Adrian Rogers - Is God Through with the Jews?
Turn to Romans chapter 11 if you will; Romans chapter 11. May I tell you while you're finding this, these are dangerous days in which we're living. And many of us can see the storm clouds of Armageddon that are already beginning to gather. And if you can read today's newspaper, or any newspaper, you can know that those storm clouds are gathering over the little land of Israel, because Israel is a lightning rod among the nations of the world today. And, to Bible-believing Christians, to those who know the Bible, Israel has great, great significance.
If you're interested in prophecy, almost, listen to me, almost 100% of all the Bible prophecies, are concerned with Israel. Almost 100%. And the eyes of the entire world, today, are focused on that little land, that the Bible calls, "His land," and the people of Israel. The people and the land of Israel are the people and the land of destiny. As the Jew goes, so goes the world. The Jew is God's yardstick. The Jew is God's outline. The Jew is God's blueprint. The Jew is God's program. The Jew is God's pattern for what He is doing with the rest of the world.
Now some people have an idea that God is through with the Jew. That that's Old Testament, that's past, God has no more future for the nation Israel. Well, the apostle Paul answers that question for us, look in Romans 11 verse 1, "I say then, hath God cast away His people"? Now he's talking about His people Israel. "God forbid, for I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin". Now what Paul is asking, "Has God forgotten the promises and the covenants that He made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob? Has He forgotten? Will God not keep His word"? And Paul says, "God forbid! God forbid". No, no. Israel is still very much in the center of all that God is doing.
Let me tell you something friend, really, Israel is the very center of the world. Put in your margin Ezekiel 5:5. God said there of Israel, "I have set thee in the midst of the nations". It is the geographic center; I'm talking now about the land of Israel, the land that I love. It's in the midst of the nations. It is a confluence between the three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. It's the land bridge there; economic and a military bridge there. But not only is it the geographic center, friend, it is the revelation center. The book that I'm reading to you from, and the book that you hold in your hand, the Holy Bible, it came from that land.
That's where Moses and the prophets and the apostles lived. That's where they wrote the Bible. It is the spiritual center of the world. This is where Jesus, the Savior was born. It's where He lived, it's where He was crucified, where He was buried, from whence He ascended after He arose. And it is back to this land, the land of Israel, that our Lord is coming again. It is the prophetic center. If you want to know, as I say, what God is doing in the world today, keep your eye on Israel and keep eye on the Jew. The people of the land and the land of the people are the only land and people whose future has been minutely foretold in the Bible. And, yes, as I said, it is the storm center; the clouds of Armageddon are gathering as we talk right now. But, I don't want to be negative because it's the peace center. There will be peace in the world when there is peace in Jerusalem.
And that's the reason the Bible says in Psalm 122 verse 6, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem". And of course there will be peace in Jerusalem when they recognize the Prince of Peace, and His name is Jesus. And it is the glory center. One of these days the word of the Lord will go forth from Zion. The Lord Jesus will rule in Zion. "And the Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as waters that cover the sea". I'm trying to say that God is not finished with the Jew.
Frederick the Great, one time was pondering whether or not the Bible was the Word of God, and he asked his court chaplain. He said, "Can you give me proof that the Bible is the infallible Word of God"? And Frederick the Great's court chaplain said, "The Jew, sire". That is, just study the Jew and you're going to find out that God is keeping His word. The people of Israel and the land of Israel is a God-created, a God-decreed, a God-loved, a God-called, a God-elected and a God-protected nation. But, listen folks, begin to read your news magazines, begin to read your newspapers and you're going to find out that the most important city on the face of the Earth is not Memphis, not New York, not Washington, not Moscow, not Paris, not Tokyo it is what? Jerusalem! It is Jerusalem!
Put this in the margin of your Bible; I have a lot of Scriptures, so you write them down and I'll read them to you. I've even written them out so that we can get them more quickly because we've got a lot of territory to cover. But I'm saying that the bone of contention in all of the world, the most important city in all of the world today is Jerusalem. Here's what God says, Zechariah 12 and verse 3, "And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people". That is, everybody on the face of the Earth is going to have difficulty because of Jerusalem, "All that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the Earth be gathered together against it". And you can see the noose tightening on the Jews and on Jerusalem even right now.
