I want to thank you for all of you who pray for me and for my preaching, and pray for our church, even for our worship services. Thank you. I was encouraged this weekend. I mentioned Nance and I were up in North Carolina, and a former student of mine actually came up to me, and he said, hey, Dr. Mazak, I listen to Romans regularly. I'm following, I'm tracking online, and I want you to know I pray for your church family every week. Because I know Romans 9 10 and 11 is challenging and sometimes when you go through it It's it's rough for a church, and here's a guy. He's never really worshipped with us The best I know maybe he popped in now and then But he is praying for us as we worship and that encouraged me, and I thought praise the Lord I'm so thankful for that And I'm hoping that our time together in the Scripture is more than just understanding theology. I hope it will encourage you, because a lot of Christians struggle with one basic truth. Is God faithful? Can you rely on Him? Just recently, not from Trinity, I was talking to a young man. He grew up in a Christian home. He went to church, you know, since he can remember. And here he is, he would say he's a follower of Christ, and he gets older and he starts to realize this is his story. You know, is it true? I don't know. This is what he says. I find out my dad's a hypocrite. My dad treats my mom in very unkind ways. My dad does many things that a Christian would never do. And so what do I do? He says, I just responded, God, if this is what Christianity is, I don't want it. So he starts running away from God and just running to his sin. And I explained to him, you just, you don't know God. You don't know God. I'm sorry your dad did that. I really am. I don't think it's irrelevant, but you would never run away from God if you knew him. No one would. He's wonderful. We've sung about His mercies multiple times already today. God is merciful, kind, loving, gracious, faithful. He keeps all of His promises. People will disappoint you. That maybe includes parents, kids, spouses, whatever. And I'm not saying that's irrelevant. But when life gets hard, where do you go? You run to the one who never fails you. His name's Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, Yahweh. And you can trust Him. And that has everything to do with what we're talking about today in Romans again. Because the question on the table in Romans 11, at least in part, is what's up with Israel? I mean, Lord, they're your people, your chosen people, and they're not even saved. They rejected Jesus. And now it's like you've turned your back on them. And, of course, the Scripture says something quite different. The Bible says, Israel may be down, but they're not out. And that was the message we had last time we were together. I'll read now Romans 11, 11. I say then, did they stumble so as to fall? Did they? The answer, of course, is no. May it never be. Didn't happen. Israel stumbling, but they sure did not fall. And I give you the outline from last week's message. Israel's failure is not final. Now I read the second half of verse 11, but by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles. Number two, Israel's loss is our gain. The gospel goes to the Jews, the Jews reject it. Now the gospel comes to the Gentiles, and how glad we are that we know Christ. And then notice what comes at the end of verse 11, to make them jealous, our third point last week. Our gain will make Israel jealous, and what will happen? Verse 12, now if their transgression is richest for the world and their failure is richest for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be? Israel will be saved. What does that mean? What does that look like? I had even questions last time, good questions from some of you about that. So we're actually going to begin today's message, I just called it, Down But Not Out Part 2. And I want to actually begin again with verse 12. Rather than starting in 13, I want to include verse 12. And let's go over it even again to make it more clear than I had time to make last time, verse 12. If their transgression is richest for the world, and their failure is richest for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be? Our first point this morning is what? That Israel's fulfillment will be riches for the world. It's an argument from the lesser to the greater. Do you see that in verse 12? If their transgression is, that's bad, is riches for the world, that's awesome. And their failure, they rejected Christ, that's bad, is riches for the Gentile. When Israel rejects Christ, that's transgression, that's failure, and God turns around and He uses it for awesome stuff. Riches for the world. What is that? That's our salvation. If God is a God who takes Israel, rejecting Christ, to bring us the riches of salvation, just think how awesome it's going to be when their fulfillment comes. Now, we'll talk about fulfillment in just a moment, but you know what? This verse doesn't make any sense unless you rejoice in the riches of salvation. Do you rejoice in your salvation? Do you consider your salvation riches? You know, we live in a world, let's be honest, that is so temporary