Introduction

(Read) One of the most important but tricky aspects of biblical preaching and of all good Bible study is what expositors call, “Bridging Contexts.” The idea is, for example, that Paul did not originally write Romans for the Life Point Baptist Church of Apple Valley, CA on September 17, 2023. No, Paul lived in a very different time and place, and he wrote for Roman church, which lived on the other side of the world 2,000 years ago. So, their context is very different from ours.

Sadly, a lot of preachers and Bible students fail to adequately account for the difference, and they end up abusing the Scriptures. For example, there’s an old hymn called “Bringing in the Sheaves” that’s about sharing the gospel. Obviously, we must share the gospel, but the song borrows the imagery of bringing in the sheaves from Psalm 126. And it has nothing to do with evangelism. Instead, it’s about Israel returning from the Babylonian Captivity. But someone failed to account for the radically different contexts of the Babylonian Captivity and the modern-day church, and he mis-applied the text.

So, a good Bible student must distinguish the original context from his own. But just because the contexts are different, doesn’t mean there’s no relevance. No, build a bridge to your context because all Scripture is profitable. That’s not always easy, but the treasures of God’s Word are always worth the effort.

I bring that up because building that bridge for Romans 11 is tricky. The Roman church was being torn apart by questions over the ongoing role of Israel in the church age. The people were very concerned over the present state of Israel, and it was creating harsh division.

But that’s not our world. We may have the occasional spat about dispensationalism vs. covenant theology, but you don’t lie awake at night worrying about Israel’s fate. So, does that mean Romans 11 is irrelevant to your life and our church? Should we skip ahead to the more “practical” material in Romans 12? No, all Scripture is profitable. We must carefully bridge contexts—understand what Paul is saying in his context and what principles carry over to us. We’ll work hard to do that the next few weeks. For today, my outline is built on 3 truths abougt Israel. With each, we want to understand what Paul intended to say in his context. Then we’ll build a bridge to ours. Verses 1–4 articulate the 1^st truth.

I.  God will preserve a remnant (vv. 1–4).

Verse 1 begins with a very important question that drives vv. 1–32.

The Question: Paul asks, “I say then…” Since Paul takes 32 verses to answer this was clearly an important issue for the Romans. But why? Remember that Romans 9–11 is all about Israel’s rejection of their Messiah. It grieved the Jewish Christians, and some Gentiles wondered, “If God’s own people don’t believe in Jesus, why should we?”

Romans 9 responds that God never promised to save every descendant of Abraham. God’s sovereign will, not physical descent has always determined who is saved. But Romans 10 adds that each Israelite is also responsible for his or her fate. Most had chosen to reject Jesus. Therefore, Romans 10:21 calls Israel a “disobedient and obstinate people.”

But if God’s sovereign will includes most Jews rejecting Jesus, Paul knew some would ask, “Has God rejected His people?” Is God done with ethnic Israel? Romans 11 answers this question.

But maybe you are wondering, “Why should I care about that? What does it have to do with me.” I’ll quickly mention 3 reasons why you should care. The first reason is because you care about the faithfulness of God. Christianity relies on God’s promises. If God can break his promises to Israel, what’s to say he won’t break his promises to you? God’s faithfulness is very relevant.

Second, you care about the meaning of Scripture. A lot of people who hold to covenant theology believe that Israel has some minor role for the future. It’s hard to get around that in Romans 11. But they don’t believe it will look anything like what the OT prophets anticipated.

They believe the NT reinterprets them to be something very different. It results in a very different philosophy of Bible interpretation. Of course, your method of Bible interpretation is very important, and it is tied to what you believe about Israel’s future.

Third, you care about the nature and mission of the church. A lot of people believe that God’s promises to Israel have been transferred to the church. We are the new Israel. It greatly affects how they view the nature and mission of the church and our Christian responsibilities. Baptism becomes the new circumcision, and it’s for babies, not believers. As a result, the church, like Israel, is a mixed community of covenant families, not a pure community of the redeemed. The church’s mission includes Israel’s political and social responsibilities. We can’t just focus on making disciples and planting churches; we must fight racism, hunger, and every political battle. It’s a very different vision of what the local church is and does.

It also affects how you apply the OT to your life. Are you required to obey the Sabbath? What about the food and clothing laws? On it goes.

So, the question of v. 1 may not seem very relevant to your life, but your answer has far-reaching effects. So, how does Paul answer?

The Answer: First, Paul answers with another, “May it never be.” Paul strongly denies any idea that God is done with ethnic Israel.

Then v. 2 gives a fuller answer, “God has not…” God foreknew Israel. He chose them before they ever chose him, and it had nothing to do with their value or godliness. Moses said to Israel, “The Lordyour God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers” (Deut 7:6–8).

God is clear that his love for Israel (and for us) was never about how much they deserved it but always about his grace and faithfulness. God chose Israel and us long before we chose him. We only love God because he first loved us. Therefore, our standing with God was never about our worthiness.

Praise the Lord for that assurance! If you are born again, you did nothing to deserve it. God loved you because of who he is, not because of who you are. So, don’t listen when Satan whispers that it’s up to you to keep his love or that God may change his mind. Rest in God’s sovereign grace and faithfulness.

