Never Beyond Hope Romans 11

Transcription

1 Blake Jennings Grace Bible Church Suthwd Never Beynd Hpe Rmans 11 After centuries f rebellin against Gd culminating in the crucifixin f His Sn and persecutin f His peple, can there really be any hpe left fr the Jewish peple? Can Gd fulfill His prmises t them as His chsen peple? Paul's answer is an emphatic, Yes! Gd is right nw demnstrating His faithfulness t the Jews by saving sme f them and by using all f them t bless the rest f the wrld. And in the future, Gd will draw all f Israel back t Himself and finally fulfill all f His cvenant prmises. S Israel is nt beynd hpe, and if they're nt beynd hpe after millennia f disbedience, then neither are we! Turn t Rmans 11 Bker T. Washingtn in Up Frm Slavery nce described meeting an ex-slave frm Virginia: "I fund that this man had made a cntract with his master, tw r three years previus t the Emancipatin Prclamatin, t the effect that the slave was t be permitted t buy himself, by paying s much per year fr his bdy; and while he was paying fr himself, he was t be permitted t labr where and fr whm he pleased. Finding that he culd secure better wages in Ohi, he went there. When freedm came, he was still in debt t his master sme three hundred dllars. Ntwithstanding that the Emancipatin Prclamatin freed him frm any bligatin t his master, this black man walked the greater prtin f the distance back t where his ld master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dllar, with interest, in his hands. In talking t me abut this, the man tld me that he knew that he did nt have t pay his debt, but that he had given his wrd t his master, and his wrd he had never brken. He felt that he culd nt enjy his freedm till he had fulfilled his prmise." I hear that and think, that s crazy! - made prmise, but then emancipatin prclamatin talk abut extenuating circumstance! - under n legal bligatin t pay - remember wh the debt was wed slave wner nt wrthy f lyalty! - n ne wuld blame the guy fr walking away... - but he didn t! Such abslute faithfulness t yur wrd amazes us - Can t help but admire smene wh wuld g t such great lengths t keep his wrd - n extenuating circumstances, suffering, pain, sacrifice culd keep him frm fulfilling his prmise That s hw we re meant t feel in Rm 11 - a chapter abut utrageus faithfulness - abut hw far Gd will g t keep His prmise t Israel - by extensin, hw far He ll g t keep His prmises t us! Review: Grand prmise at end f ch 8 I will allw nthing t separate us, nt even yu! But what abut Israel? Gd s Old Testament peple Why are the vast majrity f Jews separated frm Gd? Was Gd unable r unwilling t keep His prmise?

2 1. Because Gd did nt chse mst Jews (9:1-30) - electin 2. Because mst Jews did nt chse Gd (9:31-10:21) human respnsibility Ch11 ends n a very depressing nte: Read Rm 10:21 Rebelled fr centuries then crucified their Messiah begs the questin... S is Israel beynd hpe? (the questin f ch 11) - Questin asked twice v1a v11a - Significant questin nt nly fr Israel but als fr us. If they ve fallen beynd hpe f recvery, what s t keep us frm ding the same? If Gd can t r wn t rescue them, hw can we cunt n Him t rescue us? If Israel can t cunt n Gd, then neither can the church Our security in the Lrd is tied up with Israel s security in the Lrd. Fundatinal t ur security and hpe. - Is Israel beynd hpe? Asked twice, and... Paul gives the same definitive answer bth times: May it never be!!! (v1b, 11b) Israel is nt beynd hpe. Israel will never be beynd hpe. And chapter 11 prvides the prf. - what ch11 is abut 4 reasns why Israel is nt beynd hpe - 4 reasns why they can still cunt n Gd Israel s Reasns fr Hpe a believing remnant remains (11:1-7) - Read 1:1-6 - Despite majrity rejectin f Gd, a remnant f believing Jews remains faithful t Him - IOW Gd is always at wrk amng the Jews saving many prving that His rejectin f them is nt cmplete r abslute - That s hw it s always been Gd has always kept a remnant f Jews True in Elijah s day v2-4 frm 1 Kings 19 Elijah hunted by Jezebel flees int dessert alne, depressed, defeated asked fr death because I m the nly ne left Gd revealed t him that he was nt alne Gd had saved a remnant f 7000 Israelites True in Paul s day Paul s wn life is prf that Gd has nt rejected the Jews Even thugh they crucified Gd s Sn, Gd was still at wrk amng the Jews. Pentecst - saved 3000 Shrt time later - saved Paul the wrst Jewish persecutr f the church 1 Tim 1:15-16 If Gd hasn t given up n even the wrst f the Jews, then He hasn t given up n the rest, either. True tday Still has a remnant grwn since Paul s day 14 millin Jews wrldwide ~150,000 are believers in Jesus Shuld surprise us in 2 ways:

