In today’s discussion, uncover the profound concepts of mercy and divine election. Through a narrative that interchanges between the Jewish people and the Gentiles, we delve into the struggles and ultimate promises made by God. As sparks of grace ignite hearts, listen in as we unravel the implications of mercy seen in acts of forgiveness, as shared in an extraordinary real-life account.
So Paul is saying in Romans chapter 11 that Israel stumbled but didn’t fall. I say then, he says, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not. In other words, a final and absolute falling away. They stumbled, a serious stumbling, rejecting Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, but even though they fell, or rather stumbled, They are not cast away. Paul interchanges words here. He says, I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not. But then he uses the word fall in a different way. But through their fall, okay, well, they did fall. But yes, it wasn’t an absolute final falling away. To provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. And as I pointed out yesterday then, there are two things involved in here, not just one. Israel fell. that the Gentiles might be saved, or rather, therefore led to the salvation of the Gentiles. That’s one factor. But more, there are two factors. Israel fell in rejecting Christ, and that led to the salvation of the Gentiles, factor one, which rebounds or boomerangs back to the Israelites that they might be be drawn to God by the jealousy that they feel towards those whom God blessed instead of them. Now, we see a little bit of that in the world today, but we don’t see it all until the judgment time. When you remember, described in the book of Revelation, the world goes to attack the city of God. Gog and Magog move against the city of God. Why would they do that? because they have become furious and jealous at the blessing that God gives to people that they think do not deserve it. And ultimately, this leads to the showdown between God and the world and the jealousy the world feels towards those who are blessed and don’t seem to deserve it. Nobody deserves it. It is those who trust in Christ that receive that blessing, and now they want it. So this is a remarkably interesting passage. If, therefore, Paul says… If their fall is riches for the world, that’s the salvation coming to the world through Christ, and their failure is riches to the Gentiles, same idea, how much more their fullness. So Paul is now talking about the possibility and the reality that Israelites can receive fullness after their fall. That is what Paul is moving towards when he talks about all Israel will be saved in verse 26. I speak to the Gentiles then, inasmuch as I am an apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some. For if they’re being cast away… is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? And again, we need to remind ourselves, these are not words that Paul, these are not potential ideas that Paul is talking about. If this were to happen, then that might happen, potentially. No, he’s talking about an actual future history. And as I pointed out yesterday, how do I know that? How do we know that? Because of what it says in verses 28 to 32. Concerning the gospel, that is, concerning the good news of Christ and his sacrifice for the sins of the world, they are enemies for your sake. Why are they enemies? Because the Jewish people do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah and died for the sins of the world. But they are still elect concerning the gospel. They are enemies for your sake, but they are still the elect. But concerning the election, they are beloved. God has still set his heart upon Israel, and they are going to be turned towards him, even though at the present time they have rejected him. He says in verse 26, And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written, the Deliverer will come out of Zion, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. And so we have a tremendous promise here for us. You say, wait a minute, how can it be for us? It’s for Israel. Whatever God does for Israel, he does for the world. As goes Israel, so goes the world. How do I know that? Well, God gave Jesus for the salvation of Israel. But that Jesus’ sacrifice, his sacrifice is also for all the world. So as God blesses Israel, so he blesses all the world. Now it says, continuing in chapter 11, for if the first fruit, so let me read verse 15 for connection, if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is holy, also is holy. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. Now, you have a very interesting imagery here. Who are the first fruits? Well, the first fruits are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are the first fruits. And God says, Paul says, if the first fruit is holy, God chose them, then the lump, that is, the rest that follows, they are also holy. They’re counted as holy. They’re not actually holy. They were sinners, of course. But God does this amazing thing of counting people as good because he is showing them mercy. So, what do we make of this in regard to ourselves? This isn’t all just biblical theology and concepts of the mind. What it is, is this. that when you as a man or woman traveling through this earth are in disarray and wondering what the meaning of life is all about, and you’re wondering if there is any God, God is leading you to himself