Romans 11:26 32 The Deliverer. Last week, as we looked at the Mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles into the people of God,

Transcription

1 Romans 11:26 32 The Deliverer Last week, as we looked at the Mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles into the people of God, we ended by looking at verse 26, and I commented that in my opinion I thought that verse 26 is translated poorly. And I want to say two things about that as we continue. The first is that I usually do not like to build doctrine on re-translation of texts. We have to have some sense of confidence in those who have gone before us, and specifically on their translation work. Nevertheless, when there are places where the simpler and in my opinion, more straightforward translation is ignored, then I think it is wise for us to look again at the Greek or the Hebrew, and ask those questions about how that text fits in with the flow of the surrounding passage. And in the case of verse 26 I think we can legitimately say that the current translations do miss the point that Paul is trying to make here in this text. Not only does translating the beginning of verse 26 as I proposed - In this way all Israel will be saved make more sense in the flow of what Paul is teaching us about the expansion of the gospel and the influx of the Gentiles into the people of God, but frankly it is the more natural reading of the Greek. There are a lot of ways to say and so in Greek, but the Greek word which Paul chooses ou[twj really does carry a connotation of specificity or proof. That which has come before the Grafting in of the Gentiles is related in its ideas to all Israel being saved. It is in that manner that salvation comes to Israel it is through the grafting in of the Gentiles that the Israel of God is saved, and not in contrast to it. That is why we spent so much time considering what the mystery was that Paul is talking about in the beginning of verse 25. The mystery itself what Paul describes as this mystery - referring back to the tree he has just spoken of - the mystery is the in grafting of the Gentiles. To look then at verse 26 and say that the fullness of the Gentiles is unrelated to his main subject the in grafting seems really rather odd.

2 Rather, when we read verse 26 properly, we understand what Paul is talking about. The fullness of the Gentiles is not the end of days when every last gentile has been grafted in, to be followed I suppose by a day when only Jews will saved. Rather it is when the church has taken on the full character of the unity of Jew and Gentile. When the church is fully committed to the Gentiles within it, and they are really of a single communion with the believing Jews, and when the church has taken on the full New Testament character, especially in worship, then the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Just to peek ahead a few sermons consider how the author to the Hebrews deals with the question of the New Covenant as he quotes from Jeremiah. The issue for him is worship & the ceremonial law. Well what we see as we continue in verse 26 is that the All Israel being saved is a covenantal promise being fulfilled. This had been foretold, Paul tells us, by God's own word as Paul quotes from Isaiah chapter 59 to show us that this is so. So why don't you flip back in your bibles to Isaiah 59, and let's take a look there at verses 20 and 21. This is not an exact quote from the Septuagint that you see here especially verse 27, but in verse 26 it is except for one word. Paul, as Paul often does, slightly changes the quotation to make a theological point. And we have seen this before in Paul's writings think for example of how Paul turns the land of Canaan into the entire cosmos in Romans 4:13. The original covenant promise to Abraham was that he would be heir of Canaan, but Paul writes: For the promise that he would be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. There Paul changes the original wording to reflect the fullness of what God has done in the coming of the New Covenant and in the gospel going out to all the world. Well Paul does something very similar here. Isaiah 59 and especially the latter part is clear in this - is about the coming of Jesus Christ. If you look for example at verse 16, you see that there was no intercessor there was none to save the people of God.

3 And so God himself would act. His arm would bring salvation the Lord himself the mighty warrior for Israel would don the armor of God and would win the battle that we were unable to win. And we see what the result will be in verse 19 it is the going forth of the name of God beyond all the borders of Canaan. So they shall fear name of the Lord from the West, and his glory from the rising of the sun, and against the enemy the Spirit of God would stand. That introduces then verse 20 and the redeemer of that text: The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, Now I want you to notice something. In the verse in Isaiah, redemption is yet ahead what is needed is that the redeemer shall come to Zion to his people, and particularly to Jerusalem. It is after all outside the gates of the city of Zion that the redemption is accomplished. Jesus come to his people John 1:11 He came to his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet as Paul quotes this verse from the Septuagint, he changes one word. The Deliverer will come out of Zion. Isaiah looking forward describes how Christ comes to Zion. Paul, especially understanding his own role in the expansion of the gospel, says that Christ goes out from Zion. Now in our academic mindsets we might think such a thing is not fair you are not allowed to misquote in order to make a point, but I'll simply point out that the Holy Spirit God himself who oversaw both writers does not kowtow to our modern academic sensibilities. Here as Paul writes to a Roman church and especially, as we have seen, to the Gentiles in that church - He makes a theological point - All Israel will be saved not only as Christ comes to Israel, but as Christ goes out from Israel. That is the way of the salvation of Israel the gospel is to go forth, and the Gentiles are to be grafted in. And that salvation is not political, but it is profoundly greater it is the spiritual salvation which saves