3 that there are s many believing Jews 150K is big! there are any Jews t begin with!! late 19th Century, Queen Victria f England asked her Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, this questin:"mr. Prime Minister, what evidence can yu give me f the existence f Gd?" Disraeli thught fr a mment and then replied, "The Jew, yur majesty." Hittites, Canaanites, Edmites, Babylnians... all gne Even Rmans n lnger a discernible peple grup Only the Jews remain distinct, preserved Despite scattering, persecutin, Inquisitin, Russian pgrms, Nazi Hlcaust! The Jews are still with us... And there are still believers amng them... That s ne f the greatest prfs f Gd s existence & faithfulness! - There is always a remnant wh have believed. - Therefre, Israel is never beynd hpe. 2. they are still Gd s agents f blessing t the wrld (11:7-16) - Read 11: Gd hardened mst f Israel... Restates pint f ch9 Why are mst Jews separated frm Gd? Because Gd did nt chse mst Jews chse the remnant; hardened the rest Remember what we studied abut hardening... cperative prcess between Gd & unelect They freely chse t reject Him He hands them ver t cnsequences sink deeper int sin and selfdeceptin ex: Pharah Wh hardened him? BOTH back & frth - he slips further int madness f sin Same has happened t the bulk f the Jewish natin They freely chse t reject Gd Result: Gd handed them ver t the mastery f sin Their rejectin grew harder, mre settled That s the bad news: Gd has hardened mst Jews - Gd news: purpse f hardening = t extend His mercy t the rest f the wrld - Read 11: Did nt harden Jews ut f spite, hatred, revenge Did s ut f grace t bless the rest f the wrld By their transgressin, salvatin has cme t the Gentiles Histrically true Jews crucified Jesus making salvatin pssible fr us Jews persecuted Christians driving them ut f Israel and int the Gentile wrld That s hw Gd had always planned it. The Jews were chsen 4000 years ag t be Gd s agents f blessing t the wrld. plan revealed in Gd s prmise t frefather f Jews Gen 12:1-3 Becmes Abrahamic Cvenant gracius, irrevcable cntract between Gd and Abraham where Gd prmises him: Land Nile t Euphrates; Med Sea t Arabian dessert Descendants a great natin = Israel Blessing peace, prsperity, and fertility

4 and mst imprtant: they will be the family thrugh whm Gd will bless the wrld always Gd s channel f blessing t wrld whether they want t r nt! if unwilling, Gd will still use them!...just as He did in Paul s day t crucify His Sn, making salvatin pssible t persecute the church, spreading the gspel t the wrld Pint: fact that Gd is using them t bless the wrld prves that Gd s nt dne with them yet. - In fact, quite the ppsite, in Gd s infinite wisdm, He will use ur salvatin t make the Jews jealus and bring them t repentance v11:... t make them jealus Bless the Gentiles t make the Jews jealus Ill: What s the easiest way t get yur tddler t eat fd he desn t want t eat? Steal it! Pretend t eat it! Nw he wants it back and he may just eat it! That s what Gd is ding t Israel... Yu dn t want it? Okay, I m taking it and giving it t these Gentiles yu dn t like very much... Eventually, Israel will wise up and see what they ve lst That s part f Paul s mtivatin fr preaching t Gentiles! Preach t the Gentiles t save the Jews! - And when they d return, hw sweet it will be fr us because it will usher the whle wrld int Gd s prmised blessings! v12,15 if Gd can bring abut ur salvatin thrugh a rebellius Israel then imagine what gd He can d when Israel returns!! my dad: Gd can hit a hmerun with a crked stick Yes, but imagine hw far He can hit the ball with a gd bat! He ll crush it. When Israel returns will usher wrld int time f unparalleled blessing Millennial kingdm fulfillment f Abrahamic Cvenant Mre at end f chapter - Summary: Gd cntinues t use the Jewish peple as His cnduit f blessing t the wrld. Grace Bible Church wuld nt exist if it weren t fr the Jews. - That fact cnfirms that Gd s nt dne with them yet. They are nt beynd hpe and never will be. 3. Gd can restre them at any time (11:17-24) - Read 11: Grafted live tree in Nazareth ld, rich rt; branches grafted in - Challenging metaphr identify the parts - Rt = Abrahamic Cvenant & its prmise f blessing - Branches individuals r grups f peple? if individuals, then v20-22 sund like yu can lse yur salvatin that cntradicts everything we studied in ch8! nt a prblem when yu recgnize that it s nt individuals but peple grups Paul has in mind. Subject f v large grups: Jews & Gentiles

