Romans 11:1-36
GOD'S PLAN FOR THE JEW, AND FOR YOU
Intro: In this chapter, Paul concludes his parenthesis to
the Jew. He has been trying to show them that God
has not forsaken them, but that God has simply
postpones His work on their behalf unto a future time.
It is God's plan to finish what He has started in regard
to the Jew and in the area of His promises to them.
These verses are an explanation of what God is
doing in the arena of salvation in this present time.
Here, we learn that God has a plan for the Jew and that
He has a plan for you. Tonight, I would like to look at
these verses for a few minutes and discuss the thought,
God's Plan For The Jew And For You. Some may
have read the book of Romans up to this point and
concluded that there is no salvation for the Jew. Paul
shows the foolishness of that viewpoint. He teaches us
that God has a plan and that God's plan will be fulfilled
completely.
I. V. 1-10 IT INVOLVES THE GRACE OF GOD
A. V. 1 God's Saving Grace
1. The Issue - Again, the question might be
asked, "Has God completely written off the
Jew? Has He condemned them all to Hell?
Is it impossible for them to be saved "
Paul says that such a thing is not even a
possibility!
2. The Illustration - To prove it, Paul calls
attention to himself. He is a Jew and he is
saved! Paul is living proof that Jews can be
born again! The bottom line is that salvation
is available to any individual who will call
upon the name of the Lord, Rom. 10:13.
B. V. 2-10 God's Selecting Grace - Paul draws the
attention of his readers to an event in the past
and to God's present work around them to show
them God's grace in action.
1. V. 2-4 God's Past Selection - Paul draw
from the life of Elijah to demonstrate the fact
that God always has a remnant. Elijah
thought he was all alone in his devotion to
the Lord, but God reminded Elijah that there
were more than 7,000 who had not bowed to
Baal.
2. V. 5-10 God's Present Selection - Paul
shows that now, just as in the past, God has
His remnant. Those who are saved are not
saved because of their birth, or their
nationality, but they are saved because of
pure grace. They are redeemed because
they have been chosen by God in Christ
Jesus.
(Ill. Paul's point in these verses is that those who
ant to be saved can be saved, while those who
do not are abandoned to their choice by God.
For us, the message in this section of this
passage is that if we are saved, it is because of
the grace of God! It is not our deeds, our birth or
our works. We are not saved because of ho we
are or what we have or can produce. Salvation
is by grace alone, Eph. 2:8-9.)
I. It Involves The Grace Of God
II. V. 11-24 IT INVOLVES THE GRAFTING OF GOD
A. V. 11-15 The Reason - Because the people of
Israel refused to come to Christ for salvation, the
Lord turned to another people. He turned to the
Gentiles and opened the door of salvation wide
for them. The Bible indicates that Jesus came to
the nation of Israel and presented Himself to
them as their Messiah, they refused to receive
Him and the way was opened for the Gentile
nations to come to Jesus, John 1:11-12. The
Lord set them aside that He might reach out to
us!
Paul says that God has used the salvation of
the Gentiles to provoke the Jews to jealousy.
Paul hopes that they will see what God is doing
for the Gentiles and that they will want the same
for themselves. (Ill. Our lives ought to create
a genuine thirst and longing for the things of
God in the world around us, Matt. 5:13-16.)
Yet, Paul knows that since salvation is being
preached to the Gentiles, many Gentiles are
coming to know God through the Gospel of
grace. His thinking is that if the Jew being
rejected can bring men to Christ, what would
happen if the Jew was saved! (Ill. A completed
Jew is a powerful force for the glory of God!)
B. V. 16-17 The Results - As a result of the natural
branch (Israel) being broken off, the wild branch
(The Gentile nations) have been grafted in. We
are allowed the privilege of being placed in a
personal relationship with the God of Heaven!
(Ill. In the Tabernacle and Temple period, only
the Jew had access to the things of God. They
could go to the temple and sacrifice. They could
approach the high priest and have their sins
atoned for. They could enter into the things of
the Lord. The Gentiles, on the other hand, were
all left outside of these things. They had no
access to God. Now, in Jesus, Who is the door
John 10, the Gentiles are no longer cast out.
