 Okay, just waiting for the lecture to start. I mean start recording still says, okay, it's on. Okay. Good. Welcome back everyone. So we are looking at Romans chapter 10 verses 14 to 21, Romans 10, 14 to 21. So what the Apostle Paul has taken us through is he's pointed us, he's highlighted a passage from the Old Testament and shown how that applies to us, that the principle applies to us in the New Testament, emphasizing that the commandment has been replaced with the person of Christ. And but the same principle continues, which is believe in your heart, confess with your mouth, the word is in your heart, the word is in your mouth, that is the word of faith which we preach, and that's how we're supposed to live all the time. And in the New Testament, it's the message of Christ that we keep in our hearts and we proclaim with our mouths. And then he says, verses 11 to 13, hey, this message is for everybody because anyone can call on the name of the Lord and be saved. Anyone can do this. Anyone can believe in their heart and acknowledge Jesus Christ with their mouth, and they will be saved and experience who Christ is in their lives. And it's for whoever who will call on the name of the Lord. And you know, he's continuing throughout this chapter to quote from the Old Testament. So then he, verse 14, he says, but you know, there is a problem. People cannot call on someone if they haven't believed in him and they cannot believe if they haven't heard because he says to us in verse 17, you know, faith comes by hearing the message of Christ, the faith comes by hearing the word of God. You've got to hear the message, only then you can believe. So how can you believe if you haven't heard? And how can you hear without a preacher? Somebody's got to go and tell them. And how will they preach unless they are sent to verse 15? That means somebody's got to say go, you know, send them out. And so, you know, verses 14 and 15 are classic texts used to encourage people for missions. You know, look, we have to go out and proclaim the gospel, have to go out and share the gospel because people cannot believe in someone they've not heard. They cannot hear without a preacher and they cannot go preach unless they are sent. And so, you know, it covers the whole range of missions, those who sent and those who go and those who proclaim. And he's quoting, you know, from Isaiah, and this is in verse 15, he says, you know, because even Isaiah said, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel. But verse 16, he says, but of course, you know, not all have obeyed the gospel just because you go and preach doesn't mean they will respond to it or say yes to the gospel because Isaiah himself said, you know, who has believed our report is questioned. In other words, what's implied is not everybody who hears will believe. And so Paul is very aware of that. But still our responsibility is to go and preach. We have to go and preach because it comes by hearing the message. But not everybody who hears the message is going to believe is what Paul is telling us there in verses 14 to 17. And then he kind of goes through this, you know, he asks these, once again, these rhetorical questions concerning Israel, he says, you know, but haven't all of them heard? This is verse 18. Haven't all of them heard? He says, yeah. You know, again, he's quoting from the old testaments. The psalm has already said that, you know, the word has gone out to the ends of the earth, at which people have gone out with the message. But verse 19, another question, but didn't Israel know this? I mean, didn't Israel know this truth, this gospel? He said, yes. Israel already knew this. But and now verse 19 and 20, Paul begins to set the stage for what is coming up in chapter 11, which is that God has taken the gospel out to the ends of the world. He's taken the message out to the Gentiles in order to provoke Israel, in order to provoke the Jews or, you know, like, wake them up to the truth. So it's very interesting. The truth was given to the Jews, went out from the Jews to the Gentiles, and now God is using the Gentiles to awaken the Jews. He uses the word provoke, but you can understand it in the sense of awaken them to the truth, the very truth that actually went out from the Jews to the Gentiles. So that's what he says here in verse 19. He says, hey, Moses said already, I will provoke you to those, to jealousy, jealousy. But those were not a nation, but those are not a people. That means I'll use the Gentiles to stir you up in, you know, towards God, of course. And verse 20, he quotes us as saying, you know, those who did not seek me, once again referring to the Gentiles, that they will find God and God would reveal himself to the Gentiles. So what Paul is pointing out here is this, that the gospel is being preached, it has gone out to the Gentiles, but this is something God already spoke of before time, that he would do this. And part of what he's accomplishing is that through the Gentiles is awakening the Jews to who Christ is. And verse 21, he says, but you know, third Jews of this nation of Israel, they've been, you know, this disobedient people, these