focused, so materialistic, Oh, I have an illness, that's horrible. I have a money problem, that's horrible. I'm going through a little bit of a conflict, that's horrible. I don't want to minimize that. But one of the reasons that's so horrible is because we don't think knowing Christ is wonderful. I was talking with a brother just recently. This whole world is filled with people that are suffering. You know what the difference is? It's not that we know Christ and we don't suffer. It's that we know Christ and it's awesome. And so even though challenges come into our lives, are you waking up every morning and saying, I can't believe I'm saved. It's awesome. Salvation is incredible riches. I love it. And if we don't rejoice in salvation that way, then this is not a big deal. But it was a big deal to Paul. I'm hoping it's a big deal to all of us. So Paul says what? He says if their transgression is richest for the world, then that's incredibly awesome. The Gentiles believing. And their failure, the failure of Israel, is richest for the Gentiles. And wow, how incredible that we can be saved. Something better is coming. How much more? There's something better than our salvation. What is it? Well, hold on, we're going to get there. But we know that it's going to happen when Jewish fulfillment takes place. Do you see that? It says in verse 12, how much more than all of these blessings of salvation to all of us who are Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be? Let's talk about that word fulfillment. It's translated in different translations, different ways. It literally means fullness, okay? Some have the idea of inclusion, okay? The ESV and the NIV translated, full inclusion. The KJV translates it literally with fullness. There is coming a day when there will be a Jewish fulfillment. What does that mean? The full number of Jews will be saved. You say, Greg, what's the number? This verse doesn't tell us. But what's interesting is that word fulfillment is used in a verse that's not much farther down in the chapter. If you want to go down to Romans chapter 11 and look at verse 25, and if it helps, I'll put it right here on the screen. Because here's what I want you to be thinking as you look at verse 12. How many Jews are going to be saved when the fulfillment comes? When all of the ones who are going to be saved are saved? Is that going to be like a significant minority? Is that going to be half of Israel? Is that going to be most of Israel? What does the Bible say? Well again, I'm looking at that word fulfillment in verse 12, and it's the same word we find in Romans chapter 11 verse 25. I read it. I do not want you, brethren, to be unaffirmed of this mystery. Now remember, a mystery is not something spooky. It's something that wasn't clear in the past, but now through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we can understand. So through revelation, it's revealed. So that you will not be wise in your own estimation that A partial hardening has happened to Israel. You say, Greg, a partial hardening? We've been talking about that because now I'm going back to verse 7. The rest were hardened. Verse 8, just as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not, ears to hear not, down to this very day. That's correct. So right now today there is a partial hardening and it has happened to Israel Until when? Until verse 25, Romans 11, the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And that word fullness in verse 25 is the same word as fulfillment, New American Standard, in verse 12. So what does that mean in verse 25? There is a specific number of Gentiles that are going to be saved. God knows that number. God has this all planned out. Guys, how many people are going to end up saved? That's not something God's still watching to try to figure out. It's already planned. There is going to be a very specific number of Gentiles who repent of sin and put faith in Jesus Christ, that's that word, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And once all of the Gentiles who are going to be saved are saved, that full number, something's going to happen. Now, what is that number? Romans 11 25 doesn't give us a number. It just tells us that everyone will be saved who's going to be saved. That's the word fullness. And then I continue, and so all Israel will be saved. So I'm going back to verse 12, and in verse 12 it says, how much more of a blessing will it be when the Jewish fulfillment comes in? You say, what does that mean, Greg? When every Jew who's going to get saved is saved. That's a number. You say, what is that number? It's all of them. Corporate Israel is turning to Christ. all of Israel will believe. You say, that's incredible. You better believe it's incredible. And those of you who are aware of the situation in Israel and the United States, you say, what do you mean by that? It's hard to count. There's approximately 14 million Jews in the world today. Slightly less than half live in Israel, slightly less than half live in the United States, the rest scattered in different places. And you say, what's going to happen to corporate Israel? Corporate Israel is going to