Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (10.4)

The Epistle to the Romans

Romans 11:1-24 - Read this Bible passage once through before referring to the notes below.

v.1 The readers might infer from Paul's teaching in chapter 9 and 10 that God had cast away the Jews. This would be unthinkable in the light of all His promises to them. Paul removes this difficulty by firstly showing that the rejection of the Jews was neither total (for he himself was an Israelite) nor final, and secondly by proving that the promises to the Jews were not to the nation as such but to the elect, ie, spiritual Israel.

v.2 God could not cast away his people which he foreknew (ie, knew them and had separated them for Himself). Even in the time of Elijah when the people were really wicked (under the influence, and persecution of wicked king Ahab), God had preserved His elect (1KI 19:10-18).

v.3 During the reign of wicked king Ahab, the temptation to idolatry was very great, and the persecution against the faithful was so strong, therefore Elijah thought that he alone was faithful to God.

v.4 Humanly-speaking how could there be seven thousand men who would still be faithful during Ahab's idolatrous reign and persecution? It was possible only by sovereign election (ie, God had reserved to Himself these seven thousand men).

v.5 Even so during Paul’s time (ie, at this present time) there was a remnant (of Jews) who were saved according to the election of grace, in spite of the fact that the prejudice of the Jews to Jesus was so great, that it was humanly-speaking almost impossible for them to believe in Jesus.

v.6 Salvation by grace is the most important doctrine of salvation yet it is the most difficult to accept, because men believe that few things in life are free (though the best things in life are indeed free, eg. life, sunlight, water, air). Therefore, Paul stops his discourse on the rejection of the Jews to redefine what grace really is. He states the same truth in two opposing ways to make it crystal clear. Grace and works are incompatible, just as "free" and "pay" are incompatible. The moment a little is mixed with the other, then the other ceases to exist. For example, when some works are a condition of salvation, then salvation cannot be by grace (because grace means that it is without payment).

v.7 Though Jews were zealous in religious things and sought for salvation, the vast majority were blinded (ie, hardened) by their own prejudice against the simplicity of Jesus and His Gospel. Only the elect had their blindness removed by God's grace.

v.8 This quotation is composed of several O.T. passages (ISA 6:9,10, DEU 29:4, ISA 29:10) which described what would happen to the Jews during New Testament times. God not only left them to their own hardness but hardened them as they hardened themselves against Him – as He did to Pharaoh in ROM 9:17,18.

v.9 Quote from PSA 69. In this psalm the enemies of the Lord are warned that their blessings would become curses to them. In the case of the Jews their God-given laws and ordinances (which was like a table laden with spiritual blessings) became a snare, and a trap, and a  stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them by "making" them spiritually arrogant and rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ.

v.10 Through their pride and rebellion, their spiritual eyes were darkened, that they may not see the salvation in the Gospel and therefore, they were still laboring to please God through their works (ie, bow down their back alway).

v.11 Paul proves that rejection of the Jews was not final. God allowed them to stumble (ie, temporary) but not to fall (ie, permanent). God allowed the Jews to stumble so as to facilitate the Gospel among the Gentiles. Because even the Jews who became Christians were very slow to allow the Gospel to be preached to the Gentiles (ACT 8,10), and even when they did they were prone to “pollute” the Gospel with many of their ceremonial observances and Jewish fables. If the Jews as a nation had become converted, humanly-speaking the Gospel would not have spread to the Gentiles, or if it did, it would be contaminated with all kinds of Jewish traditions. God even allowed the nation of Israel in AD 32 to be destroyed so that they could not persecute the messengers of the Gospel. On the other hand, the salvation of the Gentiles in the N.T. age would then provoke them to jealousy (ie, stimulate them to follow), and finally they too would be saved.

v.12 If the fall of the Jews was so beneficial to the Gentiles (ie, the riches of the Gentiles) can we imagine how much more blessing would come from their restoration (ie, their fulness)? Therefore, the Gentiles were not to fear that the restoration of the Jews would be detrimental to their well being.

v.13 Paul was ministering to the Gentiles because he was the apostle of the Gentiles. And he was hoping that his ministry among the Gentiles would be prosperous (ie, magnify), because... (see next verse).

v.14 One of the reasons why Paul desired to see many Gentiles converted was because he knew that the conversion of the Gentiles would provoke to emulation them which are my flesh (ie, the Jews) to be saved, as the Gentiles were saved.

v.15 The reconciliation of the Jews with God (ie, the receiving of them) would be so wonderful that it would be like life from the dead! Seeing the salvation of large numbers of Jews, would almost be like seeing life from the dead.   

v.16 The Jews offered the firstfruit of their dough to the Lord (NUM 15:21), this symbolised offering of all their dough to God. Because if the firstfruit be holy (ie, consecrated to God) then the remainder of the lump is also holy since they were all from the same lump. Similarly, if the patriarchs (ie, the root) were holy, so were their descendants (who are the branches). Paul had earlier told them that the restoring of the Jews would be a blessing, here he tells them that it was logical for them to be restored.

v.17 Verses 17 to 24 are written to prevent the Gentiles from having a false sense of superiority over the Jews. The Jewish church is symbolised by the olive free - which is an unimpressive looking tree, but lives for a long time and produces large quantities of precious fruit throughout most of its life. The oil of the olive berry was also used to light the Temple candles. The Gentiles, because of their spiritually degenerate idolatrous state, were represented by a wild olive tree - which produces unusable olive berries. In agriculture, a good cutting is grafted on to a bad stump. But the opposite is done here, ie, the grafting of the "bad" Gentiles into God's family. The Gentiles instead of adding anything good to God's family partook of the roof and fatness of the olive tree (namely, the Law, the promises etc. that were given to the Jews).

The O.T. church merged into the N.T. church, and the N.T. church is merely an enlargement and elevation of the O.T. church.

v18 The Gentiles had been brought into fellowship with the patriarchs not the patriarchs with them. And the Jews were channels of blessings to the Gentiles and not vice versa. Therefore, there was no occasion for the Gentiles to boast against the Jews (ie, the branches).

v.19 However, because the Jews were set-aside by God, the Gentiles might feel superior to the Jews.

v.20 The Jews were rejected simply because they did not believe, similarly, the Gentiles were admitted simply because they believed (ie, standest by faith). Since the Gentiles had not done anything to be saved, there was no reason for them to be highminded, on the other hand, they should fear because....(see next verse).

v.21 If God did not spare the Jews (ie, the natural branches who had grown out of the "trunk"), then the Gentiles (who were not natural branches but "grafts") were to take heed because He was less likely to spare them if they did not believe. 

v.22 We are all at the mercy of the sovereign God. In N.T. times His severity fell on the Jews, and His goodness on the Gentiles. The second part of this verse is not contrary to Paul's teachings on the preservation of a Christian’s salvation. Here Paul is not speaking of individual Christians but of the Gentiles as a whole, ie, as long as each successive generation of Gentile believed in God's goodness in providing salvation (ie, if thou continue in his goodness) then they would be saved – otherwise they would be cut off (as is the case with many nominal "gospel-less" churches).

v.23 The principle of faith applied to the Gentiles also applies to the Jews. Therefore, when a Jew did not abide still in unbelief then he would be saved (ie, graffed into the family of God).

v.24 The future re-introduction of the Jews (ie, the natural branches of the olive tree) into the Church was more likely than the introduction of the idolatrous Gentiles (ie, wild by nature) into the Church.