people have been hard, who have not been willing to see or listen to the message of Christ. So what is he, so what's he setting us up for? In chapter 11, he's going to show how God is reaching the Gentiles. But through that, he is also trying to awaken the Jews and then eventually he's going to bring everybody together as one nation or one people in Christ. So that's chapter 11. But he set the stage here. The gospel is for everybody. The gospel is reaching everybody. Israel is aware of the gospel. It's not that they didn't, it went out from them. But the Gentiles are actually receiving the gospel. God is manifesting himself to the Gentiles. They're receiving them, receiving the gospel. But Israel is still being hard and stubborn towards Christ. So that's the current or the present state. The Gentiles are receiving Israel is hard and stubborn towards the message of Christ. What next? We go into chapter 11. Okay. I trust everyone is with me. So let's pick up in chapter 11 because it's actually a continuation of what he has been telling us. Let's read Romans chapter 11 verses 1 through 6, please. Romans 11, 1 through 6. How does he continue and get towards what he wants to tell us? Romans 11, 1 through 6. Anyone can read it. I ask then, did God reject his own people? Certainly not. I myself, I am in Israel, Israelite, at the center of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he chose from the beginning. You know what the scripture says in the passage where Elijah pleads with God against Israel. Lord, they have killed your prophet and torn down your elders. I am the only one lived and they are trying to kill me. What answer did God give him? I have kept for myself seven thousand men whom have not worshiped the false God, Baal. It is the same way now. There is a small number left of those whom God has chosen because of his grace. His choice is based on his grace, not on what they have done, for if God's choice were based on what people do, then his grace would not be real grace. Romans 11, 1 through 6. Paul then asks the question, okay, you know, we are now in this situation where the Gentiles are receiving the gospel to Jews or Israel is still stubborn. So he starts off with another question, Romans 11, 1. So has God rejected his own people because, you know, they're stubborn, they're not receiving the gospel. Has God, you know, cast them off? Then he says, certainly not. And he says, look, I am actually a Jew. I'm actually of the nation of Israel. I'm a Jew and I'm of the tribe of Benjamin. Look, I am a Jew. And yet God has not cast away his people. Then he quotes an oldest incident where Elijah tells God, God, I'm the only one who was not, you know, bowed my knee to Baal. And then God responds to Elijah and says, Elijah, actually, you know, I've got 7,000 people in the city. You're not the only one. I got a remnant. I got a people there who refused to bow to Baal. So he uses that incident there to say, look, in a similar way, even today, that even though it seems like there's a widespread rejection of the gospel among the Jews, yet among them, God has a people who said yes. And Paul says, you know, look, I'm one of them. I'm one of them who said yes to the gospel. And so he says, in verse five and six, there are people who have been chosen by grace. Now, again, that word election comes up to elect or to choose beforehand, to elect or select. Those who have been selected. But then remember, and then he emphasizes in verse six that this is by grace, not by works. That means these are people who have been saved. And these are people who have embraced the grace of God and not tried to get it there by their own works. But God has a people who've said yes to his grace. Okay. Now, that word election or selection, again, must be understood the same way. You know, we interpreted it in chapter nine, which is God's choosing or God's selection is not a partial selection of people eliminating or discriminating against others. Now, the invitation is given to everyone. Those who say yes, they become the chosen. So many are called or let's say all are called. Those who say yes to the call, they become the chosen should be understood that way. Because he's already told us whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. He's already told us whoever believes on the Lord, whoever. That means this is for everybody. But those who say yes to the message of Christ, the gospel of Christ, they become the elect selected chosen ones because they say yes to the grace of God. We should understand it in that manner. So what Paul is telling us in verse Romans 11 1 to 6 is look, it doesn't mean God has given up on Israel just because on a large scale, there is a rejection of the gospel. No, God has not given up on them because even among them, there are those who have said yes to the grace of God. And Paul says, I am one of them. He's pointing to himself. Look like me. There are others that they have said yes to the grace of God. So let's pick up verses 7 through 10. Romans 11 7 through 10, please somebody could read it. So verse 7 through 10, what Paul is saying is this. So Israel as a nation, they