for his sake. And all God's people said, Amen. I'd like us this evening to return to our study in Paul's letter to the church in Rome and these passages, three chapters in which Paul is setting out before us a theology concerning the people of God. That's how they're described in these chapters, the people of God. And he does so in the context of what he said before us earlier on in the chapters of Romans when he's talking about the way of salvation. that there is a righteousness apart from the law. In other words, apart from keeping the outward form of the law and all the laws that are set down in the Old Testament. That's not the righteousness which we claim. The righteousness which we would lay hold on by the grace of God is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is by trusting in him and in him alone that we have the hope of eternal life. But Paul's reasoning is set before us and we have spent some time on previous occasion noting how there is a constant use of the word, therefore, or simply for, as he makes his way logically through his argumentation. In chapter eight, we saw something of a sequence, we'll read from that well-known verse, for we know And for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose. And then he traces it back. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified and those who he justified he also glorified. There's a logical progression from God's foreknowledge through predestination, ultimately bringing us to our glorification. And in this passage that we read together from Romans chapter 10, we have something of a reverse process. The verses 14 and following arise out of a simple statement. A simple statement that we could bring in faith to our nearest and dearest, to neighbors and to friends, to colleagues at our place of work. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. And on the basis of God's word, we can give them that assurance. So now Paul is reversing, as it were, the sequence. Not from first to last, but now going from last to first. If as Paul is setting out under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then, he says, are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they've never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? Well, in this particular section of the Book of Romans, it's very tempting and indeed it's very easy to lift the words straight out of their context and just treat them as though they were standalone verses without any reference to what goes before or indeed any reference to that which comes after. And we could indeed make perfect sense of this chain of events, quite aside from the context that they come in the midst of the chapters that deal with the position of the Jewish people. How are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? How is anyone, anyone that we would assure, you know, it's promised you in God's word that if you call On the name of the Lord you will be saved. Well, your neighbors, your friends, your colleagues, whoever it might be, how are they to call unless they believe? And how are they to believe unless they have heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? It makes perfect sense even dealing with our next door neighbor. We don't need to go so far as the Jewish people to make sense of these words. And yet here they are right in the very midst of those three chapters, 9, 10, and 11, in which Paul is dealing with the question, what about the Jewish people? And if we're following closely and reading scripture and seeking not only to make sense of it, but make sense of it in its context, the question that then must arise is, to whom is he referring? How are they? Who is the they about which Paul is speaking? Well, in the context of what Paul is talking about, he's talking about primarily, although we might make application wider than that, he's talking primarily about the Jewish people. How are these Jewish people to call upon the name of the Lord? unless they believe. And how are they to believe, they, the Jewish people, unless they have heard? And how are they to hear without somebody preaching it to them? So if we take it as a reference just in a general sense of the importance of preaching, and I hesitate as a preacher to tell you just how important my job is. Hesitate, but it doesn't stop me. We'll get there eventually. This is a middle section dealing with the Jewish people. And it's in that larger picture that Paul wants to draw our attention. He begins chapter 10. Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. Is that our heart's desire as well? That was just something as a sort of personal aside from From Paul, which, well, we can understand why he would be so concerned about the salvation of the Jewish people, but we can set that aside and say, well, I'm not a Jew, therefore I, you know, I understand why Paul was so keen on the salvation of the Jewish people, but we can set it aside. Well, I'm thankful for Wilhelmus Abrako, the great theologian of the Second Reformation, Dutch theologian, which means he must be good, of course. When he concluded his four substantial volumes, he had a brief treatise on the hope that he had for the Jewish people. And he says quite plainly, honestly, I think quite beautifully, they prayed for centuries for Gentiles that we would know God's favor. Shall we not do the same for them? That they would come to a saving knowledge. Well, I recognize that not everyone reading through these verses comes to the same conclusion. Although I do confess I am at a loss to explain how they come to any other conclusion than that which seems utterly straightforward and appears to us on the pages of scripture. But I understand there are those who have a concern that when it says not all those who are of Israel are of Israel, well, now you have to stop and think about we have gone through it, but I understand that's still a sticking point for some, so let me address it again. What is Paul saying about the Jewish people at that point? Is he saying that not all those who are converted come from being Jews, or he's saying not all those who are Jews are converted? Well, surely a straightforward reading of that particular chapter would