Romans 11 - Faithfulness to the Unfaithful
Put your problems into perspective by being reminded of the amazing faithfulness and glory of our covenant God.
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Romans 11 (ESV)
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people?
By no means!
For I myself am an Israelite,
a descendant of Abraham,
a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God has not rejected
his people
whom he foreknew.
Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
3 “Lord,
they have killed your prophets,
they have demolished your altars,
and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
4 But what is God’s reply to him?
“I have kept for myself
seven thousand men
who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5 So too at the present time
there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
6 But if it is by grace,
it is no longer on the basis of works;
otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking.
The elect obtained it,
but the rest were hardened,
8 as it is written,
“God gave them
a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“Let their table become
a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall?
By no means! Rather,
through their trespass
salvation has come
to the Gentiles,
so as to make Israel jealous.
12 Now
if their trespass means riches for the world,
and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles,
how much more will their full inclusion mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles.
Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles,
I magnify my ministry
14 in order
somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous,
and thus save some of them.
15 For
if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world,
what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump,
and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off,
and you,
although a wild olive shoot,
were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,
18 do not be arrogant toward the branches.
If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”
20 That is true.
They were broken off because of their unbelief,
but you stand fast through faith.
So do not become proud, but fear.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches,
neither will he spare you.
22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God:
severity toward those who have fallen,
but God’s kindness to you,
provided you continue in his kindness.
Otherwise you too will be cut off.
23 And even they,
if they do not continue in their unbelief,
will be grafted in,
for God has the power to graft them in again.
24 For
if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree,
and grafted,
contrary to nature,
into a cultivated olive tree,
how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:
a partial hardening has come
upon Israel,
until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And in this way
all Israel will be saved,
as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
28 As regards the gospel,
they are enemies for your sake.
But as regards election,
they are beloved
for the sake of their forefathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For just as you
were at one time disobedient to God
but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,
31 so they too
have now been disobedient
in order that
by the mercy shown to you
they also may now receive mercy.
32 For God
has consigned all to disobedience,
that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth
of the riches
and wisdom
and knowledge
of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments
and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For
who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or
who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
36 For
from him
and through him
and to him
are all things.
To him be glory forever.
Amen.
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Romans 11 Summary
Romans 9-11 are some of the most difficult chapters in the Bible, as Paul struggles to understand why it is that God's people Israel rejected Christ. He concludes this section with some important points:
God did not reject His people, rather He's preserved a remnant, just as He did all through the Old Testament.
Although Israel sought righteousness, they failed to obtain it and now have become blind to it.
Israel fell so that the Gentiles might be let in, and the Gentiles have been let in to provoke Israel to jealosy so that they seek to return to their God.
Paul compares salvation to a orchard tree: some branches are pruned while others are grafted in.
This chapter seems to indicate that the door is still open for the Jews. Verse 26 is among the most difficult in the Bible to interpret. See last year's Dig Deeper post for interpretive options.
Dig Deeper
Chapters 9-11 are theologically overwhelming at times! If you've found yourself confused or frustrated in reading through them, take time to soak in this doxology (words of praise & glory), as you're reminded of God's greatness and sovereignty that extends past your ability to fully understand it.
Oh, the depth
of the riches
and wisdom
and knowledge
of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments
and how inscrutable his ways!
“For
who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or
who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
For
from him
and through him
and to him
are all things.
To him be glory forever.
Amen.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose riches, wisdom, and knowledge are deep beyond measure (v33)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God will strengthen you to continue in His kindness (v22)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