4 sinners from the dominion of Satan, and not merely Jews from the dominion of Rome. We see that in verse 27 of Romans 11: For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins." Back in Isaiah 9, the next verse is somewhat different: Isaiah 59:21: As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore." Now it is pretty obvious that Paul is picking up on this verse after all, just as Isaiah 59:20 leads into Isaiah 59:21, so also Romans 11:26 leads into Romans 11:27. But again, Paul is making a point. He wants us to understand the nature of the covenant and the purpose of the covenant. The covenant that he is talking about here in Romans is the covenant of God's mercy through Jesus Christ. It is not some unnamed future covenant with physical Israel, even though physical Israel has been broken off for generations and generations. Rather this is the very heart of the New Covenant, that God is a forgiving God, and through the work of Jesus Christ in his life and his death, all who come to him even the Gentiles - will be forgiven of their sins. And yet this is also the covenant that was promised so many years earlier by the Holy Spirit through Isaiah, and to understand that which God is planning to do it is worth going back and reading the passage in Isaiah carefully. First, we see that this covenant that is promised is a Spiritual covenant in this promised covenant the Spirit of God will not depart from them, and God's words shall be in their mouths. This is clearly parallel to Jeremiah 31:33, and the promise there of a new covenant: But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Here is this promise that is both something old and something new.

5 If you remember when we looked at Deuteronomy 30, there in that chapter Moses tells the people of Israel - 11 " For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 "It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 13 "Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 14 "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. For those generations of Israel that believed, the word was already in their mouth and their heart they were after all the generation of faith. Yet the promise of the new is greater, as we saw from John 1 - The law came through Moses, but grace and and truth through Jesus Christ. Just as the New Testament brings the expansion of truth, those things which have been shadow are made yet more clear - so also there is greater grace. That which had been lesser in the Old is made greater in the new. And yet even still, even in the New Testament we still have more to wait for, as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13: 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And yet and here is something I really want you to see - even though the New Testament promises more grace and a greater portion of the Spirit, nevertheless the covenant succession promises remain, in fact they are re-iterated. What does Isaiah 59:21 say? This is my covenant, says God, the new covenant my spirit and my word shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore." Do you know what word is used there for the descendants? It is the seed from Genesis 17. Same word indeed the language is very similar:

6 This is Genesis 17:7: 7 "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Now perhaps you might say wait a second pastor Monaghan - didn't you just say that Paul changed the quote from Isaiah 59:20 for a theological reason. Perhaps he is quoting verse 21 differently because the provisions to the children of the covenant no longer apply. Maybe that is the theological point he is making. But in Romans 11:26, Paul never nullifies the Isaiah passage, rather he adds to it. Yes Christ was still to come to Zion that is true but there is more Now Christ goes out from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth as well. That is the part which is hidden that is the mystery which is now revealed. He never nullifies the words of Isaiah, instead he adds to them in light of new revelation, and the two go together hand in hand. And neither does declaring that God in the New Covenant takes away sins nullify and overthrow who is party to that covenant. The promise the particular covenant promise still goes out to the generations that follow. Now does that now mean that the generations that follow do not need to believe? not at all. Faith was the condition of the Abrahamic covenant, and it went hand in hand with the promise to the children of the covenant, Faith was the condition of the Mosaic covenant, and it went hand in hand with the promise to the children of the covenant, and faith is the condition of the New covenant, and it too goes hand in hand with the promise to the children of the covenant. And if some should not believe? Romans 3 has the answer: For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? 4 Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. Paul writes that not just to talk about the Jews, but as instruction for the Gentiles.

