The Bible tell us: 00:00:01.33\00:00:02.66 Join us now for the: 00:00:20.92\00:00:23.02 Our study today is: 00:00:24.92\00:00:27.52 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN's Sabbath School Panel. 00:00:32.99\00:00:35.96 My name is John Lomacang. 00:00:36.00\00:00:37.33 Thank you for taking the time on this Sabbath morning to tune in 00:00:37.40\00:00:39.97 and study the word of God with us. 00:00:40.00\00:00:41.90 If this is a repeat, and it's a different day of the week, 00:00:41.94\00:00:44.24 we welcome you once again anyhow. 00:00:44.27\00:00:46.27 We've been studying the overall theme, Salvation by Faith Alone, 00:00:46.31\00:00:49.78 in the book of Romans. 00:00:49.81\00:00:51.15 And today's lesson focuses on this week's theme, The Elect. 00:00:51.18\00:00:55.75 And so we'd like to invite you to get your 00:00:55.78\00:00:57.72 Sabbath School lessons. 00:00:57.75\00:00:59.09 If you don't have one, you can get it one of two ways. 00:00:59.12\00:01:01.09 You can go to your local Seventh-day Adventist church 00:01:01.12\00:01:03.73 and request a copy, or you can go on line to ABSG.Adventist. 00:01:03.76\00:01:10.13 org and download a copy of the lesson, hopefully in PDF format. 00:01:10.17\00:01:13.60 If you're one of those electronic guru's, 00:01:13.64\00:01:15.34 you know how to do that. 00:01:15.37\00:01:16.71 But we have a wonderful panel. 00:01:16.77\00:01:18.11 And it's so good to have you here panel, Amen? Amen! 00:01:18.14\00:01:20.94 Jill Morikone, Shelley Quinn, Pastor C. A. Murray, 00:01:20.98\00:01:23.75 and Mollie Steenson. 00:01:23.81\00:01:25.15 And we have tended to stay together mostly in our 00:01:25.18\00:01:29.25 week to week study. 00:01:29.28\00:01:30.65 And it's been a wonderful blessing to know that each of 00:01:30.69\00:01:32.19 you is a student of the Word of God, and open your heart 00:01:32.22\00:01:34.79 for God to lead you. 00:01:34.82\00:01:36.16 Before we go into our lesson, which my portion today is, 00:01:36.19\00:01:39.13 Christ and the Law, which I could subtitle, Legalism. 00:01:39.16\00:01:42.43 We always like to begin with a word of prayer. 00:01:42.46\00:01:45.57 Shelley, could you have prayer for us today? 00:01:45.60\00:01:46.97 Absolutely. Holy Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus, 00:01:47.00\00:01:50.14 thanking You for this Sabbath day, that it is a sign that You 00:01:50.17\00:01:53.21 are the God who sanctifies us. 00:01:53.24\00:01:54.81 Thanking You for the gift of salvation by grace 00:01:54.84\00:01:58.91 through faith alone. 00:01:58.95\00:02:00.35 And Father, as we open Your Word, Lord, we ask in the name 00:02:00.42\00:02:04.55 of Jesus that Your Holy Spirit would lead us, that You would 00:02:04.59\00:02:08.69 anoint our minds, our thoughts, and give us ears to hear what 00:02:08.72\00:02:14.20 the Holy Spirit has to say. 00:02:14.20\00:02:16.63 We dedicate this time to You, and we praise You, and we just 00:02:16.67\00:02:21.27 give You all honor and glory. 00:02:21.30\00:02:23.07 In Jesus' name, Amen. 00:02:23.10\00:02:24.81 Amen. Now the memory text, I'd like us to read together. 00:02:24.84\00:02:30.01 It is in the King James Version, Romans 11:1. 00:02:30.05\00:02:34.45 If we could read that together. 00:02:34.48\00:02:36.15 I say then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid. 00:02:36.18\00:02:42.79 For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, 00:02:42.82\00:02:47.66 of the tribe of Benjamin. 00:02:47.73\00:02:50.00 The person who formulated this lesson study focused on 00:02:50.03\00:02:55.27 introducing it in the context of legalism. 00:02:55.30\00:02:57.61 And I like that because there are a lot of terms today 00:02:57.64\00:03:01.31 that are floating around in Christianity. 00:03:01.34\00:03:03.48 Some of those say, I'm not into organized religion, which almost 00:03:03.55\00:03:07.22 tends to allude that we prefer disorganized religion. 00:03:07.25\00:03:12.19 And anything else that's disorganized we 00:03:12.22\00:03:14.79 are repulsed by it. 00:03:14.82\00:03:16.96 But for some reason people tend to buy into the idea that 00:03:17.03\00:03:20.50 organized religion is an issue. 00:03:20.53\00:03:22.26 On the other side of that, legalism, that Paul begins to 00:03:22.30\00:03:26.37 address comes in many, many forms he talks about. 00:03:26.40\00:03:30.87 One he points out is those who look to themselves. 00:03:30.91\00:03:34.14 And, as you know, sometimes it's so easy to look at 00:03:34.18\00:03:38.85 ourselves, and look at others, and compare ourselves with 00:03:38.88\00:03:42.08 others, and tend to feel good about ourselves when in fact 00:03:42.12\00:03:46.52 we must always remember that the only One to compare 00:03:46.55\00:03:48.92 ourselves to is Jesus. 00:03:48.96\00:03:51.29 He's the only One to compare ourselves to. 00:03:51.33\00:03:52.86 Then on the other side of that are those that suffer with 00:03:52.89\00:03:55.96 what I call Spiritual low self esteem. 00:03:56.00\00:03:59.53 What I mean by that is they say, Well, I don't sing, 00:03:59.57\00:04:02.14 I don't preach, I don't teach, I don't have the gifts, 00:04:02.17\00:04:04.01 I'm not a public figure, I don't like being up in front, 00:04:04.04\00:04:06.71 I'd prefer being in the closet, I like to be in the dark, 00:04:06.78\00:04:09.44 I don't like to be involved in anything that will 00:04:09.48\00:04:11.81 cause me to be nervous. 00:04:11.85\00:04:13.18 And they tend to say to themselves, 00:04:13.21\00:04:15.35 I am pretty disqualified. 00:04:15.38\00:04:16.89 How can the Lord use me? 00:04:16.92\00:04:18.25 When in fact our qualification comes not from how the Lord 00:04:18.29\00:04:21.96 uses, how we work for the Lord, 00:04:21.99\00:04:24.43 but how the Lord works in us. Amen! 00:04:24.46\00:04:27.00 And a candle, a tiny little candle, is sufficient 00:04:27.03\00:04:30.93 to dispel darkness. Yes. 00:04:30.97\00:04:32.87 So you don't have to be a flood light, or a torch to do that. 00:04:32.90\00:04:35.37 The other thing is, as an Adventist people, and this is an 00:04:35.40\00:04:38.81 area I think that we have to be really distinct about, 00:04:38.84\00:04:40.84 because legalism could easily pour into how we eat. 00:04:40.88\00:04:44.71 You know, people say, I remember we had food police. 00:04:44.75\00:04:48.15 Pastor, I know that you had food police in your church. 00:04:48.18\00:04:50.65 And maybe some of us have had experiences with food police. 00:04:50.69\00:04:54.12 Being here in Thompsonville, we remember very well Ronny Hogue, 00:04:54.16\00:04:58.16 who's now resting in Jesus. 00:04:58.19\00:04:59.63 Before he found out about all the dietary parameters, 00:04:59.66\00:05:03.37 he would bring beans to Fellowship Lunch. 