 If you are a human being, if you've got blood in your bodies, if you've got air in your lungs, if you're a human, you're going to have a tendency to do everything and look at everything from a selfish standpoint. Not that it makes you selfish, but you just look at things from a selfish standpoint. You know when you're hungry, you don't know or think about when the next person is hungry because that's just not you. You don't look at things through their eyes. Similarly, we do the same thing with our scriptures. Not necessarily intentionally, but because it's us, we see things from our own standpoint. You want to resist the tendency. Matter of fact, you want to try to discipline yourself not to do so. Thinking about not that the Bible is written to you, but as we say, the Bible is not written to you, but it's written for you. Well, you want to kind of do that step back in a humble fashion. Look at the scriptures and see what it's talking about. Remember, we want to do things from the standpoint of looking at the Bible as a whole. Not trying to necessarily memorize scriptures or different points or doctrine points, but memorize the entire story. What's being stated? What's going on? So how we do so is to make sure that we have a good sound hermeneutic. That's going to be our emphasis going forward. How we read the text, how we read the scripture. One of the issues that we can kind of point to in scripture, point out people's inconsistencies in their hermeneutics, is how we view Israel. There are those good loving brothers and sisters who believe that Israel is now the church. The church has replaced Israel. I don't want to use that term, but that the church is the new Israel. We are a spiritual Israel. So what I want to do is let's test that, but let's do so using our hermeneutics. So if we go to Romans chapter 11, we're going to go back through some other parts of Romans, but right now I'm just Romans chapter 11. And one of the passages that comes up in Romans chapter 11 is verse 26 where it says, And so all Israel will be saved just as it is written. Well, what does that mean by all Israel? Well, some folks will take that to mean that Israel is referring to since all of Israel, it must mean the church. So all of the church, which is now replaced Israel will be saved. The problem is we don't necessarily have a text for that. I won't go into that just yet because we don't have time for that. But I want to go through this passage and I want to see if you can see how sound, consistent hermeneutics can identify what's happening here. In verse 25 he says, I do not want you brethren to be uninformed of this mystery so that you will not be wise in your own estimation that a partial hardening has happened to Israel. Notice I haven't highlighted until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved. Well, a couple of things. This is how we can even, this might even help to show someone's lack of consistency as we go through the Scriptures because if a person were to take that Israel here is to mean in verse 26 is to mean that it's referring to the church, spiritual Israel, well, we've got a problem and we'll show some inconsistency with just one verse prior because he says a partial hardening has happened to who? To Israel. Is this Israel different than the Israel in verse 26? Israel in 25 cannot be referring to a spiritual Israel. Why? Because he says this hardening is happening. Let's assume that it is spiritual Israel. This partial hardening is happening to spiritual Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved just as is written. Wait a second. Well, if this is spiritual Israel, well then the fullness of the Gentiles is coming in. Aren't these also believers? These are going to be actual believers. So when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, come into what? Into faith, into the body. Then who is this spiritual Israel in verse 25 that's been hardened? It cannot be that the church has been hardened. There's no such statement as that. That can be found in the Bible. So this is clearly speaking about national ethnic Israel. And so a hardening has happened to national ethnic Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so, and if we go over to the Greek side, we'll see Kai Hutos. And so, and also even yet, but here it is Hutos. So in thus, in thus, so thus in this way. How are you going to look at that word? It means the same. All of Israel will be saved. Now let's continue. He says, Also Israel. He is going to remove ungodliness from them. This is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. Well, so where's he quoting from? He's quoting from Jeremiah as well as Isaiah 59. So Jeremiah 31, we talked about this new covenant with Israel. And so this is what he's hearken to. So it could not be taken that this is spiritual Israel. It's could not be meaning that this is the church that that the church has replaced Israel or has become. I know some people don't like that term replaced, but that the church has become Israel or the spiritual Israel. Because we have a problem and inconsistent problem and inconsistent reading in verses 25 and 26. I think the point is made even clearer or wanted if we go back to nine and 10, which we'll do. But in 28 and 29 and 30 and so on, notice how the statement is believed that this is an actual national ethnic Israel is actually solidified from the standpoint of the gospel. They are enemies for your sake. But from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. Which fathers is he speaking of for the sake of the fathers? He's only speaking, he only could be speaking about these Jewish fathers, these Israelites. For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. So what gifts? What calling of God is irrevocable? Well, the gift, the calling of Israel. God has promised that he will save Israel. He will remember his promise that he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. See Leviticus 26-42. And we'll find that he says, so this gift, this calling, they are irrevocable. So he's going to do what he says he's going to do. For just as you were once disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience. So he's speaking of these believers