Sunday, October 9th, 2011
Romans 11:25-36
“Irrevocable: A Powerful Promise”
Bible Memory Verse for the Week: Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. — Romans 11:33-36
Background Information:
- The OT prophecies about Israelmust be fulfilled in Israel, and Romans 11 teaches that God has a plan for Israelin distinction from the church. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 385)
- In the ancient world a mystery was something unknown to most people but specially revealed to some. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1369)
- Paul is especially concerned to emphasize the “equal treatment” that bothIsraeland the Gentiles receive. Note the formal parallelism:
verse 30 verse 31
Just as so…too
you they
at one time now
were…disobedient to God have…become disobedient
now now
have…received mercy in order that they too may…receive mercy
as a result of their disobedience as a result of God’s mercy to you
(Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 381)
- In the preceding context the words Israel, Israelite(s) occur no less than eleven times: 9:4, 6, (twice), 27, 31; 10:19, 21; 11:1, 2, 7 and 25. In each case the reference is clearly to Jews, never to Gentiles. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 380)
- “All Israelites” here, as elsewhere in Jewish literature, means Israelas a people, a collective unit, without specifying that every Jew will be saved. (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 275)
- (v. 25) Has come in is from eiserchomai, a verb Jesus frequently used. He used it of entering the kingdom of heaven/God (Mt 5:20; Mk 9:47; Jn 3:5; cf. Acts 14:22) and of entering eternal life (Mk 9:43, 45), both of which refer to receiving salvation. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16, 127)
- (v. 25) The best explanation is that Paul wants to emphasize the imminence of Israel’s salvation. As the next item on the agenda of God’s plan, the return of Christ and conversion of Israelcan take place at any time. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 381)
- (v. 25) In referring to a mystery Paul is not using this term in the pagan sense of an esoteric doctrine for the initiated, but as indicating a truth which would not have been known if God had not revealed it. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 377)
- And when will that full number have been brought to salvation in Christ? Scripture is very clear on this point. It will be on the day of Christ’s glorious Return. Once he has returned, there is no longer any opportunity for accepting the gospel call. See Lk 17:26-37; 2 Pt 3:3-9. Cf. Belgic Confession, Article XXXVII. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 378)
- (v. 26) Both the Hebrew and Greek texts of Is 59:20 read that a deliverer will come to Zion, whereas Paul says the deliverer will come from Zion. How this change occurred is anyone’s guess, but it is worth considering that Paul altered the text to emphasize that the savior to Israel would come from Israel, thus persuading Jews that Jesus was their savior foretold in the OT. (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 276)
- (v. 26) The term “All Israel” means the total number of elect Jews, the sum of all Israel’s “remnants.” “All Israel” parallels “the fullness of Gentiles.” Verses 25, 26 make it very clear that God is dealing with both groups, has been saving them, is saving them, and is going to save them. And if “All Israel” indicates, as it does, that not a single elect Israelite will be lacking “when the roll is called up yonder,” then “the fullness of the Gentiles” similarly shows that when the attendance is checked every elect Gentile will answer “Present.” (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 381)
- (v. 26) For those who have checked Paul’s quotation against the original text of Isaiah (as I hope my pleas earlier in this commentary have encouraged many to do!), one striking difference is immediately apparent. Isaiah predicts that the deliverer will come “to” Zion, while Paul quotes the text as saying that the deliverer will come “from” Zion. Numerous explanations for Paul’s change of wording have surfaced over the years, but none is really convincing. Perhaps best is the suggestion that Paul alludes to the tradition of the risen Christ resident in “heavenly Zion” (see Heb 12:22). His change therefore draws attention to the Parousia of Christ. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 380)
- (v. 26) Jesus Christ is the deliverer who comes from Zion(Jerusalem). For this first and only time in this letter, Paul speaks of the second coming of Christ. At that time, Christ will purge Israel(here identified with the ancestor Jacob) of all godlessness (see also Ps 14:7; 53:6). The mention of Jacob seems to indicate that Paul has primarily the actual descendants of Abraham in mind, rather than the broader spiritual Israel of whom he had spoken previously (see chapter 4). (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 223)
- He uses “mystery” to refer to something that at one time was not known and could not be arrived at by any amount of human reasoning, but that has now been revealed to us by God through such inspired teachers as himself and the other apostles. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1369)
- (v. 28) “They,” as the context makes clear, are Israelites generally. As Paul makes clear in the opening verses of chapter 9, Israel’s failure to respond to the gospel has cut her off from God’s salvation. From this standpoint, therefore, they are “enemies” of God. The enmity referred to may be from Israeltoward God or from God toward Israel. It is best to take it both ways: hostility exists between God and his people Israelbecause of their refusal to submit to God’s righteousness in Christ (see 10:3). (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 380)
