God Has Not Rejected or Replaced Israel

Transcript

GR 1457
01/23/11
God Has Not Rejected or Replaced Israel
Romans 11:11-16
Gil Rugh


We're in Romans 11. It's impossible to understand the Bible, it's impossible to understand what is going on in the world if you don't understand God's plan and program for the nation Israel. Stop and think about it, our Bibles are occupied with the nation Israel. You start in Genesis and the opening three chapters deal with the creation and then the fall; then you have Cain and Abel in chapter 4 and you have a genealogy set out in chapter 5; then you have the flood of Noah that covers basically chapter 6-9. Then in chapters 10-11 you have to deal with the nation and we are told how the nations came into existence, particularly in chapter 11 with the tower of Babel. Then with chapter 12 you pick up with the nation Israel. From Genesis 12 through the gospel of John, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, God's focus is on one people and one nation, the nation Israel. In Acts 2 we start the church and God's focus in salvation in the world today is on the church and on Gentile people. But that's not the end of it. Even what He is doing in the world today with Gentiles is part of His plan and program to bring to fruition what He has promised for the nation Israel. So the bottom line, all of God's work in the world has a significant focus on the nation Israel. And what is happening in the church today among us as believers today is part of God's program, not only for our salvation but for the ultimate salvation of the nation Israel.

That's why in his letter to the Romans Paul has much to say about the Jewish people, the special place they occupy in the plan and program of God in the world. And as he has unfolded the gospel, he has shown that the Jews have rejected God's salvation, they have persistently refused to bow in obedient faith to Him. And they culminated their disobedience by rejecting their Messiah and having Him crucified.

In Romans 9-11 Paul is explaining how all of this fits in the sovereign, eternal plan of God. Nothing has changed or altered His plan. In chapter 9 he reminded us that Israel's position as special before God was a result of His sovereign—the doctrine of election. In chapter 10 he showed us that Israel's place in judgment and excluded from God's salvation was a result of their refusal to believe in Jesus Christ. And chapter 10 concluded with verse 21, quoting from the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah. As for Israel he says, all the day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people. God has consistently down through their history reached out to Israel, given Israel special blessings, special opportunities, and they have persisted in their rebellion, culminating in their rejection of their Messiah.

That leaves us with a dilemma, a question to be answered. So chapter 11 began, I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He. In light of Israel's rejection of God, in light of Israel's ongoing persistent, obstinate rebellion against God, could you come to the conclusion that now as a result of the final act of rebellion, crucifying the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, is it possible God has rejected His people? As we have noted in our previous study, the answer is that that is an impossibility. May it never be, that's inconceivable. And Paul used himself as an example. God has not rejected His people because look, I am a Jew and I have experienced the grace of God in salvation and this is consistent with what God has done through Israel's history. Go back to the days of Elijah and things were so bad and so spiritually deteriorated that Elijah came to the conclusion he was the only faithful person left in Israel. And then Romans 11:4, God reminded Elijah, I have kept for Myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. In the same way, then, there has come to be at the present time a remnant according to election. Some of you have it translated God's gracious choice. Even as in the past there was only a small group of genuine believers in Israel in which the purposes of God in salvation were being realized, the plan of God was not frustrated.

It's in that remnant that the promises of God were being secured. And so down to the present, Paul says, there is a remnant. But it is functioning according to God's sovereign choice, His work of election. And if it's by grace it's no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace, as he said in verse 6. God's salvation is a work of grace and the fact that any in Israel are saved is a result of grace. Otherwise all would be destroyed in rebellion. But god is working graciously and the grace of God will not be frustrated.

Israel has failed to arrive at the righteousness that could be found in Christ because they refuse to receive it by faith. They are determined that they will be accepted as righteous people by their own works. And that's an impossibility. God will only do it on the basis of grace, you cannot earn it and you cannot merit it. Israel could not. So as a result of their persistent determination to do it their way, God has hardened them. The fact that any were saved was a result of His electing work, His choice. So verse 7 says, those who were chosen obtained it, the salvation of God, the righteousness God had provided in Christ. The rest were hardened. Serious matter. And then he quoted from the Old Testament to show something of the hardening work of God that He had spoken of in the prophets. That doesn't mean God caused them to sin, it means God withholds His grace, His saving grace from them. They are further settled in their obstinate rejection of Him.