7 When a Gentile walks away from the faith whether it is someone who has come from outside the covenant as an adult, or someone who has been raised in the church, When that happens, it is not the faithfulness of God that has fallen short, but the lying sinful heart of man. And Paul's going to go on to describe how this works in verse 28, where even though they are enemies of God because they have rejected the gospel, nevertheless they are still beloved or blessed because of the structure of the covenant as Paul puts it n verse 28 because of the fathers. But let me ask you to think about this with respect to the immediate first century context. Paul's quotation on Isaiah 59 is a quotation of hope not for some unknown generation down at the end of time, but for the very ones who he knows his family and his friends. Remember, Paul describes this ministry of jealousy as his own ministry. His work with the Gentiles, which we have seen comes from his calling as apostle to the Gentiles, it is that work which Paul expects to bear fruit in the turning back of those who turned away. One of the things we have to understand that is when the Gentiles are grafted into the church, they are grafted into the Israel of God, and that means that all the promises that are given to Israel well those promises become their promises. Even if you are a baptist, you still have to make sure that you do not see two separate lines of promises one line received through faith, and the other through DNA. Those who walked away and think of that first century Jewish family - Christ has come and yet they did not receive him - Well even though they have walked away from the faith, nevertheless that which they have been taught since their childhood, that which they have learned about the nature of God, and that which they have received when they received circumcision, which as the bible tells us was a sign and a seal of something spiritual, when they receive that covenant blessing even if they walk away those covenant promises still lean on them, and still resonate in their minds. Whether they have received the inward and effectual calling of God well only God knows that - but they have received the outward calling, and that calling is a great calling.

8 You children I know that sometimes it probably doesn't feel like it Oh here I am again with mom and dad dragging me to church, but what is yours in this service and in your membership in the church is a great blessing. Most adults who grow up and walk away from the faith would probably not see it this way, but it is a great blessing to have the word of God sowed into your mind to annoy you when you are walking in sin. And we are going to expand on this idea next time as we come back and unpack verses 28 through 32, but I really want to see how Paul's entire thinking is covenantal. He views the outward actions and effects of the gospel as real and true blessings even if someone walks away from them. Now we know and we understand that we can go through the motions - we can practice all the outward aspects of Christianity we can be faithful in coming to church, we can sing in the services, we can tithe of our mint and our cumin, and yet still our hearts can be far from God. If there is one thing that we learn from Jesus' interaction with the Pharisees it is that a worship of God that is only skin deep is the deepest and vilest hypocrisy. And yet those same outward things can be described in language which is glorious. We have spoken about this before but it is to the outward church to real people in Corinth who have lots of real problems and perhaps some of them were not true believers, and yet it is to them that Paul writes: To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: It is to a visible people to a mixed multitude - that the words of salvation come. In Hebrews 6, the outward blessings of the church are described in wonderful language: those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, Yet there are those who can and if you look around the church in your own life I think you can say along with me they have walked away. Some who were officers in the church of Jesus Christ have left the church never to return.

9 And what I want to leave you with, as we think about the doctrine of the covenant, and we continue to look at this text next week and then look at other covenant texts, is that we need to keep in mind the balance that the scriptures give us. On one hand Paul can write: 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart it always has been and it always will be. And yet Paul can also write: What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! The blessings of God include outward actions and tangible elements. The Lord's Supper which is yet before us reminds us that God speaks to us in the baby talk of that which is tangible and outward. The inward and the outward aspects are both true blessings, BUT and this is a big But the outward alone is the way of death. On that final day, the question will not be did the outward blessings come to you? The question will be did you respond in faith? Paul's hope and you really get a strong sense of his hope for his Jewish countrymen Paul's hope is that they will see the blessings of the covenant and they will know the deliverer. Because that is what all the Old Testament promises are driving towards. The Deliverer will come to Zion, and then he will go forth from Zion. Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. Jesus Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God and has sat down having completed all his work. And it is through him and thus through faith in him that we can be forgiven of our sins, and is was through Jesus those many years ago, that even those who had been broken out of the covenant tree could return and receive not just the outward blessing, but the eternal inward blessing of life forevermore. That is Paul's point when he thinks of his countrymen according to the flesh, and that is Paul's hope.

10 They have known the blessings of the covenant they are the natural branches, and the merciful covenant favor of God is held out to them over and over. For in Jesus Christ the Deliverer, is God's eternal covenant blessing on all who will believe in him. For the father says to the son: In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages; 9 That You may say to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' To those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' "They shall feed along the roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights. 10 They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them. For this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.