The Redemption of Israel - part 2 (Romans 11:25-36)
INTRODUCTION:
Romans 11:25-36 is Paul’s summary of Romans 9-11, the three chapters he devotes to the nation of Israel. Last Sunday, we began looking at this summary and Paul began by revealing to us a mystery, a mystery not fully disclosed in the Old Testament, but here Paul makes its full revelation. In doing this he removes all doubt about Israel’s place and part in God’s eternal plan of redemption. Paul plainly declared to us that what is happening right now is a partial spiritual hardening of the nation of Israel, partial because of the remnant of believing Jews that God has preserved for Himself throughout all of redemptive history. This hardening of national Israel is not permanent, it has a time frame in which it will end, they will be hardened until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in. God is using this time to bring Gentiles to Himself, and when the last Gentile that God has foreknown in eternity past and called to be His own child, and has justified him by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, when this has happened a chain of events will be set into motion which will end with all Israel being saved, the nation will repent of their sins and turn in faith to their Savior and Messiah, Jesus Christ. The salvation of the nation of Israel will set into motion a chain of events which will culminate in the millennial kingdom and the reign of Jesus Christ over the nation of Israel and the world. This is the mystery revealed to us by Paul, the future redemption of the nation of Israel when the fulness of the Gentiles has come in.
This morning we are going to take a look first at God’s mercy as Paul expounds upon it for us and then we are going to see that Paul’s theology becomes doxology as he is awed by the wisdom and knowledge of God to bring all this about for His glory. Let’s pray and then get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans 11:25-36. I will read the whole passage again to pick up the context, but we will be focusing on verses 30-36 this morning. Please, stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word, written to us.
Romans 11:25-36,
“For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.’ ‘This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.’ From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:25–36, NASB95)[1]
THE MERCY OF GOD (Romans 11:30-32)
Having declared the mystery of all Israel being saved once the fulness of the Gentiles has come in, Paul explains that God’s grace that makes salvation possible is an act of God’s mercy. The Greek word that is translated “mercy” is a word that speaks of having compassion for someone in need, but more than just compassion but acting on that compassion to meet the need. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words defines mercy as “the outward manifestation of pity; it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it [mercy].”[2] Paul told the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 2:4 that God is rich in mercy because of His love for us. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3, NASB95)[3] God’s grace and mercy go hand in hand. Grace as we have defined it is God’s unmerited favor to undeserving sinners, mercy is God withholding from us what we deserve. In other words, God in His grace forgives our sin, something that we do not deserve, and at the same time God removes His punishment and judgment, which we do deserve.
Paul uses the mercy of God to show us the full picture of God’s plan of redemption. Because of Israel’s unbelief as a nation, the nation was partially hardened or set aside temporarily and the good news of salvation was offered to the Gentiles. If God in His mercy extended His grace to Gentiles even while they were still in unbelief, because remember what Paul said earlier, in chapter 9:30, “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith;” (Romans 9:30, NASB95)[4] They were still in unbelief because they were not pursuing or seeking after righteousness. If this is the case, Paul writes how much more assuredly will He in His mercy extend His grace again to the nation of Israel while they are in unbelief. Paul writes in such a way that we have a whole lot of pronouns that we have to figure out to know exactly about whom he is writing, let me read verses 30-31 and fill in the pronouns with nouns, “For just as you [Gentiles] once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their [Israel’s] disobedience, so these [the nation of Israel] also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you [Gentiles] they [Israel] also may now be shown mercy.” (Romans 11:30–31, NASB95)[5]
