Does God reject his promises?
Romans 11

1. There is an old adage that there are 30,000 promises in the Bible. Some time ago a school teacher in Ontario slowed down on his 27th reading of the Bible to tally up the promises. It took a year and a half, but he came up with 7487 promises by God to man. There are two promises by God the Father to God the Son, 991 by one man to another, 290 by man to God and 28 promises made by angels, one by man to an angel, and two were made by an evil spirit to the Lord. Satan made nine, as when he promised the world to Christ "if thou wilt fall down and worship me. God is the God of promise.

2. Now this question is raised by Paul about the Jewish people whether God has gone back on his promise? If you will read the book of Genesis you can see the drift of God's promises. The promise began with Abraham. God's promise seemed to have a real test when Isaac was about to be offered in human sacrifice. This test of faith was great for Abraham and Sarah as God has promised a son and they were getting older and older. It had come to the point of questioning for Sarah as she aged and still no children. Sarah had come to the point of regarding God's promise with a laugh and when she tried to cover up her disbelief, God called her hand. For this reason and for the laughter of a child in her old age, the child was called Isaac.

3. In many ways God renewed his promise from time to time. Many of the times it seemed quite adverse to the conditions. It seemed improbably when Abraham and Sarah were old that they would have a child, yet God kept his promise. It seem difficult when the Hebrews were in slavery in Egypt for a number of years and it probably seemed that God had forgotten. Yet He kept his word. Throughout the old testament story, the promise seems at times to be neglected, but God would raise up this or that person and renew his promise.

4. Now we come to Romans 11 and it seems that God has forsaken
or neglected his people. Paul now deals with this in an unusual fashion assuming the stance of a prophet and answering the problem.

I. God's faithfulness is seen in the remnant. 5

1. From many outward appearances, it would be easy to conclude that God had rejected his people. We who live 20 centuries later may be led to conclude this even more. But Paul cannot admit this as true. In spite of the widespread rejection of Christ on the part of the Jews, this was countered by the frequent acceptance on the part of many. Paul himself is one example of a Jew who received Jesus as the Messiah. The example that Paul uses is Elijah who in a fit of despair called out to God that he was the only one left in Israel who was faithful to God. God's reply was that he had over seven thousand who had not bowed their knees to false idols. We must not conclude from this story that since many had become unfaithful that God rejected his people with a few who as individuals believed. Paul's point is that the remnant is the people of God The "question is not the attitude of God to certain individuals members of Israel, but this attitude toward His people. "Has God rejected his people? Paul answers, "By no means!"

2. Who is this remnant? "Ever since God chose Israel and made her His people, there has always been a spiritual Israel. It is this Israel, this people of God, which continued through the ages, as a watercourse which is sometimes broad and sometimes narrow. The very existence of the "remnant" is a witness to God's election and his faithfulness to His oovenant. That people whom He foresaw He cannot reject; and when He cannot give the whole people his blessing, He takes care that there is always a “remnant” to receive it.

II . God's faithfulness enlarges his people. 11,25,26.

This involves the following:
1. Unbelief leads to hardening of the heart.. This means two things: (1) unbelief on Israel's part meant that Israel trusted in their own advantage, and were not disposed to accept all by the free grace of God. The same problem may face us as Christians, trusting in our own advantage, or goodness, or humility, and not the free grace of Christ.

(2) the hardening of the heart (v.7) is a difficult phrase. In Hebrew thought everything was directly attributed to God, and the hardening is God work, but it is always in terms of man's life being out of harmony with God's commands. In the instances of the Bible, the command of God comes to do something, and the response is met with resistance and rejection, and hence man's hardening of his heart coincides with God's hardening of man's heart, because it is God's command and God assumes the initiative in the command. The hardening of the heart by God must not be presumed a capricious act, but rather it is his desire that all men come to repentance. But then, the hardening of the heart is not irreversible. (Cf. Pharaoh, Israel from time to time) and the future Israel.)

2. This involves a grafting-in of the Gentiles. The foundation or root of God's promise remains, but new branches, or the Gentiles are shown mercy. This enlarges the people of God in two ways: it brings salvation to the non-Jews, and makes the Jews jealous v.14. Then the Jews come to see that their own Messiah is recognized by the Gentiles, that cannot help but arrest their thought. If the only possibility were that the Jews would not recognize the Messiah, the whole matter could soon have been forgotten. But now there stands a constant reminder before them, when the Gentiles show that the Messiah for whom Israel had waited had now come, and the Gentiles recognize themselves as His people. When the Gentiles converted to Christ they called themselves "Christians" (Acts 11:26) The name they use rests on the Old Testament name, Messiah. The Name “The Christians" simply means "the messianic congregation, "the messianic people. It is the hope of Israel which has come to fulfillment for the Christians." Now Gentiles are claiming the promises of God, the fulfillment of God. "How could they who belonged to Israel see all this without a pang in the heart?”

III. God's faithfulness appears in irrevocable gifts and calling. 28,32

1. Perhaps the most difficult part of the three chapters is here. Paul assumes the role of a prophet and points to the future. A special word from God has come to him. The hardening of the Jews is for a short time until the fullness of Gentiles come in. And then the phrase comes, and "so all Israel will be saved.” v.26

God's promises remain true and his gifts and calling are irrevocable. v. 29 This leads us to the statement, "for God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.” v.32 The underlying idea yet held together is that salvation is by grace, not in any other way. This theme has been held constant and is re-emphasized in v.6. "But if it by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace."

2. The question that arises out of this passage is this:
In God's grace, does this mean that all Gentiles and all Jews
shall be saved?

There is no part of the Bible that approaches so closely the idea of double predestination as that in chapter 9 and no part that approaches to closely the idea that all men are going to be saved as in chapter 11. The important point to note is that Paul teaches neither of these extreme positions.

3. All Israel being saved must not lead us to conclude that every last one will welcome the kingdom of God anymore than every last Gentile will be obedient. I feel that Paul is speaking in general terms. This can be very easily maintained when one sees his concern about the wages of sin, its effect on the life of man, and its leading to condemnation. The emphasis that the New Testament places on judgement, and the
warning against judgement make one careful about concluding for a 100 percent universalism of salvation.

Conc1. :
1. The faithfulness of God is the very strength of our lives. But there are warnings in the midst of the story. The warnings are addressed to the readers:
(1) v. 18. Do not boast over the branches. Do not boast in your being a child of God. Cf. Jer. 9: 23 where we are told that ", we can boast in the Lord who is faithfu1, but not in our faithfu1ess or unique position.

(2) Beware lest you are found to be a dead branch. It is possib1e to deceive people about your faith in Christ, or lack of it. What a tragedy to deceive yourself. Make sure of your relationship to Christ. If you are putting on a show for other people, you are a branch to be cast out.

(3) remember that a branch has no strength in itself. Its growth depends upon its being in a continuing attached situation. Are you getting sustenance from the root, or the Trunk?