The depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
Romans 11:25-33
June 16, 2024 Father’s Day
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig
I. Happy Father’s Day
A. Father’s day is NOT a cultural tradition – I am glad many nations set aside this day to honour Dads, but it is not something we do because our culture tells us to
B. Not the theme of a Hallmark movie
C. It is a Commandment of God – something that all men and women must do to have a strong, blessed, safe society
1. Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
2. Matthew 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
D. Three Ways to honour your dad, if he is alive
1. Forgive him – start to accept the fact he was never perfect
2. Love him – turn your heart towards him, and hug him, and tell him you love him
3. Bless him – do good to him – treat him better than he deserves
4. That is GRACE in action – that is how God treats YOU and ME
E. We have a gift for all the fathers here today
II. Introduction and Review
A. We are studying through the letter to the Romans – written by Paul around 55 or 56 A.D. (20 years after the crucifixion)
1. Such a marvellous book of the Bible
2. We started back in 2023
3. Currently in Chapter 11, learning about the amazing wisdom of God, as shown in how God has dealt with a nation of people called ISRAEL
4. And how He can be trusted because he keeps His promises!
B. Last time we learned… (Romans 11:11-25)
C. We Gentiles are in a good place
1. As believers, we have been grafted into the family of God - adopted, born again, a spiritual new birth
2. We now possess all spiritual blessings
3. And have access to all the promises of God, if only we would (James 5)
4. and God treats us as his elect, his special people
D. The Responsibility of Gentile Believers – “grafted branches” (Romans 11:18-25)
1. So what are WE supposed to be doing?
2. Stay Humble about ourselves
3. Draw from the Roots (the Old Testament), not from Branches (other Christians)
4. Be Worthy of Jealousy by the unbelieving Jews
5. Pray for Unbelieving Israel
6. Produce Good Fruit in your Life – much spiritual, Gospel fruit
7. Fear for Your Generation – they are falling away fast!
III. Message – Get your Bible open to Romans chapter 11
A. The Coming Falling Away (Romans 11:25)
1. Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
2. We Gentiles are not better than Israel
3. We are blessed simply because of faith in Israel’s Messiah - definitely not because of our good works, or our religion, or our own righteousness
4. Paul is warning that Gentiles as a whole will soon completely exchange humble faith with pride, and more religions, and arrogant self righteousness!
a. 2Thessalonians 2:1-4 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ [DAY OF THE REVEALING OF JESUS CHRISY TO ISRAEL] is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5. And Gentiles, and ALL Gentile nations will be broken off from the blessings of God like the generation of Jews where during the book of Acts
6. And will be given “strong delusion” (messed up minds) by God
B. Israel’s Condition (Romans 11:25-27)
1. Romans 11:25-27 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
2. Lost – without God (no matter how religious they are)
a. Ungodly – wicked – the Jewish people are referred to Sodom and Gomorrah right now
b. away from God – but NOT forsake by God
3. Partially Blind
a. Could not see Jesus for who and what he is
b. Could not see their own need to be forgiven by God
c. They are under the judgment of God
d. John 12:40 He [GOD] hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
e. But there ARE Jews who do believe and get saved today! A remnant of them
C. Israel's Condition is Temporary (Romans 11:25-27)
1. Romans 11:25-27 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
2. Their blindness will be healed soon!
a. That is why Jesus healed blind Jews throughout his ministry... Because that is what Israel needs – spiritual healing!
1) Jesus said in Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
2) Matthew 9:27-30 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
3) Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
4) Matthew 15:30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
5) Matthew 21:14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
6) EVERY HEALING was to show what Jesus wanted to do for the Jewish nation!
3. Their blindness will continue until “the fullness of the Gentiles comes in”
a. We would say, “until the Gentiles have run their course to the end”
b. Fullness is like a sand-timer, where all the sand has fallen out of the top chamber and has filled up the bottom chamber
4. And Paul declares that one day, all of Israel shall be saved!
a. Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
b. Isaiah 59:20 And the Redeemer [MESSIAH] shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, [GOD SAYS} this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD…
c. Doesn't anyone here wish that THAT was a promise for your nation?
d. Not referring to all Israel throughout all time...