But, through Jesus, we are allowed to enter into
the holiest place of all: His perfect presence! Do
you understand? Now we are not stopped at the
steps of the temple. We are not forbidden from
entering into the holy place. Now, we are
allowed to go all the way with Jesus in to the
deep things of God. Why? Because God in His
grace has turned the fall of Israel into the
blessing of the Gentile nations.)
C. V. 18-24 The Reminder - The redeemed
Gentiles are reminded in these verses that they
should not boast about their new position in
Jesus. The same God Who grafted them in, is
the same God Who can break them off if they
become lifted up in their pride. Not broken off in
the sense of their salvation, but in the sense of
their effectiveness and usefulness to the Lord.
The image of grafting in branches alludes to the
practice of ancient farmers who would graft
branches from young olive trees into older, less
productive trees to make them productive again.
Israel had become unfruitful, others were grafted
in their place. However, if those who ware
grafted in (the Gentiles) become arrogant and
prideful, they too will become unfruitful and will
be broken off. If Israel returns to the Lord (which
she will) she will be grafted back in again!
What Paul is trying to get his readers to
understand is that it is God, not the individual
who is in control of these matters. As ha said in
verse 18, "The branches do not support the
root, it is the root that supports the
branches!"
(Ill. What's the point of all this for us? We simply
need to remember that we are saved tonight
because of the pure grace of God! We have
nothing to brag about. We have no reason to
pat ourselves on the back and talk of all we have
done for God. The fact is, we have done nothing
as we all deserve to go to Hell! If you don't
believe me look at Ephesians 2:1-3. These
verses are clear in their teaching that we are
guilty and wayward and deserving of the
harshest of punishments. Why then are we
saved? Paul answers that question in
Ephesians 2:4, when he says "But God..." That
is the reason we aren't in Hell! That is why we
are saved this afternoon. It is all the work of
God and His grace! Therefore, if we will glory,
let us glory in the cross and the empty tomb. Let
us glory in the promises and power of our great
God, Who loved us and gave Himself for us at
Calvary!)
I. It Involves The Grace of God
II. It Involves The Grafting Of God
III. V. 25-32 IT INVOLVES THE GUARANTEE OF GOD
A. V. 25-27 His Promises - Israel's blindness at
the present is a temporary condition. One day
her eyes will be open to the Person of Jesus and
she will be saved! God hasn't forgotten her, but
He is filling His house with those who will come
to Him during this the age of grace. We are
reminded again of the parable of Jesus in Luke
14:16-24. We can see that the Father desires
His house to be filled. If those who are invited
will not come, then He will invite others until His
house is filled! In the end, God will keep every
promise He has made to Israel! Not one of them
shall fail.
B. V. 28-32 His Purposes - In this present age the
Jew is the enemy of the Christian faith. They
deny that our Jesus is their Messiah. Yet, God
has not forgotten about them, or about His plans
for them. For as they were called by the Lord,
that calling will be fulfilled and Israel will come to
salvation through Jesus Christ.
It is to be noted that Israel has paid a high
price for their rejection of Jesus as Messiah.
They have suffered as no other group of people
has suffered in this world. They have been hated
and some, like Hitler, have even tried to
exterminate them. Yet, through it all, God has
kept them and brought them through every trial.
For over 1,900 years there was not a nation
called Israel. Then in 1948, the United Nations
created a country called Israel. Since that time
there have been many attempts by their enemies
to destroy them and take their country from
them. But, God has continued to preserve them.
Their darkest day has not yet dawned. During
the Tribulation period, verse 26-27 will be
literally fulfilled. God will purify His people so
that when Jesus returns in glory and power, the
Jews will fall before Him and receive Him as their
King, their Messiah and their Savior. This is one
of the great prophecies of the Bible, Zech. 13:6.
Of course, their pain is prophesied in the Old
Testament: Zech. 10-12.