So, Paul responds strongly. God has not rejected because his relationship to them was never based on their worth but solely on his grace. Therefore, he is not done with them. He will keep every promise. Then he offers two proofs.

The Proof: The first proof is…

The Testimony of Paul (v. 1b): Paul’s testimony is a strong response to the fear that Israel’s sin caused God to abandon them. Paul responds that if any Jew deserved disqualification from the promise it was Paul.

Afterall, he knew the OT inside and out, and he had every Jewish privilege. But didn’t just reject Jesus; he persecuted Christ’s church. He tried to destroy it. So, if our sin is ultimately determinative then God would have certainly rejected Paul. But he didn’t. God pursued Paul with sovereign grace, and he saved him on the road to Damascus.

Therefore, Paul’s own life testifies to God’s continued faithfulness to Israel. If Paul’s disobedience and obstinance didn’t turn God away, then no Israelite’s sin could. God is always faithful even when we are not. His grace is always greater than our sin.

And if God could save Paul, he can also save you. It doesn’t matter what you have done, God’s grace is sufficient to forgive and transform you if you will humble yourself before him and run to his grace. Don’t try to earn his favor; receive it by faith.

And if you are saved, never forget that your standing with God was never about your worth; it was always about his grace. God didn’t choose you because you deserved it, and it’s not up to you to maintain his love. So, rest in his grace. God will never change his mind and break his promise. God is always faithful. The second proof is…

The Testimony of the 7,000 (vv. 2–4): This is another powerful proof of God’s faithfulness because Ahab and Jezebel’s reign over the Northern Kingdom of Israel was very dark, evil time in Israel’s history. They didn’t just practice the violent, evil religion of Baalism for themselves; they forced it on the entire nation. But Elijah boldly challenged the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. God sent fire from heaven and proved his supremacy.

Elijah was sure that revival would follow. Instead, Ahab and Jezebel wanted him dead. Elijah despaired, he fled to the desert, and he asked God to kill him. Verse 3 quotes Elijah’s complaint (read). It was bad. Israel was evil, defiant, and violent. Elijah thought he was the only man left who was faithful to God. He thought God was done with Israel, and he wanted to die.

But God had preserved 7,000 Israelites who continued to worship him. God preserved a remnant who were truly converted. That’s the definition of bittersweet because 7,000 is not many in a nation of millions. Yet it also powerfully testified to God’s continued faithfulness. No matter how dark it would get, God would not abandon his promise. He will preserve a remnant.

And God continues to do so today. Yes, most modern Jews reject Jesus. Many don’t even believe in God. But here in America, there are missions groups who are aggressively doing Jewish evangelism, and God saves some. God is preserving a remnant. He is faithful to his promise.

And it’s worth mentioning that God will also keep his promise to the church. I had someone tell me a couple weeks ago that if America falls, the church will too. I replied that we certainly don’t want America to fall, but Jesus said, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt 16:18). The American government, the Chinese government, secularism, Islam, and every other force on the planet cannot threaten the church, not when Jesus has promised its survival.

We are on the winning side. The harvest is plentiful. God is saving people. He is building his church. I hope you believe that and that it shows in how you share the gospel and disciple others. Trust the Lord and serve with great expectation of what God will do.

So, the bridge between the Roman context of vv. 1–4 and ours is that the faithfulness of God. The Jewish remnant didn’t need to worry that God would reject Israel because God is always faithful to his promise.

And we don’t need to worry about God breaking his promises to us either. God is faithful. So, anchor your souls to the faithfulness of God. You never need to doubt God’s promise. Our God will do everything he has said. Verses 5–6 build off this to assert a 2^nd major truth.

II.  Grace alone preserves the remnant (vv. 5–6).

Again, v. 4 said that God preserved a remnant in Elijah’s day, and v. 5 says God had also preserved a remnant in Paul’s day. Paul was part of that remnant.

But someone might object, “Sure, there’s a remnant now, but how can we be sure it will continue? What if the numbers keep getting smaller until no Jews are saved?”

Sometimes, American Christians have the same defeatist attitude about American church decline. Paul responds that God’s purpose will not fail because human choice has never been determinative; instead, it is “God’s gracious choice.”

The Greek word translated choice is eklogā. It commonly is translated as election. The idea is that no one deserves salvation. If the promise depended on us, no one would be saved. But God graciously elects some Jews and everyone in the church for himself. His purpose, his choice fulfills the promise. That’s big news for two reasons.

God’s promise is sure. God’s promises are not predictions based on what he thinks will happen. Instead, God’s sovereign will creates his promises, and his almighty power guarantees their fulfillment. Therefore, it doesn’t matter how broken the Israelite people are or how hostile the world and Satan may be toward them. Nothing can stop God’s purpose. Nothing can destroy God’s people. God will preserve a remnant.

The same goes for God’s promises to you. For example, we saw in Romans 8:30 that God promises to glorify everyone who has been justified. But I’ve heard people say, “God will never drop me, but what if I jump out of his hand? What if I do something horrible, and I miss glory?”

