Sermon Brief
Date Written: August 4, 2012
Date Preached: August 5, 2012
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Series Title: A Journey thru Romans
Sermon Title: Gaining Understanding of God’s Choices
Sermon Text: Romans 11:11-24 [NLT]
Introduction:
People make decisions/choices all the time that we don’t understand… our children make choices that break our hearts… our family members make choices that we don’t understand… those we work with make decisions that baffle our minds… the politicians elected to public office make decisions that ENFLAME some and baffle others…
A couple of weeks ago we looked at the 1st part of this chapter and we saw that God was a choosing God… that God had chosen, that God was still choosing and that God’s desire is for you to choose Him… in other words, God has made many decisions and there are MANY of those decisions that we may question or simply do not understand.
There are 2 decisions in nature that I don’t understand about God… 1) the platypus… is it a duck, is it a beaver, is it a bird or is it a mammal… why did God choose make this animal like He did… I will NEVER understand that decision! 2) is the mosquito… REALLY GOD… the mosquito… what purpose does it serve… why would you create such an annoying and dangerous creature?
I don’t understand those 2 things and I will not ever comprehend why God decided to create those two things… but the fact of the matter is that it was God who created the universe and I was NOT brought in as a consultant or advisor! So when I see it from that perspective I know that I am just out of my league when it comes to understanding!
God has blessed humanity with a great deductive mind and the reasoning to understand not only THAT things happen but also WHY they happen as well… but there are still some things that we KNOW but don’t fully comprehend or understand!
From a physical and scientific standpoint there are so very many examples of things we don’t understand and cannot explain…
Such as the bumblebee… with its shape and size of wings it is aerodynamically impossible for the bumblebee to fly, and yet… there it is flying around almost effortlessly pollenating all the flowers around it…and then there is…
Life itself… and how it is beyond explanation: Scientists know the mechanics of how life begins with the egg being fertilized… but how that fertilized egg becomes the human it becomes is beyond our ability to understand!
So if there are things in this physical world that happen and occur and we cannot grasp its reason or how it happens… then why is it when we come upon a spiritual truth from Scripture that we don’t understand… that we feel we MUST simply make an explanation?
Understanding God is about knowing His word, His heart and His plan… Knowing these things come from reading His word and praying everyday for Gods revelation in your heart.
But there is a definite difference between KNOWING a plan and understanding a plan… there are things about God and what God has done and is still doing that we do not understand, and there are many good believers out there that waste so much of their lives trying to explain what cannot be explained… or worse trying to understand what cannot be explained or fully understood!
I believe that we, as humans, question so many of God’s decisions simply because we cannot understand them… we try to see it with our own mind and reason it with our finite understanding, but we cannot!
When it comes to the choices God has made throughout history, there are many choices and decisions He has made that we simply cannot grasp them or understand them…
BUT Before I get started here this morning I want to stress that, as humans, there is absolutely NO WAY that we can fully understand God’s choices!
Isaiah even writes about God telling us that His ways are ABOVE our ways… and HIS thoughts are ABOVE our thoughts! SO…it only stands to reason that HIS CHOICES [or more specifically the purpose of those choices] would also be beyond our full understanding…
With that being said we must realize that we will NEVER fully comprehend God’s choices, but I do believe that through the guidance of God’s word and through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we CAN come to a better understanding of those choices!
I say all of this because this morning we are going to look at a passage of Scripture that is rather difficult and seems to contradict itself or other truths we know of in Scripture… but I want us to look at this passage and come to it from an perspective that we MAY NOT be able to fully comprehend ALL of what God is doing and saying through this Scripture.
I am speaking about Romans 11:11-24 where Paul is speaking TO the Gentile believers in Rome and he is speaking ABOUT the Jewish nation as a whole… These passages can lead some to come to conclusions that contradict what Scripture has to say, so we must do our best to come to a functional and better understanding of what God is saying here in this set of verses…
Let’s look at our Scripture passage this morning…first we are going to look at [Rom 11:11-16 READ NOW]
11Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. 12Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.
13I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, 14for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. 15For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! 16And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.
In this section we find Paul focusing in on the rejection of Israel and how Israel’s rejection of Christ has a greater purpose… and that purpose was so that the Gentiles would come to know Christ as Savior!
