Mercies of the God of Israel – Romans 11

[0:00] Well, good morning, everyone. To welcome you here in the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

[0:12] We sang this morning about bringing our vessels, not a few. Have we brought our vessels and not a few? Have we brought many vessels here this morning to have them filled from God's Word, that we have a supply to take us through this coming week?

[0:34] Are we ready to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit? I'd also like to thank you for bringing those special numbers.

[0:48] Myself, I did not understand the language, but praise God that it is a language He has created and He knows their hearts, He knows the words.

[1:00] And in all languages, we can absolutely, truly praise and worship Him. So thank God for that and thank you for coming and sharing.

[1:12] So wrapping up Romans chapter 11 today. So as we've brought out before, Romans 9 through 11, Paul kind of focused on Israel and he's been speaking concerning the condition that they are in.

[1:39] He started out by revealing it that Israel has rejected their Savior. They have rejected the gospel.

[1:53] There was a purpose in that. It was not for naught that that happened. There was a purpose in it. God had a plan for bringing salvation to the Gentiles, to us.

[2:04] And it must come about in the falling away of the Jews. Israel's fall was riches unto salvation for the Gentiles.

[2:23] Yet, God would not forget Israel. He cannot forget them. He had promised to be their God. And He will be their God.

[2:38] The text we're looking at this morning concludes Paul's writings regarding the state of Israel. God is not done with Israel. He has not cast them aside.

[2:49] His plan for Israel is not complete yet. It's still a work in progress. There is more to come.

[3:03] God has shown mercy and compassion on the Gentiles, on us. And He will do the same for His people Israel. I've titled today's message, Mercies of the God of Israel.

[3:20] Before we continue, let's just again bow in prayer. Lord God, we come before you again this morning and we just thank you for this day. Lord, I thank you for each one who is here today, who has come to have their vessels filled.

[3:36] Lord, may they be filled. May you fill them. And just prepare each and every one of us to go through another week until we meet here again, if it is your will.

[3:47] Lord, just again ask for boldness, for strength and courage to proclaim your word. May your message go out as you would desire. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. All right, so last Sunday we had an illustration of an olive tree.

[4:13] We don't have too many olive trees in Canada, I don't think, but they would be common in Israel. And so it was the example that Paul chose to use.

[4:28] And it was a good example. We had the roots of this olive tree representing the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[4:43] And all three of these men were made righteous through faith, not through any works. It was through faith that they were saved. And that is the base of this olive tree that God put in place, that their faith in him is where the strength of the roots come from.

[5:07] And then it talked about the natural branch, which is the nation of Israel. And we know that there were unfruitful branches, branches that were not producing olives.

[5:22] And so God broke these branches out. He pruned the tree and broke out these unfruitful branches. And in their place, he grafted in these wild olive branches from wild olive trees.

[5:36] And these are the Gentiles. They were grafted in the place where the natural branches had been. And as we went through it, it was brought out, there were warnings to these wild olive branches, to the Gentiles.

[5:54] It said, you have become partakers, yet do not boast against the natural branches. You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

[6:08] And so this, in regards to the questions that we had even at the beginning of chapter 11, has God cast away his people? For us as Gentiles to think that God is done with Israel, that we are now God's people, that we are part in it.

[6:25] There's this warning there. Do not boast against the natural branches. You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

[6:38] Do not be haughty, meaning arrogant or boastful, but fear. The natural branches were broken off due to unbelief.

[6:51] And if God did not spare those natural branches, he might not spare you either. So Paul continues that thought going into our text this morning.

[7:05] Looking at verse 25. For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion. That blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

[7:22] So Paul is saying, I do not desire, brethren. So he's speaking to the Gentiles. He's speaking to us. I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery.

[7:37] And that you become wise in your own opinion. That you follow down this path, this thought path, that God has done with the Jews.