Paul wants to repeat the question as we come to verse 11, I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be. We keep cycling back to this. Israel has been rebellious, Israel has come under the judgment of God, they have been hardened by God in their sin. Does this mean, now, that God is done with them? That's where we came at the end of verse 10, God says, all day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people. Verse 1 of chapter 11, I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? I mean, has their obstinate, stubborn rebellion and rejection of His righteousness resulted in God rejecting them? That's an impossibility. But Israel has been hardened in their unbelief. Does this mean they have stumbled so as to fall? Israel has stumbled, no doubt.

Come back to Romans 9:33. We're told at the end of verse 32, they stumbled over the stumbling stone just as it is written, quoting from Isaiah, behold I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed. But Israel would not believe in Him, they stumbled over Him, He was a stumbling block to them. He didn't come as that Messiah on the white horse, bringing political victory over their enemies. He came as a humble, lowly Savior and they rejected Him, they stumbled over Him.

So the question in Romans 11:11, they did not stumble so as to fall. You know, a picture, somebody walking along and stumbles and they catch themselves. That's different than somebody stumbling and going over the cliff, and that's the end. The question is, did they stumble so as to fall, to go down with no hope of recovery. And again, it implies the answer. They did not stumble so as to fall, did they? That doesn't sound like that could be right. The answer again is may it never be.

So those two questions with the response, verse 1 of chapter 11 and verse 11 of chapter 11 really tell you what the subject of the chapter is, showing Israel has not been rejected by God. As great as their sin has been, climaxing in the crucifixion of their Messiah, that is a serious stumble, they didn't go down for the count. It's not over for them. Again, may it never be. That is an impossibility. Now you'd think if those were the only two verses in the New Testament that would resolve the question, is there a future for Israel. Has Israel been replaced by the church. Some people say, God hasn't rejected Israel, He has replaced Israel. No, that doesn't answer it. He's talking about the nation in these chapters, as we have noted. All commentators have to agree if they are being honest with the scripture, he is talking about the nation Israel here. He has not rejected His people. They have stumbled, it is a serious stumble, it has brought withering, devastating judgment on the nation. Do you want to know how serious that judgment is? It has lasted 2000 years. And you know what? It's going to get worse.

The suffering of the nation Israel has not seen anything like it's going to be. We talk about the Holocaust, we talk about other periods in time where it seemed like the Jews could be annihilated. There is nothing like the judgment that is yet to come in the future. But you understand, God has not rejected His people. They stumbled seriously but by the grace of God they didn't stumble so as to fall and God be finished with them. May it never be.

But you have to understand, even their stumble, even their sin is part of the plan of God to manifest His grace in bringing salvation to the Gentiles. We see here the absolute, total sovereignty of God, that even such an awful event as the crucifixion of the Son of God does not frustrate the plan of God. But rather it is part of the plan of God to bring salvation to the Gentiles. This is where Paul is going. And yet the salvation of the Gentiles is not an end in itself. The salvation of the Gentiles is part of God's plan to ultimately bring about the salvation of the nation Israel. So in this section, and it's going to be an emphasis through the rest of chapter 11, the Gentiles need to keep their heads on straight, Gentile believers, to appreciate even the part we play in the plan of God. Not to replace Israel but to be instruments in the hand of God to ultimately bring about the salvation of the nation Israel.

