Opening Prayer, Father God, we come to Study the words of Paul as given to us in his letter to the Romans. We pray that no word be spoken here tonight that is not in accordance with your will and that you will impart to us those matters You would have us learn from this study. We pray that your peace and comfort be with those of us who are sick or disabled and cannot be here tonight. We ask that you share our blessing with them. Lead us now and give us understanding as we study the teachings of Paul, The word of God.. In Jesus Name we pray Amen
Romans 11:22-26 The rejection of Israel is not a final judgment
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
Paul is asking us to consider this; That God has let his grace fall upon those (Gentiles, and others as well, who call upon the Son of God for their salvation) who are not Israel's children. And God has done this because of the falling away of the Jews, and so they have been cut off. Paul is here reminding us that although God has opened the doors of Heaven to us Gentiles, we should be very careful to continue in His kindness or we too can be cut off. (Heb 12:25-29)
To those who carefully consider all aspects of this matter which Paul refers to as, “This Mystery” A study of these verses should reveal five clues about the judgments of God
1. God loves all of his creation and wants to see no one suffer because of unbelief.
2. Through the falling away of the Jews, Heavens gates are open to all who truly believe.
3. God loves all of his creation, but his judgments still fall upon all who profess unbelief.
4. Although the Jews have been cutoff, they are still the root of our faith and belief.
5. The Jews always were, and forever will be the people God chose to make His plan of salvation known to all of mankind, and He will bring them to Himself again. And in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
Questions
Q.1 What is the reason that God would exact such stern judgment on His chosen people?
Q.2 Does being a Christian offer us any privilege over the Jews in our relationship with God?
Q.3 How did it come about that God caused his grace to fall upon the Gentiles?
Q.4 Are we to believe that the root of our faith began with the Jewish faith and belief?
Q.5 What does Paul's reference to “Grafting In” mean for the Jews?
Q.6 Have we any doubts about the Jews being God's chosen people?
Q.7 What does “chosen people” mean for the Jew? or for the Gentile?
Pg.2
All Israel will be saved: This does not mean there will be a time when every last person of Jewish descent will be saved. Instead, this is a time when Israel as a whole will be a saved as a people, and when the nation as a whole (especially its leadership) embraces Jesus Christ as Messiah, all will be completed that God has ordained concerning Israel.
Romans 11:27-36 The new covenant results
27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." 28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" :35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?" 36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Discussion
The restoration of the Jews is, in the course of things, far less improbable than the call of the Gentiles to be the children of Abraham; and though others now possess these privileges, it will not hinder their being admitted again. By rejecting the gospel, and by their indignation at its being preached to the Gentiles, the Jews have made themselves enemies to God; yet they are still to be favored for the sake of their pious fathers. Though at present they are enemies to the gospel, for their hatred to the Gentiles, God will make a time when that will no longer be the case and God's love to their fathers will be remembered.
True grace seeks not to confine God's favor. Those who find mercy themselves, should endeavor that through their mercy others also may obtain mercy. The reconciliation of the Jews to God will be complete regarding their soul, and they are to be brought to believe in Christ, the true Messiah whom they crucified. The restoration of their priesthood, teachings, ceremonies, and temple worship and rules will no longer exist. They will become one sheep-fold with the Gentiles, under Christ the Great Shepherd. The sufferings of Israel, their dispersion, and their being shut out from the church, are the results of their falling away, their unbelief. Yet God in His perfect mercy, and continued care for His Chosen people, and the final mercy and blessed restoration intended for them, show the patience and love of God. (Isaiah 44:21-26). All who call upon the name of Jesus in faith, and true belief of His life, death, and resurrection for the sinners sake shall not be disappointed.
Q.1 What is meant by Paul's reference to “election” and “the patriarchs” in verse 28?
Q.2 Through Israels disobedience we have received Mercy from God. But what about our faith?
Q.3 The Jews made themselves God's enemies, yet they too will receive God's mercy. Why is that?
Q.4 In verse 32, what does the phrase “bound everyone over to disobedience” mean?