Well, is God through with the Jew? That's what Paul is asking here in Romans 11:1, "Hath God cast away His people which He foreknew"? Paul says, "God forbid, God forbid". And then Paul gives five proofs, then Paul gives five witnesses in this eleventh chapter to show that God is not finished with the Jew. Now you say, "Well, I'm a Gentile, what does that have been with me"? It has a lot to do with you, so pay attention. What are these five proofs that Paul gives. First of all, the conviction of Paul himself that shows the power of God. Paul was convicted of his sin. And I want you to look at what he says in Romans 11 verse 1, "I say then, hath God cast away His people. God forbid. For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin".
Now, Paul here, is talking about how he himself was convicted of his sin and how he became a Christian, how he became a believer. Now. Paul was a proud Pharisee. Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. Paul had a Jewish pedigree; he was an intellectual. But Paul was stricken down on the road to Damascus. A light above the light of the noonday sun, the Lord Jesus, the heavens we're opened, and the Lord Jesus appeared to Paul. And Paul said in First Corinthians 15:8, "I was one, like one born out of due time. And I wasn't a part of the due time. I was, I was ahead of my time". And Paul says in First Timothy chapter 1 verse 16, "I was a pattern to those that after would believe".
Now wait a minute, Paul wasn't a pattern for my belief. He wasn't a pattern for yours or for yours. I mean, were you knocked off a horse? Were you blinded? Did the heavens open? Did Jesus appeared to be personally? Of course not. No, what Paul was, a pattern to the Jews when the Jews are going to come to Christ. Paul was one that was born out of due time. But the due time is coming. Paul was an example of how the Jewish nation is going to come to Him. First of all, he was an opposer of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had an antipathy, a hatred for the things of Christ and he is actually trying to eradicate the belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then Paul saw the heavens open and the Lord Jesus appeared to him! He had a supernatural miraculous revelation. He was born and scales fell from his eyes and he could see things that he'd never seen before. And then he became a witness to the Gentiles. That's what's going to happen to the nation Israel.
Friend, as a nation, Paul is only an illustration of that. Put this verse down in your Bible. I love Zechariah. We talked about Zechariah chapter 12 verse 3, where Jerusalem is going to be burdensome stone. But Zechariah chapter 12 versus 8 through 11. Let me just give you the background for this. It's going to get darker and darker for Israel. The nations of this world are going to be putting more and more pressure on Israel to make Israel knuckle under. And finally, the antichrist and all of the malevolent forces of Hell will be gathered together against Israel and against Jerusalem.
And then here's what the Bible says in Zechariah chapter 12 beginning in verse 8, "In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem and he that is feeble among them at day shall be as David," even the weaklings in Israel will be like mighty David, "and the House of David shall be as God, as the Angel of the Lord be for them". God says, "I'm going to make the descendants of David, they're going to have the omnipotency of God about them". Now listen to verse 9, "And it should come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem," oh, bless God for this, "the spirit of grace and of supplications and they shall look upon Me who may have pierced".
Now folks, this is Old Testament. God is a spirit. How could a spirit be pierced? This is a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus. They pierced His hands and His feet. And Jehovah God says, "They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced and shall mourn for Him as one moaneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for Him," that is, the One they pierced, "as one that is in bitterness for his first born and that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem". Oh friend, they realize the Messiah, the One that we spurned and the One that we neglected and rejected and helped to crucify. They're going to see Him as He goes to fight for Jerusalem. This is what happened to the Apostle Paul, the heavens were opened, he saw the Lord and he was smitten under conviction.
Jesus told the Jewish nation in Matthew 23 verse 39, "You won't see Me anymore, till ye shall say, 'Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.'" Oh, when they see the One who's going to come to deliver Israel. And again, I want you to see how Paul was a pattern of this. Paul then became a witness to the Gentiles. And this is what's going to happen when this nation has its eyes open. Put in a margin Revelation chapter 7. John, the Apostle has gone into the future; God gave him a revelation of the future. And he saw a great number of Jews coming to the Lord and in Revelation chapter 7 beginning in verse 4, "And I heard the number of them that were sealed and there were sealed a 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel".
