Romans 11:11-15 Ours To Do: Be Saved by God
The Text
Romans 11:11–32 (CSB)
11 I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.12 Now if their transgression brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness bring!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Insofar as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
14 if I might somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them.
15 For if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
The Introduction
Since we have departed Romans 8, I have worked diligently to counter the mistake and the assumption that Romans 9-11 is reserved just for Israel. Let me remind you that Romans 9-11 is in context of Romans 1-8, and Romans 8. Two, that all Scriptures are God ordained (literally, God breathed) and profitable for teaching.
As we finish the heavy doctrinal position of Romans 1 through 11, let us continue to see the glory of God and who He is.
Our God
The gospel of Christ is perfectly this: God does it all and we do nothing but receive. And just like every Trinitarian analogy fails to properly teach the doctrine of Trinity, so too that every analogy of the salvation of God fails in a certain way. But I don't think it is the teaching but rather the listener is at fault.
Because I will say "God does everything to save his people from their sins" and the listening (you and me) will politely nod their heads but in their mind and hearts will instantly think:
- Of course, we have to choose God
- Of course, we have to raise our hearts to receive
- Of course, we have to decide God
But if you have gained nothing from reading the Bible and nothing from every word I have written and preached and taught, it is this:
God must remake you into a new creation before you can choose, believe, trust, obey God and repent of your sins.
You are doing the choosing, the raising of our hearts, the opening of our hands to receive, and the deciding. But you had to be a supernaturally, radically different person on the inside in order to see the kingdom of God.
Or to sum up using the words of Christ, "You must be born again." (John 3:3)
So this is why I am calling this series (Romans 11:11 to 16) "Ours to Do". This is to drive the point home that God must do everything before we can even start to do anything--the thing we were suppose to do by being in him--namely, love God and love our neighbor.
11 I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.
Ours To Do: Be Made Jealous by God
In Romans 9 to 11 is, in one way, an expository sermon of the book of Exodus. And let me tell you why. Paul explicitly preaches this in Romans 9:
Romans 9:17 (CSB) For the Scripture tells Pharaoh, I raised you up for this reason so that I may display my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in the whole earth.
In the glory and provision of God in saving his people, God has mysteriously chosen to give the Pharaoh over to his own depravity. (Romans 1:18-32)
In contrast to Israel, those whom he has rescued from slavery to the Pharaoh, he has not harden their hearts but rather set jealousy in their hearts. How? By giving the gospel offering of salvation to people like the Egyptians and the rest of the world.
Any Jewish person reading that should be aghast at that statement if they stop and think about it.
In this same way, any Gentile should also be aghast. I think that is what culture calls, "mind is blown." For God:
Romans 9:18 (CSB) So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
It is the pure, unadulterated mercies of God that he did not harden the hearts of the Jewish people but rather, made them jealous.
In the same breath, it is the pure, unadulterated mercies of God that he has not harden our hearts but rather, saw us in our own depravity and wickedness, just like Pharaoh, but instead, gave us mercy.
God is merciful and compassionate.
12 Now if their transgression brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness bring!
Ours To Do: Be Made Full By God
No one should be surprised by this at all. Especially not the Jews. God has always offered salvation to Jew and Gentile alike. Zipporah, the wife of Moses, and her father, Reuel, were Midianites--distinctly not Jewish. That should have been the first clue. And then we have Salmon marrying Rahab and Boaz marrying Ruth in the direct lineage of King David. That is the second clue.
But what is hard to bite: that the Jewish people failed. But what is harder to bite: that mankind has failed. This has started with Adam who failed to keep the covenant between him and God. Adam would have lived forever in righteousness, freedom, and peace with God if Adam obeyed God. Adam had the heart and the will to obey God but failed.
And every person since Adam has failed except for one. And every Jew has failed since Abraham except one. Jesus Christ, Son of God, who is God, the twice Son of David, did exactly what Adam and every other person born of man failed to do: perfectly loving God and loving everybody.
The failure of the Jews is redeemed by Christ. That means our failures are still there but they means something good because of Christ.
how much more will their fullness bring!
Many have built entire eschatologies in trying to explain what this means. They would go as far as to heretically, and in grave error, suggest that every Jew will be saved by God in the end. But that is not so because only those Jews those whom he foreknew and therefore, saved. (Romans 11:2-5)
We are not saved by God because of our sinful racist views. For:
John 1:12-13 (CSB) But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
We are saved by God and God alone.
The Gospel
13-14 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Insofar as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if I might somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them.
Ours To Do: To Receive the Gospel of God
This was not Paul's decision to minister to the Gentiles but the good works that God prepared for him ahead of time (Ephesians 2:10). For:
Acts 9:15-16 (CSB) But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
If you are a Gentile Christian reading this today, it is because of Christ's predestined good work for Paul to minister to the Gentiles over 2000 years ago that you and I get to gather together and worship God today. Think about the power, grace, compassion, love, and mercies of God for our lives. He alone is worthy.
The gospel is this: God saves sinners. And the gospel is in the power of God in salvation: that God has sent his Son, Jesus Christ, Son of God, who is God, to live and in die in place for sinners so that we might live and be at peace with God our Father forever.
And that power in salvation of God was for Jew and Gentile alike:
Romans 1:16 (CSB) For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.
Our Response
15 For if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
Ours To Do: Be Saved by God
Titus 3:3-5 (CSB) For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
John 1:18 (CSB) No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
John 3:16 (CSB) For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Ours is not to do. The Messiah has been revealed and his name is Jesus Christ. He has done it all and did so perfectly, fulfillment and to glory. And we as his people need to sit and be saved. We now know the path to life, we get to sit in his fullness where there is only the fulness of joy and we get to sit at his right hand with Christ where there can only be pleasures evermore.
Romans 1:17 (CSB) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
God has revealed his righteousness and his name is Christ Jesus. That faith has been given to us. Now, go and live with faith in the Son of God who has loved us and gave himself up for us.
Amen