Romans 11:1-6 ESV
“I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’ But what is God's reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”
As we adventure into this chapter of the book of Romans, I pray that all who will read this will put out of their minds any preconceived ideas about what is being taught here, and that we will all be willing to just listen to the Holy Spirit and to the words God has spoken through Paul. And please realize that what is written here must agree with the book of Romans, as a whole, with the New Testament teachings on this subject, as a whole, and with the New Covenant God made with his people Israel via Jesus’ death on that cross.
Paul made it clear in Romans chapter nine that not all who are physically descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham just because they are his offspring. It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. So just because someone was born a Jew, it does not make that person a part of biblical Israel (Romans 9:4-8).
For, we then read in Galatians 3 that the promises being spoken of were spoken to Abraham and to his seed, that is, Christ. And if we belong to Christ, via God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:16,26-29). So when it says in Romans 9 that it is the children of the promise who are the children of God, it is we who believe in Jesus Christ who are the children of the promise, not those who are merely physical descendants of Abraham.
And then we read in Ephesians 2:14-18 and in Ephesians 3:6 that through Jesus’ death and resurrection it was God’s purpose to create in himself one new humanity out of the two (Jew and Gentile) and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross. For through Jesus Christ both Jew and Gentile have access to the Father by one Spirit. Thus, the Gentile believers in Christ are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel with the Jews who also believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
And then we read in Galatians 4 that Hagar, the slave woman, stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. And then he went on to tell the believers in Christ that they, like Isaac, are children of promise, and then he talked about how the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son, and we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman (Galatians 4:22-31). But unbelieving Jews are of the slave woman.
So do you get what that is saying here? The Jewish nation, represented by Jerusalem, in the eyes of God, is the same as her Arab neighbors, for they are both of the slave woman, Hagar, and they are not of the free woman, Sarah. So God does not consider the unbelieving Jews as heirs of the promise he made with Abraham and his seed (Jesus Christ). Who he regards as heirs of his promise to Abraham and his seed (Jesus Christ) are all who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives.
So, it is with that foundation that we can then read Romans 11, perhaps in a different light than we had before.
So, when Paul asked the question, “Has God rejected his people?” And his answer was, “By no means,” who was he referring to? He was speaking of the Jewish people, but which Jewish people? Those whom God foreknew. And what do we know about the foreknowledge of God? He is speaking of those whom God predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ and to be God’s holy people. And how do we know this? Because he said there was a remnant of the Jews, chosen by grace, who would be saved.
And what did he mean that by grace it is no longer on the basis of works? He was talking about the fact that belief in Jesus Christ is by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, and it is not of our own doing, not of our own works lest we should boast. But then what comes right after that? For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10; cf. Titus 2:11-14; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 6:1-23).
So, this is not saying that works are not required of us or that they have no part in our lives. He was saying that they were no longer under the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification and dietary laws and restrictions of the Jews under the Old Covenant. Now their salvation from sin was via Jesus’ death on that cross so that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, so that we will no longer live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23).
For the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to renounce (say “NO” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself up for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14).
To be continued in Part 2
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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