- (v. 30) Disobedience (“unbelief” KJV) is from apeitheia, which has the basic meaning of being unpersuadable. It denotes intentional and obstinate refusal to believe, acknowledge, or obey. In his letter to Ephesus, Paul twice refers to unrepentant sinners as “sons of disobedience” (Eph 2:2; 5:6). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16, 133-34)
- Our English word “concluded” (“bound” – NIV) is a translation of a very picturesque Greek word. Paul actually says that God has “hemmed us in,” “imprisoned us,” or “shut us up in the place of disobedience.” One should think that this would merit His wrath and His total abandonment of us. Paul points out, however, that God concludes us all under sin in order that He might show mercy to us. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Covenants, 162)
- (v. 33) Unfathomable (unsearchable NIV) translates anexichniastos, which literally refers to footprints that are untrackable, such as those of an animal that a hunter is unable to follow. It is the exact idea expressed by the psalmist in declaring of God: “Thy way was in the sea, and Thy paths in the mighty waters, and Thy footprints may not be known” (Ps 77:19). Only God’s own “Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God” (1 Cor 2:10). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16, 135)
- All the more striking is this doxology when it is contrasted with the “great sorrow” which Paul expresses at the beginning of this large Section (see 9:1 f.). (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 386)
- The three questions in verses 34-35 are taken from the OT, the first two from Isaiah 40:13 and the third from (probably) Job 41:3. The questions may correspond, in reverse (chiastic) order, to the three attributes in verse 33:
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?”–knowledge
“Who has been his counselor?”–wisdom
“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”–riches
These questions are obviously rhetorical and expect the answer “no one.” (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 390)
- Eastern Orthodoxy has always taught that worship begins where theology ends. (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 278)
- We are now at the end of the doctrinal section of the book of Romans, the greatest theological treatise in the entire NT, containing truths which have often brought reformation and revival to the Church. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Romans, 203)
The question to be answered is . . . What does Pastor Keith think Paul is doing here in the last verses of the doctrinal section of this, Paul’s most excellent epistle on the essentials of the Christian faith?
Answer: Paul is making sure that we understand that we don’t understand. The Jewish/Gentile conflict, as well as every other conflict that has ever occurred in the context of the Church of Jesus Christ, would be resolved if we simply understood who we are in context with and understood who God is. I believe Paul realizes that rationally his arguments and the doctrinal message given in Romans 1-11 will never allow faith to blossom and bloom as he desires to see take place in the Roman Church. But, knowing God will allow faith to bloom. Know God. Trust God. Believe in God’s amazing promises.
The Word for the Day is . . . Irrevocable
What is Paul trying to show us in these verses?:
I. God’s Promises: Irrevocable (Rom 11:25-29; see also: Num 23:19; Mal 3:6; Phil 1:6; Heb 6:13-20; 10:23)
“I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal 3:6). “God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent” (Num 23:19). God’s gifts to Israel, and God’s calling of Israel, cannot be taken back or changed, or God would cease to be true to His own perfect nature. The fact that Israelmay not enjoy her gifts, or live up to her privileges as an elect nation, does not affect this fact one bit. God will be consistent with Himself and true to His Word no matter what men may do. “Shall their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?” (Rom 3:3, literal translation). (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, 133)
Whenever Gentile Christians start thinking of themselves as having somehow replaced the Jews in God’s dealings, they must remember that the Jews are “loved [still] on account of the patriarchs” (Rom 11:28) and that God says he has a spiritual future for them even yet. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1372)
He is sovereign in all he does, and he is faithful. He keeps his word. And also because he foresees or, which is a better way of saying it, determines all contingencies. We are not like that. We make promises and then are unable to keep them, because things happen that we could not foresee or because we change. But God does not change, and nothing surprises him. His purposes at the end are exactly what they were at the beginning. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1387)
When we talk about God’s irrevocable covenant, as we have been doing here, and God’s irrevocable call, which we will do in our next study, we are speaking about God’s immutability. Immutability means that God does not change, and because he does not change he can be counted on. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1389)