missed it. They haven't got what they were seeking. What are they seeking? They are seeking righteousness, but they're seeking righteousness to establish it through the law. So Israel has not obtained what it seeks. That means as a nation, as a people, they have not been able to get righteousness. But the elect, that means these chosen people, these people who have said yes to the gospel, they received it, the righteousness which is by faith. And what about the rest? He says the rest are blinded. And so then he quotes two passages from the Old Testament talking the fact that in verse 8, God has given them a spirit of stupa. That means it's like slumber. They're just not awake to what is happening. They are blinded. And then he also quotes David from Psalm that their eyes are darkened. So he says, the elect have received, but the rest of the people are blinded. Now, what we must understand is that it is not that God has blinded them. It's not like God is causing them to, or preventing them from understanding or receiving the gospel. But where does this blindness come from? Or what causes this blindness? We can think of two sources. One, of course, is our own choosing to depart from the truth. That means for various reasons, we choose not to see the light. John wrote, he says, men loved darkness rather than the light. So one is our own predisposition. We choose to go away from the truth as people. And that's when God gives us up. He says, okay, look, that's the way you're going. You go. He gives us up to our own choosing, our own ways. So that's one source of blindness, which we chose to go away from the truth. The second source of blindness we know is from the devil. He blinds the minds of those who believe. He puts that curtain of blindness on people. So when Paul is saying, you know, God has given them a spirit of stupa. Romans 11 verse 8. Would God be self-contradictory? Would he, on the one hand, say, I want you to receive my son and the message of Christ, and then would he then work against himself and prevent people from receiving the message of Christ? Would he do that? Would he, you know, work against himself? Would he be self-contradictory? Definitely not. So when Romans 11 verse 8, when it says, God has given them a spirit of stupa, eyes they should not see and ears they should not hear to this very day. It should be understood in the same way that we spoke of Pharaoh when we said God hardened his heart. Romans 9. So did God harden his heart or did God allow him to harden his own heart? Because if God hardened his heart, then God would be unjust and unfair to punish him and his people. If God made Judas' sin. So, you know, we can ask a related question. Who sinned? Did God make Judas' sin or did Judas make the choice to sin and betray Christ? Because if God made Judas' sin and betray Christ, then Judas would say, I am the greatest savior because if I hadn't done that, Christ would not have died for people and people would not be saved. So Judas is the greatest savior and Judas would have the best place in heaven. Did God make Judas do it? Or did God speak ahead of time and say, there's a man who will do it, who will betray Jesus and did Judas make his choice to betray Christ? The answer is, of course, Judas made his choice. And when he realized this mistake, he went and hung himself. So it wasn't that God was making Judas to what he did. God allowed him to do it. God allowed Pharaoh to harden his own heart. And in that sense, you know, it says, okay, God hardened Pharaoh's heart or just let him go that way. So we have to understand Romans 11-8 in that same sense. When it says God has given them a spirit of stupa. So why would God prevent them from knowing Christ if he really wants them to know Christ? So we cannot say that God is working opposing himself, you know. So we have to understand Romans 11-8 correctly, that God gave them up. You know, like we see in Romans chapter one, we just quickly cross-referenced that. We see this in Romans one, verse 24, verse 26, and again in verse 28, Romans one, 24, 26, and 28. It says, God gave them up to uncleanness. Verse 26, God gave them to wild passions. Verse 28, God gave them over to a debased mind. Did God want it for them? No. But why did he give them up to them? Give them up to these things, because that was their choosing. And he said, that's the way you want to go. Go. Was that his best? Is that what he wanted for them? No. So in that same sense, when it says here, God has given them a spirit of stupa, it has to be understood that they chose darkness, they chose to reject Christ, they chose their own way, and God said, fine. So in that sense, we understand, so from what Paul is saying in verse 7 through 10, Israel is not able to obtain what it wants, that is righteousness. But there are some among Israel who've received it by grace. The rest are in blindness, in darkness, and they are there because God has let them go that way. They chose to go that way. Then we pick up in verse 11, Romans 11, and let's read verse 11 to 14, Romans 11, 11 to 14, just another section. Somebody could read that for us. I say then, just humble that