So he goes on in verse 11, but by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. By their transgression, Israel stumbled, stumbling over the stumbling stone. That's their transgression, stumbling over the stumbling stone, Christ. Or you can talk about the transgression of Israel and sinning against God, sinning against their Messiah. But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles. You know we as Gentiles ought to have great appreciation for this and the way God has worked. You understand, if we had been born a thousand years before Christ we would have been in a world of darkness, without hope in the world. God's work in the world focused in the nation Israel. You understand in the Old Testament there was no evangelism program, there was no missionary outreach. Israel was the nation. Remember when God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt and was going to bring them into the land of Canaan, they had to wait to go in. In fact, God had told Abraham that it would take a long time, from the promises God gave to Abraham until some of the realization came that it would be a nation. Do you know why? He said the sin of the Canaanites is not yet ripe, so they are not going to come under full judgment. But you know in all that period of time God didn't send missionaries or evangelists into the land of Canaan. They just waited in their darkness, sank further in their sin, ripened on the tree further for judgment. Then when Israel is finally sent into the land, it is not to carry the message of salvation to the Canaanites, it's to destroy every single last one of them.

God's work in the world focused in the nation Israel. We see other nations come up in the Old Testament and they are only significant as they intersect with the nation Israel and how they are impacting the nation Israel. But you know what had happened as a result of Israel's rejection of their Messiah? The gospel has been carried to you and to me, it's been carried around the world to peoples of all nationalities, all races. And God is graciously now giving His salvation to Gentiles. That's the point. By their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles.

Turn over to Acts, we will get here in our study of the book of Acts. But come to Acts 13. The Apostle Paul is launching out on a missionary journey, carrying the gospel out to Gentile parts of the world. Acts 13. He would still address the Jews. You note what is happening here. Verse 44, on a Sabbath day Paul was addressing the people and there are Jews there and Paul speaks to them. And they are filled with jealousy and are contradicting the things spoken by Paul and were blaspheming. Verse 46, Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, it was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold we are turning to the Gentiles. See the change here? The Apostle Paul will be leading the way.

The church began in Acts 2, but there in God's grace the message of a crucified and resurrected Messiah was being proclaimed to the Jews. Peter took it to the Gentiles under special direction from God in Acts 10, but now under Paul the gospel is going to be carried to Gentiles in a direct, focused way.

Look in Acts 18. He is at Corinth and he is in the synagogue, verse 4, reasoning every Sabbath day, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to completely devote himself to the word of God, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when they resisted him and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, your blood be upon your own heads, I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.

One other passage, Acts 28. And if you have studied this before, many of you have, you know that the book of Acts ends with Paul's first imprisonment. It doesn't complete the life of Paul, but it does bring us to a finality because the book of Acts closes with an emphasis on the fact that the gospel is going to Gentiles. Again, Jews have heard the message of Christ, but they have again rejected it. So verse 28, therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. And note this, and they also will listen. And down through the last 2000 years God in His grace has saved a small number of Jews and there are Jews saved today by God's grace. But they are a small number. The church around the world by and large, the believing church, is comprised of Gentiles. You are sitting here today as a believer in Jesus Christ as a result of the sovereign plan of God to use the rebellion and stumbling of Israel to open a door of salvation to the Gentiles. You see even the worst sin of men cannot frustrate the plan of God, it rather furthers the plan of God.

Come back to Romans 11:11, but by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, but that's not the end of it. We say, see, God is done with the Jews because now salvation focuses in the Gentiles. And any Jews that are saved are incorporated in with the Gentiles in the church. And Jews will be saved but it will ultimately be one people of God and we are all joined together in the church. No, you understand, even the salvation of the Gentiles and the Jews brought into the church that are saved, this time of Gentile salvation has a purpose. And that is ultimately the salvation of the nation Israel. The Jews never lose their identity. And the nation Israel as a nation still is the ultimate end and focal point of what God is doing.

