Romans chapter 11

by Keith Simons. Free online Bible course and commentary from the Useful Bible Study Centre.

Are the Jews still God's special people?

(Romans 11:1)

We need to understand whether the Jews still are the people of God. The Jews are Israel’s people, the nation that came from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God made promises to those men about the future of their family. That is why we call the Jews ‘God’s special people’. However, it has always been true that many Jews are not loyal to God. So we need to understand whether their evil behaviour has destroyed God’s relationship with their nation. In other words, we need to know whether God will still carry out his promises to Israel.

In his reply to that question, Paul first refers to his own experience. He himself belongs to Israel; he therefore claims his own rights in the promises that God gave to Abraham. Paul came from the tribe (group of families) that came from Benjamin, Jacob’s youngest son. Clearly, Paul received his original name, Saul, in honour of King Saul, who also came from the tribe of Benjamin.

At the time of Paul, very many other Jews were also serving God loyally. In fact, all the first Christians were, like Paul, Jews. However, at the time of Elijah, the situation had been much worse. Elijah believed himself to be the only person in Israel who was still loyal to God. Still at that time, God insisted that Israel remained his people. God told Elijah about 7000 men in Israel whom God had chosen to serve him (God) (11:2-4).

At the present time, the situation continues to be like that (9:5). Some Jews serve God loyally, and some do not. God’s relationship with Israel continues by means of those who are loyal to him.

The people whom God 'knows'

(Romans 11:2)

God knows those people who truly belong to him. In fact, God already knew them, even before he created the world (Ephesians 1:4).

Of course, God has perfect knowledge of all things. However, we are using a special meaning of the word ‘know’. We are referring to God’s great plan to adopt his people as his own children (8:16-23). From the beginning of time, God chose those people and he loves them with a special love. That is what it means for God to ‘know’ people (8:29-30).

God does not end his relationship with the people whom he knows and loves. That is true for Israel’s people, as for people from the other nations. Israel is God’s special nation, but evil people cannot claim the benefits of God’s promises to Israel (9:6). Rather, those people in Israel whom God ‘knows’, have the benefit of those promises. They may not yet know God properly, but God already knows them (compare Galatians 1:15-16). God is working in the circumstances of their lives to bring them into a right relationship with him.

Paul next refers to Elijah’s desperate prayer in 1 Kings 19:14. In Elijah’s opinion, nobody else in Israel was still loyal to God. However, he did not realise what God was doing in Israel. God told Elijah that he had chosen 7,000 men in Israel to serve him. Elijah did not know them; but God knew them all and he was working in their lives.

Baal: a powerful false religion

(Romans 11:3)

Elijah lived at the time when King Ahab and Queen Jezebel ruled the northern part of Israel. Ahab was one of the most evil kings who ever ruled that nation. Jezebel persuaded him to carry out many of his crimes and she also introduced the religion of Baal into Israel.

The word ‘Baal’ means a master or a husband. Baal was the false god of an especially evil religion. That religion emphasised sex. At the house of the false god, men would have sex both with females and with other males (see 2 Kings 23:7). They would also eat great meals and they would drink too much wine (Numbers 25:1-3). They would consider this a kind of prayer. Their religion approved of the fact that they lost control over their own actions. In fact, the priests even cut their own bodies with knives to achieve that effect (1 Kings 18:28). By these methods, the people tried to gain control over spirits.

The purpose of this false religion was to have a kind of power in the spirit world. If a person had power in the spirit world, he would be able to curse people or to bless people. So, power over the spirit world would give power over the natural world too. That was what their false religion taught.

With these powerful attitudes, Ahab and Jezebel fiercely opposed anyone and anything that had a connection to the real God. They destroyed the places where people prayed to God. They killed people who declared God's message. At the time of Elijah’s prayer, Jezebel had just made a serious promise to kill Elijah, too (1 Kings 19:2).

When there are such powerful rulers, ideas and religions, God’s faithful (loyal) people can seem to be in a hopeless situation. However, God is much greater than all of these things, and he truly loves his people. Nothing can defeat his plans for them (8:28; 8:31-39).

God deals with Israel as a family

(Romans 11:4)

To have friendly relations with any nation, we must deal with its important people, and especially its rulers. They have the power to oppose us, and to prevent any connection between us and that country.

It is, however, different when we are dealing with a family. Our friendly relations with that family continue while we have any friends whatever in that family. Other family members can benefit simply from our kindness to that family.

So, in 2 Samuel chapter 9, David showed great kindness to Mephibosheth simply because his father Jonathan had been David’s friend. In 2 Samuel 19:31-38, David showed kindness to Kimham because of his (David’s) friendship with Barzillai. However, David failed when he tried to be friendly with Hanun because of his friendship with Hanun’s father, Nahash. Hanun was the king of Ammon. He dealt with David not as a family friend but as the ruler of a nation that he hated (2 Samuel 10:1-4).

We often describe Israel as a nation, but the Bible often describes it as a group of families (for example, Revelation 7:4-8). Elijah protested against Israel because, at that time, its rulers and powerful people were opposing God’s servants fiercely (11:2-3). However, God chose to deal with Israel in its families. He told Elijah about the men in Israel who were loyal to him. Each of those men would teach his own family to serve the true God.

God established his relationship with Israel as a family; he made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The whole of Israel came from Jacob’s family. In fact, even the name Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob (Genesis 32:28).

