 Well, today we're looking at Romans chapter 11 beginning at verse 17. Let me begin reading here at verse 17 in Romans chapter 11 and I'll read to verse 27 and we'll get into our study Romans chapter 11 beginning at verse 17 reading to verse 27 Paul writes and if some of the branches were broken off and you being a wild olive tree were grafted in among them and And with them became a partaker of the root in the fatness of the olive tree Do not boast against the branches But if you boast remember that you do not support the root But the root supports you you will say then branches were broken off that I might be grafted in well said Because of unbelief they were broken off you stand by faith Do not be a 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 and those who fell severity But toward you goodness if you continue in his goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off They 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 good olive tree How much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not desire brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery Lest you should be wise in your own opinion That hardening in part is happening Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in 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 Now Paul has been speaking concerning Israel chapters 9 10 and 11 speak concerning Israel and so Paul has been speaking referring to natural Israel and At this point he's going to begin to address the Gentiles the non-Jews And as we just read when you boil it down to the basics, he's making it very clear that Gentiles are not self-sufficient He's actually saying to Gentiles don't get proud or think that you've replaced Israel Because you haven't and so Paul is speaking concerning Israel and he's speaking concerning Gentiles And so as he does so in this passage, I want you to notice something with me as as I lay a foundation I want you to notice that Paul Uses the image of an olive tree as he's speaking concerning Israel and the Gentiles in The old and New Testament the olive tree is often used as what would be called a metaphor for the nation of Israel It's one of the agricultural species that represents the nation. It's actually referred to as one The olive tree is referred to as one of the seven fruits of Israel You see that in Deuteronomy in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 8 Where it says Israel's a land of wheat and barley of vines and fig trees and pomegranates a land of olive oil and and honey and So these species that are referred to in Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 8 are what would be called the staples of an Israelite diet as well as Was where they were used in the religious life of Israel in that you would tithe from these particular trees And so he's speaking concerning Israel and the Gentiles. He's using the the image of an olive tree and That's what we'll be looking at as we go through this passage now in verse 16 He had introduced the analogy of the olive tree by speaking of the root. He said if the root is whole he saw the branches So here he's continuing his analogy So in verse 17 again He says and if some of the branches were broken off and you being a wild olive tree were grafted in among them and With them became a partaker of the root and the fatness of the olive tree Do not boast against the branches But if you boast remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you So he begins to speak here concerning the olive trees and all and being grafted in When he speaks about grafting we need to remember that olive trees are Are able to live for centuries When you go to Israel, you'll go into a particular area. It's called the Mount of Olives and In the Mount of Olives there is a particular garden and in this particular garden that has a church We'll enter in and our guide inevitably will point out an olive tree that is About 2,000 years old And he says he will say that tree there Was here during the time of Christ you're looking at a tree. That's 2,000 years old I thought only weeds like live that long, but there's olive tree is that she it's a it's a huge Well-developed olive tree so they can live for centuries But as they age they cease being productive and so what happens is the older branches would be pruned And they could be replaced by the younger more productive branches And so this is what Paul is speaking about now notice in verse 17 He says if some of the branches notice were broken off Now verse 15 spoke of Israel's judgment as being cast away, but here is spoken of as broken off Now when you look at it, we need to remember the Old Testament and In the Old Testament God warned his people that he would judge them if they continued in unbelief and idolatry You need to get into the habit if you don't already have it you need to get into the habit of reading through the Bible and When you pick up and start in Genesis and you just move through the Bible going through that Old Testament You will see entire books that are dedicated to God speaking to the the nation of Israel and how that he's going to have to Bring judgment on them. You'll see so many Statements in the the prophets like Ezekiel and Isaiah and Jeremiah You'll see in 1st and 2nd Kings and various other portions of scripture Where the nation of Israel had a habit of rebelling against God and God speaking to them and God is speaking concerning judgment quite often with the nation and In verse 15 had spoken of Israel's judgment as being cast Being cast away here. He's speaking of them being cast off or broken off And so as an example of God speaking to the nation as an olive tree in in Jeremiah chapter 11 verses 16 and 17 The Lord called your name green olive tree lovely and of good fruit With the noise of a great tumult he has kindled fire on it and its branches are broken