put faith in Jesus Christ. And verse 12 calls it the fulfillment. And if I just had verse 12, I would just say, I don't know how many it's gonna be, but it's going to be the full number. But because I have verse 26, I know what that number is. It's all of the Jews. Now there's a number of questions that come up. And so I have to jump ahead a little bit. We're going to visit this in more detail when we eventually get to verse 26. But there are some questions related to this, and I was asked a couple last week, and I appreciate your questions. All Israel will be saved. Number one, Greg, help me out. When will this happen? I mean, the Bible says it's going to happen. I believe the Bible. When is it going to happen? Well, verse 12 makes it clear it's sometime in the future. How much more will their fulfillment be? Let me put up Romans 11-12 in the New Living Translation. If the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God's offer of salvation, that's what they did. Think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they, the Jews, finally accept it. So if you ask me, when is this going to happen? Well, sometime in the future, but let's go back yet again to Romans 11, 25, 26, because it gives me at least a little bit more knowledge. I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, so that you'll not be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles. There's coming a time in the future. When? I don't know. when all of the Gentiles who are going to believe will believe. And when that has been accomplished, all Israel will be saved. So if you say, when will this happen? I could say, in the future. Be more specific, when the full number of Gentiles have put faith in Jesus. You say, and what date will that be? And I would say, talk to Pastor Ward, all right? Whenever I have questions that are too hard, I just say, talk to Pastor Ward, and if he can give you a date, let me know, okay? And then we'll follow up on that, okay? Question, I had this last week, and these are good questions, guys. Question, how? How will all of these Jews be saved? Can I remind you we're in Romans? Can I remind you this whole book is about the gospel? Can I remind us all together, there's only one way to be saved, and that's by putting faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Can I remind you what we've considered way back in Romans 1, 16-17? And again, when we were going through this, I don't usually preach from an NLT, but I really like the way it paraphrases slash translates Romans 1, 16-17. I'm not ashamed of this good news about Christ. It's the power of God at work saving everyone who believes, the Jew first and also the Gentile. This good news, that's the gospel, tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scripture says, it's through faith that a righteous person has life. Anybody who is saved is saved by putting faith in Jesus Christ. You say, why do you emphasize this? There's actually, I've read about this, I've never met anybody, there's actually people who say, all Israel will be saved by keeping the Law. All Israel will be saved by being good Jews. And I'm like, what? We're in Romans! The only way anyone is saved is by putting faith in Jesus Christ. Corporate Israel will embrace Jesus Christ as her Messiah. That's how it will happen, the same way you were saved. You say, okay, Greg, then who is all Israel? When we get there, we'll talk more about it. It's actually a much disputed text. I tend to be kind of a simple guy, right? I'm going to take all Israel to be all Israel. Corporate Israel. All Israel will be saved. And we'll actually comment on that as we get a little farther down to another verse here. Who is all Israel? The Jewish nation. And number four, what is the... I didn't want to skip this, verse 12. What is the how much more? Do you see that in verse 12? Remember, it's an argument from the lesser to the greater. If their transgression, that's bad, is riches, well, that's good. And their failure, that's bad, would be riches for the Gentiles, that's good. How much more will their fulfillment be? When the Jews believe it's gonna be absolutely awesome, it's going to be better than us coming to Christ. What could be better than us coming to Christ? This verse doesn't answer that. But Lord willing, before the end of the message, we'll get there. And then finally, number five, what will God use to do this? And again, the text gives us an answer, verse 13. But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles, inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them." That's a segue to our second point, number one. Israel's fulfillment will be riches for the world. What are the riches? We're going to get there, but it's going to be incredibly awesome. What is the fulfillment? All Jews put faith in Jesus Christ. How is that going to happen? Through the gospel, just like any of us believe. But the Lord is going to use our salvation, Gentile salvation, to provoke the Jews to jealousy. Again, I think that's very clear in verse 13. Paul says, I am an apostle of the Gentiles. Now be careful, some translations translate that, the apostle of the Gentiles. There's