Israel's remnant

(Romans 11:5)

A ‘remnant’ means a part that remains. In the Bible a part often has special meaning. The part stands for (appears on behalf of) the whole. So, we keep one day each week holy (Deuteronomy 5:12-15) because really our whole week belongs to God. We give gifts to God, but really everything belongs to him (1 Chronicles 29:11). That is the meaning here too (11:16): the remnant stands for the whole of Israel. God has kept a part of Israel for himself, to show that his promises to the whole of Israel continue.

The remnant of Israel means those of Israel’s people who are truly loyal to God. In every age, God considers that group of loyal people to be important in his plan. It is through them that God shows his kindness to Israel. It is through Israel that God shows his kindness to the world (Genesis 12:2-3).

However, that remnant became even more important at the time of the first Christians. The first Christians recognised their connection to that remnant (Luke 1:6; Luke 2:25; Luke 23:50-51). In fact, the first Christians belonged to that remnant (Acts 2:36-42). It took several years for them fully to accept people from other nations as Christians (Acts 15:1-21).

Paul belonged to that remnant too (11:1). However, he was careful not to allow that fact to be a reason for pride. Paul could serve God loyally only because of the great kindness (grace) that God had shown him (1 Corinthians 15:8-10). The fact that God chooses people to serve him is an act of his grace. It is not a reward for anything that they have done (compare Matthew 18:12-14).

Grace – or works

(Romans 11:6)

Grace means the kindness of God; our works mean our own efforts. The difference is that grace depends entirely on the goodness of God. Our works, on the other hand, are what we achieve without God.

So therefore, we cannot obtain a right relationship with God by our own human efforts (4:1-5). Instead, we must depend on God, and that is called faith. That faith does not come from us, but God gives it to us, in his great kindness, his grace. He gives faith to us by his word, the Bible; and in particular by the gospel, the message about Christ (1:16-17; 10:17).

All people must come to God in faith; all people, therefore, must depend on his grace, and not their own works. These facts are true whether people belong to Israel, or to the other nations. However, Paul’s particular subject here is the people who belong to Israel.

Paul explained the problem that many of Israel’s people had in Romans 9:30-33. They wanted to have a right relationship with God. However, they thought that they could achieve it by their own efforts to obey God’s law. These people did not come to God in faith because they were depending upon themselves. Therefore, they were not yet ready to receive Christ; and they were not ready to put their trust entirely in God. They had not realised how much they needed God’s grace to change their lives.

Paul understood this problem from his own personal experience. However, by God’s grace, God had done wonderful things in Paul’s life (1 Corinthians 15:10). So Paul knew that God could do the same thing in other people’s lives too. For that reason, Paul prayed much for Israel’s people (10:1).

Right and wrong reactions when we hear God's message

(Romans 11:7)

Israel’s people wanted a right relationship with God, and they tried hard to obtain it (9:31).

However, except for the people that God had chosen, they did not obtain it. That was because they were not trusting in God. Instead, they were trying to obtain it by their own efforts (9:31-32). They could not obey God’s law completely, and therefore the judgement of that law was against them (3:9-20). However, by his death, Christ suffered the judgement of the law. So, God forgives those people who trust Christ.

Paul refers to that particular group of people as the people whom God chose. In other words, he describes them by reference to what God did for them. They were different from other people because they were not trusting in their own efforts. Like the other people, the people whom God chose in this passage also belonged to Israel. Paul could describe people from other nations like that, but here he is writing about Israel. That is clear because Paul calls the other people in Israel ‘the rest’.

So ‘the rest’ of Israel means those people in Israel who were not trusting God. They heard God’s message, but their reaction was unbelief. They were unwilling to allow God to change their lives. Instead, they wanted God to approve of how they were already living.

Psalm 95:7-8 warns us about wrong attitudes when we hear God’s word. We should receive God’s message gladly; we should believe it and we should obey it. We must not have hard hearts; in other words, we must not be unwilling to change our attitudes. Rather, we should allow God’s message to change our lives (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The people in Israel who refused God's message

(Romans 11:8-10)

When children will not listen to their teacher, the teacher must work harder to gain their attention. Perhaps he will warn them, and perhaps he will punish them. However, his real desire is not to hurt them, but to end their foolish behaviour.

Paul’s subject is those people in Israel who refused to accept God’s message. Their decision was both foolish and evil. In the end, it brought about a terrible change in their character. The passage compares them to blind people, deaf people (Deuteronomy 29:4), or people whom nobody could wake (Isaiah 29:10). They could hear God’s message, but they gave no attention to it. They saw what God was doing - but it made no effect on their lives. They seemed unaware of what God wanted them to do. Of course they would suffer much from such foolish behaviour, as Psalm 69:22-23 says.

However, as Paul repeats these very serious passages, he is reminding his readers about something else too. In the end, each of these passages is about how God will bring Israel’s people back to himself. He will overcome their foolish attitudes and lack of attention. They will turn back to him and then they will truly be his loyal people. So, let us look more carefully at each of the passages that Paul refers to here:

(1) Deuteronomy chapter 29 warns that Israel’s people would have to leave their land because of their evil deeds. However, chapter 30 promises that God will bring them back. Then they will truly love and obey him (Deuteronomy 30:1-6).

(2) Isaiah chapter 29 tells how God will defeat Israel’s enemies (Isaiah 29:5-8). Then Israel’s people will respect God and they will learn from him (Isaiah 29:22-24).

(3) Psalm 69 ends with the promise that God will rescue Israel. He will rebuild its cities, and its people will serve him loyally. Then, they will truly love him.

