Romans 11:11-16 (NIV)
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry
14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.
15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Where is Israel in God's plan? This is the question Paul is asking and answering. For your information there are two dominant theological paradigms in the American church. One is called "Covenant Theology" which says that the church is Israel. In other words, the one and only plan/church and Israel are really interchangeable terms. The other paradigm is called "Dispensationalism" which says the church and Israel are two separate entities. The Dispensationalists like to ask, "Did you sacrifice your lamb today?" and if you say 'no' then you are a Dispensationalist. Trust me there are extreme elements in each of these theological systems. I land in the Dispensationalist camp with what I call a modified version of their system. I believe when you read Romans 9-11 you cannot help but to see two ways that God was relating to His people and hence to the world. God has literally put Israel on the 'injured reserve'. The Gentiles were not even on the bench but now they are the starters! God is using this plan of reaching the Gentiles to arouse Israel to faith in Yahweh.
God has not forgotten His people, the Jews. In the book of Revelation, we see that God has a remnant of 144,000 Jews protected and ready to receive the Messiah. God wanted to use Israel to fill this earth with His glory and they went after other gods. God has now brought in the Gentiles by using the church in order to reveal His glory to the earth. Some theologians call this "the age of the church" while others call it "the age of grace." It is probably both in that God is revealing His grace through the church in Jesus Christ. We live in extraordinary times and for that we all should be grateful. We may be the generation to see Jesus come back and take His people home. These extraordinary times call for ordinary people to rise up above their circumstances and live out the purposes and plans of God in the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8). Before I go, be sure to check out Paul's reasoning on the rejection of Israel as a blessing to the Gentiles. He comes back and lets us know that when Israel is reinstated what a blessing that will be for all of life. God is not finished with His people! AMEN!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Romans 11:7-10 (NIV)
Romans 11:7-10 (NIV)
7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
8 as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day."
9 And David says: "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever."
Why did God seemingly just give up on some and others got in no matter what? I believe that Paul is back arguing about the whole package of Israel being hardened and not individuals. In the next verses Paul picks up the argument about the Gentiles being grafted into the vine which is Israel. You will see that Paul lets us know that if the church does not do its job, then that branch will be pulled out. The whole nation of Israel sought God's blessing, but on the whole they were disobedient. Israel sought God's presence in wrong way and paid a heavy price for it. There were those that God had set aside so that all Israel would not be lost. There are two lines of reasoning that Paul has to deal with in this letter of Romans. He has to deal with the individual as in Romans 10:10 "...that everyone who calls upon the Lord will be saved." Then Paul has to deal with the Israel and church issue. Israel thought that the kingdom was going to come and Jesus announces at Peter's confession that he will build his church. What is a church? It wasn't long afterwards that Israel found out and they, for the most part, did not like it. They were going to lose their identity and yet, in Christ, they would find their true identity. Jesus was Israel's messiah. We got in on this by the grace of God!! Thank God He did not darken our eyes and allowed us in as who were, so far from His promises, to participate in His grand and glorious promises.
7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
8 as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day."
9 And David says: "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever."
Why did God seemingly just give up on some and others got in no matter what? I believe that Paul is back arguing about the whole package of Israel being hardened and not individuals. In the next verses Paul picks up the argument about the Gentiles being grafted into the vine which is Israel. You will see that Paul lets us know that if the church does not do its job, then that branch will be pulled out. The whole nation of Israel sought God's blessing, but on the whole they were disobedient. Israel sought God's presence in wrong way and paid a heavy price for it. There were those that God had set aside so that all Israel would not be lost. There are two lines of reasoning that Paul has to deal with in this letter of Romans. He has to deal with the individual as in Romans 10:10 "...that everyone who calls upon the Lord will be saved." Then Paul has to deal with the Israel and church issue. Israel thought that the kingdom was going to come and Jesus announces at Peter's confession that he will build his church. What is a church? It wasn't long afterwards that Israel found out and they, for the most part, did not like it. They were going to lose their identity and yet, in Christ, they would find their true identity. Jesus was Israel's messiah. We got in on this by the grace of God!! Thank God He did not darken our eyes and allowed us in as who were, so far from His promises, to participate in His grand and glorious promises.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Romans 11:1-6 (NIV)
Romans 11:1-6 (NIV)
1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel:
3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"?
4 And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
This is a huge concern for people who call themselves followers of Christ. Here is why it should concern you. Does God reject His people? Does He choose people to follow Him and then arbitrarily turn His back on them? Why follow a God that is going to dump you? The answer of course is no, God has not rejected His people. Paul being a Jew of the Jews could say this with a lot of authority. God always protects a group that truly believe in Him. In the Scripture the term "a remnant" is used to describe that group of people. The question that is going to arise is how did they get in on this and the answer is God. God chose these people to make sure there was always going to be a witness. If it was left up to us it would not happen. They were chosen by the grace of God. I do believe they responded to God's grace out of obedience. It was not something that those particular people had done in order to get in on God's grace. If it was, as Paul argues, it would be of works and not of grace. Have you ever pondered why you are His child? Have you thought back to all the events that led up to you saying yes to Christ Jesus? Have you thought through as to why you are still a follower of Christ? Are you just lucky? You and I are a grace child. We have been adopted by our heavenly Father. Grace, grace, grace how stupendous is His grace! It is truly amazing grace.
As the earth can produce nothing unless it is fertilized by the sun, so we can do nothing without the grace of God.
Saint Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney (1786–1859)
1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel:
3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"?
4 And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
This is a huge concern for people who call themselves followers of Christ. Here is why it should concern you. Does God reject His people? Does He choose people to follow Him and then arbitrarily turn His back on them? Why follow a God that is going to dump you? The answer of course is no, God has not rejected His people. Paul being a Jew of the Jews could say this with a lot of authority. God always protects a group that truly believe in Him. In the Scripture the term "a remnant" is used to describe that group of people. The question that is going to arise is how did they get in on this and the answer is God. God chose these people to make sure there was always going to be a witness. If it was left up to us it would not happen. They were chosen by the grace of God. I do believe they responded to God's grace out of obedience. It was not something that those particular people had done in order to get in on God's grace. If it was, as Paul argues, it would be of works and not of grace. Have you ever pondered why you are His child? Have you thought back to all the events that led up to you saying yes to Christ Jesus? Have you thought through as to why you are still a follower of Christ? Are you just lucky? You and I are a grace child. We have been adopted by our heavenly Father. Grace, grace, grace how stupendous is His grace! It is truly amazing grace.
As the earth can produce nothing unless it is fertilized by the sun, so we can do nothing without the grace of God.
Saint Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney (1786–1859)
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