Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20080224.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Romans: Charter Of Salvation Grace
Part V: God's Plan Of Salvation In View Of His Plans For Jews And Gentiles
C. God's Plan Of Salvation In View Of His Future Interaction With Israel
(Romans 11:1-36)
  1. Introduction
    1. Much misunderstanding exists today on the current and future role of God with the nation Israel: some teach the Church replaces Israel so that there is no future program for the Jew (non-dispensationalists).
    2. Though God is not currently working through Israel, one day He WILL do so, fulfilling the Abrahamic Covenant in its totality, a fact that offers great direction for us Christians in the Church today (as follows):
  2. God's Plan Of Salvation In View Of His Future Interaction With Israel, Romans 11:1-36.
    1. Romans 11:1-10 explains that God's rejection of Israel is partial due to His discipline of the nation for its rejection of her Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ:
      1. Paul responded to the question that a Jew might ask, the question of whether God had cast away Israel so that there is no longer hope for the Jew, and he did so by the powerful denial, "God forbid," 11:1a. After all, Paul himself was an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham and tribe of Benjamin, Romans 11:1b.
      2. God foreknew the saved seed of Israel from eternity past, so He will not cast the Jew away forever. Indeed, Paul appealed to Elijah's experience in 1 Kings 19 where, when he thought all Israel was apostate accept he himself, God revealed He had preserved a remnant of 7,000 in Israel who had at least not bowed their knee in worship to Baal, Romans 11:2-4 in citing 1 Kings 19:14, 18.
      3. Paul applied that truth to his current generation, revealing God was saving a remnant in Israel even in the Church era, and saving them in His election of grace based on His foreknowledge of their coming personal faith in Christ, Romans 11:5 with Romans 11:2a.
      4. In His grace, God is saving Jews today who trust in Christ where He is blinding those who reject Him in fulfillment of even the Old Testament, cf. Romans 11:6-10 in citing Isaiah 29:10; Ps. 69:22-23.
    2. However, Romans 11:11-24 reveals that God in grace is currently working through His partial rejection of Israel both to save Gentiles and to provoke Israel to jealousy that Jews might still believe in Christ:
      1. Even in blinding unbelieving Israel, God is still trying to disciple Jews to trust in Christ by appealing to their envy of God's blessing believing Gentiles, thus urging Jews to believe in Christ as well, 11:11.
      2. Accordingly, Paul argued that if the fall of the Jews as a people brings such spiritual wealth to the Gentile world, how much more will the blessings of God be when He turns to bless Israel, Rom. 11:12.
      3. This argument addressed Gentile Christians: Gentile believers needed to realize God had not decided to cease loving the Jew by loving saved Gentiles, but in His abiding love for the Jew, to drive him to believe in Christ by God's blessing believing Gentiles so He might in the end bless the Jew, 11:13-15.
      4. Paul illustrated this, picturing the grafting of the wild olive branch, believing Gentiles, into the tree of God's blessing at the temporary cutting out of the native branch, Israel: saved Gentiles must not be proud of their blessings, for God is more disposed to graft back the native branch, Israel, 11:16-24. This threat does NOT refer to a loss of personal salvation, but to the removal of a group from the "place of privilege" in God's program! (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Romans 11:17-24.
    3. Nevertheless, Romans 11:25-32 explains that God will finally spiritually cleanse Israel and restore her to her rightful place in God's place of privilege where He can fully fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant:
      1. Paul revealed that spiritual blindness in part has occurred to Israel until the full number of Gentiles to be saved has been saved, Romans 11:25. This reveals the Church age must END (with the rapture) BEFORE God TURNS to work with the nation Israel, the dispensational view of Biblical history!
      2. Then God will save the remnant of the nation Israel (in the future Tribulation Period), Rom. 11:26-32.
    4. In considering the grace of God's present work and final salvation of Jews and Gentiles, Paul closed this section of with a "doxology of praise to God," Bible Knowledge Com., N. T., p. 486, Romans 11:33-36.
Lesson: Though Israel yet suffers spiritual blindness in unbelief, she will one day be saved as a nation.

Application: May we rejoice in God's blessing of us saved Gentiles, and love and respect Israel for her coming immense blessing in the future when God fulfills His unconditional Abrahamic Covenant!