5 yu f v17-24 is singular, nt plural yu Gentiles as a grup, nt as a bunch f individuals abut hw Gd treats peple grups - distinct grups united by ethnicity r by natin r state. The Jews are the natural branches. AC given t them naturally, they shuld have benefited But they rejected Gd S Gd remved them frm their privileged psitin individuals still saved and blessed but natin as a whle is nt n claim t AC prmises tday because they are still in rebellin In their place, Gd grafted in Gentile peple grups wh respnded t the gspel in faith. When a peple grup respnds in faith t the gspel, Gd grafts them int the cvenant blessings Nt necessarily financial r military blessings. Spiritual blessings: revival, peace, jy, and influence. Uses them t bless the wrld Began with Samaritans, Greeks, Rmans many saved churches spring up in every city send missinaries thrughut the wrld Mre recently: England & America in the 18 th & 19 th Centuries England: huge revivals led by Gerge Whitfield, Jhn Wesley, Charles Spurgen; launched mdern missins mvement sent cuntless missinaries t the far crners f the earth. US: First and Secnd Great Awakening Jnathan Edwards, Dwight Mdy, Billy Graham; largest sending cuntry f missinaries in the wrld S Gd grafts peple grups int the blessings f the Abrahamic Cvenant when they respnd rightly t the gspel. But, if at a future time, thse same peple grups turn away frm Gd, then He remves them frm their privileged psitin, just as He did t Israel. England tday spiritually cld, hard. Gd still at wrk amng individuals But as a natin, they ve grwn insensitive t Gd s Spirit. US ptentially right behind them increasingly greedy, selfish, immral less interested in being an agent f Gd s blessing t the wrld if that cntinues, we t will be set aside & replaced by thse wh will be Gd s faithful agents f blessing... Suth Krea massive revivals in the last 50 yrs as f 2005, 40% identified as Christian! Seul cntains 11 f the wrld's 12 largest Xian cngregatins prvides the 2 nd largest number f missinaries 93 in ,000 in 2009! 21,000% grwth in missins in 30 years!! Sn: China very receptive t gspel beginning t send missinaries t places we can t g t - Summary: rt & branches nt abut pssible lss f salvatin abut hw Gd treats grups f peple

6 in grace, grafts them int cvenant blessings if they turn away, reserves right t remve them - That s where Israel is tday - BUT, that can change in a heartbeat Paul s main pint Israel can be restred at any mment Because they are natural branches, it will be far easier! Cvenant belngs t them! If Gd can graft Rmans, Kreans, Americans int the Abrahamic Cvenant blessings, then He can easily graft Israel back in! - And that brings us t the final reasn fr Israel t have hpe Gd will restre them in the future (11:25-32) - Read 11: Mystery smething hidden that we culdn t knw withut Gd revealing it thrugh His Wrd. - What is that mystery? Once the full number f elect Gentiles enter the church......gd will save all f Israel In ther wrds: The spiritual hardness f the Jewish peple is nly temprary. That natinal revival in Israel was prmised in the Old Testament. Paul qutes Isa and Jer in v read Micah 7:18-20 Gd will fulfill what He swre t Abraham He must, because, v29 (wrth underlining!!), the gifts and calling f Gd are irrevcable. He cannt g back n His Wrd Even thugh Abe s descendants were incredibly unfaithful desn t matter, Gd must remain faithful. Must give Abe land, seed, and blessing That s what Gd will d in the next phase f wrld histry. Tday: church age ends with rapture Next: Great Tribulatin 7 years f intense persecutin led by antichrist begins well fr Israel but at mid-pint, they becme target f persecutin new hlcaust persecutin drives them back t Gd they finally realize wh Jesus is all wh are still living are instantly saved bw the knee t Jesus Jesus returns