now, the church, particularly these Gentiles. He's speaking to Gentiles about Israel. So for just as you were once disobedient to God, you Gentiles, so to were the Jews, but now have been shown mercy because of there. Who is the there disobedient? Who's the there that's speaking out? Well, Israel's disobedience. So these also now have been disobedient that because of the mercy shown to you. They also now may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that he may show mercy to all. Remember, his whole goal from the very beginning was to show mercy to not just Israel, but also the world. Go back to Genesis 12, 2 and 3. He says that in you all the nation shall be blessed, not just Israel, but all the horses. Actually, the true reading is all of the families of the earth shall be blessed. So all the different national groups shall be blessed, but he's not going to forget his promise regarding Israel. As a matter of fact, he says that because you have disobeyed because you've gone after other guys, which is not a God, you've made me jealous. I'm going to make you jealous. Well, Paul brings this up also in Romans about making Israel jealous. And he's not making spiritual Israel jealous, which is the church by using the church. You're not making the church jealous by the church. So all of this is coming to fruition and we can rest assured that because God makes a promise, he's going to keep the promise. However, he says it, we don't have to bend things or move things to try to make it fit in God's promise. You don't have to do that. You don't have to help God out. God has determined that he is going to save Israel, all of Israel. But he's already stated who actually is all of Israel, true Israel, not the church, but those Jews who are actually national at the Israel who have placed their faith in Christ. That is the true Israel. And he's going to save all of them when in the future, all of them, he's going to make sure that all of them turn back and look at Jesus as their Messiah. Now, so the reason why this is important is because this highlights if a person can come away with thinking that Israel in Romans 9, 10 and 11, particularly 11, if a person come away with thinking that Israel is the church, spiritual Israel, that person can only do so by having an inconsistent hermitage. They read the text one way, and then once they deal with something regarding Israel, then they change it. And why do they do so? Well, one, a selfish reason because they want to see themselves. We didn't want to see ourselves in the Scriptures. We want to do what's called this new phrase, this new term, Narsha Jesus, we want to see ourselves in the text. We want to be the heroes of the Bible. We want to be the ones that are getting blessed. Interestingly enough, we don't want to be the ones that are getting cursed, the ones that are getting punished. We want to be the ones that are receiving blessings. Also another reason why we might read the text differently is because it suits our doctrinal statements. We might have a confession. We might have a statement of belief, a doctrinal affinity. And so we'll make everything, we'll read everything to fit that. If it doesn't fit that, well, then there's something wrong with the text. I might change the way I read it, and I might begin to spiritualize or allegorize a text. And so numbers no longer mean numbers. Names no longer mean names, words no longer mean words. Well, again, we want to do the best we can to be consistent, and I'm challenging everyone else who would disagree. And that's what, and it's fine if you do disagree, to have a literal grammatical historical harmony that keeps you consistent all the way through from Genesis through Revelation. When he says a six-day account in Genesis and reiterates it in Exodus 20, we know it's a literal six-day account. We don't change the way we look at things. We don't change the way we look at numbers. We don't change the way we look at names. We understand even though there are idioms and figures of speech. And so this particular text, Romans 11, 25, and 26, highlights a consistent reading and what can happen if you read it inconsistently to make Israel, in this case, to be spiritual Israel, to be the church. So, hope this has been helpful. Now, what I would like for you guys to do, take your time on this, and I would like for you to go through and try to, if a person agrees or disagrees, that's fine. I am not the arbiter of truth. This is just how I see things. I'm trying to be as consistent the way I've been taught. So what I would like for you to do for your homework, if you want to, again, we want to have fun with this. So you don't have to have it in at a certain point in time. I'm going to ask for it to be done at a certain time. But if you're busy, you've got things going on. You don't have to have it in at a certain time. But it's something that you can look forward to in the future. So if you can't have it done, what I'm asking for you to get it done, well, then fine. It takes you a week, longer, two weeks, a month, two months. If you see this video next year, that doesn't matter. Take your time. Go through it. Discipline yourself to go through it. But as I can promise you, it's going to be beneficial for you in the future. So now here's your homework. Go back and look from chapters 9 to 11 and note, mark, underline, whatever, all of the times that the word Israel is mentioned. And then determine if the Israel that he's speaking of is either national Israel or spiritual Israel. And then why? In this way, you'll be able to determine if Israel is either spiritual Israel that's been spoken of here or if it's national ethnic Israel. And you'll find a consistent theme all throughout Romans 9, 10, 11. So take your time. Have fun. And this time next week, we'll go through your answers. We'll go through the answers together. That is, if you care to submit them again, if you want to submit them to me, I'm looking at all of them at info at smartchristians.org. And we'll go through these. I'll look at yours, get back with you as well. And we'll just have fun just making our way through the scriptures as we become stronger in the text in the Word of God. Amen.