God…is faithful in what he withholds, no less than in what he gives. He is faithful in sending sorrow as well as in giving joy. The faithfulness of God is a truth to be confessed by us not only when we are at ease, but also when we are smarting under the sharpest rebuke. Nor must this confession be merely of our mouths, but of our hearts also. When God smites us with the rod of chastisement, it is faithfulness which wields it. To acknowledge this means that we humble ourselves before him, own that we fully deserve his correction; and instead of murmuring, thank him for it. God never afflicts without a reason. (Arthur W. Pink, Gleanings in the Godhead, 49, 50)
When the Lord God gives a gift, it is irrevocable. When the Lord God exercises his redeeming call on someone, it is final; he never takes it back. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 392)
God’s promises are certain and they are punctual. They will be fulfilled in exactly the way and at exactly the time that the Lord has determined and declared. Others cannot thwart God’s promises, and He Himself will not break them. In every form and to every degree, His Word is immutable. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16, 130)
Just as God’s sovereign grace and election cannot be earned, neither can they be rejected or thwarted. They are irrevocable and unalterable. Nothing, therefore, can prevent Israel’s being saved and restored–not even her own rebellion and unbelief, because, as Paul has just declared, her ungodliness will be sovereignly removed and her sins graciously taken away (vv. 26-27). What is true of elected believers is true of elected Israel: “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass” (1 Thes 5:24). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16, 132) (bold red emphasis Pastor Keith)
Not because of any innate goodness or merit pertaining to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but because of God’s promise to the fathers, “I will…be your God and the god of your seed after you.” See Gn 17:7; cf. 26:23, 24; 28:12-15. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 384)
II. God’s Mercy: Undeniable (Rom 11:30-32; see also: Ex 33:19; Dan 9:1-19; Rom 9:14-18, 23; Eph 2:4-5; 1 Tim 1:12-16; Tit 3:4-8; 1 Pt 1:3; )
Although neither Gentiles nor Jews deserve mercy, God is merciful to both. That is the point. And it is this important insight that leads Paul, the formerly self-righteous Jewish patriot and proud Pharisee to regard all human beings as equal before God. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1400)
Apart from mercy we will perish. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1403)
Man’s sin, manifested in his willful disobedience, provides a means for God to demonstrate the magnitude and graciousness of His mercy. Were there no disobedience, there would be no need for and there could be no expression of God’s mercy. To reveal Himself as merciful, He permitted sin. He has shut up all–the whole world, Jew and Gentile–in disobedience and unbelief in order that He might show mercy to all who repent of their sin and turn to Him for gracious salvation. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16, 133-34)
In His sovereign omnipotence, God has allowed man intellectually, morally, and spiritually to fall into a state of sin to the extent that, on his own, he is unable to be convinced of God’s truth, specifically the truth that he is lost and condemned and that he is powerless in himself to change his condition. God allowed man to fall into sin in order that his only hope would be divine mercy. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16, 134)
Disobedience is likened to a dungeon in which God has incarcerated all human beings, so that “they have no possibility of escape except as God’s mercy releases them.” (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 307)
Their situation is desperate: sin disturbs, the law condemns, conscience frightens, the final judgment threatens, and God has not accepted them. By nature such is their situation.
Suddenly the darkness is dispelled. It is God himself who opens the prison door and is letting the light shine in. The prisoners–every one of them without exception–walk out into freedom. God did it “in order that he may have mercy on them all.”
The best commentary on these triumphant words is certainly Paul’s own, “being justified freely by his grace through the redemption (accomplished) by Christ Jesus, whom God designed to be, by the shedding of his blood, a wrath-removing sacrifice (effective) through faith” (3:24). (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 385)
What a breathtaking conclusion: God goes so far as to hand over all peoples to disobedience–Jews to pride in the law and Gentiles to rebellion against the law–in order to show mercy to both. At long last comes the answer to the dreary rehearsal of sin in Rom 1-3. “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:22-23). God has locked sinners in their own rebellion and barred and bolted the doors, eliminating any way of escape except through his mercy. (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 278)
Isaiah points out that Israel’s disobedience was not a matter of ignorance but of insolence. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is 53:6). This verse should call forth God’s wrath; instead, it calls forth His mercy. The iniquities of Israel as well as the iniquities of the Gentiles, have been laid on Jesus Christ. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Covenants, 161)
God’s handling of the Jews and the Gentiles is intended to expose all of us to his mercy. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 221)
God can only show mercy to people who know they have been bound in their disobedience. This is God’s ultimate purpose. He is willing to have mercy on all who come to him. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 225)