1) Jesus said the Pharisees were going to hell
2) The rich Jewish man in Luke 16 went to hell
3) Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16:33 went to hell when they went against Moses
e. Paul is referring to all the Jews that are alive during the tribulation – THEY will be gloriously converted to faith in Christ!
f. Unbelieving Jewish people are still a nation of people in God's eyes
g. Remember, the New Covenant was given first to the Jews
1) God promised to take away the sins of the Jews
2) Not just the sins of the world
5. So don't brag or boast against unbelieving Israel (Romans 11:18-23)
a. Be not high minded (arrogant, proud of yourself), but fear
b. Romans 11:18-23 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
D. So, What is Next on God's Schedule?
1. Gentiles will completely fall away from wanting the God of the Bible – that has basically happened already!
a. There is no God almost anywhere in people’s lives
b. Even in churches God is missing – just people getting their ears tickled, and entertained, and made to feel affirmed and special
c. Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
d. Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
e. Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. [THIS WAS WRITTEN TO A CHURCH]
f. Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
g. Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
h. Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
i. Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
j. Jesus CHRIST IS NOT EVEN INSIDE THE LIVES OF SUPPOSED CHRISTIANS
2. There will soon be total and absolute paganism throughout the world
3. Christians will not be here anymore - we will disappear in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye add an event called the rapture
4. And all the nations will turn to following the Antichrist as described in Revelation 13 – including the unbelieving Jews
a. The man of sin
b. The son of perdition – son of hell
c. The beast and his false prophet
d. The prince and the power of the air
e. The god of this world
f. The son of Lucifer
5. Until the middle of the Tribulation when ALL Israel’s eyes will be opened, and they will repent and believe the Gospel, and then have to run for their lives from the antichrist
E. What the Nation of Israel is Now (Romans 11:28,29)
1. Romans 11:28,29 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
2. They are stiff-necked – stubbornly rebellious against their own Scriptures
3. They are blind, broken, judged, at the bottom of the world system
4. Surrounded by enemies
5. They are enemies – enemies of Christians and of Jesus and the cross – they are not MY enemy, but I am theirs
a. But that is okay…
b. They are our opportunity to bless end give the gospel to - they are for our sakes so we should be for theirs!
c. Matthew 5:43-46 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
6. They are beloved “they are beloved for the fathers' sakes”
a. The unbelieving Jews are loved by God – ‘beloved’ is a most tender word of affection
b. God cannot give up on them
c. It is amazing to me that this is so hard for most modern Christians to say, even though it is clearly in the Bible
7. They are God’s elect - that means they are specially chosen, and always have been
a. Not because they are a better people than the rest of the world
b. And they are not chosen to salvation – GET THIS POINT
1) Election means SELECTED, Chosen by God
2) Not to go to heaven, but to be used for a purpose
3) Like when we ELECT someone to be in government – not to salvation, but for a special PURPOSE!
c. The Jewish people are chosen for an eternal purpose of God – THEY have a special calling of God
8. Why? Why does God still love them? A better question is, Why does God still love you?
9. Because of God's promises to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Moses and to David
a. God knows what the Jews do - HE knew that they would be wicked and rebellious
b. But He sees His promises that He made, and He cannot go against them
10. Because God's calling and election cannot be changed – absolute fact!
a. Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
b. This promise is directed at Israel, not at us!
c. Jeremiah 31:35,36 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
d. Jeremiah 31:3,4 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee [REBELLIOUS ISRAEL] with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee [IN THE FUTURE], and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
11. So, when people have problems with the Jews, it is simply showing they are jealous, and they need to get over it
a. Everybody that I know who goes against the Jewish people, suffers
b. Their ministries suffer
c. They quit soul winning, they quit churches, they get angry at God and angry at believers
d. Don't do that!
e. Beware of despising Israel! “…when I [GOD] have executed judgments upon all those that despise them [ISRAEL] round about them; and they [ISRAEL’S ENEMIES] shall know that I am the LORD their God.” Ezekiel 28:26
If God Almighty loves unbelieving Israel (Jeremiah 31:3,4)
And if Jesus loves unbelieving Jews (enough to die for them)
And if Paul loves unbelieving Jews (enough to want to take their place in hell)
Then you should too!