00:05:03.40\00:05:07.94 And we remember very well those beans were probably 00:05:07.97\00:05:11.27 one of the first items to go. 00:05:11.31\00:05:12.64 They were pretty good. 00:05:12.67\00:05:14.11 They were really good. 00:05:14.18\00:05:15.51 And people had to ask him, what's the 00:05:15.54\00:05:17.18 secret in your recipe? 00:05:17.25\00:05:18.58 He said, Well, I just put a little slice of pork in there, 00:05:18.61\00:05:20.32 and simmer it down. 00:05:20.35\00:05:21.68 And all the Jews tried to kill themselves. 00:05:21.72\00:05:24.95 Ah, not really. But sometimes we look at our diet and we think, 00:05:24.99\00:05:29.12 Well, I must be righteous, because I don't eat this, 00:05:29.16\00:05:32.06 and I don't eat that. 00:05:32.09\00:05:33.43 And then there are others who say, Well, I've got to be 00:05:33.50\00:05:36.53 righteous because I don't dress that way. 00:05:36.56\00:05:38.40 My sleeves are all the way down here. 00:05:38.43\00:05:40.20 My collar's all the way up here. 00:05:40.24\00:05:41.87 My dress is all the way down there. 00:05:41.90\00:05:43.97 I've got to be righteous by wardrobe. 00:05:44.01\00:05:47.44 And then there are others who just don't know how to relax. 00:05:47.48\00:05:50.01 They cannot come to a social event except in a 00:05:50.05\00:05:52.25 black suit and a tie. 00:05:52.28\00:05:53.62 And they are righteous by exclusion. 00:05:53.68\00:05:56.15 And I'd rather be excluded from anything that's social because 00:05:56.18\00:05:58.92 to smile means I'm no longer Godly. 00:05:58.95\00:06:01.62 And all these are parameters of legalism. 00:06:01.66\00:06:03.76 But we have to remember that every moment of our lives we 00:06:03.79\00:06:08.96 must keep before us the holiness of God in 00:06:09.00\00:06:12.10 contrast to our sinfulness. 00:06:12.13\00:06:14.74 So I want to dive into this by reading Romans 10:1-4. 00:06:14.77\00:06:20.98 And I want to reiterate. 00:06:21.01\00:06:22.94 I stated those things not to belittle any of those avenues 00:06:22.98\00:06:25.81 of practice, because it's important to be a very... 00:06:25.85\00:06:28.82 It's important to be a person of modesty. 00:06:28.85\00:06:31.12 It is important to be a person who's concerned about what goes 00:06:31.15\00:06:34.36 into his or her body. 00:06:34.39\00:06:36.12 I've become more aware of that having a bout with colitis. 00:06:36.16\00:06:41.06 You know, that thing is just not a good thing. 00:06:41.10\00:06:43.13 And thank the Lord it was not an advanced case. 00:06:43.16\00:06:45.33 But then all of a sudden you begin to realize, Well, barbeque 00:06:45.37\00:06:47.77 chips on a daily basis is not the best diet. 00:06:47.80\00:06:49.97 And more fruit, like my wife says, will be better 00:06:50.01\00:06:53.34 than processed foods. 00:06:53.44\00:06:54.78 And I've learned that in a very real way. 00:06:54.81\00:06:57.45 So it's not about stewardship in the sense of boasting, 00:06:57.51\00:07:01.08 but it's about stewardship in the sense of recognizing that 00:07:01.12\00:07:03.62 our bodies and our lives are the temple of God, and our witness 00:07:03.65\00:07:08.56 is important to others. 00:07:08.59\00:07:09.92 But Romans 10:1-4, Paul makes it so clear. 00:07:09.96\00:07:14.93 He says, Brethren my heart's desire and prayer to God for 00:07:14.93\00:07:19.37 Israel is, that they may be what? saved. 00:07:19.40\00:07:23.30 That they may be saved. 00:07:23.34\00:07:24.67 And I want to pause there because what I want to bring 00:07:24.71\00:07:27.88 out, as I understand this, salvation, when you look at the 00:07:27.91\00:07:31.11 economy of the Jews, you know the Jews were so exclusive. 00:07:31.15\00:07:34.32 They didn't go to that nation, and part of their Old Testament 00:07:34.35\00:07:37.72 journey I could understand how they developed that attitude. 00:07:37.79\00:07:41.16 You know, when the Lord destroyed the Amalekites, 00:07:41.19\00:07:42.52 and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Parazites, 00:07:42.56\00:07:45.09 and the Hivieites, and He said don't marry other nations, 00:07:45.16\00:07:47.66 and don't mix your sons and daughters. 00:07:47.73\00:07:49.66 Don't give your daughters to their sons and vice versa. 00:07:49.70\00:07:51.77 I can understand how 1500 years of that can make you think 00:07:51.80\00:07:56.44 that nobody but us is worthy of God's notice. 00:07:56.47\00:08:00.91 So they developed that attitude. 00:08:00.94\00:08:02.58 But it spilled over and it blocked the reason 00:08:02.61\00:08:06.01 why God chose them. Yes. 00:08:06.05\00:08:07.48 God chose them, not to exclude other nations, but to extend the 00:08:07.55\00:08:12.15 call of righteousness to all nations. 00:08:12.19\00:08:14.79 And so Paul says in Verse 2, For I bear them witness 00:08:14.82\00:08:19.46 that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 00:08:19.49\00:08:23.67 In other words, you can do the right thing 00:08:23.70\00:08:25.40 for the wrong reason. 00:08:25.43\00:08:26.77 You could be like a speeding bull in a china closet of all 00:08:26.84\00:08:33.04 expensive china; knocking everything over, 00:08:33.07\00:08:35.88 but you've got a journey ahead of you, and you're going to 00:08:35.91\00:08:37.88 make it no matter what. 00:08:37.91\00:08:39.25 So we have to make sure that our zeal is tempered by 00:08:39.28\00:08:43.69 understanding, as I've talked about this, understanding why 00:08:43.72\00:08:48.22 you do, not just what you do and how you do. 00:08:48.26\00:08:51.63 And the third thing, in Verse 3, For they, being ignorant of 00:08:51.66\00:08:55.60 God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own 00:08:55.63\00:08:59.37 righteousness have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 00:08:59.40\00:09:03.44 And then the part that is often sometimes a quandary: 00:09:03.47\00:09:05.97 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to 00:09:06.01\00:09:10.38 every one who believes. 00:09:10.41\00:09:12.58 A couple of points: salvation is not omitted from any race, 00:09:12.61\00:09:16.52 because all have sinned, and therefore all need salvation. 00:09:16.55\00:09:20.79 We're all sinners. We are brought into the fellowship of 00:09:20.82\00:09:24.19 saints by the righteousness of Jesus. 00:09:24.26\00:09:26.53 The other thing: salvation is not 00:09:26.56\00:09:28.56 accomplished through knowledge. 00:09:28.60\00:09:30.60 It is so tempting. We've got an extensive library as 00:09:30.67\00:09:35.00 Seventh-day Adventists. 00:09:35.04\00:09:36.37 We've got Bible Commentaries, we've got electronic, 00:09:36.40\00:09:38.84 we have it in all of Ellen White's writings in digital 00:09:38.87\00:09:41.58 format, as well as in hard back, and soft back, 00:09:41.61\00:09:43.95 and many different languages. 