really no definite article there. Other people share the gospel with Gentiles too. Paul's saying, I'm an apostle of the Gentiles, and I'm so glad I am. I magnify my ministry. I love sharing the gospel with Gentiles. Remember, he's Jewish. He's burdened for his people. Why would a guy who's Jewish take so much joy in sharing the gospel with Gentiles? Verse 14, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. Paul has a humble opinion. He knows it's not going to be through his work that all of this takes place, but he's thankful for the opportunity he has to share the gospel, trusting that it will move to jealousy Israel. Last week when I was talking about this, I used an illustration that I had come up with. And I actually had a number of people say to me, Greg, that illustration was really helpful, this idea of Jews coming to Christ because they're jealous of Gentiles. I never had a handle on that, and for whatever reason, that illustration clicked. So I'm going to repeat that illustration, and if you were here last time, I hope a repeat is good. I will modify it just slightly, okay? Pretend there is a family and they're really incredibly busy and dad's always working, mom's doing her stuff, the kids are busy with school, with sports, with music, whatever. And the dad, this is an only son, and the dad says to his only son, man, I want to help you. And the son is like, yeah, dad, whatever. So dad who's very wealthy owns property on a lake. He buys a lot. He builds a beautiful house. He builds a dock. He has a boat. He has a couple of jet skis. Next to the house is a garage, and the garage is filled with motorcycles. Okay? You say, that wasn't in last week's. Yeah, that was bad. Okay? This one, it has motorcycles in the garage. Okay? So it's even better. Okay? For those of you who'd rather ride than swim. And dad says to his son, I want to bless you. This house is yours. And the son says to the dad, I don't want it. Dad, I am so busy. Now I'll have to take care of this house. I'll have to take care of the boat. I'll have to take care of the jet skis. I'll have to take care of the motorcycles. I'll have to take care of this lot. Dad, I don't want it. Forget you, dad. Keep it. That would be a picture of Israel rejecting her Messiah. So the dad, you know, what's he going to do with this? He goes to his work, he owns a business, he's incredibly successful. He's thinking, I don't know, I want to bless somebody. He doesn't have any kids except the one who just rejected this. And he looks and there's a guy who's emptying trash cans and sweeping the floor. He's a custodian and he looks sad. And the dad says to him, the business owner, what's up with you? And he says, life is hard. Don't you ever get a break? Well, not really. Don't you ever do anything fun with your family? We don't have any money. We don't have any time. Wouldn't you ever go like to the lake and go swimming or something? No, people with money do that. We don't have anything. and a business owner, financially secure, a dad whose son rejected the gift, he says to the custodian, I have something for you. I'm giving you a piece of property on the lake with a beautiful house and a garage filled with motorcycles, with a boat and two jet skis, and it's yours. And the custodian guy says, let's call him Gentile Greg. How about that? And here is this Gentile Greg the custodian that says, no way, really? What do I have to do? There has to be a catch. And he says, no, it's yours. And he's so excited, he takes his wife, he takes his kids. I mean, they've never seen anything like this. And he comes into work the next week and he's so happy, he's so thankful. He's singing, I like my jet ski, right? I like my boat, I like my motorcycles, I like swimming and fishing. God has been so good. And all of a sudden the rich man's son walks in and says, I've never seen a happier custodian in my life. And he walks up to the custodian and he says, why are you so happy? And the custodian says, well, I don't know if you know the owner of the business or not, but let me tell you what he gave me. And that son who rejected the gift all of a sudden is hit with wow. I was so wrong to reject this gift. Look at him enjoying it. That should be mine. He immediately says to his dad, Dad, forgive me. I want it. And of course the dad says, you got it. I have a second piece of property right next door with the house, with the boat, with a couple of jet skis, with the garage, with motorcycles. It's all there. That maybe, I'm sure that illustration fails somewhere. But maybe that's an illustration of us. We are the custodial Gentiles. We have no right to think God would be so good to us. And yet he's blessed us and we enjoy Christ so much that one day Jews will see people like us who love Jesus. And they will say, wow, we are going to believe in Jesus. That's what's going on in verse 13 through 14. Our first point this morning, Israel's fulfillment will be riches for the world. We haven't decided what the riches are, but we know what the fulfillment is. It's old Israel coming to Christ. How will it happen? In part, God's going to use Gentile salvation to bring Jews to a