The Infinite Greatness of God - Part 5
The Book of Romans
Romans 11:22-36
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Prepared July 1, 2021
BACKGROUND:
*Today, we get to the end of Romans 11, and in the last three chapters Paul was led by God's Holy Spirit to discuss the Jews. The big question was: If salvation is by grace through faith in the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ, then, what about the Jews? What about the Jewish nation? And what about the promises that God made to them as a nation?
*These were crucial questions, and the bottom line is that God is going to keep every single one of His promises. Nobody loves the Jews more than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Nobody loves all lost people more than Jesus, and He proved this forever when He died on the cross for our sins. (1)
*That is the big picture in this part of Romans, but another thing that stands out is the infinite greatness of our God. From Romans 9 on, we have already seen many reasons why God is so great, and we will see more reasons today in Romans 11:22-36. Please stand in honor of God's Word as we read this Scripture.
MESSAGE:
*Our God is infinitely great! As Christians, we know this for sure, and there are countless ways to see the greatness of God. We can see it in His perfect goodness. We can also see it in the wonders of the universe He created. And we can see it in His Word.
*Think about the wonders of God's creation. Take our planet for example: The Earth rotates, tilts and orbits to control seasons, days and years. It spins at a thousand miles per hour all day long. At the same time our planet is traveling through space at a thousand miles a minute! We travel 580 million miles around the sun every year, without missing a beat. And we don't even notice it because the Lord's design is so perfect.
*Also think about your heart. It's the size of a fist and weighs about 12 ounces. But in 12 hours your heart does enough work to raise 65 tons an inch off the ground, and it does that all day long every day. (2)
*God wants us to know about His greatness, and creation was just the beginning! Think about all of His other great acts in the Old Testament. For example, Psalm 78 talks about the wonders the Lord showed to Moses and the Children of Israel.
*Verses 12-15 speak of the "marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink in abundance like the depths." Verses 24-25 tell us that God rained down manna, the bread of Heaven for them to eat. Men ate angels' food! He gave them all they could hold.
*Then we get to the New Testament where we see the wondrous miracles of Jesus Christ. He healed the sick and raised the dead. He walked on water and calmed the storms. Jesus even died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead! All of these things reveal the greatness of God. And today's Scripture highlights 4 more ways our God is so great.
1. SO FIRST: WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE GREATNESS OF GOD'S STRICT JUSTICE.
*We can see God's strictness in vs. 22-23. But remember that here the Bible is speaking about two bloodlines of people: The Jews and the Gentiles. The Jewish race basically includes everyone descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Everyone else in the world is a Gentile.
*God's Son Jesus Christ came into the world 2,000 years ago as the long promised Messiah of the Jews. Jesus was born in the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David. Jesus came as the eternal Redeemer, Savior, Prophet, Priest, and King of the Jews. But though many of the Jews received Jesus as their Messiah, the majority of them strongly rejected the Lord. God then turned to the Gentiles in part to provoke His Old Testament people to jealousy.
*Paul talked about this plan back up in vs. 11, where he wrote, "I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles."
*Then starting in vs. 16, Paul used the symbol of an olive tree to explain what happened after the Jews rejected their Messiah Jesus Christ. In vs. 16-23, Paul wrote:
16. For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
18. do not boast against the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19. You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.''
20. Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
22. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
23. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
*It is crucial for us to know that Paul is not speaking about individuals here, but peoples: The Jews and the Gentiles. William McDonald explained: "It must be constantly borne in mind that Paul is not speaking of the church or of individual believers. He is speaking about the Jews and Gentiles as such. Nothing can ever separate the Body of Christ from the Head, and nothing can separate a believer from the love of God, but the Gentile peoples can be removed from their present position of special privilege." (3)
*So, again in vs. 22-23:
22. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
23. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
*In vs. 22, Paul tells us to "consider" or "behold" the "severity" of God. That’s His sternness, His strict justice. Consider the strict justice of our God, and when we do, we see that God is strict toward disbelief. Verse 23 shows us that the Jews' unbelief keeps them away from the goodness or kindness of God.
*The Jews' unbelief keeps them under God's severe justice. But of course, the same thing is true for all individuals, whether Jew or Gentile. God's severe justice is hanging over all unbelievers. And we don’t even like to think about the severity of God. It’s a hard thing to do, but it’s also a good and helpful thing for us to do.
