Hath God Cast Away His People?
Romans 10 ended with God's hands stretched out All day long to a disobedient and gainsaying people (Romans 10:21). Any reader would ask the next question, and Paul asks it for us: Hath God cast away his people? God forbid (Romans 11:1).
This is the last part of Paul's answer to the question of Romans 9:6, whether God's word to Israel has failed. Chapter 9 showed that God's promise never rested on birth. Chapter 10 showed that Israel's unbelief was her own. Chapter 11 shows that her story is not over. God is keeping a remnant now, and He will keep His word to the nation in the end.
- 11:1-10. A believing remnant by grace, and the rest hardened.
- 11:11-15. Israel has stumbled, not fallen for good, and her stumbling has brought salvation to the Gentiles.
- 11:16-24. The olive tree: Gentiles grafted in by faith, warned not to boast, and natural branches that God is able to graft in again.
- 11:25-32. The mystery: Israel's blindness is partial and temporary, all Israel shall be saved, and God's calling stands.
- 11:33-36. Worship: O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
If God would break His promises to Israel, He could break His promises to you. Romans 11 shows a God who keeps His word through centuries of unbelief. The same faithfulness holds every believer (Romans 8:38–39). See Israel and the Church.
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For Deeper Study
- Has the Church Replaced Israel? A Theological EvaluationAmazon Michael J. VlachDispensational. A careful answer to replacement theology, with a full treatment of Romans 11.
- Three Views on Israel and the Church: Perspectives on Romans 9-11Amazon Jared Compton and Andrew David Naselli, eds.Evangelical contributors, among them Michael Vlach (dispensational) and Benjamin Merkle (non-dispensational), debate Israel's future. Useful for hearing each view in its own words.
- Lectures on the Epistle to the RomansAmazon H. A. IronsideDispensational. Plain, pastoral lectures by a longtime pastor of Moody Church in Chicago.
- The Epistle to the RomansAmazon John MurrayReformed Presbyterian (NICNT). A covenant theologian who argued that Romans 11 promises a future turning of the Jewish people to Christ.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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Romans 10: The Word of Faith
Israel had zeal without knowledge and tried to establish her own righteousness, but Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth; the word of faith is near, whosoever calls on the Lord shall be saved, and so God sends preachers, because faith comes by hearing.
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