God makes Israel's people jealous so that they will turn back to him

(Romans 11:11)

When people are loyal to God, God can use their lives in a wonderful way. However, if we have not been loyal to him, God is still working in our lives. God desires to bring us back into a right relationship with himself. To do that, he may show us other people who have a stronger relationship with him. Simply to see how they love God, creates a desire in us for a similar experience of God.

That is the kind of jealous reaction that Paul describes here. His subject is the Jewish people, the people who come from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. At the present time, only some of them are truly loyal to God (11:5). Many are not. However, the Jewish people are still God’s special people, because of the promises that God made to Abraham. Therefore, for God to carry out his promises to them fully, the Jewish people must turn back to God (Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1)

In the meantime, God is working in the lives of people from every nation. Through the gospel (the message about Christ), he brings them to a right relationship with himself. He wants the Jewish people to see their lives, and to desire the close relationship with God that they have.

So as Christians, we should be careful about how we live. To live like someone who does not know God, will not attract anyone to trust God. Our thoughts and attitudes, our words and our actions all matter. Our deepest desire should be to please God. That desire should show in our love both for God, and for other people (Mark 12:29-31).

Israel's return to God will be wonderful for the whole world

(Romans 11:12)

As we read the Book of Romans, so often the kindness of God astonishes us. We might imagine that his love for Israel would cause him to neglect the people from other nations. However, in fact the opposite is true. God uses his love for Israel to give people from every nation the opportunity to know his love. That is what God promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:3.

When Israel’s people do not obey God, they cannot through their own lives show God’s kindness to the world (2:24). However, God’s character does not change (Hebrews 13:8; Exodus 34:6-7). He still cares about the people, both in Israel and in the other nations (Jonah 4:11). He wants very much to show his kindness to them. During our present age (the period from Christ’s death until his return), God has been very kind to the people in every nation. He has sent his gospel (the good news about Christ) across the world. In every nation, people are becoming Christians and God is working in a wonderful way in their lives. All of this is happening at a time when many of Israel’s people do not have a right relationship with God.

Just before Christ’s return, all of Israel’s people will turn back to God (Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1; Romans 11:25-26). However, that will not end God’s kindness to the other nations. Rather, Christ will come to rule the world (Zechariah 14:9; Revelation 20:4-6). At last, the world will know good government and be at peace. So, Israel’s return to God will cause the whole world to return to him.

Paul: the apostle to the Gentiles

(Romans 11:13)

Christians often refer to Paul as ‘the apostle to the Gentiles’. Paul himself does not use that exact phrase; here, he prefers to call himself (in the original language) ‘an apostle of (to) Gentiles’. He expresses the same idea in different words in Galatians 2:7 and 1 Timothy 2:7.

Today, people rarely use the words ‘apostle’ and ‘Gentiles’ unless they are talking about religion. However, at the time of the first Christians, both words (in their original language) were in common use.

Today, the word apostle means one of the first, or most important, church leaders. However, formerly, the word meant a servant, or worker, whose master sent him to carry out an important task. For example, a master might send his worker, whom he trusted, abroad, for the purposes of trade. That worker was originally called an apostle. He had great responsibility because he had to make important decisions on behalf of his master.

The first Christians understood that God had given great responsibility to many of their leaders. He had sent them abroad to declare his gospel, the message about Christ (see Romans 1:16). It is a message that changes people’s lives, so it is a great responsibility to declare it (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).

The first apostles did not only declare God’s message. They also established new churches, even in places where there were no Christians previously. Paul’s special task was to do that among the Gentiles; in other words, people who were not Jews.

The word for Gentiles simply means ‘the nations’. None of those nations were serving the real God. So the Jews (Israel’s people) did not consider that they belonged to ‘the nations’. Rather, God had chosen them to be his special people. However, in his special work as ‘apostle to the Gentiles’, Paul did not neglect the Jews. In fact, in each place that he went, Paul first declared God’s message to the Jews (Acts 17:2).

Paul's work among his own people, the Jews

(Romans 11:14)

Some Christian leaders seem unaware of anything, except their own work. They give no attention to what God is doing through other people, or in other places.

Paul did not have that attitude. He saw his own work as just a part in God’s great plan (1 Corinthians 3:5-11). God’s plan is to bring all things under the perfect rule of Christ (Romans 8:18-23; 1 Corinthians 15:24-27). Paul knew about the limits of the work that God had given him to do (2 Corinthians 10:13-16).

Paul’s special work for God was among people who were not Jews (11:13). The Jews are Israel’s people, from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All the first Christians, including Paul, were Jews. However, even before Paul’s birth, God chose him to bring the message about Christ to people who were not Jews (Galatians 1:15-16; Acts 26:16-18).

Although that was Paul’s task, God was using his life to do something even greater. God was working, by means of Paul, to bring people who were not Jews into a right relationship with him (God). However, in addition, some Jews would see that and they would want the same kind of relationship with God. Paul was eagerly praying for that to happen (10:1).

However, even that was only part of God’s much greater plan, which is for their whole nation (11:11-12; 11:25-26). These things astonished Paul, because of what they proved about the greatness and the wisdom of God (11:30-35).

Israel's return to God: life from death

(Romans 11:15)

Paul has just described (verse 12) the wonderful effect that Israel’s return to God will have upon the rest of the world. After Israel’s people return to God (Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1), the whole world will turn to God (Zechariah 14:10 and 14:16). That will be when Christ’s rule on earth begins (Revelation 20:4-6).

