Well, it is a joy to be here this evening to take part in your week of meetings. I want to thank the Reverend Foster and his session for the invitation to be part of the week preaching tonight and then again tomorrow night in the will of the Lord. And so it is my joy and my pleasure to be here on this occasion to take part in this week of meetings. He has announced what I am dealing with in that title that he used. regard to the theme of these two meetings. I know that he and the session talked and discussed about what they'd have the preachers address, and somehow or other I was put into this position that I'm found in tonight. But the Lord knows our hearts and our needs, and I trust that as we look at the Word of God, The Lord will come alongside and bless us and meet with us around His Word. May I say to you that what I am doing tonight and tomorrow night is really because I'm asked to deal with the subject on both nights, but also because what I want to do is take you to Romans 11, and I need to deal with it on two separate occasions in order to try to do it justice. And so we're turning to Romans chapter 11, and we will be in this chapter again tomorrow night. So tonight we're going to read verses 1 to 10 as a set reading, And then tomorrow night we will take up verse 11 and go on through most of the rest of the chapter. And so that's the schedule for tonight and tomorrow night. That means that you need to be back tomorrow night if you want to follow on and follow up with what I say tonight. I can't cover all of this in one message, In fact, you might think, whenever I finish tonight, you'd need a whole week to do this, because this is a large subject that we have in Romans 11. And I know there was the mind on certain particular points in the chapter, but to do it justice, we need to look at the whole chapter in really an overview fashion. And so that's what I want to do, and I wanted to explain that right at the very outset. We're going to deal with this chapter in that manner. I trust God will help us. Your hearts will be instructed. You will maybe learn something as a result of these two nights as well as all the other nights that lie ahead. I value your prayers for now and also for tomorrow evening to remember us before the throne of grace that the Lord will give help and pour out His Spirit upon us in a very real way. Do you mind, Mr. Foster, if I push this thing out of my way because it's kind of hanging over my Bible and I don't want it to be in my way. So we're going to read here in Romans 11. And from verse number 1, Romans 11 verse number 1, and Paul says, I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid, for I am also an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. What ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias? How he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets and dug down thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so, then, at this present time, also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a recompense unto them. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see and bow down their back always. I say then how they stumble that they should fall. God forbid, but rather through their fall, salvation has come onto the Gentiles to provoke them to jealousy. The Lord will bless the reading of His Word to all of our hearts. Can we just bow together again and let's have a word of prayer? and look on to the Lord for help as we come to His truth. Our heavenly Father and our eternal God, we bow before Thee in the name of Thy Son. We thank Thee for the one mediator between God and men, and on that ground of His perfect obedience We come before Thee now, we come not only as sinners, but we come, Lord, in our own bankruptcy and powerlessness. And Lord, we cry to Thee for mercy and for the help of the Holy Spirit as we meet around the book of God this Sabbath evening. We thank Thee for all who are gathered. We thank Thee for the week of meetings that has been arranged. And Lord, we do pray that Thy will bless every one of these meetings mightily and powerfully And may there be a work done, and may Christ be glorified. But Lord, we need Thee now. We're at a moment where we have never been before and we will never be again. And therefore come, Lord, and fill this house with Thy glory. Grant to me the cleansing of the blood of the Lamb. Lord, fill me with Thy Spirit. and give help even now as we come to Thy Word. We pray this all in Jesus' name and for His sake and for His eternal glory. Amen and amen. Now, it's very obvious, I believe, to all of us that the attention of the world has suddenly shifted away from certain conflicts that have been going on across the face of the earth to the events that are now taking place in the Middle East. We're conscious of what happened some weeks ago in the land of Israel, and then beyond that now in Gaza itself. In addition, attention is focused on what will eventually happen in that part of the world. These questions are being answered. What will happen in Gaza? What will the future be for the people there and so forth? And who will be in control when that conflict is over. And of course, there are many opinions that are being presented and expressed on that issue. Now, there's always a danger of being fixated with human opinions in these situations. And therefore, it must be said from the Christian's perspective that the Lord alone knows the outcome of this present conflict. I