Sound Doctrine

Guest (Male): Today on Sound Doctrine we're prepping for the great wedding. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus, but when he comes will he find faith on the earth? Will he find believers? Will he find anyone looking up, anticipating his coming? Will he find his bride? Of course his bride is going to be ready.

She's going to be decking herself, getting prepared for the wedding. And if you have ever been a bride, you know there's a lot of work to do. The work is never done. And you're always busy, busy, busy in getting ready, preparing.

Guest 2 (Male): In the courtroom we're accustomed to seeing both the plaintiff and defendant make their case before the judge. All the evidence is laid out. And on occasion there's what we might refer to as an open and shut case, meaning there's no doubt because the facts are clear.

Well that's what we find here in Romans chapter 11. The Apostle Paul is making a very strong case that God isn't done with the nation of Israel. We're about to hear his closing arguments on Sound Doctrine. Pastor Jeff Johnson is our teacher and his message today is titled, The Goodness and Severity of God.

Jeff Johnson: Romans chapter 11 this morning as we continue on through the book of Romans. Now Psalm 73, it reveals that God is good. And the Psalm we read this morning, as David began to envy the rich though and get his eyes on the rich, he started to wonder about his relationship with the Lord even.

It was crazy! But he did, until he went into the sanctuary of the Lord. And then what happened? His eyes were opened and he understood that they're sitting in slippery places. In a moment they could be taken out into a Christless eternity. So in Psalm 73 you've got the goodness of God and then the severity of God. And that's what we're going to be talking about this morning.

Last week we found that understanding Israel's place in God's economy is key to our understanding biblical prophecy, especially when it comes to the end times. We need to understand where does Israel fit into this whole scenario. We need to know these things.

So Paul, writing to the Romans about God's amazing grace and his love for the world, gives us three chapters now that we've been looking into dedicated to Israel's place in God's heart. That's all these three chapters are set here for.

Chapter 9, God's election. Salvation was rejected by the Jews, but we know it was given to the Gentiles. And so you see Acts chapter 10, a historical event when God would pour out his spirit on Gentiles for the first time. Not just the Jews, but now the Gentiles.

Chapter 10 of Romans, today salvation is to whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord. For Jew or Gentile all must come through faith in Christ and him alone. There's only one way, right? So now we enter into chapter 11.

God is not done with Israel, right? Israel's been set aside. Paul explained it to us in the first portion. And then there's going to be restoration. There is going to be blessing when they are brought back in.

Paul would ask that a couple of times here. If their being put on the back burner has been a blessing to so many, what is going to happen when they're brought aboard again? What's going to take place? So he's been asking this twice here.

Paul then turns to the Gentiles now to give us our status, where we fit in, where we stand, and how we should be responding to God's plan that he has given to us. Over in Romans 12 verse 3, interesting statement here. Romans 12:3, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly."

So there is a warning here for us this morning in this portion of scripture. These next few verses come forth with warning big time. So looking back a little bit, verses 13 through verse 15 of chapter 11 is Israel's restoration.

What will take place when Israel's restored? Anybody remember? It's a test. The Kingdom Age. Remember? Their restoration is going to bring in this Kingdom Age. It's going to be like Hawaii throughout the world. And we're going to be here in this Kingdom Age just reigning and ruling with him. It's going to be awesome, all putting together.

Now knowing this clarifies then our Gentiles' place in prophecy. This really puts us where we belong. Over in Acts, you can just jot this down, but in Acts 15 verse 14, listen. He says, "Simeon hath declared how God at first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return and I will build again the tabernacle of David."

Now this puts Israel where it needs to be in its proper sequence. Of course God took out a bride, and he's going to take out a bride, especially when we're raptured. We're gone! And that's the first thing on God's time clock that's coming up here. It's the church being raptured.

Then come the seven year tribulation period, which is called in the Old Testament Jacob's troubles. Why? Because it's going to be trouble. It's going to be tribulation for Israel. Israel's going to have to make a choice what they're going to do, and many are going to be saved. And then finally is the Kingdom Age. So that's the order that it goes in.

Paul now continues in our text in Romans 11 verse 16. That's where we left off. "For if the firstfruit be holy," now we're talking about firstfruit here, if it's holy, "the lump is also holy." The whole thing. "And if the root be holy, so are the branches." This is revealing Israel's place in God's heart concerning their future heritage. They're his firstfruit.

Now remember, firstfruit is an interesting term. It's concerning giving to God in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament it talks in Numbers and Leviticus about how they are to give a portion of their field or they're to give a portion of their loaves to the Lord. And that's a tithe. It was one tenth. Tithe means one tenth.

And remember that one tenth was right after Abraham and before the law. It was right there. So it wasn't part of the law. And that's a necessary thing to look at. A lot of Christians say, well I'm not under the law, I don't have to give anything. Well but tithing was given before the law. It's not a part of the law, so it's not under the law.

