GOD'S PLAN FOR THE JEW, AND FOR YOU

Intro: Chapter 9-11 form one unit 单元.

In Chapter 9 Paul emphasized the freedom and sovereignty of God in

choosing Israel as his own people.

Chapter 10 Paul said that despite his effort to evangelize, and pray, for
Israel, they failed to response to God’s righteousness (by faith, not by
work).

They failed to receive Christ as the one sent from God that was promised
in the OT.

In this chapter, Paul concludes his parenthesis 插曲 to the Jew.

God has not rejected Israel, but that He has simply postponed His work
on their behalf unto a future time.

It is God's plan to finish what He has started in regard to Israel and in the
area of His promises to them.

These verses are an explanation of what God is doing in the arena of

salvation in this present time.

Here, we learn that God has a plan for the Israel and that He has a plan
for us, the Gentiles.

God has chosen Israel, but now he is giving them up.

So has God changed his mind; Can God be trusted?

The answer can be found in Chapter 11.

I. GRACE OF GOD V. 1-10

1. 難道上帝放棄了祂的子民嗎？當然沒有！
Paul says that such a thing is not even a possibility! See the following
examples

a. Paul himself

因我自己也是以色列人，是亞伯拉罕的後裔，屬於便雅憫支派。

He is a Jew and he is saved! Paul is living proof that Jews can be born
again!

The bottom line is that salvation is available to any individual who will
call upon the name of the Lord, Rom. 10:13. 13 因 为 凡 求 告 主 名 的 ， 就 必 得
救。

b. in the OT (2-4)

Paul draw from the life of Elijah to demonstrate the fact that God always
has a remnant.

Elijah thought he was all alone in his devotion to the Lord, but God
reminded Elijah that there were more than 7,000 who had not bowed to
Baal.

c. the present remnant (5-10)

Paul shows that now, just as in the past, God has His remnant.

Those who are saved are not saved because of their birth, or their
nationality, but they are saved because of pure grace.

They are redeemed because they have been chosen by God in Christ
Jesus.

2. THE GRAFTING OF GOD V. 11-15

Because the people of Israel refused to come to Christ for salvation, the
Lord turned to another people.
He turned to the Gentiles and opened the door of salvation wide for
them.

The Bible indicates that Jesus came to the nation of Israel and presented
Himself to them as their Messiah, they refused to receive Him and the
way was opened for the Gentile nations to come to Jesus, John 1:11-12.
(11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not
receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those
who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God)

The Lord set them aside that He might reach out to us!

Paul says that God has used the salvation of the Gentiles to provoke the
Jews to jealousy.

Paul hopes that they will see what God is doing for the Gentiles and that
they will want the same for themselves. (Ill. Our lives ought to create a
genuine thirst and longing for the things of God in the world around
us, Matt. 5:13-16.)

Yet, Paul knows that since salvation is being preached to the Gentiles,
many Gentiles are coming to know God through the Gospel of grace.

His thinking is that if the Jew being rejected can bring men to Christ,
what would happen if the Jew was saved!

V. 16-17 As a result of the natural branch (Israel) being broken off, the
wild branch (The Gentile nations) have been grafted in.

We are allowed the privilege of being placed in a personal relationship

with the God of Heaven!

(Ill. the Jew had access to the things of God. They could go to the temple
and sacrifice. They could approach the high priest and have their sins
atoned for. They could enter into the things of the Lord. The Gentiles, on
the other hand, were all left outside of these things. They had no access
to God. Now, in Jesus, the Gentiles are no longer cast out. But, through
Jesus, we are allowed to enter into the holiest place of all: His perfect
presence!

V. 18-24 The Reminder - The redeemed Gentiles are reminded in these

verses that they should not boast about their new position in Jesus. The
same God Who grafted them in, is the same God Who can break them
off if they become lifted up in their pride.

What Paul is trying to get his readers to understand is that it is God, not
the individual who is in control of these matters. As ha said in verse 18,
"The branches do not support the root, it is the root that supports the
branches!"

(Ill. What's the point of all this for us? We simply need to remember that
we are saved tonight because of the pure grace of God! We have nothing
to brag about. We have no reason to pat ourselves on the back and talk
of all we have done for God.

3. THE GUARANTEE OF GOD V. 25-32

a. V. 25-27 God Promised that ‘all Israel will be saved –

Israel's blindness at the present is a temporary condition.

One day her eyes will be open to the Person of Jesus and she will be
saved!

God hasn't forgotten her, but He is filling His house with those who will
come to Him during this the age of grace.

B. V. 28-32 Purpose of the grafting

The rejection of Jesus by Israel was for the purpose of allowing the
Gentiles to come into the Kingdom of God.
In this present age the Jew is the enemy of the Christian faith. They deny
that our Jesus is their Messiah.

Yet, God has not forgotten about them, or about His plans for them.

For as they were called by the Lord, that calling will be fulfilled and
Israel will come to salvation through Jesus Christ.

Illustration: It is to be noted that Israel has paid a high price for their
rejection of Jesus as Messiah.

They have suffered as no other group of people has suffered in this

world.

They have been hated and some, like Hitler, have even tried to
exterminate them.

Yet, through it all, God has kept them and brought them through every
trial.

For over 1,900 years there was not a nation called Israel.

Then in 1948, the United Nations created a country called Israel.

Since that time there have been many attempts by their enemies to
destroy them and take their country from them.

But, God has continued to preserve them.

Conclusion V33-36

Paul praises the Lord for three great characteristics. Since God doesn't
change, you and I should be willing to praise Him for these same
attributes.

V. 33-34 His Greatness - Paul's first statement concerning the Lord has
to do with God's wisdom and omniscience. The question is asked, "Who
knows the mind of God and who is the person that gives God advise?"
The answer is no one!

God's mind can be pondered by men through the reading of the

Scriptures, but no man can know the mind of God. His mind transcends
our ability. He is God and we can never fully understand Him or His
ways, Isa. 55:8-9. All one has to do is read Job 39-40:1 to see that no
man understands the depth of wisdom and knowledge possessed by God.
We are not His counselor! He does as He pleases and we are left to
praise Him for what He does!

(Ill. That would be a good lesson for us all to learn as we go through life.
We need to stop trying to figure out the why of everything and start
simply learning to trust God by faith! He knows what He is doing, we do
not! He sees the future and knows what is best for now and then, we do
not! Therefore, let us bow before Him and His glory and exalt His
worthy Name!)

B. V. 35 His Grace - The question here is this: "To whom is God a

debtor?" Does He owe man anything at all? Some people seem to think
so. They expect God to jump through their hoops at their command. But,
that is not the God of the Bible! The God of the Bible is a God Who
moves first. He reaches out to men through His grace and man are
debtors to Him!

(Ill. Let us never forget that truth! God owes us nothing, we owe Him
everything! Every dollar in our pockets is His gift. Every lung full of air
is His blessing. Every heartbeat is His grace manifested. Your home,
your car, you family, your job, your health, your intellect, you talents,
your possessions are all His gifts to you. He doesn't owe you, but you
owe Him! And what does God want in return? Nothing more than your
love, which manifests itself in obedience to Him,

C. V. 36 His Glory - Everything in this world exists because there is a

God in Heaven Who willed it to be here! That is Who He is and that is
the power He possesses.
God is the center of His universe. Is He the center of yours? If you are
giving Him the glory due His name He is! Let us remember, the world
does not revolve around you or me.

It revolves around God!

Let us seek His glory first in everything we are and do, 1 Cor. 10:31.