GOD’S PLAN OF REDEMPTION INCLUDES ISRAEL – PART 3 (Romans 11:11-24)
INTRODUCTION:
Last week we continued our journey through the second section of Romans 11. We got through a few more verses than we did the first week in this section, we have eight more verses in this section to finish it up and I had hoped to get through them this morning but we will have one more week in this section.
So far, we have learned that because of Israel’s unbelief, salvation has come to the Gentiles. The Gentiles receiving the blessing of salvation is to provoke the Jews to jealousy and cause them to repent and receive salvation by grace through faith, and when they as a nation turn to Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior, the millennial blessings will be poured out on the earth, even creation itself will be transformed as if being raised from the dead. Paul said that as an apostle of Gentiles, he magnified his ministry with the purpose of moving some of his countrymen to jealousy in hopes of saving some of them. After speaking twice in the preceding verses about all Israel repenting and coming to Jesus Christ for salvation, Paul then moved into two examples in which he showed that Israel’s rejection by God cannot be complete and permanent. If it was, then God would not be holy because He had made His covenant promises with Abraham, whom He declared holy, or set apart for Himself, so His rejection is only temporary and partial, the covenant promises that God made to Abraham, the promise to redeem and restore Abraham’s descendants must be fulfilled for God to remain holy and faithful. If the root represented by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is holy, set apart for God, then the branches, represented by their descendants, are holy also and one day they will bear the spiritual fruit that God intends to produce in and through them when they repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ, they will become the holy people of God that He intended them to be.
This morning in the remaining verses, Paul expands on this illustration of the root and its branches to warn us who are Gentiles not to become arrogant and conceited, then Paul will end the illustration with a promise. Let’s pray and get into the passage for this morning.
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles again to Romans 11:11-24, I will again read the whole passage to pick up the context. Please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Romans 11:11-24,
“I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?” (Romans 11:11–24, NASB95)[1]
THE TREE EXAMPLE EXPANDED (Romans 11:17-22)
Speaking through the prophet Isaiah God said to Israel in Isaiah 51:1-2, “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him.” (Isaiah 51:1–2, NASB95)[2] What God is saying to Israel through Isaiah is that He founded and instituted His permanent covenant relationship with Israel through His covenant relationship with one man, their forefather, Abraham. In other words, they were consecrated or set apart as a people belonging to God in the consecration or setting apart of Abraham. If the root is holy, then what it produces is holy also.
Paul then expands on this illustration of the tree to give a warning to the Gentiles. He writes, “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.” (Romans 11:17–18, NASB95)[3] In his expanding of this illustration Paul drives home his point by referring to the practice of grafting branches into an existing tree. Olive production was and is an important industry in Israel. Olive trees can live for hundreds of years, the ones on the Mount of Olives just outside of Jerusalem where Jesus spent time with His disciples, and where He was arrested are said to be over 2000 years old. However, as olive trees age they produce less and less olives, and so, to restore the productivity of well-established trees, less productive branches are removed and branches from younger olive trees are grafted into the old trees thus increasing the amount of olives they produce.
Paul uses this practice of grafting to make his point. What he is saying is those branches that represent the descendants of Abraham, those branches that were unproductive were broken off, they were removed from the tree and set aside. As we have already seen this was a predetermined plan of God with a predetermined purpose. Jesus during His lifetime spoke to the people then who were rejecting Him, He said to them in Matthew 21:43, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.” (Matthew 21:43, NASB95)[4]
Unbelieving, unfaithful, unproductive branches of Israel were broken off and in their place that of a wild olive tree was grafted in, the believing Gentiles. Paul says you were “grafted in among them.” (Romans 11:17b, NASB95)[5] The graft took and these Gentile believers from all nations “became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree.” (Romans 11;17c, NASB95)[6] Partaker with them, the believing descendants of Abraham, the divine remnant, and what have they partaken of? The rich root of the tree, the root of divine blessing, the Gentile believers are partakers of the eternal relationship with God through salvation that was given to Abraham when he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. This verse makes clear that not all the branches were removed, as already noted there is always a believing remnant of Jews that God has preserved for Himself. Those original branches representing the remnant remained attached to the tree and were joined by the Gentiles who were grafted in and both are partakers of the rich root, the Gentiles have become joint heirs with the Jewish remnant without becoming Jews as Paul had spoken earlier in Romans 4:9-12, “Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, ‘Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.’ How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.” (Romans 4:9–12, NASB95)[7]
Paul now issues a command to his Gentile readers, to us, a command based on the truth that we are joint heirs with the Jewish believers without being or becoming a Jew. Paul writes, “do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.” (Romans 11:18, NASB95)[8] Paul warns us not to become arrogant toward those unbelieving Jews who were cut off. We are to remember that promise of salvation did not come through us, we are not the source of that blessing anymore than the unbelieving Jews had been. It was through Abraham that the promise was made that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed. We are blessed with the blessings of salvation by God because we are the spiritual descendants of Abraham. We have been grafted into the covenant of salvation that God made with Abraham and now by God’s grace this salvation has been offered to everyone who believes in the God of Abraham. Nathan read for us this morning what Paul had written to the churches in Galatia a few years before penning the book of Romans. He wrote in Galatians 3:6-9, “Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.” (Galatians 3:6–9, NASB95)[9] Paul reminds us that we the grafted in branches are supported by the root, not the other way around. It would be preposterous for us to be arrogant over the other branches, even those cut off in unbelief. The blessing that we have, both Jew and Gentile comes through the root of God’s covenant promises to Abraham.
