Salvation for the Gentiles 121021

Romans 11:11-24, So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

Paul was grieved over the fact that, by and large, the people of Israel in his day, as in ours, had rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If God is all-powerful how can he allow his chosen people to fall by the wayside? Paul is pretty clear, they have not fallen they have only stumbled. As might be said about a boxer who is knocked down, but not knocked out, Israel is down but not out! After all, in every generation, there have been Jews who have followed their Father Abraham in faith. At the same time, there have been those who have turned aside and gone after false religions. God's plan included using the nation Israel as the vessel through which the Messiah would come into the world. The coming Messiah was to be of the nation of Israel, the tribe of Judah and the family of David.

Adam failed to keep God's one commandment. Israel utterly failed to keep God's law. They stumbled at the law. The law was not intended to be kept. It was intended to be a schoolmaster to bring people to Christ. Throughout history God maintained, in every generation, a remnant of the faithful who believed in him. God intended Israel to be an example to all the nations to draw men to himself.

When Israel was delivered from Egypt there was with them a multitude of Egyptians. And once they entered the land of Canaan they mixed with the people already in the land. In fact, a native of Jericho by the name of Rahab, who was also a prostitute, married into the tribe of Judah! She did not marry just any man in Judah. Rahab married the son of the chief of the tribe of Judah. And as such, she is named in the genealogy of Jesus, in Matthew chapter 1.

The laws of Israel given through Moses included many provisions for the sojourner or, "outsider", who lived among them. The people of Israel were instructed by Moses to love the sojourner who dwelt among them remembering that they too had been sojourners in Egypt. These strangers among them were to be included in the celebrations of Israel. (Deuteronomy 16)

With all this, Israel failed in its responsibility to bring the world to worship Yahweh. So…

Israel's trespass means riches for the world. How does this work? Well let's look and see…

Israel continually rebelled against God. In fact they had not even left Egypt before they rebelled. As they came down to the Red Sea to cross over to freedom… Let's read from, Exodus 14:11-12, They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

The curious thing in the history of Israel from the Exodus to the coming of Jesus is a majority rebellion against obedience to God. Again and again in the wilderness they resisted God's commands. At one point, while Moses was spending time with God, they chose to build a golden calf that they should worship.

If you read carefully the account of the conquest of the land, in Joshua, you will see that there were large segments of land still unconquered. This was in disobedience to God's command. After the death of Joshua they spent a period of time ruled by judges. During that time they repeated cycle of rebellion. The cycle is clearly spelled out in the book of judges. A pattern repeats throughout the book: 1) the people abandoned the Lord; 2) God punished them by raising up a foreign power to oppress them; 3) the people cried out to God for deliverance; and 4) God raised up a deliverer, or judge, for them.

God's plan for history was being played out as his people "the chosen" stiffened their necks and "did their own thing". He certainly did not keep them from being destroyed for their sakes he did it…

For his own name's sake, God kept them. Listen while I read what was recorded hundreds of years later, Ezekiel 20:8-10, But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. “Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.

"I acted for the sake of my name," said the Lord. The people of Israel never seemed to understand what they had gotten themselves into. They never accepted responsibility for their rebellion. And, by the way, people have always done that and always will! God kept the nation together for his own name's sake and for the sake of bringing the Messiah into the world. Their rebellion did one very positive thing. Their rebellion…

Opened the door for the Gentiles. Let's see how this played out in Paul's own ministry during his first missionary journey. Acts 13:44-49, The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.

This happened in Antioch of Pisidia. Anytime the gospel is successful Satan comes in to disrupt and, if possible, destroy Christian witness. The record in the book of Acts seems to indicate that the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region but the next couple of verses indicate that Paul and Barnabas were driven out of Antioch. But this didn't happen before as many as were appointed to eternal life believed! The two of them then traveled on to Iconium where they had a long time ministry that we would consider very successful. Please remember when God is in charge everything is "successful". God's eternal plan was to get the gospel to all the nations. The rebellion of the people of Israel played into that plan so that…

Salvation has come to the Gentiles.

God has always had a people other than Israel. Listen while I read, Exodus 18:12, And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

Earlier, Abraham had met Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of the most high God. Now, there's a chance that this really wasn't a man but was instead a theophany, an manifestation or appearance of God himself. Because of that, this was not my first choice as evidence that God had people other than Abraham and his descendents.

Moses father-in-law, on the other hand, was clearly an outsider yet he came, not just as a father-in-law, but as a priest of God. When he brought a sacrifice for God he was joined by Aaron, the high priest of Israel, along with the elders of Israel in worship. Just as Elijah was told that there were thousands that had not bowed the knee to Baal I believe there were thousands in those days who worshiped the Almighty God. While the people of Israel were clearly special to God he still had others who worshiped and honored him. From the very beginning…

God always intended to include all people. Listen while I read God's covenant promise to Abram, later to be named Abraham. Genesis 12:1-3, Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Abram was chosen by God because of his faith. As a result, God began the process of establishing a new nation. Not just a new nation but a "great nation". God promised Abram that he would be blessed and protected. The final part of the statement is, "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise. Abraham is the father of the faithful and as such he is a direct ancestor of Jesus who will bless all the people of the earth. I'm not saying that everyone will be saved. I am saying that every family has been, or will be, blessed by Jesus at some point in its history. Not only did God include all people in his covenant relationship with Abraham, Jesus, the living son of God, also included the Gentiles.