00:09:43.98\00:09:46.38 And we can say we've got all this knowledge, and we can tend 00:09:46.41\00:09:50.29 to lean on that knowledge as the pillar of our salvation, 00:09:50.32\00:09:53.12 when in fact we should lean on Christ as the 00:09:53.15\00:09:55.96 surety of our salvation. Amen! 00:09:55.99\00:09:57.96 The other thing is salvation is not enthusiasm 00:09:58.03\00:10:01.46 for the things we do. 00:10:01.50\00:10:02.83 Look at me, how I sing, how I preach, how I teach, 00:10:02.86\00:10:05.30 how many baptisms I have. 00:10:05.33\00:10:06.70 And Pastor C. A., when I was growing up, and you were part of 00:10:06.74\00:10:09.90 the establishment when I was growing up, 00:10:09.97\00:10:13.14 in our church we used to say, How many tracts did you 00:10:13.17\00:10:15.28 pass out this week? 00:10:15.31\00:10:16.64 How many Bible studies did you give? 00:10:16.71\00:10:18.08 How many people did you reach for Christ? 00:10:18.11\00:10:20.52 How many handbills did you pass out? 00:10:20.58\00:10:22.18 And we'd stand up in pre-Sabis and say fifteen. 00:10:22.22\00:10:24.39 Or the person with twenty-five must be more righteous 00:10:24.42\00:10:26.92 than the one with fifteen. 00:10:26.96\00:10:28.32 And we'd begin to itemize. 00:10:28.36\00:10:29.69 Remember that? Yes. 00:10:29.72\00:10:31.06 And we'd send those reports in to the Conference. 00:10:31.09\00:10:33.76 And surely your church has 700 people this week, 00:10:33.80\00:10:36.80 and the one with 45 has an issue. 00:10:36.83\00:10:39.43 You know, we tend to itemize and, how should I say, 00:10:39.47\00:10:44.37 in a statistical way begin to count our salvation. 00:10:44.41\00:10:49.41 But Galatians 3:28 is a very leveling passage, 00:10:49.44\00:10:54.38 so let's look at that together. 00:10:54.42\00:10:55.75 Galatians 3:28. And this is what Paul was trying to get across 00:10:55.78\00:11:01.82 to those who were a part of the New Testament church. 00:11:01.86\00:11:04.93 Because many of the Jews rejected Jesus. 00:11:04.96\00:11:06.90 They were so accustomed to the law of Moses and its practices 00:11:06.93\00:11:10.23 that they tried to insist. 00:11:10.27\00:11:12.23 And that was the case in Galatia. 00:11:12.27\00:11:13.90 That was the case in Corinth. 00:11:13.94\00:11:15.27 And Paul made the statement in Galatians 3:28. 00:11:15.30\00:11:18.01 Do you have that Jill? I do. Read that for me. 00:11:18.04\00:11:20.74 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, 00:11:20.78\00:11:24.68 there is neither male nor female: for you are all 00:11:24.71\00:11:27.48 one in Christ Jesus. 00:11:27.52\00:11:29.22 And so this is talking about whether gender, or nationality, 00:11:29.25\00:11:33.32 or country of origin, whether you are a person of means, 00:11:33.36\00:11:38.59 or whether you're a person who is working for someone. 00:11:38.63\00:11:40.90 No matter what the category, in Christ, He looks at us all as 00:11:40.93\00:11:45.40 citizens of an eternal kingdom, possible heirs of salvation. 00:11:45.43\00:11:49.94 So he says, There's no place that we should separate 00:11:49.97\00:11:52.74 one from the other. 00:11:52.77\00:11:54.11 But the Jews sought to separate one from the other. 00:11:54.14\00:11:57.38 And they did that in many of their dietary restrictions, 00:11:57.41\00:12:00.52 many of their practices, washing their hands in jugs 00:12:00.62\00:12:03.59 that are very deep, up to their elbow, the way they dressed, 00:12:03.62\00:12:06.49 where they sat, the preferred seat. 00:12:06.52\00:12:08.89 It's important that... 00:12:08.92\00:12:10.26 I was doing an evangelistic series at one of the churches, 00:12:10.33\00:12:14.20 and the pastor in preparing the church for the community to 00:12:14.20\00:12:17.13 come, and he said, Now for those of you who have purchased your 00:12:17.17\00:12:19.57 seats; if somebody comes in and sits in that seat 00:12:19.60\00:12:22.64 let them stay there. 00:12:22.70\00:12:24.07 Because a lot of Christians, and I guess this is the case not 00:12:24.11\00:12:28.38 just in Adventism, but sometimes people choose a particular seat, 00:12:28.41\00:12:31.81 and that's their seat for the rest of their lives. 00:12:31.85\00:12:34.98 So don't sit in my seat! 00:12:35.02\00:12:37.15 And we have to make sure that in that sense that person, 00:12:37.19\00:12:42.39 the number one concern is not where you sit now, 00:12:42.42\00:12:45.69 but where you're going to stand in the judgment. Amen! 00:12:45.73\00:12:48.56 The other thing is salvation is not obtained by knowledge. 00:12:48.60\00:12:51.17 Let's go to Hebrews 10:1. 00:12:51.20\00:12:53.47 Look at that very carefully. 00:12:53.50\00:12:55.34 Salvation is not attained by the abundance of knowledge. 00:12:55.37\00:12:59.91 Look at that! Hebrews 10:1, in the New King James Version. 00:13:00.08\00:13:04.55 Do you have that, Shelley? 00:13:04.58\00:13:05.91 Yes. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, 00:13:05.95\00:13:08.82 and not the very image of the things, can never with these 00:13:08.85\00:13:12.92 same sacrifices, which they offer continually, year by year, 00:13:12.95\00:13:17.23 make those who approach perfect. 00:13:17.26\00:13:20.00 And you know, in some Christian communities they have 00:13:20.03\00:13:25.47 communion every day. 00:13:25.50\00:13:26.84 You can get that in some Catholic communities. 00:13:26.90\00:13:28.37 You can go light candles, and light incense. 00:13:28.40\00:13:30.27 In our church we have communion four times a year. 00:13:30.37\00:13:32.61 There's no Scriptural command as to how frequent to have it. 00:13:32.64\00:13:35.08 But what is being said is no matter what ceremony you involve 00:13:35.11\00:13:38.98 yourself in, none of those things can resolve imperfection. 00:13:39.01\00:13:43.79 But in obedience to the command of God, like Naaman knew that 00:13:43.85\00:13:47.79 when the Lord said dip seven times He meant seven times. 00:13:47.82\00:13:51.33 So the following of God's command is an act of obedience, 00:13:51.36\00:13:56.16 an act of recognition of His authority; not the act in and of 00:13:56.20\00:14:00.34 itself causes us to be righteous. 00:14:00.37\00:14:02.74 Doing the right thing, honoring the only blessed day, 00:14:02.77\00:14:06.14 remaining pure from unclean meats, abstaining from vices 00:14:06.17\00:14:09.51 whether chemical or material, can give one the impression 00:14:09.58\00:14:12.88 that works can save them. 00:14:12.91\00:14:15.58 The other thing is Isaiah 4:1. 00:14:15.65\00:14:18.19 Just before we transition I want to hit two 00:14:18.22\00:14:20.96 more texts: Isaiah 4:1. 