they should fall, certainly not. But to their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now, if their fall is riches for the world and their failure, riches the Gentiles. How much more their fullness? For I speak to you Gentiles, in so much as I am an apostle to the Gentiles. I magnify my ministry. I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. But if their being is their weak concerning of the world. So Romans 11, 11 to, I think we just include verse 15 here, it's fine. So Romans 11, 11 to 15. So Paul is saying, so have they stumbled that they should fall? Meaning it's kind of asking a similar question. Verse one, he said, did God cast away Israel? He says, no, God hasn't cast them away because there are some people among them who have experienced grace. But then the rest are in blindness. So next question. So have they all just fallen? That means like, that's it. It's the end because they are in blindness and they are in a place where they cannot be brought back, have they fallen? He says, certainly not. He says, their sin. So, you know, it's very interesting here that word fall. Have they fallen or fallen? That means have they trespassed and they've gone out of the way. So they're being in blindness again. So that kind of corroborates how we explained the earlier verses. Have they fallen? Have they trespassed? He says, but through their fall or through their trespass. So it's very clear. It's their trespass, their fall. It's not God has put them in blindness, but their blindness is their trespass. It's their falling. Okay. So Romans 11, 11 says, look, they are trespassing. They have gone out of the way. They are in darkness. They are in blindness, but through their trespass, God, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. So what he's saying is this, look, they aren't sin or their trespass, they're in darkness, but what is God doing? Salvation has come to the Gentiles and God is going to use that to awaken them, to get them back, to provoke them. God is going to use that. And so he says, look, if they, verse 12, if they're falling away has been of so much benefit to the Gentiles, their failure has brought so much riches to the Gentiles, so much blessing. What do you think will happen if they get back in line? How much greater blessing. The implication is how much more the Gentiles will be blessed is what he's saying. And then he says, you know, this is what I really love to do. Although I am a apostle to the Gentiles, what I really love to do is somehow awaken, provoke to jealousy. Verse 14, awaken my own people through what I'm doing. So it says, you know, if any verse 14, if by any means I may provoke jealousy, those who are of my own flesh, that is the people of Israel, the Jews, and bring them and save them. So what Paul is saying is this, they are in darkness, they have chosen that, but the gospel has come to the Gentiles. The Gentiles are blessed, but what God is doing is that through that he's going to awaken these people. And he says, just imagine, if they're falling away, has blessed the Gentiles, how much more blessing will come once they are restored or brought to fame? That's in verse 15. He says, what if they're being cast away? Is it reconciling the world? What will their acceptance be but life from the dead? That means, you know, if they are going to come through the faith, it's this great grand resurrection that will take place. And in fact, that's what is going to take place. There's going to be this great revival of this. We're expecting it as Revelation even talks about it. There's going to be this great in-gathering of souls from among the people of Israel just before the final resurrection from the dead. So what Paul is telling us is this, God hasn't given up on Israel. He hasn't given up on them. They are in darkness. Some of them are being saved, but right now the gospel is gone to the Gentiles. The Gentiles are being blessed and if Israel gets saved, it'll be even a greater blessing to the Gentiles. And then he develops this further. Let's read from verse 16, Romans chapter 11 and verse 16 was, yeah, sorry, Romans 11, 16 to 25. Romans 11, 16 to 25. Somebody could read that please. For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken up and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them and with them became a partaker of the root and thickness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, branches were broken up that I might be grafted in. Well said, because of unbelief they were broken up and you stand by it. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he may not spare you either. Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God on those who felt severity, but towards you goodness. If you continue in his goodness, otherwise you also will be cut off. And then also if they do not continue in unbelief will be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? One more verse, verse 25. For I do not desire present that you should be ignorant of this mystery, least 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. Thank you. So, very interesting how Paul presents this truth to us. He is painting this beautiful picture of the olive tree. And what he's presenting to us is imagine two olive trees. One is this cultivated olive tree. So, an olive tree that's part of a cultivated area. It's being taken care of. And then there's a wild olive tree, something that's growing out in the wild. And what he's saying is, he's saying, you know, this cultivated olive tree represents what God himself is doing. Right? First came the and the roots and then came the olive tree and it was growing. So, they're presenting Israel. So, the olive tree, olive tree representing Israel. And then he says, but some of them didn't believe. So, because of their unbelief, he cut them off. And then he took some branches from the wild olive tree that those who believe that is the gentiles and he grafted them in, put them in, made them part of what he's doing. But then he says, you know, don't boast that you've been grafted in. Because remember, the tree standing there because of the roots and the roots, the origins were the Jews. It started there with Abraham, right? It started there as with the Jews. So, don't boast as though we are superior or better than the Jews. No. They were an unbelief that is verse 20. They were those who weren't with the cut off. And we came in by faith. And so verse 20 says, you know, we stand by faith. And that's how we are in. But don't become proud. Instead, verse 22, he says, you know, but I want you to consider the goodness and severity of God. So, there is both God's goodness and God's severity. And there are two sides. God is God of truth, but he's also God of justice. He's a God of goodness, but he's God of severity. That means, you know, God is good to those who are responding in faith, but then to those who are unbelief, he has to deal with them in severity. But then he says, even among the Jews, he's able to bring them in if they will respond in faith. If they don't continue in unbelief, verse 23. That means, even the Jews, if they turn in faith, he will put them back in, craft them in. And so Paul says, you know, that's verse 24. He says, think about how, you know, how God is grafting the wild olive tree, the branches of the wild olive tree into the main olive tree. And he says, look, verse 25, I don't want you to be ignorant of this mystery. So that means this is a secret that God is revealing now that the plan that's going on on the earth is this. God is bringing in branches of the wild olive tree into the cultivated olive tree. He's integrating them, bringing them, making them part of what he's doing, his original plan. But he's doing this, and notice verse 25, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. That means God has permitted, has allowed Israel to be in the state of blindness until Gentiles are brought in and grafted in. And then God is going to wrap this up by awakening the Jews. So he says, this is a mystery. That means this is a secret that has been revealed. This is what God is doing on the earth right now. That is, it's the fullness is waiting for the fullness of the Gentiles. And as you say, okay, let all the earth, that all peoples of the earth come in and become part of my plan is gathering them and grafting. So the picture here is he's grafting the branches of the wild olive tree into the cultivated olive tree. That's the plan that the great plan that God began. He's getting them into that plan. And then he's going to go after Israel. So that's the remaining part. Let's read verse 26 to 36, please, verses 26 to 36. Somebody could read that. And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, the deliverer will come out of you and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant with them. When I take away their sins concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers for the gift and the calling of the God are evocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have not obtained mercy through their disobedience. Even so, these also have now been disobedient that through the mercy shown you, they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience that he might have mercy on all. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unreachable are his judgments and his ways past finding out for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has become his concealer or who has first given to him and it shall be repaid to him for of him and through him and to him are all things to be glory forever. Amen. So Paul brings this section to a conclusion by saying verse 26 and so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, the deliverer will come. So he's quoting from the Old Testament again, that's verse 26. The deliverer will come from Zion and God has said, I will take away their sins. So of course when he says all Israel, it doesn't mean every individual what he's saying is salvation will impact or touch the people powerfully once again. Those who believe will be saved. So this is the mystery. How has God working with the Jews and the Gentiles? The gospel came to the Jews. From the Jews it went out to the Gentiles. Right now the Jews are still stubborn and not opening up to the gospel of Christ or the