F. We Gentiles have a lot in common with the Jews (30-32)
1. Romans 11:30-32 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
2. We Gentiles didn't always believe, yet we receive mercy when we did believe
3. And we receive mercy because of Israel's unbelief
4. The same is true with the nation of Israel
a. They as a nation do not now believe the gospel
b. Yet because of your mercy (if only you would show it) they could now obtain mercy of God themselves
c. Please show mercy and kindness to rebellious Israel
d. You need to know that in the near future your children and your grandchildren will be worshipping the Antichrist and we'll go straight to hell as unbelieving Gentiles if you don't get these things right, and all the Jews will be saved and in the presence of Jesus forever
e. That ought to scare you
5. All Jews and all Gentiles start off at the same place
6. As sinful people, who have not believed the gospel
a. No matter if you're zealous, a pharisee, agnostic, atheists
b. drunkards, drug addicts, pedophiles, war mongers
c. Politicians, barristers, doctors, nurses, pastors, priests, bishops, or popes
d. Our sinfulness separates us from God
e. Romans 3:9,10 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
f. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God
7. That sounds pretty bad, but the truth is it makes salvation easy!
a. There is no distance for anyone to go
b. There is no religious work that anyone needs to do
c. Just simple admittance that you are lost, a sinner, deserving God's judgment
d. That's repentance
e. And then just accept that Jesus died for sinners like you and is waiting to save you if you will only ask
8. Do any of you realise what send a person to a devil’s hell? Rejecting what Jesus did!
a. Arrogant, self-righteous UNBELIEF in the Son of God’s death in your place!
b. If you will NOT believe Jesus came to save you, you will die in your sins!
c. Hebrew 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment
d. Either you accept the fact Jesus took your place, or you take the punishment yourself
G. The Infinite Wisdom of God’s Plan (Romans 11:33-36)
1. Romans 11:33-35 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
2. Oh how amazing is God’s way to be saved from the judgment we all deserve
3. How wise is His way of bringing rebellious men and women to the cross
4. Paul has described God’s Plan to save the world from Romans chapter 1 to 11
a. God came up with a plan that saves any and everybody
b. By child-like faith and trust in His Son, Jesus
c. His plan is beyond our wisdom and understanding
1) His wisdom is as high as the farthest heavens above the earth
2) No one can teach God where He went wrong, or how He should have done something different!
3) Like an ant or an amoeba trying to figure out what YOU are thinking and why you do things!
5. God’s Did It All…
a. Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
b. Every thing that is good came God
c. Passes through His hands – nothing is every out of his control
d. And returns to him – arrives at the designed finish
6. This is why we worship and honour ONLY God
a. Not Mary
b. Not great leaders
c. Not pastors, bishops, movie stars, musicians, actors, politicians
d. No one – NO ONE – is worthy of the honour and praise and worship and attention that God Almighty deserves!
IV.Conclusion
A. God keeps ALL His promises - proven by the nation of Israel
B. God has a bigger plan at work than just saving your soul
C. God is at work drawing the most sinful to Himself
D. We Gentiles need to get serious about winning our generation, because the whole world is falling away fast
E. Yes, unbelieving Jews may hate us
F. But we cannot hate them
G. Because they are beloved by God
H. And they are specially chosen to show God's perfect wisdom and saving power
I. Right now there's an opportunity for any and all to get saved
J. Do it now
V. Happy Father’s Day
A. We have a gift for all the fathers here today
B. We honour you all just for being Dads – for having children
C. And for being not just “a biological agent in the creation of a child”, but for being an irreplaceable Dad
D. Your children, no matter how old they are, need you! Almost as much as they need God