Jesus included the Gentiles. Among the examples of Jesus' contact with people outside the fold of Israel are a Canaanite woman with a sick daughter and a Roman Centurion with a sick servant. In both these cases Jesus healed them. When he spoke of himself as the good Shepherd he added something about "other sheep". Listen while I read, John 10:14-16, I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

I know, the Mormons say that Jesus was talking about the American Indians when he said, "I have other sheep", but there are lots of reasons why I do not believe that's true. There is no historical or archaeological evidence that there ever was a race of people from the "missing"10 tribes of Israel. In point of fact, there never have been any "missing" tribes. They are all accounted for in the return during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. There is no doubt that in the blessing of Abraham God included all people on earth and in the teaching of Jesus non-Jews are counted as his "sheep"and part of his flock.

Getting back to Romans chapter 11, (You thought I had forgotten didn't you?) Paul compares Israel to the cultivated branches on an olive tree and the Gentiles, that's mostly us, to wild olive branches. In doing this Paul is using an example easily understood in their agricultural age. It is important to recognize that we are both…

Grafted into a common olive tree. There are not two "kingdoms of God" there is only one. One tree, or root, is the unifying force for all people who believe God as Abraham did. And…

The tree, or root, gives life. Jesus used a similar illustration. Listen while I read John 15:5, I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Here he seems to be talking about grapevines but that doesn't weaken the illustration. The processes are the same. A good rootstock is selected and cuttings from similar fruit can be attached to the rootstock to produce a new plant. Today you can purchase from nurseries multi-fruit trees that have up to 10 different fruits because they have been so grafted together.

The root is where the life is at. Because of her rebellion much of Israel was cut off from the rootstock and, alongside of her, we Gentiles are grafted in. Without the graft the branches are dead.

According to Ephesians chapter 2, we "were dead in the trespasses and sins". Until we are grafted into Jesus we have no spiritual life. After grafting both the original branches that remain and the wild branches that God has placed in the rootstock share a common life.

The branches share common life. Listen while I read for you what Paul said to the Ephesians. Ephesians 2:11-16, Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

At one time we were alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise. We were wild olive branches that produced no good fruit. We were separated from the rootstock that could give us life. We were without God and without hope in the world. Now in Christ Jesus we have hope — and peace with God. God has taken people from all over the earth, from every tribe, from every nation to make up a new race of people who serve and honor him. We are both now one in Christ Jesus.

Each of us have a responsibility to…

Be sure the graft takes. John 15:2, Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

How do we know for sure that we are born again? Or, that we are grafted into the vine? Earlier in John's Gospel, Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I will give them eternal life, and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand." Jesus also said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." The Father draws and Jesus, the Son, calls and his sheep hear his voice. Most of the time the sheep being called doesn't understand the calling in the beginning. But there's a hunger for spiritual things. Satan will try to turn them aside to all kinds of "spiritual" things. As time goes by, the one being called becomes more and more aware that it is Jesus who is calling them. If you have not come to faith in Christ, your hearing this (or reading this) could very well indicate something is stirring inside all of you to follow the one whose voice you hear — JESUS!

The example Jesus gave refers to fruit bearing. Later, Paul would write, that, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

When a person is drawn to faith in Christ there begins to be a stirring in their soul toward the things of God. There begins to be evidence of a long-term spiritual growth. Depending on their understanding of the Bible the person will know, more or less, that these urges towards godly living come from God himself. They will feel drawn to a church where the Bible is preached and a godly life is encouraged. They will want to read the Bible but may feel inadequate to the task.

If you're a wild olive branch (and we all are — or were) you need to be grafted into the rootstock. In John chapter 15 Jesus talked about our "abiding" in him, and he "abiding" in us. That is a graft that has "taken"! We can rest in the assurance that, "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) Not "we" who began a good work, but HE who began a good work. He is faithful and will complete what he begins in our lives. (1st Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Everyone who, by faith, calls on the name of the Lord whether, Jew or Gentile, will be saved. Israel had many advantages, they descended from Abraham, they were rescued from Egypt, they were given the oracles of God and from them came Jesus, the Christ. However, God always intended that people of all nations should come to him. Salvation is not based on family, race or nationality. Salvation is by God's grace alone, through faith alone. Have you received him as your Lord and Savior? Have you publicly shown your salvation in baptism and church membership? Remember, today is the day of salvation. We have no promise of tomorrow.

All Scripture references are from, The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.