Romans 16
KingCommentsRomans 16:1
Beautiful Feet
Romans 10:12. In Romans 3 you read that on account of sin there was (and is) no longer a difference between Jew and Greek (Greek and heathen being the same) (Romans 3:22). Every person is a sinner and is guilty before God. Here you read that the same Lord is rich over all who call on Him, whether Jew or Greek.
Romans 10:13. Note that Paul constantly quotes verses from the Old Testament to support what he said. He’s doing it to prove that God is not merely the God of the Jews, but also the God of the heathen. Well, you as a heathen (Gentile) may know from your experience that He is a Lord rich in grace and that He has shown mercy to you, a poor sinner! He’s not a brutal Lord Who wanted to keep you outside of grace. Since Romans 10:11 and Romans 10:13 mention “whoever”, it doesn’t leave room for limitations. However, the condition ‘believes’ is in Romans 10:11, and ‘calls on the name of the Lord’ is in Romans 10:13. To be saved you have to believe and to call on the name of the Lord, this means to give honor to Him or to adore Him.
You will agree with me that before your conversion you didn’t pay Him the honor due Him. Before, other things were important and you lost yourself in them, including sports, studying, your career, money or the way you looked. Maybe you were religious as well. However, it didn’t bring you happiness and didn’t offer you salvation. This is why you called on the name of the Lord to be saved.
When you did this, it was the first time you really honored Him. He wants to be your Savior. This is exactly the meaning of the name of Jesus: Yahweh is Savior. Then in Romans 10:13 there is a quotation from Joel 2:32. Isn’t it remarkable that He Who is called Yahweh in the Old Testament is the same as He Who receives the name of Jesus in the New Testament?
Romans 10:14. So the Lord Jesus is Yahweh of the Old Testament, but in the New Testament He comes to His people as Man. It is clear that, for the Jew, salvation was only to be found in Him. But what about us who belong to the nations? He didn’t come to us. We didn’t know of Him and didn’t believe in Him. So how then could we call on Him? Still, we were lost and had to be saved. But to be saved we had to believe in Him. If this is so, then we should be told about Him. And how could we ever have heard about Him if someone hadn’t preached Him to us? Here you see again it’s not the law and doing something that’s important, but the preaching, hearing and listening to the Word.
Romans 10:15. Someone must be sent if he is to preach. This sending is not done by some church or missionary union, but by the Lord: He is the Commissioner. And isn’t it a wonderful service for which you too have received an assignment? It is a service of proclaiming peace, proclaiming good things. One who’s proclaiming the gospel has “beautiful … feet” as opposed to the time when his feet were swift to shed blood (Romans 3:15).
The citation of the “beautiful … feet” is from Isaiah 52 (Isaiah 52:7). There, it is about “him who brings good news”, that is one person. This can be no one else but the Lord Jesus. Isn’t it a wonderful thought that in proclaiming peace and good, you are being His follower? In a world of unrest, a world in which evil reigns, you may be a messenger of peace and of good news. Many people around you are waiting for this message. Will you leave them where they are, in their misery, or are you going to tell them of that rich Lord?
Now read Romans 10:12-15 again.
Reflection: With whom and when did you last talk about the Lord Jesus?
Romans 16:2
Beautiful Feet
Romans 10:12. In Romans 3 you read that on account of sin there was (and is) no longer a difference between Jew and Greek (Greek and heathen being the same) (Romans 3:22). Every person is a sinner and is guilty before God. Here you read that the same Lord is rich over all who call on Him, whether Jew or Greek.
Romans 10:13. Note that Paul constantly quotes verses from the Old Testament to support what he said. He’s doing it to prove that God is not merely the God of the Jews, but also the God of the heathen. Well, you as a heathen (Gentile) may know from your experience that He is a Lord rich in grace and that He has shown mercy to you, a poor sinner! He’s not a brutal Lord Who wanted to keep you outside of grace. Since Romans 10:11 and Romans 10:13 mention “whoever”, it doesn’t leave room for limitations. However, the condition ‘believes’ is in Romans 10:11, and ‘calls on the name of the Lord’ is in Romans 10:13. To be saved you have to believe and to call on the name of the Lord, this means to give honor to Him or to adore Him.
You will agree with me that before your conversion you didn’t pay Him the honor due Him. Before, other things were important and you lost yourself in them, including sports, studying, your career, money or the way you looked. Maybe you were religious as well. However, it didn’t bring you happiness and didn’t offer you salvation. This is why you called on the name of the Lord to be saved.
When you did this, it was the first time you really honored Him. He wants to be your Savior. This is exactly the meaning of the name of Jesus: Yahweh is Savior. Then in Romans 10:13 there is a quotation from Joel 2:32. Isn’t it remarkable that He Who is called Yahweh in the Old Testament is the same as He Who receives the name of Jesus in the New Testament?
Romans 10:14. So the Lord Jesus is Yahweh of the Old Testament, but in the New Testament He comes to His people as Man. It is clear that, for the Jew, salvation was only to be found in Him. But what about us who belong to the nations? He didn’t come to us. We didn’t know of Him and didn’t believe in Him. So how then could we call on Him? Still, we were lost and had to be saved. But to be saved we had to believe in Him. If this is so, then we should be told about Him. And how could we ever have heard about Him if someone hadn’t preached Him to us? Here you see again it’s not the law and doing something that’s important, but the preaching, hearing and listening to the Word.
Romans 10:15. Someone must be sent if he is to preach. This sending is not done by some church or missionary union, but by the Lord: He is the Commissioner. And isn’t it a wonderful service for which you too have received an assignment? It is a service of proclaiming peace, proclaiming good things. One who’s proclaiming the gospel has “beautiful … feet” as opposed to the time when his feet were swift to shed blood (Romans 3:15).
The citation of the “beautiful … feet” is from Isaiah 52 (Isaiah 52:7). There, it is about “him who brings good news”, that is one person. This can be no one else but the Lord Jesus. Isn’t it a wonderful thought that in proclaiming peace and good, you are being His follower? In a world of unrest, a world in which evil reigns, you may be a messenger of peace and of good news. Many people around you are waiting for this message. Will you leave them where they are, in their misery, or are you going to tell them of that rich Lord?
Now read Romans 10:12-15 again.
Reflection: With whom and when did you last talk about the Lord Jesus?
Romans 16:3
The Preaching Rejected
Romans 10:16. Maybe the previous verses gave you fresh courage to preach of peace and of good news. You want to tell others what the Lord has done with you and how happy you now are. You can see it quite clearly. You think others will be impressed by your testimony and will be converted to the Lord. But many will not be converted. This will be a sad disappointment. The results you were so fervently hoping for would not come. Instead of conversions based on your testimony, they will turn against you.
Isaiah knew something about this. He spoke a lot about the Messiah Who was to come to His people, but few believed his preaching. At the coming of the promised Messiah, were the masses of people awaiting Him? You know they weren’t because He didn’t meet their expectations. They didn’t like it that He came as a Baby in a manger. Had it been someone appearing with pomp and circumstance, which would have been very different, they would have accepted Him. But what was their response? “Away with [Him], away with [Him], crucify Him!” (John 19:15a). The Lord Jesus was rejected and He returned to heaven. You can’t see Him now.
Romans 10:17. To have contact with Him, faith is required, and this faith must be stirred up by preaching. And the preaching must have the Word of God as its contents. Only then can man discover himself, Who God is, and what He has done to save him.
Romans 10:18. Consider the following question. At the time when the Word of God had not come to the Gentiles by way of preaching, hadn’t God already spoken to them? Certainly. So Paul quotes from Psalms 19. In this psalm David praises God’s glory and the work of His hands as seen in creation. The testimony of God that speaks from creation was and is not limited to Israel, but can be perceived all over the world. Here we have proof from the Old Testament that God preached to the Gentiles to enable them to have knowledge of Him and to believe in Him.
Romans 10:19. But then there is another question. Should Israel have known that God would make Himself known to the Gentiles, or shouldn’t we blame them for resenting God for also blessing the Gentiles? Moses is the first to speak in Romans 10:19. He was Israel’s great leader and they respected him. He was the one who told them of their unfaithfulness and that God would turn to another “nation” because of their unfaithfulness. By doing so, He wanted to awaken their jealousy so they would return to Him.
Romans 10:20. Isaiah is also quoted. Paul says it in the following way: “Isaiah is very bold and says.” This implies it was quite a bold venture of Isaiah, which it was. For it really was a direct attack on Israel’s national pride as God’s nation to tell them that God would consider another nation.
Romans 10:21. This last verse is the most penetrating. God Himself speaks. You can taste the sorrow of His heart when you read what He has to say to His people. You can see God, His hands wide open to bring His people to His heart. And God doesn’t remain with this attitude for only a few minutes, but “all the day long”. This refers to the entire time He dealt with that nation. Is there anything more grievous than being rejected in such a way?
From His viewpoint, God did everything to bless His people, but the only answer of His people was disobedience and opposition. They turned their backs on Him. The people broke their connection with God. Therefore, God had to put His people aside. But thankfully not forever. In Romans 11 we read that a new day will rise for Israel.
Now read Romans 10:16-21 again.
Reflection: What do you experience when your testimony is rejected?
Romans 16:4
The Preaching Rejected
Romans 10:16. Maybe the previous verses gave you fresh courage to preach of peace and of good news. You want to tell others what the Lord has done with you and how happy you now are. You can see it quite clearly. You think others will be impressed by your testimony and will be converted to the Lord. But many will not be converted. This will be a sad disappointment. The results you were so fervently hoping for would not come. Instead of conversions based on your testimony, they will turn against you.
Isaiah knew something about this. He spoke a lot about the Messiah Who was to come to His people, but few believed his preaching. At the coming of the promised Messiah, were the masses of people awaiting Him? You know they weren’t because He didn’t meet their expectations. They didn’t like it that He came as a Baby in a manger. Had it been someone appearing with pomp and circumstance, which would have been very different, they would have accepted Him. But what was their response? “Away with [Him], away with [Him], crucify Him!” (John 19:15a). The Lord Jesus was rejected and He returned to heaven. You can’t see Him now.
