Category Archives: Bible Study

Engrafted Branches, Romans 11:11-24

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Again I ask: ‘Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?’ – Romans 11:11

Paul’s description of the unbelieving, hardened Israel in the last section prompted him to ask this question. In other words: Was Israel’s fall a permanent ruin? Again, Paul replies: “By no means!”

Paul summarizes his discussion’s main points for the rest of the chapter in verses 11-12, (Shepherd’s Notes):

  • Through the trespass of Israel, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
  • Through the salvation of the Gentiles, Paul hoped Israel would be provoked to jealousy and turn to Christ for salvation.
  • Through the inclusion of Israel, great blessings will come to all. Not only was the rejection of Israel partial; it was also temporary.
The Ideal Church

Paul had a vision of Jew and Gentile uniting under God’s love where faith and obedience to Christ would matter most, not a person’s social status and/or ethnic background.

"The LORD called your name, 'A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form': With the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, And its branches are worthless" (Jeremiah 11:16, NASB).

“The LORD called your name, ‘A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form’: With the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, And its branches are worthless” (Jeremiah 11:16, NASB).

This ideal church would look to Christ alone for salvation while still respecting the Law.

Paul’s vision has yet to be realized. While many Jews rejected the gospel, and instead relied on their heritage for salvation, many Gentiles began rejecting the Jews. Sadly, persecution has been a recurring practice throughout the centuries.

In verses 17-24, Paul uses the allegory of an olive tree to warn Gentiles from feeling superior because God rejected some Jews.

The olive tree symbolized true Israel: The natural branches broken off symbolized the unbelieving Jews, while the Gentiles were the wild olive branches grafted in.

3 Reasons Why Gentiles Shouldn’t Boast

Shepherd’s Notes observes Paul’s admonition to Gentiles for not boasting over the Jews:

  1. They should remember that they are wild olive shoots who have been engrafted (vs. 17-18).
  2. They should understand that the natural branches were broken off because of their unbelief, taking heed not to presume on God (vs. 19-22).
  3. They should realize that God has the power to graft the natural branches back into the olive tree, provided that they do not persist in their unbelief (vs. 23-24).
So What?

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect and thank God for all His blessings. Thankfully, God has extended His invitation of salvation to everyone.

May we remember God’s words to Abraham: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). Jesus—descendant of Israel’s father, Abraham—fulfills this promise. Micah 4:2 and Zechariah 8:22 says that many nations will come to know Him. And when Jesus returns, He will reign in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21).

The Salvation of Israel, Romans 11:25-36

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Paul’s response to God’s grace. Only God could turn disobedience into an opportunity for His mercy toward those who would believe.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” -Romans 11:25

Paul then boldly declares: “. . . . all Israel will be saved,” (vs. 26). This surprising statement should be studied within the big picture of Paul’s previous statements about the nation Israel.

What is the basis of Paul’s claim?

Shepherd’s Notes suggests the following:

  • Although interpreters differ widely in their understanding of this difficult passage, the most probable interpretation of the phrase “all Israel” is that it indicates a great turning of Israel to Christ, without specifying the conversion of every individual Jew, just as the “full number of Gentiles” does not mean that every Gentile will be saved.
  • Israel’s salvation will be like all other people—responding in faith to the forgiveness made possible by Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection.
  • Paul describes this as a “mystery”, which had been previously kept secret, but now revealed. This mystery contained the revelation of God’s will made known to all (1 Cor. 2:1,7; 4:1), which included Gentiles (Rom. 16:25-26; Col. 1:26-27; Eph. 3:3-6).
  • The mystery of the New Testament is described as an open secret: “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.
So What?

God—who is always at work in people’s lives—is gracious. He is extremely patient and longs for all to turn to Him for forgiveness and eternal life (2 Peter 3:9). He desires that everyone share in the blessings of the gospel (Eph. 2:11-13), made possible through Jesus’ work (Col. 2:2, Eph. 1:9), and His indwelling Holy Spirit (Col. 1:26-27).

Living Sacrifices, Romans 12:1-2

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Paul moves from the theological to the practical in this last section of Romans, laying the groundwork for believers in discipleship. Chapter 12 deals with commitment, spiritual gifts, and relationships.

Call to Commitment

What comes to mind when you think of worship? Many people—including myself—think of Sunday services and singing worship songs. You don’t have to dig deep into the Bible to realize that sincere praise through singing and music pleases God (Psalm 107-150). In fact, about 500 verses speak of worshiping God in this way. But Paul takes our Sunday worship one step further:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”  – Romans 12:1

The word “therefore” directs us to make a connection between Paul’s previous section and his following advice.

3 Qualities of the Believer’s Sacrifice (Shepherd’s Notes):
  1. It is living. This concept may provide a contrast with the [Old Testament] dead bodies of animal sacrifices, or it could denote the new life that the believer possesses in Christ.
  2. It is holy. The Christian is set apart for and belongs to God [sanctification].
  3. It is pleasing. Sacrifices offered to God are not enough in themselves. The offerings must be acceptable to Him.

