Reconciliation and Salvation in Romans 11

God's Promises and the Olive Tree Metaphor

What we’ve been talking about, for eleven chapters, is God and His wisdom in saving the world from sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace., deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God., the grave, hell and Satan by using some and electing others after the Fall, to bring about His expected end. Chapter 11 of Romans is especially addressed to the wonders of the full plan.

See, God made promises to the Nation of Israel and then God included the rest of the world in those promises by adoption. And here Paul brings the two parts into one by using the example of a natural Olive tree (Israel) and a wild olive tree branches (gentiles) and the grafting in of the latter into trunk of the former and its roots, all as a means to reconcile the world to himself and gather unto Him a church/bride and a forever increasing body of sons and daughters by faith.

Here is the key concept I hope you will consider and take from this chapter – God, in His love and wisdom, has saved all, as promised from sin, and death, Satan and hell – which were all results of the Fall. This he promised to do for the Nation of Israel and then the rest of the world. This is the reconciliation and it is free because of Christ, the Last Adam, who overcame all the results of the fall – which was alienation, separation and death. This is why Paul wrote, again:

2nd Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Different Dimensions of Salvation

As we consider the remainder of the chapter, know that this was the promise God made to Israel – and to this he was true. However, and this is where it requires some interpretation that can be disputed – but I stand by it – Paul also speaks of “some being saved.” In other words, these references make the concept confusing because we have clear passages of all being saved and then we have passages of only some being saved. Remember the four general types of saved in the apostolic record – saved personally from “sin-prisons personally,” (pictured in Jesus healing people) saved from the coming wrath that was prophesied to fall upon them, saved from sin, death, Satan and hell, and then saved to the Kingdom of GodGod’s spiritual reign—fulfilled and present, not political or future. by faith.

All were going to be saved from sin death and hell by Christ. But only some would be saved from the prison of personal sin, from the wrath to come, and to the Kingdom of God – and they would receive such salvation by faith alone. So, try and remember all of this as we progress along and in light of Paul describing the olive tree, grafting and regrafting in of natural limbs.

The Mystery of Israel and the Gentiles

And then Paul wrote this at verse 25, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

Now, this passage has been explained in a way that is super tempting to embrace as a Christian today. And that is, that the Nation of Israel was blinded then, and remains blinded today, and that since then we have been living in a span or gap called the “age or time of the Gentiles.” Then the thinking is when the fulness of the Gentiles occurs, meaning when the last Gentile on earth converts to the faith, then the Olive Tree will be regrafted in with the branches from the House of Israel, and Israel will be “restored.” This interpretation perpetuates the idea of a future second comingChrist’s return, fulfilled in 70 A.D., ending the old covenant—not the world., a rebuilding of Jerusalem (and its temple) and therefore the need for Christians everywhere to support Israel as if she was still God’s special chosen people.

Admittedly, this view makes some sense and is a pretty reasonable view and because of this most of the Christian world embraces it. Unfortunately, it is really short sighted and manipulates the full scriptural picture we are offered. Letting scripture interpret scripture, we have to look and see if this idea of the Gentiles having a period of time set aside is mentioned anywhere else – and to then use where that happens to help us decide what it means here.

It is mentioned in one place only. Luke 21 (which is a comparative chapter to Matthew 24) where four of Jesus apostles ask him on

The Time of the Gentiles and Redemption

The Mount of Olives about the end of that age and of his return.

And in describing these things He says:

Luke 21:23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

To me, Jesus clearly assigns the time of the Gentiles, or what Paul calls the “fullness of the Gentiles” to the Gentiles trodding down Jerusalem until their time to act upon her is fulfilled and she is utterly devastated and ravished. After that time, the blindness that was upon the Nation as a whole would be removed once and for all, and every person, male or female, bond or free, Jew or Greek, would be returned as if to the Garden of Eden condition spiritually with each person being responsible for what they sought, chose to believe in, or do, with their respective lives. I suggest that it has been that way for nearly 2000 years and will continue that way as far as we can tell.

Then as a re-iteration of the passages we covered last week I want to re-read them and teach them quickly pointing out the highlights that are often overlooked.

The Olive Tree Metaphor

So after explaining to the Gentiles that they were fortunate to have been grafted in the natural Olive Tree Paul said

Ro 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

In this passage we have a clear proof that renounces the false doctrine of “once saved always saved” in what he tells the Gentiles there who were part of the church/bride.

23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

When would God begin to graft those of the house of Israel in again? Paul will tell us in two verses. But he continues talking to the Gentiles and says

24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

And again, I suggest that the “fullness of the Gentiles” (when they would have their way with the Nation) would occur when the Gentiles (Roman Armies) would destroy Jerusalem, and then from that point forward God would remove all blindness from all of the Nation and call to them, like He calls to all, in the renewed Edenic state, to either believe Him or not.

Israel's Salvation and God's Wisdom

So, let’s continue on with verse 26 and be prepared to have to think in these next seven verses.

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

And then Paul concludes his letter to the church at Rome, saying some amazing words of worship:

33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom

Understanding True Israel

be glory for ever. Amen.