Were it not for the mercy of God nobody would ever be saved, salvation is always the result of God’s mercy, it is never due to anything in man at all. God has looked down from heaven in pity. If He did not do that nobody would ever be saved. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 11, 206)
III. God’s Nature: Incomprehensible (Rom 11:33-36; see also: Ex 34:6-7; Dt 31:6; Job 42:3-6; Psa 139:1-10; Isa 55:8-9; ch 40; Acts 17:22-31; Heb 13:5, 8; Col 1:16-17)
God is by nature incomprehensible to us. One of the reasons for this is, of course, that our experience limits us. We cannot think in categories beyond our range of experience or sensation. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Romans, 205)
When Paul speaks of the spirit searching the things of God, he is not implying that the Spirit is searching for information. Rather, the Spirit is putting the searchlight on the things of God to illumine them for our understanding. To us, the things of God are unsearchable, but thanks be to God that the Spirit searches them for us. That is why, when we come to the biblical text, we pray that God will condescend to our weakness and give us the assistance of the Holy Spirit to make his ways intelligible to us. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 394-95)
The only way we can know the mind of the Lord is if the Lord is pleased to reveal it. When he does, we can know for sure that what he reveals about his mind is not deceitful or inaccurate. That is why I love the Bible–it reveals the mind of God to us. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 395)
In this single verse we find the sum and substance of the whole biblical revelation of the being and character of God. Paul sets it forth with a succinct use of three prepositions, each of which is virtually loaded with significance: “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things.” These three prepositions teach us about the nature of God. Through these three prepositions the apostle is saying that God is the source and owner of everything that is. He is also the ultimate cause of everything that comes to pass, and everything that comes to pass occurs through the exercise of his sovereign will. God is not only the means of all things but also the end or the purpose of all things. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 398)
If we ask where all things came from in the beginning, and still come from today, the answer must be, “From God.” If we ask how all things came into being and remain in being, our answer is, “Through God. If we ask why everything came into being, and where everything is going, our answer must be, “For and to God.” (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 311)
How God can give sinners a free will, allow Satan a free hand with them as the “god of this world,” and still end up with His will being done–is too much for the human mind. (C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Romans, 309)
The implication of this series of questions is that no one has fully understood the mind of the Lord. No one has been his advisor. And God owes nothing to any one of us. Isaiah and Jeremiah asked similar questions to show that we are unable to give advice to God or criticize his ways (Is 40:13; Jer 23:18). God alone is the possessor of absolute power and absolute wisdom. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 226)
What he is saying is that though God is not the Author of sin, nevertheless it is true to say that sin is not outside His control. He is even going further and saying that God can and has used even sin to serve and to suit His own purpose and to help to bring it to pass. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 11, 215)
God cannot learn. Could God at any time or in any manner receive into his mind knowledge that he did not possess and had not possessed from eternity, he would be imperfect and less than himself. To think of a God who must sit at the feet of a teacher, even though that teacher be an archangel or a seraph, is to think of someone other than the Most High God, maker of heaven and earth. …Because God knows all things perfectly, he knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well. He never discovers anything, he is never surprised, never amazed. He never wonders about anything nor (except when drawing men out for their own good) does he seek information or ask questions. (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God, 61, 62)
Attempting to diagnose the motives of God is always a stupid and dangerous enterprise.
Every other subject of inquiry or investigation demands that the observer stand above or over his subject in order to learn. But that is NOT how one can do theology. We stand UNDER God in order to learn about Him. We can never understand God until we stand under God. — R. C. Sproul
IV. Our Hope: Unconquerable (Rom 1:16-11:36; see also: Eph 3:20-21; Heb 10:23;Ex 3:14; Isa ch 40; Jer 31:31-34; Rom 3:19-24; 8:31-39; Heb 10:23; Jms 1:17-18) )
In the early chapters of the epistle we saw the nature and extent of human failure. Both Jew and Gentile have missed life’s opportunities and perverted its gifts. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” is the only epitome of human life that the careful student can offer. The cumulative results of human failure seem so disastrous that at times it is difficult for hope to find any grounds on which to rest. Paul, however, builds his confidence on precisely those facts which threaten to destroy it. He presupposes God’s purpose of redemption, and his power to turn evil to good ends; he assumes our involvement one with another and the way in which we affect each other for good and evil. If any group had escaped the common lot and retained its record unsoiled by sin and failure, then its distinctively meritorious position might make it difficult to bring together all the broken ranks of mankind in one common experience of deliverance. But since we all fall together, it must be that God can and will use even our common plight to achieve his purpose. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 576)
