by proclaiming this doxology starting with vs 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.”
God is the author and finisher of our salvation and to Him belongs all the glory for our salvation. God has extended the invitation to you today, if you will not harden your heart, believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, who died for your sins, who accomplished our redemption, and who lives to be our King, that you might have life in His name. Trust in Him today and receive forgiveness of your sins, receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ applied to your account, and receive everlasting life.
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