say that for the simple reason that the Lord has eternally foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. And therefore, the Lord's people may rest contentedly on the foundation of God's sovereign control of all things pertaining to the nations of this world. What the Lord has purposed will come to pass. for His own glory and for the furtherance of His redemptive plan and for the blessing of His church in this world." Those are statements that I would ask you to think about because when we come to deal with the subject that we're looking at, not only here in Romans 11, but the general title of these two meetings end times, and so on. We are in a realm where there are many views and many opinions, and very often people will even fall out over these matters when that shouldn't ever be the case. Rather, we need to keep in mind that everything that happens in the context of eschatology, the end times, et cetera, whatever you want to say or use with regard to a terminology, is all part of God's redemptive program for the world, for the human race, and therefore it must be always viewed in that context. If we move outside that context of God's redemptive purpose, we are bound to go wrong. It doesn't matter what matter we're considering or what subject we're dealing with, we must stay within that framework. of the redemptive purposes of God for this world, for the nations, and that includes the nation of Israel. Whatever God is going to do in Israel is going to be within that same context that I have just mentioned. It's also true to say that God, in the context of end-time events, has given revelation in His Word about the nation of Israel, and concerning that revelation, we should certainly be interested. I suggest to you that Romans 11 is such a passage affording to us light, certain light on the matter of the future of the nation of Israel. What I want to do at this point in this meeting before we get into a number of other points toward the end of the study tonight is bring to your attention two basic facts about Romans 11. We need to do that. Because if we want to look at the chapter in any detail, we need to understand its setting, and we need to understand what God is doing here in Romans 11. And so, one fact that I want to draw to your attention just now is what I call the framework of Romans 11. Romans 11 belongs to the framework of three chapters. Chapters 9, 10, and 11. this epistle in which Paul writes in a twofold emphasis. And let me just mention what that twofold emphasis is here with regard to this framework of Romans 11. So remember that you cannot divorce Romans 11 from Romans 9 and Romans 10. Those three chapters form one section in this book, and they must always be studied together, they must be regarded together. And so Paul brings two emphases in these with regard to the framework of Romans 11. For one thing, there's an emphasis in these chapters on national Israel. on the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let me show you this. I have to do it quickly, but I want to do it clearly. Take, for example, Romans 9 verses 1 through to 5. And in those verses, Paul says this, Romans 9 verse 1, I say the truth in Christ. I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren." And the question is, who does he mean there when he says, my brethren? Well, read on, my kinsmen according to the flesh who are Israelites. to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises, whose are the fathers, and of whom is concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. And so those verses in chapter 9 have details that plainly show to us that the apostle Paul is speaking of his own nation, the nation of Israel, in terms of their privileges as being the ones with whom God deposited. the gospel, the revelation that he was giving in the world, even from those times that we read about in the Old Testament. So Romans 9, 1 to 5, there's an emphasis on national Israel. We do not deny that. We recognize that. It is clear. It is plain in the language. that is used. Then turn to Romans 10. I can deal with each verse in these chapters. I must give you, as I say, an overview of these things. Romans 10, look at verse 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge. Then look at verse 19. It says, but I say, did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy. By them that are no people in my foolish nation, I will anger you. And verse 21, to Israel he saith, all day long I stretch out or stretch forth my hands onto a and gainsaying people. That's just a selection of verses from chapter 10. And in these verses, Paul laments the spiritual blindness and hardness of Israel and their consequent rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, at that time when the gospel was going out into the Gentile world of that age and of that day. And so Israel again, national Israel, is in view in chapter 10. It is clear, it is plain. You come then to chapter 11 and verse number 1. It forms the introduction to the whole chapter. In verse 1, the phrase, His people, is found. It says, Hath God cast away His people? And the reference there, of course, is to God's people. But furthermore, the reference is to those of national Israel. who are among God's people, because he goes on to say, I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. Indeed, when he says here, has God cast away his people, he's talking at that point specifically about Israel or about