00:14:20.99\00:14:23.26 And this is something else because today there's another 00:14:23.29\00:14:25.89 side; there's a boomerang side to that. 00:14:25.96\00:14:27.50 There are those who say, You don't have to do 00:14:27.60\00:14:29.46 anything to be saved. 00:14:29.50\00:14:30.83 We just want to be Christian. 00:14:30.87\00:14:32.30 And that's a guard we must also prevent against. 00:14:32.37\00:14:35.10 Isaiah 4:1. And in that day seven women shall take hold of 00:14:35.14\00:14:39.11 one man, saying, We will eat our own food,... 00:14:39.17\00:14:42.04 That's our own doctrines. 00:14:42.08\00:14:43.91 ...we will wear our own apparel:... 00:14:43.95\00:14:45.28 Our own righteousness. 00:14:45.31\00:14:46.68 ...only let us be called by Your name,... 00:14:46.72\00:14:48.48 To do what?... to take away our reproach. 00:14:48.52\00:14:51.69 We just want the name Christian. 00:14:51.72\00:14:53.05 And there's some people today that their Christianity is an 00:14:53.09\00:14:55.76 offense to God, because nobody would look at them and 00:14:55.79\00:14:58.33 say, I want to be that. 00:14:58.36\00:14:59.69 You know, they go to church. 00:14:59.73\00:15:01.10 Right after church they smoke, and drink, and cuss, 00:15:01.13\00:15:02.46 and carouse, and live loosely. 00:15:02.50\00:15:04.17 And people will say, How could you be a Christian? 00:15:04.20\00:15:07.07 I don't want to be that. 00:15:07.14\00:15:08.74 My last text: Jeremiah 33:16. 00:15:08.77\00:15:11.21 This is the thing that we must always keep before us. 00:15:11.24\00:15:16.01 Jeremiah 33:16. Who has that? I do. Okay, Jill. 00:15:16.04\00:15:20.72 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell 00:15:20.75\00:15:23.69 safely: and this is the name by which she will be called, 00:15:23.72\00:15:26.59 The Lord our righteousness. 00:15:26.62\00:15:28.96 That's right. So remember whatever you do, do it so that 00:15:28.99\00:15:32.19 the righteousness of Jesus will be seen in obedience with His 00:15:32.23\00:15:36.06 law, not leaning on His law, but leaning on Him 00:15:36.10\00:15:39.60 for your saving grace. Jill... 00:15:39.63\00:15:41.84 Amen! Well done, Pastor. 00:15:41.87\00:15:43.20 Thank you so much for that foundation, and that wonderful 00:15:43.24\00:15:46.01 focus on Christ our righteousness, 00:15:46.04\00:15:48.71 as opposed to our own legalism. 00:15:48.74\00:15:51.38 I have Monday, which is The Election of Grace. 00:15:51.41\00:15:54.48 And the verses we'll be looking at particularly 00:15:54.52\00:15:57.55 are Romans 11:1-10. 00:15:57.59\00:16:00.59 But before we do that, I know there's several verses in 00:16:00.62\00:16:03.46 Romans 10 that I just want to just touch on briefly as it 00:16:03.49\00:16:07.76 leads into Chapter 11. 00:16:07.83\00:16:09.23 Otherwise Chapter 11 doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 00:16:09.26\00:16:11.77 Coming into Chapter 11, Chapter 10, of course, Verse 12, 00:16:11.80\00:16:17.31 there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord 00:16:17.34\00:16:20.28 over all is rich to all who call on Him. 00:16:20.31\00:16:22.48 And you reference that with the verse in Galatians. 00:16:22.51\00:16:24.81 There is neither Jew nor Greek. 00:16:24.85\00:16:26.18 We are all one in Christ Jesus. That's right. 00:16:26.21\00:16:28.02 Verse 13. For whoever calls on the name of the 00:16:28.05\00:16:30.12 Lord shall be saved. 00:16:30.19\00:16:31.52 But then Verses 14-21, we begin to see where the nation of 00:16:31.55\00:16:36.73 Israel as a whole is rejecting Jesus as the Messiah; 00:16:36.76\00:16:40.20 rejecting that gospel. 00:16:40.23\00:16:41.73 You see Verse 20. But Isaiah is very bold and says, I was found 00:16:41.76\00:16:47.00 by those who did not seek Me. 00:16:47.04\00:16:48.97 I was made manifest of those who did not ask for Me. 00:16:49.00\00:16:52.34 Meaning the Gentiles are reaching in 00:16:52.41\00:16:54.51 and asking after Jesus. 00:16:54.54\00:16:56.01 But Israel, He says, all day long I have stretched out My 00:16:56.04\00:17:02.05 hands to a disobedient and contrary people. 00:17:02.08\00:17:05.79 Now last week we talked about this, that we're not discussing 00:17:05.82\00:17:09.72 corporate rejection of the nation of Israel for salvation. 00:17:09.76\00:17:13.63 That was never the issue with election. 00:17:13.66\00:17:15.76 But in a sense rejection for the work that God had called them 00:17:15.80\00:17:20.54 to do to be that light to the Gentiles. 00:17:20.57\00:17:22.60 And the gospel was to go in a special sense to 00:17:22.64\00:17:25.57 Jew and Gentile alike. 00:17:25.61\00:17:27.21 Now let's pick up 11, Verse 1. 00:17:27.28\00:17:29.04 I say then, has God cast away His people? 00:17:29.08\00:17:35.05 What does Paul say? certainly not! 00:17:35.08\00:17:37.89 And Paul makes two arguments here in Romans, Chapter 11 00:17:37.92\00:17:41.52 the lesson brought out; first that blindness is only in part. 00:17:41.56\00:17:44.99 There is still a remnant, and that's what my day focus is on. 00:17:45.03\00:17:48.36 A Remnant and Election of Grace, as proof that God has not 00:17:48.40\00:17:53.03 cast away His people. 00:17:53.07\00:17:54.40 And then as we go on and proceed in the panel, 00:17:54.44\00:17:57.27 to look at the second part, that that is only temporary until the 00:17:57.31\00:18:01.54 fullness of the Gentiles come in. 00:18:01.58\00:18:03.68 Let's look at Verse 1. 00:18:03.71\00:18:05.05 It says: I say then, has God cast away His people? 00:18:05.08\00:18:07.55 Certainly not. Cast away literally means to thrust away, 00:18:07.58\00:18:12.89 to push or reject, repulse. 00:18:12.95\00:18:16.86 So God's saying, Have I repulsed My people? 00:18:16.89\00:18:19.83 Have I rejected them? 00:18:19.89\00:18:21.66 Have I cast them away? 00:18:21.70\00:18:23.47 Certainly not. Because then He says, I also am an Israelite, 00:18:23.50\00:18:27.54 of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 00:18:27.57\00:18:30.97 So he was certainly part of that Remnant. 00:18:31.01\00:18:33.31 He was not rejected. 00:18:33.38\00:18:34.78 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. 00:18:34.81\00:18:38.91 And then he references that, remember the showdown on 00:18:38.95\00:18:43.02 Mount Carmel; 1 Kings 19, or 18 is the showdown. 00:18:43.05\00:18:47.06 And then after that, remember when Elijah stood 00:18:47.09\00:18:50.96 strong for the Lord? 00:18:50.99\00:18:52.33 And then he ran from Jezebel, and he was afraid for his life. 00:18:52.36\00:18:56.03 And then he said, I am the only one left. 00:18:56.06\00:18:59.67 This is what Paul was referencing. 00:18:59.70\00:19:01.60 Verse 2, we're in the middle there. 