Now when we look at this passage we can find Paul using the same literary approach in v11 as he did in v1 of this same chapter. He begins this particular section as he did the beginning of the chapter and that is with an ‘I ask...’ followed up by a rhetorical question that expects a negative answer from those who have heard the question…
The rhetoric of v1-11 COULD lead any reader to jump to the conclusion that God has caused or allowed Israel to stumble and fall… and that seems to be a permanent situation with Israel… it SEEMS as if at this time Israel had no hope of redemption… that they could NOT be redeemed! BUT Paul answers his own question when he writes “May it NEVER be!” NOT AT ALL…
Paul also makes a statement here that probably surprised the Gentiles who heard it… Paul says NOT only was Israel’s fall NOT final or fatal and that they can be redeemed BUT…
Paul goes on to tell the Gentiles that the Jews rejection of Christ carried with it a very positive side effect… THEIR SALVATION! Look what Paul says, “…because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles…” in other words, the Jewish failure to accept Christ opened a door for the Gentiles to know Christ!
This is NOT plan B by God, but it is part of God’s plan from the beginning. We see this played out all throughout Paul’s missionary journeys where he goes to the synagogue 1st and is rejected and then goes to the Gentiles where he is successful!
So the great commission is fulfilled partly by the rejection of Christ by the Jewish people. But God did not stop there… the salvation of the Gentile people was being used OF GOD to make the Jewish nation jealous or envious of what the Gentiles were receiving from God!
This envy was played out in 2 different directions… 1st was the fierce persecution the church suffered at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders, but also it made many of them begin to desire having what they had lost… that close intimate relationship with God!
Paul mentions this back in 10:19 where he is quoting Duet 32:21 that states: “I will make you envious by those who are NOT a nation…” You see God wastes NO opportunities and even sin and moral lapses can be used by God to bring about salvation… giving the passage Rom 8:28 a much deeper meaning for us today!
Clearly this passage is about Israel returning to God and Paul is very concerned for His fellow countrymen, but Paul knows where He is called and that is to minister to the Gentiles! But Paul understands that he can use HIS ministry to the Gentiles as a valuable tool to reach the Jewish nation!
So in v12 Paul says… Hey guys, if you have been given such a wonderful opportunity from God because of Israel’s sin… can you imagine how wonderful it will be when Israel repents and surrenders to God?
In v13-14 Paul stresses this very point to the Gentiles in the Roman church and that they HAVE to understand that there is a deeper purpose to God’s plans, even if they do not understand them.
I believe this was Paul’s revelation of Gods BIG picture… of Gods greater purpose for the salvation of the Gentiles! It was to bring them salvation, BUT it was also to make the Jews jealous and return to God!
However in v15 we find Paul repeating (to a certain extent) what he had written in v12. And when we look at this we can come to a revelation that we may OR may not understand fully… that is that God rejected Israel so that He could accept and receive them at a later time…
In v15 we see God is the central figure from whom all things flow and Paul is telling the Gentile believers that Israel will be saved again… I can only imagine that Paul is thinking about the ‘valley of dry bones’ from the prophet Ezekiel… and how Ezekiel saw a vision of those dry, dead bones come to life by the power of God!
Paul saw a dead and lifeless nation and he knew that God could revive that nation IN JESUS CHRIST! God was going to restore the nation as he gives us 2 separate illustrations… 1st is the bread dough… and 2nd is the root, tree and the branches…
You see because Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were set apart by God (holy) God’s blessings were on the nation of Israel as a whole… now we must understand that this did NOT apply to EVERY single Jew being saved, but that as a nation they were ALWAYS going to be special to Him.
They were set apart BY God to bless the world… that was God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Now there must have been some dissention within the Roman church and it must have been a problem that started with the Gentile believers. Pauls comments here are directed toward the Gentile believers and his warning is directed toward the Gentile believers.
The 2nd section we are going to look at is found in Romans 11:17-24 where God has removed many Jewish branches from the olive tree and has replaced them with the ‘grafted in’ Gentile branches…
17But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. 19“Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” 20Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. 21For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. 22Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. 23And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. 24 You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.
In using the metaphor of the olive tree Paul tells the Gentile believers that God has chosen Israel and ISRAEL is the tree… Paul tells the Gentiles that they were grafted in (the wild branch)
What is interesting is that when grafting in a branch, it is NEVER the wild being grafted into the domestic… but the domestic is grafted into another domestic. Wild olive trees did NOT produce what the domesticated olive tree could produce, so WHY would someone graft in an unproductive branch?
Well this is a decision that God made that many have NOT understood, but here Paul is warning the Gentiles to NOT read too much into this from their perspective!
YES, God had rejected Israel because of their rejection of Jesus… and YES God had opened up the door for salvation to the Gentile… BUT what Paul is saying here is that our understanding of this choice by God must be that God chose out of HIS will and HIS purpose and NOT because we deserved it or had earned HIS favor!
