By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text: Romans
11:1-24
Romans 11:1
I ask, then, has
God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a
descendant of Abraham,[a] a member of the tribe
of Benjamin.
(ESV)
In the previous chapter
of Romans, Scripture established that salvation from sin was for all (Romans
10). In Romans
11:1-24, Paul deals with the belief that God has rejected the Jews because they
rejected Jesus and God replaced them with the Church. Such a belief would go
against the availability of salvation to all with Paul’s teaching in this
section pointing out that God has not rejected the Jews and replaced them with
the Gentiles but has instead extended salvation to Jews and Gentiles through
Christ. Jew and Gentile can be grafted to the root of Christ through belief in
Jesus as Lord.
Paul begins this text by
asking the question of whether God has rejected the Jews and answering the
question with an emphatic no citing his being a believer and a Jew (Romans
11:1). The text elaborates further by looking at the example of Elijah who
believed he was the only one left in Israel that followed God (Romans
11:2-3). God responds to Elijah by telling him of the existence of a
remnant in Israel of seven thousand who had not bowed in worship to Baal (Romans
11:4). Paul then brings the narrative back to his time, letting the reader
know there is a remnant of grace, including himself, among the Jews during his
time (Romans
11:5). However, if this is a remnant of grace, it is no longer based upon
one’s works for that would make grace unnecessary (Romans
11:6).
Paul then asks another
question, if Israel has failed to obtain what it was seeking with the elect
remnant receiving it with the others hardened (Romans
11:7). God has deafened and blinded his people spiritually, with them
wandering in a state of spiritual stupor that was still present in the time of
Paul writing the book of Romans (Deuteronomy
29:4; Isaiah 29:10; Romans 11:8). David also stated that their table had
become a snare, trap, stumbling block, and retribution for them with their eyes
darkened so they cannot see (Psalm
69:22-23; Romans 11:9-10). When Jesus entered the Temple and overturned the
tables, he told them He was doing it because they had turned His Father’s House
into a den of thieves (Matthew
21:12-13).
The stumbling of the Jews
over Jesus has the benefit of bringing salvation to the Gentiles to make Israel
jealous (Romans
11:11). If the trespass of this stumbling over Jesus brings the riches of
salvation to the world, how much more will the Jews full inclusion mean (Romans
11:12). Paul then gives insight into the purpose of his ministry to bring the
Gospel message to the Gentiles to save some of his fellow Jews by making them
jealous (Romans
11:13-14). Paul then states that the Jews rejection of Jesus, bringing
salvation to the Gentiles brings reconciliation to God for the world. Jewish
acceptance after their rejection will mean resurrection from the dead (Romans
11:15). If the dough, Jesus, is holy so is the whole lump of those
connected to the dough of first fruits, the rood that is holy with any branch
connected to the root also holy (Romans
11:16).
Paul then cautions Gentiles
not to become arrogant toward the Jewish branches that have broken off from the
root, Jesus, due to their rejection of Him as Messiah because it is not the
branches that nourish the root but the rood nourishing the branches (Romans
11:17-18). Gentiles believing in Jesus are grafted onto the root, Jesus,
through grace with no reason to boast (Ephesians
2:8-9; Romans 11:19-20). Pride can lead to God rejecting the newly grafted branches
just like the Jews were rejected for their rejection of Christ (Romans
11:21). God is both severe and kind, severe to both Jews and Gentiles who
have fallen through rejection of Christ or arrogance in Christ, and kind to
those continuing in grace (Romans
11:22). Those branches that have broken off from the root can be grafted
back in if they choose to believe (Romans
11:23). If God chose to graft in wild branches, Gentiles, why would he not
regraft in the natural branches, Jews, choosing to believe in Jesus as their
Messiah (Romans
11:24).
In Romans
10:5-21, Scripture determined that the message of salvation was for all.
For God to reject the Jews without providing a chance for salvation would mean
the Jews were not included in salvation for all. We know God cannot lie so even
though the Jews have disconnected from the root of God’s salvation through
their rejection of Jesus Christ as their Messiah, they can still come back to
God through repentance, something the nation of Israel has done many times in
their history. There is therefore no such thing as replacement theology, the
belief that the Church has replaced the Jews in God’s plan, but instead, there
is an opportunity for all to reconcile with God by accepting Jesus as their
savior. This is how anyone, Jew or Gentile, grafts their wild sinful branch (Romans
3:23) onto the root of salvation, Jesus Christ.
This opportunity to reconcile with God is available to all because
it is a gift from God according to His grace or unmerited favor (Ephesians
2:8-9; Romans 6:23). One receives this gift by confessing with their
mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in their heart that God raised Jesus
from the Dead. If you are reading this and have not confessed Jesus as Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, I invite you to do
so by praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
No matter your
nationality, your gender, your race, or what you have done in your life, the
mercy and grace of God has now saved you from your sins if you just prayed with
belief in Jesus as your resurrected Lord. I encourage all that just prayed to
find a local Church teaching the Bible and become involved to begin the study
of the Word of God and association with other believers. I also encourage you
to let someone know about your decision, especially anyone you know who has
been praying for you. May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.
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