VANTAGE POINT: ROMANS

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1 INTRODUCTION: After Paul s reaches the SUMMIT of GRACE, we would expect the theological part of Romans to move to applying this theology to Christian living but Paul doesn t immediately do that Instead, Paul spends chapters 9-11 explaining Israel s position in the New Covenant that God has extended to all men It s obvious from the reading of Acts and the letters of Paul that the Jews are not responding to the gospel The Gentiles on the other hand are responding by the hundreds and at the time of the writing of the Book of Romans, the Church is becoming largely Gentile If the Church is largely Gentile, what does that mean for Israel? Didn t God promise to send Messiah to Israel? Didn t God promise to deliver, bless and glorify Israel in the coming Kingdom? How can that promise be fulfilled in a church that is mostly Gentile? God seems to have promised one thing and has done another In chapters 9-11 Paul is answering the questions that believing Jews are asking concerning God s Word to them Paul wants the reader to understand how God s work amongst the Gentiles through Jesus is perfectly in alignment with the Old Testament promises As a general outline Chapter 9 deals with God s past dealings with Israel Chapter 10 deals with God s present dealings with Israel Chapter 11 deals with God s future dealings with Israel Romans 9:1 5 (NKJV) 9 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. At the time of this writing, Paul is being accused of being an enemy and a traitor to his own people

2 In Acts 23:12, we are told that certain Jews banded together and vowed to neither eat nor drink until they killed Paul So Paul is saying listen, I am telling you the truth I m not lying, I don t hate my own people, my conscience is clean because what I am saying is coming from the Holy Spirit Then he begins by saying all the covenants and promises made to Israel by God are eternally blessed Messiah has come to Israel and all the Covenants and Promises are still in effect This is a key truth for us today God is not done with Israel There is a doctrine called Replacement Theology Replacement Theology teaches the Church has replaced Israel in God s plan and thus the Jews are no longer God s chosen people and God is finished with Israel A variation of this is Covenant Theology that teaches the Church is Israel and Israel is the Church because Israel is constituted by God s people regardless if they are Jew or Gentile Another teaching that often accompanies these theological camps is dispensational premillennial dispensationalism which looks at history based on a number of periods of times referred to as dispensations They would say that we are in the dispensation known as the Church Age and they see a strict division between God s spiritual people (CHURCH) and His physical people (JEWS) In the Millennium Dispensation when Christ reigns, the Church will reign in the place of Israel who is apostate. All three of these doctrines are against Paul s teaching concerning Israel Paul says Israel is God s chosen people and His promises and covenants are in effect for eternity God made an everlasting Covenant with Abraham Romans 9:6 8 (NKJV) 6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, In Isaac your seed shall be called. 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. Paul says no all who are of Israel are the real Israel

3 What does Paul mean? If Jesus is Messiah, then why aren t the Jews wholeheartedly receiving Messiah since they are the elect nation of God? Is this a failure on God s part? Paul is saying NO in every generation there has always been a remnant that has remained faithful to God the true Israel But Paul speaks of the seed of Abraham and the child of promise what does he mean? Romans 9:9 13 (NKJV) 9 For this is the word of promise: At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. 10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, The older shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. The children of promise are not those who believed Issac did not believe before he was born Issac was the promised seed, the child of promise the one that God chose or elected Now it s important that we understand what is meant by election In Vs. 11 Paul makes the connection between election and the purpose of God Election and calling are not referring to salvation, but God s purpose Vs. 13 God chose not to use the first born son according to the law and tradition God used the youngest Jacob (Issac) for His purpose Now a lot of people read vs. 13 and wonder why did God hate Esau? But I want to ask a different question why did God love Jacob? It s easy to see why Esau could be hated He was a proud, godless man and from him came a nation of people who turned their backs on God But what did Jacob to do deserve God s love? NOTHING Jacob is a picture of GRACE Romans 9:14 16 (NKJV)

4 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. God exercises FREE WILL He does what He wants He is not obligated to do anything for anyone People who say to God you owe me, look at what I ve done for you God doesn t owe you anything God doesn t show you grace because you ve decided to receive it (wills) God doesn t show you grace because you re working to get it (runs) God of His own FREE WILL shows mercy Romans 9:17 18 (NKJV) 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. Notice God s purpose for Pharaoh to show God s power and that His name may be declared in all the earth That s what God wanted to accomplish, how it was accomplished was up to Pharaoh Now there are those who say Pharaoh did not have a choice God hardened His heart The truth is we read the Pharaoh hardened His heart, hardened His heart and then God hardened His heart In other words, God made His decision permanent God made permanent what Pharaoh wanted to do Reformed Theology says that God predetermines who goes to hell and who goes to heaven God doesn t predetermine that anyone should perish God loves you and if you really want to end up in hell, then as a loving Father He will give you what you want Romans 9:19 21 (NKJV)

5 19 You will say to me then, Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will? 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, Why have you made me like this? 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? Paul uses a hypothetical question to address a common teaching in the Midrash concerning the potter and the clay in Jeremiah 18:6 IN THE MIDRASH WE READ: What is the meaning of We are the clay, and Thou our potter? Israel said: Lord of the universe! Thou hast caused it to be written for us: Behold, as the clay in the potter s hand, so are ye in My hand, O house of Israel! (Jeremiah 18:6); for this reason, do not depart from us though we sin and provoke Thee, for we are but the clay and Thou art our potter. See now, if the potter makes a jar and leaves therein a pebble, then when it comes out of the furnace it will leak from the hold left by the pebble and lose any liquid poured into it. Now what caused the jar to leak and thus to lose any liquid placed therein? The potter who left the pebble therein. This was how Israel pleaded before God: Lord of the universe! Thou hast created in us an Evil Inclination from our youth, for it says, For the imagination of man s heart is evil from his youth (Genesis 8:21), and it is that which has caused us now to sin, for Thou has not removed from us the instigator to sin. The Jews blamed God for their sin nature So how can God judge Pharaoh if God hardened Pharaoh s heart? And furthermore how can God judge me if God created with a fallen nature? If God is the creator of us all, does He create some for honor and some for dishonor? The implication is that s not fair! Romans 9:22 24 (NKJV) 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? Paul turns the hypothetical question in vs to a real one Is it true that God endured Israel s sin and rebellion?