In Romans 11:15, Paul repeats that lesson, but he adds a bold and exciting description to it. Israel’s return to God will mean 'life from death', he says. He seems to be describing not just the effect on Israel’s people, but upon the whole world.

We ask why Paul chose to use that description, 'life from death'. As in Revelation 20:4-6, he may be describing the actual events of Christ’s return to earth. However, perhaps he is referring to the wonderful things that God showed Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 37:1-14. In that passage, Israel appeared as a nation of dead people. However, when God’s Spirit came upon them, they became alive again. They stood up as a vast army, and God gave them back their own land.

However, Paul has himself used this description of life from death previously (4:17-19). There, he was describing how the nation called Israel began, with Abraham’s belief in God. Abraham’s essential belief was that God causes dead people to become alive. That almost happened at the birth of Isaac. Abraham and his wife were so old that they considered themselves almost dead. However, Abraham continued to believe God’s promises to him.

God had promised Abraham in Genesis 12:3, that all nations would know God’s kindness because of him. That can only happen fully when the whole world turns to God. It will happen after the return to God of the nation that comes from Abraham’s family, Israel. That is when the whole world will know the true God, Abraham’s God. They will know him as the God who brings life to our dying world (compare Romans 6:23).

If part is holy, all is holy

(Romans 11:16)

If something is holy, it belongs to God in a special way. Israel’s priests were very careful to separate holy objects from objects for common use. They had strict rules that helped them to decide about such matters (see Haggai 2:11-13).

Paul is not here discussing those rules, but rather their true meaning. God’s law says that the people should give the first part of their harvest to God (Deuteronomy 26:1-11). Of course, they then kept the rest of the harvest for themselves. However, the reality is that there is no difference between the first part of the harvest and the rest. The whole harvest grew by means of the life that God gave to those plants. So, in reality, it all belongs to God; it is all holy.

It is impossible to have a tree with holy roots and unholy branches. The branches share the life that God has given to the roots. If you tried to separate the branches, you would destroy the life in the branches.

Paul wrote these words for the benefit of Christians who were not Jews (11:13). He wanted to show them their connection with the Jews (Israel’s people, who came from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). God first chose Israel to be his special, holy nation. Now, people from every nation can join the holy people of God (1 Peter 2:9). God joins them, with the Jews who trust him, as one holy nation (Ephesians 2:11-14). It is true that, at the present time, some Jews oppose the gospel, the message about Christ (11:28). However, God’s plan for their nation continues. The first part of Israel trusts God (11:1), and therefore the whole nation is holy (11:26). It belongs to God, and God claims it as his own.

Christians need to appreciate God's kindness to them

(Romans 11:17)

Paul continues as if he is writing to one particular Christian. He does that in several places in the Book of Romans, when he needed to warn people severely (2:1-5; 2:17-23; 9:19-21). Here (11:17-24), this person is arguing that the Christians have replaced Israel in God’s plan (11:19).

In his reply, Paul warns that person that his attitudes are proud, and therefore dangerous (11:20-21; 11:25). God acts in a wonderful and generous way when he invites people from every nation to have a part in his plans. Therefore, those people who have benefited so much from his kindness should have a humble and grateful attitude. Such an attitude would not cause them to oppose Israel’s people, but rather to recognise God’s love for Israel (11:28).

To explain this, Paul uses a word-picture about an olive tree. The olive is a very special tree. From its fruit comes the valuable oil that people used both for food, and in their lamps.

A skilled gardener can take a shoot (small, young branch) from one tree and join it to another tree. That task is called 'grafting'. Without a connection to a tree, that shoot would soon die. However, its connection to the tree allows it to grow into a strong and healthy branch.

For that purpose, the gardener would not select the shoot from a wild tree. Rather, he would choose a shoot from one of his best trees. However, Paul compares that Christian from a foreign nation, to a wild olive shoot. He wants that Christian to realise what an honour it is for him to join the people of God. When that Christian appreciates properly God’s kindness to him, his attitude towards Israel’s people will change. He will desire strongly that God will soon complete his promise to bring Israel’s people back to him (11:26-27).

Christians should not be proud in their attitudes towards the Jews

(Romans 11:18)

Christians should have humble attitudes towards other people. That is, they should not become proud; they must not consider themselves superior to other people.

That is especially true in relation to the Jews (Israel’s people, who come from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). It is true that many Jews have not put their trust in Christ. While they continue in an attitude of unbelief, they do not have their proper place in God’s plans. They are like branches that a gardener removes from a tree. However, God is able to bring them back to their proper place (11:23).

Christians have a right relationship with God because of their trust in Christ. Therefore, they might start to become proud against those Jews who do not yet believe in Christ. However, that would be a very foolish attitude.

Very many things that the Christian religion depends on, belong firstly to the Jews (9:4-5). For example, God gave the Bible to the Jews. We all need the Bible, to teach us, to encourage us, and to give us hope (15:4). God gave his promises to the Jews. Those promises include his promises to people from other nations (Genesis 12:3). Therefore, Christians need those promises (15:8-12). God showed the Jews how to pray to God, and how to serve him properly. Christians need those instructions in order to serve God in a proper manner (15:4).

So Christians cannot separate themselves from what God has given to the Jews. To do that would separate them from Christ, who is himself a Jew (9:5). That is why Christians must always deal with the Jews in an attitude of love, and never of pride (proud attitudes).

