Romans 11:25-32

Text

Romans 11:25-32. For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in; Romans 11:26 and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written,

There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer;
He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Romans 11:27 And this is my covenant unto them,

When I shall take away their sins.

Romans 11:28 As touching the gospel, they are enemies for your sake: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers-' sake. Romans 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of. Romans 11:30 For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience, Romans 11:31 even so have these also now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they also may now obtain mercy. Romans 11:32 For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

303.

Explain the two grafting in processes.

REALIZING ROMANS, Romans 11:25-32

494.

How would ignorance of the hardening of Israel be a temptation to the Gentiles?

495.

What is the fullness of the Gentiles? Remember what you said about the fullness of the Jews?

496.

When the fullness of the Gentiles is reached, then the Jews in great numbers will turn to Christ. Is that the thought of this passage?

497.

Do you know the significance of the name Zion? This is the key word in this passage. Explain,

498.

The nation of Israel was both an enemy and beloved. Explain.

499.

What gifts do we have from God in connection with this subject? What calling of God do we have?

500.

The disobedience of man and the mercy of God provided salvation, but man must do something about itboth Jews and Gentiles. Explain the responsibility of both Jews and Gentiles in the light of God's mercy.

501.

In what sense is God responsible for our disobedience? Before you answer, read Romans 11:32 again.

Paraphrase

Romans 11:25-32. For, brethren, that ye may not have an high conceit of yourselves, on account of your being made the people of God in place of the Jews, I must show you this secret, that the blindness of the Jews in part, will continue only till the generality of the Gentiles come into the Christian church. For that illustrious event will render the evidences of the gospel irresistible.

Romans 11:26 And so, laying aside their prejudices, all Israel, by believing the gospel, shall enjoy the means of salvation, according as it is foretold, Isaiah 59:20. The redeemer shall come to Zion, and to them that turn from transgression in Jacob.

Romans 11:27 For this is my covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins of unbelief. -My spirit that is upon thee, O Messiah, and my word which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.-'

Romans 11:28 With respect to the gospel indeed, they are, through their unbelief, enemies to God on your account; your reception into the church. But with respect to their original election to be the people of God, they are still beloved of God, on account of the promise to their fathers, that he would be a God to them in their generations.

Romans 11:29 For God's free gift, and his calling Abraham's posterity by Isaac his people, are unalterable on the part of God, who, if they repent, will receive them again.

Romans 11:30 Besides, as ye Gentiles also in times past have disobeyed God by your idolatry, yet now have obtained the mercy of being admitted into God's covenant and church, through the disobedience of the Jews to the gospel;

Romans 11:31 Even so the Jews also have now disobeyed the gospel on your being admitted into Gods-' covenant, yet so as by your receiving that great favor, the gospel being continued in the world, they also shall obtain the mercy of being at length admitted into God's covenant.

Romans 11:32 For God hath shut up together all under sentence of death for their disobedience, that, in admitting them into his covenant and church, he might make them sensible (aware) that he bestows a free gift upon all.

Summary

Hardness in part has come upon Israel until the full sum of the Gentiles come into the church. By that time the hardness of Israel will give way, they will then become believers, and so a great many of them will be saved. You Gentiles should know this mystery to keep you from becoming puffed up with self-importance. The rejected Jews are still beloved on their Father's account, and you Gentiles have now to preach the gospel to them, and so convert them to Christ. They are thus at last to realize the divine mercy through you. Their fall has proved a blessing to you, and your conversion is to prove a blessing to them.

Comment

c.

Mercy to All; The Ultimate Purpose of God. Romans 11:25-32

In Romans 11:25 we have a bold statement of fact that has before only been given in analogy. Lest the brethren in Rome (a great share of whom were Gentiles) distort the aim of this figurative language into a conclusion concerning their own self-importance, Paul says, For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part has befallen Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. The thought of hardening in part refers back to the thought that their rejection was not entire, but only in part. The time element spoken of here points once again to the fact that their rejection is not final, only until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. But what can the meaning of the fullness of the Gentiles be? We have had a reference to the fullness of the Jews (cf. Romans 11:12 b). In this case we found the term fullness to be descriptive of the turning of the Jews to Christ, and in great numbers. Since then, the same subject is here being discussed, the turning of men to Christ, we could likewise say the fullness of the Gentiles refers to the extensive acceptance of Christ among these peoples. But there is one contrast in this comparison, for the fullness of the Gentiles is said to come in. What is the thought here? This would seem to mean that there are a certain number of persons in that multitude, and when that number has been reached then will come to pass the fulfillment of the promise. We do not mean that no further Gentiles will be saved; indeed, we have already said that the fullness of the Jews would mean life from the dead among the Gentiles. The thought is that a change will take place as to who will carry God's good news. Romans 11:25