For the Lord of hoses who planted you has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah Which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger and offering incense to Baal the false God And so in the Old Testament you see God speaking concerning Israel as an olive tree and also That Israel is going to be judged during the time of Christ Jesus himself in in Matthew 21 verse 43 said therefore I say to you The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it And so the Lord Jesus Christ simply is echoing what has been stated already judgment will come And so in the nation's history though There is a history of rebellion There is also a History of a believing remnant During the time of Jesus there were multitudes who believed in and followed him the church was Largely made up until at least the end of the first century of believing Jews I mean think about it. Jesus came to his own He came to the nation of Israel. He was born of a Jewish mother and Jesus Christ came and he did works and he did ministry as a Jewish person and So the original church was made up of people who followed the Lord from Israel So these are faithful. These are fruit bearing branches. They remain attached to God and So there are some who did remain and there are others who were broken up Now the Gentiles can boast about the fact that they've been brought into the family of God But he warns him in verse 18 by saying do not boast against the branches But if you boast remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you So don't consider yourself superior to the Jews who were broken off God's promises to Israel have resulted in blessings to you So the root in the trunk support the branches not the other way around Now that means there's no room for pride or the idea that somehow we have replaced Israel There's no room for boasting as both the natural and engrafted branches will remain only by faith But he says in verse 19 you will say then branches were broken off that I might be grafted in Well, that attitude reveals a lack of love for Israel lack of faith and it shows arrogance But he says in verse 20 well Well said because of unbelief they were broken off, but you stand by faith Do not be haughty But fear why were the Jews set aside? because of unbelief They rejected Messiah But you you stand by faith But do not boast and do not have contempt for the nation of Israel If God temporarily set aside Israel he could set aside Gentiles to So instead of boasting it should cause them to be humbled and to have a healthy fear of God He says in verse 21 if God did not spare the natural branches. He may not spare you either If God judged the nation Israel what makes you think he'll not judge you now One of the things we need to think about when you read your Bible once again is how God displays his great love for the nation of Israel He pulled them out of Of a people who are pagans he saved a man by the name of Abram later changing his name to Abraham We became the father of the Jewish nation God did great works in that nation God showed his mercy and his kindness and you see this throughout the scripture to the nation of Israel God's love is great for them not because they were the greatest amongst all people, but because they were less Not because they were so good, but because the nation surrounding them were so evil And so God did a work and that nation of Israel and he loved them When you read in the prophets one prophet in particular speaks, I think very poignantly about this You see the love of God being spoken in Hosea in chapter 11 verses 1 through 7 He says when Israel was a child. I loved him out of Egypt. I called my son as They called them so they went from them They sacrificed to the balls burned incense to carved images. I Taught after him to walk Taking them by their arms But they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords with bands of love And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I Stooped and fed them He shall not return to the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king because they refused to repent The sword shall slash in his cities devour his districts consume them because of their own counsels My people are bent on backsliding from me though. They called to the most high None at all exalt him When God was speaking he's speaking with one broke as one with a broken heart He's saying I taught him to walk. I drew him with bands of love. I Have a granddaughter who is a year old her name is Stella and Stella is beginning to learn to walk every parent in this room remembers what it was like when you started teaching your child to walk and If you live long enough, you may have grandchildren. There are a lot of grandparents in here and to watch the Child and watch the grandchild learning to walk is is is kind of cool in a way. I remember when When my kids were learning to walk how we taught them to walk and now I'm seeing that with with Stella Stella will crawl She'll grab hold of a couch. She'll pull herself up And then she'll see something that she wants and She'll reach her hand towards it. It's usually my wallet and she'll reach her hand towards it And as she reaches her hand towards that she tries to lean in that direction and all you need to do when they're doing that Is reach your hands out to them and what I always did and I do this with my Stella to this day is I will touch their little hands Which will cause them to lean forward and then I'll take them by the wrist and when I would pull them by the wrist I'd I started to draw them towards myself and swing them around and throw them in the backyard. It was a lot of fun Now take them by their hands and draw them to myself and I'll bring them to me. That's what the Lord said he did with Israel Ephraim is just another way of speaking of the nation. I drew you. I took you. I taught