A Christian who forgets God's kindness, his power and his promises

(Romans 11:19)

Paul often had to deal with Christians who were showing proud attitudes (for example, 1 Corinthians 4:6-7). He would much have preferred to deal with them gently; but often he had to deal with the situation in a firm and strict manner.

Here, he was dealing with a Christian who was speaking proudly against the Jews (God’s special people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). Boldly, this Christian dared to protest that he had the right to speak like that about them. He had trusted Christ; they had not. In his opinion, therefore, he had a right relationship with God and they did not.

In reality, this Christian’s relationship with God was weaker than he imagined. If his relationship with God was stronger, he would not be speaking so proudly. A person can only become a Christian because of faith (trust in God). In other words, a Christian depends not on himself, but upon God. On the other hand a proud person depends on his own intelligence, strength or skills. Therefore, a proud person trusts himself, and not God.

This particular Christian was arguing that the Jews had lost their relationship with God. It was clear that many of them were not believing God. Without faith (belief and trust in God), it is impossible to please him (Hebrews 11:6). However, this Christian seems to have forgotten God’s kindness, his power and his promises (11:23; 11:26). God has not forgotten his love for the Jews (11:28-29). He is able to bring them back into a right relationship with him. He will carry out his promise to do that, at the time that he has chosen, just before Christ’s return.

Unbelief and faith

(Romans 11:20)

Faith is the opposite of unbelief.

Faith means our attitude when we believe and trust God. By faith, we receive the benefit of God’s promises. Many of those promises are for the future, and we cannot know them fully now. That is why we must stand in faith. In other words, we must continue to trust God (Hebrews 10:36-39), even when God’s promises seem impossible (4:18-21). So, we depend, not on ourselves, but on God.

With that attitude, we cannot be proud. It is impossible for us to save ourselves from our troubles in this world. We might hope that other people will help us - but that hope may be in vain. Instead, with faith, we wait for God to act powerfully on our behalf. We know that we are weak - but we depend upon his strength (2 Corinthians 12:10).

On the other hand, unbelief is the attitude of someone who refuses to believe God. It is not wrong to ask questions, as Nicodemus did in John 3:1-16. It is not even wrong to have sincere doubts, if we are willing for God to teach us. However, it is very wrong if we refuse on purpose to accept God’s message to us (Hebrews 3:7-19). Such an attitude makes it impossible for us to receive the benefit of God’s promises. God cannot do what he wants in our lives because of that evil attitude.

People develop an attitude of unbelief when they do not respect God properly. They choose not to listen to his words because they do not want to accept his authority over their lives. They do not want to trust his promises, because they prefer to depend on themselves. However, they forget how weak they really are. We all need God to work powerfully in our lives.

The kindness of God and the danger of unbelief

(Romans 11:21-22)

God’s kindness cannot fail (Lamentations 3:22-23). However, a person can refuse to accept God’s kindness to him. A person can refuse to believe God’s promises, and instead choose to believe the devil’s lies. We call that attitude ‘unbelief’ (11:20). It is the opposite of faith (belief and trust in God).

Every Christian sometimes fails to believe God. However, God knows our weakness and he cares about us (Hebrews 4:15). The Bible compares him to a shepherd, a person who looks after sheep (Psalm 23:1; Psalm 119:176). God will make the most extraordinary efforts to bring his people back into a right relationship with him (Matthew 18:12-14). Then he teaches his people to live in the way that pleases him (Hebrews 12:5-11).

Our knowledge of God’s kindness must not cause us to become careless about unbelief. Rather, we should care very much about the damage that this evil attitude can cause to our relationship with God (Hebrews 3:12). We must not allow an attitude of unbelief to control our lives.

Paul makes a statement in Romans 11:21-22 that many Christians will find hard to accept. Christians do not have more security in their relationship with God than the Jews (Israel’s people) have. Some Jews, because of their attitude of unbelief, will not gain any benefit from God’s promises to Israel (9:6). However, God’s promises to their nation, Israel, continue (11:26). In the same way, some people who consider themselves Christians, will have no part in God’s plans for his people. However, their unbelief cannot destroy the wonderful plans that God has for his people (8:28-39).

God is able to bring Israel's people back to himself

(Romans 11:23-24)

God is called the God of Israel (Psalm 72:18), but many of Israel’s people do not believe him. By their attitude of unbelief, they separate themselves from the close relationship that God wants with them. Paul has compared them to a branch that a gardener cuts from a tree.

When a gardener does that, the effect is usually permanent. Without any connection to the roots, the branch soon dies. However, Paul insists that the same is not true about Israel’s people. They will only be separate from God for as long as their unbelief continues. When they return to God (Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1), God will again accept them fully as his people (Isaiah chapter 62; Jeremiah 30:18-22; Ezekiel 36:24-38; Hosea 1:10).

The unbelief of many of Israel’s people has given the people from other nations an opportunity to know God. It is very wonderful that God has done this for them. Paul compares them to shoots (small young branches) that a gardener joins to a tree in his garden. Those shoots then grow into strong branches because of the health and strength that they receive from the root.

However, gardeners never actually use a shoot from a wild tree for this purpose. Normally, they select the shoot from a very good tree, in order to benefit from its good qualities. A gardener cares little about wild plants; he cares about the plants in his garden. In the same way, it is only natural that Israel’s God cares deeply about Israel’s people. It astonishes us to see how great his love is for the people from other nations, too.

The end of Israel's troubles

(Romans 11:25)

Paul worried that some Christians were already starting to have wrong opinions about the Jews (Israel’s people). Without an accurate knowledge of God’s plans, we can develop ideas that are completely wrong.

