Conspiracy of Grace
Romans 11:1-12
Intro: Have you ever read or studied up on some of the conspiracy theories people have these days? There are those who believe that we never did land on the moon. It was all fabricated by our govt. Also, there are some who believe that the 9/11 attack on the twin towers was all planned by the govt. to justify going to war. Some believe the assassination of JFK was all part of a govt. conspiracy (along with several other political assassinations). Others believe that Princess Diana was murdered by the royal family. Still others are certain the govt. is hiding evidence of UFO’s and other evidence of extra-terrestrial life. And of course, there are numerous conspiracies about the Bible. Some claim that Jesus really had a wife, Mary Magdalene, and children, that a group such as the Priory of Sion has secret information about the bloodline of Jesus, that Jesus did not die on the cross, that there was a secret movement to censor books that belonged in the Bible, or the Christ myth theory, portrayed in the novel The Da Vinci Code. If you want to believe a conspiracy theory, take your pick. There are plenty of them out there.
-The fact is a major conspiracy is going on all around the world. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have been conspiring since before time began to save the people of this world from being lost forever without hope or life with God. It is a conspiracy designed to break people free from the bondage of their sins and turn their hearts back to God! This conspiracy is so simple that the intellectuals often miss it. It is so free that the wealthy often overlook it, seeing it as having little value. But for those who are broken and beaten down by life and by those more powerful, they sometimes become victims of this conspiracy – victims of grace! They get swallowed up by the mercy of God and find His forgiveness and peace – poor deluded souls that they are. Some of them even find that this conspiracy removes their need to escape life through drugs, alcohol, or sexual addictions.
-Yep! There sure is a conspiracy. But our God is conspiring for us, not against us! As we continue through Romans, ch.11 gives us a glimpse of God’s conspiracy for this world. More specifically, we can see God’s conspiracy to bring His chosen people, the Jews into right relationship with Him through Jesus His Son. So let’s look a little deeper into this conspiracy of grace in Romans 11:1-12.
I. The Riddle of Divine Rejection (1a)
1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!
-Did God reject Israel? Is that why so many Jews do not believe that the Messiah has come? Does God reject those who reject Him? Paul answers NO very quickly, but it helps us if we know what he is getting at in these verses.
-God had not rejected the nation of Israel as a whole, but many Jews have and will miss God’s grace, as will many Gentiles. In Rom. 1:16 he says the good news about Jesus is the power of God for all who believe – both Jew and Gentile. In another place Paul speaks about the good news about Jesus being spread through believers like a fragrance. To those who reject God it is the smell of death, but to those who are being saved it is the fragrance of life! So, does God reject those who reject Him? Based on several verses in the Bible I have to say yes, if they continue in their unbelief and reject the one true God. Paul would say the same. But God has not rejected Israel as a whole. He still has plans for them.
-If you’re asking, “Have I been rejected by God?” let me encourage you with these words – NOT YET! Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved! If you call on the Lord in faith, He will accept you by His grace! However, if you put it off and just let things ride, nobody can promise you tomorrow! The Bible says now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation! God has been working in your life from day one to show you who He is and to draw you to Himself. He is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance!
II. The Provision of Divine Preservation (1b-6)
I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah-- how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"? 4 And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
-God always has a remnant who will remain true to Him! Paul is not saying that every Jew will be saved. How we wish it were true! He is saying that God has not cast Israel aside but still has plans for them as a nation and as His chosen people.
-There were always those among the Israelites who missed out with God. Throughout Israel’s history there were many who rejected God and His ways and did not trust Him and died in their sins. Yet there were always some who continued to trust God. They remained faithful to Him and He preserved them for Himself by His grace.
-As Paul wrote this book to the Roman church, he said that there was currently a remnant chosen by grace. They weren’t chosen because they obeyed all the law or had somehow earned God’s favor. Many Jews tried to earn God’s favor by avoiding disobedience to God’s law. But they did not come near to God with their hearts. It was all external, and it was a far cry from living by faith in God.
-So, much of Israel missed God’s grace, but watch how God used their rejection of Him and His Son to bring His grace to many more people.
III. The Surprising Strategy of God’s Grace (7-11)
7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, 8 as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day." 9 And David says: "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. 10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever." 11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
-Does it seem strange to you that God would use our weaknesses to bring us to Him? Paul says this was the case with the Jews. God offered His salvation freely to Gentiles in order to make Israel envious. Envy is usually not a good thing because it is usually rooted in selfishness. However, when it comes to living in God’s favor and knowing Him and being known by Him, that is something worth being envious over!