you how to walk. I Loved you. I protected you when a baby's learning to walk. They're very vulnerable. What do you do? You make sure to clear everything out of their path so they don't fall and hurt themselves You take care of them you hold them up. You don't want them falling You don't want them hurting themselves You want them to be able to learn to walk and as you begin to draw them to yourself a good parent a good grandparent does so with Courts of love you draw them to yourself and that's what God is saying. He's saying I love you so much. I Love you like you were my little baby You were my baby. I love you with all my heart, but you are bent on back sliding You're totally turned towards rejecting me It wasn't out of God's Desire to have to because he wanted to and plan to to judge and and and deal with them sometimes in his wrath But they were bent on walking away from him And so God is saying I loved you and he's and my Paula simply reminding these people listen God did not spare the natural branches God has brought judgment on them So don't get arrogant and don't get Proudful because of God judge national Israel. What makes you think you will not judge you and That's why he says in verse 22 consider the goodness and severity of God You see if you continue in his goodness if you abide in the grace of God You'll be an object of his grace But you can be an object of God's severity if you enter into unbelief the way the nation of Israel did It's more than simply being identified as a Christian It's more than simply professing of faith, but not really possessing faith When I went into the military They give you dog tags and on the dog tag. They will have basic information Part of the information they had on my dog tag was religious affiliation when I went into the military I was Going to Calvary Chapel Calvary Chapel is non-denominational. So when I was looking through the list of religious affiliations on the list that they give to you so that you can point one out and say This is what should be put on my dog tag. I looked and it's from a to z basically Assemblies of God Baptist Catholic and As you're going through it you're looking for something that you identify with but I was Calvary Chapel and I didn't see Calvary Chapel, so I didn't know what to put on my dog tag So when I put on it was well, this sounds pretty good. I didn't realize it was the dumb denomination I was only three three months old in the Lord I didn't know that this was a denomination which means that were I to have died in combat or whatever That they would have had a chaplain representing this particular a denominational faith So I just chose disciples of Christ Because I thought that sounds cool. That's what I want to be So that was on my dog tags this site. I'm a disciple of Christ, you know And because I wanted to be associated with the Lord Jesus Christ And I knew a disciple with somebody who had picked up his cross daily and was following him I knew that a disciple was a lifelong learner somebody who was going to pursue Christ for the rest of the life That's what I wanted to be a disciple of Jesus. See, I didn't go into the military and I didn't go into my Christian life I should even predate me my military. I didn't go into my Christian life thinking that I'd just call myself by something There are people today if you're taking a survey, they will write down when asked what is your religious denomination or affiliation They'll think well, I'm a Christian. They think they're a Christian because they're not Buddhist and they're not members of Islam You know, they're they're they must be a Christian because after all they were baptized when they're a child or they went to To church as a young adult or whatever and so when asked in a survey, what are you they will say? Well, I'm a Christian But when you ask them do you attend fellowship anywhere? What's your church? Well, I really don't have one You know, I've had people who have spoken to me and personal level just having a conversation and Usually the ones who are asking for me to do something for them to be honest with you and They'll say well, I go to this church and and I'll say really and they'll say and I'll say who's the pastor there Well He's Kind of tall but not that tall. I Think he's got blue eyes, but they may be brown and I think he's He may be blonde or that may be gray hair. They don't know they don't have a clue So so if asked where do you go to church? They'll they'll name a place We've had people walk on these grounds here. This building here has been occupied now for several years We've had people walk on to the church grounds and say when did you build that and We'll say oh about ten years or so ago Really and you'll say what church do you go to? Well, I go here. Oh really not for ten years. You haven't We do that. We habitually do that that is what we American Christians can do is we identify with things that really We really are not associated with it's one thing to be Professing Christian, it's another thing to be a possessing Christian a Professing is only speaking possessing actually has and so he's speaking concerning that We are to abide what we abide in is the grace of God We continue in other words in his goodness in first John chapter 2 verse 28 John writes and now dear children remain in fellowship with Christ So that when he returns you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame Remain in fellowship with Christ abide in Christ You see a professing but not possessing Christian has no reason to have any spiritual confidence And so somebody who professes to have a relationship with Christ But only mentally does but doesn't spiritually have one is Somebody who's only naming Christ but not living for Christ. He's never been born again She's never known Christ and ultimately that person reason will we will