In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of understanding the message of the book of Romans. He highlights how Paul brings the whole world, both Jews and Gentiles, into guilt before God, emphasizing the condemnation of sinners. The preacher then discusses the doctrine of justification, explaining how faith in Christ can justify a condemned person, without the need for deeds of the law. Finally, the preacher touches on the teaching of sanctification, emphasizing the importance of faith in the process of becoming holy. Throughout the sermon, the preacher encourages the audience to remember these key teachings and to never forget the role of the Jews in bringing the light of the gospel to the Gentiles.

Once again this evening, and we're up this great eleventh chapter, Letter to the Romans, and we're up the eleventh chapter, and we have already gone through the phrases in the first twelve verses, so that we're attempting to go from verse thirteen right through to the end of the chapter this evening, just a little bit a bigger portion than usual, but we've got to take it all in if we're to do it justice. So we're going through from verse thirteen to the end of verse thirty-six this evening. Now I want you to bear in mind exactly what we have done in Romans. You may think that I'm repeating this too much, but it's very, very important that we remember exactly what we have had in this wonderful book. Right, you remember in the first chapter, and in the second chapter, and down to the twentieth verse of the third chapter, we had Paul bringing the whole world in guilty before God. And you remember how many details he brought in, Jew and Gentile, self-righteous and unrighteous. He brought the whole world in guilty before God, and we scribbled across that section these words, the condemnation of sinners. And if you ever want to really impress people out there as sinners, do use those chapters, none righteous, no not one, none not doeth good. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So we scribbled across that, the condemnation of sinners. Then we started in the middle of chapter three, and went right through chapter four and chapter five, and we were dealing with that refreshing, unblessed, unfilling doctrine of justification. And we call that the justification of believers. And we found out that a man who was already condemned could be justified by faith in Christ. And Paul even concluded that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. That's exactly what Romans 4 says. And so that brought us through sections. Condemnation of sinners and the justification of believers. Then we started chapter six, went through six and then seven and eight, and we found this great teaching, the sanctification of faith. Because God doesn't only want you to come out from your condemned position and be justified by faith, but he wants you to live soberly, and righteously, and godly. And we were looking up practical sanctification for the human. And then when we got to chapter nine, and right through ten, and now eleven, we have been looking up the explanation of God's dealings with Israel. These pastors have all been about Israel. And why God cast them off, and why God leave them aside? Here we have the explanation of God's dealings with Israel. And next week we'll start a new sections up to twelve, and we'll be on exhortations then. That will finish the book. But we'll say nothing about that till we come to it. So that we're in the section in Romans, where Paul is explaining God's mysterious dealings with Israel in this distance session. And you remember last week we had two questions that came to the forefront very much. We had one in verse one, Has God cast away his people? Was the question. And that is, has God cast them away in their totality? And you remember how Paul answered it. He said, no, because I'm saved. And he said no again, because there's a remnant saved, even in this dispensation of grace. And we went through that very closely. And then we came to almost the same question, with just a little difference, in verse eleven. He said, I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? You see the first question has this idea behind it, has God cast them away in their totality? And the answer was no. And the second question is, are they cast away finally? Have they stumbled that they'll never rise again? And the answer is no. Just like that. Whether you like it or whether you don't. God forbid, says God. God forbid. And then we went into some of the details that follow that. Now we can't go over them again, so we'll start in verse thirteen this evening. And this is a very important part of the chapter, because here Paul turns to glance up to ten miles. Now unless you get this correctly in your mind, they're going to have problems down the chapter. He's not talking to the church now, you know. And he's not talking to the Jew now, you know. Talking to the Gentiles now. Bear that in mind. Because they've come into a privileged position, and they can be tossed out of it. But we're not talking about tossing believers out of the church, now. Just get it into your mind before you go any further, some of you wee fellows, that it's the Gentiles we're looking at. And to prove that he's never done this before, I want to make this very sure for you. He says this, for I speak to you Gentiles. Now when he's writing this letter, let's go back to the first chapter for a moment. Do you remember who he was writing to? Verse one, Paul, our servant of Jesus Christ. And you can go down to verse seven now. To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. Not just all that were in Rome, you know. No, but he was writing to these beloved of God ones. The ones who had been called out by the gospel to be the saints of God. That's who he was writing to. And that's who he has been speaking to right through. You remember when we came to that seventh chapter, wasn't it? Verse one, he says, know ye not brethren? Remember how we lingered on the word brethren? Then do you see verse four of chapter seven? Wherefore my brethren? And we're underlining my brethren. You can see who he's writing to all right. The beloved saints of God, his brethren in Christ. My brethren. Why even in that tenth chapter, wasn't it? It began with the word brethren. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is. And you can see him differentiating between his brethren and Israel, can't you? Well, there are some people who argue with me on the differentiation of the line, and they want to try to tell me that Israel is the church. And I always tell them that Paul said, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. You wouldn't tell me that he was down on his knees praying that the church might be saved, would you? To change your opinion a wee bit on that verse, I'm afraid. Yes, you can see him differentiating between brethren and the crowd he's praying for there. But all that I want you to get at that is that from the very first chapter, right through to where we are tonight, he's been writing to the beloved saints of God, his brethren in Christ. But there's been a message to the saints, hasn't there? But he's turning away from that. And for a moment he's saying, I speak to you Gentiles. And you'll find that he's got quite a lot to say to the Gentiles in this chapter. And before we end it tonight, he comes back to preach to the saints. There's a section for saints here, verse 25. For I would not, brethren. He's back to it again. So we'll just keep the Gentiles where he's talking to the Gentiles, and we'll keep the brethren where he's talking to the brethren, and you'll not get mixed up. Because if you get them mixed up, you'll have a problem or two that you'll never solve. Just to show you that I'm absolutely dead on about what I'm saying, here's what he does in chapter 5. Have a look at chapter 5. In verse 1, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Now I want you to get the truth. We have. So that he's putting himself in with the believers here. We have peace with God. Verse 2, by whom also we have access, haven't we? Verse 3, not only so, but we glory, don't we? And then verse 5, hope maketh not a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. By the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us, and you can see he's in the crowd the whole way through. We, and our, and us. It's quite simple, isn't it? But when you come to chapter 11, and the portion we're at now, here's what he says, for I speak to you Gentiles. And then when he comes down to verse 17, he says, and if some of the branches be broken off, and those, he doesn't say, aren't we? Of course he doesn't. We shall just take company, isn't it? Now, that he's put himself in, or any other believers in, now he's talking to Gentiles. And you've got to settle it, or you're going to be in deep, deep waters, and you'll only be getting yourself into a fix, because you're not reading right, at all. He settled it. Now he's glancing at the Gentiles, with verse 13, for I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office. Now, I always like to talk about being the apostle of the Gentiles. You see, he was the special messenger that God sent to the Gentiles. Remember that when he was apprehended on the way to Damascus? You remember that when God was sending Ananias round to find him again? He said, you know, he's a totem vessel unto me, and he shall bear my name before the kings, and before the Gentiles. My, this is the special messenger of God. He's the apostle of the Gentiles. And he loved to boast about that. He loved to magnify that, not because he just wanted to boast of who he was, but he always did it for his purpose. He had a purpose. Watch. He says, I magnify mine office, if by any means I may provoke to emulation men which are my flesh, and might save some of them. You know, when he could really tell the Jews that he was sent to the Gentiles with a message from God, and that the Gentiles embraced the message, and thereby embraced the Christ, and got justified, and reconciled, and translated out of the kingdom of darkness, and adopted into the family of God, and they were strangers and fond of no more, you know, the Jews were jealous. And by that very means, you know, he was thinking to emulate them, that they might by all means save some. Good to make people's mouth water sometimes about God's salvation. Good to do that. And so, he's saying, I speak to you Gentiles, I'm the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office, and they never forgot that this was an office, you know. Sometimes we almost think the gifts are titles. I detest this, but you know, I don't need to start on it, because I won't start. Whenever you find Paul writing in the New Testament, and there are 13 letters, I believe it's 10, 14, but there are 13 letters that begin with one word. It begins with Paul. Nobody wonders. It's Paul. Not the very Reverend Dr. Fowler, this, that, or the other, no. That's popish nonsense. I'm not Pastor Paul either. No, he always knew that these gifts were just offices in the church. I magnify mine office. It's not a title for a man. I'm not Pastor Paul, and I know you'd blather about like that at times. My name in heaven is Willie Mullins. It's there. And I'm the pastor of this church. You put it behind the name, not before it. It's not a title belonging to me, you know. No, it's an office in the church. Thank God for the office. Don't be getting silly about it, because it's not a title for a man, you know. It's an