God’s Election Through His People! – Romans 11:11-36
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 4, 2007 AM
There is a commercial on TV where a group of office people are milling around in a jungle setting, when all of a sudden they all begin to run in a blind panic as if they are stampeding like wild animals. The camera pans back and you see them pushing, shoving, and headed for a cliff as they literally push one another off the edge. It is to depict the lemming-like mentality that exists in some offices. I am not quite sure who the commercial is for or what it is trying to sell, however, people can and often do act like the proverbial lemming. Remember the old Wonderful World of Disney where they showed lemmings headed for the cliff as they hurled themselves off into the sea below? Of course we later learned that this does not happen as depicted, yet the fact remains there are a lot of human lemmings in the world, madly rushing off spiritual cliffs of their choosing.
If you knew someone close to you was going to blindly hurl themselves off a cliff, what would you do to stop them? Most of us would do whatever it takes to save them. We find the Apostle Paul doing the very same thing with his own Jewish people. They were headed for a self-induced doom. Blindly plunging into an eternal spiritual oblivion, and there was no reason for them to do so. Paul wanted to wake them up from their spiritual slumber and help them see just how God had offered them a way of escape. After all, they were God’s elect weren’t they? In fact, it was through the Israelites that God had chosen how people would be saved for eternity. Let’s discover what Paul teaches as we take a closer look at God’s election through His people.
READ: Romans 11:11-36
I can remember my father telling me, after catching me probably doing something I was not supposed to do, “Now, before you respond, you had better chose your words carefully.” Why would he tell me this? Well, because he knew I needed to know he knew what I had done and he wasn’t about to be fooled by some lame explanation from me! This is basically where Paul begins in our verse today. He teaches that when considering God’s election through His people…
I. Be careful how you respond! (vv. 11-21)
1. A careful response considers the consequences! Paul asks another question expecting a specific answer: “Did they,” the Israelites, “stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?” The Greek simply says, “Did they stumble so that they fell?” It implies the idea of falling beyond recovery. It was worded to elicit a negative answer, and Paul responded, “Not at all!” (God forbid!) Israel’s fall was not permanent, but was used for a reason: “riches for the world” and “riches for the Gentiles!” Paul was speaking to the non-Jews, since he was appointed as “the apostle to the Gentiles.” Why would he? It was “in the hope that [he] may somehow arouse [his] own people to envy and [thereby] save some of them!” Paul wanted them to understand that in considering God’s election, they needed to be careful in how they responded. If the Jews initial rejection of Jesus resulted in “the reconciliation of the world, what [then] will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” God’s chosen people could be restored through faith in Jesus! Paul wanted the Gentile believers to “support the root” and not turn their backs on the Jews. Proudly, some of the Gentile Christians were evidently lording it over their fellow Hebrew believers. Paul reminds them, the Jews “were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either!” When considering God’s election through His people, be careful how you respond!
EXAMPLE: Recently there has been a stir created by a TV documentary on the Discovery channel that depicts the finding of some burial ossuaries that are purported to be the last resting place for the bones of Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdala, and one of Jesus’ brothers, Jude. Of course it is simply a TV stunt that disrespects the Christian faith. These ossuaries were found way back in 1980. They were totally discredited then as they are now by all archeologists. Why then do this right be fore Easter? Because, I believe, the producer and the Discovery Channel have an anti-Christian prejudice. They simply do not care what they depict, whether true of false concerning Jesus and Christianity. And, sadly, there are those who will ignorantly not research what is said and might believe it. Paul would patiently remind all of us that when considering God’s election through His people, be very careful how you respond.
God had used the nation of Israel to do something absolutely marvelous and wonderful for all mankind. No one should ever dispute God’s reasoning or His way of doing things. Yet, there were those who did and those who still do! If God desires to use a whole nation as an example for the rest of the world, why should we question it? Those who came before us and believed God was working through them by faith, deserve our admiration and support, not our condemnation! Paul would remind his Roman readers, and us today, that when considering God’s election through His people…
II. Be careful to consider the kindness of God! (vv. 22-27)
1. Remember, God’s kindness considered you! Paul places both groups into perfect spiritual perspective by reminding them, “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness.” And, he included a dire warning: “Otherwise, you also will be cut off.” This does not mean that individuals could lose their salvation, notice the emphasis on “you,” meaning that non-Jews as a whole could be cut off in much the same way Israel had, if they were just as obstinate! Israel, “if they do not persist (continue) in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again!” At issue here is not God’s capability but God’s kindness. He as God chose to put the Hebrew people aside because of their unbelief and to extend righteousness by faith to everyone! However, “God is able to graft them in again,” because “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13)! It is God’s kindness! It is God’s plan. Paul relates, “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” In fact, the grafted parts, both Jew and Gentile, will become one people under God. And in this “all Israel will be saved!” When considering God’s election through His people, we must be careful to consider the kindness of God!