Romans 10:17. To have contact with Him, faith is required, and this faith must be stirred up by preaching. And the preaching must have the Word of God as its contents. Only then can man discover himself, Who God is, and what He has done to save him.
Romans 10:18. Consider the following question. At the time when the Word of God had not come to the Gentiles by way of preaching, hadn’t God already spoken to them? Certainly. So Paul quotes from Psalms 19. In this psalm David praises God’s glory and the work of His hands as seen in creation. The testimony of God that speaks from creation was and is not limited to Israel, but can be perceived all over the world. Here we have proof from the Old Testament that God preached to the Gentiles to enable them to have knowledge of Him and to believe in Him.
Romans 10:19. But then there is another question. Should Israel have known that God would make Himself known to the Gentiles, or shouldn’t we blame them for resenting God for also blessing the Gentiles? Moses is the first to speak in Romans 10:19. He was Israel’s great leader and they respected him. He was the one who told them of their unfaithfulness and that God would turn to another “nation” because of their unfaithfulness. By doing so, He wanted to awaken their jealousy so they would return to Him.
Romans 10:20. Isaiah is also quoted. Paul says it in the following way: “Isaiah is very bold and says.” This implies it was quite a bold venture of Isaiah, which it was. For it really was a direct attack on Israel’s national pride as God’s nation to tell them that God would consider another nation.
Romans 10:21. This last verse is the most penetrating. God Himself speaks. You can taste the sorrow of His heart when you read what He has to say to His people. You can see God, His hands wide open to bring His people to His heart. And God doesn’t remain with this attitude for only a few minutes, but “all the day long”. This refers to the entire time He dealt with that nation. Is there anything more grievous than being rejected in such a way?
From His viewpoint, God did everything to bless His people, but the only answer of His people was disobedience and opposition. They turned their backs on Him. The people broke their connection with God. Therefore, God had to put His people aside. But thankfully not forever. In Romans 11 we read that a new day will rise for Israel.
Now read Romans 10:16-21 again.
Reflection: What do you experience when your testimony is rejected?
Romans 16:5
The Preaching Rejected
Romans 10:16. Maybe the previous verses gave you fresh courage to preach of peace and of good news. You want to tell others what the Lord has done with you and how happy you now are. You can see it quite clearly. You think others will be impressed by your testimony and will be converted to the Lord. But many will not be converted. This will be a sad disappointment. The results you were so fervently hoping for would not come. Instead of conversions based on your testimony, they will turn against you.
Isaiah knew something about this. He spoke a lot about the Messiah Who was to come to His people, but few believed his preaching. At the coming of the promised Messiah, were the masses of people awaiting Him? You know they weren’t because He didn’t meet their expectations. They didn’t like it that He came as a Baby in a manger. Had it been someone appearing with pomp and circumstance, which would have been very different, they would have accepted Him. But what was their response? “Away with [Him], away with [Him], crucify Him!” (John 19:15a). The Lord Jesus was rejected and He returned to heaven. You can’t see Him now.
Romans 10:17. To have contact with Him, faith is required, and this faith must be stirred up by preaching. And the preaching must have the Word of God as its contents. Only then can man discover himself, Who God is, and what He has done to save him.
Romans 10:18. Consider the following question. At the time when the Word of God had not come to the Gentiles by way of preaching, hadn’t God already spoken to them? Certainly. So Paul quotes from Psalms 19. In this psalm David praises God’s glory and the work of His hands as seen in creation. The testimony of God that speaks from creation was and is not limited to Israel, but can be perceived all over the world. Here we have proof from the Old Testament that God preached to the Gentiles to enable them to have knowledge of Him and to believe in Him.
Romans 10:19. But then there is another question. Should Israel have known that God would make Himself known to the Gentiles, or shouldn’t we blame them for resenting God for also blessing the Gentiles? Moses is the first to speak in Romans 10:19. He was Israel’s great leader and they respected him. He was the one who told them of their unfaithfulness and that God would turn to another “nation” because of their unfaithfulness. By doing so, He wanted to awaken their jealousy so they would return to Him.
Romans 10:20. Isaiah is also quoted. Paul says it in the following way: “Isaiah is very bold and says.” This implies it was quite a bold venture of Isaiah, which it was. For it really was a direct attack on Israel’s national pride as God’s nation to tell them that God would consider another nation.
Romans 10:21. This last verse is the most penetrating. God Himself speaks. You can taste the sorrow of His heart when you read what He has to say to His people. You can see God, His hands wide open to bring His people to His heart. And God doesn’t remain with this attitude for only a few minutes, but “all the day long”. This refers to the entire time He dealt with that nation. Is there anything more grievous than being rejected in such a way?
From His viewpoint, God did everything to bless His people, but the only answer of His people was disobedience and opposition. They turned their backs on Him. The people broke their connection with God. Therefore, God had to put His people aside. But thankfully not forever. In Romans 11 we read that a new day will rise for Israel.
Now read Romans 10:16-21 again.
Reflection: What do you experience when your testimony is rejected?
Romans 16:6
The Preaching Rejected
Romans 10:16. Maybe the previous verses gave you fresh courage to preach of peace and of good news. You want to tell others what the Lord has done with you and how happy you now are. You can see it quite clearly. You think others will be impressed by your testimony and will be converted to the Lord. But many will not be converted. This will be a sad disappointment. The results you were so fervently hoping for would not come. Instead of conversions based on your testimony, they will turn against you.
Isaiah knew something about this. He spoke a lot about the Messiah Who was to come to His people, but few believed his preaching. At the coming of the promised Messiah, were the masses of people awaiting Him? You know they weren’t because He didn’t meet their expectations. They didn’t like it that He came as a Baby in a manger. Had it been someone appearing with pomp and circumstance, which would have been very different, they would have accepted Him. But what was their response? “Away with [Him], away with [Him], crucify Him!” (John 19:15a). The Lord Jesus was rejected and He returned to heaven. You can’t see Him now.
Romans 10:17. To have contact with Him, faith is required, and this faith must be stirred up by preaching. And the preaching must have the Word of God as its contents. Only then can man discover himself, Who God is, and what He has done to save him.
Romans 10:18. Consider the following question. At the time when the Word of God had not come to the Gentiles by way of preaching, hadn’t God already spoken to them? Certainly. So Paul quotes from Psalms 19. In this psalm David praises God’s glory and the work of His hands as seen in creation. The testimony of God that speaks from creation was and is not limited to Israel, but can be perceived all over the world. Here we have proof from the Old Testament that God preached to the Gentiles to enable them to have knowledge of Him and to believe in Him.
Romans 10:19. But then there is another question. Should Israel have known that God would make Himself known to the Gentiles, or shouldn’t we blame them for resenting God for also blessing the Gentiles? Moses is the first to speak in Romans 10:19. He was Israel’s great leader and they respected him. He was the one who told them of their unfaithfulness and that God would turn to another “nation” because of their unfaithfulness. By doing so, He wanted to awaken their jealousy so they would return to Him.
Romans 10:20. Isaiah is also quoted. Paul says it in the following way: “Isaiah is very bold and says.” This implies it was quite a bold venture of Isaiah, which it was. For it really was a direct attack on Israel’s national pride as God’s nation to tell them that God would consider another nation.
Romans 10:21. This last verse is the most penetrating. God Himself speaks. You can taste the sorrow of His heart when you read what He has to say to His people. You can see God, His hands wide open to bring His people to His heart. And God doesn’t remain with this attitude for only a few minutes, but “all the day long”. This refers to the entire time He dealt with that nation. Is there anything more grievous than being rejected in such a way?
From His viewpoint, God did everything to bless His people, but the only answer of His people was disobedience and opposition. They turned their backs on Him. The people broke their connection with God. Therefore, God had to put His people aside. But thankfully not forever. In Romans 11 we read that a new day will rise for Israel.
Now read Romans 10:16-21 again.
Reflection: What do you experience when your testimony is rejected?
Romans 16:7
The Preaching Rejected
Romans 10:16. Maybe the previous verses gave you fresh courage to preach of peace and of good news. You want to tell others what the Lord has done with you and how happy you now are. You can see it quite clearly. You think others will be impressed by your testimony and will be converted to the Lord. But many will not be converted. This will be a sad disappointment. The results you were so fervently hoping for would not come. Instead of conversions based on your testimony, they will turn against you.
Isaiah knew something about this. He spoke a lot about the Messiah Who was to come to His people, but few believed his preaching. At the coming of the promised Messiah, were the masses of people awaiting Him? You know they weren’t because He didn’t meet their expectations. They didn’t like it that He came as a Baby in a manger. Had it been someone appearing with pomp and circumstance, which would have been very different, they would have accepted Him. But what was their response? “Away with [Him], away with [Him], crucify Him!” (John 19:15a). The Lord Jesus was rejected and He returned to heaven. You can’t see Him now.
Romans 10:17. To have contact with Him, faith is required, and this faith must be stirred up by preaching. And the preaching must have the Word of God as its contents. Only then can man discover himself, Who God is, and what He has done to save him.
Romans 10:18. Consider the following question. At the time when the Word of God had not come to the Gentiles by way of preaching, hadn’t God already spoken to them? Certainly. So Paul quotes from Psalms 19. In this psalm David praises God’s glory and the work of His hands as seen in creation. The testimony of God that speaks from creation was and is not limited to Israel, but can be perceived all over the world. Here we have proof from the Old Testament that God preached to the Gentiles to enable them to have knowledge of Him and to believe in Him.
Romans 10:19. But then there is another question. Should Israel have known that God would make Himself known to the Gentiles, or shouldn’t we blame them for resenting God for also blessing the Gentiles? Moses is the first to speak in Romans 10:19. He was Israel’s great leader and they respected him. He was the one who told them of their unfaithfulness and that God would turn to another “nation” because of their unfaithfulness. By doing so, He wanted to awaken their jealousy so they would return to Him.
Romans 10:20. Isaiah is also quoted. Paul says it in the following way: “Isaiah is very bold and says.” This implies it was quite a bold venture of Isaiah, which it was. For it really was a direct attack on Israel’s national pride as God’s nation to tell them that God would consider another nation.