[7:48] That we are now his people. That he's done with the Jews. Don't become wise in your opinion of that. it has been established that that Israel has been set aside because of their unbelief and in setting them aside the way to salvation has been opened for the Gentiles yet God is not done with Israel scripture is clear on this and we'll look into a couple of Old Testament prophecies that bring this out that show this first let's look back a bit at this olive tree let's look back at verse 24 that last week for if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree so we see that warning to the wild olive branches that have been grafted in it's not natural for these wild branches to be growing and producing on a cultivated tree that's not natural naturally the wild olive branches grow and produce on a wild olive tree not a cultivated one but they do it works and Pastor Peter brought that out well it's good that he has connections who know about the art of grafting trees branches into trees

[9:34] I don't know anything about that so it was good that it was his turn to bring that message to have that connection to clarify that so so these wild branches it's not natural but it works God has designed it so that it works and that is the picture that he brought out that these wild branches were grafted into the tree and it did work there was fruit being produced but the warning there that it isn't natural for you wild olive branches to be in that culture and so if the Gentiles who have been grafted in to if they continue to believe to live by faith they may remain they can stay on that cultivated tree and yet if unbelief sets in their caution that if there is unbelief if you do not produce fruit that they too will be removed they have been put in and they can be removed again and then what makes more sense than to graft those natural branches back in those branches that belonged on that tree they were there in the first place and so why would

[11:01] God put such a question such a warning in there as we as we see here in verse 24 if you don't produce I will remove you like I did the natural branch and if I remove you which needs to take that place to take the place of the branch that has been removed and what better branch than the natural one God had scripture written in such a way here it is posed as a question how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree so it's written as a question and yet it's more than a question it is a statement that God is making it is exactly what he will do and he clears that up as we go through our text later on going back to verse 25 it talks about a mystery let's look at this mystery a bit that Paul talks about we are not to be ignorant of this mystery this mystery is something which before had been a mystery but it is no longer a mystery it is the answer to that mystery is here what is that mystery it's in the second half of verse 25 that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in that is this mystery it doesn't say all Israel has been blinded it says in part what have they been blinded to that the righteousness that Israel is seeking comes through faith in Christ

[13:29] Jesus not the law of righteousness that they are following that Israel is following this we saw back in chapter 9 of Romans verses 31 and 32 but Israel pursuing the law of righteousness has not attained to the law of righteousness 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 we see Israel pursuing righteousness by the law of righteousness not by faith that is the blindness so yes the majority of Israel has been blinded but not all it says in part even today there are believing Jews remember at the beginning of chapter 11 the example that Paul brought out in Elijah and that two Sundays ago

[14:37] Elijah thought that he was the very last prophet in Israel that was still faithful to God and now King Ahab was after him to kill him and he was the last one and yet God reminded him God reminded Elijah I have reserved for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal Elijah wasn't alone God had preserved that was only one example Paul earlier said himself that I'm an example Paul said I'm a Jew descendant of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin he too was an example and there are other examples in scripture and here in verse 25

[15:51] God gives a reminder to all of this blindness in part has happened to Israel not all Israel in part not all of them have been blinded and until God's plan for the salvation of the Gentiles is completed Israel will remain blinded we see that to this day Israel is yet blinded but when that time comes God will turn his attention back to Israel and Israel's eyes the truth that blindness will be removed and so all Israel will be saved starting into verse 26 of our text God will again have compassion on Israel and he will save his people

[16:51] I don't think it means that every single Israelite will be saved and yet generally as a nation Israel will see Jesus Christ for who he is that he is the savior that blindness will be removed they will see that you know what's interesting at the start of verse 26 there and so all Israel will be saved how are we saved look back to chapter 10 verse 9 in Romans Romans 10 verse 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you will be saved he said he says that Israel will be saved

[17:57] Israel will confess the Lord Jesus and they will believe that God has raised him from the dead when the blindness of Israel is removed they will realize that Jesus truly is the savior they will believe in him and be saved how do we get proof of this you know it only makes sense that Paul here would insert a quote from the Old Testament prophecies of the Old Testament the proof is there reading verses 26 and 27 in our text and so all Israel will be saved as it is written the deliverer will come out of Zion and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob for this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins

[19:03] Paul quotes three different prophecies here in these two verses and let's turn there and read different prophecies the first one the first part coming out of Psalm chapter 14 verse 7 Psalm 14 verse 7 it reads oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion when the Lord brings back the captivity of his people let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad that's the first part in that prophecy and the next one being in Isaiah chapter 59 read that as well so Isaiah 59 verses 20 and 21 verse in Psalm reading that the

[20:22] Redeemer will come out of Zion here it reads the Redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob says the Lord as for me says the Lord this is my covenant with them my spirit who is upon you and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth nor from the mouth of your descendants nor from the mouth of your descendants descendants says the Lord from this time and forever more we see here too that this is a covenant that God has made from this time and forever more is God done with Israel no and the third part of that prophecy it comes from Jeremiah chapter 31 so

[21:30] Jeremiah 31 we'll be looking at verse 31 through 34 so the deliverer being Jesus will come out of Zion or to Zion also known as Jerusalem and turn away ungodliness from Jacob it reads and what was Jacob's name God changed Jacob's name he changed it tweaking concerning Israel here this is a covenant that God will make with Israel let's read verses 31 through 34 in Jeremiah 31 behold the days are coming says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt my covenant which they broke though I was a husband to them says the

[22:31] Lord but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the Lord I will put my law in their minds I will write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people no more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they all shall know me from the least of them to the ground says the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more says here that God will make a covenant with them and there will be no need for one to teach another for they will all know the Lord from the least of them to the greatest of them and further I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more God will take away their sins and what is it that takes away our sins it is the blood of

[23:40] Jesus God will take away Israel's sin and they will be saved God and that again it brings us back into Romans takes us back to Romans chapter 10 verse 13 and what it tells us there for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved Israel will call on the Lord going to verse 28 in our text Romans 11 concerning the gospel your sake but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers so when it comes to the gospel Israel has been made enemies for the Gentiles sake for our sake it was necessary for

[24:42] Israel to reject the gospel so that salvation could come to the Gentiles had Israel not rejected the gospel we would not be here today Israel is the enemy of the gospel today so that the Gentiles could enter into the plan of salvation this is how God designed it this was his plan concerning the election Israel is beloved for the sake of their fathers their forefathers because God chose Israel to be his people and because their forefathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob lived their seed being Israel is beloved God still loves Israel moving on to verse 29 for the gifts and the calling of

[25:50] God are irrevocable when God made a covenant with Abraham he said to him and this I quote out of Genesis 17 verse 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and your descendants after you we see the promise this is an everlasting covenant God makes with Abraham to be the God of Abraham and all his descendants after him how strong would our faith really be if God actually was done with Israel think of the verse I just quoted there Genesis 17 7 if we think of that verse where

[26:54] God promises to be the God of Abraham and his descendants by way of an everlasting covenant and then we flip to the New Testament and we read that Israel has rejected God and so he has cast them aside and turned to the Gentiles how strong would our faith be now if we come to that conclusion that God is actually done with Israel how are we so sure that he will continue with us that he will not at some point be done with us and cast us aside thankfully we know that God is true and faithful to his promises he will not go back on his promises he cannot this is not God's nature he does not lie he keeps his promises Israel because of her unbelief has been set aside for a season so that salvation can come to the

[28:02] Gentiles and when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in God then will focus again on his chosen people Israel he will turn his attention to the natural branches of that olive tree looking looking at verses 30 to 32 in our text Paul is reminding the Gentiles of the state that they had been in remember you once were the disobedient ones he tells the

[29:04] Gentiles you were the ones who refused God who worshipped false gods and were far away and lost in sin yet see what you have received as wicked as you were you have now obtained mercy God had absolutely no reason to extend mercy to the Gentiles yet he loved them he did extend mercy he had compassion on them he has compassion on us and because he is rich in grace and mercy he has extended it to the Gentile nations to the Gentile people and it came at the expense of the Jews because Israel was disobedient to God because they refused to believe