Now, when he says they were sealed that means the seal of God is in their forehead, they're set aside for God. They are God's private property and God has put His seal upon them. And then he lists 144,000, he lists the tribes, these 144,000. And then he says after this in verse 9 this is Revelation chapter 7 and verse 9, "And after this, I saw a great multitude that no man could number of all nations and kindreds and tribes and people and tongues". They stood before the throne and before the Lamb and they are giving God glory and praise. Can you imagine what it will be when we have a 144,000 apostle Paul's preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ around this world? Did you know that one of the greatest times of evangelism is going to come after the rapture after the church is taken out?
And the Jews come to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior; 144,000 witness during the Tribulation and a great number have come out of The Great Tribulation had their robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb. So what is Paul doing? Paul is saying, "Is God through with the Jew? No! Look at me! God gave me a supernatural revelation of Himself. I saw the Lord! I looked up on the One that I had pierced and I was smitten. And I came to Christ". Proof number one was the convicting power, the convicting power of God in the life of Paul, the conviction of Paul that shows the power of God. Number two, here's the second one: the companions of Elijah that show the preservation of God.
Now, follow Paul's argument. Look in Romans 11 verse 2 and 3, "Hath God cast away His people which He foreknew? Watch ye not what the Scriptures say of Elias," that's Elijah, "how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying, 'Lord, they've killed Thy prophets and they've digged down Thine altars,'" and now watch what he said, "'and I am left alone and they seek my life.'" He said, "I'm the only one left standing, there trying to kill me". This is Elijah. He's having a pity party. He's feeling sorry for himself. But notice the answer, "But what sayeth the answer of God unto him? 'I have reserved Myself 7000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, it is no more of works. Otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, it is no more of grace. Otherwise work is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election half obtained it and the rest were blinded.'"
Well, what does that mean? It means that God has always had an elect nation. God has chosen the Jewish nation. To elect means to choose and God chose the Jews. You might say, as somebody said, "How odd of God to choose the Jews," but God did. They are the elect. And God has always had a remnant, there's always been those of faith who have trusted Him from the time of Abraham to this present time and God has never been without a remnant in the land of Israel. Ole Elijah said, "I'm the only one left," God said, "Hey, friend, look around! There're 7,000 that you haven't seen; haven't bowed the knee to Baal. I have preserved them," and God is preserving a remnant unto this day.
The Romans chapter 9 and look if you will in verse 27 of this same chapter. Look at it, "Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved". Now, there're many, many Jews that may not be people of faith but God has always had his people of faith. And so a remnant is going to be saved. Listen to me, folks. The Jewish people and the Jewish faith are indestructible. There's always a remnant.
I want you to listen one most amazing passages of Scripture, put this down on your notes. Psalm 89, Psalm 89 verses 27 through 37, a long passage, 10 verses. But God is talking about King David. And God is talking about the promises and the covenant He made with David and I want you to listen to this. David was Israel's greatest King and he prefigures the Lord Jesus Christ. And God says, "Also I will make him My firstborn, higher than the kings of the Earth. My mercy will I keep for him forevermore and My covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed," that is the descendants of David, "also, will I make to endure forever and his throne as the days of Heaven".
Well you say, "But now, wait a minute pastor, that was a conditional promise". No it wasn't. It was an unconditional promise. Listen to this, God says in verse 30, "If his children," that is the children of David, "forsake My law and walk not in My judgments". And by the way, they did that. They did forsake God's law and did not walk in His judgments. "If they break My statutes and keep not My commandments". And they did break His statutes and they did not keep His commandments. "Then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes". And God has done just that.
But notice what God says, "Nevertheless," that's a good place, if you make marks in your Bible, just to mark that word, "Nevertheless," listen, "Nevertheless, My loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips. Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before Me. It should be established forever as the moon, as a faithful witness in Heaven," and then he says, "Selah". You know what that means, "Think about that". That's what Selah means, just step back and think about that.
Now God says, "Listen, I made a promise, a covenant with David. I will not lie, no matter what they do, if they disobey Me, they will face punishment, but I will not break My covenant". God prophesied in the Bible that the Jew would be disobedient, dispersed, discredited but not destroyed. The devil has tried to destroy this nation. But God has always had a remnant. The king of Egypt could not diminish them. The Red Sea could not drown them. Jonah's whale could not digest them. The fiery furnace could not devour them. The gallows of Heyman could not hang them. The nations of the world could not assimilate them and the dictators of this world could not annihilate them.