Romans 10:21. This last verse is the most penetrating. God Himself speaks. You can taste the sorrow of His heart when you read what He has to say to His people. You can see God, His hands wide open to bring His people to His heart. And God doesn’t remain with this attitude for only a few minutes, but “all the day long”. This refers to the entire time He dealt with that nation. Is there anything more grievous than being rejected in such a way?
From His viewpoint, God did everything to bless His people, but the only answer of His people was disobedience and opposition. They turned their backs on Him. The people broke their connection with God. Therefore, God had to put His people aside. But thankfully not forever. In Romans 11 we read that a new day will rise for Israel.
Now read Romans 10:16-21 again.
Reflection: What do you experience when your testimony is rejected?
Romans 16:8
The Preaching Rejected
Romans 10:16. Maybe the previous verses gave you fresh courage to preach of peace and of good news. You want to tell others what the Lord has done with you and how happy you now are. You can see it quite clearly. You think others will be impressed by your testimony and will be converted to the Lord. But many will not be converted. This will be a sad disappointment. The results you were so fervently hoping for would not come. Instead of conversions based on your testimony, they will turn against you.
Isaiah knew something about this. He spoke a lot about the Messiah Who was to come to His people, but few believed his preaching. At the coming of the promised Messiah, were the masses of people awaiting Him? You know they weren’t because He didn’t meet their expectations. They didn’t like it that He came as a Baby in a manger. Had it been someone appearing with pomp and circumstance, which would have been very different, they would have accepted Him. But what was their response? “Away with [Him], away with [Him], crucify Him!” (John 19:15a). The Lord Jesus was rejected and He returned to heaven. You can’t see Him now.
Romans 10:17. To have contact with Him, faith is required, and this faith must be stirred up by preaching. And the preaching must have the Word of God as its contents. Only then can man discover himself, Who God is, and what He has done to save him.
Romans 10:18. Consider the following question. At the time when the Word of God had not come to the Gentiles by way of preaching, hadn’t God already spoken to them? Certainly. So Paul quotes from Psalms 19. In this psalm David praises God’s glory and the work of His hands as seen in creation. The testimony of God that speaks from creation was and is not limited to Israel, but can be perceived all over the world. Here we have proof from the Old Testament that God preached to the Gentiles to enable them to have knowledge of Him and to believe in Him.
Romans 10:19. But then there is another question. Should Israel have known that God would make Himself known to the Gentiles, or shouldn’t we blame them for resenting God for also blessing the Gentiles? Moses is the first to speak in Romans 10:19. He was Israel’s great leader and they respected him. He was the one who told them of their unfaithfulness and that God would turn to another “nation” because of their unfaithfulness. By doing so, He wanted to awaken their jealousy so they would return to Him.
Romans 10:20. Isaiah is also quoted. Paul says it in the following way: “Isaiah is very bold and says.” This implies it was quite a bold venture of Isaiah, which it was. For it really was a direct attack on Israel’s national pride as God’s nation to tell them that God would consider another nation.
Romans 10:21. This last verse is the most penetrating. God Himself speaks. You can taste the sorrow of His heart when you read what He has to say to His people. You can see God, His hands wide open to bring His people to His heart. And God doesn’t remain with this attitude for only a few minutes, but “all the day long”. This refers to the entire time He dealt with that nation. Is there anything more grievous than being rejected in such a way?
From His viewpoint, God did everything to bless His people, but the only answer of His people was disobedience and opposition. They turned their backs on Him. The people broke their connection with God. Therefore, God had to put His people aside. But thankfully not forever. In Romans 11 we read that a new day will rise for Israel.
Now read Romans 10:16-21 again.
Reflection: What do you experience when your testimony is rejected?
Romans 16:10
A Remnant
Romans 11:1. After all that has preceded, you might wonder if God has totally rejected His people forever. This question gets the same clear answer from Paul: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” He can point to himself. He was an Israelite. He was of the seed of Abraham to whom God had given His promises. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, which had almost disappeared from among Israel because they refused to judge evil (Judges 19-21).
Romans 11:2-3. If God had rejected His people, there wouldn’t have been a place left for Paul. But no, God has not rejected His people as a whole. God knew His people in advance; the unfaithfulness of the people did not surprise God. It only gave Him an opportunity to show His grace in an evident manner.
To illustrate this, Paul refers to what the Scripture says in the history of Elijah (1 Kings 18-19). Basically it came down to Elijah who was a hero on Mount Carmel where he stood up for God against the many false prophets who claimed Baal was God. The people were watching at a distance. Elijah gained a great victory for the LORD that day, and the people were shouting: “The LORD, He is God” (1 Kings 18:39).
But a little later when he was threatened with death by Jezebel, he fled to save his life. Having lost courage, he reached Horeb, the mount of God. There this man of God started accusing the people of Israel. He began to tell God all the things they had done wrong. He felt he was the only faithful one. And now they wanted to kill him too. Is this a good reason to accuse the people before God?
Do you recognize yourself in all this? I do. It is tremendous to live for the Lord and to be successful like Elijah at Mount Carmel. You hear the praise of the people. How wonderful! Then you’re threatened, ridiculed, laughed at, and you’re on the run. No one cares for you. How alone you feel when left on your own! ‘Well’, you say to God, ‘this is a nice mess; if this is the way it works, I’m no longer interested. I’m the only one who serves You faithfully. The others take it easy. And now they are even trying to silence me.’ And you are sure God agrees wholeheartedly. After all, you’re only telling the facts.
Romans 11:4. But listen to the Divine answer: “I will leave” or better “I have kept” (1 Kings 19:18). Ouch! That hurts. God always has many more people who have remained faithful to Him than you and I think. In Elijah’s case there were 7,000. God says: “I have kept for Myself.” This means God has taken care of it.
Romans 11:5-6. I have applied Elijah’s history to you and me personally. But the aim of this quotation in Romans 11 is to show there is always a remnant of the people of Israel, according to the election of grace, even if we don’t see it. With this, God proves that even under judgment He must exercise on Israel, Israel’s rejection is not total. To make it even clearer, if there’s a remnant – and there is –, then it is by grace and not by works, which infers it is not by any merit of that remnant.
Did you know this reference to Elijah’s accusations is the only time an Old Testament believer’s sin is referred to in the New Testament? However, this shouldn’t cause us look down on Elijah. He remains a wonderful example of the courage of faith. After all, he stood firm against all those idolatrous priests while not one of the 7,000 was anywhere to be found.
But as soon as he began to exalt himself for his faithfulness and started accusing others before God, he was set right by God. Accusing is a sin we all easily commit, but it is satan’s work. In Revelation 12 satan is called “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). If we see unfaithfulness with our brothers and sisters, let us rather do what the Lord Jesus does. He is the One Who prays for us, going to God for those who are His to ask Him to help them to become faithful again.
Now read Romans 11:1-6 again.
Reflection: Consider your prayers. Do you accuse your brothers and sisters or do you pray for them?
Romans 16:11
A Remnant
Romans 11:1. After all that has preceded, you might wonder if God has totally rejected His people forever. This question gets the same clear answer from Paul: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” He can point to himself. He was an Israelite. He was of the seed of Abraham to whom God had given His promises. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, which had almost disappeared from among Israel because they refused to judge evil (Judges 19-21).
Romans 11:2-3. If God had rejected His people, there wouldn’t have been a place left for Paul. But no, God has not rejected His people as a whole. God knew His people in advance; the unfaithfulness of the people did not surprise God. It only gave Him an opportunity to show His grace in an evident manner.
To illustrate this, Paul refers to what the Scripture says in the history of Elijah (1 Kings 18-19). Basically it came down to Elijah who was a hero on Mount Carmel where he stood up for God against the many false prophets who claimed Baal was God. The people were watching at a distance. Elijah gained a great victory for the LORD that day, and the people were shouting: “The LORD, He is God” (1 Kings 18:39).
But a little later when he was threatened with death by Jezebel, he fled to save his life. Having lost courage, he reached Horeb, the mount of God. There this man of God started accusing the people of Israel. He began to tell God all the things they had done wrong. He felt he was the only faithful one. And now they wanted to kill him too. Is this a good reason to accuse the people before God?
Do you recognize yourself in all this? I do. It is tremendous to live for the Lord and to be successful like Elijah at Mount Carmel. You hear the praise of the people. How wonderful! Then you’re threatened, ridiculed, laughed at, and you’re on the run. No one cares for you. How alone you feel when left on your own! ‘Well’, you say to God, ‘this is a nice mess; if this is the way it works, I’m no longer interested. I’m the only one who serves You faithfully. The others take it easy. And now they are even trying to silence me.’ And you are sure God agrees wholeheartedly. After all, you’re only telling the facts.
Romans 11:4. But listen to the Divine answer: “I will leave” or better “I have kept” (1 Kings 19:18). Ouch! That hurts. God always has many more people who have remained faithful to Him than you and I think. In Elijah’s case there were 7,000. God says: “I have kept for Myself.” This means God has taken care of it.
Romans 11:5-6. I have applied Elijah’s history to you and me personally. But the aim of this quotation in Romans 11 is to show there is always a remnant of the people of Israel, according to the election of grace, even if we don’t see it. With this, God proves that even under judgment He must exercise on Israel, Israel’s rejection is not total. To make it even clearer, if there’s a remnant – and there is –, then it is by grace and not by works, which infers it is not by any merit of that remnant.
Did you know this reference to Elijah’s accusations is the only time an Old Testament believer’s sin is referred to in the New Testament? However, this shouldn’t cause us look down on Elijah. He remains a wonderful example of the courage of faith. After all, he stood firm against all those idolatrous priests while not one of the 7,000 was anywhere to be found.
But as soon as he began to exalt himself for his faithfulness and started accusing others before God, he was set right by God. Accusing is a sin we all easily commit, but it is satan’s work. In Revelation 12 satan is called “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). If we see unfaithfulness with our brothers and sisters, let us rather do what the Lord Jesus does. He is the One Who prays for us, going to God for those who are His to ask Him to help them to become faithful again.
Now read Romans 11:1-6 again.