the Jews. Because he says right away, I'm an Israelite. I am of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. And so that's one emphasis in these three chapters. There's an emphasis in each chapter on national Israel. The second emphasis in these three chapters is that there's an emphasis on a certain point of truth or doctrine, namely the doctrine of the grace of God. Let me just show you this. Let's go back to chapter 9 of Romans, and look with me, and you'll find that in this chapter, the emphasis is on God's plan of grace. It is on a sovereign choice of sinners. through His grace to eternal life. If you look at verse 11 of chapter 9, it says this, for the children being not yet born, that's the children of Rebekah and Isaac, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. And so we are looking here in those words clearly where Paul refers to Rebekah and Isaac, but we're looking clearly there at God's sovereign choice of a people out of this world, out of the nations, both Jew and Gentile. In chapter 9, in the early part of that chapter, the emphasis is on the Jew. Let me just take you back to verse 6. Look at that verse, and we will notice the closing words of it. For they are not all Israel which are of Israel, And so he's talking here about Israel in verse number six, but notice what he says. He says, they are not all Israel which are of Israel. Now, if you were asked to interpret that, what would you say? What does he mean here? Well, you'd have to say that in those words, there are two Israels. Very clear. The second Israel is national Israel. And the first Israel mentioned is spiritual Israel. He says this, look at it again, they are not all Israel which are of Israel. And the only way you can make sense of that is to do what I've just said, that the second Israel has to do with national Israel. And then the first Israel is God's spiritual Israel. And what Paul is saying in verse number six is that not every Jew, without exception, was in God's spiritual Israel. Not every Jew who has ever lived in this world or every member of the nation of Israel has been truly saved. And that's true today, and we will see more about that to a great degree tomorrow night. But just notice that language there, not all Israel are of Israel. And so there's a thought there of God's plan of grace. And therefore we are seeing very clearly there's an emphasis here in the early part of Romans 9 with regard to God's plan of grace that not all Jews are going to be saved. But go toward the end of the chapter, and you'll find the emphasis on the Gentile then with regard to this plan of grace. Look at verse 23 and verse 24 of Romans chapter 9. And it says that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy. Now that refers to people. the vessels of mercy, people who receive the mercy of God, people who are rescued by the mercy of God. Let me just pause and ask you, are you a vessel of mercy? Have you been saved by the grace of God? Do you belong to Christ? You know the mercy of God in your soul. That's what a vessel of mercy is. But read on with me in verse 23. The vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared on to glory. Then he says this, even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. And so those words are very, very clear. Here's God's plan of grace, and in that plan of grace, not every member of the nation of Israel belongs to the true Israel, but the same is true of the Gentiles of the world. Not every Gentile person, whatever his nation might be, belongs to the Israel of God. It is those whom he has prepared aforetime to be vessels of mercy." So here's God's plan of grace in Romans 9. In chapter 10, taking this emphasis on grace, we're looking in chapter 10 at the proclamation of God's grace. Verse 1, Paul refers to national Israel, as we just read a little time ago, and his longing and his prayer that they might be saved. And so that's where he starts out. And that again is his great personal burden and concern for the salvation of Jews. and he longs that they might be saved, because they've got a zeal for God, but it's not according to knowledge. They're ignorant of God's righteousness. They're going about to establish their own righteousness, as verse 3 says, and they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. The end of verse 3. Let me just pause and say something here. He's talking about Jewish people. who spent their whole lives trying to work up merit with God by obeying the law of God or by doing their works, when all the while there was a perfect righteousness available in Jesus Christ to justify them and save them from their sins. So that's why Paul starts here in Romans chapter 9, or sorry, Romans chapter 10. And so he proceeds then to expound from verse 4, really on through to verse number 15. He proceeds there to expound the great truth of the provision of a perfect righteousness through Jesus Christ as the ground of the justification of sinners, Jew or Gentile, but that message of the perfect righteousness of Christ must be carried to the nations, proclaimed to the nations in the preaching of the gospel. And so he gets to that. For example, in verse 14, how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach except they be sent? And you know these words, they're very, very clear. And you see, Paul's grief is that the preaching of the gospel was taking place, the proclamation of grace was taking place, among the Jews, among the