office in the church. Now watch this. He says, I am the apostle of the Gentiles. I magnify mine office, if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, that's the Jews, and might save some of them. For if the cost in our way of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead? You know, he's already said that, and we've already gone into that. Because in verse 12 he said this, Now if the whole of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness. You know, if you look back and see the fall, and because they turned down the Messiah, and because they turned upon the covenants that were made, and because they failed God, as we saw last week, that the gospel came out to the Gentiles. If that was the fall, where does fullness come in? What shall the fullness be? Some of you boys have no fullness for them. Ah, but Paul has, and the Bible has too, as we shall see the feast. You see, the costing away of them was just what we had up the chapter. Here's what it said up the chapter. Verse 7, What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for. They were seeking for the righteousness of God, but they weren't seeking it right, so they didn't obtain it. But the election, that is, the elect of Israel hath obtained it, watch this, and the rest were blinded. Oh, there's a part of the nation in the church tonight. They're the election of grace. Look at verse 5, Even so at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Oh yes, but the rest of the nation were blinded, or as the word is, hardened. Well, is that part of the nation cast away, never to rise again? God forbid, he says, God forbid. Oh no, he's not finished with the nation. My, if the costing away of them, even in their blindness and hardness, has brought in the blessings, what will the fullness be? But what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead? That'll do just for glancing at the Gentiles. Now, we've got to see the truth about these trees in this wonderful chapter, and that's the portion we're at now. For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy. And if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, and we're speaking to the Gentiles, don't forget it, and thou being a wild olive tree were grafted in among them, and with them partakers of the roots and softness of the olive tree, so that he's looking at the blinded part of the nation, and he's looking at the Gentiles coming into table with God, and he calls one the wild olive, thou Gentile, and he calls the other the olive. So don't think we're looking up the church for a moment. Don't you get that idea into your head for one second. And thou, Gentiles! You know, the Gentile world has come into favour with God in this dispensation, hasn't it? My, if before a Gentile wanted to get near to God, he had to be a proselyte to the Jewish nation, hadn't he? Hadn't he to come round and bow down and be inducted into the nation? Not now! You can go to any pagan race in the world, any heathen man, and you can say, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and you don't need to be near a Jew to get it done. Changed now, you know, the Gentiles have come into blessing. That doesn't say they've saved you now. They've just said that they're resting on the roots and the softness. Now let's get the hold of this bit, because it is very puzzling, isn't it? Now he says, for if the first foot be holy. Now I believe that he's looking away back at Israel in her first days. Wonder do you remember? You remember when God said to Jeremiah, you don't need to turn to it, God said this, go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem saying, God said to the Lord, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest up to me in the wilderness in a land that was not thine, Israel was holiness unto the Lord. You know, she was really holy, his, at the beginning. Ah yes, let's get the hold of this. My, in her first foot, when she was called out, she was holy to God. Now don't think that there's any moral character about the holy bits. She was just set aside, apart, absolutely from all the nations, gods, holy enough to operate about it. And you know, he said the first foot were holy, and he said the lump should be holy, and then he said the root is the root be holy. You know, I believe, I'm willing to be corrected of course, but I believe, and I think I can prove it, that he's thinking a way back to Abraham now. And on this root, this father of the faithful, this nation rested. And had they followed on in the footsteps of the one who was the root of the nation, might have ventured into all the blessings that God had for them. And you know, it is on the faith of Abraham that the Gentiles come into food. So we're all on the one platform now. We've just come into this, we Gentiles have just come into it. Some of us have walked on and embraced the Christ and joined salvation within the church. But the Gentile world, you know, is really at the place where God can really bless. Ah, but remember the Jews there one day, who God tossed them off. And I'm positive that the Gentile world is just about to be tossed out too. The way they're treating God. So that if you can see these trees, we'll get on with the job. Now it comes a warning, and I want you to get this. It's not a warning for the church, you know. It's a warning for the roadling, or if you like, the Gentile dome, if you like. Warning for Gentiles who are in favor with God and not going on and taking the blessings. Here's what he says to them in verse 18. He says, Boast not against the branches. No more looking down your nose at the Jews. What the Gentiles doing this to me. But if thou boast thou bearest not the roots, but the root thee. Thou will say then, and watch the thou. He doesn't say we will say, does he? Not a bit of thou will say then, the branches were broken off that I might be drafted in. Well, all right. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. For if God spared not the natural branches, that the Gentiles might take heed. Lest they spare not them. You know why the Jews are tossed out, don't you? You know, the Jews had the promises of God, hadn't they? They were right in their hands, in their own mother tongue, in the Hebrew language. And some of the old tribes and the Pharisees could tell you when Jesus would come, almost. And where he would come through, of course, they were quite clear about that, even when Herod asked him, they could quote the scriptures, thou deathly hemisphere. And they knew that he would come through the virgin, and they were absolutely sure that he'd be of the host and lineage of David. And they knew he would be of the tribe of Judah. They knew he was the Caesar without the F. That's the seed of Abraham. And you know, they had all the promises. And then God gave them covenants, and God entered into many things with them, and gifts were lying at their hands. But they wouldn't believe. You know, the Lord had to say to them, to them, O Jehovah, all fools and fools, back and leave. And the white-dressed people in God's Word, they turned their back in God's sight, and they walked away from God's sight. We've got a lot of old sellers and culprits tonight who are tearing God wood before your very eyes. The very precious promises of God, they're tearing away our books. They're not praying for this. They're going to have balls and pennies. It's not Bible and truth, balls and pennies. But you know, they don't want the Christ of God on the forefront. They deny the virgin birth, and the love of shed blood. And the promises that's there on the basis of atonement for every believer, they're smashing away. Now, God's going to do the same with them as He did with the Jews in the early days. They're on the verge of it. Don't you think God will put up with these fellows? My, they're stealing the promises, tearing the books. The Gentiles are going to believe. Try and one of these days. God help us. God help us to buy up the opportunities, for if God said nothing much for them. You know, it's really get down to this. What's this little phrase? Verse 22. Behold. Now, He's making a preeminent warning to the world. Behold, therefore, the goodness and superiority of God. Now, I think that we missed this at times. You know, there are two sides to God's character, isn't there? And I know a tremendous lot of people just want to hear about the one side. They say, you know, you should preach the love of God. You should preach the grace of God. You should preach the mercy of God. You should preach the goodness of God. Of course, I should. Has anybody ever argued anything else? Ah, but there's another side, you know. There's not only the goodness of God, but the superiority of God. So that I should preach the judgment of God and the wrath of God. People don't like that bit. It doesn't make a matter what you like. This is God. Oh, I know He's the God of all good, but I know that He's the God who's swearing in His wrath. The best trail would never enter Him. I know He's that God too. You only need to read the Bible and you can taste the goodness of God. No trouble there. Ah, but you can just read the Bible and taste the superiority of God. There'll be no bother there either. Let me do it a wee bit for you, just for a moment. Come to Judah, I think that would nearly do it itself. The little letter before the book of the Revelation is only one chapter. It's Jude, and it's Jude writing. And you can see he has the same sense as Paul. He begins with Jude. All these men have got great humble sense, haven't they? Now, it says in verse 3 to save time, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and to exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the faith. You know, we all need to be exhorted that we should earnestly contend for the faith, for the whole body of doctrine that's been handed down to the faith, we should earnestly contend for the faith. For this reason, verse 4, for there are certain men cast in unaware of God into the churches, who there before have all ordained to this condemnation ungodly men, that's what they are, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The old Bishop of Woolwich, he doesn't have any God now at all. Oh, that's all he doesn't have God. He just has ideas. We've got to live in God. God that speaks, God who has hungry fiends, and has played fast talk, unto us all we've got a God who talks. That old fellow's one of these men, ungodly man, on his way to hell with a bishop's robe on, that's who he is. Now watch, verse 5, I will therefore put you in remembrance, those of you who once knew this, about the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, after war destroyed them that believed not. Man, God was good to them, wasn't he? And they had many privileges and many blessings. Ah, but the severity of God came, God destroyed them. In other words, it's only angels which take not their first estate, but left their own habitation. These are the fallen angels. He half-reserved an everlasting chains on the darkness, unto the judgment of the great day. Spared not on believing Israel, he spared not the angels, the saints. Watch this, even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities above them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Man, it was hell that set the flames, just a touch of hell that set the flames. Sodom and Gomorrah were doomed to that. And they gave this over to them. If God spared not the angels, if God spared not Israel, if God spared not Sodom and Gomorrah, they may say this bit kind of way. When