Romans (Written)

Monday, 28 October 2013

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29

In context, this verse is speaking of Israel’s national election, not individual matters concerning God’s people. The word for “gifts” here, charisma, is also applied to individual gifts throughout the New Testament. Such gifts include the spiritual gifts given by God to his children for the benefit of the church – ministry, wisdom, healing, etc. The term “calling” is likewise used elsewhere when speaking of the calling of individuals; the invitation extended to come and partake of His gift of salvation.

It is true that such gifts and calling may be irrevocable towards the individual, however, this is not the context of Romans 11:29 and so the context should be maintained. It would be a stretch to use this verse as a stand-alone to justify eternal salvation of the believer or the surety of maintaining the gifts which have been bestowed. Rather, such concepts must be found elsewhere to support those tenets. Only if such is the case (and it is) can the wording of Romans 11:29 be applied to individual matters.

Paul has been speaking of the covenantal promises made to Israel. In this, God has spoken and therefore the thing He has promised, He will fulfill. He will never entirely cut Israel off from being a people or from receiving His graces. They have been called and therefore the calling stands, regardless of their conduct.

Life application: Like Israel who continuously failed to live out their calling and yet has never been cast off, we will also at times fail to live out our own calling. However, the Bible fully supports the notion of eternal salvation. Truly, like national Israel, the individual gifts and calling are irrevocable when we are in Christ.

Lord God, the surety I have in Christ is the single most comforting part of my existence. While the world around me is falling apart, when friends turn away from me, as politicians continuously renege on the promises they made – Lord, for everything that is contrary to happiness in my life, I have the joy of being in Christ. He is steadfast, faithful, always true, and fully capable to save me to the end. Hallelujah and Amen.

Sunday, 27 October 2013

Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. Romans 11:28

“Concerning the gospel…” Because of their rejection of the good news (meaning Israel as is evident from the preceding verses), it is determined that the they “are enemies for your sake.”

As Paul is writing to the gentiles, this tells us that the bond of fraternal love found in Christ is severed towards those who reject Him, including those from His select and special group of people. Their selection is noted, for example, in Deuteronomy 7:6 –

“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.”

However, on another level, that of “election,” Paul goes on to say that “they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.” The “fathers” are those to whom the promises were made. They include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve sons of Israel. If one considers Paul’s use of “fathers” as the same concept as the “patriarchs,” then this would also include David who is, along with the others, termed a patriarch in Acts 7:8.

This verse seems internally contradictory, but “enemies” is being used in opposition to “beloved” to show a distinction between the two which is reflected on different levels. They are cut off from the holy tree for the purpose of corporate blessing, and yet they are still viewed with an end-purpose in mind. God will continue to keep them as a people as He covenanted with them –

“Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.” Leviticus 16:44

The context of Leviticus 26:14-43 shows that God in no way approves of their conduct during their time of exile, but the covenant bond (26:44) is stronger than the consequences of their disobedience, extreme as those consequences may be. To be sure, God does not possess changing human emotions as we do. Rather, these terms are applied to Him who is unchanging to show exactly that; His character doesn’t vacillate as we move in relation to Him.

Regardless of whether the church is now in God’s favor and Israel is currently an “enemy” for the sake of the gospel, it is unthinkable that those promises made to His chosen people should ever be revoked, fail, or be replaced by another group. What He has promised to Israel must stand, and in fact it will stand.

Life application: When you called on Jesus, the Bible says that you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Just as God will never reject His people, even when disobedient, He will never reject you, even if you fall from whatever position of obedience to His word that you once held. In the end, rewards and losses will result based on your conduct, but your salvation will never again come into question.

Heavenly Father, I truly know what mercy is. Before meeting Jesus, I had a large debt written to my account, and yet You cancelled it in Christ. Since that day, I have failed You more times than there are stars in the sky… and yet because of Christ, I remain Your child. How marvelous to have such a relationship with my Creator. Surely mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed. Hallelujah and Amen.

Saturday, 26 October 2013

For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins. Romans 11:27

As with the preceding verse, this one needs to be taken in context. It is tied directly to the thought of verse 26 and should be read as a whole –

“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.'”

More than just a quote tied to another quote from a different passage of Scripture as Paul often does, the citing of verse 27 follows directly after the previous quote from Isaiah 59 which was used in verse 26. Here is the entire original citation from that chapter –

“‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,’ Says the Lord. ‘As for Me,’ says the Lord, ‘this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.'” Isaiah 59:20, 21

Paul is stating that what was spoken to Isaiah was future to Isaiah’s time. But even more, it was future to Paul’s time as well. As Paul is the apostle to the gentiles and because his epistles are doctrine for the church age, then “when I take away their sins” must be yet future to us even now. National Israel will be delivered, according to God’s “covenant with them.”

If one reads commentaries from great scholars of the 17th – 19th centuries, it is evident that they, long before Israel was re-established as a national entity, felt that this was speaking of a future time of Jewish acceptance of Christ. Albert Barnes felt that “God will doubtless convert the Jews, as he does the Gentiles, by human means, and in connection with the prayers of his people…” He couldn’t foresee this as an actual return to the land, nor an actual return of Jesus to them, but he understood that the Jews would be converted in a massive way in the future.