place of jealousy And now we get to verse 15. I'd like you just to look at that. Our third point, I'm trying to stay very close to the text. Israel's acceptance will be life from the dead. I hope you're looking at your text in front of you. Verse 15. If you don't have a Bible, I'll put it on the screen. ESV, if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, then what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? You say, let's start with the word rejection. What does that mean? Most expositors would say it's God's rejection of Israel because they failed to believe. Now, a few would say it's Israel's rejection of the gospel, but that results in God rejecting them because of their lack of belief, so either way is fine. But most people would say their rejection is God rejecting the Jews because of their unbelief. So, if their rejection, let's go a little farther, If their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, let's talk about what will their acceptance mean. That would mean, if most expositors are right, God's acceptance of Israel because they believe in the gospel. So, just think about this now. Why am I so confident that all of Israel will be saved? It's in part because of this verse. If their rejection, Who is rejecting the gospel? All of Israel? No. There is a remnant. We've already covered that in this chapter. Think of Israel as a big circle. There is a pie-shaped remnant. They believe in Jesus. Every Jew is not rejecting Jesus. Corporate Israel is now rejecting Jesus. The remnant still believes. So if their rejection, so what does their refer to? Their refers to corporate Israel. If their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, we'll come back to that, what will their acceptance be? You say, who's going to accept the very ones that are rejecting? You say, Greg, does this mean that a remnant of Israel will believe? No, a remnant of Israel already believes. A remnant of Israel believes right now today. If their rejection, the greater part of Israel that is right now walked away from Jesus Christ and been hardened, if their acceptance If you just think about this verse logically, this verse is telling me the greater part of Israel that is right now unbelieving, we already know the little remnant believes, they are going to believe in Jesus Christ. And God is going to accept them even as God accepts all people who believe in the gospel. All of corporate Israel will come to Christ. You say, Greg, that's just like that other verse 26 that says all Israel will be saved. That is correct. All of Israel will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. That's amazing. And yet that's not even the main point of the text. if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world. Verse 15 is just like verse 12. Argument from the lesser to the greater. If their rejection, that's bad, means the reconciliation of the world, that's the spreading of the gospel so people like us can come to Jesus Christ. Lesser to the greater. If their rejection means something awesome, What will their acceptance mean but something even more awesome? And what does Paul call it? Paul calls it life from the dead. And if you like to study Romans, maybe the only thing you'll find more discussion on other than all Israel being saved is what in the world does life from the dead mean? And it is a very disputed phrase. I want to just look at it in the context. I'm in verse 15. If their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? What do I know? When I read in verse 15, life from the dead, what do I know first of all? It results from the salvation of Israel. You say, why do you say that? Some people say, Greg, life from the dead is the salvation of Israel. It can't be, then this makes no sense. Paul is going lesser to the greater. If the rejection of Israel is something awesome, the reconciliation of the world, then what will be Israel getting saved be? Oh, Israel getting saved. Well, that just blows apart the whole logic of the verse, both 12 and 15. It has to be something better than that. It's lesser to greater. So if their rejection, which is bad, Is the reconciliation of the world which is awesome? What will their acceptance be? It is something that results from the salvation of Israel. And remember, all Israel doesn't get saved until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. So after the fullness of the Gentiles, all of the Jews are going to get saved, and then something incredibly awesome is going to happen. And what's it called? It's called life from the dead. That would be me staying very close to the text. You say, what else do you know about it? I know it has to be some kind of unprecedented spiritual blessing. Look back at verse 12. Their transgression? Riches for the world. Their failure? Riches for the Gentile. How much more? This is more than the gospel going out. If this refers to the gospel going out, then we again have negated Paul's logic. He's arguing lesser to the greater. So transgression, riches for the world. Failure, riches for the Gentiles. Israel is now saved. What is it? It's something better than the spread of the gospel or else