00:19:01.64\00:19:03.44 Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah? 00:19:03.47\00:19:06.37 How he pleads with God against Israel saying, Lord, they have 00:19:06.41\00:19:10.41 killed Your prophets, and torn down Your altars; 00:19:10.48\00:19:12.98 and I alone am left; and they seek my life. 00:19:13.01\00:19:17.95 He said, I'm the only one left. 00:19:17.99\00:19:19.85 I'm all alone. But what does the Divine response say to him? 00:19:19.89\00:19:24.26 I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed 00:19:24.29\00:19:30.07 the knee to Baal. Praise the Lord for that. 00:19:30.10\00:19:33.20 You may feel like you're all alone. 00:19:33.23\00:19:34.97 You may feel like, I don't know! 00:19:35.00\00:19:36.71 I'm all alone! But God says, I have people everywhere who are 00:19:36.74\00:19:40.98 still seeking Me in heart, and in truth seeking My Word. 00:19:41.01\00:19:44.91 There's still seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal. 00:19:44.95\00:19:48.25 Next, Verse 5. Even so then at this present time there is a 00:19:48.28\00:19:53.86 Remnant according to the election of grace. 00:19:53.89\00:19:57.89 There is a Remnant. 00:19:57.93\00:19:59.66 That reminds me of, I just want to jump to Revelation 12:17. 00:19:59.69\00:20:04.60 It talks about a Remnant that will be found 00:20:04.63\00:20:07.67 at the end of time. 00:20:07.70\00:20:09.47 Revelation 12:17. And we know this text. 00:20:09.54\00:20:14.41 We could quote this text. 00:20:14.44\00:20:15.78 And the dragon, Satan, the Devil, was in rage... 00:20:15.81\00:20:20.28 The King James says, was wroth with the woman. 00:20:20.32\00:20:23.02 ...and went to make war with the rest of her offspring. 00:20:23.05\00:20:27.79 Now King James would say the Remnant of her seed, 00:20:27.82\00:20:31.69 who keep the commandments of God, and have the 00:20:31.73\00:20:33.60 testimony of Jesus Christ. 00:20:33.66\00:20:35.43 Now this is not the purpose of the study here, 00:20:35.46\00:20:38.67 but the identifying marks of the Remnant church in the end 00:20:38.70\00:20:43.44 time is that they will keep the commandments of God, 00:20:43.47\00:20:46.71 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 00:20:46.74\00:20:49.14 Let's go back to Romans. We're in Verse 6. 00:20:49.18\00:20:51.65 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works: 00:20:51.68\00:20:55.68 otherwise grace is no longer grace. 00:20:55.72\00:20:58.52 But if it is of works, it is no longer grace: 00:20:58.55\00:21:01.49 otherwise work is no longer work. 00:21:01.52\00:21:03.53 Now initially when you read that it's one of those tongue 00:21:03.56\00:21:06.39 twisters almost, and you think, I've got to think 00:21:06.43\00:21:08.30 about that a minute. 00:21:08.33\00:21:09.66 He says, If it's by grace then it's no longer works: 00:21:09.70\00:21:13.13 otherwise grace is no longer grace. 00:21:13.17\00:21:16.17 In other words, if you work for something 00:21:16.20\00:21:18.14 it's no longer a gift. 00:21:18.17\00:21:19.74 It's no longer grace. 00:21:19.77\00:21:21.28 But if it's of works it is not of grace. 00:21:21.31\00:21:24.88 No longer grace. Otherwise work is no longer work. 00:21:24.91\00:21:28.82 What then? has Israel not obtained what it seeks? 00:21:28.85\00:21:32.69 But the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 00:21:32.72\00:21:37.83 Who are the rest? the unbelieving Jews, the ones who 00:21:37.86\00:21:41.40 did not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. 00:21:41.43\00:21:44.87 (Just as it is written, God has given them a spirit of stupor, 00:21:44.90\00:21:49.00 eyes that they should not see, ears that they should not 00:21:49.07\00:21:51.87 hear;) to this very day. 00:21:51.91\00:21:54.31 Now it's interesting. 00:21:54.34\00:21:56.71 This Scripture here, we talked last week, and I think Mollie, 00:21:56.78\00:21:59.85 you had that portion where the mysteries, some of those things 00:21:59.88\00:22:03.72 that are hard to understand in the Scripture. 00:22:03.79\00:22:05.92 And this is one of those verses. 00:22:05.95\00:22:07.29 When you initially read it, God has given them spirit of stupor, 00:22:07.36\00:22:10.43 eyes that they should not see, ears that they should not hear. 00:22:10.46\00:22:13.70 You would think God wants us to hear. 00:22:13.73\00:22:15.20 You would think God wants us to see what's going on in His Word. 00:22:15.26\00:22:18.83 But I think what it's referencing is that God is just 00:22:18.87\00:22:22.20 simply giving them, or allowing them the freedom of choice, 00:22:22.24\00:22:25.24 giving them what their heart desires. 00:22:25.31\00:22:27.84 Now in the remaining time I have, I want to look at four 00:22:27.88\00:22:31.45 takeaways that I get from this passage. 00:22:31.48\00:22:33.48 1. Israel saw righteousness before God on the basis of their 00:22:33.52\00:22:39.75 works, not on the basis of faith. 00:22:39.79\00:22:42.56 We saw that in the verse that Pastor read. 00:22:42.59\00:22:45.13 And let's go back... Actually it was last weeks. 00:22:46.29\00:22:48.96 I apologize. Romans 9:30, 31. 00:22:49.00\00:22:52.10 They sought righteousness before God on the basis of their works, 00:22:52.13\00:22:55.40 not on the basis of faith. 00:22:55.44\00:22:56.94 Romans 9:30. What shall we say then? 00:22:57.04\00:22:59.51 That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, 00:22:59.54\00:23:02.18 have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith. 00:23:02.21\00:23:06.08 But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness. 00:23:06.11\00:23:08.92 So they were pursuing the law of righteousness. 00:23:08.95\00:23:11.22 They have not attained to the law of righteousness. 00:23:11.25\00:23:16.29 So they wanted righteousness. 00:23:16.32\00:23:17.66 They were pursuing the law of righteousness, 00:23:17.69\00:23:19.33 but not on the basis of faith. 00:23:19.36\00:23:22.10 Take away 2. If you seek righteousness based on your 00:23:22.16\00:23:26.63 works, then you don't need a Savior, 00:23:26.70\00:23:28.70 and Christ has died for you in vain. 00:23:28.74\00:23:32.24 Turn with me to Mark 10:45, Mark 10:45. 00:23:32.27\00:23:38.85 Do you have that Ms. Mollie? 00:23:41.92\00:23:43.55 Mark 10:45, yes. Now mine's in the King James. 00:23:43.59\00:23:47.12 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, 00:23:47.22\00:23:52.46 but to minister to, and give His life a ransom for many. 00:23:52.49\00:23:57.57 Amen! So Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for us. 00:23:57.60\00:24:02.77 But if I seek righteousness based on my own works, 00:24:02.80\00:24:05.74 then I don't need that ransom. 