[30:05] Jesus was the Messiah God blinded them he hardened their hearts like he did Pharaoh's and they stumbled and they have fallen and Israel's fall has become riches for the world salvation has come to the Gentiles through Israel's fall even so at this time Israel is still disobedient but there is hope the Gentiles is undeserving as they were they have been shown mercy God showed mercy and through the very same mercy that has been shown to the Gentiles Israel too may obtain mercy you know why not why couldn't mercy come about like this why could this not be if we think about it what happened here is that

[31:15] Israel has flipped spots with the Gentiles they've traded shoes right the Gentiles now get to experience God's grace his mercy and to have God's favor upon them Israel on the other hand they're getting a taste of what the Gentiles have lived up until the church age began that emptiness that hopelessness that lostness Israel has been blinded just as the Gentiles when God was with Israel verse 32 sums up what verses 30 and 31 are saying for God has committed them all to disobedience that he might have mercy on all this too is part of that mercy

[32:17] Israel has been blinded they have been committed to disobedience by God it's kind of a twofold purpose here first that salvation might come to the Gentiles so that the Gentile world can have a taste of the mercy of God into his plan of salvation and secondly that God might have mercy on all on Israel as well God showed mercy to us Gentiles he too will show mercy to Israel he might have mercy on all Gentiles were disobedient first they did not seek righteousness yet they found it when they believed when they put their faith in Christ Israel was

[33:18] God's chosen people and yet while they were still a very young nation not many generations in they were struggling with unbelief God was patient for them for for a long time before he turned his attention away from Israel and to the Gentiles God turned away from Israel to the Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy so that they might return to him in the picture of that olive tree it explains it all so well Abraham Isaac and Jacob they were made righteous they represent the roots as a good solid foundation for the nation there Israel as a nation made up the branches over many years many generations that tree grew up to be a beautiful mature tree and yet as

[34:30] God looked over this tree he saw those many beautiful leafy branches and yet when he looked closer he noticed that many of these branches were not bearing fruit and so the time came when God broke these branches off that were not producing fruit he broke off those branches and he grafted in the wild olive branches the gentiles his mercy was on the gentiles and so it is still today and the warning to us is be sure that you are being fruitful that time is coming near I believe when God will again prune this tree he will look over this tree and he will inspect each branch and if he finds wild olive branches that are not producing if there is unbelief he will cut them out again and graft in again the natural branches

[35:42] God showed mercy to the gentiles to the wild olive branches by grafting them into his tree he will show the same mercy to Israel the natural branches when he grafts them back into the same tree that they were cut out of and they will produce their blindness will be removed and they will believe their sins will be taken away continuing on Paul closes this portion of Romans where he's been focusing on Israel he closes it with a wonderful benediction not only on this portion from chapters 9 through 11 where his focus is on Israel but even all of Romans up to this point from chapter 1 to here in chapter 11 he writes a wonderful benediction in writing through

[36:52] Romans he began with making it clear that all men are unrighteous Jew and Gentile alike all are lost and need a savior he then went on to establish that God is just and his judgment is righteous and we are made righteous through faith alone not by works or position he laid out the process of dying to self to sin and being alive to God and bearing fruit to him the law cannot save us we must confess the Lord Jesus and believe that God raised him from the dead calling on the name of the Lord fully believing in him we will be saved here was Israel's fault they rejected the Savior and his gospel and they have strayed far from God yet God is not done with them time is approaching when Israel's blindness will be removed and they will be saved so what a better way to end portion of

[38:01] Romans up to this point than to turn to the source of all of this to turn to God himself and to praise him so we have verses 33 through 36 as I was studying this trying to gather thoughts to bring out even at the start already it was how can I explain these words better than they are explained so let this benediction speak for itself oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has become his counselor or who has first given to him and it shall be repaid to him for of him and through him and to him are all things glory forever amen let's pray lord god we bow before you again this morning we thank you oh god for your mercy for your grace for your righteousness for sending your one and only son to this earth to die for us and that you raised him up that we might believe in him believe him to be our savior and to believe that you raised him up and when we call on the name of the lord jesus and we believe in him and we receive him that we are saved our iniquity our sin is taken away it is removed as far as the east is from the west god we thank you that all things are from you they are through you they come back to you the honor and the glory to you forever amen