Those Christians has seen how strongly many of the Jews opposed the gospel (God’s message about Christ). So, some Christians started to believe that God’s love for Israel had ended. However, their idea was wrong, as Romans 11:28 explains. They had not understood what God has promised to do for Israel in the future (Deuteronomy 30:1-10). They were thinking only about the present problems of the Jews, and not about God’s future plan for them (Zechariah 14:9-11; Malachi 3:1-4).

In the original language (Greek), Paul does not describe Israel in the same way that he described Pharaoh (Egypt’s king) in Romans 9:17-18. Pharaoh became ‘hard’ (completely unwilling to change), and the result was his punishment because of God’s anger against him (9:22).

However, the word that describes some of Israel’s people as ‘hard’ (11:7; 11:25) is a different word. It describes an illness that makes people blind: something hard has grown over their eyes (compare Romans 11:8-10). In other words, because of their unbelief, some of Israel’s people could not longer see (know) the truth.

Paul had himself been physically blind for a temporary period (Acts 9:8-19). Perhaps that experience helped him to have great sympathy for Israel’s people in their present difficulties. When God completes his work among the other nations, then Israel’s troubles will also end. That work is to bring people from those nations into a right relationship with him. When that is complete, Israel’s people too will return fully to God (Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1). Then Christ’s rule on earth will, at last, begin.

God will save all of Israel

(Romans 11:26)

The Bible has very many passages about God’s future plans for Israel, or the Jewish people. Those passages deal with Israel’s return to its land, its return to God, and Christ’s return to rule Israel and the world. There is a close link between these events, so the Bible often deals with them together.

For example, Deuteronomy 30:1-10 describes a situation after Israel’s people have completely ruined their relationship with God (Deuteronomy 29:25-28). Then they return to God, and they decide to obey him completely. God permits them to return to their land. Their evil deeds have made their land into a desert; but now their crops grow again and they are successful.

The prophets (the Bible’s holy men who received messages from God) often wrote about these things. Paul refers to Isaiah 59:20. He seems to emphasise that verse in order to explain it. Christ is coming again to Zion (Jerusalem) (see Malachi 3:1 and Zechariah 14:4); by means of Christ, God will forgive Israel’s people (Hosea 1:10-11). That will happen when they, together, turn away from their evil deeds (Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1).

The New Testament (the books that the first Christians wrote) also refers to those events. At the end of Matthew 23:37-39, Christ spoke about the future time when Jerusalem’s people will truly welcome him. In Acts 1:6, the disciples (Christ’s special students) asked when these events will happen. Christ replied that God the Father has decided these things. He gave the same explanation about the time of his own return in Mark 13:32. Revelation 7:4-8 speaks about a group of 144000 people who represent (appear on behalf of) the different tribes (family groups) of Israel. In Revelation 14:1-5, Christ stands with these people on Zion (Jerusalem), and these people belong completely to him. They are a nation that is completely loyal to God.

The Messiah's new covenant with Israel

(Romans 11:27)

The Jews, also called Israel’s people, are the people whom God chose as his special, holy nation. The Christians are the people from every nation who have received a right relationship with God because of Christ’s death (5:8).

However, God does not deal with the Jews differently from the people who belong to other nations (2:9-11). All people are under God’s judgement because of their evil deeds (3:9). All people need to turn from those evil deeds; all people need to believe and to trust in Christ (1:16). God’s message about Christ, the gospel, is for people from every nation.

From the Bible, the Jews know that God will carry out his promises to them by means of the Messiah. The Messiah means the king whom God will send to them. The word ‘Christ’ is a translation into the Greek language of the Hebrew word, ‘Messiah’. However, most Jews at the present time do not recognise Jesus as their Messiah. So, they are waiting for God to show them who that Messiah is. The Messiah will save (rescue) their nation, and he will bring them into a right relationship with God (11:26). So they, like everyone else, must turn away from sin (wrong and evil attitudes and behaviour), and believe and trust in God (11:23).

In Romans 11:27, Paul probably refers to Jeremiah 31:33-34. When the Messiah comes, he will establish a new covenant (an agreement that establishes a relationship) with Israel. Then they will truly know him, and they will gladly obey him. This will happen when God has forgiven their sin. God’s relationship with their nation will never end (Jeremiah 31:35-37; Romans 11:29).

Enemies whom God loves

(Romans 11:28)

Before Paul himself became a Christian, he was a fierce enemy of the first Christians. He arrested many of them; he even helped to kill some of them (Acts 26:10). However, this same Paul was the man whom God had chosen, even before his birth, to declare God’s good news to the nations (Galatians 1:13-17).

Paul’s experience was very extreme, but the same principle is true about all God’s people. God chooses his enemies to become his friends (5:10). By our evil deeds, we all have made ourselves enemies of God; by the death of Christ, God forgives us and makes us his people (3:23-24).

However, in Romans 11:28, Paul is not writing about Christians generally, but about the Jewish people (in other words, the people who belong to Israel). God loves the Jewish people for a very particular reason. It is not that they deserve his love. God’s grace (kindness) is a free gift and not something that we can earn (11:6). Rather, Paul says that God loves them because of ‘the fathers’. Paul means Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, from whose family the Jewish people came. God made promises to these men about the future of their family; and he will certainly carry out all of his promises. He has chosen the Jewish people to be his special people, and therefore he loves them.

We can imagine that some Christians from other nations might protest against Paul’s words. He was not just telling them to love their enemies now. He was urging them to recognise God’s love for the entire nation from which many of their enemies came.

