If you would please open your Bibles to Romans 11. Romans 11, we'll be focusing on verse 11 and following, but we'll begin at the beginning of Romans 11. This is God's word. I ask then, did God reject his people? By no means. I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel? Lord, they've killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I'm the only one left and they are trying to kill me. And what was God's answer to him? I have reserved for myself 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too, at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works. If it were, grace would no longer be grace. What then? What Israel sought so earnestly, it did not obtain. But the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written. God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear to this very day. And David says, may their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see and their backs be bent forever. Again, I ask, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all. Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring? I'm talking to you Gentiles, and as much as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy. If the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this. You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say, then, branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in, granted, but they 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. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God. Sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature, were grafted into a cultivated olive tree. How much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? 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 come in. And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, the Deliverer will come from Zion. He will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take their sins away. As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account. But as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you were at one time disobedient to God and have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has ever been His counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. May God add his blessing to this reading from his holy and inspired word. So, Jesus born Jewish, comes to the Jewish people, and offers salvation, and is rejected by the Jews. Well, not by all the Jews. But as a nation, as a people, as an ethnic group, as a religion, the response of the masses of the Jews was to reject the Messiah. This was exactly what Isaiah and others had prophesied. This was not some failure of God's plan. It wasn't like God said, well, I'm gonna send my son and hopefully they'll all respond positively, but they didn't. So God had to say, okay, now what'll I do? No, God from the beginning had said, this is the way it's gonna be. And so Jesus goes to the cross and he suffers and he dies in order to save all Israel. Who is all Israel? Well, that's what we're going to talk about. But clearly, clearly, it includes both Jews and Gentiles who are in Christ Jesus. Paul writes And he warns the Gentile believers who were already becoming very numerous. He warns them not to become anti-Semitic and to somehow think that the Jews are not worth anything, they're no good. God has completely rejected them and now it's just for us Gentiles. One of the tragedies today is that a lot of people, when we try and share the good news concerning Jesus with them, Think that you can't be Jewish and believe in Jesus as the Messiah. And that is not at all true. Some of you know some of the same people I do who are magnificent followers of Jesus Christ, totally devoted to the Lord Jesus. They know that he's the Messiah, and they're as Jewish as can be. It's not that you give up your ethnicity. I'm half Norwegian. I don't know if you know that. It's true. On my father's side, I've got Scottish, and Welsh, and English, and French, and various things. But on my mother's side, just Norwegian. And yet, I couldn't even draw you a picture of the flag of Norway. I don't pay taxes to the Norwegian government. Um, because I am an American and my loyalty governmentally is to the United States of America. And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free, et cetera. Okay. I can even sing Rocky top if you want, but, but, but I want you to understand something. It's about allegiance, not ethnicity. If you know Jesus as the Messiah, then you are a descendant of Abraham. You're part of the family. Paul has already established that starting all the way back in chapter two of this letter. He's already established that it's not about ethnicity and God's salvation is not based on ethnicity. It's about whether or not we share in the faith of Abraham. In chapter four, verse 16, Paul makes it clear that those who are sharing in Abraham's faith are the true descendants of Abraham. Not all Israel is Israel, he says at the beginning of this section. Just because you are ethnically descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob doesn't mean that you are really, really part of the family that God calls His own. Paul's making it clear in this section that the gospel extends both to Jew and to Gentile. He'll write elsewhere in his letters, not in Romans so much, but in Colossians and in Ephesians, about the fact that there is no longer a division, and in Galatians, there's no longer a division between Jew and Gentile. you realize the word Gentile was a word for everybody else, okay? The Jews were the Jews, everybody else is Gentiles. So it didn't matter if you were Norwegian or Chinese, you were a Gentile. We are in Yiddish, the goyim, okay? Yim is just plural, but we're the goys. We're the goyim, we're the nobodies. We were also referred to pejoratively in New Testament times by the Jews as dogs. Okay? As far as the Jews were concerned, we were just a bunch of animals. And if you look at the history of mankind and the way people behaved, some people behaved the day after Thanksgiving, you understand why people would say that. Because human nature is not a very pretty thing. And the Jews had a special blessing, a covenantal relationship with God in which he had revealed to them what he had not revealed to all the nations of the earth. God had blessed them in an extraordinary way. And Paul says, that is a great blessing, a great treasure, a great heritage, but it won't get you into heaven. Having this revelation simply makes you more accountable, more responsible before God, and it simply shows that much more clearly how corrupt and sinful we are. Because even when we get the revelation and we see what we're supposed to do and we have God's law, we break it. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. and all of us are lawbreakers. But that should be no surprise because you go all the way back to the garden, God gave them one prohibition. Don't eat the fruit of that tree. And we broke that. I mean, how hard is this? How tough was this test? You can eat the fruit of any of the trees of the garden, just not that one. So they ate from that one. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Evil evil evil That's our family We all come from a dysfunctional family. I don't like for you to talk about my family that way Well, I'm just saying if you're human you're messed up is that clear and So the Apostle Paul makes it clear again That salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ and It's not on the basis of your family genealogy. And it's not on the basis of your good conduct. But then he says something here that I have to deal with because it's troubling to a lot of people. If you look at verses 17 down through. 23 will say you could go a little further, but 17 through 23 of Chapter 11. Some people get very disturbed and they say, well, what about eternal security? This says right here. Uh. Consider the kindness and sternness of God. Sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you provided that you continue in his kindness. That makes it sound like you could lose it. Verse 21 says, if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. I was always taught to believe in eternal security. And I always believed in eternal security, and I still want to believe in eternal security because it's a whole lot better than eternal insecurity. But I'm reading this right here and it sounds like we're being warned. It sounds like it. It says he will not spare you either. Those people got cut off. You could get cut off. Watch out. That makes me nervous, preacher. How do you reconcile that? Well, first of all, I don't talk about eternal security. Oh, I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. Sooner or later, I was going to find some heresy you're guilty of. Hey, wait a minute. I do talk about the perseverance of the saints. What's that? Well, you remember from time to time, we remind you that the Bible refers to all Christians as being saints. So when we talk about the perseverance of the saints, we're not talking about a bunch of people who died and are now in heaven, um, that we can pray to because we don't talk to dead people. Um, but. Because the old Testament tells us we're not supposed to do that. And we don't even burn candles. But, um, what we do, what we do is recognize what scripture says about those who are in Christ Jesus. We are saints. We are Holy set apart God's own people. We are right now, if we're in Christ Jesus saints, and you know what? The saints will persevere. That means they'll keep going. But what if I don't keep going? Well, then you're not one of the Saints. Also, are you saying I can't be sure if I'm saved or not? No, I'm not saying that at all. You can be sure you can be confident. And you need to make your calling in election sure. But then. Time will tell. Because if you do not persevere in faith, You know what will become evident? What it says in 1 John 2. Take a look real quickly. Don't lose your place in Romans. But 1 John 2. Very important verse. Verse 19. 1 John 2.19. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their going showed that none of them belonged to us. So are you saying that those people lost their salvation? No, no, no, you can't lose your salvation. But they never had salvation. Well, I heard that man give his testimony and I was just sure he was a Christian. Well, you were wrong. Apparently because he didn't persevere, he turned away from the faith. He didn't continue to trust in God and follow him. But I thought if a person prays a prayer and I asked God to save them, that that meant they were in for good. Well, I understand. I understand. I really understand why you would feel that way. Let me tell you one more time. Those whom God saves are really saved and they will abide and they will persevere. But Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7, not depart from me, you lost your salvation. He says, depart from me, I never knew you. I never knew you. These are people who were preachers. These are people who did all kinds of impressive things. And if you had lined up a whole bunch of folks and said, is this person a Christian or not? They would have said, oh, yeah, I heard him preach. That doesn't mean a person is a Christian. You mean a non-Christian could preach a gospel message? Yes. I shared with some of you about Marjo Gortner, who did it on film. He preached gospel messages and then went back to his motel room and cavorted with prostitutes and smoked dope and cursed and laughed and talked about the fact that he was making this movie about what a fraud he was. And, of course, in the midst of doing that, trying to make it look like all those people out in the churches who were believing the gospel are just a bunch of idiots. The fact that the gospel is true is not in any way diminished by the fact that there are a bunch of people who profess it but are not changed by it. Well, then what happened when that person said, God save me? Well, apparently what happened was that they got real emotionally worked up And decided that they were willing to try this. But then when they found out what it means to really follow Jesus, they didn't want to go there because what they wanted was not salvation. They just wanted forgiveness. What they wanted was not salvation. It was just to avoid hell. What they wanted was not salvation. What they wanted was just to get what they wanted out of life, and they thought the way to do that was to get God on their side so that they could be in charge and God would work for them. If your goal is to be your own God and get the God of the universe to be your assistant, you're not saved and you're not seeking salvation. And you might say, God save me. But what you really mean is God come help me get what I want. If you could go to heaven. Escaping all the sickness and suffering of this earth and be perfectly contented there without God. you're not saved. You're not saved. Because heaven, the real deal, is about being in the presence of God. And so 1 John tells us how to know whether or not we're really saved. It gives a description of what it looks like to be a Christian. And it says, now these things have been written so that you might know that you have eternal life. It's not that we're supposed to be perpetually insecure and I just don't know if I'm saved or not. That's not the goal. The goal is that we would be able to look at our lives in the light of God's word and see whether it lines up with what he says about what he does when he saves us. And Paul is writing to the Gentiles who have professed faith and some of whom are starting to look down on the Jews And he's saying, you better understand something. The only reason they're not part of the plant is because of their unbelief. And God can change that. Because if they believe, they'll be saved. And by the way, rather than getting all arrogant, you need to realize that unless you persevere in believing, in trusting God, in depending on Him, then you're going to be cut off just as surely as those unbelievers are cut off. I hope that makes things clearer and not more confusing. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God, sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. Verse 25. 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 and So all Israel will be saved the full number of the Gentiles Did you know that? He's not saying all Gentiles are going to be saved. He's saying there is a number of There are those whom God has chosen, and they're all going to get saved. They are all going to get saved. God is going to see to that. 2 Peter 3 is talking precisely about that when it says God is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness. He's patient, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to eternal life. God is drawing His own. He's drawing his own. From generation to generation, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, God is making for himself a people who are his own people. And when the full number of Gentiles has been saved, it's not, and understand this, when it says the full number, it doesn't mean God has a number in his mind and he's saying, well, let's see, I need a few more. it's saying all the gentiles were going to be saved get saved he also has planned the salvation of those jews who are going to believe and god knows who they are before the foundation of the world god has not rejected his people, verse two of chapter 11, whom he foreknew. God hasn't rejected them. God didn't choose them and then say, oh, well, oh, well, okay, nevermind. Those whom he foreknew, he also called. And God keeps us and even glorifies us when he saves us. Salvation is not just about forgiveness, it is about oneness with him. Oneness with Him. What a marvelous thing. It's beyond our ability to even comprehend how wonderful God's plan is for us that He would make us one with Himself. But Israel's experienced a hardening in part. In other words, not all the Jews have been hardened, but part of them have until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And as a result, verse 26, all who are truly Israel will be saved. All who are Israel, all Israel, all those who share the faith of Abraham, all those who share in the election of Isaac and Jacob, based entirely on grace, not on works, all Israel will be saved. As it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion, he will turn godlessness away from Jacob, and this is my covenant with them when what? When I take away their sins. God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. Paul keeps saying, I'm hoping that they're gonna get jealous. Because I want to see some of them. Notice he doesn't say all of them. He says some of them get saved. And when the right number of them are saved, then all Israel will have been saved. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he might have what? Mercy on all. None of us earn this. Salvation is not something we accomplish. It's not something we do. I'm a no pastor. I'm sorry. I've got to go back. You made it clear a few minutes ago that we've got to persevere. We've got to continue or else we're going to be cut off. That makes it sound like we do earn it. No, we don't earn it at all. That is entirely God's doing. He is the one who changes us from the inside out. He's the one who keeps us. Okay, but then so what you're saying is that if God doesn't keep us, then we lose our salvation. No, no, no, I'm not saying that. I'm saying you never had it. You never were saved. If you're trusting in yourself and what you do, you're not saved. You're not saved. If you think, oh, but I've done this and I've done this and I've done... That's Matthew 7. That's what those people said. I did what I had to do. I raised my hand. I prayed the prayer. I walked the aisle. I got dunked. I signed the card. I put money in the plate. I taught a class. I had 63 people in my class. And we did care for the elderly and all this. What do I have to do? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. What does that mean? It means you realize there's not anything you can do to save yourself and you cry out to God for mercy and you ask Him not to do your will, but to take control. You give your life to Him. And when you do that, That is evidence of God's grace in you. And those whom God saves, He saves to the uttermost. He keeps us. We don't have to be afraid. But I'm afraid I might fall away. Why? Because you're trusting in your ability and afraid you might mess up? Let me tell you, my only hope of perseverance is that God saves me. That's my only hope. There is no plan B. There's not a plan B. It's not like, okay, I've kind of analyzed the situation. I've come to the conclusion. I'm not one of the elect. And so God's not going to save me. So I got to figure out what am I going to do to get saved? Doofus. If God doesn't save us, we're doomed. You understand? Our only hope is him. Yesterday, the gal who cut my hair, as you might imagine, we got to talking about the things of the Lord. Just somehow it just came up in conversation. Fancy that. And it wasn't because she asked what I do for a living. She never asked what I do for a living. We just got to talking about life and marriage. And in the context of that, naturally, we talked about God. And I said to her toward the end of the conversation, because she's very actively involved now in a church in Atlanta, I said, so if one of the planes that was supposed to land at Lockheed landed here in this room right now instead, and you and I were instantly incinerated, what happens to you? She said, oh, I'm going to heaven. I said, that is wonderful. And are you going because you've been a good girl, or are you going because of Jesus? She said, both. I said, oh no, oh no. Let me tell you something. If you think you can add anything to what Jesus did for you, you're not going to heaven. There's only one reason I'm going to heaven, and I know I'm going to heaven, but there's only one reason, and that's because of what Jesus did for me. It's not what I've done for him. It's not how I live. It's not what I say. It's not what I do. It is because of Jesus that I'm going to heaven. And I said, so the reason I want to do what God says is, and she said, because we love Him. And I said, exactly. Don't forget that. We obey Him because we love Him, and we love Him because He first loved us. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay Him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for sending Jesus to save us. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We had no hope, no way of saving ourselves, but you came to save us, to seek and to save that which was lost. You saved us by pouring out your grace, pouring out your love, pouring out your spirit. You gave, we received. So we don't come this morning to try and give you something to put you in our debt. We come to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Lord, for your amazing grace. Now help us, we pray, to live this day in gratitude for what you've done for us. And we'll be careful to give you all the praise in Jesus' name. Amen.