Reflection: Consider your prayers. Do you accuse your brothers and sisters or do you pray for them?
Romans 16:12
A Remnant
Romans 11:1. After all that has preceded, you might wonder if God has totally rejected His people forever. This question gets the same clear answer from Paul: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” He can point to himself. He was an Israelite. He was of the seed of Abraham to whom God had given His promises. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, which had almost disappeared from among Israel because they refused to judge evil (Judges 19-21).
Romans 11:2-3. If God had rejected His people, there wouldn’t have been a place left for Paul. But no, God has not rejected His people as a whole. God knew His people in advance; the unfaithfulness of the people did not surprise God. It only gave Him an opportunity to show His grace in an evident manner.
To illustrate this, Paul refers to what the Scripture says in the history of Elijah (1 Kings 18-19). Basically it came down to Elijah who was a hero on Mount Carmel where he stood up for God against the many false prophets who claimed Baal was God. The people were watching at a distance. Elijah gained a great victory for the LORD that day, and the people were shouting: “The LORD, He is God” (1 Kings 18:39).
But a little later when he was threatened with death by Jezebel, he fled to save his life. Having lost courage, he reached Horeb, the mount of God. There this man of God started accusing the people of Israel. He began to tell God all the things they had done wrong. He felt he was the only faithful one. And now they wanted to kill him too. Is this a good reason to accuse the people before God?
Do you recognize yourself in all this? I do. It is tremendous to live for the Lord and to be successful like Elijah at Mount Carmel. You hear the praise of the people. How wonderful! Then you’re threatened, ridiculed, laughed at, and you’re on the run. No one cares for you. How alone you feel when left on your own! ‘Well’, you say to God, ‘this is a nice mess; if this is the way it works, I’m no longer interested. I’m the only one who serves You faithfully. The others take it easy. And now they are even trying to silence me.’ And you are sure God agrees wholeheartedly. After all, you’re only telling the facts.
Romans 11:4. But listen to the Divine answer: “I will leave” or better “I have kept” (1 Kings 19:18). Ouch! That hurts. God always has many more people who have remained faithful to Him than you and I think. In Elijah’s case there were 7,000. God says: “I have kept for Myself.” This means God has taken care of it.
Romans 11:5-6. I have applied Elijah’s history to you and me personally. But the aim of this quotation in Romans 11 is to show there is always a remnant of the people of Israel, according to the election of grace, even if we don’t see it. With this, God proves that even under judgment He must exercise on Israel, Israel’s rejection is not total. To make it even clearer, if there’s a remnant – and there is –, then it is by grace and not by works, which infers it is not by any merit of that remnant.
Did you know this reference to Elijah’s accusations is the only time an Old Testament believer’s sin is referred to in the New Testament? However, this shouldn’t cause us look down on Elijah. He remains a wonderful example of the courage of faith. After all, he stood firm against all those idolatrous priests while not one of the 7,000 was anywhere to be found.
But as soon as he began to exalt himself for his faithfulness and started accusing others before God, he was set right by God. Accusing is a sin we all easily commit, but it is satan’s work. In Revelation 12 satan is called “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). If we see unfaithfulness with our brothers and sisters, let us rather do what the Lord Jesus does. He is the One Who prays for us, going to God for those who are His to ask Him to help them to become faithful again.
Now read Romans 11:1-6 again.
Reflection: Consider your prayers. Do you accuse your brothers and sisters or do you pray for them?
Romans 16:13
A Remnant
Romans 11:1. After all that has preceded, you might wonder if God has totally rejected His people forever. This question gets the same clear answer from Paul: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” He can point to himself. He was an Israelite. He was of the seed of Abraham to whom God had given His promises. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, which had almost disappeared from among Israel because they refused to judge evil (Judges 19-21).
Romans 11:2-3. If God had rejected His people, there wouldn’t have been a place left for Paul. But no, God has not rejected His people as a whole. God knew His people in advance; the unfaithfulness of the people did not surprise God. It only gave Him an opportunity to show His grace in an evident manner.
To illustrate this, Paul refers to what the Scripture says in the history of Elijah (1 Kings 18-19). Basically it came down to Elijah who was a hero on Mount Carmel where he stood up for God against the many false prophets who claimed Baal was God. The people were watching at a distance. Elijah gained a great victory for the LORD that day, and the people were shouting: “The LORD, He is God” (1 Kings 18:39).
But a little later when he was threatened with death by Jezebel, he fled to save his life. Having lost courage, he reached Horeb, the mount of God. There this man of God started accusing the people of Israel. He began to tell God all the things they had done wrong. He felt he was the only faithful one. And now they wanted to kill him too. Is this a good reason to accuse the people before God?
Do you recognize yourself in all this? I do. It is tremendous to live for the Lord and to be successful like Elijah at Mount Carmel. You hear the praise of the people. How wonderful! Then you’re threatened, ridiculed, laughed at, and you’re on the run. No one cares for you. How alone you feel when left on your own! ‘Well’, you say to God, ‘this is a nice mess; if this is the way it works, I’m no longer interested. I’m the only one who serves You faithfully. The others take it easy. And now they are even trying to silence me.’ And you are sure God agrees wholeheartedly. After all, you’re only telling the facts.
Romans 11:4. But listen to the Divine answer: “I will leave” or better “I have kept” (1 Kings 19:18). Ouch! That hurts. God always has many more people who have remained faithful to Him than you and I think. In Elijah’s case there were 7,000. God says: “I have kept for Myself.” This means God has taken care of it.
Romans 11:5-6. I have applied Elijah’s history to you and me personally. But the aim of this quotation in Romans 11 is to show there is always a remnant of the people of Israel, according to the election of grace, even if we don’t see it. With this, God proves that even under judgment He must exercise on Israel, Israel’s rejection is not total. To make it even clearer, if there’s a remnant – and there is –, then it is by grace and not by works, which infers it is not by any merit of that remnant.
Did you know this reference to Elijah’s accusations is the only time an Old Testament believer’s sin is referred to in the New Testament? However, this shouldn’t cause us look down on Elijah. He remains a wonderful example of the courage of faith. After all, he stood firm against all those idolatrous priests while not one of the 7,000 was anywhere to be found.
But as soon as he began to exalt himself for his faithfulness and started accusing others before God, he was set right by God. Accusing is a sin we all easily commit, but it is satan’s work. In Revelation 12 satan is called “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). If we see unfaithfulness with our brothers and sisters, let us rather do what the Lord Jesus does. He is the One Who prays for us, going to God for those who are His to ask Him to help them to become faithful again.
Now read Romans 11:1-6 again.
Reflection: Consider your prayers. Do you accuse your brothers and sisters or do you pray for them?
Romans 16:14
A Remnant
Romans 11:1. After all that has preceded, you might wonder if God has totally rejected His people forever. This question gets the same clear answer from Paul: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” He can point to himself. He was an Israelite. He was of the seed of Abraham to whom God had given His promises. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, which had almost disappeared from among Israel because they refused to judge evil (Judges 19-21).
Romans 11:2-3. If God had rejected His people, there wouldn’t have been a place left for Paul. But no, God has not rejected His people as a whole. God knew His people in advance; the unfaithfulness of the people did not surprise God. It only gave Him an opportunity to show His grace in an evident manner.
To illustrate this, Paul refers to what the Scripture says in the history of Elijah (1 Kings 18-19). Basically it came down to Elijah who was a hero on Mount Carmel where he stood up for God against the many false prophets who claimed Baal was God. The people were watching at a distance. Elijah gained a great victory for the LORD that day, and the people were shouting: “The LORD, He is God” (1 Kings 18:39).
But a little later when he was threatened with death by Jezebel, he fled to save his life. Having lost courage, he reached Horeb, the mount of God. There this man of God started accusing the people of Israel. He began to tell God all the things they had done wrong. He felt he was the only faithful one. And now they wanted to kill him too. Is this a good reason to accuse the people before God?
Do you recognize yourself in all this? I do. It is tremendous to live for the Lord and to be successful like Elijah at Mount Carmel. You hear the praise of the people. How wonderful! Then you’re threatened, ridiculed, laughed at, and you’re on the run. No one cares for you. How alone you feel when left on your own! ‘Well’, you say to God, ‘this is a nice mess; if this is the way it works, I’m no longer interested. I’m the only one who serves You faithfully. The others take it easy. And now they are even trying to silence me.’ And you are sure God agrees wholeheartedly. After all, you’re only telling the facts.
Romans 11:4. But listen to the Divine answer: “I will leave” or better “I have kept” (1 Kings 19:18). Ouch! That hurts. God always has many more people who have remained faithful to Him than you and I think. In Elijah’s case there were 7,000. God says: “I have kept for Myself.” This means God has taken care of it.
Romans 11:5-6. I have applied Elijah’s history to you and me personally. But the aim of this quotation in Romans 11 is to show there is always a remnant of the people of Israel, according to the election of grace, even if we don’t see it. With this, God proves that even under judgment He must exercise on Israel, Israel’s rejection is not total. To make it even clearer, if there’s a remnant – and there is –, then it is by grace and not by works, which infers it is not by any merit of that remnant.
Did you know this reference to Elijah’s accusations is the only time an Old Testament believer’s sin is referred to in the New Testament? However, this shouldn’t cause us look down on Elijah. He remains a wonderful example of the courage of faith. After all, he stood firm against all those idolatrous priests while not one of the 7,000 was anywhere to be found.
But as soon as he began to exalt himself for his faithfulness and started accusing others before God, he was set right by God. Accusing is a sin we all easily commit, but it is satan’s work. In Revelation 12 satan is called “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). If we see unfaithfulness with our brothers and sisters, let us rather do what the Lord Jesus does. He is the One Who prays for us, going to God for those who are His to ask Him to help them to become faithful again.
Now read Romans 11:1-6 again.
Reflection: Consider your prayers. Do you accuse your brothers and sisters or do you pray for them?
Romans 16:15
A Remnant
Romans 11:1. After all that has preceded, you might wonder if God has totally rejected His people forever. This question gets the same clear answer from Paul: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” He can point to himself. He was an Israelite. He was of the seed of Abraham to whom God had given His promises. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, which had almost disappeared from among Israel because they refused to judge evil (Judges 19-21).