Perhaps Paul could have made that lesson easier. He could have spoken only about the many Jewish people who had accepted Christ. However, Paul was not trying to make his lesson easier. Rather, he wanted to show how great and wonderful God’s wisdom is (11:33-34). God loves the Jewish people; he will forgive them, and he will give them a right relationship with himself (11:25-27).

When God chooses someone, he does not change his mind

(Romans 11:29)

Saul was Israel’s first king, but he chose not to obey God. The situation became so bad that God told Samuel to appoint David to be Israel’s next king. In the end, Saul became so jealous of David that Saul tried to kill him on several occasions.

David, on the other hand, would not kill Saul or even hurt him (1 Samuel chapter 26). David respected Saul greatly; he did not try to become king while Saul remained alive. David’s reason was simply that God had appointed Saul to rule Israel. David did not believe that, even in these extraordinary circumstances, Saul’s right to rule Israel had ended.

A person might, as Saul did, ruin his own relationship with God because of his evil deeds. However, that person’s evil deeds do not change the work that God has given that person to do. When God has chosen someone, he does not change his mind. That person still has the duty to do what God wants him to do.

God made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob about the future of their family. Those promises cannot change (Jeremiah 31:35-37). Their family became the nation called Israel. God chose Israel’s people to be his special people (Isaiah 44:1-5) and to declare his message to the world (2:17-20). That task does not change. Some of them have not obeyed God, but that does not change God’s decision (compare Romans 3:3-4). If they continue in their evil behaviour, God’s judgement will certainly be against them (2:8-11). However, God will still carry out his promise; he will certainly rescue Israel (11:26). Zechariah describes the day when the nation will suddenly turn back to God (Zechariah 12:7 to 13:1).

God's mercy to people from different nations

(Romans 11:30)

In Romans 11:30-32, Paul describes the two great periods of human history, before and after the death of Christ. He discusses the two groups of people who are called God’s people: the Jews (Israel’s people) and the Christians. He explains their two different reactions to God - the choice not to obey God, or to accept his help.

At a former time, the people who are now Christians did not obey God. That is true about the earlier part of each Christian's life, before they accepted Christ into their lives (5:6-8). It was true about entire nations before the death of Christ. However, God had a plan to show his mercy, even to people who came from those nations. God’s mercy means the help that he gives because of his great kindness.

If God’s people, the Jews, were obeying God, then God would have used them to show his kindness to people in other nations (Genesis 12:3). In fact, many of the Jews did obey God (11:1), and God did use them for this purpose. All the first Christians were Jews, and from them God’s message, called the gospel, spread across the world.

However, many Jews did not believe the gospel (9:31-33). God used the fact that they did not believe as an opportunity to show his mercy to people from the other nations (11:13). That shows God’s wisdom (11:33). He knew that people in every nation were not obeying him (3:9-23). However, he wanted to show his mercy to people from every nation. So, even when God's own people were not obeying him, he was actively helping other people to know him. His work in the lives of those other people would help his own people to return to him (11:11-12).

God's mercy to Israel's people

(Romans 11:31)

Paul does not mean that none of Israel’s people were obeying God. Rather, he is describing the present age (the period from Christ’s death until his return) by the most important things that are happening. That is, these are the most important in God’s opinion. People’s opinion about what is most important differs much from God’s opinion.

In fact, many of the Jews (Israel’s people) were serving God loyally, and from them came the first Christians. However, at the present time, most of the Jews are behaving in the same way as most people in other nations. They are not obeying God, although God is eager to show them his mercy. In other words, because of his great kindness, he wants to help them.

At this time when many Jews are not accepting God’s mercy, he is showing mercy to people from other nations. However, by that act he is not neglecting the Jews; he has not forgotten his promises to them (for example, Jeremiah 31:31-37). Rather, God wants them to see his great love for the people from other nations. He wants the Jews to desire that love for themselves (11:11). Then they too will turn back to God (Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1). God will forgive them and so they too will receive God’s mercy (11:26-28).

That will bring about a truly wonderful event in the world’s history (11:12-15). As Christians have prayed for so long (Matthew 6:10), Christ will return to rule the world (Revelation 20:4-6). His rule will be completely good and right in every way (Isaiah 32:1), and the world will know peace (Isaiah 11:1-9).

The mercy that God offers to all people

(Romans 11:32)

As in Galatians 3:22-23, Paul describes all people to be like prisoners. The cause of this sad situation is their own evil attitude: they refuse to obey God. That was the first evil act that people ever did (Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-11). The same evil attitude is the reason for much of our evil behaviour today. That is why God’s law declares his judgement against us (Galatians 3:10; Deuteronomy 27:26).

Sometimes a judge could order the death of a criminal, but instead he sends the criminal to prison. So, although the judgement is severe, it actually gives hope to the prisoner. He has hope because, in the future, he may again become a free man.

God could have destroyed all human life on earth at the time of Noah (Genesis 6:5-8). However, he did not do that because of his mercy. His mercy means the help that he gives because of his great kindness. So, although he punished the wicked people, he saved Noah and his family.

At the present time, people are like prisoners, because their own evil behaviour controls their lives (7:14-24). However, in his mercy, God is making people free (8:1-4). He does this for those people who accept his good news, the gospel (1:16). They turn from their evil behaviour to invite Christ into their lives (6:23).