Like Job, we finally reach a point in our speculation concerning the outworkings of history where we “let God be God.” Paul does not bury his head in the sand, nor mumble some philosophical platitude like, “What will be will be.” Instead, he affirms out of his faith commitment that God’s paths [are] beyond tracing out! (v. 33). Whether the issue is as cosmic as the final destiny of Israel, or as personal as the spiritual transformation that enables us to put to death our old nature and live by the Spirit, God knows how to do it! (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 188)
He has become aware of ocean-depths (cf. 1 Cor 2:10) of riches (cf. Rom 2:4; 9:23; 10:12) that cannot be plummeted, riches of God’s wisdom and knowledge. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 386)
He is the source, accomplisher, and goal of our salvation. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 388)
To be sure, we have been made new creatures in Christ Jesus, but we must still grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must be taught by the Holy Spirit and by the Word of God. The reason we study the Word of God is simply because it does not yet dwell within our hearts as it will dwell in the hearts of restored Israel. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Covenants, 153-54)
There is only one way to know God and that is through a Godlike nature. This is offered to us in the Gospel. “But as many as received him, to them gave he the authority to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on his name; who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of man, but of God.” (Jn 1:12, 13). The difference between man and God is not one of degree, it is of kind. No one would ever class a dog as a form of man. To know the mind of God we must first partake of the nature of God. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Covenants, 169)
God’s promise to take away…sins is a helpful description of forgiveness. Because we often continue to remember our sins long after we have confessed them, we assume that God also remembers them. But Scripture promises the opposite. What we keep are only memories. Confession allows God to remove the sins from our life. They are as gone as a demolished house that has been hauled to the landfill. If we continue in those sins, we are rebuilding a structure that already has been destroyed. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 224)
When Adam sinned, all humanity sinned with him (5:19). We are all sinners: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23); “Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin” (3:9). When people choose to follow their own passion and desires, they are bound in their disobedience. People who deliberately choose to disobey God imprison themselves. It is those who understand that they have been saying no to God who are in the best position to say yes to him. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 225) (bold red emphasis Pastor Keith)
Early in this century, a society for atheism produced a tract in which the life stories of some of the OT heroes were related in lurid detail. One page told the story of Abraham, pointing out that on two occasions he had been willing to sacrifice the honor of his wife to save his own life. Yet the Bible calls Abraham “a friend of God.” After pointing this out, the tract asked: What kind of a God is he who can be friends with a cowardly man like Abraham?
The next page told the story of Jacob. Jacob was a cheat. He cheated his brother out of his inheritance. Yet God condescended to refer to himself by the name of Jacob (“the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”). The tract asked: What kind of God is he who can identify with a scoundrel like Jacob?
Next came Moses. Moses was a great leader and lawgiver, but early in his life Moses had killed a man and buried his body in the sand lest his deed be discovered. Yet God spoke to Moses face to face and called him “my servant.” What kind of God could speak face to face with a man who was a murderer?
The last of the atheists’ examples was David, their chief witness against God’s character. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then, when Bathsheba was discovered to be with child by David, David arranged the death of her husband so he could marry Bathsheba and conceal his sin. Yet David is called “a man after God’s own heart.” The atheists asked: What kind of a heart must God have if David, the adulterer and murderer, was a man who was after it? According to the atheists’ reasoning, the mere existence of these stories is sufficient to prove either that God does not exist or that, if he does exist, he does not have a character worth admiring. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1427-28)
All that man can do to thwart God’s plans are a part of His fulfillment of those plans. — Steve Brown
Make a list of the ten worse things that have ever happened in your entire life. Then make a list of the ten best things that have ever happened in your entire life. To the extent you see overlap of the two lists is the extent you are able to see God’s [purposes and His working in your life. — R. C. Sproul
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION: What does this message have to do with Christ and me?