*John Piper said that failing to look at the severity of God is dangerous and unloving. It's like a parent teaching their children how a red-hot eye on the stove is good, because it makes water boil to cook spaghetti or eggs for breakfast, but then never telling your children that the red-hot stove is also very dangerous, and can hurt us very badly.
*The strict justice of God is a profound and dreadful reality. John Piper said: "To speak of God's severity lightly, or not to speak of it at all simply proves that we do not grasp its horror. I know of no one who has overstated the terrors of hell. We can scarcely surpass the horrid images Jesus used: 'Weeping and gnashing of teeth, their worm shall not die, unquenchable fire, eternal fire, eternal punishment,' and 'anguish in the flame.' The point of all these expressions is that we are meant to shudder. We are meant to tremble and feel dread. We are meant to recoil from the horrific reality, not by denying it but by fleeing from it into the arms of Jesus who died to save us from it." (4)
2. WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE GREATNESS OF GOD'S STRICT JUSTICE, AND RECOGNIZE THE GREATNESS OF HIS SCRIPTURE.
*The Word of God is awesome in many amazing ways, and vs. 24-29 show us a few of these ways. First in vs. 24, the Scripture gives us great hope for the Jews. Here Paul spoke to the Gentile Christians, and said, "For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?"
*I love that phrase "how much more." It's the same thing Jesus said about prayer in Matthew 7:11, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" Later in Luke 11:13 Jesus said, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!''
*Our great God is the "how much more" God, and His Word certainly gives an abundance of hope to everybody who will receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.
*But His Word can also give us tremendous wisdom. In vs. 25, Paul said, "For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."
*This one verse tells us that God's Word can overcome our ignorance, reveal great mysteries to us, and protect us from pride. God's Word can give us tremendous wisdom.
*It can even reveal the future to us. In vs. 25-26, Paul said:
25. For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
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."
*Paul is talking about that glorious day in the future at the end of the tribulation, right before the Lord returns to defeat the world’s armies at the Battle of Armageddon, and all of the Jews who are living at that time will turn to the Lord and be saved. This Scripture does not mean that all of the Jews who have ever lived will be saved. Otherwise, Paul wouldn’t have said this about the Jews in vs. 5: "Even so then at this present time also there is a REMNANT according to the election of grace."
*Then in vs. 13-14, Paul said, "I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save SOME of them."
*William Macdonald explained how the Jews will be saved between the rapture and the second coming of Christ. And McDonald said that "Israel's judicial blindness will be removed at the time of the Rapture, but that does not mean that all Israel will be saved right away. Jews will be converted throughout the Tribulation Period. But the entire elect remnant will not be saved until Christ returns to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.
*When Paul says that all Israel will be saved, he means all believing Israel. The unbelieving portion of the nation will be destroyed at the second coming of Christ prophesied in Zechariah 13:8-9." (5)
*There God's Word says:
8. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God."
*It's amazing that the Scripture can reveal the future to us, but it also reveals God's faithfulness to us. So in vs. 26-29, Paul said:
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;
27. For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.''
28. Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
*Our faithful Deliverer, Jesus Christ is coming again! And sometimes His Word can be hard for us to understand, but it can help us more than anything else in this world.
3. WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE GREATNESS OF GOD'S SCRIPTURE, AND RECOGNIZE THE GREATNESS OF HIS SALVATION.
*Now, one of the most awesome keys to God's salvation is His miraculous mercy, and Paul talked about God's mercy in vs. 30-32. Here the Word of God tells us:
30. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,
31. even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
32. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
*The original word for "disobedient" is not talking about all kinds of disobedience. It is talking about the kind of disobedience that comes from stubbornly refusing to believe in Jesus Christ. It is the same original word found in John 3:36, which says, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who DOES NOT BELIEVE the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.''
*That's why I like the KJV of vs. 30-32. There God's Word says:
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.
*The first part of vs. 32 may seem a little strange to us: "God hath concluded them all in unbelief. . ." The original word for "concluded" is the word picture of being closed in on all sides together, like fish caught in a net. And again, "unbelief" here has the idea of obstinate, rebellious, disobedient unbelief.
*That's why the New King James says: "God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all." And the New Living Translation says: "God has imprisoned all people in their own disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone."
*God has caught all people up like fish caught up in a net, caught up in obstinate and rebellious disbelief. But why did God do that? Because it was either that, or not allow us to be born.