The answer is that your salvation never ultimately depended on you. It was always in God’s almighty hand. You aren’t wrong to doubt yourself. You should doubt yourself. But you can be certain of God’s gracious purpose. He will hold you fast. The 2^nd reason God’s gracious choice is big news is that…

God’s grace is amazing. Notice the conclusion Paul draws from election in v. 6. The logic is quite simple. If election determines who is saved, our works are not what saves us, and they are not what keeps us. Instead, grace is our only hope. And praise God that his grace is always enough.

Consider Paul’s own testimony. He was marching to Damascus to destroy the church when God plucked him out of his evil for no reason other than his grace. Grace alone explained Paul’s conversion.

And the same is true of every Christian in this room. You are not here because of how spiritual or wise you are but because of sovereign grace. So, there’s no room for pride at the foot of the cross or in the fellowship of the redeemed. There’s only room to be amazed by the grace of God and to be full of grace toward each other.

So, rejoice in God’s grace. Then trust that grace. Mature believers are always suspicious of themselves but confident in God’s grace. You are not sufficient for the Christian life, but the grace of God is. God will be faithful because God’s grace is amazing. So, trust God. Grow in grace and in the knowledge of God. Then press forward in godliness and in ministry with confidence in the faithfulness and grace of God. Finally, vv. 7–10 assert the 3^rd truth of our text.

III.  God justly hardens the majority (vv. 7–10).

The Bad News: Paul begins by saying something he has said many times in Romans. Paul’s Jewish contemporaries sought a relationship with God. They went about it the wrong way, but you can’t fault their effort. They were striving to obey God’s law, at times to ridiculous extremes. Jesus says they tithed mint and cumin. Can you imagine carefully tithing every tenth leaf on a mint plant?

But tragically, their efforts were vain. The vast majority failed to obtain a relationship with God. Paul has said that their focus on achieving righteousness blinded them to their desperate need of grace. They put all their energy into a hopeless solution, and it resulted in condemnation.

That is such an important warning for our day because the secular gospel says any sincere pursuit is a good pursuit. As long as you are following your heart, you can’t be wrong. God says that’s a terrible lie. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). You can only be saved through Jesus. You must give up on earning God’s favor and trust completely in what Jesus did on the cross. Please receive him and be saved.

The Good News: But thankfully, the bad news is not the only news. Paul adds, “But those…” God was and is preserving a remnant. It’s not because Paul or anyone else in that remnant is special; it’s all because of God’s grace. That’s great news. God’s grace is amazing, it will never end, and it assures us that God will fulfill his promises.

The Bad News: But sadly, there’s more bad news, “The rest were hardened.” Doug Moo, simply defines hardening as “A spiritual insensitivity that prevents people from responding to God or to his message of salvation.”

Verses 8–10 describe this hardening and prove it by quoting the OT (read). Have you ever read the OT or the Gospels and marveled at the blindness of Israel? How could they be so dumb? How could they watch Jesus cast out a demon and accuse him of doing so in the power of Satan? The reason is that “God gave them a spirit of stupor.” The hardened heart is practically drunk, blind, and deaf.

Of course, we don’t like the idea that God would harden someone, but we must understand that it is entirely just. Verse 9 says that God prepared a bountiful table for Israel. He gave them the Law, he performed many miracles, and he sent many prophets. But instead of responding with humility before God, Israel ignored God’s Word or boasted in themselves. It was terribly evil.

Rejecting God’s Word is not a small thing. It’s not amazing that God hardens people; it’s amazing that he would ever show grace. God is not some insecure lover who desperately comes back time after time to an abusive spouse. He is the Lord. He will only make his offer so many times. Jesus said he will not continue to cast his pearls before swine.

That’s a really important perspective that we must remember as we ponder God’s faithfulness and grace. Please don’t hear all that I’ve said today about God’s sovereign grace as meaning that God’s grace is a license to sin. God graciously preserved a remnant, but he also judged Israel and continues to judge most Jews with hardness because of their rebellion.

God is the Lord. He demands our worship and service. He is a loving Father who offers abundant grace, but rejecting that grace is a grievous sin. His justice cannot stand by idly forever.

Maybe you aren’t ready to humble yourself before the Lord. You want to have some fun first, enjoy your youth, experience the world, and then you’ll grow up later and get saved. God warns that this may be your last chance. If you reject Christ this morning, you deserve to be hardened in your rebellion and to never receive another opportunity.

God may give you another one or many more, but don’t presume that he will. Instead, receive Christ and be saved right now in your seat. Confess that Jesus is Lord and you have sinned against him, believe that God raised him from dead, and receive him. Please do that today because you are not guaranteed another opportunity.

Conclusion

So, the bridge between the Roman context and ours is the character of God. Our God is just, and he takes sin seriously. You cannot rebel against his will or arrogantly refuse to bow before him without consequence. So, do not take your sin lightly. Always kneel before Christ’s lordship. But praise the Lord that he is also gracious and faithful. His grace, not my character assures me that he will keep every promise. So, give thanks for his grace toward you, rest in that grace, and go forward in that grace with certainty that God will not reject his child. He will bring you to glory someday and fulfill every promise.