Gentiles, but his lament is that while the Gentiles, to such a great degree, were then turning to Jesus Christ across the world of that day, the Jews remained largely in unbelief. Look at verse 21. It says, but to Israel he saith, all day long. I stretch forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." And so there is the plan of grace in chapter 9. There is the proclamation of grace in chapter 10. And when you come to chapter 11, the emphasis here, this emphasis on grace, is on the purpose of God's grace regarding the nation of Israel. That's how you understand Romans 11. It is specifically focusing in now on Israel, the nation of Israel, with regard to God's great purpose of grace toward those people, toward that particular nation, Paul's nation. And so, he crystallizes what he's already taught in the previous two chapters regarding national Israel, there in view, and the doctrine of God's grace. And now he proceeds to deal with the purpose of God's grace toward Israel in chapter 11, and that brings me, therefore, not only look at the framework of chapter 11 that's what I've been doing here so far the framework of chapter 11 it's all about these matters I've mentioned and so he comes then to another basic fact about Romans 11 and that is the focus in Romans 11 and Romans 11 and the future positions, spiritually speaking, of the nation of Israel. And let me say to you right now, brethren and sisters, men and women, you cannot come to Romans 11 honestly and with a candid mind and interpret this chapter and not see But that is the emphasis that we have in Romans 11. That's the focus in Romans 11, on God's purpose of grace with regard to the nation of Israel. And so we find in this chapter that the apostle Paul stresses in a very orderly manner a number of major issues with regard to national Israel, and those issues are all spiritual. and for the rest of the meeting tonight that's what I want to do. There are three of them. I'll deal with the first two in some detail as the Lord helps me and then the last one will be really introductory to tomorrow night. So we've looked here first of all at the framework of Romans 11 and the focus on Romans 11 and now we come to look at certain issues that rise out of that focus in Romans 11 where he's really focusing on the Jew and I want to look at those three issues. Number one there is the issue of Now we go back to verse 1. Before we actually go there, let me show you what leads into Romans 11. I just read one of the verses there at the end of chapter 10. Please go back to the end of chapter 10 just for a moment. And notice what Paul is doing. He says in verse 20, Isaiah says very bold and saith, I was found to them that sought me not. I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. Now in verse 20, what I've just read, Paul is looking at the Gentile world of his day. And he's quoting from Isaiah, and Isaiah had predicted in this wonderful statement the very words of God, I was found to them that sought me not. I was manifest unto them that asked not after me. He's talking about the Gentile nations that had been largely passed by in the Old Testament age. And yet Isaiah predicted that a day would come when the Gentiles would turn, I know, turn through God's grace, but they would turn unto God and they would ask after one and inquire after one whom they had never sought before. That's what verse 20's about. That's quoted from Isaiah chapter 65. But so also is verse 21. I read that verse, I want to read it again. But to Israel, he said, All day long, I stretch forth my hands onto a disobedient and gainsaying people. And men and women, remarkably, those are the words of God. God says here through Isaiah the prophet, all day long, I stretch forth my hands onto a disobedient and gainsaying people. I am moved to say at this moment, you may be sitting here tonight in the very same attitude of mind as a Gentile, as one born in this little country, and yet you are not saved, and God is not stretching forth his hands to you, and you haven't listened. What you see in its context here, verse 21, is from Isaiah 65 again, quoted from that particular part of Isaiah's prophecy, and applied as it is to the Jewish people all day long. God had been pleading with Israel on Isaiah's day and afterwards, and while there were some being saved, largely speaking, when I get into New Testament times, the majority of the people of Israel just refused Jesus Christ, turned away from Him, having crucified Him. They rejected Him. Now, here's Paul's question, therefore. In chapter 11 verse 1, in the wake or against the background of what he has said at the end of chapter 10, he now asks the question, hath God cast away his people? Israel characterized by a disobedient spirit and therefore since they knew the Old Testament Scriptures about the gospel, and since they had the gospel preached to them in their own day and time in Paul's life, he now asks a very logical question. In the light of their rejection of Christ, has Israel now itself been rejected by God? That's how chapter 11 is set up and introduced to us. Hath God cast away his people?" The verb there, cast away, could be read to thrust away. You find the verb actually used in many other verses. I'm not going to take time to take you through verses where this same verb is used in the New Testament, and it has a very strong flavor to it, and it is used in various contexts, like in Acts 7, and in Acts 7 twice