So, drop back to verse 26 where Paul continues and says

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

We could read this as speaking of all Jews who come from Jacob. But the question is actually, “Who is all Israel?” according to scripture? Do you recall what Paul wrote in Romans 9:6

“For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel?”

And do you remember when the Pharisees said to Jesus in John 8:39 “Abraham is our father.” And Jesus saith unto them, “If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.”

And do you remember reading in Roman 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The Covenant with the True Israel

Or what Paul wrote in Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

The point is, all of True Israel, whether they are Jew or Greek, will, in fact, be saved from their sins, according to the promises of God. For that is what it says!

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

All Paul is saying is that the blindness over the eyes of the Jew will fade once the fullness of the Gentiles is complete.

Prophetic Words of Jeremiah

This suggests, in my estimation, an install of the Prophetic Words of Jeremiah where God describes His new Testament, not in the form of a collection of books, but by saying:

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, (and who are the house of Israel truly? Those of faith) I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Here in verses 26-27 of Romans, Paul (as he has done so many times in his letter to the Romans) quotes and Old Testament reference. This time’s Isaiah 59:20. Again, the quotation is not literally made but the sense of the passage is preserved.

The actual Hebrew quote is,

"There shall come to Zion a Redeemer, and for those who turn from ungodliness in Jacob."

But Paul’s letter to the Roman’s reads:

“There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

This is a direct reference of the Jeremiah prophecy I just cited. And Paul goes on and reiterates the point to the Gentiles, saying in verse 28

28 As concerning the gospel, they (the Jews) are enemies for your sakes: but . . . as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.

This is a complex statement if we allow it to be. But let’s resist that. The word “enemy” is a word that stands in opposition to being “beloved.”

So essentially Paul is saying, “as far as the Gospel is concerned, you Gentiles, the Nation of Israel

God's Unwavering Promises

is not beloved but an enemy. This is so the Gospel could have been extended to you. But as far as being the Nation God elected to bring about His written word and the Savior of the World, they remain beloved. And God will make good on His promises to them in the reconciliation of the World and to true Israel (or those of faith) irrespective of whether they are Jew or Greek.

So, in a somewhat paradoxical sense, the Nation of Israel stood opposed to God (were not His beloved but were cast off from Him for rejecting His Son) yet in another sense they remain His elect and will, through belief alone, receive Him to their own salvation into the Kingdom once the blindness is removed. There is a key phrase any, all, and every Christian has to remember in verse 28 – ready . . . “for your sakes.” The Jews, in the end, even though they rejected the Messiah, this rejection, and their becoming an “enemy of God,” was “for the sake of all the rest of us” – by and through the provision, knowledge and wisdom of God.

Salvation's Grand Strategy

And in this awesome strategic manner, our benevolent God was able to bring all men, all nations, all people the Good News of salvation in and through His Son while remaining true to His every promise while simultaneously favoring the faithful and bringing justice to any and all who reject Him in that day, with all of it – spanning over the course of some 3500 – 3800 years – being based in the strange and dichotomous interplay between His imperative will and our freedom to choose. In a few verses we are going to hear Paul praise the absolutely amazing depth of the wisdom of God. But in verse 29, he provides yet another phrase that could be problematic if taken wrong.

In 28 he explained how all of this has worked out for the sakes of the world and in 29 he says:

29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Gifts and Calling Without Repentance

Now, we have to admit that this could, by itself, sound like it means that “no repentance is required of people whom God has called or gifted.” No change of mind. Not so. But in light of the errant view that “ALL of Israel (meaning every Jew who has ever lived – past, present, and future) – will be saved to the Kingdom,” this interpretation fits. But what the passage is really saying is that God has blessed some, and called and elected some, and blinded some, and opened and closed dispensations, and done all such things righteously and that He does these thing without repenting (meaning, without changing His mind).

So, in the context of all Paul has been saying here in chapter 11, he is merely saying in verse 29 that, “All of this was done by God and He does not regret it. His gifts and elections are not met with the need to repent.” Note this: the word for gift here in Romans 11:29 is translated (carisma) and it means any benefit, blessing or gift conferred as a matter of mere favor, and NOT because of reward. What we can take from this is God does what He will do and all of it, is in the scheme and scope of Him being good relative to us created human beings receiving His “caritas” or gift. As His created beings we deserve nothing at all – we are not meriting any favor, but He chose to bestow his gifts upon all because He is all seeing and an all loving God.

Paul goes on to reiterate the point in another way in verse 30:

30 For as ye (gentiles) in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their (the Jews) unbelief:

Again, because Paul repeats the premise so will I, but again, before the gospel was preached, the Jews were the only nation attempting to follow God through some means. The rest of the gentile world was idolatrous and sinful. In Acts 14:16 Luke describes us well, saying, that “God in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.” Ephesians 2:2-3 and Titus 3 describes us our state well, saying: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all

Paul's Message of Mercy

“had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

Context of Unbelief

Titus 3:3 says “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” So, here Paul says:

30 For as ye (gentiles) in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their (the Jews) unbelief:

Then in verse 31 he adds

31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy (through our mercy) they also may obtain mercy.