So what's interesting about that is that this whole thing of tithing in Malachi, it talks about it represents the whole, the whole thing. You give a tenth, but the rest is blessed because you give the tenth. Are you following me? It touches the whole.

If you don't give unto the Lord then everything suffers. Let me give you an example. In the Old Testament in Haggai chapter 1 verse 6, "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put them into a bag with holes in it."

That means everything you're doing is just you're just staying above the water so you won't go down. You're just struggling. You're dog-paddling big time and you're getting tired. Nothing's working. It's not happening. And there's a purpose in giving. There's a blessing that comes with it.

In fact over in Matthew chapter 23 verse 23, Jesus is speaking, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith."

Then he says, "these ought ye have done," what he's talking about these, in other words your tithes, you should do them, "and not to leave the other undone." You should have a balance in your life. It's one thing to give to God, it's another thing to live for the Lord. And that's what he's talking to the scribes and Pharisees about.

You don't live for the Lord, you're raunchy in how you judge men and just where your heart is, but you make sure you give your tithe. No, he says the first thing should be done. And why? Because it's with promise, isn't it? That God's given us a promise.

Where's that? Over in Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi 3:10, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

So along with giving comes the promise. The promise that not just the tithe will be blessed but your whole life financially will be blessed. The whole! That's what he's talking about.

And so here he's liking now Israel as being the firstfruit. So the first ones that come forth are blessed, and so those that come forth after that are going to be part of the promise and blessed also.

So he infers that Abraham's firstfruit... and remember he was holy way back in Genesis 12. It says concerning Abraham and his seed in verse 2, "I will make of thee a great nation, I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, I will curse them that curse thee. And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed."

You see? Abraham was the first of those that would believe unto righteousness. And then we follow. We're all a part of, we're all family. Sons of Abraham. All blessed of God.

So this goes to the extent even of not only all nations blessed but even Isaac and Jacob and all of their sins were accepted because it says and always quotes "and to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." It includes them all the time through the Old Testament, right?

With all their sins and all their blow-its and all their craziness, God accepts them because they're part of the whole. And he brings them in. They're holy, separated unto God. That's God's promise, that's his guarantee.

Now look at verse 17 of Romans 11. He continues, "And if some of the branches be broken off," so some of the branches are the branches of the tree, so that's the Jews, broken off, "and thou," he's talking to Gentiles, "being a wild olive tree," that's what we're called, we're a wild bunch, "wert grafted in among them and with them partakest of the root and the fatness of the olive tree."

So this really Paul is sharing this to pop the Gentiles' bubble so to speak and any kind of haughtiness that they would have. Some of Israel were broken off temporarily.

Now God is dealing with individual salvation. We all know this, that you must come individually. You can't come and say, well I stand here because my parents believe in you God. And I stand in my parents' faith. Well forget it! It's not going to save you. You're not going to have a relationship with the Lord.

You can't go through somebody else. It's personal, individual. That's why we all have our personal relationship with him through faith. That's very important. Now Israel, some of them were broken off temporarily.

Remember over in John's gospel where in John 15:2 he says this concerning fruit, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit," what does he do with it? "He purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit."

So what is this breaking off of these branches? Well it's a temporary thing of purging Israel that they would bear much fruit eventually. So this is Israel's purging if you will and what they're going through.

And then he's saying you Gentiles, you wild bunch, you were grafted in to receive also the benefits that were the covenants, the promises, the blessings that were given to Israel. Are you following me? It's just understandable. They're the firstfruits, but we get hooked in with the whole thing. We get blessed.

Now notice verse 18. He says, "Boast not against the branches then," the branches of the Jews. So you Gentiles don't be boasting against them. "But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root but the root thee."

Paul's saying I want you to understand the Jews' place in this whole thing. It's very important. Who you are to boast in. If you're putting down the Jews and you know what I'll tell you something. Jesus says if you do not visit me when I was in prison, you do not come to me when I was sick, and he does this whole thing in Matthew chapter 25.

He says when I was hungry you gave me meat, thirsty you gave me drink. But if you don't do these things, he says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren," the Jews, "ye have done it unto me."

But, "depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," if you do not take care and minister to the Jews. If you start hating the Jews and put them down, you're not with God. They're the very root, the very foundation of our faith. Think about it! And yet look at all this antisemitism going around.

So he's talking here about the Jews. Actually salvation is of the Jews. They're the ones that gave us Jesus the Savior. So they're the root. Church history is so embarrassing. I mean when you go through church history it's really sickening.

It's ugly because church history as far as the Gentiles taking the ball and running with it, you see in the first 70 years that they backslid. Jesus says I have somewhat against thee. Remember when he wrote to the seven churches there in Revelation.