it's used there with regard to how the Jews of Moses' day treated Moses. They essentially thrust Him away from them. They said to Moses, we do not want you. And now Paul's using the same word with regard to these Jews and their rejection, or with regard to the consequence of their rejection of Christ. Has God actually cast them away? So that's the setting. Has God cast away His people? And so there is an issue here with regard to rejection. On one hand, the Jews have rejected Christ, and now Paul's asking the question, well, has God rejected them? Is he finished with this nation of Israel? Has he nothing more to say to it or nothing more in his purpose of grace to do in the nation of Israel? He's setting out to answer that question that he himself asks at the beginning of this chapter. And may I say to you that Paul's response is clear. He affirms that the rejection of the Jews, first of all, was not total or complete. Notice what he says in his affirmation there in verse number one. And there you have it in those words, God forbid. That's a positive affirmation there, God forbid. That form of words, God forbid, literally reads this way, may it not be so. It's an affirmation of that kind, God forbid, that Paul uses nine times in the book of Romans. Grammatically, it's what's called an emphatic negative. An emphatic negative. Like if you say to your child, don't do this, and you might have to say, don't do that. No, no, no, don't do that. That's what I mean by an emphatic negative. That's the nature of this expression, God forbid. It's very, very emphatic. And that's why it's translated God forbid. And ironically, it brings out something very positive. Because he says, God forbid. And then he says this, for I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. And then he says in verse three or two, God hath not cast away his people. And he's still talking about the Jews. So do you get this? Here's an issue of rejection, and Paul answers this whole query, has God finished with the Jew? He's a positive affirmation about it. He says here very, very clearly in his own words that this is just not so. He hasn't done with them he hasn't cast them away but it's also a personal affirmation as well as being positive because those will take us on to say for i i am an israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. So notice what Paul does here. He appeals to his own identity as an Israelite. He says, I'm of the seed of Abraham. I'm from the tribe of Benjamin. Therefore, I am an Israelite. And what he's saying is that his acceptance in salvation by Almighty God afforded the clear proof. from his own personal standpoint that God was not finished with Israel. He says, I am a living witness to the fact that God has not cast them away completely. That's the issue. That's what his question really means. Has God cast away his people completely? That's the flavor of it in verse one. And now he begins to answer that. And as I say, when you think of Paul as he used to be, as he was before God saved him. How relevant it is that he would bring himself in as an example. Just turn to Galatians 1 for a moment and look at the kind of man Paul was before God reached him. Galatians chapter 1 and the verse number 13. And it says there, ye have heard of my conversation, my conduct in time past. Listen, in the Jews' religion, the Jews' religion. My friend, don't misunderstand what Paul means there when he talks about the Jews' religion. He's not talking about the Jews' religion in the sense of that which the Jews had been had God revealed to them in terms of truth. He's not talking about that. He's talking about the very opposite. Galatians 1 and 13. The Jews' religion has to do with the Judaizers of Paul's day. Those who came along and they preached another gospel. That's what he's all about in chapter 1 of Galatians. Those who preached another gospel which was not the true gospel. But you see, before Paul was converted, He was following that other gospel. a gospel of works, and a gospel of self-righteousness. And so he says here, you've heard of my conduct, Galatians 1.13, and time passed in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it, and profited in the Jews' religion, above many mine equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. And so he makes it clear that he was a Christ rejecter, that he was a man who hated the Lord Jesus Christ, who persecuted Jesus Christ. You remember the road to Damascus, what the Lord said to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And in what way did Saul persecute Jesus Christ? By persecuting the saints. who were so closely, intimately united with Christ that what Paul or Saul was doing to the saints, Christ felt it as being done to him. This man was a Christ rejecter, and yet God had mercy on them. And that means that the unbelief and the Christ rejection of Israel as a people had been exemplified in no one more than Saul of Tarsus, and yet God had mercy on them. And Paul is saying, therefore, in answer to his question, as I said earlier, he says, I'm the living proof that God has not cast away his people. And so on the issue of rejection he argues it through very very clearly and he brings himself in and his answer is plain. Now for that reason we can say tonight therefore that God has not finished with Israel. In the light of the man who wrote this, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the light of his experience and