This is the forty-seventh in a series of verse-by-verse expositions of the book of Romans. This message was delivered at Hillcrest Baptist Church on the morning of May 4, 2014. This message deals with Israel’s fall and redemption, and our duty to support her. This post contains an audio recording of my message, along with my sermon notes and a study outline. Please note that the sermon notes are not a full transcript.
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Romans 11:26-32
vv.26-27:
God has promised to save His people, and He will keep His promise.
“All Israel will be saved” does not mean that every Jew living at Christ’s return will be regenerated.
Many of them will not be saved, as seen by the fact that the judgment of Israel, to follow soon after the Lord’s return, will include the removal of Jewish rebels.
Ezekiel 20:34–38
Paul Quotes from Isaiah 59:20-21
Zion is a hill in southeastern Jerusalem. Jerusalem is also called “the city of David.”
It was the location of the fortress that King David took over from the Jebusite people.
That the deliverer will come out of Zion, is a direct reference to Christ as the Messiah.
Christ, of course, is of the lineage of David, and will inhabit his throne forever.
Christ IS the deliverer. We must remember that Salvation for the Jews is the same as for us, and anyone else, by faith in Christ.
Those who accept Him will be saved, and the rest will be removed from Israel.
The Believing Jews who remain, will constitute the entire nation of Israel, as the rest will no longer be considered Israel.
Likewise, When Christ raptures the church, not all church members will go.
However, those who do go, will be the whole church.
This salvation of Israel will mark the beginning of God’s kingdom on earth, when Christ returns and establishes His throne in Jerusalem.
This is a kingdom that will be typified by righteousness.
Jeremiah 31:33-34
This is God’s covenant (promise), and when God makes a promise, you can count on it.
He will take away their sins, and He has done the same for all who believe in Him today.
v.28:
That Israel is both an enemy, and beloved, may seem strange.
After all, it’s not often that we refer to an enemy as beloved. A beloved enemy seems to be a contradiction.
They are enemies of the Gospel because they have rejected it. However, that is the very reason it was given to us.
They are beloved and the elect, because of God’s covenant with Abraham and the patriarchs.
God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He loves the resulting nation and will carry through on His promises.
v.29:
This is important, because God does not take back what He has given, nor does He give up those whom He has chosen. He IS faithful.
vv.30-31:
Paul is reminding the gentiles that they were disobedient unbelievers at one time, too. But through God’s Grace they obtained mercy.
Remember, God chose the Jews so that the gentiles might be saved.
Genesis 12:3
Paul admonishes the gentiles to show the same mercy to the Jews that God has shown to them.
This seems strange, because the Jews were often responsible for the persecution and oppression of the believers.
How can one show mercy to his oppressors?
We are to understand that we are to be merciful and compassionate, even to those in authority over us, regardless of the circumstances.
Moreover, we should be especially compassionate and merciful to the Jews.
I do believe that this has been one of the reasons for the downward spiral of our nation in recent years.
We don’t truly support Israel. We do little more than pay lip service to them.
We try to play both sides of the fence, ultimately discouraging their efforts to defend themselves.
In the end, we really work against them.
As the church, we don’t show them the attention we should. God is working toward their redemption, we should do the same.
v.32:
God has committed them to disobedience. Literally has shut them up (as in imprisoned).
God has allowed them to be held captive by their disobedience.
To be clear, this does not mean that God caused them to be disobedient, for God cannot do such a thing.
God would never tempt one to sin.
Psalm 5:4
James 1:13
Though not the author of sin, God allowed man to pursue his sinful inclinations so that He could receive glory by demonstrating His grace and mercy to disobedient sinners.
Ephesians 2:1-7
In our sin, He provides mercy. In our weakness, His strength is made perfect.
2 Corinthians 12:9
God’s gracious provisions, and His eternal faithfulness are the hallmarks of His love for us.
Such a love should be the ultimate motivation to serve and love Him.
In Defense: The Blog 
Posted on May 11, 2014
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