It does not matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, salvation is built on God’s grace and mercy, not merit, it cannot be earned. God’s mercy is an act of His sovereign and generous grace. He loved us, He had compassion for us because He saw our need, our need was that we were dead in our sin, and we were headed for eternal damnation and judgment, the just sentence that we deserve for our sin, and God provided in His compassion a means of being justified before Him and escaping the damnation and judgment that we deserved, the means was through faith in Jesus Christ as our substitute, the One who suffered and died in our place so that we do not have to face eternal damnation. Paul’s testimony was a tribute to God’s grace and mercy, he wrote in 1 Timothy 1:12-14, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 1:12–14, NASB95)[6] The prophet Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem in his day spoke of God’s mercy, in the Old Testament, the word that means mercy is often translated lovingkindness to reflect the nature of mercy, that through love kindness is extended to meet the need. Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:22-24, “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I have hope in Him.’” (Lamentations 3:22–24, NASB95)[7] That first line has a variant translation that is brought out in the KJV and the NKJV let me read it to you from the NKJV, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’” (Lamentations 3:22–24, NKJV)[8] Only by God’s mercy do we not get what we deserve. Praise God that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Paul goes on in verse 32 to shed some light on the purpose of evil. Where did evil come from and why did God allow it to enter and destroy His perfect creation? We do not have a full answer to those questions in God’s Word, but Paul gives us a partial answer, shedding some light on the subject, he writes, “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.” (Romans 11:32, NASB95)[9]
This phrase “has shut up all” means to make no escape on any side, to enclose, it was used in the fishing industry to describe enclosing a shoal of fish in a net. God has enclosed us completely with no escape so that He may show mercy to all. What does it mean that He has shut us up in disobedience? The word “disobedience” can be translated “unbelief” and is in the KJV. The word simply means unpersuadable, it is a deliberate and stubborn refusal to believe, acknowledge, or obey. Paul use this same word two times in the book of Ephesians to describe unbelievers, unrepentant sinners, describing them as sons of disobedience, which we all once were. (Ephesians 2:2; 5:6)
Man’s sin, when demonstrated is disobedience to God, but this disobedience that deserves God’s wrath and judgment is a way for God to display the greatness and compassion of His mercy. Think about it for a minute, if there was no disobedience, no refusal to believe, there would be no need for mercy or for God to reveal Himself by His mercy. So that He could reveal Himself as a compassionate and forgiving God, as merciful, He permitted sin to enter and destroy His perfect creation.
When God says that He has shut up all, this all is all-inclusive, it means the whole world, Jew and Gentile, His purpose in doing this is so that He might show mercy to all, again all-inclusive, the whole world, Jew and Gentile. Man, all of mankind shut up in disobedience has fallen so far that on his own, he cannot be persuaded or convinced of God’s truth, he will not be convinced that he is lost and condemned to eternal judgment and that in and of himself he is powerless to change his condition. God has allowed us to fall this far into sin so that our only hope would be found in His gracious, compassionate mercy.
Understand that saving mercy is for all. The perfect sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ met all the demands of the justice and holiness of God as seen by the resurrection. If God’s justice and holiness had not been met then Christ would not have risen from the dead, this was God’s proof that saving mercy was available for all, every barrier has been removed and forgiveness is available to all. Any person who repents and seeks forgiveness and salvation will receive it. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NASB95)[10] Have you experienced God’s saving mercy in your life? You can today by repenting and in faith believing that Jesus Christ died in your place, suffered God’s wrath against sin on your behalf, was buried and rose from the dead on the third day. God’s mercy is available for you today.
THEOLOGY BECOMES DOXOLOGY (Romans 11:33-36)
Paul spent the first 11 chapters of this book teaching us the theology of God’s eternal plan of redemption culminating in this summary of chapters 9-11. Paul’s theology overflows in doxology, worship and praise to God, to the grace of God that he has been teaching throughout this whole book. This grace that has taken Gentiles sinners and saved them and fitted them for eternal glory; this grace that will regather the nation of Israel, cleanse them, forgive all their sins, and fulfill in them the promises of God in the millennial reign of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, their Messiah. Study of God’s Word and the theology that is taught within its pages should always cause us to worship the Lord for who He is and what He has done.