his life, we know that God has not cast off his people. You know, the Lord had said such things way back in Old Testament days. Let me give you the great words of Psalm 94 and the verse 14. And it says there, for the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. Or even 1 Samuel 12 and 22, it says there, For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake, because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. That was said by Samuel hundreds of years before Saul ever was born. But it's all brought in here. He's really thinking about that, I believe with all my heart, that God has not cast away his people because he promised he would not do that. And so that great promise includes those in God's plan of grace for the nation of Israel. The Lord will not cast them away because of his purpose that he has declared on his promise that he will never cast them away. And so there's a matter of rejection or the issue of rejection. Secondly there's the issue of a remnant. That's where we go now in Romans 11. That's the line of truth that then, that the Apostle Paul proceeds to raise in his reasoning, in his argumentation here, that the Lord was not totally finished with Israel, that there was, and thank God there still is, a remnant of Jews. being brought to Christ. So, again, read verse 2. God has not cast away his people which he foreknew. And then he says this, What ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? That's Elijah. How he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, dug down thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life. And if you know the story of Elijah, you will know that's what he prayed to God. He got down before God in those dark days when Ahab and Jezebel ruled, when Jezebel and Ahab were slaughtering the prophets of God, a day of deep apostasy in Israel when they were turning to Baal worship and turning away from the truth of the living God. And here's this man, Elijah, and actually at this moment, concerning which Paul quotes in these words, Elijah was down, down in the depths of depression. He felt, he felt that God had nothing more for Israel. That's what he felt. He said, Lord, I'm the only one left. It was a kind of a pity party, let me tell you. But you know, Elijah was wrong. He was completely wrong. And what was God's answer to him? Well, that's what Paul tells us. Verse 4, what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself. Now just notice those opening words. I have reserved to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. And so, Notice what he's saying here, that there was a people in Elijah's day, there was a remnant. That's really what he's saying. Yes, 7,000, that's quite a number of people in a sense. If we had 7,000 people trying to get into this building, well, it would be an impossibility. It's a huge number, relatively speaking. But on the other hand, it's a very small number compared with the size of the whole nation. And so, in verse number three and four there, Paul is bringing our minds to the matter of a remnant. And he shows in those words that he is speaking of those left in Elijah's day, who weren't swept away. And God told the people in that day, I've reserved them. He told Elijah this. These are my people, I've reserved them, which means I have kept them. That helps us to see what Paul is doing here. He's showing us that while the nation in general had gone away in his day from Jesus Christ, rejecting Jesus Christ, there were some like Paul who were saved, and therefore there was a remnant of people still been brought to know the Savior. And so he applies this in verse 5. Look at it. Even so then at this present time also, there's a remnant according to the election of grace. And so, as he brings up the issue of the remnant, he qualifies what he's saying by this reference to Elijah's day and what happened, and then he applies it in verse number five. He says, even so, at this present time also, as it was in Elijah's day, there was a remnant. He didn't bow the knee to Baal. God saved them, God kept them, God preserved them. And he says, from Israel today, God has a remnant. My dear friend, those words in verse 5 must be understood very clearly. Look at it. Even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And you notice that it's in the present tense, and while it was written by Paul 2,000 years ago concerning his day, it applies to our day. At this present time also, brethren and sisters, there is a remnant according to the election of grace that is from among the Jews. And it's all because of God's eternal purpose of grace to save sinners, both Jews and Gentiles. That means there's always a remnant of Jews being saved. The issue of the remnant, therefore, is qualified very clearly by Paul in what he writes here from verse number five. And then the quantity, as well as the qualification, the quantity is, he refers to the 7,000, and he applies it to his own day. And what's he saying, therefore, in so many words? He's saying this, national defection does not involve the defection of those who are the Lord's true people. That's what he's saying. Virtually the whole nation of Israel had defected in Elijah's day. They had turned from the truth. They were worshiping Baal, yet God had a remnant. And Paul's saying with regard to Israel in his day, yes, the majority, the large, large proportion of Israel in Paul's days had defected They had turned away from Christ. They had