Romans Part 11: The Branches of the Vine

**Robert** · January-7th-2012, 02:56 AM

In Part 10, we saw that God's requirement for approaching Him does not lie in denomination nor nationality, but in the heart. Now in Part 11, the Lord addresses the status of His chosen nation Israel:

"I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.” But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.” In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." (Romans 11:1-6, NASB, emphasis mine)

Paul states here that God has not rejected His people ONE BIT. In fact, the fact that Paul was chosen to be an apostle to the Gentiles refutes this assumption. That the Lord would choose from the chosen nation those He would have be representatives to the Gentile world says clearly that God has not rejected Israel.

But then we read the following:

"What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.” And David says, “LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM. LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.” (Romans 11:7-10, NASB, emphasis mine)

We would ask after reading this passage "wait, it clearly says 'but those who were chosen obtained it,and the rest were hardened'. Doesn't that mean God has rejected Israel?" No, it doesn't; scripture reassures us that God's nation has not been abandoned forever:

"I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be![/B] But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too." (Romans 11:11-16, NASB, emphasis mine)

Paul explains in these two passages that the Lord has not rejected Israel, but has instead rejected the hearts that have hardened themselves against Him. As we have read in Romans chapter 1, God merely turns us over to what we have already chosen in our hearts. In their hardness, Israel had chosen God, but they had chosen to come to Him in their own way instead of His: the Messiah. Because of this, God has not rejected them, but has instead offered salvation to the Gentiles after they rejected it. God is using this to make His people jealous and turn to Him, and while it was always His plan to save the whole world Gentiles and all, He crafts His plans to have maximum effect! As we can see, He has not left Israel to rot, but instead has set His nation aside so that He could reach out to the Gentile world.

We read on:

"But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?" (Romans 11:17-24, NASB, emphasis mine)

Here, we have to be careful in reading this passage. Many read this and assume that we can lose our salvation in an instant if we sin.; that is not the case. But the bolded part is in scripture to warn us that if we continually walk away from the Lord, then we are hardening our hearts against Him and committing the same sin that Israel committed against Him. Conversely, it also reassures us that if Israel turns again to him, they will once again be His and accepted by Him. But it cannot be according to their (or our) ways, but His alone.

That said, this also reassures us that God has not abandoned His nation, but is expecting that they will return to Him. And not only so, but that He has promises yet to keep to them:

"For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB. THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” (Romans 11:25-27, NASB, emphasis mine)

It does not say in scripture "God will remove Jacob's ungodliness by merging the nation into the Church"; instead, scripture tells us:

"The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.“It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves." (Zechariah 12:1-14, NASB, emphasis mine)

In Zechariah 12, the Lord makes it clear that when the nations of the earth have all come against Jerusalem and the nation of Israel has no hope of surviving, they will realize their hardheartedness and mourn for the Messiah they rejected. This then ties in with the previous passage in Romans 11, and indeed on that day, the House of Israel will be saved. For this reason, the church has NOT replaced Israel, and Israel and the church are not one in the same. Yet, anyone who repents before this dispensation is over will be of the church, and thus part of the Bride of Christ.

"From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:28-36, NASB, emphasis mine)

Here is another passage we need to read carefully: scripture is not calling the people of Israel "enemies" insofar as people we should hate, but instead counting them as amongst those who have rejected the Lord by rejecting His Son, the Messiah Jesus Christ. Yet, because of the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He has not abandoned them nor will He simply leave them to their fate.

But what does it mean "has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all"? Once again, scripture has the answer for us:

"Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one. Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:19-26, NASB, emphasis mine)

Under the Law, all of us were imprisoned in disobedience and sin. And since all of mankind has sinned, we deserved to be imprisoned as such. But rather than leave us to be eternally imprisoned, the Lord did so with the intention of bringing salvation to all. So we see here that God did not establish the Law to imprison either Jew nor Gentile, but as a "tutor" to show us all that we need desperately a Saviour to save us from our sin. As such, the Lord will continue to reach out to them and draw His nation to Him, as He has drawn all those now who trust in Him. He will reestablish them in good time, and restore them to the place they once held with Him. By their disobedience, God has used that rebellion to bring salvation to the Gentiles; conversely, by the mercy shown to the Gentiles, He will save His chosen people!

Indeed, "natural" or "wild", those branches that are the Lord's will not be abandoned!

In Part 12 we'll look at how the Lord instructs us to walk in our lives, both in how we are to serve the Lord as well as how we are to treat one another.

I bid you all peace.

YBIC,

-Robert

**mattfivefour** · January-7th-2012, 03:55 AM

**dave-o** · January-7th-2012, 11:59 AM

Romans is such a great book! The only way to truly understand it is to dig into the whole Bible which I suspect is exactly what the Spirit had in mind when He inspired Paul to write it.