The apostle emphatically affirms that when the fullness of the Gentiles has been reached, All Israel will be saved. Along with the salvation of Israel, Paul promises that the words of Isaiah, the prophet, will find their fulfillment. How is it that all Israel shall be saved? How is it they were lost? This is not difficult to answer. They were lost because they turned from Christ; they then will be saved when they turn to Christ. Notice please that the turning of the Jews to Christ is tied up inseparably with the fullness of the Gentiles. This would give us some light on the reason for the turning of the nation of Israel to their Messiah. It would seem that there will be something in the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles that will cause all Israel to be saved. This could be nothing short of the faithful preaching of the gospel by the Gentiles to the Jews. When the Gentiles have accomplished this in the way and manner that God wants it done, then will come to pass the fullness of the Gentiles and the salvation of Israel. That it could take place in any other way seems inconsistent with God's means for man's salvation. To state that all Israel will be saved does not necessitate the salvation of each individual in the nation, but only as the word all is used in other instances which speak of a large portion as all. The Deliverer who was to come out of Zion could be none other than Christ. Zion in this instance would refer to Israel and the results will be that ungodliness will be taken from Jacob. Since the Jews are descendants of Jacob, this would refer to them. When the day comes that Israel accepts the salvation provided in Christ, then will they be able to look back upon these words of Isaiah and behold their fulfillment. The covenant made by God with Israel concerning this was probably made with Abraham and now finds its fulfillment in Christ. Romans 11:26-27

304.

What temptation was possible on the part of the Gentiles at Rome as they read this chapter?

305.

How did Paul combat this temptation?

306.

What is the meaning of the fullness of the Gentiles? How can it be said to come in?

Still speaking of Israel, the inspired writer speaks of their relationship to the gospel. When Jehovah views Israel in the light of the gospel he must say, They are my enemies. It is not that God has refused them, but rather that they have refused him. But as has been considered before, God used this as a means of saving the Gentiles. When viewing Israel in relationship to his eternal purposes or election, he says, They are beloved. Why were they beloved and in what sense? As to why they are beloved, we have the answer given: For the fathers-' sake. Who are the fathers here spoken of? Notice that it does not refer to the heavenly Father, but rather to the fathers. This we take to mean the fathers of the Hebrew nation, namely, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, etc. Because of the promises made to these great men of God, he yet loves Israel. The 29th verse serves to explain his consideration of Israel for the fathers-' sake. He is saying in essence that many among the Jews will one day turn to Christ, for he so purposed it when he promised to these men of old that he would be their God and they his children. These are called gifts and calling. God is not sorry that he thus made these promises, for although it might now appear as a mystery, it will one day be made plain, even as he purposed. Romans 11:28-29

In conclusion to this whole matter of the salvation of the Jews and Gentiles, we have the statement of Romans 11:30-32. Let us read Romans 11:32 first and then see how it finds its explanation and fulfillment in Romans 11:30-31. Notice: For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. Consider first the disobedience of the Gentiles. This was described in the first chapter of this book, but was purely introductory and had nothing to do with mercy. Now we notice the disobedience of the Jew. This was so for a twofold purpose: not only that Gentiles might obtain mercy through Christ, but that we might bring the gospel to the Jewish people and thus cause them to enter into God's mercy. This only more firmly established the thought we before expressed, which is that the turning of the Jews to Christ is dependent upon the preaching of the gospel by the Gentiles. So then, we can indeed see that God shut up all unto disobedience, (in the case of the Gentiles, before Christ; in the case of the Jews, after Christ) that he might have mercy upon all. Of the fulfillment of this we have just written. Romans 11:30-32

307.

How will the fullness of the Gentiles save all Israel? What is meant by the term all Israel?

308.

Who is the Deliverer out of Zion?

309.

Explain in your own words Romans 11:28.

310.

What is meant by the gifts and calling of God?

311.

Show how all were shut up unto disobedience that all might obtain mercy.