cried out, His blood be on us and our children. And that came down with awful force in the destruction of Jerusalem, in the raising of the temple to the ground, in the scattering of the Jews across the face of the earth. And yet with all that, there still was a remnant of people being gathered in. My dear friend, notice what I've just said. National defection does not involve the defection of those Who are the Lord's people? That's an encouragement for our day, because in our day and time in our nation, it's national defection. Nations like the UK, like America, were once called christian nations not because everybody was a christian but because the whole ethos and the whole flavor of christianity was the dominant thing but that day's long gone folks we are living in an awful day of defection from the lord and they'd ask the question has god finished with the united kingdom has god finished with america well i want to say from this public i don't know Because I can't equate those two nations with Israel. But I can say this, in both those nations he still has a remnant. who are faithful to Jesus Christ and God's purpose of grace. What I am saying to you, therefore, is encouraging. I want you to get the encouragement. In the worst of times, God always has a remnant according to the election of grace, and they are not swept away. God again says here, I have reserved 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to me. Now let me take you now to Matthew 24, Matthew's gospel chapter 24, and we'll soon be done tonight. But Matthew 24, and look with me at verse number 21 of this chapter. We are looking here at the teaching of our Lord Jesus. When the disciples came to him and they asked him the question, when shall the end be and what will be the sign of thy coming? Those early questions in Matthew 24, and this is called the Olivet Discourse, the great teaching of Jesus Christ about end times is coming again. And so notice what he says in verse 21 of this chapter. He says, for then shall be great tribulation. such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time known or ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the likesakes, those days shall be shortened." And when you read those verses, you're looking at a view of things that will come to pass upon this earth. It refers here to the great tribulation, and let me tell you, my friend, this chapter teaches that the great tribulation leads right up to the second coming. Look at verse number 30, verse 30. shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, et cetera. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. All the tribes of the earth shall mourn, et cetera. Verse 31, he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. What are these verses describing? They are describing the worst day that will come upon the face of this earth, the worst time. the great tribulation. Now, I don't know what you think about the great tribulation in the context of the coming of the Lord. I know it's very popular in evangelical circles to hold the idea that the church disappears before the great tribulation comes. But this chapter disproves that very clearly. Lord talks with the great tribulation. Then he says immediately after the tribulation we then read of the coming of the Lord. Not before it, but after it. That's just by the way. I want you to see going back there to verse 22 is this. for the elects those days to be shortened. Go down to verse number 24. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect. And what we find there is an extreme situation of deception and darkness coming down upon the world, coming down in that age That future time when the tribulation will emerge and will take place. And in those days, deception will be so great and so widespread that if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. But the inference is it's not possible. It's not possible. Because God, in His purpose of grace, will keep His elect people. He will give them understanding He will enable them to see the deception and the defection and stand against it. You see, the church has always come through tribulation, always. And one form of tribulation is this, false Christ, deceptions. And you go way back in your mind, if you know your church history, to the days of Athanasius and men like that, way back in the early centuries, and they went through tribulation. Because a man called Arius rose up to deny the Trinity and the deity of our Lord, and what tribulation that was. But the point is, Athanasius and his colleagues weren't deceived. It was all very subtle, all very clever. from the human point of view, but God's people stood the test. And so, with regard to the issue of a remnant, going back there to Romans 11, Paul makes it very clear that there is a remnant yet, he says, according to the election of grace. And he's talking about his own day and also the future and my friend that includes our day and specifically with regard to the Jew we're talking about the Jew the nation of Israel here and God is telling us that with their rejection of Christ he's still saving some of them and he'll continue to do that right on through all the generations of time. And so there are those two issues, rejection and the remnant. But there's a third issue that I will just mention now because it really sets us up for tomorrow night in the will of God, the issue of a restoration, a restoration. As Paul proceeds in this chapter, he