I believe that this was speaking to the Gentiles there in particular. As there is no difference in Christ between any of us today, I do not see this has having as great an application now as it did then. But by and through mercy, Paul is telling the Gentiles then that many Jews (because of their merciful heart toward them) would receive the mercy of God (meaning that they would be saved from His promised wrath).

So in the end, each party would play a role in salvation coming to the other–the Jews bringing salvation to the Gentiles (by the Jews unbelief) and the Gentiles bringing salvation to the Jews (through mercy). Wow.

And Paul wraps it all up with the most amazing words in verse 32. These words, to me, have as much bearing on us today as they had then. Think back with me to the reason Paul wrote to the church at Rome in the first place – there was a division between the Jewish converts and the Gentiles. Ever since verse one, Paul has ardently worked to show that there is no difference between them, that both are needed, both are culpable, both are in dire need of redemption by faith and faith alone.

Concluded in Unbelief

Before he goes on to praise the Lord for His wisdom, he summarizes all of this by saying:

32 For God hath concluded them all (both Jew and Gentile) in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all.

Look the heck out, folks. This statement is speaking to the sinister heart of all human kind contrasted with the benevolent heart of God toward us. Let me reiterate an uncomfortable point – as humans, saved and not, there is evil within. And we are all very capable of tapping into it at any time.

The Believer's Response

The believer's response to such is appealing to true humility. Brokenness before our God. Not feigned, but recognizing our fleshly frailties looking to Him as the source of mercy. It was Him alone who worked things out through “all of us” as a means to save all of us AT LEAST – from sin, death, hell and Satan therefore opening the door for all of us then choose this day whom we will serve, to choose to receive and believe – or to live according to our own will. In either case, belief or unbelief, he bestows mercy.

Where it says that God hath “concluded them all,” the word “concluded" is taken from the Greek “sunekleise” and it means, “God has shut them all up together." In several places in scripture (and in the apocryphal book of 1st Maccabees) the word is used to describe men who are “shut up together in prison.” Jew and Gentile. Sunekliese – “shut up together.”

The term is used in the New Testament in Luke 5:6 when it speaks of fish taken in a single net. It is referenced in Galatians 3:22 which says, "But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin . . .,” and so Paul summarizes the problem in the church at Rome saying, “Hey, listen, God hath shut up both Jew and Gentile together in unbelief . . . so get off your highhorse Jew, get off your highhorse Gentile – we have all neglected and rejected Him through unbelief. Seek Him humbly.”

And why has God, sovereign loving God done it this way???? Why has He allowed it to play among the Jewish and Gentile nations like this ??????

“. . . that He might have mercy upon all.”

LISTEN carefully. This is taking it out there but listen. God would not / could not be shown to be a merciful God if the nations were deserving. If people were worthy. Mercy exists when favor is shown to the undeserving, NOT the deserving. Both Jew and Gentile, shut up together, have proven themselves

Salvation and Grace

Unworthy by and through their self-willed unbelief. This was the disposition of humans in the garden BEFORE they fell! If any were to be saved, if favor was shown to either, it would be on the same ground . . . that of total undeserved mercy. God was and is under no obligation to have saved either group. Israel broke its covenants and the Gentile nations, according to the first chapter of this letter, are without excuse.

All of those in the church at Rome were equally ruined. So, He shut us all up unto “failing” then saved us all by and through grace – made possible by and through His Son. This plan that Paul has just revealed over the last eleven chapters causes him to now write what we will listen to as our song from the Word this morning:

(PLAY ROMANS 11:33)

He planned it, he fixed it. He saved it all from the dark. He honors liberty, choice but is there calling, healing and guiding all – those who believe and those who don’t. If you have neighbors who don’t believe. Love them. If you have children who don’t believe – love them. He loved us and loves us and fixed healed and paved the way for all to be reconciled and.

The Wisdom and Knowledge of God

33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Verse 34 – taken from Isaiah 40:13

34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor?

And verse 35 – taken from Job 41:11

35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

And here’s the wrap up folks, of the main body of Paul’s letter to the Romans:

36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Universal Benevolence and Mercy

It seems that Paul is attempting to say in no uncertain terms: Nobody has ever had any claim on God. Jews and Gentiles must alike receive salvation on the grounds of his benevolence and mercy. He has opened the way for the bestowal of such by removing EVERYTHING that stood in our way (due to the fall) and now invites all everywhere into relationship.

For OF HIM – Nothing has been produced by chance, or haphazard; He created all things, us included, and whether Jew or Gentile, He is over all.

AND THROUGH HIM – our salvation, our blessing, our trials, our solutions, our existence here and in eternities. The way we live our lives. The successes we experience, the failures, how we treat our friends and enemies – THROUGH HIM, church at Rome, through Him, church at CAMPUS, through Him!

AND TO HIM – the end for which all things were formed. To promote the glory of fallen, created Man? HA! To promote His honor and glory. He is elevated and glorified when we mirror Him, HE is shown merciful and loving WHEN WE FAIL.

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

(BEAT)

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