6 Shouldn t God have destroyed them according to the law for their transgressions and iniquities? Wouldn t justice be to judge and condemn Israel? But what if God wanted to show mercy? What if God wanted to demonstrate His wrath and power not against His people, but against sin What if that was God s plan all along? Paul says that is the case and he quotes Hosea 2:23 and Hosea 1:10 Romans 9:25 26 (NKJV) 25 As He says also in Hosea: I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, You are not My people, There they shall be called sons of the living God. Vs. 25 refers to the nation of Israel Peter refers to this prophecy when he writes 1 Peter 2:9 10 (NKJV) 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. It is God s plan for Israel to be His people, His beloved When Israel didn t exist, God called the people into relationship with Him When Israel wasn t loved, God demonstrated His love to them Vs. 26 refers to Gentiles everywhere who turn to Christ You who were not a people you are called sons of the living God It s a promise that is true now and in the future Jesus said John 1:12 13 (NKJV) 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

7 So we see God s plan to reach all people God doesn t want anyone to perish, but that all would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ Then He quotes Isaiah Romans 9:27 28 (NKJV) 27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. 28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth. Revelation 7 tells us during the Great Tribulation period, a revival will break out in Israel and a remnant will be saved 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes or 144,000 Jews The Jehovah s Witnesses have hijacked this verse and have inserted themselves in it but they re wrong It specifically refers to the nation of Israel these are the remnant that will be saved Jesus said in Matthew 24:22 that the days will be shorted for the elect sake because if they weren t shortened no one would survive the Great Tribulation period The point is God is going to fulfill His promise to Israel Then Paul quotes Isaiah again Romans 9:29 (NKJV) 29 And as Isaiah said before: Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah. Where as the Rabbi s blamed God for setting them up for failure The truth is, God set Israel up for blessing God always had a child of promise, a promised seed, a remnant of people in every generation who were faithful to God If He didn t, then Israel would be deserving of judgment like Sodom and Gomorrah If you remember Abraham as He is pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah He says Lord if there are 50 righteous will you spare them? God said I will spare them

8 What if there are 45 people will you spare them? God said I will spare them What if there are only 40? What about 30? What about 20? Will you destroy the city? God said I will not destroy the city Then Abraham says what if there are only 10? God said if there are only 10 I will not destroy it Think about that there weren t even 10 righteous people in a city of millions But notice the heart of God God was willing to spare all of them for just 10 people It wasn t their righteousness that saved them, it was God s mercy The evil deeds of the city far outweighed the righteous deeds of the few It wasn t a matter of their goodness or badness, it was a matter of God s love and mercy Romans 9:30 32 (NKJV) 30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. Notice this paradox The Gentiles didn t pursue righteousness yet they got it because they received it by faith Israel has pursued righteousness their whole life and never got it because they didn t receive it by faith Here is the POINT God can only relate to you on the basis of faith God cannot relate to you on the basis of works of righteousness You can t say to God I deserve more because of my gifts and talents (which come from God anyhow) You can t say to God I deserve more because of all the good things I ve done You can t say to God I deserve more because I deserve it All of those responses are legalistic responses

9 I know people who are disappointed because they haven t gotten what they expect out of life and they blame God or their boss, their wife or others it s all legalistic demands for justice When all we deserve is judgment Here s a word of advice don t go to God demanding justice You don t want justice you want mercy ask God for mercy Now, there is also a subtle teaching in here and it is Faith made them righteous not obedience, but obedience still happens under GRACE but for different reasons We obey because we love Jesus and we love other people That is the only motivation that comes from GRACE I love Jesus and because I love Jesus I serve Him To be honest, the simplicity of loving Jesus and serving Him is a stumbling block to the Jews and many Christians Romans 9:33 (NKJV) 33 As it is written: Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. Paul quotes from Isaiah 8:14 and Isaiah 28:16 The stumbling stone is Jesus Whoever believes on Jesus will not be put to shame Why is Jesus such a stumbling block? I think there are several reasons Jesus said John 3:19 (NKJV) 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Man doesn t want to walk in the light Men want to remain in the shadows because they don t want to be accountable for their actions They want FREEDOM without responsibility or consequence They want lawlessness But GRACE doesn t breed lawlessness

10 GRACE breeds acceptance and love and out of a place of acceptance and love we do what God says to do Man doesn t believe what GRACE provides The nation of Israel couldn t enter into the Promised land because of unbelief (Hebrews 3:19) Man doesn t enter into GRACE filled living because they choose to believe the voice of SHAME inside of them, instead of God s Word This voice of SHAME affects their relationships, their marriage, their family life, their decision making and it causes us to bring SHAME on other people, situations and ourselves GRACE liberates us to be led by the Spirit and to live in the LIGHT I want to close with this incredible promise If you believe on Jesus, you won t experience SHAME Guilt says I ve done something wrong SHAME says I m broken, there s something wrong with me PRIDE combined with SHAME says I m broken because of YOU For some reason, Christians take comfort is saying how broken they are but in doing so they negate the work of the cross and choose to remain under condemnation and shame But Jesus says whoever believe on Jesus will not be put to SHAME Don t fall into SHAME Don t believe the lie that your BROKEN Believe Jesus and what He says about you