Adam Clarke said that, “It may not be amiss to subjoin here a collection of those texts in the Old Testament that seem to point out a restoration of the Jewish commonwealth to a higher degree of excellence than it has yet attained.” After stating this, he cites 32 Old Testament passages which he says specifically applied to national Israel and which will be enjoyed by them in the future. He understood, because the Bible teaches, that these promises were never intended for the church.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown states the following concerning this: “Those who believe that there are no predictions regarding the literal Israel in the Old Testament, that stretch beyond the end of the Jewish economy, are obliged to view these quotations by the apostle as mere adaptations of Old Testament language to express his own predictions [Alexander on Isaiah, &c.]. But how forced this is, we shall presently see.” These scholars clearly understood that replacement theology is “forced” and unnatural. It is a contrivance of man and not of God.

The list of such scholars continues on with the common element among them that they believed in a literal interpretation of these passages. The main principle concerning such interpretation is, “If a passage can be taken literally then it should be taken literally, unless there is a compelling reason for it not to be so taken.” Unfortunately, though this is a principle element of biblical interpretation, and even though there is no “compelling reason” for dismissing a literal interpretation of Romans 11:26 & 27, far too many people simply dismiss the passage as “spiritual.”

And this, inexcusably, continues on even after the miraculous return of Israel the people to Israel the land. Their current state of disobedience is irrelevant. The covenant was from God and therefore it is inviolable. He is working in the world, preparing them in advance, for the fulfillment of these sure promises.

Life application: Romans 11 is to be literally interpreted. Accept and believe.

Alone in a sea of trouble and turmoil – Israel is becoming more and more isolated as each new day dawns. I fear that even the president of her strongest ally can be counted among those who are working against her for evil. But through Jesus I am Your child, O God. As Your child I pray for Israel, I support Israel, and I petition You on behalf of Israel. Thank You for hearing my prayer for them. Amen.

Friday, 25 October 2013

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;… Romans 11:26

Care and context need to be taken when considering Romans 11:26; care in interpretation of the word “all” in particular, and context as derived from the preceding verses. Without this, many have gone ahead making unfounded assumptions and claims. Paul has just revealed a mystery; a point which was not known until it was disclosed by him. That mystery was “that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”

This is known to us now because Paul revealed it. Because we know this, and because we have 2000 years of church history behind us, we can make unfounded assumptions such as inserting the church, or a sect of the church, into this verse. But the context demands that Paul is speaking about the broken off branches which are Israel; the Jewish people.

Secondly, “all” does not always mean “all” in the ultimate sense. One of countless such examples is found in Mark 1:5 –

“Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”

Twice in this verse, it says “all.” All from Judea and Jerusalem went out and were baptized by John the Baptist. Just imagine the lines! But in Luke 7:30 it says this –

“But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”

So,,, not “all” were really baptized by John the Baptist. “All” meant something other than “every single person.” Instead, it was intended as hyperbole. It was given to show the magnificent number of people who heard and responded; the lines were long, but not everyone was in them. This type of wording is to be found throughout the Bible and on numerous occasions. Even with such words as “all” and “every” there must be a consideration of intent and of context.

Therefore, when Paul says, “And so all Israel will be saved…” it must be taken in such a light. He has already shown that “branches were broken off.” This state has continued for 2000 years. None of the broken off branches are saved. Nor are any which remain separated from the holy root at this time. Nor will those branches be saved which haven’t been re-grafted in during the tribulation period. “All Israel” is speaking of a specific time in the future. And Paul shows us when this will be in his citing of Isaiah 59:20 –

“‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,’ Says the Lord.”

After the time of the “fullness of the Gentiles” and upon completion of the “times of the Gentiles” Jesus will return to Israel and deliver them. Zechariah 12 details this and it is only speaking of Israel the people in Israel the land. The church was still a mystery at the time of Zechariah’s writings; a mystery not fully understood even at the time of the ascension of Christ. At that momentous event, we see the following discourse between the apostles and Jesus –

“Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.'” Acts 1:6, 7

Even after their forty days of instruction from the Lord, the apostles were still thinking of and expecting the Kingdom Age when Christ would rule from Zion. This is a specific time which is detailed throughout the Old Testament, but is highlighted, for example, in passages such as Isaiah 2:2-4 –

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.”

Jesus didn’t tell the apostles that they had misinterpreted those verses. Nor did He tell them that the church now assumed this role. They expected Israel to be the head of the nations and the law to go forth from her and Jesus didn’t correct them on this; it remained an unchanged tenet of their belief system. Instead of correcting them, Jesus merely told them to get about the business of spreading the gospel and leave times and dates to the Father.

The New Covenant, promised to Israel in Jeremiah 31:31, will be realized on a national scale at some point in the future, but there are still seven years allocated to Israel (see Daniel 9:24-27) before this occurs where they will live under law. All Israel will be saved in the sense that the nation will be delivered at Christ’s second coming. They will triumph over their enemies and the world will enter a new age and a new dispensation (see Revelation 19 for the exciting details).

