Rom 11:1-10: God is Still Saving a Remnant among the Jews

 Rom 11:1-10

Since Ethnic Israel has not completely understood the gospel of grace and has rejected the gospel of grace, what will God’s response be? Will God completely reject, replace, or cast away Ethnic Israel? Did He not call Ethnic Israel “My people” in the Hebrew Scriptures? Paul, what is going on here then, since Ethnic Israel is not receptive to the gospel of grace through Yeshu’a the Messiah? Paul answers the question, ‘Has God rejected His people?’ with the term we can translate as ‘NO WAY,’ don’t even think that. God has not totally rejected all Ethnic Israel during any period, and He has a plan for mass salvation for Ethnic Israel. Complete rejection of Ethnic Israel is impossible. God is righteous in His handling of the Jews and the Gentiles in every era.

    I. God is still saving a remnant of Jews from Ethnic Israel according to election. vs. 1-10

A. Evidence # 1: Paul is a saved Jew. Tribe of Benjamin, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thus a true and ‘full’ Israelite from Ethnic Israel. vs. 1

B. Evidence # 2: A remnant from Ethnic Israel is currently being saved by God’s sovereign plan and gracious choice. vs.2-5

1. God has loved beforehand and ordained beforehand certain Jews out of Ethnic Israel who are entering the new covenant.

2. God has not totally rejected nor bypassed everyone in Ethnic Israel.

3. God’s working with a remnant inside Ethnic Israel is nothing new.

a. Elijah’s pitiful prayer, I am the only one who loves Yahweh. vs. 3

b. God’s answer, I have preserved 7,000 men loyal to me who will not worship the false god Baal. vs. 4

4. God is still graciously choosing and calling out a remnant today from Ethnic Israel (Paul’s day and our day). vs. 5

C. Evidence #3: A remnant from Ethnic Israel is saved by the sovereign gracious activity of God despite the majority in Ethnic Israel rejecting God’s grace and gospel. vs. 6-10

1. Grace-based transferred righteousness is the exact opposite of works-based self-righteousness. Deliverance from sin’s penalty and authoritative control is by grace-based righteousness alone. The opposites cannot be mixed.

2. Once we understand salvation by grace, we no longer try to earn salvation by works and merit. The Pharisees, Judaizers, world religions, and modern-day ‘Christian’ legalists have no logical basis for trying to mix the two opposites. Grace is unearned, unmerited favor. Works are earned and merited. vs. 6

3. Ethnic Israel could not achieve right standing with Yahweh by their works. vs. 7-10

a. God still selected individual Jews to receive grace-based salvation. They were saved ‘by the election of grace’ (NKJV), not by a choice based on foreseen works: past, present, or future. Even faith is a gift (Eph 2:8-9).

b. God allowed the other Jews to continue in their sin, and they became more resistant to the truth (their hearts were hardened).

c. Ethnic Israel’s works-righteousness mentality brought about spiritual callousness in most of the Jews. Agents of callousness or hardening are most often: sin, Satan, unbelief, the world system, error, and selfishness. This coming callousness was prophesied. In the covenantal curses it is written:

‘Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, you have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his entire land. You saw with your own eyes the great trials and those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear (Deut 29:2-4 HCSB). Isaiah said, stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with beer. For the LORD has poured out on you an overwhelming urge to sleep; He has shut your eyes—the prophets, and covered your heads—the seers. For you, the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it, he will say, I can’t read it, because it is sealed (Isa 29:9-11 HCSB)

David wrote: Let their dining table before them become a snare; when they are at peace, let it become a trap; ²⁴ let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see, and let their bodies always be stumbling (Psa 69:23-24 CJB). Paul applies this prayer of David to those Jews still rejecting the Messiah in his day after clearly hearing the gospel and his answers to their objections.

 

II. God is now saving a multitude of Gentiles to wake up Ethnic Israel. vs.11-22

III. God will save multitudes from Ethnic Israel in the future. vs. 23-32

IV. God has planned this salvation in His wisdom and power and deserves all the praise for His awesome plan. vs. 33-36