-Christians, those around you should never have to feel sorry for you for being a Christian. They should be envious because you have found peace with God! They should long for what you have! We must not keep it to ourselves or get all puffed up as if we were something special. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved! Someone described sharing our faith like this: one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread! So there is no room for being smug or self-righteous. Paul addresses this a little later in ch.11. But for the grace of God, there go I!
-So, what now? Live the life God has called you to live! You’ve been declared righteous before God! You have peace with Him through Jesus! Your guilt is gone. You are a new creation! The baggage from the past has been forgiven. The bondages which once held you have been broken! If you have called on the name of the Lord, you have been saved from the power of sin and death! Live it out loud! Your life is supposed to be on display! Just be yourself – the one who has a new identity and a new beginning in Christ! Don’t put on airs or pretend to be something you’re not, but live like the forgiven, grace-filled child of God that you are! God will use your contagious Christian life to draw others to Himself.
IV. The Reverberating Riches of Being Right with God! (12)
12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
-I long to see the day when Israel as a whole turns to God. While there are many devout Jews today who hold to the God of the OT, there are many more who are atheistic or perhaps agnostic in their beliefs. Like so many today they have trouble believing in a God who would allow the horrible things to happen that have taken place on this planet. So they make a choice to reject all higher powers and become their own little god. Imagine the time when all of Israel begins to see God’s hand at work in their lives and in their nation to such an extent that they will no longer be able to deny His existence! Imagine a time when Jews all over this earth begin to call on the name of the Lord and be saved!
-If the Gentile world has become recipients of God’s grace, resulting from Israel’s blanket rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, then they have been blessed tremendously! Remember God’s promise to Abraham? Genesis 22:18 “…through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Well, if the world has been blessed through their rejection of the good news about Jesus, how much more will the world be blessed by their acceptance of Jesus?
-I think we can apply this to our own lives as well. Never underestimate the impact your grace-filled life has on those around you! Don’t you know that you are one of the places where God lives? God is making Himself known through your life! You are His living temple. Listen to this! Ephesians 2:19-22 19 … you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
-You are so much more than meals on wheels – You are a church on legs! God lives in you and is reaching out through your life to those around you! Some people get all excited about certain geographical areas where God’s glory seems to come down stronger than in other areas (heavenly portals). But according to the Bible, there is a heavenly portal right over you – if you have called on the name of the Lord! We have the heavenly treasure of the glory of God contained in earthen vessels – imperfect bodies made of clay. Together, we are the people, we are the place where the glory of God comes down to this earth! Is that not incredible? Is that not amazing! God uses the weak and foolish things of this world to shout the greatest message this world will ever hear! There is a God who loves them! There is a God who wants them for His very own! He is a reachable God because He has reached down to mankind through Jesus His Son and has provided everything we need for life and Godliness! It is through faith in Him that we get in on this amazing grace that He offers as a free gift! Life with Him that lasts forever!
-What effect does your life have on others? If the life of God is in you through faith in Jesus, there will be a ripple effect and more! The riches of God’s grace in your life are powerful enough to reverberate through your family, your neighborhood, your workplace, your friendships, your church family, your community!
-I can’t help but think of Paul’s words to a different church. NLT Galatians 2:20 “I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Jesus wants to live through me, but that means that the old me needs to stay dead! If the old me is allowed to rise up and take over, then nobody will be blessed through my life. However, if Jesus lives through me, then His glory, His character, His presence will be enough to reach people around me with His grace!
Close: So, where do you stand in this conspiracy of grace? Nobody wants to be duped by something that isn’t true, but what part of God’s grace do you have a problem with? Is there something that does not seem to add up? We can always come up with questions that seem to have no answers, just like there will always be conspiracy theories. The real question comes down to this: Who are you going to trust? Wait and see is not a great response to God’s grace because it reflects unbelief. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Wait and see does not bring you the heart change or life change that God has for you right now! For your sake I plead with you to put your trust in Jesus, asking Him to forgive you and make you clean and new on the inside.
-Now for the sake of others, I also ask you to consider the level of your surrender to God. Are you living in God’s favor and doing life with Him? Maybe you’ve prayed the prayer and have trusted Him for your forgiveness, but are you doing life with Him? Are you living a surrendered life? If people cannot see Jesus in you, it is not because He’s not available. Some of you might have invited Him in, but like the church in Laodicea, you apparently kicked Him out again. Revelation 3:20 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” He wouldn’t have to knock if He was on the inside!
-So today, I ask you, whether it’s for the first time or the 10th time, will you make things right with God? Will you invite Jesus to come and live in and through you? He has not rejected you. Please be sure you are not rejecting Him!
