Romans 11:26-36

• 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
• 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
• 28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.
• 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
• 30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
• 31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
• 32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
• 33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
• 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
• 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
• 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Introduction: Last week we learned how "Israel" means "all of God's people of all ages." We were reminded that both the Jews of the Old Testament era, and the Gentile Christians of the New Testament era were branches, grated into the same "stump" or "root" of the patriarchs. God does not have two chosen peoples, Israel and the Church. This is a wrong and artificial distinction invented by Dispensationalism, which is a new 19th and 20th century view of the Church. Ekklesia is the Greek word for God's people in the Old Testament, as used in the LXX translation (most commonly used by the Apostles and often quoted in the New Testament.) Ekklesia is also the word the Apostles used in the New Testament for the Church, the Body of Christ. And so "all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26). Paul uses "Israel" to refer to spiritual Israel, not genetic Israel. The so-called "nation of Israel" in the Holy Land today is a creation of the United Nations, and it is not God's chosen nation. SPIRITUAL ISRAEL is God's chosen nation. Jews and Gentiles who have received the Messiah, THEY are the people of God; not the secular unbelieving nation in Palestine today.

So, what is Paul teaching us now?

I. The Messiah came to deliver us from sin (Romans 11:26-27).

• He is our "Deliverer."
• He shall "turn away ungodliness from Jacob."
• "I shall take away their sins."

Jesus came to save us from.....

• 1. The penalty of sin
• 2. The power of sin
• 3. The presence of sin

II. In the first century, the Jews were enemies who attacked Christians (Romans 11:28).

• 1. The Jews arrested Jesus, and turned Him over to Pilate, and insisted on the crucifixion.
• 2. The Jews persecuted Jesus' converts, and cast them out of the synagogue.
• 3. The Jews persecuted Paul in his missionary work.
• 4. We must not think of Jews today as our enemies, but as opportunities of loving evangelism (Romans 11:31).

III. But there were and are many elect Jews, who are loved by God, for the sake of the patriarchs (Romans 11:28).

• 1. The Apostles were all Jewish.
• 2. The first converts were Jewish.
• 3. Even though Paul was rejected and persecuted by the Jews, he still won many Jews to Christ.
• 4. Many Jews today are becoming Christians.
• 5. We should expect to see many more Jews turning to Christ toward the end of the age.

IV. The salvation of ALL THE ELECT, Jew or Gentile, is a sure thing (Romans 11:29-32).

• When God calls someone to Christ, He doesn't change His mind. Your calling was determined from eternity past.
• When God gives salvation, He doesn't change His mind and take it back.
• God does not repent, though that language is sometimes used in the Bible, to express God's actions in a way we can partly understand.

Watch out for the word "all" in the Bible. It is NOT used in a precise way here (Romans 11:32), nor in other places. It requires interpretation. In Romans 11:32 it really means "both Jew and Gentile," not "everyone in the world."

Other examples:

• Mt 26:52 "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
• Mr 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."
• Mr 13:13 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
• Joh 12:32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
• Ac 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach
• Ac 2:17 "‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
• Ac 19:35 The city clerk quietened the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?
• 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

V. The "Plan of Salvation," the Covenants, Bible History, etc: it is all about GOD (Romans 11:33-36).

• God is all knowing.
• God is all wise.
• God's judgments are unsearchable.
• God's ways are past finding out.
• No one knows the mind of the Lord.
• No one has ever counseled Him.
• God doesn't owe anyone anything. He is not obligated to you and me, or anyone.
• Of Him, through Him, to Him are all things.
• So, just praise and glorify Him. He is the exalted awesome Creator God of the universe.

And yet, God is not just some selfish, cold-hearted, all-knowing computer in the sky. God is love, and God's mercy is at work in all He does (Romans 11:32).

• Ro 11:32 For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
• Ps 5:7 But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down towards your holy temple.
• Ps 6:9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.
• Mic 7:18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry for ever but delight to show mercy.
• John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

CONCLUSION: Let's summarize....

• All believers, Jew or Gentile, are now God's chosen nation: the Israel of God
• The Messiah came to deliver all His people from their sins.
• Our salvation is a sure thing.
• Everything is about God and His glory. We are not the center of Creation.