To argue with God is to argue with the one who makes it possible to argue! (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Romans, 206)
When you begin to know and trust God a believer
possesses:
A. Humility rather than conceit (Rom 11:25; see also: Prv 3:34; Acts 17:22-31; 1 Cor 15:9-11; Eph 3:8-9; Phil 2:13; Jas 4:6; )
Paul continues to address the Gentile Christians in Romein these verses (he uses the second person plural throughout [vv. 25, 28, 30-31]; cf. V. 13). And he leaves no doubt about what he wants his readers to learn from this mystery: to stop thinking so highly of themselves in comparison with Jews (v. 25a). (Douglas J. Moo, The New International Commentary on the NT: Romans, 713)
Ignorance is the cause of conceit. It is when we have false or fantasy images of ourselves that we grow proud. Conversely, knowledge is conducive to humility, for humility is honesty, not hypocrisy. The complete antidote to pride is truth. If only the Jewish and Gentile members of the church in Romecan grasp their position vis-à-vis one another in the purpose of God, they will have nothing to boast about. (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 302)
This is a fear which finds recurrent expression in Paul’s letters. Men are always in danger of trusting in their own powers. They imagine that in some way or other they are preferred before others because they are essentially superior people. Against the arrogance of our complacency the apostle wages ceaseless warfare. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 574)
The only true wisdom is consequently to cultivate an attitude of grateful humility. This is our protection against the “vain imaginings” on which human pride so often builds. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 574)
The temporary stumbling of Israelis part of what Paul calls a mystery (mysterion)–the word here means a truth that has been unrevealed up to this point but is now being made known. The mystery reveals, for example, that Israel’s stumbling has always been part of God’s plan. God put Israel aside for a time in order to offer salvation to the Gentiles. Paul reviews this mystery so the Gentiles will not be conceited. Conceit would be a sign that they were ignorant of God’s master plan that included everyone (see 11:32). (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 222)
B. Broken and contrite rather than stiff-necked and heart-hearted (Rom 11:25; see also: Is 66:2; Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 36:24-26; )
C. Grace rather than law (Rom 11:27; see also: Rom 3:19-26; 2 Cor 8:9; Eph 2:8-9; 1 Tim 1:14; Jas 1:17-18)
God chose Israelin His grace and not because of any merit in her (Dt 7:6-11 and 9:1-6). If the nation was not chosen because of its goodness, can it be rejected because of its sin? “Election” means grace, not merit. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, 132-33)
D. Shalom rather than worry (Rom 11:29; see also: Is ch 40; Mt 6:25-34; Lk 12:22-34; Rom 8:31-39; Phil 4:6)
There were two thieves on the cross. One is there so that we might not presume. The other is there so that you might not despair. One is damned and the other is saved. — Steve Brown
E. Mercy rather than justice (Rom 11:30-32; see also: Mt 12:7; 18:33; Lk 6:36; 1 Tm 1:13; Ti 3:4-8; Jas 2:13)
F. Worship rather than pride (Rom 11:33-36; see also: Prv 16:18; 29:23; Jn 4:24)
There should be no theology without doxology. There is something fundamentally flawed about a purely academic interest in God. God is not an appropriate object for cool, critical, detached, scientific observation and evaluation. No, the true knowledge of God will always lead us to worship, as it did Paul. Our place is on our faces before him in adoration. (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 312)
The great medieval theologian, Thomas Aquinas, spent several years of his adult life writing Summa Theologica, his great masterpiece of Catholic theology. One day, while Aquinas was writing on the doctrine of the Incarnation, his servant entered the room and discovered him lying prostrate on the floor amidst his books and papers. Thinking that some illness or injury had befallen his master, the servant rushed to Aquinas’ side, only to discover that he was engrossed in prayer and adoration of God. When the servant asked for an explanation from his master, Aquinas replied, “There are moments when one must cease his theological speculations and fall on his face in worship.” (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 188-89)
G. Confidence in God’s Truth rather than man’s speculation (Rom 11:33-36; see also: Dt 29:29; Is 55:8-9; Jn 17:17; 1 Cor 1:27-29; 2:14-16; 4:1)
Needless to say, this view of human reason contradicts the biblical point of view as it has been explained in previous lessons. The fall of man involved the entirety of man; all aspects of his personality were corrupted by sin. As a result, reason is not the judge of truth; only God can act as such a judge. Moreover, sin has so affected mankind that even rational abilities are not neutral. Christians seek to use their reason in dependence on God. Non-Christians seek to be independent in their thinking; there is no neutral ground on which to deal with unbelief. Human reason can be as much a hindrance as a help to faith in Christ. As St.Augustine once said, “Believe that you may understand.” To rest our faith on independent reason is to rebel against God. Reason must rest on our faith commitment to Christ and our faith must rest on God alone. (Richard L. Pratt, Jr., Every Thought Captive A Study manual for the Defense of Christian Truth, 74)
Biblical authority must never depend on human verification for it is the unquestionable Word of God.