receive judgment. You see the reality of faith is It's continuity into the future Jesus and John 15 verses 4 and 5 said it like this. He said abide in me and I in you as A branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine you are the branches He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing and So he's making it very clear that Israel will once again be an object of God's attention now in verse 23 They 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 good olive tree How much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? Gentiles will be cut off if they do not continue in faith Israel will be regrafted if they do not continue in unbelief But when Israel does respond the grafting in will be through the power of God He says in verse 25 For I do not desire brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery lest you should be wise in your own opinion The hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and So all Israel will be saved as 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 Now we'll look at this and we'll take it apart very slowly Notice how he says I do not desire brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery The word ignorant I do not want you to be without understanding or without knowledge of this mystery We use the word mystery today in common English in a way that's different than the New Testament meaning of mystery Today a mystery when you speak of a mystery we speak of movies that have a mystery base or books that are mystery novels When we use the word mystery today, what we're speaking of is something that's hidden In the New Testament sense the word mystery speaks of something that at one time was hidden but has now been revealed and So it's something that is not being withheld it is something that is being revealed and Paul uses that word mystery around 21 times And so this mystery is revealed through the revelation of the gospel of salvation for all men So Paul is speaking of a mystery and he says in verse 25 that he doesn't want them to be wise in their own opinion So this mystery is revealed to keep people from proudly feeling that they discovered it on their own The fact is God reveals himself to man because man cannot discover God without God's help In Luke 10 22 it says all things have been delivered to me by my father and no one knows who the son is Except the father and who the father is except the son and the one to whom the son wills to reveal him So God isn't lost. I am I'm not naturally seeking after him. He's seeking after me and So God reveals himself to me and God's grace to Gentiles Because he revealed himself would mean that there's no basis for conceit Because God wants to reveal himself to them and thus receive glory But what is this mystery that Paul is referring to he speaks of a hardening that has happened to Israel He said hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in So the hardening the spiritual callousness of Israel is temporary. He's saying hardening in part. It's temporary It is not permanent. It is not total on the part of all Jews because not every Jew is hardened against Jesus Christ Now this hardening began when Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah When Jesus came and walked on the face of the earth Can you imagine what that would have been like? I mean right now 2,000 years later We read the stories of what he did and sometimes were amazed at them and if you believe those stories, which I do You can't help but wonder and have awe concerning Jesus Christ the things that he did and the things that he said Unparalleled in human history the insights and the directness and and and how Jesus ministered. I Mean, this is one who who walked on water. This is one who raised the dead to life This is one who could be among several thousand people and make sure that everyone had a lunch This is somebody who could could still a storm with his voice Who could command you to drop your net and a certain part of the of the water and and draw up all kinds of fish I mean the amazing things that Jesus did he healed the sick He cleansed the leper he he gave sight to the blind he was able to cast out demons And he was able to cause the death to hear and the mute to speak and and the things that he did would bring wonder into the the minds of any who saw it and When he spoke it was God speaking to man and his voice would flow and and you'd hear the things that he said And you'd wonder and be amazed at the gracious words Which he spoke and some would say how does he have this understanding having having never gone to one of our Seminaries, how could he know such depth and They would wonder at his gracious words as he spoke to them and the hardened sinner That the individual who is so far gone Regardless of what their sin might have been whether they were immoral or whether they were somebody who was involved in in drinking or Violence or thievery when they heard Christ speak and they listened to every word like honey dripping off of his tongue And they took it in a nation of Israel by the multitudes would come to hear him speak More than once the scripture counts out there were five thousand men There were four thousand men They would listen to Jesus as he spoke and would walk away amazed They could send deputies to arrest Jesus and the deputies would walk back and they'd say why did you not bring him to us? No, man has ever spoken like this man We couldn't touch it Are you deceived also? Would be their only response And yet When it came down to it they betrayed this man to the hands of sinful man He was taken given an unjust trial placed on a cross and put to death hardening spiritual callousness Rejection of Messiah it began this hardening when they rejected Jesus But it continues until God finishes his work that he's doing in the Gentiles This mystery that