Ep. 300. Romans 11 | Grafted In

EPISODE 300

GRAFTED IN: ROMANS 11

Paul, anticipating the question that has been building in his readers over the previous two chapters, says, "I ask, then, has God rejected his People? By no means!" Paul offers his salvation as proof that the Jews, as a whole, have not been cut off from Christ. There is still a remnant, Paul says, of the Jews who have come to put their faith in Christ. But the rest were hardened. This was for the sake of the Gospel. If the Jews had believed en masse, then they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory, and there would be no salvation for the world. And this salvation "Is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace."

"Did they [the Jews] stumble so they might fall [be destroyed]?" Of course not. It was so that the Gentiles could come to faith. God, in his benevolent mercy, hardened the Jews so they would crucify their Messiah so that the world could be saved through him. That mercy to the Gentiles does not give us room to boast ourselves over the Jews, for the "Gifts and calling of God [on the Jews] is irrevocable." God will, in his mercy, bring them to Jesus's truth. God has "Consigned all [Jews and Gentiles] to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all [Jews and Gentiles]." There is that word "all" again. Please don't lose sight of what it meant in the opening pages of Romans. It is not meant to say every single individual will be saved, but that salvation isn't for the Jew alone but also for the Gentile. Keep in mind that the language of this book is about nations of people and not individual members of those nations, though you and I are certainly individual members of one of those two groups, either Jews or Gentiles.

ADDITIONAL READING: 1 Kings 19:10-19; 1 Corinthians 2:8; Deuteronomy 29:4; Psalm 69:22-23; Numbers 15:17-21; Isaiah 59:20; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-29; Isaiah 40:13; Job 41:11