Paul knew that there would be those Gentiles who would not be convinced even with the clear truth of this illustration and he anticipated what their argument would be. He writes, “You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’” (Romans 11:19, NASB95)[10] He knew that some Gentile believers would want to point out that branches had been broken off so that they could be grafted in. Paul is quick to respond to their argument, he writes in response, “Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;” (Romans 11:20, NASB95)[11] Paul’s point is that breaking off and grafting in is based only on one thing, it is belief, it is not based on race, or Jew or Gentile superiority, or if one is more intellectual or moral than the other. It is not based on what you have done or will do, or what you have not done or will not do. The only issue is faith. Those branches that were broken off were unbelieving Jews, they were removed because of their unbelief. Those Gentiles that were grafted in were grafted in because of belief, because of faith. Paul says that you Gentiles grafted in stand by your faith, your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s point is that we have no argument, we have no reason to be conceited, but we have good reason to fear. What is it that we have to fear, Paul writes, “for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.” (Romans 11:21, NASB95)[12] If God did not spare the descendants of Abraham, His covenant people, because of their unbelief, He will not spare you Gentiles, who are not a part of His covenant, because of your unbelief. If the calling and blessing of the Lord could not protect the unbelieving Jews from being broken off, then it will not protect those Gentiles from being broken off in their unbelief. Paul is warning us that we need to have a righteous fear and strongly resist any temptation to arrogance or conceit. If God cut off or broke off apostate Israel because of her unbelief, He will surely cut off an apostate church because of unbelief.
I need to stop here and explain what I mean when I say apostate. The theologian Arnold Fruchtenbaum defines apostasy as “the departure from the truth that one professed to have.”[13] Understand what is being said, it is the truth that they professed to have, but in truth they did not possess the truth, they claim to have the truth because of who they are affiliated with. They may claim to possess the truth of the church which they belong to, but actually the apostate denies the doctrinal truths and departs from the truth that he professes to have. We are seeing this more and more in churches and denominations of our day. Apostates deny the inerrancy of Scripture, it is no longer for them the final authority, they also deny key doctrines of the faith which center on the Person and work of the Messiah, of Jesus, they deny His place in the Trinity, they deny His deity, they deny His incarnation as the God-Man by means of the Virgin Birth, and they deny that He is coming back physically. An apostate is not a genuine believer, but may look like one. The church on earth is full of apostates today and they will continue to grow to the end of the church age. There are two passages that predicted the apostasy of the church in the end times, the first is 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, Paul writes, “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” (2 Thessalonians 2:1–3, NASB95)[14] The phrase “day of the Lord” that Paul uses in these verses always refers to the Tribulation period. This passage says two things must occur before the Tribulation can begin, first the apostasy or as some translate it, “the falling away.” The word used in the Greek is the word apostosia from which we get the English word apostasy. It is inevitable that the church will become apostate and we see it happening. Second, it says that the man of lawlessness must be revealed before the Tribulation can begin. The second passage that predicts the apostasy of the church is 1 Timothy 4:1, where Paul writes, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,” (1 Timothy 4:1, NASB95)[15] Again, Paul speaking prophetically speaks of a falling away or an apostasy from the faith. We see it in the church today, in the mainline denominations and in many of the smaller denominations and independent churches, departing from the truth they once professed to have, but they never really possessed. When the true church is removed at the rapture all that will be left of the church as we know it today will be the apostate church. She will be cut off from the tree and suffer God’s judgment for her unbelief. Just as the Lord judged apostate Israel, so will He judge the apostate church of our day. We must be on guard not to become arrogant or conceited because this is when the seeds of apostasy, the deceitful spirits and the doctrine of demons begin to slip in.
How are these apostates even grafted into the tree if they are not true believers? As you go through this passage, and every time you come across the words “you” or “your” it is referring to the Gentiles, in Greek it is a singular, it means one person or one group. Paul when speaking of Gentiles being grafted in is not speaking of individuals, but the group of Gentiles that make up the Gentile church as a whole, and within the church are those who are apostate. The apostate church which is all that will remain after the rapture will be cut-off and punished for their unbelief. You can read of the destruction of the apostate church in Revelation 17 because the apostate church that is left after the rapture will become the great harlot that sits on many waters in Revelation 17. Be on your guard and do not become arrogant or conceited and watch and guard the faith that you have so these seeds of apostasy do not slip into McCleary Community Church, the lies of the apostates are subtle, be on guard.
CONCLUSION:
I am going to stop here today, we got through 5 more verses but did not even finish my first point. Lord willing, we will finish up the last three next week. This morning we began looking at the expanded illustration of the root and a tree that was introduced to us last week. From this passage, from this illustration we understand that some of the branches which represent Israel were broken off because of their unbelief, and the Gentiles were grafted in to the tree to partake of the rich root of the tree, which represents the covenant of salvation that God made with Abraham. We have become joint heirs with the Jewish remnant in the blessings of salvation. In this illustration, Paul is issuing a warning to the church to not become arrogant or conceited concerning our salvation because salvation did not come through us, but through God’s covenant with Abraham. We cannot become conceited because those branches that were broken off were broken off because of their unbelief, we were grafted in because of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To be a part of the tree of God’s grace has nothing to do with who you are, or what you have done or will do, it is entirely based on faith. There are some who look like they are grafted into the tree, but they are apostates, they are not truly believers, they are like those descendants of Abraham who looked like they were part of the covenant but were cut off because of unbelief. The apostasy of the church is taking place and will continue to take place, we as a local church must be on constant guard, we must be vigilant to not allow it to infiltrate our ranks. Let me close with Paul’s final warning to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:28-32, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:28–32, NASB95)[16] Let’s heed Paul’s warning to be on guard and to be alert.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[13]Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G., The Footsteps of the Messiah. San Antonio, TX : Ariel Ministries, 2018.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.