make it quite clear to us. What Paul is speaking about at that point is that not all those who are Jewish by their descent are going to be found in heaven. And surely that's the explanation. It makes perfect sense. Because he then goes on to talk about Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated. So what's he saying there? The descendants of Abraham, not all of them are to be found in glory. Does that mean that God has cast them off? And because they are not listening to the message that therefore God is done with his people and he has rejected them, well. That's not what that passage is saying. It's saying that not everyone who is a physical descendant of Abraham will be found in heaven. But that's not news to us. We knew that all along. It was very obvious that Esau was not trusting in God. So it's always been the case that not all those who are descended from Abraham will be found in heaven. The Israel of God are Jewish believers. And as we examined last Lord's Day, there's no secret door just for them, no private entrance into heaven. Gentiles this way, Jews this way. And that's what Paul is continuing to stress. And when we did a brief survey of the opening chapters of the book of Romans, Gentiles are sinners, yes. Jews are sinners, yes. Well, who's righteous then? There's no one righteous, no not one. But there is a righteousness that is apart from the law. And that is applied to both Jews and to Gentiles. It's one way of getting to heaven. and that one way is through the Lord Jesus. So we might say that what Paul is now dealing with as we are looking at the 10th chapter of the book of Romans is the mechanism. He's already made clear that if a Jew is to enter into heaven, he must enter in the same way that you and I will enter in, by trusting in the Lord Jesus. That's the only way, Jew and Gentile. But everyone who believes on his name will be saved. Chapter 10 is making clear that it is the gospel and the faithful preaching of that gospel which is the only way to be right with God. Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, everyone who calls will be saved. So what is Paul talking about here? He's talking about the Jewish people who having heard the message are turning away. But let me make it clear even from the passage we have read together. How it is not in a general sense that Paul is speaking, not primarily, but he is speaking in reference to the Jewish people. Verse 19, but I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation. With a foolish nation, I will make you angry. God's purposes are being worked out. And for a season, the Jewish people have been separated from the blessings of God, but only for a season. So as we come to this, we're talking about how God is going to use the preaching of his word to bring people to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. He recognizes that the Jewish people have, up until now at least, in the main rejected that message. But he's saying here, I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation. With a foolish nation I will make you angry. And of course when you're reading the word fool or foolish, in scripture. It has a particular meaning to it which we don't necessarily apply when we're speaking just in ordinary conversation. It is the fool who has said in his heart that there is no God. It's a definition of foolishness to say there is no God. So when Moses is talking and now being reported by Paul, what we're being told is that it's godless nations. Godless nations will learn to call upon the name of the Lord. And in God's sovereign plan, that is for a purpose. If we're being told explicitly, yes, the Jewish people have not been listening to the gospel message. Has God thrown them away then and he's just interested now in the Gentiles? Paul is saying and giving forth this prophecy from the word, I'll make you jealous of those who are not a nation. With a foolish nation, I will make you angry. Why is God doing that? Why would God seek to make the Jewish people jealous? Why would he seek to make them angry? If he's done with them, turned his back upon them, he's walking away, what does he care about what the Jewish people are thinking or doing? Why would God desire that the Jewish people should be jealous? Now we'll come to it eventually in chapter 11, he tells us why the Jewish people are to be made jealous, so that they will come in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what chapter 11 is dealing with. So when we're looking at chapters nine, 10, and 11, we're not dealing with some really quite strange digression on the part of Paul. We're dealing with a continuation of God's work of salvation. The Jewish people didn't know the gospel message in the Old Testament times. And chapter four, when he deals with Abraham, makes that quite clear. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. And now in God's surprising plan of salvation, the Jewish people are not listening for a season. So that God will take that message of salvation to the Gentile world and make the Jewish people jealous. so that at the last they will return to him. So when he's dealing with the question, well, if it's... If it's the case that those who are placing their trust in Jesus, Gentiles, you and me to this night, we would say we were the godless nation of which Paul is speaking in the sense that we did not grow up as a people, as those who could call upon the name of the Lord. We weren't part of the people of God, Jewish people. Jealous of those who are not a nation. that God is going to do a work in the hearts of the Jewish people and bring them back to himself. So when we come to chapter 11, we're prepared for it already. I ask then, says Paul, has God rejected his people? By no means. I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. Has he rejected his people? To whom is he referring at that point? Well, he makes it quite clear to whom he is referring. He's referring to the Jewish people. He says, I'm a Jew. I'm a descendant of Abraham. Could Paul have made it any clearer about whom he was speaking? He's not talking about, well, now that we're in the New Testament period and the gospel is going to the Gentiles, just forget about any distinction between Jew and Gentile. There's nothing there. He could have said that and done so in probably half a dozen verses. He doesn't need to have three chapters of the book of Romans to convince us of that. So how will the people of God call on him? How will God's people believe in him? Have God's people not heard? Verse 19, again, but I asked, did Israel not understand? So why does God want to make the Jewish people jealous? Well, perhaps we might say when we are thwarted and we haven't been able to get our own way, that we do things or say things that are petty, perhaps even spiteful. Is that a sort of motive that we would give to our gracious God? Or are we looking for an altogether different purpose in God's saving plan? Well, just a hint about the direction that Paul is going in. Chapter 11 and verse 15. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? Then you see the way in which these two concepts are put in balance. There is rejection and the opposite side of that is reconciliation. So what is Paul saying at this point? Is he saying, hypothetically, it's not going to happen. But hypothetically, if they were to be reconciled, there would be a great blessing that would flow from that. But, you know, it's not actually going to happen. Is that the way in which we would be led along as we're reading the word of God to suppose that if their rejection for a season was to bring such untold blessings to you and me, that we have the hope of eternal life because they didn't accept Jesus when he came, then how much more, this is what Paul is saying, When they are reconciled, how much more will their acceptance mean a life from the dead? Is that a hypothetical suggestion that Paul is laying before his hearers and saying, you know, I'm just positing it as a logical possibility, but it's not gonna happen. Or is he giving us hope for the future? That if the great blessings that we have for time and for eternity have come to us because of the rejection of the Jews, how much more life from the dead when they accept the message. The rejection is not on the part of God, therefore it's the rejection on the part of the Jewish people. It's they who have rejected. But what happens when they accept? It will be like life from the dead. That's why God is making his people jealous. Doing great things amongst Gentiles. Amongst an ungodly nation. Because he is not done. with the people of God as Paul terms them. Paul then goes on to speak about the natural branch being grafted in again. And why would he do that if God is turning his back upon the Jewish people? No, God has his purposes. And we will, by God's grace, in coming weeks, examine those purposes more closely. But in this particular section, he concludes, how are they to preach unless they are said? Well, I did warn you that the task of preaching would be dealt with. I listened to a clip and it came from 1939. It wasn't by sheer chance. I went looking for it. It was a clip from the then Prime Minister in September 1939. If I say September 1939, perhaps you have already rushed ahead of me and you know what the clip refers to. It's a very famous historical clip. And in that clip he's announcing that Britain is at war with Germany. Why? Because an ultimatum had been served to the German government so that they should withdraw from Poland or that we would be at war. But it's interesting the way in which he phrases it. It's a very short clip. It's only about two or three minutes long. And he talks about how the British ambassador in Berlin had gone to the German government and placed the ultimatum before them. The ambassador had no authority of his own. His authority was to declare what the government had told him to declare and he couldn't go beyond it and he couldn't shrink back from it. That was his task as an ambassador, to speak on behalf of the government and warn the German Nazi government that unless they withdrew from Poland, a state of war would exist between Germany and Britain. Let me refer you to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Chapter 5. We'll read from verse 16. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. All this is from God who, through Christ, reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself. not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God for our sake. He made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Did you hear that boys and girls? Paul describes himself as an ambassador. He has been commissioned from the court of the King of Kings with a message. And he pleads with his hearers to be reconciled to God. He does not speak on his own behalf. He is not conveying what he thinks should happen. but is declaring the Word of God from the court of the King of Kings and demands a hearing. Preachers do not or should not stand in their own strength to tell you what they think, but to declare to you the Word of God. That's what Paul desired to do. And those who are sent are called upon to declare the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to plead with men and women and with boys and girls be reconciled to God. For God made him who knew no sin to be sin that we might become the righteousness of God. Let's pray. Our gracious God, we thank Thee that Thou didst appoint the Apostle Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles, and that he proclaimed that Gospel first to Jews and then to Gentiles, and that we here this day would recognize ourselves to be members not of the people of God, but of no nation or a foolish nation. And yet, thou, O Lord, having sent forth of faithful men to preach Christ, that we have heard the name of Christ, and having heard, we have believed, and having believed, we have called upon that sweet and lovely name. Father, we pray. that thou wouldst raise up many men in our generation who will plead with the lost to come to Christ while it is still the day of grace. We deserve it not. We live amongst sinful people who have made idols out of their sins and boasted in them. Perhaps as never before, we have as a people earned the title, a foolish nation. But Father, in thy great and sovereign plan, Will thou not, O Lord, show thyself gracious to us?