The greatest motivation for offering ourselves as living sacrifices stem from God’s mercy to us.

A Threat to the Believer

A great threat to the believer appears in verse 2: pressure to conform to this world.

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Credit: Jessica Meggs

The word “world” means “age”. As in Paul’s day, our present age opposes God’s coming world/values. Instead of settling for the world’s standards of living—behaviors and customs—we are to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds”. This goes beyond strict adherence to moral living. It begins by surrendering our thoughts and attitudes to God.

So What?

Believers become living sacrifices by daily setting aside selfish desires. God is pleased when we devote our time, energy, talents, and spiritual gifts to Him. We do this out of gratitude for His forgiveness and free gift of eternal life.

Like salmon swimming upstream, Christians must work hard to not drift (conform) with the world’s current of values and immorality. The Holy Spirit enables us to swim upstream against the corrupting current when we surrender our thoughts/attitudes to God. He is the One who transforms our lives and gives discernment for His perfect will.

Spiritual Gifts, Romans 12:3-8

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“Sober Judgment”

Robert Mounce, in Shepherd’s Notes, writes: “The use of this term suggests how out of touch with reality the Roman Christians were in their opinions of themselves. Since the metaphor suggests intoxication, we might say they were in danger of becoming ‘egoholics!’”

Knowing the devastating consequences of pride, Paul cautioned believers to not think of themselves more highly than they should. Next, he reminded them that they were members of one body (vs. 4-5), and encouraged them to use their varying gifts to build up the church (vs. 6-8).

Unity in diversity is the theme of this passage: working together as parts of the body function together. This is made possible through Jesus Christ, the head and chief commander of the church.

Paul listed seven different gifts and how they should be utilized (see 1 Peter 4:10, and Seven Primary Spiritual Gifts). Although these gifts differ in power, nature, and effectiveness—according to God’s wisdom and distribution—they are not used in proportion to our willpower. The NIV Application Study Bible suggests: “The ‘measure of faith’ (vs. 3) or the ‘proportion to his faith’ means that God will give spiritual power necessary and appropriate to carry out each responsibility . . . . These are gifts to His church, and He gives faith and power as He wills. Our role is to be faithful and to seek ways to serve others with what Christ has given us.”

So What?

What is your spiritual gift(s)? What do you do best?

Maybe the best gift we can give God this coming New Year is through seeking out the spiritual gift(s) that He has graciously given us, and using them to build up His body—the church.

Related Posts: Seven Primary Spiritual Gifts, God’s Plans—Who Me? What? Why?, God’s Plans—Where? How?, God’s Plan for Spiritual Gifts

A Visit from Jesus Christ

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I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. THANK YOU for being a part of my blog. I appreciate all of your “likes” and visits! I hope 2015 holds the best for you and your family.

As it was the Christmas season and I mulled over the practical implications of Romans 12:9-21, the idea of reworking the poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, came to mind. While this passage in Romans refers to general instructions on personal relationships, I took the liberty of placing Christ’s return (the rapture) in my poem. The question I ask while writing is: What if we are found obeying God’s commands when Christ returns?

***

‘Twas the end of the age, when all through the land

God’s children were stirring, obeying His commands;

Hearts were cleansed through confession and prayer,

In hopes that our Messiah soon would be here;

Pretense and envy were laid to bed;

While visions of God’s love danced in our heads;

And honor and devotion graced the church halls,

As unity and peace adorned all the walls,

Then in a wink of an eye there arose a great blast,

No time for goodbyes, it happened so fast!

Away in the sky we flew like a flash,

Source: lightinspired.deviantart.com

Heartache and grief—gone at last.

The moon cast red shadows on the new-fallen snow,

Giving a strange blush to the chaos below,

When what to my wandering eyes did appear,

But a radiant light—so bright and clear,

Surrounded by angels in one accord,

I knew in a moment, it must be our Lord.

More rapid than eagles His angels they came,

And He whistled, and shouted, and called us by name:

“Now, Chandler! Now, Tanner! Now Paiton and Nickson!

Come, Connie! Come, Reuben! Come, Conner and Kristen!

You who believed and followed my call,

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

Like birds with wings we soared into flight,

Such exhilaration, and what a sight!

Up past the stars, with the angels we flew

With new found strength and agility too,

And then, in a twinkling, I heard Him speak—

Like rushing waters, or a bubbling creek.

As I scanned the galaxies and looked around,

My Savior and Lord came with a bound.

He was dressed in a robe of brilliant white,

And His eyes dazzled like beacon lights;

A bundle of crowns He had flung on His back,

Then He winked and grinned when I stared and gasped.

Everything dimmed while near His side,

Even this incredible, soaring joyride.

Then He led us before His Bema Seat Throne,

But instead of dread, I felt quite at home.

No condemnation came from His lips,

Only reviews, pointers, and tips;

Because Christ’s blood conquered sin’s curse,

Eternal life was granted and crowns dispersed.

Then I heard Him exclaim as He greeted each one:

“Welcome home to all—faithful daughters and sons!”

***

You may visit here for more on the rapture and Bema Seat of Christ.