Episode Transcript
[00:00:17] So as many of you know, we are 13 weeks into a series on the book of Romans, which sounds like a long, long time. It's not. We could spend.
[00:00:29] How many weeks are in a year? 52. We could spend 104 weeks on Romans and still not really tackle everything that's going on. But it is a lengthy series for you and me. And to address Romans by chapter, sometimes two chapters a week in a 30 or 40 minute teaching is quite difficult, actually. It's quite difficult to communicate. It's a very big ask for you to try to track along with me as well, because I'm giving you a massive amount of commentary and new ways of thinking new paths. After all, the entire message is called Repaving the Romans Road. So obviously we know that we're doing some reworking here and I've struck struggled probably more than any other message this week with the chapter that I did not think would give me much difficulty at all and that is Romans 10. That's where we are. Yes, there are 16 chapters in Romans. We're going to actually be condensing 12 through 15, so we're not in for another eight or ten weeks of Romans. But we're going to get through this thing with excellence and you're going to come out of it understanding. But I say all that to say that the purpose of this message series of Repaving the Romans Romans Road is really.
[00:01:59] It's not to answer every question because that's not possible in this setting. It's to get you started, it's to open your eyes, it's to have you seeing things that you may not have seen before in the scriptures. It's to ask questions. And maybe what we need down the road is a weekly study of Romans where we sit down for 90 minutes together and have questions back and forth and really tackle some of the difficulties. But that's not where we are right now. Right now is a week 10 or week 13 chapter, chapter 10 of Romans. If you are just coming into this, it will be a challenge for you to understand some of what I'm saying. Which gives me a great opportunity to invite you into the previous 12 weeks of teaching that we've done on the book of Romans so that you can catch up. All right, jump in. Romans 10. Pull this up. I'm using the ESV version, at least for this section. Darren. Romans 10 says, Brothers and sisters, you could say, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they who Is this they them? He's talking about his brothers and sisters, the Jewish people, that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law. For righteousness, righteousness for everyone who believes Christ is the end of the law.
[00:03:34] This is the title of this week's message, focusing on Romans 10, but I'm actually not going to spend that much time on it. But here's the deal with that statement that Scripture. We must address it on some level because of how incredibly important its interpretation and subsequent application has been in Christian thinking.
[00:03:59] Christ is the end of the law. We know what that means from a traditional perspective, that perspective that begins in Romans 9:30 and runs through 10:13. It's a contrast of perceived paths to righteousness. One from faith or believing, one from law or doing that. These are sort of the contrast. Believing versus doing, faith versus legalism, grace versus law.
[00:04:30] And the summary from this reading and this interpretation of Paul's purpose is to say, one of those will prevail, the other one will fail. Okay, this is the traditional perspective. Grace versus law. One prevails, one fails. Paul continues in chapter 10. For Moses writes about the righteousness that's based on the law, that the person who does the commandment shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, do not say in your heart who will ascend to heaven. And it goes into like this really, really important part, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and saves. For the Scripture says, everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. Now, it seems very, very clear as we read these things, and it is impossible to separate what you think from the centuries that have gone before this, that have taught you what to think.
[00:05:42] But it seems anyway that Paul is saying the law is not good, and therefore Christ must be the end of the law for righteousness. And he even includes here, as you read through chapter 10, this apparent contrast between Moses, Moses, law, right, the righteousness based on law, to the one based on faith, which again, really is apparently just about. You just believe in your heart and you confess with your mouth and talk about the Romans Road. This is the fourth big statement of the Romans Road, what we're talking about right there. For all have sinned, step One, wages of sin is death. Step two, gift of God is eternal life. Step four, confess and believe and you'll be saved. That's the Romans Road. So, friends, here we are on the Romans Road. And if we backtrack a little bit to Romans 9 there, we supposedly get an even clearer backstory from traditionalists about where Jews have missed the boat. Romans 9, 30. What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it. That is a righteousness, that is by faith. But that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They've stumbled over the stumbling stone as it is written. And Paul quotes, behold, I'm laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock offense. And then he adds another scripture. Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. By way of putting all this together, then we know what the stumbling stone must be, right?
[00:07:35] The stumbling stone Israel has not believed and confessed in their heart. First of all, according to a traditional interpretation, one, that Jesus is Lord.