brings up that issue of a coming day. of restoration when there will be a fullness of Jews gathered to the Lord. Let me just draw your attention to verse 11 before I finish. I don't want to go into what I will do tomorrow night, but just look at that verse quickly with me now, verse 11. It says, I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? In other words, the Jews stumbled over Christ. And then he says, have they stumbled that they should fall? And that's really the same question as is in verse one. Hath God cast away his people? So he says, have they stumbled that they should fall? He means fall and no recovery for them. That's really the sense of it. What does he say? Verse 11, another God forbid. Then he says this. Rather, through their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles. And he goes on from there to say something more. Look at verse 12. Now, if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their hopes. What's he saying? He's saying that when the Jews rejected Christ in His day, God used that to send the gospel to the Gentile world. And it talks here about the riches of the Gentiles. and the riches of the world and the riches of the Gentiles. The world of the Gentiles is the same thing. In other words, the world has been enriched because God left the Jews at that stage, largely speaking, and he turned to the Gentile world, and that was all part of God's plan. God allowed the Jews to do what they did because his purpose was to turn to the Gentiles. And that's exactly what he did. But if you look at those words in verse 12, there's a tremendous question there. Just read the verse again and think about it. If the fall of them, the fall of the Jews, be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them, that is, in other words, just a little remnant being saved. The diminishing of them, the riches of the Gentiles. How much more their fullness. So what he's saying is that there's a still, there's a fullness yet to come with regard to what God is going to do among the Jews. And that's what Paul goes on to explain and expound the whole way down through the rest of this chapter in argument after argument or thought after thought. And so he comes to a climax. down in some of these later verses. But all of that we will look at tomorrow night in the will of God. I trust that what we've done tonight has provided a platform for all of us to look at the main section that Lau will come and to help these tomorrow night. And it's a fascinating passage, it's one that I could only deal with in an overview fashion again I say because there's so much detail here. But I trust that what we will see will benefit your soul. But let me ask you a question as I close tonight. Since Paul is telling us here that God is still doing a work among the Jews, that there's still a remnant being saved, And never mind the fullness that will yet be saved. Are you praying for Jews? Are you endeavoring even to be a witness to the Jewish people? If you met one tomorrow, would you have a tract to give them or a word to say? You see, that's what Paul actually tells us, I'll show you this tomorrow night. This thought that there's a work still to do among the Jews is what really drove Paul's ministry. He was the apostle to the Gentiles, but he tells us in verse 13 and 14 that because of what he knew of God's purpose, he would never fail to try to reach the Jews because there was a people to be saved. Get a hold of that tonight. God has not finished with the Jews, therefore pray for them. You know, I heard people, as soon as the war broke out there in the Middle East, I heard people say, we need to pray for the peace of Israel. And they're fine, they're sincere about it. But I wonder what they really meant. Because that thing about praying for the peace of Israel, one of the Psalms, what does it really mean? And what is the peace that Israel needs? It's not merely the end of a conflict like this one or any other conflict. It's to meet the Prince of Peace. It's to come to know Christ. And you could pray to your blue on the face that conflicts will end and they'll never happen because God says wars and rumors of wars right through to the end. No, what Israel needs is the peace of God in their hearts. And we should therefore pray for that with all our might and with all of our energy. May the Lord bless His Word to our souls. We'll just bow together and have a word of prayer before we come to the end of the meeting. Father in heaven, we commend our ways to Thee. We thank Thee for Thy Word and for what we are shown. Lord, help us to take it all in, help us to assimilate it into our souls. Lord, give us clarity in our understanding of these wonderful chapters and what Thou hast revealed to us here about those people from whom our Savior came, that very nation from which He was born. Lord, we think of this, that of all the peoples of the earth, God chose Abraham and made him the father of Israel as a nation, and from Him their descendant the Messiah. Lord, how much we owe even to that nation in that sense. Our Savior came. He came through the seed of Abraham and from that very tribe of Judah and was born of the woman. all in order to save both Jews and Gentiles. O God and Father, move, move in our day and times. Have mercy, we pray of Thee, and bless us as we further look at these matters. Part is with Thy blessing now. We ask all of this in Jesus' name and for His sake and for His glory. Amen.