In the future age, all the people on the new earth will know God’s mercy (8:18-21). There will be no wicked people, and no people who refuse to obey God, among them (Romans 2:8; Revelation 21:8). At the present time, God in his mercy wants to forgive them (Exodus 34:6-7; Ezekiel 18:21-23). He invites them to join his people (Isaiah 55:6-7). However, that opportunity must end and it will end very suddenly (2 Peter 3:9-10).

The greatness of God's wisdom

(Romans 11:33)

Paul has just explained God’s wonderful plans for his people, both from Israel (11:26) and from every nation (8:18-21). God is bringing them together (Ephesians 2:11-18) to be his children, a holy nation of people who truly love God. In the New Jerusalem, they will live in peace with God always (Revelation 22:1-5).

It astonishes us to remember that these same people were once God’s enemies (5:10; 11:28). We have all offended God by our wrong actions and evil deeds (3:9-23). However, God in his great love sent his Son to suffer our punishment (5:6-8). When we trust God, God forgives us because of the death of Christ.

That is an act of such great kindness that it seems almost impossible to believe. However by his word, the good news called the gospel, God really has made it possible for us to believe him (10:17). We believe and trust God; and he carries out this wonderful change in our lives (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In this matter, God has shown his wisdom to be so much greater than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). He is doing something that the greatest people in this world could not even imagine (1 Corinthians 2:6-10). Without the aid of God’s Spirit, people cannot even understand these things. However, God has placed his Spirit in the lives of his people (8:14). By the power of God’s Spirit, they can know these things (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). With the help of God’s Spirit, they can therefore live as God’s children, even in this evil world (12:1-2).

Who advises God?

(Romans 11:34)

We often say that God is truly great. However, our minds constantly fail to understand how great God really is.

For example, we call God our king. However, kings depend on their advisers, and the greatest rulers have very many advisers. On the other hand, God needs no adviser because his wisdom and knowledge are perfect. His judgements are always right and good and proper. His plans are perfect, although we so often fail to recognise them.

It is a great honour for us when God permits us to know his thoughts (1 Corinthians 2:16). It is very wonderful that people can be the friends of God (John 15:14). Abraham is called the friend of God (James 2:23), and God even discussed his plans with Abraham (Genesis 18:17-33). God listened to Abraham then, even as he listens to us during our prayers. In his great kindness, God often does those things that we request in prayer. However, God does not need our advice; he already knows what is best for us. Therefore, we should pray to know what God wants us to request in our prayers (1 John 5:14).

In Romans 11:34, Paul repeats questions that come from Isaiah 40:13. He first asks: Who has knowledge of God’s thoughts? The answer is nobody, unless God shows these things to a person, by his word and by his Spirit. The next question is: Who advises God? (compare Isaiah 40:14). The answer is nobody, because God’s wisdom is perfect. Paul asks these questions in order to praise God. No words can express how wonderful our God is. Therefore, it is our duty always to give him honour.

Who has the right to demand anything from God?

(Romans 11:35)

Paul next asks a question about a subject that is very important in the Book of Romans. This question comes from the words that God himself spoke in Job 41:11. The question is: Who has the right to demand anything from God? In other words: Can a person give anything to God that God must repay?

People often try to control the actions of powerful men in this way. For example, they might pay a judge to support them - however, that is against God’s law (Exodus 23:8). In the same way, people often made generous gifts to false gods, in order to get the help of those gods. However, the real God does not accept such gifts (Micah 6:6-8).

God does not accept those gifts because all his judgements are right and proper (2:5-11). However, we could not even find a suitable gift for that purpose. That is so because everything in heaven and earth already belongs to God (Psalm 50:12). In our gifts, we only give back to God what he first provided to us (1 Chronicles 29:14).

So, we can never pay God in order to receive his kindness. We cannot pay for his kindness, and we cannot earn it (4:1-7). God’s kindness is a free gift that we do not deserve (5:6-8). God owes nothing to us.

The reason why God helps people is not because of debt, but because of his great love (John 3:16). He works on behalf of those people who believe and trust him (4:23-24; 10:9). He saves them; in other words, he rescues them, from their own evil deeds (6:23; 8:1-2), and from the power of the devil and death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Paul praises God

(Romans 11:36)

For several chapters, Paul has been explaining the wonderful plans that God has for his people. Soon, in chapter 12, Paul will start to explain how, therefore, Christians should live at the present time. However, first he praises God.

God’s wisdom is perfect. His thoughts are more wonderful than anything that we can imagine (11:33). He needs nobody to advise him, because his decisions are always right (11:34). We deserve nothing from him, but he shows us his kindness as a free gift (11:35).

He is the only real God, and he created all things (Genesis chapter 1; Proverbs 8:22-31; John 1:1-13). All things, therefore, come from him (Colossians 1:16).

Nothing could continue to exist without God (Colossians 1:17; Acts 17:23-28). We all, and everything else that exists, depend on him. His power directs the operation of the natural world (Job 38:16-30); his power holds even the stars in place (Job 38:31-33). All things, therefore, exist through God’s work.

The world, and everything in it, belong to God (Psalm 24:1). However, at the present time, people oppose God’s rule (1:18-32) and they refuse to obey him (3:23). God permits this situation now, so that people have an opportunity to turn to him (2 Peter 3:9). However, that opportunity will end suddenly. In the end, all people, and everything else that God has created, must give honour to him (Philippians 2:9-11).

God did not create anything to exist without a purpose. He did not create people so that they could selfishly please themselves. God created them so that they would give honour to him with grateful and joyful hearts. That is how Paul himself ends this passage: he praises God.

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