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This Has Always Been God's Way Series
Contributed by Alan Braun on Mar 22, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: A study on the book of Romans
This Always Has Been God’s Way
Chapter 11
Has God cast away His people? No.
God is calling Jews who will come by faith to Him like the Apostle Paul.
The fact that most of the nation is rejected does not mean that the Lord is rejecting the Jews completely as a whole.
V2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.
Remember the story of Elijah:
IKing 19:14-18
14 And he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."
15 Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.
16 "Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.
17 "It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.
18 "Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."
God had elected 7,000 Elijahs so that the promise would continue. Again we see the sovereignty of God in bringing His promises about.
V5 God continued to have, in Paul’s day, a group of children of Israel that would accept Him as Lord and Savior.
V6 How will these people be saved? By grace. It is all God when we come to Him. He was the One that found us.
44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?
62 "What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?
63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
64 "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.
65 And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."
66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
V7 So who really attained all the promise of God? The ones who God chose by His grace to receive it.
V11 Why did God do it this way? It was His way to reach the Gentiles and bring the Jews to jealousy. To show them that they could easily be replaced.
Illustration of tree:
V23 The Jews could come back BUT it would have to be with believe in Christ. God could graft that nation in again to the true Israel.
V25 How long with God hold them back in their hardening? As long as He is pleased to do so.
V26 All Israel is the true Israel made of Jews and Gentiles.
V28 The Jewish people are not responding as yet but they could some day.
V29 When God makes a promise or gives you a gift it is forever.
V30 Gentiles you be extremely overjoyed that this was God’s plan all along or you would be utterly lost.
V33 Only God Himself could have thought of this plan and it is all to His glory alone when people come to accept Him. It was He who woke you up from your sleep of eternal death. WOW!
Eph 2:11-22
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh-- who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands--
12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