[00:07:49] Two, that Jesus is the end of the law.
[00:07:57] So they've stumbled and they continue, it says, to trip over this misguided zeal to pursue the Torah that apparently Christ put an end to for everybody, for all. Because back to chapter 10, verse 12. There's no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing the riches on all who call on him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And this is the proposed point. By a traditional interpretation, the Torah has become irrelevant in Jesus, Jew or Gentile. There is no distinction, because as Paul stated in chapter one, the righteous shall live by faith. And apparently faith means no law, no Torah.
[00:08:43] This, I've spent this time to tell you, is what you've been told. You didn't know it, but that's what you've been told.
[00:08:53] You did know it. Now, just briefly, I want you to think about that statement and the implications therein that if Christ is the end of the law. Again, I want you to think of this in terms of God's trustworthiness, which we did back in chapter nine.
[00:09:14] Think about it.
[00:09:17] He being God, the Creator of the universe, has in multiple places throughout the Tanakh, that is the Torah, the Prophets, the Psalms. He has stated that His Word stands what, forever?
[00:09:33] He stated that His Word stands forever throughout the Torah. You find the Torah and actions and commandments in the Torah being referred to as Eternal statutes. What does eternal mean?
[00:09:45] Eternal. It means forever. The Psalms 119, in particular the Psalms speak of the goodness of God's word. Isaiah, the prophets, and then the Gospels themselves.
[00:09:58] Jesus Christ telling people, you should do the things that the Torah says to do. That's what he says.
[00:10:10] And that not one jot nor tittle shall pass away until all is fulfilled in Matthew. That's what he says. And certainly all is not fulfilled.
[00:10:23] And for Jews, if God has gone back on his word in this regard, literally on his word, if God has overturned that, if he has reneged regarding the marriage document of Torah that was given to Israel, the covenant between him and his people, then Israel has been erased, the covenant has been obliterated.
[00:10:48] And if that is what Paul is saying, if that's what he's saying in 9 and 10, then I want to tell you something. You can be certain that Jews are stumbling over that.
[00:11:04] You can be certain that they are having a real problem with that.
[00:11:12] If Christ is the end of law, if there is no Torah, in essence, there are no Jews. And what Jew, including Paul, would want that?
[00:11:26] In summary, this is sort of what you're expected to conclude. No distinctions between Jews and Gentiles. The Torah doesn't matter because Christ is the end. All right, I want to reframe this chapter for you a little bit within Paul's purpose for writing the letter to the Romans. Who is the letter to the Romans? And they are Gentiles. They are former polytheists. They are pagan worshipers. They're Gentiles.
[00:11:57] Okay, Remember that Paul is writing to the Gentile community in Rome. Disciples he has not met personally, so he has to speak gently.
[00:12:08] Disciples who have had interaction with the Jewish community in Rome. We know that they started out in the synagogue. Disciples facing some difficulty as they navigate a new found faith in Jesus. Because in Rome that is not popular for a Gentile to not be worshiping Zeus with your family.
[00:12:27] Disciples who have some questions about how they fit into the picture of the God of Israel and how Israel still fits into the picture. This is all the stuff that's swirling around in Rome right now. And that's what Paul's writing to please remember what Paul has gone to great lengths to demonstrate to his audience thus far. That God has always had a plan for the Gentile nations. That that's what Paul's saying, that he's brought to fruition in Christ apart from the law and the need for the Gentiles to become Jews. He's made a way, and I also Want you to remember that. Now in these specific chapters, we're in Romans 9, 11. Pa has another primary mission here. He needs to make sure that his Gentile audience knows that Paul has also not rewritten the Jews out of the story.
[00:13:23] He is going to great lengths to tell them. And we'll see specifically in Romans 11, do not be haughty toward the Jewish people. So the whole point here is he continues to make these points. He is still God, is still faithful to the Jewish people, even though it looks different than what may have been expected because the order of events is actually the opposite. It says to the Jew first and also the Greek, but what's actually happening is to the Greek first and then the Jew. It's like on its head a little bit. So Paul has to probably, honestly, Paul has to figure this out himself and then be able to explain it to everybody else.