*God knew that all of us would be born with Adam’s fallen sin nature. But He loved us enough to allow us to be born anyway, so He could have mercy on us all! The bottom line is that God wants to have mercy on everyone. As Paul said in vs. 32: "God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all."
*The Lord is full of awesome mercy and compassion for anyone who will put their trust in Him. But Jesus Christ is the only way to get God’s mercy. We must trust in Him. We must trust in His crucifixion and in His resurrection. This is what Paul has been trying to tell us in the whole Book of Romans. And that’s why one of the best plans for sharing the Gospel is called the Roman Road.
*It includes Scriptures like Romans 3:20-24:
20. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22. even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
*Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
*Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
*Romans 10:9-10:
9. that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
*And Romans 10:13: "For 'whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.''' God wants to have mercy on all, but Jesus Christ is the only way to receive it.
*Bob Bartlett was an arctic explorer who told about one of his summer expeditions. Bob and his team gathered a selection of native birds to take back home. These birds were kept caged, but they were well cared for during their long trip across the ocean.
*Then one day a restless bird escaped from its cage and took off in flight over the ocean. "Well, that bird is lost," they thought. But much to their surprise, toward the end of the day, they saw that same bird flying right back toward the ship as fast as it could.
*That little bird was exhausted and out of breath as he dropped on the deck of the ship and surrendered himself. Somehow it had realized that the ship wasn’t a prison, but it’s only hope for safety across the deep, wide ocean. And the mercy of Jesus Christ is the only way that anyone can make it all the way to Heaven. (6)
*People must trust in the Lord! And He wants to have mercy on all. But notice that we believers have a part in sharing the mercy of God. We can see this truth in vs. 30-31, where Paul said:
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.
*Remember that at this point, Paul was mainly talking about reaching the Jews for Jesus. So how can we help the Jews? Church: One of the best ways is called "Jews for Jesus." It's a group of Christian Jews who try to reach other Jews all over the world. And they are surely one of the independent mission groups worthy of our support.
4. WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE GREATNESS OF GOD'S SALVATION, AND RECOGNIZE THE GREATNESS OF HIS SUPREMACY.
*Behold the supremacy of our God in vs. 33-36. Here Paul was overcome with awe for our God and he said:
33. Oh, 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 has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?''
35. "Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?''
36. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
*William Barclay explained: "Here Paul's theology turns to poetry. Here the seeking of the mind turns to the adoration of the heart. In the end all must pass out in a mystery that man cannot now understand but at whose heart is the love of God.
*If a man can say that all things come from God, that all things have their being through him, and that all things end in him, what more is left to say? God gave man a mind, and it is man's duty to use that mind to think to the very limit of human thought. But there are also times when that limit is reached, and all that is left is to accept and to adore.
*Paul had wrestled with the heartbreaking problem of his people, the Jews. And he did not say that he had solved it, as one might neatly solve a math problem. Instead, Paul summed up his discussion by trusting in the love and power of God. And at times in our lives there will be nothing left to do but say to God: 'I cannot grasp Your mind, but with all my heart I trust Your love. Thy will be done!'" (7)
CONCLUSION:
*Please join me in prayer as we praise our God for His infinite greatness!
(1) Adapted from "Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament" by - Warren W. Wiersbe - Published by David C. Cook - Colorado Springs, CO - Romans 9:1-33 - - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(2) SermonCentral illustration contributed by Guy McGraw
(3) Adapted from "Believer's Bible Commentary" by William Macdonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Israel's Future - Romans 11:1-36 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(4) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "Behold the Kindness and Severity of God" by John Piper - Romans 11:17-22
(5) Adapted from "Believer's Bible Commentary" by William Macdonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Israel's Future - Romans 11:36 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(6) J. Wallace Hamilton, "Horns and Halos" - Fleming H. Revell - 1954 - Source: "Dynamic Preaching" Sermon "Jesus and the Lake Wobegon Effect" by King Duncan - Luke 4:14-30
(7) Adapted from "Barclay's Daily Bible Study Series - NT" by William Barclay - Revised Edition - Copyright 1975 - First published by the Saint Andrew - Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - "The Cry of the Adoring Heart" - Romans 11:33-36 - https://www.primobibleverses.com/view/william-barclay/the-cry-of-the-adoring-heart-romans-1133-36-8101