EXAMPLE: If the producers can infect people’s hearts with the notion that Jesus was buried and His bones were placed in a family tomb, then that would mean He did not rise from the dead. If they can do that, then people would not have to repent of their sins. Paul would say if “we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But… if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.” ( 1 Corinthians 15:15-17) There it is. The non-believer would therefore not be condemned and die in their sins! If Jesus was buried and His bones were found in a box, every Christian’s “faith is futile.” It would completely ignore the fact that all of His disciples would have suffered horrendous and needless deaths for a lie. That more than 500 people were deluded when they indeed saw the resurrected Lord. And that nowhere in all of recorded history, either Christian or non-Christian, does it even hint this, until way past the 4th century, and then only in cultic Gnostic circles. However, Paul would proclaim, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!” (1 Corinthians 15:20) Paul would remind us that when considering God’s election through His people, we must be careful to consider the kindness of God!
Some would claim, “Pastor, you must not see Israel as God’s chosen people!” or “You must think that God has revoked His promises.” I would say, “No way!” I see God considering relationship instead of race. Hosea 2:23 reminds us that God declared, “I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” Paul would relate in his letter to Colossae that in this relationship “there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” When considering God’s election through His people, Paul teaches you to…
III. Be careful of your spiritual disobedience! (vv. 28-36)
1. Disobedience is saying, “No!” to God! Paul would remind his Roman readers that the Jews “As far as the gospel is concerned” might be, “enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs!” Those tremendous men who trusted God and walked with Him by faith. Paul knew that “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” God would not renege on the promises He made. Israel did, but not God. Israel is loved by God because He chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to bring about His purpose and plan. If the Jews would turn to Him through faith in Jesus, He will not reject them -- He loves them and will carry through on His promises! Just as the non-Jews had been spiritually “disobedient to God” and “have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so [the Jews] too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you!” Why? “For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” Remember, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). “Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin” (3:9), so that “there is no difference” (3:22). Now, out of “the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God,” He has a way of bringing all people to grace by faith in Jesus Christ! Paul is literally reminding them that when considering God’s election, be careful of your spiritual disobedience!
EXAMPLE: We do not like it when people say we are disobedient. So much so that in many schools the politically correct thing to say is, “That’s not how we do things here,” instead of “Hey, you little cretin, you are being DISOBEDIENT!” This is also what is behind this Discover Channel documentary. People want to live their lives without God interfering in them in any way. If Jesus really did do what is testified about in the Gospels, that means they have to change their lives or face the consequences. In fact the producer has tried to both be an expert on history and then also say he is just a “film maker.” What his actions show, however, is spiritual disobedience to the truth of Jesus Christ. Paul would remind us when considering God’s election, be careful of your spiritual disobedience!
Conclusion:
When considering God’s election through His people, we need to be careful in how we respond, we need to be careful to consider the kindness of God, and we need to be careful of our spiritual disobedience!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 4, 2007 AM
There is a commercial on TV where a group of office people are milling around in a jungle setting, when all of a sudden they all begin to run in a blind panic as if they are stampeding like wild animals. The camera pans back and you see them pushing, shoving, and headed for a cliff as they literally push one another off the edge. It is to depict the lemming-like mentality that exists in some offices. I am not quite sure who the commercial is for or what it is trying to sell, however, people can and often do act like the proverbial lemming. Remember the old Wonderful World of Disney where they showed lemmings headed for the cliff as they hurled themselves off into the sea below? Of course we later learned that this does not happen as depicted, yet the fact remains there are a lot of human lemmings in the world, madly rushing off spiritual cliffs of their choosing.
If you knew someone close to you was going to blindly hurl themselves off a cliff, what would you do to stop them? Most of us would do whatever it takes to save them. We find the Apostle Paul doing the very same thing with his own Jewish people. They were headed for a self-induced doom. Blindly plunging into an eternal spiritual oblivion, and there was no reason for them to do so. Paul wanted to wake them up from their spiritual slumber and help them see just how God had offered them a way of escape. After all, they were God’s elect weren’t they? In fact, it was through the Israelites that God had chosen how people would be saved for eternity. Let’s discover what Paul teaches as we take a closer look at God’s election through His people.
READ: Romans 11:11-36
I can remember my father telling me, after catching me probably doing something I was not supposed to do, “Now, before you respond, you had better chose your words carefully.” Why would he tell me this? Well, because he knew I needed to know he knew what I had done and he wasn’t about to be fooled by some lame explanation from me! This is basically where Paul begins in our verse today. He teaches that when considering God’s election through His people…
I. Be careful how you respond! (vv. 11-21)
1. A careful response considers the consequences! Paul asks another question expecting a specific answer: “Did they,” the Israelites, “stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?” The Greek simply says, “Did they stumble so that they fell?” It implies the idea of falling beyond recovery. It was worded to elicit a negative answer, and Paul responded, “Not at all!” (God forbid!) Israel’s fall was not permanent, but was used for a reason: “riches for the world” and “riches for the Gentiles!” Paul was speaking to the non-Jews, since he was appointed as “the apostle to the Gentiles.” Why would he? It was “in the hope that [he] may somehow arouse [his] own people to envy and [thereby] save some of them!” Paul wanted them to understand that in considering God’s election, they needed to be careful in how they responded. If the Jews initial rejection of Jesus resulted in “the reconciliation of the world, what [then] will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” God’s chosen people could be restored through faith in Jesus! Paul wanted the Gentile believers to “support the root” and not turn their backs on the Jews. Proudly, some of the Gentile Christians were evidently lording it over their fellow Hebrew believers. Paul reminds them, the Jews “were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either!” When considering God’s election through His people, be careful how you respond!