Q.5 Does Paul seem to be at a loss to explain God's knowledge and wisdom in vs.33 to 36?
Pg.3
Heb 12:25-29 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our "God is a consuming fire."
Isaiah 44:21-26 "Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you. 22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you." 23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel. 24 "This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, 25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, 26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' of the towns of Judah, 'They shall be rebuilt,' and of their ruins, 'I will restore them,
Closing Prayer. Father God, be with us now as we leave this place. May we carry with us your blessing as we continue in our efforts to live the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. We thank you Lord for the teachings of your apostle Paul, and we pray that you will impart to our hearts, those things from this study that you would have us learn. We pray for your continued watch over our loved ones and those among us who need your healing hand to touch them in their time of distress.______________Bring to these our friends, and loved ones, Your healing touch, give them strength and courage and rest. Help them to recover their health. Bless them Lord, and those who care for them. Be with us now as we go our separate ways, and bring us together again next week. We pray this in Jesus Name Amen
Pg 4
Meditation on Romans 11: 22-36
My sins consume me, yet God in his great mercy has sent His Son Jesus to rescue me, to work my salvation. It is too mysterious for me to understand why, or how it is that God would do that for such a one as me.
If as Paul says, believers have emerged from unbelief through God’s mercy alone, they ought to understand that this same God can have mercy on others as well.” The Lord shows mercy to all kinds of people, so we must never think that someone is beyond the reach of God’s grace, who has called upon Christ as savior. For it is God's will that Jesus Saves.
The sin of Adam and Eve sought nothing more than to be equal to God and to exalt themselves and their ability to decide what is right and what is wrong. Do we too do that?
The earliest of times, Christians confronted pride at nearly every turn. From what Paul says about Gentile boasting in Romans 11, we assume then, that there were Gentile Christians in the church at Rome who were tempted to boast of their place in the church as they saw the majority of Jews refusing to believe in Jesus. We should be careful to avoid the sin of self righteousness.
Actually, no one of us is deserving of salvation and that it is not because we are better or more spiritually attuned than others that God chooses us for Himself. Paul makes this point in our study of the book of Romans. He tells us that apart from Christ, “all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin”. It is His great mercy to save who He will, and that is made clear in John 3:16
In the course of arguing that the Gentile Christians at Rome should not boast over their place in the church, Paul reminds them that they, too, were at one time disobedient to the Lord, lost sinners, and undeserving of God’s favor. The Gentile Christians needed mercy, and that came via the disobedience and hardening of Israel But Israel’s disobedience will not endure, for the Lord will give again to Israel the same mercy given to the Gentiles.
The disobedience of the Gentiles and the disobedience of the Israelites show us our need for grace and mercy. By consigning all people, Jew and Gentile alike, to disobedience, God shows us that no one deserves salvation. This enables Him to have mercy on whom He will, to show all peoples the fullness of His grace.
God desires that all come to Christ, that none should perish. But because of pride, selfishness. arrogance, unrighteousness, and ignorance, (sin), all cannot do that. Only in Heaven is there a perfect world, a world without sin. And only those who are received through Christ are permitted therein So it should strike fear in the hearts of everyone who refuses Christ, to know that eternal life is there for all, It is such though that only the Christian, (true believer),
will live forever in the presence of God, While they who live and die in unbelief, will live eternally in the fires of hell, suffering pain and anguish forever without the hope of redemption.
I am helplessly, hopelessly lost in my sin and I deserve God’s holy wrath. If He had not first chosen me, I never would have known to have chosen Him, My sin cannot be overcome by self alone. I cannot think myself into salvation. I cannot work myself into salvation. My only hope for eternal life is that Jesus Christ shed His blood for me while I am yet a sinner. I am justified by God’s grace alone through faith in Christ alone. I now do not need to yield to sin, because I am identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. He is now working all things, including my trials, together for my good because I now love Him and He has called me according to His glorious purpose. He is now conforming me to the image of His Son, so that one day I will be glorified with Him forever.” Amen!
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