Romans 11:2-3. If God had rejected His people, there wouldn’t have been a place left for Paul. But no, God has not rejected His people as a whole. God knew His people in advance; the unfaithfulness of the people did not surprise God. It only gave Him an opportunity to show His grace in an evident manner.
To illustrate this, Paul refers to what the Scripture says in the history of Elijah (1 Kings 18-19). Basically it came down to Elijah who was a hero on Mount Carmel where he stood up for God against the many false prophets who claimed Baal was God. The people were watching at a distance. Elijah gained a great victory for the LORD that day, and the people were shouting: “The LORD, He is God” (1 Kings 18:39).
But a little later when he was threatened with death by Jezebel, he fled to save his life. Having lost courage, he reached Horeb, the mount of God. There this man of God started accusing the people of Israel. He began to tell God all the things they had done wrong. He felt he was the only faithful one. And now they wanted to kill him too. Is this a good reason to accuse the people before God?
Do you recognize yourself in all this? I do. It is tremendous to live for the Lord and to be successful like Elijah at Mount Carmel. You hear the praise of the people. How wonderful! Then you’re threatened, ridiculed, laughed at, and you’re on the run. No one cares for you. How alone you feel when left on your own! ‘Well’, you say to God, ‘this is a nice mess; if this is the way it works, I’m no longer interested. I’m the only one who serves You faithfully. The others take it easy. And now they are even trying to silence me.’ And you are sure God agrees wholeheartedly. After all, you’re only telling the facts.
Romans 11:4. But listen to the Divine answer: “I will leave” or better “I have kept” (1 Kings 19:18). Ouch! That hurts. God always has many more people who have remained faithful to Him than you and I think. In Elijah’s case there were 7,000. God says: “I have kept for Myself.” This means God has taken care of it.
Romans 11:5-6. I have applied Elijah’s history to you and me personally. But the aim of this quotation in Romans 11 is to show there is always a remnant of the people of Israel, according to the election of grace, even if we don’t see it. With this, God proves that even under judgment He must exercise on Israel, Israel’s rejection is not total. To make it even clearer, if there’s a remnant – and there is –, then it is by grace and not by works, which infers it is not by any merit of that remnant.
Did you know this reference to Elijah’s accusations is the only time an Old Testament believer’s sin is referred to in the New Testament? However, this shouldn’t cause us look down on Elijah. He remains a wonderful example of the courage of faith. After all, he stood firm against all those idolatrous priests while not one of the 7,000 was anywhere to be found.
But as soon as he began to exalt himself for his faithfulness and started accusing others before God, he was set right by God. Accusing is a sin we all easily commit, but it is satan’s work. In Revelation 12 satan is called “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). If we see unfaithfulness with our brothers and sisters, let us rather do what the Lord Jesus does. He is the One Who prays for us, going to God for those who are His to ask Him to help them to become faithful again.
Now read Romans 11:1-6 again.
Reflection: Consider your prayers. Do you accuse your brothers and sisters or do you pray for them?
Romans 16:16
The Fall and Acceptance of Israel
Romans 11:7. If God elects a remnant, it is by grace, not because that remnant deserves anything. This is how it was with you. Israel looked for an opportunity to build up its righteousness before God, but they didn’t receive it because they failed. God has given this grace to the elect. All others have been hardened. God only hardens someone if not a single opportunity to bring someone to repentance is left.
Romans 11:8-10. In a threefold testimony from the Old Testament, Paul makes this hardening evident. He quotes texts from the prophets (Isaiah 29:10), the law (Deuteronomy 29:4) and the Psalms (Psalms 69:22; 23). In Isaiah and Deuteronomy it is God Who exercises this judgment of hardening by giving “them a spirit of stupor”. God’s patience will end. In Psalms 69 David asks for God’s judgment upon Israel because of their rejection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Such statements are not fitting for us. We live in the time of grace and we ought to ask God to forgive our enemies. This is what the Lord Jesus prayed while on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Therefore, grace can be offered now to the worst of sinners. Of these, Paul considers himself the most prominent example. He says that to him, the foremost or chief of all sinners, mercy was shown (1 Timothy 1:13-16). To the remnant grace has been shown through the intercession of the Lord Jesus at the cross according to the election of grace. But all others will fall under the judgment that God must bring over them because they put the Lord Jesus to death.
It was proper for His earthly people (in the Old Testament as well as in the future when the church has been taken up) to ask God to punish evil. And God will do that. He is the God of justice Who will bring about this justice for His elect. Later, when in the great tribulation (the church having been taken up and we thus in heaven), the believing remnant will suffer terrible persecution and the Lord Jesus will return to earth to save them (Zechariah 12:1-4; Zechariah 14:1-4). He will do this by judging the persecutors. In many psalms the feelings of the believers in those future days resound with their desire for deliverance, imploring God to judge their enemies. In essence, this is what David does here.
Romans 11:11. Now you may wonder if all this happened to Israel with the goal of allowing them to fall. But once again this idea is taken away when Paul says: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” They didn’t stumble to be rejected. But once they had stumbled, God offered His grace to the nations. He did so with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy. You must not restrict the sense of jealousy to a grudge, as if Israel would envy the nations because grace was offered to them. The sense is, it would cause Israel to long for the salvation that was offered to the nations.
Romans 11:12. It is good to realize these riches have come to us as a consequence of Israel’s transgression. Salvation wasn’t offered to us because we were better in any respect. It is through Israel’s transgression and loss, which is negative, that such riches have gone out toward the world. What blessing for the world then will result from Israel’s conversion and restoration! Then a wonderful blessing will go out from this people in which all the nations will share. This will be the situation during the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4).
Romans 11:13-14. Although Paul was the apostle to the nations, he was still connected with his people in both heart and soul. He had an eye for their present state of hardening. He also had an eye for their future restoration. His commitment in his Lord’s service was closely connected with these people.
When he speaks of “some of them”, this means he didn’t think he could bring all the people to conversion. He saw it as a magnification of his service if he could save “some” out of Israel. The individuals who are now converted out of Israel form the remnant according to the election of grace in this present day.
Now read Romans 11:7-14 again.
Reflection: What is your attitude toward Israel?
Romans 16:17
The Fall and Acceptance of Israel
Romans 11:7. If God elects a remnant, it is by grace, not because that remnant deserves anything. This is how it was with you. Israel looked for an opportunity to build up its righteousness before God, but they didn’t receive it because they failed. God has given this grace to the elect. All others have been hardened. God only hardens someone if not a single opportunity to bring someone to repentance is left.
Romans 11:8-10. In a threefold testimony from the Old Testament, Paul makes this hardening evident. He quotes texts from the prophets (Isaiah 29:10), the law (Deuteronomy 29:4) and the Psalms (Psalms 69:22; 23). In Isaiah and Deuteronomy it is God Who exercises this judgment of hardening by giving “them a spirit of stupor”. God’s patience will end. In Psalms 69 David asks for God’s judgment upon Israel because of their rejection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Such statements are not fitting for us. We live in the time of grace and we ought to ask God to forgive our enemies. This is what the Lord Jesus prayed while on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Therefore, grace can be offered now to the worst of sinners. Of these, Paul considers himself the most prominent example. He says that to him, the foremost or chief of all sinners, mercy was shown (1 Timothy 1:13-16). To the remnant grace has been shown through the intercession of the Lord Jesus at the cross according to the election of grace. But all others will fall under the judgment that God must bring over them because they put the Lord Jesus to death.
It was proper for His earthly people (in the Old Testament as well as in the future when the church has been taken up) to ask God to punish evil. And God will do that. He is the God of justice Who will bring about this justice for His elect. Later, when in the great tribulation (the church having been taken up and we thus in heaven), the believing remnant will suffer terrible persecution and the Lord Jesus will return to earth to save them (Zechariah 12:1-4; Zechariah 14:1-4). He will do this by judging the persecutors. In many psalms the feelings of the believers in those future days resound with their desire for deliverance, imploring God to judge their enemies. In essence, this is what David does here.
Romans 11:11. Now you may wonder if all this happened to Israel with the goal of allowing them to fall. But once again this idea is taken away when Paul says: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” They didn’t stumble to be rejected. But once they had stumbled, God offered His grace to the nations. He did so with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy. You must not restrict the sense of jealousy to a grudge, as if Israel would envy the nations because grace was offered to them. The sense is, it would cause Israel to long for the salvation that was offered to the nations.
Romans 11:12. It is good to realize these riches have come to us as a consequence of Israel’s transgression. Salvation wasn’t offered to us because we were better in any respect. It is through Israel’s transgression and loss, which is negative, that such riches have gone out toward the world. What blessing for the world then will result from Israel’s conversion and restoration! Then a wonderful blessing will go out from this people in which all the nations will share. This will be the situation during the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4).
Romans 11:13-14. Although Paul was the apostle to the nations, he was still connected with his people in both heart and soul. He had an eye for their present state of hardening. He also had an eye for their future restoration. His commitment in his Lord’s service was closely connected with these people.
When he speaks of “some of them”, this means he didn’t think he could bring all the people to conversion. He saw it as a magnification of his service if he could save “some” out of Israel. The individuals who are now converted out of Israel form the remnant according to the election of grace in this present day.
Now read Romans 11:7-14 again.
Reflection: What is your attitude toward Israel?
Romans 16:18
The Fall and Acceptance of Israel
Romans 11:7. If God elects a remnant, it is by grace, not because that remnant deserves anything. This is how it was with you. Israel looked for an opportunity to build up its righteousness before God, but they didn’t receive it because they failed. God has given this grace to the elect. All others have been hardened. God only hardens someone if not a single opportunity to bring someone to repentance is left.