For over 2000 years, even in dispersion, when other people leave their homeland and their country, they are absorbed and assimilated, but not the Jews. For 2000 years, the Jews have continued with their tradition, their laws, their statutes and their language. These people, that have known unspeakable persecution, suffering, atrocities under Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great and Nero and the Turks and the Crusaders and Hitler and Russia and many hostile nations today; they're still there. The only way to remove the Jew would be to remove God from His throne.
Listen to Jeremiah 31 versus 35 to 37, "Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day and the ordinance of the moon and of the stars for light by night. Which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of Hosts is His name. 'If those ordinances depart from Me,'" what ordinances: the sun, the moon, the Stars, the waves, "'if those ordinance depart from before Me,' said the Lord, 'then the seed of Israel, also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.' Thus saith the Lord, 'If Heaven above can be measured,'" that is if you can tell Me how high is up, "'and if the foundations of Earth are searched out beneath,'" if you can tell Me what this world sits on, "'I also will cast off the seed of Israel for all that they've done,' saith the Lord".
Listen, folks in order to get rid of Israel, you would have to snatch the sun, the moon and the stars from the hand of God. You'd have to destroy the power that regulates the universe. You'd have to tell me how high is up and you have to find something this Earth rest upon in order for God to ever destroy the Jews. God says, "Listen, listen, Elijah, I've got 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal". There's always a remnant according to grace. You think about the impact that the Jews have had on the world today, folks. I mean, Satan has always tried to eradicate the Jews. Did you know that the Jewish people are less than four-tenths of 1% of the world's population?
Think about that. Less than four-tenths of 1% of the world's population, yet they have gained more than 12% of all of the honors in science and health and medicine and public life. You get a headache and take aspirin; well Bayer was a Jew. You're not worried about polio today because you've been inoculated; well Salk and Sabin were Jews. You have a heart attack and take digitalis; Traube, who helped develop that, was a Jew. You have an infection and get some streptomycin; well, Waksman who developed that, was a Jew. You go to have psychoanalysis; Freud was a Jew. You give to the Salvation Army; the mother of William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army, was a Jew. You go to college and study philosophy; Spinoza was a Jew.
As a matter of fact, all history hinges on the names of just 6 Jews: Moses, Jesus, Paul, Marx, Freud and Albert Einstein. And of course, I put Jesus in that list. But he didn't belong in that list. He is different than all the rest. But I'm just simply saying, folks, that God has preserved this nation. And so we think of the power of God that convicted Paul. Then you think of the preservation of God that has preserved a remnant. This is Paul's argument.
Let me give you the third argument. He talks about the call of the Gentiles which shows not only the power of God and the preservation of God, but the plan of God. Now don't think that things have gotten out of whack or anything is taking God by surprise. We hear a lot in the Book of Romans about the sovereignty of God. And one wise man said a long time ago, "Has it ever occurred to you that nothing ever occurs to God"? I mean God knows it all. And God has a plan. Listen to God's plan beginning in Romans 11 verse 11 to 15 here. Paul says, "I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall"?
Is that the only reason? "God forbid; but rather through their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them," that is the Jews, "to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles," now watch this, "how much more their fullness. I speak to you Gentiles and as much as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office. If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh," he's talking about fleshly Jews now, "and might save some of them".
Now watch this, "For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead"? Can you see that God is not finished with the Jew? Now today, the Gentiles have received a Jewish Messiah, and we are saved; most of us in this building, though not all of us, are Gentiles. There are some Jewish believers in this building today. But, Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah, but the nation rejected their Messiah. Paul took the Gospel to the Gentiles and we believe. But it was all prophesied according to God's plan.
Go back again to Romans chapter 9 and look if you will in verse 25 and 26, "As He saith also in Hosea," Osee it's called in the King James, "'I will call them My people, which were not My people,'" it's talking about the Gentiles, "'and her beloved, which was not beloved,'" that's talking about us, "'and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, 'Ye are not My people,' there shall they be called the children of the living God.'" Now, the conversion of the Gentiles was prophesied; that Gentiles would believe in a Jewish Messiah and come in to the blessing of Israel that was prophesied. For God said to Abraham, "Abraham, through you, all the nations of the world are going to be blessed".