[00:14:12] So Paul is speaking here. He has to. Israel has stumbled, but she's still in the race. Why did Israel stumble? Paul goes on to say, because of ignorance.
[00:14:24] Ignorance.
[00:14:26] Her heart was right, but the thinking was confused. And here in chapter 10, in a very sort of difficult way to track, Paul is going to demonstrate the error.
[00:14:37] Why it is that things are upside down, why it is to the Greek first and not the Jew, where the ignorance has come from. God has now revealed his plan to make the entire world right, righteous included, everybody, through Jesus. But there are many, many Jews who have missed that message. And Paul has to address it.
[00:15:01] And those who remain will call them unconvinced Jews, unpersuaded Jews, those stumbling over the st. Stumbling stone.
[00:15:12] They're not seeing this plan in Messiah, Yeshua. And their error, for one part, is that they believe that the only way that Gentiles can come into God's family is by becoming Jews through conversion. Or as Paul refers to it over and over, circumcision. Circumcision is code for conversion. So he's speaking to this group who is denying the fact that Jesus could be an open door to the Gentiles. First of all, nope, they gotta convert. But there's another whole worse potential ignorance. And that is a total denial of what Yeshua has done. That is to say, no, there's no way these Gentiles can come into this thing, conversion or not. No way. They're not coming in. And so there's this. They've maintained. Now, listen, I want to read this quote because it's very, very helpful in understanding what it means. Their own righteousness. Some Jews have sought to maintain, as William Campbell says their own previous pattern of righteousness. That is a righteousness limited by the observance of law and therefore exclusive to Jews.
[00:16:24] Gentiles don't know the law. They're not allowed to know the law. Jews would say this group of Jews, therefore they have nothing to do with it. Now with that background, they didn't even acknowledge, I should say that an opportunity for Gentiles to come in exist with that background. Let me speak directly to what Paul is saying in 103. Being ignorant of the righteousness of God, seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. Everyone who believes this, what I'm about to say and teach could be an uncomfortable theological stretch for some people. That's okay. We're limber around here, we're flexible.
[00:17:09] I know this. But I want to speak from the Paul within Judaism perspective to how it is that the Jewish people Paul references here are ignorant of the righteousness of God. Because that's a fairly bold accusation, isn't it? To the people that God gave the law to, to say they're ignorant, it's sort of a. It's pretty bold. But remember the key point I just mentioned that throughout Romans, when God speaks, where Paul speaks of God's righteousness, he has something very particular in mind. It is in relation to the promises that God has made. Particularly the promise he made to Abraham in Genesis 12 when he said, you will be the father of what many nations. That's what his name means, Avraham, father to many.
[00:18:02] God made that promise. And that means that God, the covenant keeper, the God of righteousness, would have to make a way for that to happen. He had to keep faithful to the way that it would be possible for them to come in. Because if God said that to Abraham and then did not make a way for the Gentiles to come in, do you know what that makes him? A liar. It makes him not righteous, but unrighteous. And we know God is not unrighteous. So Paul speaks to God's righteousness. The issue really for Paul's un persuaded Jews here under discussion, the lack of convincing about Jesus actually has less to do with Jesus than it does theology. Now that's a confusing statement, but let me explain this. Jews are not afraid of the idea of Messiah. In Paul's time, Jews were expecting a Messiah. That's not the issue. It's not that there was someone even claiming to be Messiah. What the issue is more with God than Jesus himself.
[00:19:13] That is to say, God would never do this. I don't care about this Jesus guy, whatever. God wouldn't do this.
[00:19:23] He wouldn't let them enter the family apart from the law. And that's Paul's entire premise, right in the book, that Gentiles can come in apart from the law. The lack of comprehension, ignorance is that in Jesus, God's righteousness, his promise to Abraham is revealed to the nations. They don't see that, they don't accept that they are unpersuaded of these facts.
[00:19:50] And thus Jesus and Paul's message, his mission, his preaching becomes the stone over which Israel stumbles. And Paul has taken eight chapters up to this point to explain how this is working, this gentile inclusion thing, that it's only through the faithfulness, the allegiance to Jesus, accepting his work of perfect faith that they can experience God's righteousness doesn't have anything to do with Judaism. It doesn't have anything to do with the law. And in other words, when it comes to the nations, when it comes to the nations, that is the echne, Christ is the aim, he is the goal. He is the victory line of the Law for everyone who believes that word telos in Greek, end is how it's translated, doesn't work. Christ is the aim, he is the goal, the line for everyone who trusts. Hear that? Christ is not the end, the termination of the law, but rather the point to which the law pointed for the nations. For Paul, the Law itself taught this.