message of Christ. The gospel is going to the Gentiles and people all over the world are receiving the gospel. But God is waiting for the fullness of the Gentiles. That means to see, you know, the many of the Gentiles respond is grafting them in. He's bringing them in and making the Gentiles part of what he has started out with the Jews. And then ultimately it's going to be back here. He's going to use this to touch the nation of Israel or impact the Jews. And he said all Israel will be saved. People, the Jewish people, will wake up and receive the gospel. So he says right now verse 28, right now, as far as the gospel is concerned, they may be your enemies. But concerning God's choosing, they are beloved. That means God is still, they are like, they are the cultivated tree. They are the root through which God's plan is still work at work. So as far as God's purposes, God's election, God's calling, God's choosing, look, they are the root and they are the main cultivated tree through which God has been working out his plans and purposes. Then verse 29 is that classic verse. It says, the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. So God doesn't change his mind on his calling, his choosing, his gifting, his purpose. He doesn't change his mind. So when God has called somebody, you know, he's there for it. He doesn't change his mind. And so, you know, it's that, it's something even for us that, you know, in God's working in our lives as individuals, when God has called you and God has chosen you, he's not going to change his mind about it. He's not going to cast you off. He's not going to abandon you. But some, he's going to work out his purpose in your life and mine. He's going to do that. So that's the wonderful assurance we get there from Romans 11 and verse 39. And so he sums up by saying, you know, think about this, that they are disobedient, but through the mercy God is showing to the Gentiles, they are going to come and experience the mercy of God. So even though God has, you know, let them go, committed them to disobedience for now, the mercy is showing to the Gentiles. It's actually going to get them, get the Jewish people back to what he's doing. And so basically, verses 33 to 36 is like a, is Paul just celebrating this mystery that's been revealed, oh, the wisdom of God, or how wonderful God is in his working, that this is God at work and his ways are unsearchable. His ways are beyond our understanding that what God is doing in the nations is actually all coming together to his plans, his purpose. It's the unfolding of his plans, purpose is all actually coming together for everybody, the Gentiles and the Jews to experience the mercy of God. And so Paul says, you know, how wonderful are his ways, his judgments and his ways are there beyond our understanding. And then he quotes from the Old Testament again, who has known the mind of the Lord, who can instruct him, who can teach him all this. I mean, he's the one, he's the master mind behind what is happening. So to sum up, you know, God has not given up on the Jews or the Gentiles. He is still at work. And among the Jews, there are still some people who are responding to the grace of God. He calls them the remnant. Right now, it's the time for the fullness of the Gentiles. God is gathering the Gentiles, the wild, all the tree, grafting them and bringing them in. But the mercy that he's extending to the Gentiles, he's going to cause it to awaken the Jews so that they too can come and experience Jesus Christ. And when that happens, he says, how great a resurrection, I mean, what a great day it'll be, because it's going to result in the resurrection from the dead, indicating that, look, it's coming to, it's all building up to this great grand resurrection time, resurrection day. Right. So that's Romans 9, 10 and 11. What is God doing with the church and with the Jews? I hope it's clear. Any questions, any thoughts before we close off today? Or you can think about it as well. We can ask questions next week. I know it's just three more minutes, but any questions, any thoughts? It's all clear, I think. Okay. All right. I see your comments in the chat. Sounds good. So we will pick up from Romans 12 next week. And interestingly from Romans 12, he gets back to addressing the church. So Romans 9, 11, 12 was trying to explain to the church what God is doing with Israel. Then Romans 12 onwards is back to speaking to believers about Christian life and living and what they have to do. Okay. So let's just wrap up and close in prayer. Could one of us please pray and then we will dismiss. Father, we thank you for this time, Lord. We thank you, Lord, that you continue to teach us through your word. I pray even as we continue to learn that you will abhor your wisdom and your knowledge, Father, open up our eyes to the hidden things of your word, Father. I pray and Holy Spirit help us for these words to bear fruit in our lives, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. All right. Thank you, everyone. I enjoy the rest of the day. I'll see you all in the next class. Thank you. Bye now. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.