Each church, the first one was Ephesus. What did he have against Ephesus? After 70 years of believers, they had left their first love. That's sad! But then you go to the next letter that he gives.

And the next letter is not pretty either. I mean when you look at these they're incredible. It's Pergamus. Pergamus is the doctrine of Balaam, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. It's Jezebel. And Pergamus is just the corruption that was in the church in that time of the church.

And then we go on to the next letter, Thyatira, the Jezebel system of corruption of course. And then the next one is Sardis. He says you have a name that you live but you're dead.

The Inquisition took place in that period of time. When he was directing this to the Sardis church he was also directing it to a time of history in the church. If you take all seven of these church letters written you can break them down into church history. It's very interesting.

And then comes of course the church of Philadelphia which I believe that those that are studying the word and seeking his face in these last days we're a part of. And that church is the last day outpouring of his spirit.

They're having doors open to them. I mean it's a great letter to that church and we are a part of that church. But then comes the last church, the Laodicean, those that were poor and miserable and wretched and naked and blind.

They don't see that though. They see that they're rich and doing well, everything's fine with them. But he's saying no that's not the way I see you, right? So that's just the breakdown of what took place in the Gentile church.

Today God is doing a fresh work I think we can all agree. But after 40 years many are taking it for granted. And may God help us. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus, but when he comes will he find faith on the earth?

Will he find believers? Will he find anyone looking up, anticipating his coming? Will he find his bride? Of course his bride is going to be ready. She's going to be decking herself, getting prepared for the wedding.

And if you have ever been a bride, you know there's a lot of work to do. The work is never done. And you're always busy, busy, busy in getting ready, preparing.

So there are three symbols of Israel in the Bible. I think these are interesting. There's the vine, the fig tree, and the olive tree. The vine is in Isaiah 5. It talks about and represents their spiritual privilege. That's Israel. They had a high spiritual privilege.

The fig tree is in Habakkuk 3. It represents Israel's national privilege as a nation. And then the olive tree speaks of their religious privilege.

So this grafting is opposite to nature. This grafting here is totally opposite to nature. Usually you take a healthy good branch and make a split in the old tree and you'd graft it into the tree and you'd bind it to that tree.

And then for it to then bring forth good fruit, if it's a wild branch, is crazy. You just don't use a wild branch and graft it into a good tree. It just is not right.

So really when you look at what God is doing here, it's to God be the glory putting Gentiles into this incredible family of God. That we have all this precious legacy that goes way back in the Old Testament. No wonder we're tied together with Israel.

No wonder we're embracing the Old Testament and it's ours. You know what I'm saying? We're part of it, it's part of us. We've been grafted in against nature. But hey God took a whole generation of hippies and transformed them.

He can do anything, can't he? So he can get a wild branch and stick it on into a good tree and have it bring forth good fruit, which is what's happening.

So to God be the glory for the healthy root. The healthy root! Abraham believed God and righteousness was given. So Gentiles, we're not saved because we are God's gift to mankind or that because we're so good and that's why God saved us.

We have no cause to boast. Why? Because it's by grace and grace alone that we sit here this morning. Do you understand grace? Unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor. Never going to earn it, never going to merit it. It just was given to us by grace.

By being grafted into the olive tree we're obligated to the Jew. Turn with me to Romans 9 and in verse 4. Check it out. Romans 9:4, "Who are the Israelites; to whom pertains the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, the promises; whose are the fathers."

And concerning the flesh Christ came. What do we owe the Jew? A lot! They're the root. And because the root is holy, so we have now become holy. Does that mean God has cast out the tree? Forget it! No, there's no way. It's the root.

So hopefully what Paul is saying here is getting through to hearts. The scriptures were given to us by the Jews. It's holy. It's been set aside. 1947, there at the Dead Sea, they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Isaiah, the book of Isaiah, 600 years older than what we already had, and it was word for word our book of Isaiah. Now is that not setting a group of individuals aside to make sure that the word is handed down correctly? Yeah! The word of God is holy, written as holy men of God put it down. That's what we have before us this morning.

Guest 2 (Male): We're observing Israel's place in God's heart through a study in Romans chapter 11. And this is Sound Doctrine with our Bible teacher and Pastor Jeff Johnson.

If you enjoyed today's message from Pastor Jeff Johnson from the magnificent book of Romans, I'd like to remind you that you can hear it again on several different venues.

First, you can go online to sounddoctrineradio.org where you can hear today's study as well as make a donation to this radio outreach. That's at sounddoctrineradio.org.

You can also listen at oneplace.com and also through the Sound Doctrine Radio podcast app. And of course speaking of podcasts, Sound Doctrine can be heard wherever you enjoy podcasts including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Be sure to join us again next time we meet for another encouraging and challenging study with Pastor Jeff in the book of Romans. That's here on Sound Doctrine, a presentation of Calvary Chapel Downey.