Paul is speaking about concludes when the gathering of the believing Gentiles is Completed notice. He says until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in Notice how he says has come in Has come in is a standard term used to speak of people who are entering into salvation Matthew 5 20 is an example I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees You will by no means enter you will by no means come in to the kingdom of heaven Matthew 7 13 enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and There are many who go in by it. So that gives us insight When he speaks the fullness of the Gentiles, it speaks of the total number of the elect of the Gentiles And he's saying their blindness continues until the complete number of Gentiles has come to salvation Now in verse 26, 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 From this for this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins All Israel so all Israel will be saved All Israel speaks of the Jewish nation that will ultimately survive a time in history called the tribulation Ezekiel chapter 20 verses 38 7 and 38 says that God will judge survivors of the tribulation and will purge Israel of the rebellious that remains So the purging will take place during what is called the tribulation now This will take a moment the The next event on the prophetic clock and I've had people ask this question before so I'll answer it very briefly now The next event that you see on God's Timeline of prophecy The next event that we're waiting to take place is an event called the rapture There are people who will argue and say that word is not found in Scripture You open your Bible you look at 1st Thessalonians 4 13 through 17 you read through it and You don't see the word rapture. And so there are those who will argue and say that the word rapture is not found in Scripture Therefore it doesn't exist Well, the problem is is the word rapture is actually not taken out of the Greek. It's taken out of the Latin rapturo The Greek word is harpato the word harpato means a sudden violent taken away and Paul speaks concerning this taking away and we have simply used the Latin word rapture For the Greek word harpato But it speaks concerning God taking his church off of planet Earth It's the next thing that will take place And I used to when I first learned of this and all I would I still remember driving in the car and back in 1971 driving and And and looking up into the clouds and sometimes one of the clouds would kind of look like a bullseye And I used to think man one of these days. I'm going to go flying through that You know, I was so excited because it's going to happen One of these days and it'll be soon the Lord will say come up here and bang We're gone. I pray it happens during a church service most of you do too just so that I don't have to talk much longer But the bottom-line it It's going to happen. It'll be sudden and it's the next thing when that rapture happens Then the antichrist will be revealed and There's a period in human history that's called Daniel's 70th week. It's called the tribulation Seven years it begins tribulation the second three and a half years is tribulation second three and a half years great tribulation seven years and In that seven-year period there will be God pouring out his wrath on the unbelieving world It's referred to as the wrath of the lamb in the book of Revelation Where people are crying to the mountain saying hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne from the wrath of the lamb and So the Lord Jesus Christ will be involved in this pouring out of judgment During that period of time there will still be witnesses that are going out and you see it by studying revelation Revelation chapter 7 chapter 14 Speaks of the hundred and forty four thousand Revelation 7 speaks of the witness of tribulation saints Revelation 11 speaks of the witness of the two witnesses and Revelation 14 speaks of an angel who is preaching the everlasting gospel So those who respond to the preaching that takes place will safely pass through this judgment. They will be saved Zechariah 13 8 and 9 says it shall come to pass in the in all the land says the Lord that Two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it I will bring the one-third through the fire will refine them as silver is refined test them as gold is tested They will call on my name and I will answer them I will say this is my people and each one will say the Lord is my God So the Israel will go through that they will be purged and refined Passing under what is called the rod of God's judgment and then ultimately Jesus returns and he sets up his kingdom and And initiates the kingdom rule Matthew 24 30 and 31 says then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and They will see the Son of man Coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory Not Greg glory great glory And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and They will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other So when he speaks concerning all Israel being saved, they are the ones who are purged They go under the rod of judgment that is spoken of in Ezekiel chapter 20 and they make it through And after all the various things take place and they're purged of the sin Those that remain are the ones that are being referred to in verse 26 when it says all Israel During this present age that we're living in God is calling out of people for himself Those who come to him through Jesus Christ are called the church the majority at this time being Gentiles But after this he resumes his work with the nation of Israel as he promised that he would he will purge them And they will come through and they as he said will be called my people They each one will say the Lord is my God We'll stop here and we'll pick up next time at verse 28