the lesser to the greater falls completely apart. Thirdly, what do I know about it? It impacts the whole world. Because again, just look closely at 12 and 15. The transgression of Israel, what was it? Riches for who? The whole world, that includes the Gentile. The failure of Israel, verse 12, who's it for? What did it result in? It resulted in riches for the Gentiles. That's the whole world. Now look at verse 15. Rejection. What is it? Reconciliation of the world. What does life from the dead have to be? Something that blesses the whole world. Something that impacts the whole world. Something that is much more than the salvation of Israel, as great as that is. And what does Paul call it? Life from the dead. It sounds like somehow it's related to resurrection. Do you have any idea what it would be? Just think about what I've just mentioned. It takes place after all of the Gentiles are saved. The fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And it takes place after, perhaps at the same time, that all of Israel is now saved. Two-elves sister. Guys, there's just Jews and Gentiles. That's all. What about the Gentiles? All that are getting saved, they're saved. What about the Jews? They all believe in Jesus. What's it going to look like? It's going to blow your mind. It's going to be better than our salvation. It's going to be better than all of the Jews getting saved. It's going to impact the world and it's going to involve resurrection. Paul doesn't tell us what it is. But I know there's only one thing that I can think of. It's the return of Jesus Christ. And the end of this age. And the beginning of a time of blessing that the world has never experienced. A time that people would refer to as the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. I don't know. Now maybe there's other explanations. And I have to be fair with the text. The Apostle Paul doesn't say, and this is what it is. I don't know of anything else that it can be. But I know for sure it's the result of all Israel coming to Christ. It's after all of the Gentiles that are going to be saved will be saved. It's going to spiritually bless the entire world in a way that's like, wow, this has never happened. And it's called life from the dead, which certainly at least helps us think about resurrection. You say, okay, Greg, so what should I be thinking about today? that Israel is down but not out. They all are going to come to Christ. And the Lord has everything in control. And it's going to happen after the last Gentile who has been elected to salvation puts faith in Jesus Christ. You say, how does that practically help me today? My parents maybe are giving me a hard time. My kids are giving me a hard time. Money's tight. My job's not good. Life kind of stinks and you want me to be excited about this. I do want you to be excited about this because I want you to know, and here's the application, God is faithful to his people. And you might look around and say, I don't see all of Israel coming to Jesus. I would tell you, I don't see it either. But it will happen because God is faithful to his people. You might look at your life and say, Greg, look at all the trials I have. I don't see God blessing me in incredible ways. You know what? God is faithful to His people. And even if you don't see Him, God will be faithful to you. What have we seen? Israel's unbelief is neither total nor permanent. There is an elect remnant right now. It's not total. even the greater part of the group of the nation will come to Christ. It's not permanent. Number two, what's going to happen? God is going to use us Gentiles to make Israel jealous. Boy, is that a good reason to rejoice in our salvation. Many reasons, that's just one. Number three, and when is it going to happen? When the full number of Gentiles are saved, all Israel will be saved. I have heard pastors say, this encourages me to want to be a missionary. Because there are people out there who will believe once they hear the gospel, And once that last Gentile, the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, once the last Gentile believes the gospel, all Israel will be saved. At least it's something that could encourage you. I'm not suggesting that's even the only reason to want to share Christ, or even a good reason, but it's certainly something to consider. And then finally, number four, Israel's salvation will bring unprecedented blessing to the world. How awesome? It's called life from the dead. God is faithful to his people. If you say the Jews have rejected Jesus, it's over for them, then someone could say to you, well, I guess we can't bank on God's promises, but that's not true. God is faithful to his people. And the God who will be faithful so that all of Israel will come to Christ is the God who will be faithful to you. This is practical. This is encouraging. And I hope this will be a blessing to you. If you say, Greg, I'm sitting here, I'm not encouraged. Pray that God will encourage you. by helping you to understand He's faithful. He loves you. If your faith is in Christ, you know He's caring for you. And He will be faithful to all of the promises He's made you. Let's pray.