7 wipes ut their enemies ushers Israelites & believing Gentiles int Millennial Kingdm unprecedented time f blessing peace, prsperity, health, jy - That s what s cming because Gd s cvenant prmises are irrevcable - As Paul Harvey wuld have said, nw yu knw the rest f the stry Summarize: After millennia f disbedience and judgment, is Israel finally beynd hpe? Abslutely nt! Gd will fulfill all f His prmises t Israel He will make gd n His Wrd. And that s what Rm 11 is all abut: Gd is faithful, n matter what - even t a peple wh rebelled cuntless times - even t a peple wh rejected & crucified His Only Sn - He will allw n extenuating circumstance, suffering, pain, hardship t prevent Him frm keeping His Wrd In the immrtal wrds f Dr Suess, with a little twist.. "I meant what I said and I said what I meant, And yur Gd s faithful, ne hundred per cent!" And that leads us t the applicatin f ur passage... read 11:33-36 Applicatin: WORSHIP - Chapters 9-11 can feel like a histry and thelgy beat dwn exhausting - has been fr me! - But that s nt why Paul wrte it. Ch 9-11 aren t a histry lessn r a thelgy lecture they re a sng f wrship! Paul s gal: verwhelm us with the evidence f Gd s faithfulness, wisdm, and grace s that we culd nt help but get n ur knees - Accrding t ch11, wrship Gd fr His... unlimited mercy: After 4000 years f rebellin, still He lves His peple Israel Still hlds His arms wide t them unfathmable wisdm: uses rebellin f His riginal peple t save ther peple wh He then uses t make His riginal peple jealus s they repent and return! Awesme plan uses apparent defeat t bring abut victry abslute faithfulness: Prmised Abe & his descendants land, seed, blessing S, by glly, they ll get it! His prmises are irrevcable will mve heaven & earth t keep His wrd Prves we can cunt n Gd - S wrthy f wrship - S end with wrship by reading again v Read alng with me and as yu d, say these wrds t Gd. Mean them. Offer them t Him as the wrship He is wrthy f... - Read v Pray

8 Questins fr Rmans Sermn #24 11:1-36 Nte: these questins have been written fr small grups studying Rmans tgether. Yu can als adapt these questins fr yur family r fr persnal study. REVIEW & OVERVIEW 1. What primary thelgical and practical cncern des Paul address in Rmans 9-11? Why des this issue cme up at this pint in the bk? 2. Briefly, what is Paul s answer in 9:1-29?...in 9:30-10:21? 3. What s Paul s big idea in chapter 11? Hw des it fit in with the discussin f chapters 9-10? (Hint: think abut the cnnectin between 10:21 and 11:1.) OBSERVATION & INTERPRETATION 4. List all the prfs Paul gives in chapter 11 t back up his claim in 11:1 that Gd has nt rejected His peple. 5. What is a "remnant"? Hw des the idea f a remnant supprt the argument f the chapter?

9 6. In the metaphr f the live tree (11:17-24; cf. )... a. What des the rt represent? b. What d the branches represent individuals r grups? Hw can yu tell? i. What is a "natural" branch? ii. What is a "wild" branch"? c. What des it mean fr a branch t be grafted in? What is the result fr the branch? d. What des it mean fr a branch t be remved? What is the result fr the branch? e. What is Paul s verall pint in this metaphr? 7. What exactly is the mystery Paul refers t in 11:25? Why des he call it a mystery? APPLICATION 8. Why shuld we Gentiles living in America care abut all f this thelgy and histry abut Israel? What relevance des this chapter have t ur lives? 9. What des Paul teach us abut Gd in this chapter? List all that Paul says abut Gd, and then spend time thanking Gd fr these truths abut His character and actins. Memrize Rmans 11:29 r 11:33 (r bth!)

10 Additinal Review Questins 10. What is the big idea f the bk f Rmans? 11. Sketch a quick utline f Rmans chapters 1-8. What is Paul s primary pint in each sectin f yur utline? Additinal Interpretive Questins 12. What questins came t yur mind during this sermn? Write them dwn and bring them up with yur grup. 13. Summarize in ne sentence Paul s pint in each majr sectin f this passage. (Hint: each sectin deals with a reasn why Israel can have hpe in the Lrd.) 11:1-6 11: : : : Read 1 Kings 19, which Paul qutes frm in Rm 11:3-4. What was ging n in Elijah s life at this time? Hw did Gd encurage Elijah? What d yu learn abut Gd frm this accunt? 15. What has Gd revealed abut the future events that await ur wrld? What will Gd d next fr the church, fr Israel, and fr the wrld as a whle? Hint: Matthew 24 and Revelatin are particularly helpful fr sketching ut end time events. Additinal Applicatin Questins 1. Fr what ultimate end r gal did Gd chse t bless Abraham (Gen 12:1-3)? Fr what ultimate end has Gd blessed yu, yur family, yur church, yur natin? 2. Paul reveals that ur future is bund t Israel s future (11:12,15). Spend sme time praying fr Gd s wrk amng the Jews tday. Pray fr missinaries amng the Jews. Pray fr Jewish believers t be strng and faithful witnesses fr Jesus. 3. Gd s treatment f Israel prves that n ne living is beynd hpe. Wh have yu been tempted t give up n, t stp praying fr, r t stp sharing the gspel with? Spend time praying fr their salvatin. Lk fr pprtunities t lve them and share with them this week.