Week 28

Romans 11:16-32

Leader: summany
Paul starts in v1 defending the fact that God has not rejected His people because He has kept His remnant from within the nation of Israel who are the true Israel. So those who sought after God on the basis of works were hardened and those who were chosen obtained it by grace. But it is good for the world that they have rejected Christ because God brought His salvation to all peoples but it will be so much better when all Israel comes to Christ. Paul then points out that he is speaking to Gentiles in his letter just as he does to Gentiles in his ministry experiences with one objective of making his fellow Jews jealous so they would seek out Christ and be saved.

Paul then brings up an interesting point, in OT Law, Jews were required to offer up the first fruits of their food to God as an offering. Numbers 15; when bread is made, the first of the dough must be offered to God as a cake. The rest of the dough was free to eat but was not, according to the Law, holy. But here Paul seems to say that it is. Maybe Paul is saying that while it isn’t by Law holy, it is holy because out of it came the offering. The root and branches example furthers this argument because out of the root springs the branches so if the root is holy, then anything that comes forth from it will be holy. The comparison is made then of natural branches of the root of an olive tree as the Jews and unnatural branches from another tree being grafted in as the Gentiles (everyone else). This really would never be done in practice, taking bad branches and grafting them to a good root would spoil the tree but taking good branches and grafting them to a bad root would strengthen it. So Paul isn’t trying to say that the tree is weakened because of the Gentiles being on it, he is saying that the unnatural branches are greatly benefiting from the root of Christ, they will bear fruit because they are on the good root. Then a warning is given that those who are grafted onto the root should be careful not to become conceited because if God did not spare the natural branches, He certainly wouldn’t spare the unnatural. So if Gentiles continue to come to faith, God will continue to keep the unnatural branches grated in but if they become like the Jews that pursued God as if it were by works then God will break them off as well. But for now, God has caused a partial hardening of Israel until all of the chosen Gentiles will come to faith, then He will give them hearts of flesh and bring all the chosen Israel to faith. So looking at the present, the Jews are enemies of the gospel so that the Gentiles will come into the fold, but looking at God’s sovereign plan, they are beloved because they were the originators of the gospel and all of this (God’s gifts and calling) are irrevocable. In the greek, when a word came first in a sentence, it was done for emphasis; in the case of v29, irrevocable is the first word in the sentance.

Leader: for your review:

Jer 31:31-38 – God speaks of His old and new covenants.

Discussion question: In the OT Law, the bread that the first fruit came from was not called out as being holy, what does Paul mean here when he says whatever the first fruit came from is holy?

Discussion question: What is Paul’s purpose in the example of the Gentiles being branches that were grafted in to the root of Christ?

Discussion question: Who is the subject Paul is addressing when he uses the word “you” in vv17-24?

Discussion question: Does v22 imply that a single person can be grafted in to the root and then broken off? i.e. can a person lose their salvation? or is Paul talking about people groups here and not personal salvation from sin?

Eternal Security:

Matt 18:12-14 – “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? “If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John 6:35-40 – Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 10:27-30 – “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. “I and the Father are one.”

John 17:11-12,15 – “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. (15) “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”
Romans 5:8-10 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Romans 8

1 Cor 1:7-9 – so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Cor 10:13 – No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Eph 1:5, 13-14 – He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, (13-14) In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Eph 4:30 – Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

1 Thess 5:23-24 – Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

1 John 2:19,25 – They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. (25) This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

PERSEVERANCE of the saints:

Matt 10:22 – You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

Luke 22:31-32 – “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

John 15:5-6,8-10 – “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. (8-10) “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Acts 13:43 – Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

Acts 14,21-22 – After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

2 Cor 13:5 – Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?

Gal 6:9 – Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

Phil 2:12-13 – So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Phil 3:12-14 – Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Col 1:21-23 – And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach–if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Leader: for your review
The idea that a person can at some point in time be “saved” and then fall away is a dangerous doctrine. It leads to not being able to take God’s promises seriously. There is a balance of being preserved in belief and persevering until the end though. We cannot assume that a decision we made in junior high or a card we signed in a worship service is our hope for salvation. God tells us to examine our lives to be sure that we have faith but faith is given by the Spirit and Christ’s prayers for us. If we cannot rely 100% on the power of the Spirit of God, we are hopeless to do it of our own strength. How do we examine ourselves? Praying through the book of James is an excellent place to start. There is certainly a lot of material written on this subject, I would encourage you to look into the question further.