Now, why does this say that God is not finished with the Jew? Well you've got to hear Paul's argument. Paul is saying that God prophesied that the Gentiles would be saved, and Gentiles are saved. And if God has kept His word to the Gentiles, He will also keep His word to the Jew. Notice there's coming a time of fullness for the Jew in verse 12. Notice there's coming a time of receiving in verse 15. The argument of Paul is this: that if God can take rebellious, idolatrous pagans, Gentiles like we are and bring them in to faith in Israel's Messiah; how much more can He bring Israel to her own Messiah in His time?
That's his third argument. But, there's a fourth argument I want you to see; the fourth proof. He's just answering this question: is God finished with the Jew? No, he says listen. There's the power of God that converted Saul. There's the preservation of God that kept a remnant there in the time of Elijah. Then there's the plan of God. God says, "Look, yes, they fell that the Gentiles might be saved. But now the Jew is going to come back again to come to know the Lord. I have a plan. It's all prophesied. It's right there". And then there's the covenant with Abraham, the shows the promise of God. Oh, this is the great thing. Watch this, if you will, beginning in verse 16 of Romans 11. Alright, "For if the first fruit be Holy, the lump is also holy. And if the root be holy, so are the branches".
Now what on earth does that mean? Well, in the Old Testament, there was a ceremony that when a person would bake bread. They would take a pinch of dough and they would take that pinch of dough and offer it to the Lord. And it was call a heave offering. It was just a way of saying, "Lord, You have given me the daily bread. It all belongs to You. And this pinch of dough, out of this lump, shows that the whole lump belongs to You". And then, of course, you know that the Jews came from Abraham and he is the root of the Jewish nation. The olive tree is a symbol of Israel.
Now he's talking now about a lump of dough and he's talking about an olive tree. What's he saying? He's saying, "Listen, when God accepts the part, He sanctifies the whole. If God gave a promise to Abraham, that promise extends to Israel. And then if God planted the tree, the olive tree, it's the roots that support the whole tree". And what he's talking about is that because the lump was holy, the whole loaf of bread is holy. Because the root was right, the tree has to be right. That God is not going to break His covenant with Abraham. Now, I wish I had more time to get into this. But let me say this. He goes on to talk, here's his argument.
Look, he says, "There's an olive tree. Some of the branches were broken off. That's disbelieving Jews. You Gentiles were grafted in". But he says, "If you Gentiles, wild olives, were grafted into God's olive tree. How much easier it's going to be to graph the real thing back in". That's what he's saying. He's saying, listen, the lump is holy, the whole loaf of bread is holy. The roots are there, then the tree is rooted in the roots. And what He's saying is, "I am not going to break My promises to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob," I was talking with some Jewish rabbis. They wanted me to talk to them and, and be in a symposium about what we Christians believe concerning Israel, and these were dear men.
By the way, Jewish rabbis, for the most part, are some of the most witty and charming men that you'll ever meet. And I enjoyed being with him and I love them with all of my heart. And they were saying, "Hey, you people need to back off of trying to win Jews to Jesus Christ". I said, "Of course we cannot do that". Why Jesus has commanded us to witness to all people. If I couldn't witness to Jews, I couldn't practice my religion. You wouldn't tell me, would you, that I can't practice my religion? That would be religious persecution, to tell me I can't practice my religion.
My religion is built in evangelism and bringing Jews to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Messiah if I possibly can. I don't believe in coercion. I don't believe in bribery. I don't believe in persecution; I'm against that with all of my heart. But I do believe in evangelism. I believe in sharing the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But I told these folks, "Hey, I'm not trying to proselytize you; you proselytized me. You are the olive tree? I'm the one that was grafted in. I'm the one that was grafted in".
So that's Paul's next argument. He's talking here about the very promise of God; God'll keep His promise to Abraham. Now I've got to get to the last point real quickly. Here's the fifth of these reasons that God is not finished with the Jew. And by the way, folks, it's a big chapter. I'm trying to boil it down. We needed about 9 months on this one chapter. So just think with me very quickly now. Oh, is God through with the Jew? Paul says, "God forbid," and he speaks of the power of God. He speaks of the preservation of God. He speaks of the plans of God. He speaks of the promises of God. And finally he speaks of the purpose of God.
Look, if you will, in Romans 11 verses 25 to 27. He says here in verse 25, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery. Lest ye be wise in your own conceits that blindness," now watch this, "in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in". And then he says, "And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written, 'There shall come out of Zion, the Deliver and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.'" Now, how's it going to happen? Well, let me give you very quickly, and just jot these down.