EXAMPLE: Recently there has been a stir created by a TV documentary on the Discovery channel that depicts the finding of some burial ossuaries that are purported to be the last resting place for the bones of Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdala, and one of Jesus’ brothers, Jude. Of course it is simply a TV stunt that disrespects the Christian faith. These ossuaries were found way back in 1980. They were totally discredited then as they are now by all archeologists. Why then do this right be fore Easter? Because, I believe, the producer and the Discovery Channel have an anti-Christian prejudice. They simply do not care what they depict, whether true of false concerning Jesus and Christianity. And, sadly, there are those who will ignorantly not research what is said and might believe it. Paul would patiently remind all of us that when considering God’s election through His people, be very careful how you respond.
God had used the nation of Israel to do something absolutely marvelous and wonderful for all mankind. No one should ever dispute God’s reasoning or His way of doing things. Yet, there were those who did and those who still do! If God desires to use a whole nation as an example for the rest of the world, why should we question it? Those who came before us and believed God was working through them by faith, deserve our admiration and support, not our condemnation! Paul would remind his Roman readers, and us today, that when considering God’s election through His people…
II. Be careful to consider the kindness of God! (vv. 22-27)
1. Remember, God’s kindness considered you! Paul places both groups into perfect spiritual perspective by reminding them, “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness.” And, he included a dire warning: “Otherwise, you also will be cut off.” This does not mean that individuals could lose their salvation, notice the emphasis on “you,” meaning that non-Jews as a whole could be cut off in much the same way Israel had, if they were just as obstinate! Israel, “if they do not persist (continue) in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again!” At issue here is not God’s capability but God’s kindness. He as God chose to put the Hebrew people aside because of their unbelief and to extend righteousness by faith to everyone! However, “God is able to graft them in again,” because “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13)! It is God’s kindness! It is God’s plan. Paul relates, “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” In fact, the grafted parts, both Jew and Gentile, will become one people under God. And in this “all Israel will be saved!” When considering God’s election through His people, we must be careful to consider the kindness of God!
EXAMPLE: If the producers can infect people’s hearts with the notion that Jesus was buried and His bones were placed in a family tomb, then that would mean He did not rise from the dead. If they can do that, then people would not have to repent of their sins. Paul would say if “we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But… if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.” ( 1 Corinthians 15:15-17) There it is. The non-believer would therefore not be condemned and die in their sins! If Jesus was buried and His bones were found in a box, every Christian’s “faith is futile.” It would completely ignore the fact that all of His disciples would have suffered horrendous and needless deaths for a lie. That more than 500 people were deluded when they indeed saw the resurrected Lord. And that nowhere in all of recorded history, either Christian or non-Christian, does it even hint this, until way past the 4th century, and then only in cultic Gnostic circles. However, Paul would proclaim, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!” (1 Corinthians 15:20) Paul would remind us that when considering God’s election through His people, we must be careful to consider the kindness of God!
Some would claim, “Pastor, you must not see Israel as God’s chosen people!” or “You must think that God has revoked His promises.” I would say, “No way!” I see God considering relationship instead of race. Hosea 2:23 reminds us that God declared, “I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” Paul would relate in his letter to Colossae that in this relationship “there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” When considering God’s election through His people, Paul teaches you to…
III. Be careful of your spiritual disobedience! (vv. 28-36)
1. Disobedience is saying, “No!” to God! Paul would remind his Roman readers that the Jews “As far as the gospel is concerned” might be, “enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs!” Those tremendous men who trusted God and walked with Him by faith. Paul knew that “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” God would not renege on the promises He made. Israel did, but not God. Israel is loved by God because He chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to bring about His purpose and plan. If the Jews would turn to Him through faith in Jesus, He will not reject them -- He loves them and will carry through on His promises! Just as the non-Jews had been spiritually “disobedient to God” and “have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so [the Jews] too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you!” Why? “For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” Remember, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). “Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin” (3:9), so that “there is no difference” (3:22). Now, out of “the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God,” He has a way of bringing all people to grace by faith in Jesus Christ! Paul is literally reminding them that when considering God’s election, be careful of your spiritual disobedience!
EXAMPLE: We do not like it when people say we are disobedient. So much so that in many schools the politically correct thing to say is, “That’s not how we do things here,” instead of “Hey, you little cretin, you are being DISOBEDIENT!” This is also what is behind this Discover Channel documentary. People want to live their lives without God interfering in them in any way. If Jesus really did do what is testified about in the Gospels, that means they have to change their lives or face the consequences. In fact the producer has tried to both be an expert on history and then also say he is just a “film maker.” What his actions show, however, is spiritual disobedience to the truth of Jesus Christ. Paul would remind us when considering God’s election, be careful of your spiritual disobedience!
Conclusion:
When considering God’s election through His people, we need to be careful in how we respond, we need to be careful to consider the kindness of God, and we need to be careful of our spiritual disobedience!
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