00:24:05.77\00:24:07.84 I don't need Jesus standing in as a propitiation for my sins. 00:24:07.88\00:24:11.31 I don't need that. 3. If you seek righteousness based on 00:24:11.35\00:24:16.08 your own works, you have not judged your pride 00:24:16.12\00:24:19.55 which is the root sin. 00:24:19.59\00:24:20.99 Pride is the root sin. 00:24:21.02\00:24:22.36 The great danger in the religion of righteousness by works 00:24:22.39\00:24:27.10 is it allows our human pride to play a role in salvation. 00:24:27.13\00:24:31.60 Martin Luther pursued salvation by works before he understood 00:24:31.63\00:24:36.10 the principle of justification by faith, 00:24:36.14\00:24:38.34 and that would negate God's grace. 00:24:38.37\00:24:40.94 Remember that verse in Romans 11:6 where it says if it's of 00:24:40.98\00:24:44.21 grace, and you try to bring works in 00:24:44.25\00:24:46.21 it's no longer of grace. 00:24:46.25\00:24:47.82 And 4. If you seek righteousness based on your works, 00:24:47.85\00:24:51.92 God will not prevent you from hardening your 00:24:51.99\00:24:55.69 heart against the truth. 00:24:55.72\00:24:57.83 God only reacts out of love. 00:24:57.86\00:24:59.89 That's His own motivation. 00:24:59.96\00:25:01.96 He can't... Satan forces and coerces. 00:25:02.00\00:25:05.07 He causes deception and manipulation. 00:25:05.10\00:25:08.27 God can only love. That's all He can do. 00:25:08.30\00:25:11.44 1 John 4:8. God is love. 00:25:11.51\00:25:13.14 If you think about the sun hardens clay, and it brings 00:25:13.17\00:25:17.35 hardness to clay, but at the same time it melts snow. 00:25:17.38\00:25:21.42 So what is that all about? 00:25:21.45\00:25:23.05 The sun is the same. 00:25:23.08\00:25:24.42 The sun hasn't changed. 00:25:24.45\00:25:25.79 It's the reaction to that. 00:25:25.82\00:25:28.92 So what I get from this is that God has an election that He 00:25:28.96\00:25:33.70 wants to save you and I, each one of us. 00:25:33.73\00:25:36.83 We accept Him by faith; accept that righteousness 00:25:36.87\00:25:39.73 of Jesus Christ, and we can be part of the Remnant. 00:25:39.77\00:25:42.60 Amen! Thank you. Well done, Jill. 00:25:42.64\00:25:44.74 And you have perfectly laid the foundation to 00:25:44.77\00:25:48.58 continue on in Tuesday's. 00:25:48.61\00:25:50.95 It is talking... The lesson study is, The Natural Branch. 00:25:50.98\00:25:56.02 So we're going to pick up in Romans 11 with Verse 11. 00:25:56.05\00:26:00.62 And we've got a lot of Scripture to cover, 00:26:00.69\00:26:02.56 so I'm going to kind of just buzz through this. 00:26:02.62\00:26:04.83 Paul says in Romans 11:11, I say then, Have they stumbled... 00:26:04.86\00:26:10.30 Speaking of Israel. 00:26:10.37\00:26:11.73 ...that they should fall? Certainly not: but through their 00:26:11.77\00:26:16.71 fall to provoke them to jealousy salvation has 00:26:16.74\00:26:20.78 come to the Gentiles. 00:26:20.81\00:26:22.14 So let's unpack this. 00:26:22.18\00:26:23.65 The lesson points out that this is Paul's second answer to the 00:26:23.68\00:26:28.48 question that he raised at the very beginning of the chapter 00:26:28.52\00:26:33.22 where he says, has God cast away His people? 00:26:33.25\00:26:36.29 So, he said, Have they stumbled that they should fall? 00:26:36.32\00:26:39.76 Certainly not. Israel's stumble was not beyond... It would not 00:26:39.79\00:26:46.50 cause them to fall beyond recovery. 00:26:46.53\00:26:49.40 In fact what he's telling us here; salvation was given to 00:26:49.44\00:26:54.24 the Gentiles by the grace of God to make Israel jealous. 00:26:54.28\00:27:00.95 Now when you think about this word jealousy, in the Greek the 00:27:00.98\00:27:05.62 word is parazeloo, to provoke to jealousy. 00:27:05.65\00:27:10.56 Parazeloo, which comes from zeloo. 00:27:10.59\00:27:13.36 And it isn't like our modern day word jealous; you know when 00:27:13.43\00:27:16.60 it talks about God is a jealous God. 00:27:16.67\00:27:19.20 It wasn't a possiveness. 00:27:19.23\00:27:21.07 This word was not possessiveness, it was not 00:27:21.10\00:27:24.97 based in insecurity or control, but it meant to eagerly desire. 00:27:25.01\00:27:31.65 So God had given all these covenant blessings to the 00:27:31.68\00:27:35.22 Gentiles to cause the Israelites to eagerly 00:27:35.25\00:27:40.96 desire, and return to Him. 00:27:40.99\00:27:43.63 He goes on in Verse 12: Now if their fall is riches... 00:27:43.66\00:27:47.30 If their fall, Israel's fall, ... is riches for their world, 00:27:47.30\00:27:51.27 and their failure riches for the Gentiles; 00:27:51.30\00:27:54.40 how much more their fullness? 00:27:54.44\00:27:57.47 Israel had stumbled over the stumbling stone. 00:27:57.51\00:28:01.14 Their transgression was they failed to accept the Messiah. 00:28:01.18\00:28:04.21 They did not accept the gospel. 00:28:04.28\00:28:08.58 And in the Greek the word used here for fall is 00:28:08.62\00:28:12.42 basically a sidestep. 00:28:12.45\00:28:14.12 It's kind of to fall off to the side a little. 00:28:14.19\00:28:16.86 So they lost God's favor. 00:28:16.89\00:28:19.83 They were no longer His chosen ambassadors to carry His 00:28:19.86\00:28:23.70 gospel to the world. 00:28:23.77\00:28:25.10 But this brought riches, because what happened, 00:28:25.13\00:28:30.41 when Israel rejected Jesus and the gospel they started 00:28:30.44\00:28:36.85 persecuting the Christians, there was the dispersion, 00:28:36.88\00:28:39.38 and it actually caused the Christian message to go more 00:28:39.41\00:28:44.55 rapidly throughout the world and spread among the Gentiles. 00:28:44.59\00:28:48.19 So their fullness, when he says that their fullness will be so 00:28:48.22\00:28:54.20 much more for our benefit, he's basically saying once they've 00:28:54.20\00:28:58.60 been converted to Christ, you know, here's this possibility 00:28:58.63\00:29:02.57 he's setting forth that a repentant Israel will bring 00:29:02.60\00:29:06.31 a revival like we've never seen before. 00:29:06.34\00:29:08.84 Then in Verse 13 he says: For I speak to you Gentiles, 00:29:08.88\00:29:13.11 inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my 00:29:13.15\00:29:16.12 ministry: If by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who 00:29:16.15\00:29:21.09 are of my flesh,... The Israelites. 00:29:21.12\00:29:23.32 ...and save some of them. 00:29:23.36\00:29:24.69 He wanted to awaken them from their apathy and cause them 00:29:24.73\00:29:27.23 to desire God, so he's saying: For if their being cast away is 00:29:27.23\00:29:33.67 the reconciling of the world, what will be their acceptance 00:29:33.74\00:29:36.54 but life from the dead? 00:29:36.57\00:29:38.47 This is like Ezekiel's vision of dry bones when God says, 00:29:38.51\00:29:42.68 I'll breathe My Spirit on you, and you will live. 00:29:42.71\00:29:45.41 That God will bring life to His children again. 00:29:45.45\00:29:51.02 So the thing he keeps pointing out that God's 00:29:51.05\00:29:56.12 trying to make him jealous. 