through every darkness, every disappointment, every tragedy, every grief and sorrow that you meet. You may not in this life come to him, but he will keep that pressure on until in the judgment he is able to reveal his full glory and he is able to reveal your full brokenness and sin so that you collapse before him in a call for mercy. This is what God is doing in the lives of everyone. That is why Paul says that he has blinded some people. You remember that earlier? We talked about that. Why does God blind people? Well, because they’re resisting him in the first place. Everybody is resisting God. Romans 1.18 says that the wrath of God, the loving wrath, it is loving wrath, is upon the whole world because men suppress the truth. Suppressing God. Why do we suppress God? Because we have inherited Adam’s nature. where Adam walked away from God, and as a result of that was filled with guilt and shame and fear, which is a state of mind that can hardly be tolerated. It cannot, in fact, be tolerated. So we keep resisting him all the more in order to hide away from him, or we surrender to him. But if we don’t surrender to him, then he gives us more of that resistance by giving us permission to choose the alternative gods instead of him. And when that happens, we find ourselves in one addiction or another, drugs or alcohol, food issues or sexual issues or weight issues or gambling or work addiction, whatever it may be, we’re running from him all the time through our lives. And that means that there is a sort of guilty conscience, a kicking against the goads, kicking against the pricks, as it says, in regard to Paul. Paul is one of the best examples of what we’re talking about here. Do you remember when Jesus revealed himself to Paul on the road to Damascus? Paul said, who are you, Lord? He said, I am Jesus, and it is hard for you to kick against the pricks. That word pricks there is the pin on the end of a stick that the rider on a donkey would often prick into the side of the donkey to get it going because it was so stubborn. Now, what is Jesus saying by that? He is saying to anyone, let alone Paul, it is hard for you, difficult for you, to resist the convictions of your conscience. It is difficult for you to say no to me, isn’t it? That is what is being said there by Jesus. Now, when Jesus says that, what does it imply? It implies that God has given a person over to the things he chooses as an alternative to God, and God knows how difficult that is for the person who’s choosing the alternatives. It’s difficult to live that way. It’s stressful. We know we’re resisting our conscience. And thus, finally, God having given us over to this hardness of heart, we cannot resist anymore, either now or in the final judgment. So this is how God is leading people. So if the first fruit is holy, then the lump is holy. The Jewish people are still God’s children. And by extension, that means the world that God has created, the whole creation, as it says in Romans 8, are still God’s creation. And that creation is the whole creation, remember in Romans 8, is groaning within. waiting for the adoption as sons. Every one of us. You may be not a believer. You may be listening to this program out of curiosity. But I’m telling you, the disturbance you feel in your heart and your conscience is an indication that God is working with your resistance, and you will not win. your resistance will get tougher and stronger and worse until you have that spiritual breakdown in which you come to the Lord. So then, Paul says, For as you were once disobedient, he’s talking to the Gentiles now, as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience. What does that mean? You have obtained mercy, he’s talking to the Gentiles, through the disobedience of Israel, because Israel did not accept Christ, and therefore that led to the death of Christ, which led to God’s ability, freedom, to give you mercy through the sacrifice of Christ. I want you to think of this. You also may be an obedient man or a disobedient man or woman, But the fact is this, something, somewhere, someone in your life obtained mercy from God, and you have seen it.
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And when you saw it, you wondered, what would that be like?
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And what is happening there is that God is going to reveal his mercy to you, a disobedient man or woman, By the mercy he has shown someone else in your life, whether it’s a relative, a neighbor, or someone you read about. I read this morning about a whole family whose sons and daughters were killed in a car accident, forgiving the man that ran into them at 112 miles an hour. What an incredible thing to forgive someone who has wounded you so badly. Look to those whom you have seen mercy in, and you will realize that God is moving you more and more to that point yourself. Thanks for listening, everybody. This is Colin Cook. Join me tomorrow for more of the same from the Book of Romans. See you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
In today’s discussion, uncover the profound concepts of mercy and divine election. Through a narrative that interchanges between the Jewish people and the Gentiles, we delve into the struggles and ultimate promises made by God. As sparks of grace ignite hearts, listen in as we unravel the implications of mercy seen in acts of forgiveness, as shared in an extraordinary real-life account.