So the salvation of the Gentiles is to make the Jews jealous, to make them jealous. Paul has referred to this already, Romans 10:19, I say surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses said, I will make you jealous. He's quoting from Deuteronomy 32. I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding I will anger you. We looked at this section when we studied chapter 10. But you'll note the point, I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation. You'll note what we are saying here. Paul is reminding these Gentiles, he's writing to Gentiles, he'll say that in verse 13 of chapter 11. God is not done with Israel. Don't be arrogant, don't be proud, don't look down on the Jews. It's true, they have sinned, they have sinned grievously, they have been hardened in their sin by God. But don't think you are better than the Jews or God is finished with the Jews. Even your salvation as a Gentile is part of God's gracious plan to bring about the salvation of the nation Israel, because there will come a time when God will open the eyes of Israel to see. And they'll see that those Gentiles are experiencing our God's salvation, the God of Israel. Our Messiah has provided righteousness for them. And that jealousy to realize that should be ours will be used of God to cause them to turn in faith to their Messiah. So even the Gentiles, salvation is not an end in and of itself, but part of the overarching plan of God revealed in the Old Testament to bring Israel to salvation. And so every Gentile that is saved is another testimony before Israel of the salvation God has provided that they are missing out on. And remember salvation is of the Jews, remember we are the dogs. Remember the Canaanite woman that came and asked a favor from Jesus? It is not fitting for Me to give the food that is for the children, the Israelites, to you, the dogs, the non-Israelites. That's what we are, we're the dogs. We're getting the blessings that had been promised to Israel, the salvation that was provided by the Jewish Messiah. Remember what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well? Salvation is of the Jews. And here we are Gentiles, placing our faith in a Jewish Messiah and receiving God's righteousness. And the Jews are closed out as a nation.

But God is going to use our salvation ultimately to bring the Jews to jealousy and anger over their stupidity. Romans 10:19 says, by a nation without understanding I will anger you. They get upset with their own foolishness, their own sinfulness and jealous. And thus turn to salvation. But that is yet a future time, the seven-year tribulation yet remains before that will happen.

Look at Romans 11:12. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles. Their transgression, their failure, the same as their stumble, their transgression in verse 11, in refusing to believe in Jesus, the Anointed One, the Christ. What has happened? Their transgression has been riches for the world. Their failure to believe in their Messiah has been riches for the Gentiles.

We have to go over to II Corinthians 8. He's talking about the riches of God's salvation, all that is provided for us in Christ. Look at how he puts it in verse 9, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich, spiritual riches, the wealth of heaven. We've seen in previous studies, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, Paul put it in Romans 8. That's the riches that are ours.

You come back to Romans 11. The Jews' transgression is riches to the world. Their failure is riches for the Gentiles. If that's the case, God can use the sin of Israel and their rejection of their Messiah to bring such blessings, how much more will their fullness be. I mean, if their sin has brought such blessings, what in the world will their salvation mean, their fulfillment as you have it translated. You probably have a marginal note, or fullness. It would be better to translate it fullness here, that's the word. Why? What will their fullness be? Well look at Romans 11:25, for I do not want you brethren to be uninformed of this mystery, so that you will not be wise in your own estimation. No room for arrogance on the part of the Gentiles looking down on the Jews, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

So in verse 12 he talks about the fullness of the Jews, in verse 25 he talks about the fullness of the Gentiles. The fullness of the Gentiles is the time of Gentile salvation, and of Gentiles being saved. We'll talk more about the fullness of the Gentiles when we get to verse 25. Now in verse 12 he's talking about the fullness of the Jews. If the sin of the Jews in rejecting Christ and refusing to believe in Him has brought such blessing to the world, what will it mean when the fullness of the Jews, their salvation receiving and believing in their Messiah mean. That will bring blessing beyond measure. Because you know what that will bring? That will bring in the kingdom of the Messiah, that will bring in the fullness of all the promises when He will rule and reign on the earth. The curse will be lifted from the creation, the desert will blossom like the rose. All sickness and death will be dealt with, and so on. That's what the fullness of the Jews will mean. So we're getting great blessings, salvation blessings. But you understand when God brings to fullness His program for the Jews in bringing them as a nation to salvation, then the blessings will come in their greatest extent.