The problem with much of the popular tactics used by many defenders of the faith today may be summed up as a problem of authority. The apologist must see clearly that the non–Christian is in need of forsaking his commitment to independence and should turn in faith to the authority of Christ. If however, trust in Christ is founded on logical consistency, historical evidence, scientific arguments, etc., then Christ is yet to be received as the ultimate authority. The various foundations are more authoritative than Christ himself. . . . if beliefs in Christian truth comes only after the claims of Christ are run through the verification machine of independent human judgment, then human judgment is still thought to be the ultimate authority. (Richard L. Pratt, Jr., Every Thought Captive A Study manual for the Defense of Christian Truth, 79-80)
The supreme function of reason is to show man that some things are beyond reason. (Blaise Pascal, Penesees)
“The heart has its reasons which the reason does not understand.” — Blaise Pascal
Christ was master of the paradox. His teaching is salted with shining contrasts like: Last is first. Giving is receiving. Dying is living. Losing is finding. Least is greatest. Poor is rich. Weakness is strength. Serving is ruling. (Are Evangelicals Born Again, 44)
This great passage should probably be taken as prompted primarily by Paul’s recognition that there was no way of making neat sense out of the realities evidenced in the believer’s experience of the grace of God in Christ. These realities far outrun any logic–as indeed reality always does. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 577-78)
Truth is that which corresponds to reality as perceived by God. Only God has a comprehensive knowledge of all reality. God knows reality in its absolute fullness. There is no nuance or microscopic, subatomic particle of the universe unknown to the mind of God. What he knows, he knows perfectly, eternally, and exhaustively. The one who knows all things without error is the source of all truth. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 400)
In his diatribe against Martin Luther, Desiderius Erasmus said, “On matters of this kind of ultimate theological truth, I prefer to suspend judgment. I prefer not to make assertions.” When Luther was confronted by Satan, he threw an inkwell at him, and he reached for the same inkwell to throw against Erasmus, essentially saying, “You prefer not to make assertions? You call yourself a Christian? Do you not know that making assertions is at the very heart of the Christian faith? Spiritus sanctus non et skepitus–the Holy Spirit is not a skeptic. The things he has revealed in his Word are more certain than life itself.” Luther knew the source of truth and how precious it is. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 401)
The mystery of which Paul speaks has reference to the marvelous chain of events that results in Israel’s salvation. It points to seemingly contradictory factors which in God’s loving and overruling providence are so directed that ultimate salvation for “all Israel” is effected. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 382)
Of late more and more is becoming known about the mysteries of the human brain. The real men of science, pondering these new discoveries, are beginning to say, “How great is God!” But surely, if God is marvelous and incomprehensible in the work of creation, is he not at least equally astounding in his work of redemption? Who, indeed, has ever been able, even to a small extent, actually to probe God’s mind? (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 387)
Here the seeking of the mind turns to the adoration of the heart. In the end all must pass out in a mystery that man cannot now understand but at whose heart is love. If a man can say that all things come from God, that all things have their being through him, and that all things end in him, what more is left to say? There is a certain paradox in the human situation. God gave man a mind, and it is man’s duty to use that mind to think of the very limit of human thought. But it is also true that there are times when that limit is reached and all that is left is to accept and to adore. (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 155)
Paul had battled with a heartbreaking problem with every resource which his great mind possessed. He does not say that he has solved it, as one might neatly solve a geometrical problem; but he does say that, having done his best, he is content to leave it to the love and power of God. At many times in life there is nothing left but to say: “I cannot grasp thy mind, but with my whole heart I trust thy love. Thy will be done!” (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 155)
We expect God to tell him about Satan’s accusations and reveal how Job had been singled out as a righteous man who would trust God even in misery. This is not what we find. Instead, we find God rebuking Job for presuming to think that he could understand God’s ways, even if they were explained to him. This is in the form of a lengthy interrogation having to do with God’s perfect knowledge as contrasted with Job’s ignorance. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1420)
In the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist–in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless–I found that I was forced to assume that one part of reality–namely my idea of justice–was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 42)
H. Submission rather than bossiness (Rom 11:33-36; see also: Is 66:2; Rom 13:1; Eph 5:21; Jas 3:17; Heb 12:9; 13:17)
I. God’s glory rather than my ego ((Rom 11:33-36; see also: Ex 9:16; Ps 115:1; Is 42:8; 48:11; Rom 9:17; )
The petty arrogance which talks as though it had access to the ultimate treasures of wisdom has exposed its own shallow presumption. Yet while humbly admitting the limits of our knowledge, we can return to certain determinative convictions. If it is true that from him and through him and to him are all things, we have found the secret of intelligibility in life; then, and only then, can we confidently end with an ascription of praise: To him be glory forever. Amen. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 578)
The fullness of the essence of God’s glory so far transcends human ability to sound its depths that we are left in a state of awe before him. I am not saying that we are involved in some sort of mystery religion where the things of God are unintelligible; what God reveals we can grasp, to a certain degree. Central to the teaching of John Calvin was the axiom finitum non capax infinitum: “the finite cannot contain or grasp the fullness of the infinite.” Even after we are in heaven–when we are no longer looking through the glass darkly but basking in the refulgent glory of God–we will not have an exhaustive knowledge of the Creator. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 393)
When we come into God’s presence to worship him, the only appropriate response is reverence, awe, humility, and submission. The contemporary church all too often displays a cavalier approach to worship. Many have no idea about the one they are dealing with, the one for whom the angels themselves have to cover their eyes when they sing of his glory. Our glory comes and goes but the glory of God endures forever. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 403)
Like a mountain climber who has reached the summit of Mt.Everest, the apostle can only stand awestruck at God’s beauty and majesty. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16, 135)
Before Paul goes on to outline the practical implications of the gospel, he falls down before God and worships (33-36). (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 309)
It is because all things are from, through and to God that the glory must be his alone. This is why human pride is so offensive. Pride is behaving as if we were God Almighty, strutting round the earth as if we owned the place, repudiating our due dependence on God, pretending instead that all things depend on us, and thus arrogating to ourselves the glory which belongs to God alone. (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 311)
Worship point: Recognize your human limitations to comprehend the God of the Universe. If you have never had your heart come up into your throat because you were overwhelmed with the majesty, power, wisdom, knowledge, unsearchableness and unfathomableness of God; then I would like to suggest you have never really known God and have never really engaged in true worship. To know God is to have all your human self-sufficiency obliterated and to reduce you to a humility and security that can do little else but to bask in God’s grace and glory.
