Romans 11 pulls our eyes off ourselves and back onto the mercy and faithfulness of God. In this episode, we trace Paul’s argument that God has not rejected His people, that both Jews and Gentiles stand only by grace, and that spiritual pride—especially religious pride—is one of the most dangerous distortions of all. Through the image of the olive tree, we are reminded that we are not the high point of history but grafted-in branches depending entirely on ancient roots and a future God has promised to complete.
In this week’s episode, we explore:
- How a Calvin and Hobbes strip about being “the purpose of history” exposes our own version of “chronological snobbery” and religious self-importance
- The ways spiritual pride twists grace into entitlement: devaluing others, celebrating our own accomplishments, and quietly assuming equality with God
- Paul’s insistence that God has not rejected His people Israel, and the ongoing presence of a remnant “chosen by grace” in every generation
- What Romans 11:6 means when it says that if grace becomes something we earn or presume upon, it is “no longer grace”
- The sobering reality of hardening—a “spirit of stupor” with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear—and how this describes much of Israel’s current spiritual state
- How Israel’s stumbling led to salvation for the Gentiles, and why that Gentile blessing is meant to stir Israel to jealousy, not to feed Gentile arrogance
- The olive tree metaphor: deep roots in God’s promises, broken-off natural branches, and wild branches grafted in by sheer mercy
- Paul’s warning to Gentile believers: “Do not be arrogant, but be afraid”—learning to behold both the kindness and severity of God
- What Paul means by “the fullness of the Gentiles” and “all Israel will be saved,” and how a richly alive Gentile church may one day awaken Jewish envy for the life of God
- The breathtaking conclusion of Romans 11: God has consigned all to disobedience so that He may have mercy on all, leading Paul into doxology rather than neat formulas
By the end of the episode, listeners will see more clearly that no group—Jew or Gentile, past or present—stands before God on any ground but mercy. You’ll be invited to let go of spiritual superiority, to see yourself as one small stretch of bank along a very long river of God’s work, to honor both the roots and the future of God’s people, and to join Paul in humble worship: “From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.”
In Romans 11:1-15, Paul gives five reasons why it is evident that God has not forgotten his people the Jews.
- One of the reasons why God begin saving some of the Gentiles is that He desires to make Israel jealous. God is reaching Gentiles because, ultimately, He wants to reach the Jewish people.
- The Old Testament promises of worldwide blessing hinge upon the restoration of Israel to God.
- If the first Jews (the patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob) could be made holy by God, then God is able to make Jews holy after thousands of years have passed. Therefore there is hope for Israel.
- Paul uses the figure of an olive tree. The natural branches of the tree are broken off and unnatural branches are grafted on. Jews who become Christians today are “completed Jews,” but Gentiles who become Christians become spiritual Jews.
Beginning in Romans 11:25, Paul explains the restoration that is coming to Israel.
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Series: Romans: Justification by Faith
Study: Romans Resources
Season 2, Episode 17
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