But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. You know in the church's history there have been times of darkness, you might say, toward Israel. The Reformers were terrible on this, they were confused on understanding God's plan and program for Israel. So some of the Reformers like Martin Luther were strongly anti-Jewish, felt that the Jews deserved every bit of suffering that they could get, that they ought to be mistreated, they ought to be abused because God is done with them because of what they did. That's terrible. There are people today who say God is done with the nation Israel as a nation. He'll save Jews like He'll save Gentiles and they become part of the church, but there is no future program for the nation Israel. It has been replaced by the church. That's a terrible, terrible thing to say. You have so much in conflict. How can you understand the plan and program of God? What arrogance to think we Gentiles have replaced the Jews. You understand all God is doing is the result of His grace. If He has rejected and discarded the Jews, why in the world would He not discard and reject the Gentiles?

He's going to make clear when we get a little further on in verse 29, the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. There is no going back when God gives His word, and He has given His word to Israel. And that's where we're going here.

I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. The church at Rome is a Gentile church. There were some Jewish issues there, Jewish influence. But he's writing to Gentiles by and large and he wants the Gentiles to understand this and their place so that we are not arrogant. So I can talk to a Jew and I don't speak down to them as though they are worse than I am. I can tell them I am greatly blessed, it's your Messiah that by His death provided salvation for me and I am more undeserving than you. And He saved me, God bestowed His righteousness on me. And I'm so grateful for your Jewish Messiah. Can I look down and say, you're so guilty and you deserve all the punishment. And they do, but not because they are worse than I am. I mean, they are the children and I am the dog, and I'm getting the blessing. God is not done with them. So yes, it's true, you have been a stubborn, obstinate people and you are in a state of blind hardness now under the judgment of God. But God is gracious, He saved me. And if He can save a Gentile He can save a Jew because Jews have more promises than Gentiles. Think of what you are missing out. Isn't it amazing to you as a Jew that I as a Gentile have gotten in and you are closed out. How terrible that is. You ought to turn and believe in the Messiah.

I'm speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am an apostle of the Gentiles I magnify my ministry. You know one thing Paul never lost the excitement, the enthusiasm that God in grace had called him and gifted him. We ought never to lose that either. I'm not gifted as an apostle, neither are you, but I have been called and gifted by God and so are you. Paul can say here, that is the passion of my life. When he says I magnify my ministry, that word ministry is the word servant, that's the Greek word we transliterate over as deacon. I glorify my realm of service. That's what I am, I am a lowly servant but I work hard at it. I magnify it, I pour my life into it. It was a hard life, it was life of suffering, it was a life of difficulty. Paul unfolds that at different times. Not an easy road. And we look at it and think of the greatness of the Apostle Paul's ministry, but you understand he was just traveling from town to town, run out of towns at times, establishing churches that came apart, that rejected him, that were beset with problems. He's going to end up his life having his head cut off. I mean, .............. I magnify my ministry, I pour my life into it, I make everything of it I can. That's my realm of service.

I'm an apostle to the Gentiles, I'm part of what God is doing in the world today. We as believers plod along ................. I mean, are you truly a child of God? If you are He has gifted you. You ought to magnify your service, pour your life into it, make everything of it. Part of the sovereign plan of God. Paul looked at it as a big picture. Here I am leading Gentiles to the Lord and you know what that would do? That will move Jews to jealousy and ultimately in the plan of God that's going to come together and the nation is going to be saved. Am I just a little Jew traveling here, trying to tell Gentiles about Christ? I'm part of the plan of the eternal God and the ultimate salvation of the nation Israel, presently the salvation of the Gentiles.

Turn over to Galatians 1. You'll note that when Paul talks about what God has done in his life it's always in the context of grace—his salvation, his giftedness. So verse 15, when God, who had set me apart, even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace was pleased to reveal His Son to me, so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles. See how he connects that? He called me for a purpose, to be His servant; called me so that I might preach to Gentiles, I might serve Him in this way. It's a ministry to the Gentiles.