Basically Paul is telling the Gentile believers to not think too highly of themselves, because just as God had disciplined and rejected Israel because of their disobedience… they TOO could be disciplined like Israel!
Here Paul is saying that the proper response to God’s choice of saving them is NOT pride that God has chosen them, but one of responsibility of honoring God’s choices by living as God has called us to live! Don’t be arrogant is what Paul is telling these believers.
Now the basic truth that Paul was getting across here was that this was God’s choosing and had NOTHING to do with Israel or the Gentiles… for you see Israel was chosen out of God’s grace AND the Gentiles were also chosen out of God’s loving grace as well!
Paul was telling those who thought that they somehow deserved what God was providing that those who think that highly of themselves and those who depend on their own status and/or merit are going to fall… but that ONLY GOD can provide salvation!
Paul’s position was that Israel had rejected God and God had rejected them, but his purpose for rejecting Israel was to open the door for the Gentiles! This does not mean that God loves the Jews MORE than the Gentiles, but it means that God CHOSE to work this way! God chose to do things in this fashion…in this order!
And while Israel had lost its place and they could do nothing to regain that place… God was able and willing to graft them BACK into the tree…
So God’s choice of choosing Israel as His people may not be understood by many… but here is something we ALL can understand about God’s choices… God CHOSE to send Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, died on a cross and raised again to life, victorious over death and grave so that we can know salvation!
God chose to do this so that ALL could know him as Lord and Savior… YES God chose Israel first… but we also know that God chose the Gentiles for salvation too! There is NO room for pride from any of us!
Today I see many believers looking down their noses at the lost. Just this past week we had a national incident over homosexual marriage… I would dare guess that many of the professing believers who showed up at Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday saw this from an US vs THEM mentality!
This is definitely what the world sees… but I want us to know that there is NO room in Christianity for us to feel or act like that… this is NOT us vs them! This is us knowing the truth and needing to live it out and reveal it in a way that they come to know the truth too!
This is NOT about winning a cultural argument over homosexuality… this is about sharing the love of Christ with those around you!
Now I want you to know that I WAS at Chk Fil A this past Wednesday, but it was NOT a statement AGAINST homosexual marriage (although I am against it) my participation in this event was simple… I did it to express my desire that both sides are able to speak… that both sides are given civility and an ear…
I want those in the world to see that even though we can and DO disagree with them, we still love them and we will accept them into our fellowship when they receive Christ!
I disagree totally with the homosexual movement and lifestyle as it is entirely against God’s word, but just because I disagree does NOT mean that I hate them or am afraid of them… I am NOT homophobic… I am NOT a hate monger… and I do NOT believe that I am better than anyone of them!
The message I want to send is that God loves them, and God desires to know them as His children. I am NOT here to be the Holy Spirit and judge them… I am here to love and witness to them!
For those of you here today who have professed Jesus Christ as Savior… this message is FOR YOU! Stop having a condescending heart toward those who are lost… it doesn’t matter WHY they are lost or HOW they are living…what matters is WHO they need to know! AND YOU ARE the one to reveal that to them!
We may not fully understand all of God’s choices, but we can know that God has chosen us to reach the world… We may not understand WHY we have been chosen, but this is God’s word… we have been chosen to go forth and make disciples!
So where are you today? Are you busy judging and comparing yourself to the world… are you so busy condemning the sin of others that you miss out on the opportunity to share the ONE who can deliver them from their sin!
I think that there are those believers out there that ACTUALLY think and believe that some people just don’t deserve God… that they have made too many bad choices… that God just doesn’t care about them anymore! That is a lie straight from the heart of Satan...
God loves His creation and wants ALL to know Him and be saved… It is on us to share God’s love to those who have rejected Him… and to keep sharing that love until God calls us home!
This morning you have seen how Paul has detailed Israel’s called status and how they rejected God and God rejected them for their disbelief… you have also seen how God used that situation to bring salvation to the Gentiles…
It was NOT because God loved the Jews MORE, but this was simply HIS choice on how to do things… That choice brought salvation to our lives and today we can know salvation because God has said in His word that if we call on Him with a confessing heart, that He will save us!
This morning if you want to know Christ as Savior… I urge you to step out and come pray with me…
If you are here today and God is leading you to make another decision… I ask you to step out bring that decision to the altar… God is waiting here for you!
As Bro Ken comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation I call on you to step out and come… would you please stand as we sing!