Romans 11:8-10. In a threefold testimony from the Old Testament, Paul makes this hardening evident. He quotes texts from the prophets (Isaiah 29:10), the law (Deuteronomy 29:4) and the Psalms (Psalms 69:22; 23). In Isaiah and Deuteronomy it is God Who exercises this judgment of hardening by giving “them a spirit of stupor”. God’s patience will end. In Psalms 69 David asks for God’s judgment upon Israel because of their rejection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Such statements are not fitting for us. We live in the time of grace and we ought to ask God to forgive our enemies. This is what the Lord Jesus prayed while on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Therefore, grace can be offered now to the worst of sinners. Of these, Paul considers himself the most prominent example. He says that to him, the foremost or chief of all sinners, mercy was shown (1 Timothy 1:13-16). To the remnant grace has been shown through the intercession of the Lord Jesus at the cross according to the election of grace. But all others will fall under the judgment that God must bring over them because they put the Lord Jesus to death.
It was proper for His earthly people (in the Old Testament as well as in the future when the church has been taken up) to ask God to punish evil. And God will do that. He is the God of justice Who will bring about this justice for His elect. Later, when in the great tribulation (the church having been taken up and we thus in heaven), the believing remnant will suffer terrible persecution and the Lord Jesus will return to earth to save them (Zechariah 12:1-4; Zechariah 14:1-4). He will do this by judging the persecutors. In many psalms the feelings of the believers in those future days resound with their desire for deliverance, imploring God to judge their enemies. In essence, this is what David does here.
Romans 11:11. Now you may wonder if all this happened to Israel with the goal of allowing them to fall. But once again this idea is taken away when Paul says: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” They didn’t stumble to be rejected. But once they had stumbled, God offered His grace to the nations. He did so with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy. You must not restrict the sense of jealousy to a grudge, as if Israel would envy the nations because grace was offered to them. The sense is, it would cause Israel to long for the salvation that was offered to the nations.
Romans 11:12. It is good to realize these riches have come to us as a consequence of Israel’s transgression. Salvation wasn’t offered to us because we were better in any respect. It is through Israel’s transgression and loss, which is negative, that such riches have gone out toward the world. What blessing for the world then will result from Israel’s conversion and restoration! Then a wonderful blessing will go out from this people in which all the nations will share. This will be the situation during the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4).
Romans 11:13-14. Although Paul was the apostle to the nations, he was still connected with his people in both heart and soul. He had an eye for their present state of hardening. He also had an eye for their future restoration. His commitment in his Lord’s service was closely connected with these people.
When he speaks of “some of them”, this means he didn’t think he could bring all the people to conversion. He saw it as a magnification of his service if he could save “some” out of Israel. The individuals who are now converted out of Israel form the remnant according to the election of grace in this present day.
Now read Romans 11:7-14 again.
Reflection: What is your attitude toward Israel?
Romans 16:19
The Fall and Acceptance of Israel
Romans 11:7. If God elects a remnant, it is by grace, not because that remnant deserves anything. This is how it was with you. Israel looked for an opportunity to build up its righteousness before God, but they didn’t receive it because they failed. God has given this grace to the elect. All others have been hardened. God only hardens someone if not a single opportunity to bring someone to repentance is left.
Romans 11:8-10. In a threefold testimony from the Old Testament, Paul makes this hardening evident. He quotes texts from the prophets (Isaiah 29:10), the law (Deuteronomy 29:4) and the Psalms (Psalms 69:22; 23). In Isaiah and Deuteronomy it is God Who exercises this judgment of hardening by giving “them a spirit of stupor”. God’s patience will end. In Psalms 69 David asks for God’s judgment upon Israel because of their rejection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Such statements are not fitting for us. We live in the time of grace and we ought to ask God to forgive our enemies. This is what the Lord Jesus prayed while on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Therefore, grace can be offered now to the worst of sinners. Of these, Paul considers himself the most prominent example. He says that to him, the foremost or chief of all sinners, mercy was shown (1 Timothy 1:13-16). To the remnant grace has been shown through the intercession of the Lord Jesus at the cross according to the election of grace. But all others will fall under the judgment that God must bring over them because they put the Lord Jesus to death.
It was proper for His earthly people (in the Old Testament as well as in the future when the church has been taken up) to ask God to punish evil. And God will do that. He is the God of justice Who will bring about this justice for His elect. Later, when in the great tribulation (the church having been taken up and we thus in heaven), the believing remnant will suffer terrible persecution and the Lord Jesus will return to earth to save them (Zechariah 12:1-4; Zechariah 14:1-4). He will do this by judging the persecutors. In many psalms the feelings of the believers in those future days resound with their desire for deliverance, imploring God to judge their enemies. In essence, this is what David does here.
Romans 11:11. Now you may wonder if all this happened to Israel with the goal of allowing them to fall. But once again this idea is taken away when Paul says: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” They didn’t stumble to be rejected. But once they had stumbled, God offered His grace to the nations. He did so with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy. You must not restrict the sense of jealousy to a grudge, as if Israel would envy the nations because grace was offered to them. The sense is, it would cause Israel to long for the salvation that was offered to the nations.
Romans 11:12. It is good to realize these riches have come to us as a consequence of Israel’s transgression. Salvation wasn’t offered to us because we were better in any respect. It is through Israel’s transgression and loss, which is negative, that such riches have gone out toward the world. What blessing for the world then will result from Israel’s conversion and restoration! Then a wonderful blessing will go out from this people in which all the nations will share. This will be the situation during the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4).
Romans 11:13-14. Although Paul was the apostle to the nations, he was still connected with his people in both heart and soul. He had an eye for their present state of hardening. He also had an eye for their future restoration. His commitment in his Lord’s service was closely connected with these people.
When he speaks of “some of them”, this means he didn’t think he could bring all the people to conversion. He saw it as a magnification of his service if he could save “some” out of Israel. The individuals who are now converted out of Israel form the remnant according to the election of grace in this present day.
Now read Romans 11:7-14 again.
Reflection: What is your attitude toward Israel?
Romans 16:20
The Fall and Acceptance of Israel
Romans 11:7. If God elects a remnant, it is by grace, not because that remnant deserves anything. This is how it was with you. Israel looked for an opportunity to build up its righteousness before God, but they didn’t receive it because they failed. God has given this grace to the elect. All others have been hardened. God only hardens someone if not a single opportunity to bring someone to repentance is left.
Romans 11:8-10. In a threefold testimony from the Old Testament, Paul makes this hardening evident. He quotes texts from the prophets (Isaiah 29:10), the law (Deuteronomy 29:4) and the Psalms (Psalms 69:22; 23). In Isaiah and Deuteronomy it is God Who exercises this judgment of hardening by giving “them a spirit of stupor”. God’s patience will end. In Psalms 69 David asks for God’s judgment upon Israel because of their rejection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Such statements are not fitting for us. We live in the time of grace and we ought to ask God to forgive our enemies. This is what the Lord Jesus prayed while on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Therefore, grace can be offered now to the worst of sinners. Of these, Paul considers himself the most prominent example. He says that to him, the foremost or chief of all sinners, mercy was shown (1 Timothy 1:13-16). To the remnant grace has been shown through the intercession of the Lord Jesus at the cross according to the election of grace. But all others will fall under the judgment that God must bring over them because they put the Lord Jesus to death.
It was proper for His earthly people (in the Old Testament as well as in the future when the church has been taken up) to ask God to punish evil. And God will do that. He is the God of justice Who will bring about this justice for His elect. Later, when in the great tribulation (the church having been taken up and we thus in heaven), the believing remnant will suffer terrible persecution and the Lord Jesus will return to earth to save them (Zechariah 12:1-4; Zechariah 14:1-4). He will do this by judging the persecutors. In many psalms the feelings of the believers in those future days resound with their desire for deliverance, imploring God to judge their enemies. In essence, this is what David does here.
Romans 11:11. Now you may wonder if all this happened to Israel with the goal of allowing them to fall. But once again this idea is taken away when Paul says: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” They didn’t stumble to be rejected. But once they had stumbled, God offered His grace to the nations. He did so with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy. You must not restrict the sense of jealousy to a grudge, as if Israel would envy the nations because grace was offered to them. The sense is, it would cause Israel to long for the salvation that was offered to the nations.
Romans 11:12. It is good to realize these riches have come to us as a consequence of Israel’s transgression. Salvation wasn’t offered to us because we were better in any respect. It is through Israel’s transgression and loss, which is negative, that such riches have gone out toward the world. What blessing for the world then will result from Israel’s conversion and restoration! Then a wonderful blessing will go out from this people in which all the nations will share. This will be the situation during the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4).
Romans 11:13-14. Although Paul was the apostle to the nations, he was still connected with his people in both heart and soul. He had an eye for their present state of hardening. He also had an eye for their future restoration. His commitment in his Lord’s service was closely connected with these people.
When he speaks of “some of them”, this means he didn’t think he could bring all the people to conversion. He saw it as a magnification of his service if he could save “some” out of Israel. The individuals who are now converted out of Israel form the remnant according to the election of grace in this present day.
Now read Romans 11:7-14 again.
Reflection: What is your attitude toward Israel?
Romans 16:21
The Fall and Acceptance of Israel
Romans 11:7. If God elects a remnant, it is by grace, not because that remnant deserves anything. This is how it was with you. Israel looked for an opportunity to build up its righteousness before God, but they didn’t receive it because they failed. God has given this grace to the elect. All others have been hardened. God only hardens someone if not a single opportunity to bring someone to repentance is left.
Romans 11:8-10. In a threefold testimony from the Old Testament, Paul makes this hardening evident. He quotes texts from the prophets (Isaiah 29:10), the law (Deuteronomy 29:4) and the Psalms (Psalms 69:22; 23). In Isaiah and Deuteronomy it is God Who exercises this judgment of hardening by giving “them a spirit of stupor”. God’s patience will end. In Psalms 69 David asks for God’s judgment upon Israel because of their rejection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Such statements are not fitting for us. We live in the time of grace and we ought to ask God to forgive our enemies. This is what the Lord Jesus prayed while on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Therefore, grace can be offered now to the worst of sinners. Of these, Paul considers himself the most prominent example. He says that to him, the foremost or chief of all sinners, mercy was shown (1 Timothy 1:13-16). To the remnant grace has been shown through the intercession of the Lord Jesus at the cross according to the election of grace. But all others will fall under the judgment that God must bring over them because they put the Lord Jesus to death.