Galatians 2:7, on the contrary seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the circumcised, the Jews. He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles. You see in the realm that God gifts you, it is His enablement that makes you effective in that area of service. Paul's was a ministry to the Gentiles. Verse 9 says that he and Barnabas were given the right hand that we might go to the Gentiles. Paul is going to pour his life into his realm of service, that's his area. That doesn't mean he didn't do other things, he shared the gospel with the Jews, but his life was poured into what God had gifted him to do. The whole realm of gifts, you can find out where the Lord has gifted you and you serve Him and that's the focal point of your life. Be absorbed in that, magnified, and I never quit. I'm a servant and I carry it on with the strength and enablement He gives me until He calls me to glory.

Come back to Romans 11. I magnify my ministry, however humble and however lowly, I glorify my ministry. Verse 14, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. You know Paul is a minister to the Gentiles, the apostle to the Gentiles. You know what? I see what I am doing in light of the overall plan of God. His ultimate goal is to bring the nation to salvation so that when the nation comes to salvation His Son can return and establish His kingdom and that's the goal toward which I am moving. Paul said I pour my life into my ministry because I see the salvation of the Gentiles is part of God's plan in moving the Jews to jealousy.

That I might save some of them. Paul realizes he's not going to bring about the ultimate completion of God's plan, but I might be used of God to save some of them. Since ultimately the salvation of the Gentiles is going to be used to bring about the salvation of the Jews, maybe God will use me that way a little bit today, that I might save some of them.

Turn back over to I Corinthians 9. Paul's passion. Verse 19, I am free from all men, but I have made myself a slave to all that I might win the more. I mean, I'm passionate about this, I'm willing to be enslaved to other people. I'm a slave of Jesus Christ but what He has called me to do involves me then giving my life for others to hear the gospel. That I might win more. That keeps coming out. Verse 20, to the Jews I became a Jew that I might win Jews; to those under the law so that I might win those under the law. Those without the law, verse 21, so that I might win those who were without the law; to the weak I became weak that I might win the weak. I've become all things to all men so that I might by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel that I might become a fellow partaker of it. I mean, it's my life; Jesus Christ is my life. He called me in grace to Himself, He gifted me by His grace. I'm a servant, I'm a slave and I can be a fellow partaker. I'm not the cause of their salvation, God saves them but He saves them through the gospel and He uses me. So I become a fellow partaker of the gospel because He puts the gospel in me so I can give it to someone else. And God saves them. In that sense I save them by being His instrument to bring them the message that brings salvation. He talked about that in Romans 10.

Come back to Romans 11. Now he is going to repeat what he has said, we'll see this in a moment. Verse 15, for if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world. That's parallel to what he said in verse 12, their transgression is riches for the world; their failure is riches for the Gentiles. Verse 15, their rejection is the reconciliation of the world. This is a time of rejection, not final rejection but being placed under the judgment. And by and large as a nation closed out from salvation. Some being saved but by and large there is not national salvation going on among the Jews.

If their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, and it is. We have to go back to II Corinthians 5:18, now all these things are from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. You see reconciliation is God's work in Christ. But He entrusts that reconciliation then to human beings. Names that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making an appeal through us. Paul says, I'm just not out here struggling to tell. I am God's mouthpiece when I give out the gospel. It is as though God Himself is using my lips and speaking because it is His message, it is His gospel. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. That's what we have.

So when you come back to Romans 11:15, their rejection is the reconciliation of the world. While they are under judgment this is a day of Gentile salvation. It will come to an end. We'll see when we move further into chapter 11 the fullness of the Gentiles will come to a conclusion. What a tragedy that Gentiles would miss the salvation that is being offered to them in this day of Gentile salvation. That's why Paul wrote to the Corinthians in another portion and said, today is the accepted day, today is the day of salvation.

What will their acceptance be but life from the dead?. You see how that is like verse 12? If their transgression is riches for the world, their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness be. Verse 15, if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, such blessing has come to the Gentiles through Israel's being under judgment, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead. I mean, how do you measure it. When Israel turns in faith to their Messiah, their Messiah will return to earth and establish the kingdom. It can't get any better than that.