[00:21:04] The Torah taught this, that Gentiles would be redeemed not by being made to observe the law, but by God's gracious mercy and response to, and by means of Yeshua's faithfulness. So in essence, what Paul's doing, he was restating Romans 1 where he describes the Gospel of, of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Okay, listen, nothing is new for Paul here. There's nothing new going on. This has always been the plan and the prophets spoke to it. And the Holy Scriptures spoke to the fact that this is how this was going to go. He's quoting these things, the Gospel of God which he promised before through his prophets concerning his Son. He's saying the prophets in the Scriptures have already testified to this truth. Romans 3, 21. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and prophets bear witness to it. Another instance where the Law is pointing to what's happening right before their eyes and especially in Galatians 3 and the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, in you all the nations shall be blessed.
[00:22:30] The scriptures Paul knew, that is the Torah and the prophets. Now listen. Genesis 12:3, Genesis 12:3. To the Gentile nations, this is the good news.
[00:22:44] This is the good news because God made a promise to Abraham. You will be the father of many nations. And it's been made possible through Jesus. God would bring them in. And Paul, it's not a mystery to him, but all these other people are all these other unconvinced Jews. Messiah is the goal of the law with respect to God's plan to redeem the Gentiles. He is the goal. And for Paul, what he's saying is all of that, all of that past history and these prophets and scriptures and all this thing he's saying, brothers and sisters, it points to right here, today, it's happening in your midst.
[00:23:30] Gentiles are coming into the family, yet many Jews remain unconvinced. Now, are we surprised to hear Paul having difficult explanations and conversations with Jews who are unconvinced about Jesus? No, of course not. We find it in Paul's writings. He has conversations and arguments with people who are saying no, they have to be circumcised or they, they have to obey the full law. This is just another instance where Paul is trying to deal with this difficulty. He goes on to make the point that God has made it easy since the beginning for people to be in relationship with him.
[00:24:14] Even initially he made it easy for the Jewish people to be in relationship to him. Now, now you have to really focus in with me if you haven't already, if I haven't gone too fast, too far. This last part is very, very important.
[00:24:38] When it comes to 10.
[00:24:40] In verse five, Paul writes, Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law that the person who does the commandment shall live by. But the righteousness based on faith says, do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down or who will descend into the abyss, that is to bring Christ up from the dead. But what does it say? The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith that we proclaim. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Listen, it's a lot of reading, but follow along.
[00:25:18] The standard interpretation here tells us that Paul has once again set out to pit Law Keeping vs Faithful Living Moses against Faith, Moses, Torah against faith. But we know, we know for certain that Paul is not anti Torah, he is not anti Judaism, that his purpose here is not to try to say that none of God's previous actions matter anymore because Jesus came. That's not what Paul has ever said or is saying.
[00:25:51] That can't be what God is saying. But there is an evolution. Clearly, Yeshua is a central point of focus here. There is connection between Yeshua, law, Jews, Gentiles, but because it's Paul and Peter tells us Paul is sometimes hard to understand, right?
[00:26:11] Even Peter struggled a little bit because Paul is an incredible, incredible rhetoric guy and he is very, very, very smart and he's hard. And so here he's about to just launch into all these Torah quotes and put all these pieces together, but he's about to make his point for his audience. From the law, from the Torah, he's going to make some amazing points. Romans 10:4 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the command shall live by them. This term, the person, it's very important.
[00:26:51] You can't know it unless you're reading in Greek. I don't usually read the Bible in Greek, but if you do, you would see that this term is anthropos.
[00:27:00] This man, it says this human, A human.
[00:27:06] Moses writes that the person anthropos, who does these things. It is proposed that for Paul, this is a messianic prophecy of Yeshua.