It was proper for His earthly people (in the Old Testament as well as in the future when the church has been taken up) to ask God to punish evil. And God will do that. He is the God of justice Who will bring about this justice for His elect. Later, when in the great tribulation (the church having been taken up and we thus in heaven), the believing remnant will suffer terrible persecution and the Lord Jesus will return to earth to save them (Zechariah 12:1-4; Zechariah 14:1-4). He will do this by judging the persecutors. In many psalms the feelings of the believers in those future days resound with their desire for deliverance, imploring God to judge their enemies. In essence, this is what David does here.
Romans 11:11. Now you may wonder if all this happened to Israel with the goal of allowing them to fall. But once again this idea is taken away when Paul says: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” They didn’t stumble to be rejected. But once they had stumbled, God offered His grace to the nations. He did so with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy. You must not restrict the sense of jealousy to a grudge, as if Israel would envy the nations because grace was offered to them. The sense is, it would cause Israel to long for the salvation that was offered to the nations.
Romans 11:12. It is good to realize these riches have come to us as a consequence of Israel’s transgression. Salvation wasn’t offered to us because we were better in any respect. It is through Israel’s transgression and loss, which is negative, that such riches have gone out toward the world. What blessing for the world then will result from Israel’s conversion and restoration! Then a wonderful blessing will go out from this people in which all the nations will share. This will be the situation during the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4).
Romans 11:13-14. Although Paul was the apostle to the nations, he was still connected with his people in both heart and soul. He had an eye for their present state of hardening. He also had an eye for their future restoration. His commitment in his Lord’s service was closely connected with these people.
When he speaks of “some of them”, this means he didn’t think he could bring all the people to conversion. He saw it as a magnification of his service if he could save “some” out of Israel. The individuals who are now converted out of Israel form the remnant according to the election of grace in this present day.
Now read Romans 11:7-14 again.
Reflection: What is your attitude toward Israel?
Romans 16:22
The Fall and Acceptance of Israel
Romans 11:7. If God elects a remnant, it is by grace, not because that remnant deserves anything. This is how it was with you. Israel looked for an opportunity to build up its righteousness before God, but they didn’t receive it because they failed. God has given this grace to the elect. All others have been hardened. God only hardens someone if not a single opportunity to bring someone to repentance is left.
Romans 11:8-10. In a threefold testimony from the Old Testament, Paul makes this hardening evident. He quotes texts from the prophets (Isaiah 29:10), the law (Deuteronomy 29:4) and the Psalms (Psalms 69:22; 23). In Isaiah and Deuteronomy it is God Who exercises this judgment of hardening by giving “them a spirit of stupor”. God’s patience will end. In Psalms 69 David asks for God’s judgment upon Israel because of their rejection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Such statements are not fitting for us. We live in the time of grace and we ought to ask God to forgive our enemies. This is what the Lord Jesus prayed while on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Therefore, grace can be offered now to the worst of sinners. Of these, Paul considers himself the most prominent example. He says that to him, the foremost or chief of all sinners, mercy was shown (1 Timothy 1:13-16). To the remnant grace has been shown through the intercession of the Lord Jesus at the cross according to the election of grace. But all others will fall under the judgment that God must bring over them because they put the Lord Jesus to death.
It was proper for His earthly people (in the Old Testament as well as in the future when the church has been taken up) to ask God to punish evil. And God will do that. He is the God of justice Who will bring about this justice for His elect. Later, when in the great tribulation (the church having been taken up and we thus in heaven), the believing remnant will suffer terrible persecution and the Lord Jesus will return to earth to save them (Zechariah 12:1-4; Zechariah 14:1-4). He will do this by judging the persecutors. In many psalms the feelings of the believers in those future days resound with their desire for deliverance, imploring God to judge their enemies. In essence, this is what David does here.
Romans 11:11. Now you may wonder if all this happened to Israel with the goal of allowing them to fall. But once again this idea is taken away when Paul says: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” They didn’t stumble to be rejected. But once they had stumbled, God offered His grace to the nations. He did so with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy. You must not restrict the sense of jealousy to a grudge, as if Israel would envy the nations because grace was offered to them. The sense is, it would cause Israel to long for the salvation that was offered to the nations.
Romans 11:12. It is good to realize these riches have come to us as a consequence of Israel’s transgression. Salvation wasn’t offered to us because we were better in any respect. It is through Israel’s transgression and loss, which is negative, that such riches have gone out toward the world. What blessing for the world then will result from Israel’s conversion and restoration! Then a wonderful blessing will go out from this people in which all the nations will share. This will be the situation during the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4).
Romans 11:13-14. Although Paul was the apostle to the nations, he was still connected with his people in both heart and soul. He had an eye for their present state of hardening. He also had an eye for their future restoration. His commitment in his Lord’s service was closely connected with these people.
When he speaks of “some of them”, this means he didn’t think he could bring all the people to conversion. He saw it as a magnification of his service if he could save “some” out of Israel. The individuals who are now converted out of Israel form the remnant according to the election of grace in this present day.
Now read Romans 11:7-14 again.
Reflection: What is your attitude toward Israel?
Romans 16:23
The Fall and Acceptance of Israel
Romans 11:7. If God elects a remnant, it is by grace, not because that remnant deserves anything. This is how it was with you. Israel looked for an opportunity to build up its righteousness before God, but they didn’t receive it because they failed. God has given this grace to the elect. All others have been hardened. God only hardens someone if not a single opportunity to bring someone to repentance is left.
Romans 11:8-10. In a threefold testimony from the Old Testament, Paul makes this hardening evident. He quotes texts from the prophets (Isaiah 29:10), the law (Deuteronomy 29:4) and the Psalms (Psalms 69:22; 23). In Isaiah and Deuteronomy it is God Who exercises this judgment of hardening by giving “them a spirit of stupor”. God’s patience will end. In Psalms 69 David asks for God’s judgment upon Israel because of their rejection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Such statements are not fitting for us. We live in the time of grace and we ought to ask God to forgive our enemies. This is what the Lord Jesus prayed while on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Therefore, grace can be offered now to the worst of sinners. Of these, Paul considers himself the most prominent example. He says that to him, the foremost or chief of all sinners, mercy was shown (1 Timothy 1:13-16). To the remnant grace has been shown through the intercession of the Lord Jesus at the cross according to the election of grace. But all others will fall under the judgment that God must bring over them because they put the Lord Jesus to death.
It was proper for His earthly people (in the Old Testament as well as in the future when the church has been taken up) to ask God to punish evil. And God will do that. He is the God of justice Who will bring about this justice for His elect. Later, when in the great tribulation (the church having been taken up and we thus in heaven), the believing remnant will suffer terrible persecution and the Lord Jesus will return to earth to save them (Zechariah 12:1-4; Zechariah 14:1-4). He will do this by judging the persecutors. In many psalms the feelings of the believers in those future days resound with their desire for deliverance, imploring God to judge their enemies. In essence, this is what David does here.
Romans 11:11. Now you may wonder if all this happened to Israel with the goal of allowing them to fall. But once again this idea is taken away when Paul says: “May it never be!” or: “Certainly not!” They didn’t stumble to be rejected. But once they had stumbled, God offered His grace to the nations. He did so with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy. You must not restrict the sense of jealousy to a grudge, as if Israel would envy the nations because grace was offered to them. The sense is, it would cause Israel to long for the salvation that was offered to the nations.
Romans 11:12. It is good to realize these riches have come to us as a consequence of Israel’s transgression. Salvation wasn’t offered to us because we were better in any respect. It is through Israel’s transgression and loss, which is negative, that such riches have gone out toward the world. What blessing for the world then will result from Israel’s conversion and restoration! Then a wonderful blessing will go out from this people in which all the nations will share. This will be the situation during the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4).
Romans 11:13-14. Although Paul was the apostle to the nations, he was still connected with his people in both heart and soul. He had an eye for their present state of hardening. He also had an eye for their future restoration. His commitment in his Lord’s service was closely connected with these people.
When he speaks of “some of them”, this means he didn’t think he could bring all the people to conversion. He saw it as a magnification of his service if he could save “some” out of Israel. The individuals who are now converted out of Israel form the remnant according to the election of grace in this present day.
Now read Romans 11:7-14 again.
Reflection: What is your attitude toward Israel?
Romans 16:24
God’s Testimony on Earth
Romans 11:15. The rejection of Israel meant the offer of atonement could go out to the world – to the nations, to the Gentiles. In 2 Corinthians 5 it says: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). This does not say the whole world was reconciled to God; it is only true for those who acknowledge the necessity of Christ’s work of atonement for themselves.
There is no such thing as a universal reconciliation – that everyone, even the devil, will be saved. This idea is often justified by saying that God is a God of love, but don’t let yourself be fooled by this. The Bible speaks clearly enough of an everlasting judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).
This verse in Romans 11 is about the place before God of both Israel and the world. At the moment, God is not publicly dealing with Israel as a nation. When Israel will be again accepted, this will be “life from the dead”. A description of this is found in Ezekiel 37 (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
Romans 11:16. God desires to have a people on earth to give testimony of Him and proclaim His virtues – these are all His outstanding features. In the past, Israel failed to give a testimony of the only true God, and even today they don’t do so. At the present time, this testimony should be given by Christians. But is professing Christianity doing a better job?
The portion from Romans 11:16 onward, is important. It teaches you to understand something of God’s dealing with professing Christianity. Both from Israel and from Christianity, God expected a testimony to be given of Him in this world.
Through the picture of the olive tree and its branches, Paul shows what came of that. In Romans 11:16 we first read about the “first piece” or “first fruit” and the “lump”. The first fruit are the first fruits collected from the harvest. They are holy, which means separated to the Lord. From these first fruits, for example the first grains of wheat, dough is made. This dough would automatically be holy as well. This thought holds as well for a tree’s roots and branches. These two examples of the ‘first fruit’ and ‘lump’ and the ‘root’ and ‘branches’ speak of the fact that where the origin is holy, anything springing from this origin is also holy.