Number one, it will be in His time. Alright, now, look if you will in Romans 11 verse 25, "For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in". Just put a circle around "until". It's going to be done in God's time. It is not blindness is not total and it is not final. We're waiting for something called the fullness of the Gentiles.
Now, what is the fullness of the Gentiles? One of these days, one of these days the church will be complete. The bride will be complete. Did you know, it may be this morning? It may be when I get finished with this sermon today and I give an invitation, a 12 year-old boy come right down that aisle, right there. Take that preacher by the hand and say, "Mister, I'm giving my heart to Jesus". And God'll say, "That's it. That's it. That's the one. The fullness of the Gentiles. That was the last soul that will be saved and the church will be complete". That's the fullness of the Gentiles. We don't know when that's going to be. But someday; some time, the bride will be complete.
So number one, it is and His time. Number 2: it is through His Son. Look, if you will, in Romans 11 verse 26, "And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written 'There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer,'" that's Jesus, "'and He should turn away the ungodliness from Jacob.'" It's going to come through His Son. Put this verse down, Zechariah 13 and verse 1, "In that day there shall be a fountain open to the House of David for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness". Alright, number 3, listen. It's going to be in His time, it's going to be through His Son.
Number 3: it's going to be according to His Word. Look, if you will, in Romans 11 verse 27 through 29, "For this is My covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins, as concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as touching the election, they are beloved for the Father's sake, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance". God said, "I'm not going to change My mind. I made a covenant with Abraham. I am not going to change My mind. I'm going to keep My word," as we read, "to David". That next of all: it is by His grace. "By His grace".
Look, if you will, now in Romans 11 verse 30 to 32, he says, "For, as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through there unbelief, even so have these also now not believed that through Your mercy, they also may obtain mercy for God hath concluded them all in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all". Now what does that mean? Well, it's by grace. Does that mean that He's only chosen to save a few? No! He has concluded all in unbelief. How many can be saved? As many as are unbelievers. As many as are unbelievers; anybody who'll trust Him. He has put them all under unbelief; Jew and Gentile, we're all sinners before God. "That He might have mercy upon all." Romans 11:32.
Does God just want to have mercy upon some? No! He wants to have mercy upon all. Friend, listen to me, it is in God's time. It is through God's Son. It is according to God's Word. It is by God's grace. And finally, finally it is for God's glory. Now, look in verse 33, "Oh, oh the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor? Our who hath first given to Him and it should be recompensed unto Him again? For of Him and through Him, and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen". It is for God's glory.
Now there's so much we don't understand. Don't worry about it. You say, "Pastor, I can't understand free will and election. I can't understand predestination. I can't understand all these things". Well, join the club. There ain't nobody understands it, including the man who wrote this book, the apostle Paul. He got to the end and he threw up his hands and he said, "Oh, how unsearchable are the ways of God".
God is God. If you can't understand how God already knows everything, gives man a free will; don't worry about it, nobody else does either. God knows. God is God. And God's going to do it all friend. I am telling you, He's going to do it in His time. He's going to do it through His Son. He's going to do it according to His Word. He's going to do it by His grace. And He's going to do it for His glory. But you can put it down big, plain and straight, God is not through with the Jew. What a mighty God we serve. Now, if God is keeping His word to Israel, He'll keep His word everyone and He'll save you today if you'll trust Him. Let's bow our heads together in prayer. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed.
Father, this book is such a great book. There's so much we don't understand. But Lord God, we do know, that You know all things. And Lord, we know that You have concluded all in unbelief that You might have mercy upon all.
Now while heads are bowed and eyes are closed. If you're not saved today, would you pray a prayer like this:
Dear God, I know that You love me. Thank You for loving me. And I know that You want to save me. Jesus, You died to save me and You promised to save me if I would trust You. Jesus, I do trust You. I believe You're the Son of God. I believe you paid for my sin with Your blood on the cross. I believe that God raised You from the dead. And now I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Forgive my sin. Cleanse me. Come into my life. Take control of my life and begin today to make me the person You want me to be. And Jesus, give me the courage to make it public. Help me never to be ashamed of You. In Your name I pray, Amen.