The Future For God’s People
Read Romans 11: 1-36.
Does God turn away from those He has promised to love? That is the question that Paul anticipates. As his explanation of justification by faith draws to a conclusion the Apostle seeks to show God’s enduring faithfulness toward His people.
• Has God rejected His people? (Verse 1)
• Paul makes reference to 1 Kings 19:9-18. What principle is he reminding his readers of? (Verse 5)
• When we read the references in verses 8 and 9-10, should we be surprised at this situation?
• Which group of people have been the beneficiaries of this outcome? (Verses 11-12)
• Describe Paul’s logic about Israel becoming jealous. (Verse 11)
• What does he anticipate in verse 12?
Consider Paul’s analogy of the olive tree. There are a couple of strands of thought at work here. Firstly the nature of the branches, secondly the prerogative of God in grafting and thirdly the fact there is only one tree throughout.
• What is the nature of the branches that are grafted into the tree? (Verse17)
• What is the continuing nature of the branches that were removed?
• Who determines which branches remain and which go? (Verse 21-22)
• What is the point that is made in verse 24 and how should it affect our attitude to the people of the ‘original branches’
• What two possibilities are there when we identify ‘all Israel’ in verse 26?
• Identify the hope that Paul expresses for his Jewish brethren in verses 28-32.
• Verses 33-36 are Paul’s concluding response to the Gospel of justification by faith that he has explained in the previous eleven chapters. How do you respond to his words?
Some notes:
Is Paul arguing that God has rejected the Jewish people? Of course not, Paul is Jewish and a Christian. His conversion is proof God is still calling Jewish people. The reference to 1 Kings is a representative reminder that there were periods when large numbers of the people were not included in God’s calling, but there was always a remnant of some size or another.
The Gentiles are presented as the beneficiaries of this situation. God has not only saved people from among the Gentiles, but the fact that the Gentiles now live as God’s people is meant to provoke the Jewish people to jealousy. In Paul’s argument, seeing salvation by grace, received and lived is meant to be attractive and evocative. The Jewish people, seeing others living in relationship with God by grace, are meant to desire what they have forsaken.
This is to be contrasted with the somewhat coercive and ungracious ways in which Christians have treated Jewish people. Paul is advocating evangelism by example rather than by browbeating.
The note about the olive tree questions just needs to be supplemented by pointing out the fact that usually cultivated branches are grafted to wild stock. Here the opposite is portrayed. The fact the wild branches are chosen and fruitful is a source of wonder. But Paul also points out that if the wild branches are fruitful, how much more fruitful would the cultivated branches be should they be grafted on to the tree again.
There can be little argument that Paul expects that very thing to happen.
It will be by grace, but God’s people will be complete, and at that time in the future there will be a saving of a great number of the Jewish people.
All of this will be to God’s glory, because He will be, and ever is the one who graciously saves. It’s all about His mercy.
That’s why Paul launches into His doxology of praise.
We should do the same.
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