Romans 11:17. Next we see a wild olive tree of which branches are broken off to be grafted into the good, cultivated olive tree in Romans 11:24. In this way the branches of the wild olive tree could partake of the root and the fatness of the good olive tree. In addition, from the good olive tree, branches have been broken off. This was done to make room for the branches that had been broken off from the wild olive tree. By how Paul speaks of the branches, it is clear this is figurative language speaking of people.
Let’s go back now to Romans 11:16. The root represents the origin from which something grows and becomes visible on earth. In Romans 11:17 the following picture then arises: 1. Some branches (= the unbelieving part of the people of Israel) are broken off (= being put aside by God). 2. Other branches remain (= the faithful remnant). 3. In the place of the branches that are broken off, branches of the wild olive tree (= the believers from among the Gentiles) have been grafted in. 4. As a result these Gentiles – who used to have no right to anything – could partake of the root and the fatness of the olive tree (= could partake of the promises and blessing that belonged to Abraham and his posterity).
It is important to realize that the subject here is God’s testimony on earth and how God judges it. Both Israel and Christianity are responsible for the testimony they show of God. God couldn’t maintain Israel as His witness. Christianity has replaced Israel as God’s witness on earth. But do Christians perform their task any better than Israel? This is what we will see in the next section.
Now read Romans 11:15-17 again.
Reflection: In which way can you proclaim God’s virtues (see 1 Peter 2:9).
Romans 16:25
God’s Testimony on Earth
Romans 11:15. The rejection of Israel meant the offer of atonement could go out to the world – to the nations, to the Gentiles. In 2 Corinthians 5 it says: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). This does not say the whole world was reconciled to God; it is only true for those who acknowledge the necessity of Christ’s work of atonement for themselves.
There is no such thing as a universal reconciliation – that everyone, even the devil, will be saved. This idea is often justified by saying that God is a God of love, but don’t let yourself be fooled by this. The Bible speaks clearly enough of an everlasting judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).
This verse in Romans 11 is about the place before God of both Israel and the world. At the moment, God is not publicly dealing with Israel as a nation. When Israel will be again accepted, this will be “life from the dead”. A description of this is found in Ezekiel 37 (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
Romans 11:16. God desires to have a people on earth to give testimony of Him and proclaim His virtues – these are all His outstanding features. In the past, Israel failed to give a testimony of the only true God, and even today they don’t do so. At the present time, this testimony should be given by Christians. But is professing Christianity doing a better job?
The portion from Romans 11:16 onward, is important. It teaches you to understand something of God’s dealing with professing Christianity. Both from Israel and from Christianity, God expected a testimony to be given of Him in this world.
Through the picture of the olive tree and its branches, Paul shows what came of that. In Romans 11:16 we first read about the “first piece” or “first fruit” and the “lump”. The first fruit are the first fruits collected from the harvest. They are holy, which means separated to the Lord. From these first fruits, for example the first grains of wheat, dough is made. This dough would automatically be holy as well. This thought holds as well for a tree’s roots and branches. These two examples of the ‘first fruit’ and ‘lump’ and the ‘root’ and ‘branches’ speak of the fact that where the origin is holy, anything springing from this origin is also holy.
Romans 11:17. Next we see a wild olive tree of which branches are broken off to be grafted into the good, cultivated olive tree in Romans 11:24. In this way the branches of the wild olive tree could partake of the root and the fatness of the good olive tree. In addition, from the good olive tree, branches have been broken off. This was done to make room for the branches that had been broken off from the wild olive tree. By how Paul speaks of the branches, it is clear this is figurative language speaking of people.
Let’s go back now to Romans 11:16. The root represents the origin from which something grows and becomes visible on earth. In Romans 11:17 the following picture then arises: 1. Some branches (= the unbelieving part of the people of Israel) are broken off (= being put aside by God). 2. Other branches remain (= the faithful remnant). 3. In the place of the branches that are broken off, branches of the wild olive tree (= the believers from among the Gentiles) have been grafted in. 4. As a result these Gentiles – who used to have no right to anything – could partake of the root and the fatness of the olive tree (= could partake of the promises and blessing that belonged to Abraham and his posterity).
It is important to realize that the subject here is God’s testimony on earth and how God judges it. Both Israel and Christianity are responsible for the testimony they show of God. God couldn’t maintain Israel as His witness. Christianity has replaced Israel as God’s witness on earth. But do Christians perform their task any better than Israel? This is what we will see in the next section.
Now read Romans 11:15-17 again.
Reflection: In which way can you proclaim God’s virtues (see 1 Peter 2:9).
Romans 16:26
God’s Testimony on Earth
Romans 11:15. The rejection of Israel meant the offer of atonement could go out to the world – to the nations, to the Gentiles. In 2 Corinthians 5 it says: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). This does not say the whole world was reconciled to God; it is only true for those who acknowledge the necessity of Christ’s work of atonement for themselves.
There is no such thing as a universal reconciliation – that everyone, even the devil, will be saved. This idea is often justified by saying that God is a God of love, but don’t let yourself be fooled by this. The Bible speaks clearly enough of an everlasting judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).
This verse in Romans 11 is about the place before God of both Israel and the world. At the moment, God is not publicly dealing with Israel as a nation. When Israel will be again accepted, this will be “life from the dead”. A description of this is found in Ezekiel 37 (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
Romans 11:16. God desires to have a people on earth to give testimony of Him and proclaim His virtues – these are all His outstanding features. In the past, Israel failed to give a testimony of the only true God, and even today they don’t do so. At the present time, this testimony should be given by Christians. But is professing Christianity doing a better job?
The portion from Romans 11:16 onward, is important. It teaches you to understand something of God’s dealing with professing Christianity. Both from Israel and from Christianity, God expected a testimony to be given of Him in this world.
Through the picture of the olive tree and its branches, Paul shows what came of that. In Romans 11:16 we first read about the “first piece” or “first fruit” and the “lump”. The first fruit are the first fruits collected from the harvest. They are holy, which means separated to the Lord. From these first fruits, for example the first grains of wheat, dough is made. This dough would automatically be holy as well. This thought holds as well for a tree’s roots and branches. These two examples of the ‘first fruit’ and ‘lump’ and the ‘root’ and ‘branches’ speak of the fact that where the origin is holy, anything springing from this origin is also holy.
Romans 11:17. Next we see a wild olive tree of which branches are broken off to be grafted into the good, cultivated olive tree in Romans 11:24. In this way the branches of the wild olive tree could partake of the root and the fatness of the good olive tree. In addition, from the good olive tree, branches have been broken off. This was done to make room for the branches that had been broken off from the wild olive tree. By how Paul speaks of the branches, it is clear this is figurative language speaking of people.
Let’s go back now to Romans 11:16. The root represents the origin from which something grows and becomes visible on earth. In Romans 11:17 the following picture then arises: 1. Some branches (= the unbelieving part of the people of Israel) are broken off (= being put aside by God). 2. Other branches remain (= the faithful remnant). 3. In the place of the branches that are broken off, branches of the wild olive tree (= the believers from among the Gentiles) have been grafted in. 4. As a result these Gentiles – who used to have no right to anything – could partake of the root and the fatness of the olive tree (= could partake of the promises and blessing that belonged to Abraham and his posterity).
It is important to realize that the subject here is God’s testimony on earth and how God judges it. Both Israel and Christianity are responsible for the testimony they show of God. God couldn’t maintain Israel as His witness. Christianity has replaced Israel as God’s witness on earth. But do Christians perform their task any better than Israel? This is what we will see in the next section.
Now read Romans 11:15-17 again.
Reflection: In which way can you proclaim God’s virtues (see 1 Peter 2:9).
Romans 16:27
Pride Goes Before Destruction
Romans 11:18. We Christians are now the bearers of the testimony that God gives of Himself in this world. Israel has been put aside. There is a danger for us Christians to boast in the place God has given us. It is easy to feel we are better than Israel. Well, if you have some idea of the testimony that Christians give in the world, it wouldn’t even enter your mind to boast. Just think of countries where civil wars were and are fought between militant groups under outwardly-Christian religious names.
God in His grace gave this testimony to us instead of Israel. It’s only in this way that we have acquired the blessings which God wanted to give to His people. We, heathen by nature, had no right to anything. Remember, we don’t support the root, but the root is supporting us. God put unbelieving Israel aside and we have come in its place.
Romans 11:19-20. But remember why Israel was put aside. They lost this place on earth because of their unbelief. They rejected God and His Son. It’s not because we are better that we have taken their place. Yet, to be able to keep this place, we must remain standing in the truth of faith. Here faith is not our personal trust of faith. Here it’s not that we believe, but what we believe. To be maintained by God as His testimony on earth, Christianity must have an undiminished adherence to the Bible because therein is the truth of faith.
Romans 11:21-22. Now comes Paul’s warning for us not to be proud. Christianity as a whole shouldn’t think that God will maintain it. If they don’t fear Him, they will share in Israel’s fate. From other portions of Scripture, it is clear that professing Christianity as a whole also will become unfaithful and God will have to cut it off. This increasing unfaithfulness is already visible. In many denominations, doctrines are proclaimed about the work and Person of the Lord Jesus that are not scriptural.
More and more, Christendom is presented as a religion that is equal to other world religions. This hides the great difference between all other religions and Christendom. Christendom is the only religion to offer the solution for a lost man to become clean before God. This can only come through the Lord Jesus Who said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). This excludes every other possibility. The Lord Jesus is not merely one possibility among others. Christianity also is used to further political causes. The testimony of Who God is and Who the Lord Jesus is has been obscured by all this.
Man has been placed on earth to serve God. In the Bible the Christian has been given principles to know how to do this. It’s only by faith in the Lord Jesus and His completed work that he is able to do this. But faith is more and more evolving into something hollowed out. Professing Christianity has already given up the greater part of the truth of faith and will continue to do so until the complete giving up of the Christian faith will be the eventual result. Professing Christianity will not keep standing in the faith. This is what God’s Word teaches us.
So is it going wrong with you and me after all? In case this disturbs you, I will say something about it in the next section.
Now read Romans 11:18-22 again.
Reflection: What is the meaning of: ‘Be not haughty, but fear’ in Romans 11:20?