If the first piece of dough is holy the lump is also, if the root is holy the branches are, too. I just want to mention this verse and then we can start with it because it is a transition verse. In your Bibles, you're probably using the same version I am, it has a paragraph break between verses 16 and 17. Some would make the paragraph break between verses 15 and 16. That's because verse 16 is a transition and it ties in to what he has just said and the verses we have just looked at, and it leads into what follows. So you'll note the branches at the end of verse 16, pick up with verse 17, if some of the branches. But he also ties into the salvation of Israel because if the first piece of dough is holy the lump is also.

This goes back to Numbers 15. When firstfruits are brought to the Lord they are given to Him, that is holy. God is holy, He is separated from all else, all other. He is holy, holy, holy. Totally set apart from everything and everyone because He is God and everything else is creation. He is separate from all defilement, all sin. So when they brought this firstfruit in, presented it to the Lord, it became holy. It was set apart for the Lord and it indicated what followed belonged to the Lord as well, even though it may be left for their use.

So if the firstfruits are holy the lump is also; if the root is holy the branches are also. What are we talking about? Just to prepare the way. Look at Romans 11:28, from the standpoint of the gospel the Jews are enemies for your sake, you Gentiles. But from the standpoint of God's election, God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. The firstfruits, the root, we're talking about the fathers—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. The covenant to Abraham and reiterated to Isaac, reiterated to Jacob where God set them apart for Himself and their descendants. So if the root, the firstfruits are holy, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the sense they were set apart for God, then so also are those that come from them. Not every single one as he has made clear, but the promises are secure. That's why he'll say in verse 29, the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. From the gifts and calling he gave in the Abrahamic Covenant to Abraham and his descendants and reiterated to Isaac and reiterated to Jacob are irrevocable. So they are holy in the sense they have been set apart for God. So the Jewish nation is set apart by God for Himself. Not every Jew within the nation, but the nation as a nation is set apart to God.

We're going to see in the verses that follow, they are kept distinct from the church and the Gentiles. It is common to speak of one people of God. The scripture does not in that sense. He is going to distinguish between the Jews and the Gentiles clearly. That distinction is maintained, it will be maintained down to the end. There is salvation for the nation Israel, there is no other nation on earth that is promised salvation. The nations of the earth can have salvation through faith in Christ, but the nation Israel will experience salvation because they have been chosen by God and belong to Him.

Great promises. You know we need to realize the work of God is going on in the world today, and the part and place we have as God's people today, as Gentiles today. You think about your ministry in that way, your realm of service that way, that God has in His grace bestowed upon you to serve. You say, I don't do much, it's little. Everything we do is little and it's true, we are nothing. That's what slaves are. But in the hands of God great things are done because He is doing them. We ought to magnify our ministry. We have a proper perspective on His work of salvation. What an opportunity it is to carry the gospel today, to represent Him today, bring salvation to Gentiles today and know perhaps God will use the salvation of Gentiles even to bring that line, that remnant of Jews to salvation to Himself in preparation for that ultimate time when He will bring the nation to Himself in preparation for the restoration of all things and the kingdom of His Son.

If you are a Gentile here, don't miss the time of the fullness of the Gentiles. This is a day of salvation. How sad that you would harden your heart, even as Israel did. You've been presented with a Savior, a Messiah. God holds out His hands to you, that whosoever will call upon Me will be saved. How sad you would be stubborn, obstinate, and say no. God is a God of grace. You've heard the message, have you believed it?

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your salvation. You are indeed a patient and gracious and loving God. You are a God of your word. Lord, our hearts as Gentiles are encouraged and blessed to be reminded that even our salvation has not set aside Israel. They have not stumbled so as to fall, you have not rejected your people that you chose for yourself. Lord, thank you for the grace that you have brought to us as Gentiles. Thank you, Lord, that even our salvation is part of your gracious plan to bring to ultimate fulfillment and realization all the promises to the nation Israel, the holy nation, the nation set apart for yourself. Lord, we look forward to that, knowing that the follow through on that will be the establishing of the kingdom in which we will rule and reign with our Savior, the Messiah of Israel. We praise you in His name, amen.