[00:27:19] He is the man who did the commandments and ultimately truly lived by them, in the sense he was resurrected. His righteousness led to a resurrected life. He truly lived. He made a way for others to do the same. Jesus was the only one who ever completely lived righteous by the law. Romans 5:19 explains that through the righteousness of one man, many will be made righteous. And so this interpretation tells us that the law itself in 18 5, which is where we read this, points to Yeshua. That Yeshua is being talked about in 185, where it says that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. That Paul sees this as Yeshua.
[00:28:13] This interpretation points to Yeshua as this linchpin. He's the goal, he's the fulfillment, he's the aim. He's the perfect manifestation of the law. We all should look like him, but at least he looked like that. And we can all follow. So follow with me now. 10:4 says the law points to Yeshua as God's agent for the salvation of the world. 10, 5 and following, he's about to provide all this supporting prophecy from the Torah about it. Paul creatively points us to something very important that his unconvinced Jewish brothers and sisters have missed. Put 10, six up there for me, Darren.
[00:28:51] Paul makes an even more direct and powerful Torah reference here. This is Deuteronomy 8. But the righteousness based on faith says, do not. I'm sorry, this is not. This is Romans. But in 10, 6, the righteousness based on faith says, do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven, that is bring Christ down. Do not say in your heart. Do you know where you find those words?
[00:29:18] They're in the Torah. They're in Deuteronomy 8. They're in Deuteronomy 9. Paul is bringing in the Torah right now to make a point. Do not say in your heart. These are the words in Deuteronomy 9. 4. Here's the context of that.
[00:29:36] God speaking to Israel. Do not say in your heart after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you. It's because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going to possess the land, but because of the wickedness of these nations. The Lord your God is driving them out before you and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. The summary, Israel. In other words, the Torah is saying in Deuteronomy 9. Remember that it is only because of God's faithfulness that you get to participate in this. It's only because of God's faithfulness and the promises he's made to Abraham. Israel, do not say in your heart that it has anything to do with you.
[00:30:32] This is the reference that he's making. Put Romans 10, 6 again up there for me. Then righteousness begins to speak and reminds Israel, it's not because of your righteousness. And Paul moves on to quote more torah now. Deuteronomy 30, 11. Put that on the screen for me, Darren. Who will ascend to get it? Who will descend to bring it?
[00:30:59] Do you know where this is from?
[00:31:02] Hint.
[00:31:03] It's from Deuteronomy 30. This is Moses saying to Israel, this is not hard for you. This is not hard. It is within your reach. You don't have to go up and get it. You don't have to go down and get it. Why? Because it's in your heart and it's in your mouth. Moses talking to Israel about the Torah and living according to it. He's Explaining, explaining who will ascend. No, I made it easy for you, Israel. It's in your mouth. It's in your heart. You can do it. And the point of Paul's Torah reference here is to tie Israel's story to the nation's story. Back to 10. 6. Darren. He's explaining how it is that the Jewish people have missed the miracle that's going on. Just as God made the Torah accessible for Israel through hearing and receiving, so too he has made Messiah, which was promised through the Torah, accessible to the nations through hearing and receiving righteousness personified. It speaks to Paul's audience.
[00:32:18] Entrance into the family of God has been given to them not because of their righteousness or what they must do to earn it, but because of God's faithfulness. The promised Messiah came for all. And Paul loves that word, all. He's including everybody in the story.
[00:32:37] God made it easy. And all of this fits into the bigger point of what the unconvinced Jews have missed, what they're ignorant of. God's righteousness. God's covenant faithfulness, his promises is available to the world, the nations, not through Torah, not through observance, not through conversion, not through circumcision, right here, right now, through the faithfulness of Yeshua, who has given life to the promise God made to Abraham that he would be the father to many nations. So just as God has acted for Israel previously by embracing her when she was nothing special, so too he has embraced the nations. And they are nothing special, but they are all included.
[00:33:29] What puzzled Paul was how Jews, the graced people of Israel, could fail to read in Scripture and in life and what was going on that go. God had now acted toward the Gentiles just as he had toward the Jews.
[00:33:46] For God is no respecter of persons and he is faithful and he made these promises.
[00:33:53] Paul's point, unconvinced juice.