00:29:56.16\00:29:57.53 Have you ever? Mollie you've probably seen this 00:29:57.56\00:29:59.76 with your children. 00:29:59.79\00:30:01.10 You give, you offer a child, I offered my nephew something, 00:30:01.13\00:30:04.80 and he says, No, Aunt Shelley, I don't want it. 00:30:04.83\00:30:06.70 And so I offer it to my niece and she says, 00:30:06.74\00:30:08.54 Thank you, Aunt Shelley. 00:30:08.57\00:30:10.51 And then all of a sudden guess what? He wants it. 00:30:10.57\00:30:14.24 So that's kind of what God is doing here. 00:30:14.28\00:30:17.21 He goes on in Verse 16, Romans 11:16: For if the first fruit is 00:30:17.25\00:30:23.69 holy, the lump is also holy: if the root is holy, 00:30:23.75\00:30:26.82 so also are the branches. 00:30:26.86\00:30:29.46 The first fruit principle comes from Numbers 15:20. 00:30:29.49\00:30:33.56 When the Jews would offer up a cake they would take a portion 00:30:33.60\00:30:37.53 of that as their first fruits to offer to God. 00:30:37.57\00:30:41.00 Then the whole lump was accepted as it's ready for general use. 00:30:41.04\00:30:47.14 So Israel's not only the first fruit of God's program of 00:30:47.21\00:30:51.81 salvation, they are the root of salvation if you think about it. 00:30:51.85\00:30:57.32 He says in Verse 17: If some of the branches were broken off, 00:30:57.52\00:31:00.66 and you being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, 00:31:00.69\00:31:04.36 and with them became a partaker of the root and 00:31:04.39\00:31:07.50 fatness of the olive. 00:31:07.60\00:31:09.83 In Jeremiah, Chapter 11, Israel is portrayed as a 00:31:09.86\00:31:17.21 cultivated olive tree. 00:31:17.27\00:31:18.77 God pruned them, He cultivated them so that 00:31:18.81\00:31:21.88 they would bear fruit. 00:31:21.91\00:31:23.24 And the root here is Abraham, the patriarchs. 00:31:23.31\00:31:27.38 The root was good. The branches though, that had come up from 00:31:27.42\00:31:32.09 that were failing to produce fruit. 00:31:32.12\00:31:33.86 So what happened, those branches that had no fruit, 00:31:33.92\00:31:37.86 God pruned them. He trimmed them away. 00:31:37.89\00:31:40.76 And then it was the Gentiles who were this wild olive tree, 00:31:40.80\00:31:45.43 that God then grafted them into this root. 00:31:45.47\00:31:48.77 Now this is contrary to nature. 00:31:48.80\00:31:51.01 Typically the way they would do that to make a wild olive tree 00:31:51.04\00:31:55.08 become cultivated is they would take a branch from the 00:31:55.11\00:31:59.08 cultivated one and graft it into the wild one. 00:31:59.11\00:32:02.55 So that's kind of interesting. 00:32:02.58\00:32:04.35 But what he's showing us here is that some of the branches, 00:32:04.39\00:32:08.02 some of the people of Israel, had been broken 00:32:08.06\00:32:10.83 off through unbelief. 00:32:10.86\00:32:12.19 So then when he's talking about being grafted into, 00:32:12.23\00:32:16.56 what's he talking about? 00:32:16.63\00:32:17.97 They've been converted. 00:32:18.00\00:32:19.33 That's the conversion. 00:32:19.37\00:32:20.70 That's just a Pauline metaphor for conversion. 00:32:20.74\00:32:22.34 Then he says in Verse 18, Do not boast against the branches. 00:32:22.37\00:32:28.11 But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the 00:32:28.14\00:32:31.71 root, but the root supports you. 00:32:31.75\00:32:34.32 Salvation had come to the Gentiles through the Jews. 00:32:34.35\00:32:38.09 Even Jesus declared in John 4: 22, He said, 00:32:38.12\00:32:43.93 Salvation is of the Jews. 00:32:43.99\00:32:47.66 Our Lord was Jewish, the apostles were Jewish, 00:32:47.66\00:32:50.83 most of the members of the early church, the majority of 00:32:50.90\00:32:53.37 the early church were Jewish. 00:32:53.40\00:32:54.74 So we... Here's the point: Judaism was the matrix in which 00:32:54.77\00:32:59.84 Christianity was formed. 00:32:59.87\00:33:01.48 And if we don't understand Judaism, we'll never fully 00:33:01.51\00:33:07.22 understand Christianity. 00:33:07.25\00:33:09.25 Wouldn't you agree? 00:33:09.28\00:33:10.62 I think that's a point that I'd like to make. 00:33:10.69\00:33:13.69 And then he says in Verse 19: You will say then, 00:33:13.76\00:33:17.03 branches were broken off that I might be grafted in. 00:33:17.06\00:33:20.80 Well said, because of unbelief they were broken off, 00:33:20.83\00:33:24.37 and you stand by faith. 00:33:24.40\00:33:25.73 Do not be haughty, but fear: For if God did not spare the 00:33:25.77\00:33:31.41 natural branches, He may not spare you either. 00:33:31.44\00:33:36.04 The only way we can be grafted in is by grace. 00:33:36.08\00:33:39.65 And what this verse shouts to me... Tell me if you agree. 00:33:39.68\00:33:42.95 ...This shouts that continued favor with God means that we 00:33:42.98\00:33:47.92 have to walk in obedience in covenant loyalty, doesn't it? 00:33:47.96\00:33:51.26 It says: Hey, He didn't spare the natural branches, 00:33:51.33\00:33:54.10 He may not spare you either. 00:33:54.13\00:33:55.93 God is no respecter of persons. 00:33:55.96\00:33:57.77 He judges impartially. 00:33:57.80\00:34:00.27 But He even judged the angels that followed Satan, 00:34:00.34\00:34:04.94 and He tossed them out. 00:34:04.97\00:34:06.68 So He says in Verse 22: Therefore consider the goodness 00:34:06.71\00:34:11.48 and the severity of God: on those who fell, severity; 00:34:11.51\00:34:15.62 but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness: 00:34:15.65\00:34:18.32 otherwise you will also be cut off. 00:34:18.35\00:34:21.29 As Jill has already mentioned, God is love. 00:34:21.32\00:34:23.93 He doesn't want anyone to perish. 00:34:23.96\00:34:26.80 But the severity of God is His judgment on sin. 00:34:26.90\00:34:33.07 God is holy; God is just. 00:34:33.10\00:34:35.70 Sin, what is the penalty for sin? death. 00:34:35.74\00:34:39.97 So that is where the severity comes. 00:34:40.04\00:34:44.21 But whether you experience God's goodness or God's severity 00:34:44.25\00:34:49.42 depends; it's determined by your behavior. 00:34:49.45\00:34:52.49 Wouldn't you agree? 00:34:52.52\00:34:53.86 So He says in Verse 23, and I've got to hurry! 00:34:53.92\00:34:56.06 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief... 00:34:56.09\00:34:58.89 Talking about Israel. 00:34:58.93\00:35:00.33 ...will be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. 00:35:00.36\00:35:03.60 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by 00:35:03.67\00:35:07.37 nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a 00:35:07.44\00:35:11.71 cultivated olive tree; how much more will these, who are natural 00:35:11.74\00:35:15.71 branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? 