Paul begins by extolling the depth of the riches of God’s wisdom and knowledge. Just consider the depth of the riches of God’s wisdom. God has no need of anyone to confide in, no need of anyone to consult with, no need of anyone to guide and counsel Him, because He knows all things. Man will never plumb the depths of God’s wisdom. Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:25 that the foolishness of God is wiser than all the wisdom of men. In Colossians 2:3 we are told that God has hidden in Christ all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. This is to say, that all we know of God is just what He has revealed to us in the written Word and in the living Word, His Son, Jesus Christ. There is only one way in which we can know the grace of God, the love of God, the wisdom and knowledge of God, the only way to find it is in the pages of the Word of God. God’s knowledge is so far beyond ours, He is omniscient, He knows everything, and even with a lifetime of learning we do not even begin to scratch the surface of God’s knowledge.
Paul goes on to extoll the fact that God’s judgments are past finding out and His ways are unfathomable. This simply means that His ways are beyond finding out. God said it this way through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 55:8-11, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:8–11, NASB95)[11] We can only begin to know His ways when we come to Him in faith for salvation, and then only what is revealed to us in His Word. We can know of His judgments and ways through His Word but the depth of His judgments and ways will never be plumbed by the human intellect.
Paul does not stop His worship here but goes on to quote from two Old Testament passages to show us again the depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge. Paul first quotes from Isaiah 40, which gives us a glimpse of the glorious, incomparable character of God. Paul writes, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?” (Romans 11:34, NASB95)[12] The answer to these questions posed by Isaiah and now by Paul is no one. What finite being could know the mind of the Lord or be His counselor, no one because God is eternal and omniscient. The Lord knows our minds because He created them, and He knows all things and He can be our counselor if we allow Him. To understand a small amount of God’s mind and to be counseled by Him we must be in His Word where He has revealed what we need to know about Him and His plan. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “but just as it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10, NASB95)[13] Do you want to know God, do you want a glimpse of His wisdom and knowledge, then turn to His Word and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you, this is the only way you will find it. There is nothing that man can offer that compares with what God has to offer. Paul goes on and gives another quote from the book of Job, where God is speaking to Job in Job 41, Paul quotes in verse 35, “Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?” (Romans 11:35, NASB95)[14] Again the answer is no one. What could we have to give to God that we have not already received from Him? Nothing. Every breath we draw is a gift from God, everything we have has come from the gracious hand of our God. He owes us nothing, He has provided us with all things and beyond this He offers us a salvation we do not deserve and withholds His wrath and judgment and everlasting punishment that we do deserve when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. The only thing that we can offer to God is worship in everything that we think, say, and do, and that is only because He and He alone is worthy of our praise.
Paul ends his doxology of praise acknowledging this truth that everything is from God. He writes in verse 36, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36, NASB95)[15] God is the first cause, the effective cause and the final cause of everything, all things come from Him and by means of Him and are for Him and for His glory. God is the only proper and worthy One to magnify. The all-sovereign God deserves the praise of all His creatures. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
CONCLUSION:
This morning we have looked at God’s mercy, a mercy that is available to all because all mankind is shut up in unbelief and all mankind is helpless to do anything about his sinful situation, there is nothing that man can do to escape the inevitable judgment and everlasting punishment in the lake of fire that each and every one of us deserves. There is only one remedy and that is our Creator is a merciful God and He has looked on us with compassion and only because of His mercies are we not consumed in judgment. He saw our helpless need and He made away for us to be justified before Him so that there would be no more condemnation, so that He could remove our guilt and set us free from the wrath against sin and the judgment that is to come. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16–17, NASB95)[16]
It is this truth that made Paul’s heart soar with worship and praise and write the amazing doxology in the end of this chapter. It was this inspired doxology that becomes the culminating declaration of the apostle’s first 11 chapters of this book. After taking us through all of the great truths of salvation, Paul ends with acknowledgment of glory to the only One worthy of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ. This doxology, these words of worship and praise become a clear break between the doctrinal section of Romans and the last five chapters on the Christian’s walk of faith which we will begin next week in Romans 12.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]Vine, W. E., Vine’s Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words. McLean, VA : MacDonald Publishing Co.
[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]The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
[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]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[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.