[00:33:57] Those who have not gotten on board with preaching the good news to the nations, they miss the message that God has sent through Messiah. Israel had a way to be in relationship. So too he has made a way for the nations. And the Torah has always had that endpoint in mind. He's still speaking to the Gentiles, explaining why it is that some Jews remain unconvinced. They simply do not see how God is at work. But there is nothing here, nothing here about the termination of the Torah and the life of God's people. Paul continues to tell all of his communities that they should live righteous lives according to God's instruction. Romans 7. Paul already said the Torah is holy, just and good. It retains its place as a valuable part of righteous living. So listen, Christ is the end of the law.
[00:34:55] Well, Christ is the fulfillment of the Torah's goal to bring Gentiles into the covenant. Covenant.
[00:35:02] That's what this means. The aim, the point, the goal. Romans 10, 5, 13. It shows Paul's using these Torah passages. Leviticus 18, Deuteronomy 30. He's pointing to Messiah. He's demonstrating the accessibility of God's righteousness through faith. Romans 10, 14, 21. He addresses the irony of Jewish rejection. God's ongoing faithfulness for Israel. Faith in Messiah grants access to these covenants. This inclusion for Gentiles without erasing any distinctions between Jew and Gentile. Okay, now I'm about done, but let me just address distinction real quick because it's very, very important. Paul makes clear.
[00:35:55] God makes it clear. I should say that he accepts all Jew and Greek who call on Him. There's no favoritism. The nations are in this sense the same. And yet the distinction remains between Jew and Gentile. Now you can easily say 1012, Rabbi. 1012. Do you read English? It says, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is the Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call Him Him.
[00:36:25] There is a distinction.
[00:36:28] And how we know this is if there is no distinction, there is no point in Paul even discussing anything about Jews. In Romans 11. 1, he says, I'm an Israelite.
[00:36:43] He doesn't melt into some amorphous blob of humanity. He says, I am an Israelite. There's no point in. In him going into this about explaining God's future plan for the Jewish people or a discussion in the rest of Romans about how Jews and Gentiles should get along. If there's no distinction, then he shouldn't waste the time.
[00:37:10] There are distinctions.
[00:37:16] But a more helpful translation, courtesy of William Campbell et al. Other scholars before him, would be this discrimination.
[00:37:28] There is no discrimination with God between Jews and Gentiles. And this for Paul's unconvinced Jews, is the great difficulty. Because what they're suggesting is that God is a discriminator, that unless these Gentiles become Jews like us, they can't be in it.
[00:37:54] They can't be in it. So they are doing the very thing that God would never do. And so that's Paul's problem.
[00:38:06] That's his problem, that he's so trying to figure out. His own people have missed this message.
[00:38:14] Paul and his fellow Jews have been tasked with presenting the good News to the Gentiles. Chapter 10 says, if not for us, how are they going to hear this? How will they know the story, the truth? Paul's mission, the Jewish mission. You got to proclaim this, brothers and sisters.
[00:38:33] But they're not. And the reason is they are ignorant of what God is doing. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
[00:38:51] They're missing it. And Paul ends the chapter but of Israel. He quotes Isaiah 65 all day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people. That's God saying to Israel in Isaiah 65 all day long I've held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people. But here's the problem, friends.
[00:39:19] God's not tired.
[00:39:22] He can keep holding out his arms. He's not exhausted. He doesn't need anyone to come and hold up his arms. He's not fatigued. He may be frustrated. His hands are held out all day. True enough. But Paul will show that no matter what happens, he will show in Romans 11 God will not lower his hands for his people.
[00:39:50] His arms remain outstretched for the Jewish people. Paul is about to make this point. He's bringing it home. In Romans 11 he has an embrace waiting for his people. Paul will tell his audience quite plainly that Israel's disobedience is part of God's plan.
[00:40:19] That's a It's just a bombshell. It's just monumentally bombshellish.
[00:40:29] What's going on? Paul says God is not suppressed, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were at one time disobedient to God, but now have received mercy because of their disobedience. So they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you, they also may now receive mercy, for God has consigned all to disobedience. I told you he loves the Word all that he may have mercy on all next week.
[00:41:09] Romans 11 Shabbat Shalom please visit our website shalommakin.org to learn more about us. Join our Live Services Access other Teachings Sign up for our Newsletter Join our private network that will connect you with our greater community from around the world or contribute to the work of Shalom Macon. Thank you for watching and we look forward to to connecting with.