Only a God as wise as our God could take the fall of Israeland turn it into salvation for the world! His plans will not be aborted nor will His purposes lack fulfillment. No human being can fully know the mind of the Lord; and the more we study His ways, the more we offer Him praise. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, 134)
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 6, 7). But if the full truth be told, many of us hardly think about God at all. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1412)
If you listen to some people, they sound as if they are in a position to counsel God and act as His critic. You’ve heard their challenges to God’s wisdom: “If God is so great, why does He allow so much suffering in this world? If He’s so powerful, why can’t He see to it that people don’t go to hell? Why does He have to make people so that they sin in the first place? With finite reasoning they seek to impugn God because they can’t figure out why He does what He does. Seemingly man can’t possibly fathom how a good God allows the bad guys to prosper and the saints to suffer. It takes a lot of wisdom to understand WHY God does this. Even then, the man who does, is working with the wisdom God gives him. It’s ridiculous to use that same wisdom to challenge and criticize the very One Who gives us everything we have. (C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Romans, 310)
Spiritual Challenge: Spend time contemplating God. Spend time contemplating Jesus. Spend time pleading with the Spirit of God to assist you in your contemplations. And don’t be satisfied with your contemplations until God has destroyed your smugness, pride and arrogance that foolishly thinks you have God figured out. Then bask in the security, peace and comfort that comes with knowing that God’s gifts and call are irrevocable.
Quotes to Note:
As we have already made clear, Paul’s overriding concern is to stifle undue Gentile pride. In our day, as in Paul’s, the church is largely a Gentile institution. Our natural tendency to prefer people like us and to think ourselves superior to people different from us is exacerbated by a “replacement” theology that often teaches that Gentiles have now taken the place of Jews in God’s plan. A deprecatory and even hostile attitude toward Jewish Christians and Jews alike is the result. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 386)
We must remember that God chose the Jews so that the Gentiles might be saved. “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed,” was God’s promise to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3). The tragedy was that Israelbecame exclusive and failed to share the truth with the Gentiles. They thought that the Gentiles had to become Jews in order to be saved. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, 133-34)
Although this is the greatest doctrinal book in the NT, as almost everyone will agree, the word covenant occurs only twice in the letter: once in Rom 9:4, where it is mentioned as one of the advantages of Judaism (“Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants”) and the second time in our text (“And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins”). (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1383)
But the essential point is clear. Belief in Christ leads inevitably to the conviction that God’s goodness does not stop at any barriers we erect. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 574)
Two important inferences follow from this central conviction. The one declares our intimate interdependence as far as receiving mercy is concerned. “Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient” (30-31). In neither case does mercy reach men except because of other people. If it does not come through the positive effort of our fellows, it can come negatively as a result of their failures. But it is always mediated; we are so bound together in the bundle of life that at every point and in every way we influence one another. This says much regarding both our own responsibility and the ways in which we receive the good gifts of life. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 575)
Is not the removal of sin one of the main ingredients of justification by faith? See Rom 4:25; 5:8, 9, 19; 8:1-3. The promise of the covenant goes into effect “whenever” in the life of any Israelite sin is removed. Romans 9-11 shows that this doctrine is historical, indicating what happens again and again during history’s course. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 383-84)
All these sentences say that God permits evil to take place, in order that good may come from it. But it is incomprehensible to us why He does good in this special way, and why He does not at the same time do good and evil to those who are alike. These sentences indeed are strange: “They fell, in order that they might be saved;” or, “They do not believe, in order that they might believe.” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, 163)
Somehow he has had to find an explanation of the fact that God’s people rejected his Son when he came into the world. Paul never shut his eyes to that tragic fact, but he found a way in which the whole tragic situation could be fitted into the plan of God. It is true that the Jews rejected Christ; but, as Paul saw it, that rejection happened in order that Christ might be offered to the Gentiles. (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 151-52)
“God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable”. — The Apostle Paul, Romans 11:29
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