his son hung on the cross as a substitute for them and fell with a palm, God spared not his only son. What a rich idea. He's old modernist that surrounds us in the whole entire gentile world in a very short time. But he did that to us. Verse 22 in Acts, Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God's on them itself severity, but toward thee goodness, thou gentile, if thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. See? Talken to gentiles. That's why if you thought it was the church, you're in the fog now, aren't you? Good job I educated you before you come down a bit. That's where some of you get into bother, you don't read it, you just put bits out and then you're in bother, he's going to cut the church off. It's not happened, it doesn't happen to the talk and then it's explained. He's talking to the gentiles. Now watch this, verse 23 and 24, We are at the botany of the branches now. If the word botany is bothering you, it's just the science of trees or flowers or the vegetable world if you like. But there's something here that most people miss and I don't want you to miss it. I suppose the reason that I don't miss it is because that I was rare in this thing. You see, I did a lot of grafting in my time, grafted all kinds of trees, budded roses, by the thousands unfortunately, and there are men in the meeting and they are road budders and grafters and they know what I'm talking about and we'll try to get it over to you. It's a very wonderful little job. But you watch it and you'll see this is the botany of the branches, verse 23, and they also, you see he's been talking to the gentile and saying you know you'll be cut off, and they also if they abide not still in unbelief shall be grafted in. You know the gentiles come into blessing, haven't they? He's gone the place of favour now and if he's cut off, you know the Jew comes and brought him again. Just as a lot of you folks haven't any again for the Jew, isn't that right? All right, we'll see now. See where you are in a minute. Watch this bit. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in, say it! Go on, say it! You have to trust me. Again! Will the end of us? Is it going to come again? Go on. Tightening me up. Some of you people don't understand, you know, the argument that goes on. There's a lot of these people think that God is going to neglect the Jews, and break his promises, and that he's no time for them. God is able to graft them in again! Again! You don't limit God, surely? He's able to do it, isn't he? He's able to graft them in again. That's what it says here anyway, never mind what your theology is. Now, verse 24. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, now why did we say that? You know, I shall have to explain this to you. Now, in grafting, they graft the fruit into the bud, if that's the simplest way to put it. You see, the stalk that we graft on, and that the nurseryman grafts on, it's a wild stalk. We get wild buckies. And we plant them, and they become just little wild rose trees. And then you clean the bottom of the stalk. And then you graft a bud off a beautiful rose in. And the old wild thing doesn't grow any longer. It's the new thing that grows. The beautiful thing that's put in. But this grafting is contrary to that. This is the wild being grafted into the good. And the point is that it's not the wild that grows on there. The good that grows on is altogether different from what we do in the nursery, you know. Altogether different. The wild doesn't take over now when it's grafted in. No, it's the root that takes over somehow or other, and comes right through and blossoms out. It's quite different. It's altogether different from the way we do it in the natural realm. Now that's what he's trying to get over. Verse 24. For if thou, thou Gentile, cut out of the olive tree which is wild, cut out of the wild olive by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, now he said if that was done once upon a time, and it is done tonight, how much more shall these which be the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? How much more? We're not limiting God from doing this when he did the olive. Good reasoning, isn't it? Yes, I think that without debating that you can see the botany of the branches there. But all that's going to happen, remember, if we go back to 23, if they abide not still in unbelief. Ah, yes. I can tell you, you know, there is a Israel tonight, and all for years there was a lot of voices that there would never be an Israel. Ah, but there is. And they're in the land too. Palestine, yes. It's the very spot we always talked about. Yes, and they're a nation again too, and they're recognized by the League of Nations too, and they've got a plan. But for years, some of you boys said no, they'll never. Ah, but they're there. No arguments about that. Yes, yes. But they're there in unbelief. They're in unbelief. Now God will have to knock the unbelief out of them before he can really grasp them in favour again. Ah, but he knocked the unbelief out of them, don't worry about that, and I'll show you him doing that. Now that'll do for the botany of the branches. Now, let's get this bit settled now. He's changing now. In verse 25 he says, For I would not, brethren... And he's turning away from talking to the Gentiles now, coming back to the saints again. I would not, brethren... And this is a section for saints to say. I'll move over to the section quickly. I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery. Because it is a mystery in a certain sense. Lest ye should be wisely owed to beats. Watch. The blindness, in part, of course, that's the part that we talked about of the church. There was a part that went into blindness. There is a part in the church, of course. There's