Life application: When reading the Bible, context and intent must be considered. Proper application of these and other principles will ensure a right understanding of what God is doing in human history. Running ahead without such care can only lead to confusion and even heresy.

Lord God, what You speak stems from Your very being. There is no confusion between the two and there is nothing less important about what Your word says concerning You than there is about who You are. May my doctrine be pure and may I never fail to handle Your word with the minutest care and the awesome fear that it deserves. Thank You for Your word. Amen.

Thursday, 24 October 2013

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Romans 11:25

Once again Paul introduces his thought with “For…” This will be given to expand on what he said early about “how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” The “natural branches” are the Jewish people. Verse 24 hinted that they will be brought back into the spiritual graces of God; verse 25 shows us this explicitly.

In order to convey this notion, he is going to use several key words to highlight the important nature of what is being relayed – “ignorant,” “mystery,” “wise,” “blindness,” and “fullness.” And so he begins with “For I do not desire…” this is an introduction to tell us that what he is about to say is important. He states it in the negative to highlight what he in fact does desire.

“Brethren” is declared to show us that this is a matter which is directed to the body of believers. It is this group, his “brethren” which he desires to impart this important knowledge to. As this is an epistle intended for the duration of the church age, Paul’s use of “brethren” then includes us, even to this day. It is not something which is fulfilled yet.

“That you should be ignorant” is a particular phrase that Paul uses to stress the importance of knowing, comprehending, and accepting a particular point. To see other such matters which Paul deems likewise important, refer to Romans 1:13; 1 Corinthians 10:1 & 12:1; 2 Corinthians 1:8; and 1 Thessalonians 4:13. In this case, we are asked to not be ignorant of a particular “mystery.”

In the New Testament, a “mystery” is something which was hidden in ages past, but is now revealed. Explaining a mystery doesn’t necessarily mean that it is yet fulfilled, such as in the case of this verse, but that it is disclosed to now understand what will someday come about. The rapture is an excellent example of such a mystery (see 1 Corinthians 15:51). Concerning the Jews, the Gentiles, the Church Age, and the Kingdom Age, Paul will now reveal this mystery.

Next he states the reason for the mystery’s disclosure – “lest you (meaning the gentiles) should be wise in your own opinion.” This is referring back to the overall thought of verses 19-24. We are not to be haughty over the Jews because we are wild branches grafted into the holy tree. They are natural branches. We can easily be broken off again; they can easily be grafted in again. Etc. Because of these things, we are not to be wise in our own opinion.

And the explanation for this is because “blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” It is a lot of information, but the key word here is “until.” There is something future to the time of Paul’s writings, and even future to us now (as explained above concerning epistles intended for the church age) which is relevant to his discourse on the state of Jewish believers. “Blindness in part” shows us that it is only a portion of the whole. Be it a large portion or a small portion, there are exemptions. “Has happened…” explains that the blindness pertains to Israel in part and that it was in effect at the time of Paul’s letter; a time very early in the church age and even prior to the destruction of the temple and the dispersion of the Jews.

“Until” shows us that this blindness will continue unabated for a specific amount of time. When that time is reached, then the partial blindness of Israel will end. And that will come about when “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” The fullness of the gentiles is speaking of a set duration of time and a set number of people.

God is building a temple, with people as “living stones” in that temple. An architect plans the construction of a building to the minutest detail: dimensions, amount of materials, placement of things, time until completion, etc. God, who is infinitely wise, has every aspect of His temple contemplated. When the set portion of gentiles are brought into the fold, there will be a removal of the blinders from the Jewish people.

The “fullness of the Gentiles” is not the same as the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) although there is an overlapping of the two. The times of the Gentiles began when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, razed the temple, and exiled the Jews to Babylon. Since then, foreign powers have ruled over Jerusalem. This has continued until today. Even though Jerusalem is under Jewish control, the Temple Mount remains under the authority of the Muslims. And though a temple will again be built on the Temple Mount which will exist through the Tribulation Period (Revelation 11:1, 2), there will still be a defiling Gentile element to it. This is probably referring to the Al Aqsa Mosque which is there now and which may continue to stand side-by-side with the temple.

In contrast, the “fullness of the Gentiles” is speaking of the Church Age and the grafting in of Gentile believers. Although this technically began at Pentecost as is recorded in Acts 2, it actually started in Acts 8 with the Holy Spirit coming upon those in Samaria and in Acts 10 with the conversion of the household of Cornelius. It really picked up steam at the calling of Paul and with the introduction of His ministry. These key passages in Acts show the transition of the focus from the Jews to the Gentiles.

Life application: No, prophecy isn’t fulfilled and the church hasn’t replaced Israel.

Heavenly Father, I am so excited about the prospect of spending eternity with You. When I read the news, it’s usually bad. At times, I wake up feeling crummy. When I get tired, I get cranky. Yes, there is also fun, times when I feel great, and even good news once in a while, but I cannot wait for the day when there is just wonder and delight from moment to moment as I behold Your glory for all eternity. I just can’t wait for that day. Amen.