When Jesus comes, He will redeem them
and receive them unto Himself, Isa. 25:8-9;
43:25; 51:3; 55:12. It will be a great day for the
Jew when the Lord Jesus fulfills His plans on
their behalf. Are they forgotten? No! They are
merely on hold for the time being. Their day will
come!
(Ill. While these verses speak primarily to the
nation of Israel, there is comfort in knowing that
God will always keep His promises. He can be
trusted! We can take Him at His Word and know
that He will do just what He promises to do,
Rom. 4:21; 2 Cor. 1:20.)
I. It Involves The Grace of God
II. It Involves The Grafting Of God
III. It Involves The Guarantee Of God
IV. V. 33-36 IT INVOLVES THE GLORY OF GOD
(Il. Paul closes this chapter with a threefold
doxology. He praises the Lord for three great
characteristics. Since God doesn't change, you and
I should be willing to praise Him for these same
attributes. Let's look at them together this evening.)
A. V. 33-34 His Greatness - Paul's first statement
concerning the Lord has to do with God's
wisdom and omniscience. The question is
asked, "Who knows the mind of God and who
is the person that gives God advise?" The
answer is no one! God's mind can be pondered
by men through the reading of the Scriptures,
but no man can know the mind of God. His mind
transcends our ability. He is God and we can
never fully understand Him or His ways, Isa.
55:8-9. All one has to do is read Job 39-40:1 to
see that no man understands the depth of
wisdom and knowledge possessed by God. We
are not His counselor! He does as He pleases
and we are left to praise Him for what He does!
(Ill. That would be a good lesson for us all to
learn as we go through life. We need to stop
trying to figure out the why of everything and
start simply learning to trust God by faith! He
knows what He is doing, we do not! He sees the
future and knows what is best for now and then,
we do not! Therefore, let us bow before Him and
His glory and exalt His worthy Name!)
B. V. 35 His Grace - The question here is this: "To
whom is God a debtor?" Does He owe man
anything at all? Some people seem to think so.
They expect God to jump through their hoops at
their command. But, that is not the God of the
Bible! The God of the Bible is a God Who
moves first. He reaches out to men through His
grace and man are debtors to Him!
(Ill. Let us never forget that truth! God owes us
nothing, we owe Him everything! Every dollar in
our pockets is His gift. Every lung full of air is
His blessing. Every heartbeat is His grace
manifested. Your home, your car, you family,
your job, your health, your intellect, you talents,
your possessions are all His gifts to you. He
doesn't owe you, but you owe Him! And what
does God want in return? Nothing more than
your love, which manifests itself in obedience to
Him, John 14:15. He gives us everything and
all He asks is that we honor Him by receiving His
Son Jesus as our Savior. When we do that, then
His real giving begins. No, God isn't in debt to
us; it is we who are in debt to Him!)
C. V. 36 His Glory - Everything in this world exists
because there is a God in Heaven Who willed it
to be here! That is Who He is and that is the
power He possesses. In Col. 1:16, Paul said it
this way, "For by him were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or
powers: all things were created by him, and
for him:" God is the center of His universe. Is
He the center of yours? If you are giving Him the
glory due His name He is! Let us remember, the
world does not revolve around you or me. I
know that comes as a shock to you, but it
doesn't! It revolves around God! Therefore, let
every believer in this room tonight come to the
place where we are more than willing to seek His
glory first in everything we are and do, 1 Cor.
10:31.
Conc: Yes, this is a Jewish passage and we may
wonder why we would even bother with it. The reason
is, is that it teaches us about God's grace in calling us
to faith in Jesus. It reminds us that our God is a
promising keeping God. It teaches us that we should
always seek to honor the Lord in all we do and in all we
are.
So, I will leave you with this question: Are you in
Jesus Christ? Are you saved by the grace of God?
Have your sins been washed away by the blood of the
Lamb? Has Israel's fall become your bridge to
freedom?
If there is a need in your heart tonight for salvation,
repentance this altar is open for you. Or, if you just want
to praise the Lord for His grace and goodness on your
behalf, there is no better way to say thank you than to
come into His presence and simply say "Thank you!"
Whatever your need may be, it can be met this evening
if you will come to Jesus!