the election of grace. But blindness in part has happened to Israel until, and only until, brethren, I beg of you, only until, I beg of you, when I've taken more men up with that little wood again and the little wood until, until they couldn't see that. Because they don't want to see. This is only until, isn't it? This is only until the fullness of the Gentiles become end. Now, the fullness of the Gentiles, you know, friends, God is calling a company out of the Gentile world tonight through the gospel of His wondrous grace. And He's building them into the church. And when the very last one is gloriously saved, that will be the fullness of the Gentiles coming. And then, then you start dealing with Israel. You see, this teaches me, without any stretch of imagination, that we're very near the end of the church period. Because there's Israel there, and if we push them off the church... Remember, they're only in blindness until. And that's not far to go now, is it? He's teaching the saints now. Now, He comes out into the open, doesn't He? Verse 26, and so, all Israel shall be saved. I think this is tremendous. You see that verse 25, when He says, I would not, brethren, that's the saints, isn't it? Blindness in part has happened to Israel, that's Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles. See Him mentioning church and Jew and Gentile in the one verse. And then He comes out with it, He's differentiated them. And He says, so all Israel shall be saved, as it was written. You know, He always backs up what He says by the Word of God. Therefore shall come out of Zion the Deliverer. Oh yes, He'll come to deliver, to deliver Israel. You see, when we come along to the end of the book, you know, there are things we miss. Now, He is coming to take the church home. My, He's the scent of the air. And we believers which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, my dear Christ, to meet the Lord and me, I give no doubts about that, do you? That's for the church. And then you know, He's going to deal with the nations too. Ah, it's quite different. Ah, but He's going to deliver Israel, and unless you keep the three before you, you know, they're all different. He'll deal with the nations and take the church and deliver Israel. And unless you get those three points, my dear, you don't know where you'll muddle with your Old Testament. But we're going to the Old Testament in a minute now. But just let me tidy it up, just as best I can. That's the old cloth that bothers me. What's it? Verse 26. So all Israel shall be saved, as it is written. There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them. When I shall take away the sins You know, that's very wonderful, isn't it? There are no conditions laid down here. You know, God's really going to come and take away the sins and deliver Israel, whether they like it or whether they don't. That's just how it stands. That's the covenant with the nations. And He'll keep it, you know. Because if He makes the covenant, He won't break it. Because here's what Paul puts behind it, verse 29. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. So he sums it up here in verse 28. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies of the gospel, you know, for your sake. That's how you got the door open to you. But as such in the election, and this is the election of the nation, Now, this is not the election of Braces was up the church, you know. They are beloved for their father's sake. Why their father's? Because he made the covenant with them. That's who he made the covenant with. And you know, friend, this is something that you should get into your breast and never forget. When you see an old Jew, and unfortunately Gentiles are almost bred and born to hate the Jew for some reason or other. You should always remember this. It was because of the stubbornness and blindness of that nation that the light of the gospel came to the Gentiles. And because God made the covenant with His forefathers, He let the blessed on the earth. And don't you ever forget it. It's because He became an enemy that the light of the gospel came to you. And it's because God made the covenant with His forefathers that He let the blessed in the day to come. And don't forget it. Just don't forget it. Now, watch. Verse 13, now this is very lovely. For as ye in times past have not believed God, do you remember? Remember when you were a non-believer? Yet now have ye obtained mercy through their unbelief. Oh, the mercy came up to you, didn't it? Now, look this. Even so have these also now not believed that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. Surely this is in the future. In the past you didn't believe, but now you have because of their unbelief. And you know, they now are going to be blessed in the future through your mercy. Surely it's on the other side of the church now. You would be blind if you didn't see it was on the other side. Not away on the mosaic side. You see, here's the sum and substance. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief that they might have mercy upon all. That's a great section. You know, no wonder Paul breaks into adoration here. Just watch the adoration that pours out of his heart. I would venture to say that verses 33, 34, 35, 36 compose the richness, paragraphs in the New Testament. That's a big bite off, isn't it? All right, you watch it. He says, all the riches, all the guts of the riches, boast of the wisdom and knowledge of God. You know, he's taking us up into what I call the out of adoration. Did you ever really think about the knowledge of God? That's a tremendous subject, you know. Luke of Psalms says, Thine understanding is infinite, the knowledge of God. You know, when you think that God knows the number of the stars tonight, the book says he knows the number of the stars. There's not an astrologist or stargazer in the country that knows the number of the stars. Oh, I'm a walker, you know. There's more in the Milky Way. We'll keep them going for a long time. But God knows the number of the stars. It says this, it says, He calls them all by name. That's a name for every one of them. Oh, what knowledge. You know, I've got a very good memory, and I can almost mention every person that comes to the class continually by their first name. Know them all. James, Mary, Edward, Selena. You'd never forget that one, would you? Now, they have an island called Saint Selena. Not for her, you know, but it doesn't matter. Ah, yes. But, you know, sometimes I forget. On a Sunday morning, I got stuck looking at a wee man. I know it was one of Abraham. I said, what did he call you? Yes, but God never gets stuck. God knows all our names tonight. He's got them all in a book. And every soul that ever breathed from the day that Adam was born, writes them all. He knows all their names. And the names of every soul that has come to Christ are in the Lamb's book of life. Know them all. All the knowledge of God. Then when you think of the wisdom of God. Wisdom of God. Now, he hasn't only got knowledge, but, you know, he has wisdom. He can work from that. Or when you see him starting with a Jew and calling Abraham out. They got so stupid and crooked and sinful and hard and blind and difficult. And he puts them to the side and brings the gospel to the Gentiles. And they now are beginning to do the very same which the Magisterial did. And he'll put them aside. And he'll be able to work the whole thing out to the everlasting glory of his wonderful name. No wonder Paul would say, Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Oh, the depths. The deepness. And then he put this little bit in, didn't he? How unsatchable are his judgments! Oh, the unsatchableness of his judgments. You know, one of the great subjects of the Bible is the judgment of God. For you younger ones, the judgment for our sins was a challenge. That's for the believer, of course. That's where the judgment of God fell upon our sins. The judgment of sons. We're the sons of God. It's today. Man, if he talks to you and you're hot and you're hot and you'll not obey and you're a child of God, he'll chasten you. He'll chasten us every time that he'll receive us. And the judgment for servants. You know, we're going to be judged about this. He's going to see that the judgment is admissible and preach this for him or the Baptist or themselves of what really was in his heart. I've got an account to give for this, you know. That's why I always feel I can't fiddle around with it. Whether you come or whether you don't. I've got an account to give for it. That'll be the judgment of my servants. Ah, but the judgment of sinners. Finally, we'll be at the great white throne. God will let them see how sinful they are. And then the judgment of nations will be when he comes to earth and divides the sheep and the goats. Oh, how unspeakable are the judgments of God. Paul was really touching at once. And then he said this. And his ways passed finally out. God's ways. You know, friends, God moves in a mysterious way. One lesson so far. A young fellow in the meeting tonight. I'll not look at him now. I'll not let you know who he is. Going to be an Episcopal minister one day. Going into the Church of England ministry. Came humbly to me the other day. Said, Mr. Moon, will you help me? Oh, I'll help you. I have no trouble to none. Oh, you might say, Mr. Moon, would you really do that? Yes! With my heart and soul. If it is God's way, all right. It's up to Him. With everything I know and everything I can do for Him, I will do it. So you know, that God might place him in a place where I'll never see him. And if he's a true man of God, he can win the school's life. Don't you start to dictate to God about His ways with other people. You mean your own. I know His way with me. I know where He led me. I know what He taught me. Listen! The ways of God pass freely out. And very often God's way is not your way. And God's thought is not your thought. And if you ever find a child of God mocked for the blood of Christ, never mind his label, help a man, help him. He's in the body somewhere. Help him. Every time. That's what this class is for. Help you. I'll help you. Only way I can help you is by faithful to the book, of course. The watch. Yes, he's taken us into the Alps. Now here are the islands of interrogation. Oh, he's a lovely one. Three questions. What's them for? For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Do you know anybody? No, the devil didn't know. For who hath been a counselor? Who can teach God what to do? For who hath first given to him hope? Do you know anybody? Friends, these are the islands of interrogation. Now watch this. And I'm calling it the continents of conviction. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. You know, friends, no matter what subject you take up, you'll find this. Now don't shut your Bible. You're not here out yet. Oh, no. You're walking over time tomorrow. If you have your piece with you, eat it now, because you're going to be here for... Oh, you don't get out early every night, you know. Friends, no matter what subject you take up, it's of him, through him, through him. Yes. Creation. It's of him. He threw it into space. And through him, it has been maintained. And it will be true, his everlasting life. Take my salvation. It's of him. It was he himself. He came through the darkness. He threw the mountains, stumbled over them, and got to the rocky steep. Lifted me up from the horrible pit. It's of him. And I've continued to this hour. Through him. And in the end, it will be true. And it doesn't make a matter. You young fellows looking for sermon? Get them off him. Push them through him. And it will be true. Works like that, sir. All the time. To whom the glory. Forever. And all the subjects are just there. Of him, through him, through him. Glory forever. But what I want to get back to, that phrase that's up the chapter, verse 23. If they abide not still in unbelief, it's this unbelief that's in Israel tonight and the land of Palestine. And if God cannot be unbelief out of them, well, he can really do something. My praise God, he can grasp them into blessing again. Do you know what God's going to do, friend? He's going to push that whole nation into what he calls the melting pot. And he's going to take them down into the depths of what he calls the great tribulation. And he'll knock the unbelief out of them. Would you like me to let you see him doing it? All right. Now come away to the last book of the Bible but one. Malachi's your last one. Last book of the Old Testament, I mean. Malachi. And the one before that is Zechariah. Would you know, if you like to read through chapter 12, chapter 13, chapter 14, these are the last chapters of Zechariah, you'll get a picture of the great tribulation. It's sometimes called the day of the Lord, just because it's the day of the Lord's wrath. Now watch chapter 14. That's the last one. We'll go backwards a little bit. Chapter 14. Behold the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee, for I will gather all nations, and mark the word nations, against Jerusalem, and mark the word Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken. Well, you can't fool around with it and make it the new Jerusalem now, can you? Because the city's taken, isn't it? And the women in the city, watch this bit, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished. So you can't make it the new Jerusalem, even if you want to. And then it says half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Now, at that psychological moment when all the nations are gathered there and this destruction is going on, then, just then, shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day, in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east. Put in all the phrases in case they would miss it. The Holy Ghost has to be patient with you. Mount of Olives is on the east of Jerusalem, and you don't know. When the Lord's feet's going to stand there again, that's where he left, you know. Took them out as far as the Mount of Olives, and he just left that spot, and he went right up, and they watched him going up. And he'll come back again. And it's not to the air we're talking about now. Not just for the church. He's coming on back right onto that spot. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is on the east of Jerusalem, when all the nations are gathered. Now let me show you what he'll do with the nations. Let's go to the next chapter. We're at chapter 13 now. Chapter 12. Let's go to 12. Verse 9. And it shall come to pass in that day, it's the same day, alright, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication, watch this wee bitch, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. And they shall mourn for him as one mourner for his only son. You see, the Lord will knock the unbelief out of them. You see, he has them in the land tonight, but they're still an unbelief. Ah, but the nations are going to gather round them, you know. The Arab nations will go tomorrow. Oh, they're ready. And I have a good feeling that the communist big party would love to help the Arabs. And I have a greater feeling that the kings of the east would love to come and give them a hand too. So that if you get the Arabs coming from the south, and the communists coming from the north, and the gentiles are the eastern tribes, and I'm thinking of Japan and China, India, coming from the east, we have only got the same souls of the communists and Israel will be in the melting pot. And at the moment when she's on her knees and the houses are rippled and the women are ravished and the whole thing's an end, you'll see him who may appear. No bother with that, have you? That's the man of Calvary. And he has come to the Mount of Olives. And he has come to deliver the nation. And Israel shall be saved. Familiar, isn't it? You've been patient. Heavenly Father, we bow to thank you for thy word. Thank you for this old book, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Oh Lord, we're thankful, we're so thankful that you drew us all into that place where we embrace the Savior. Oh God, we feel that the Gentile world is about to lose its place of favor and you'll really deal with them. But Lord, you made covenant with the forefathers of Israel and you'll keep the covenant. You'll grasp them in again. Greatness in Christ has only happened until, Lord, there may be some in this meeting still in unbelief. Lord, you may have to do something terrible with them to knock it out of them. Lord, there are men in this meeting saved tonight. And you have to upset their hope to get them to believe in thee. Lord, have mercy on every unbeliever. Oh God, help them to step out onto the promises of God. Help them to embrace the Savior in simple faith and just trust them. Lord, if you have to knock this unbelief out of them with some kind of judgment, it will be a horrible day. Oh God, no matter what you have to do, go on and face them. It will be better than hell anyway. Lord, those of us who have entered in and we enjoy this great salvation and we know we belong to the Lord, oh, help us to shine in these last days far and near and here and there and yonder. Make our light shine for God. Oh God, bless us as we leave. Part us in thy field with thy touch for thy holy name's sake. Amen.