00:35:15.78\00:35:19.31 When Israel ceases their unbelief, 00:35:19.38\00:35:22.88 God will graft them back in. 00:35:22.92\00:35:25.05 But the point is that we have got to remember that there is no 00:35:25.12\00:35:30.63 place for Spiritual pride in salvation. 00:35:30.66\00:35:34.46 And that the nourishment of the Christian faith comes from 00:35:34.46\00:35:39.33 the root of the faith of Judaism. 00:35:39.37\00:35:43.81 Amen, Amen, well said. 00:35:43.87\00:35:46.17 I think we are beginning, and I am on Wednesday, 00:35:46.21\00:35:50.01 All Israel Shall be Saved. 00:35:50.05\00:35:52.05 Not beginning, but certainly we're working our 00:35:52.08\00:35:54.68 way through a pattern. 00:35:54.72\00:35:56.05 Pastor Lomacang stated a premise. 00:35:56.08\00:35:59.35 And then in Jill's portion we see that Paul 00:35:59.39\00:36:04.66 restated the premise. 00:36:04.69\00:36:06.03 Shelley picked up the restatement of the premise. 00:36:06.06\00:36:08.96 So Paul follows what could be called almost perfect 00:36:09.00\00:36:12.93 homoletical syncretism. 00:36:12.97\00:36:16.60 He states his premise, which you ought to do. 00:36:16.64\00:36:21.14 You state your theological premise, then you restate 00:36:21.18\00:36:24.08 your theological premise, and then you bring back your 00:36:24.15\00:36:27.02 theological premise. 00:36:27.05\00:36:28.38 And now, in a very pragmatic sense, he moves to so what? 00:36:28.42\00:36:32.35 And when I used to teach pastors, I always said, 00:36:32.39\00:36:36.02 If you're going to take 30, 40, 45 minutes, 00:36:36.06\00:36:39.53 depending on how long a preacher you are, or teacher you are, 00:36:39.56\00:36:42.03 you've got to answer the question, So what? 00:36:42.06\00:36:44.87 You've got to deal with how does all of this affect me? 00:36:44.90\00:36:49.70 Because you put out this massive information, now I need to know 00:36:49.74\00:36:53.84 if I do this what will happen? if I neglect to do 00:36:53.88\00:36:57.45 this what will happen? 00:36:57.51\00:36:58.85 You've got to answer the so what. 00:36:58.88\00:37:00.28 So now Paul is moving into the so what. 00:37:00.32\00:37:03.32 He's telling you, Here is the theological premise. 00:37:03.35\00:37:06.09 Now here's what you need to do, given this premise. 00:37:06.12\00:37:08.82 So we're looking at Romans, Chapter 11, 00:37:08.86\00:37:12.36 and I want to read 25 through 27. 00:37:12.39\00:37:15.03 Wednesday, All Israel Shall be Saved. 00:37:15.06\00:37:17.63 I'm reading from the New King James, Romans 11, 00:37:17.67\00:37:20.94 beginning at Verse 25. 00:37:20.97\00:37:22.54 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be 00:37:22.57\00:37:26.68 ignorant of this mystery. 00:37:26.71\00:37:28.24 The mystery is what Shelley was just talking about. 00:37:28.31\00:37:30.88 This grafting in. How the Gentile road can be grafted into 00:37:30.95\00:37:37.39 this basically Jewish thing; this Jewish body. 00:37:37.42\00:37:41.12 How can that happen? 00:37:41.16\00:37:43.06 ...lest you should be wise in your own opinion, 00:37:43.09\00:37:45.86 that blindness in part has happened to Israel, 00:37:45.89\00:37:49.56 until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 00:37:49.60\00:37:53.17 And so all Israel will be saved: as it is written, 00:37:53.23\00:37:56.81 The Deliverer will come out of Zion and He will turn away 00:37:56.87\00:38:01.38 ungodliness from Jacob: for this is My covenant with them, 00:38:01.41\00:38:06.51 when I take away their sins. 00:38:06.58\00:38:09.72 So he is following in the same trajectory that he establishes 00:38:09.75\00:38:15.29 at the very beginning of this chapter. 00:38:15.32\00:38:18.59 He is reaffirming the fact that not all Israel rejected God. 00:38:18.63\00:38:23.20 There were some who certainly did. 00:38:23.23\00:38:24.93 But not all Israel rejected God. 00:38:24.97\00:38:26.57 And certainly God did not reject them. 00:38:26.60\00:38:28.50 To which we can say, Praise the Lord! 00:38:28.54\00:38:30.34 There were people, like Joseph of Aramathia, Nicademus who, 00:38:30.41\00:38:34.71 can I say, Came out of the the closet, in due time, 00:38:34.78\00:38:38.11 and gave of their substance, and their wealth, and sometimes 00:38:38.15\00:38:40.95 their reputation to support this new church. 00:38:40.98\00:38:43.69 The original Christian community saw themselves, those who had 00:38:43.72\00:38:49.16 studied the Scriptures, though it was heavily Jewish, 00:38:49.19\00:38:52.66 understood that Christianity was not opposed to Judaism. 00:38:52.69\00:38:57.77 It was, can I say, an evolution in Judaism. 00:38:57.80\00:39:01.17 Those prophecies in Isaiah, and in Jeremiah, and other places 00:39:01.20\00:39:05.34 in the Old Testament, that Christianity and Christ Himself, 00:39:05.37\00:39:09.44 simply fulfilled those prophecies. 00:39:09.48\00:39:11.25 So it wasn't an overturning of Judaism, 00:39:11.28\00:39:14.05 it was a natural evolution. 00:39:14.08\00:39:15.45 It was a fulfillment. 00:39:15.48\00:39:16.82 These things were predicted. 00:39:16.85\00:39:18.19 Now they are being fulfilled. 00:39:18.22\00:39:20.09 So the true students of Scripture 00:39:20.12\00:39:23.02 understood the Jewish roots. 00:39:23.06\00:39:24.66 Most of the resistance, of course, came from Jews 00:39:24.69\00:39:28.73 who saw Judaism as opposed to Christianity. 00:39:28.76\00:39:33.34 So much so, and Paul did a great work here, forty years later 00:39:33.37\00:39:39.04 at a place called Jamnia, it was the Jewish community that made 00:39:39.11\00:39:44.78 the strong steps to divorce itself from Christianity. 00:39:44.81\00:39:48.72 Because the early Christians were meeting in 00:39:48.75\00:39:51.42 Jewish houses of worship. 00:39:51.45\00:39:52.92 They were assymbolating with the Jews. 00:39:52.95\00:39:54.86 But in 95 A.D. there was this thing called the Omnidia 00:39:54.89\00:39:59.89 these blessings that were recited as part of 00:40:00.00\00:40:03.43 the, of part of the worship service. 00:40:03.47\00:40:05.10 Well, in 95 A.D. they added... Pastor you know this. 00:40:05.13\00:40:08.34 ...the beercot hominin, which was a blessing 00:40:08.37\00:40:10.77 against the heretics. 00:40:10.81\00:40:12.14 So basically it was called a blessing, but it's really a 00:40:12.17\00:40:14.84 cursing of Christians. 00:40:14.88\00:40:16.21 And it smoked out the Christians, because when the 00:40:16.24\00:40:18.81 statement was made everybody had to say, Amen. 00:40:18.85\00:40:21.58 But it's like, Shelley's not nice, Shelley is cruel, 00:40:21.62\00:40:24.25 Shelley is... Well, Shelley can't say Amen to that, 00:40:24.29\00:40:26.82 because she knows it's not true. 00:40:26.86\00:40:28.72 So now the Christians began to filter their way out of the 00:40:28.76\00:40:31.39 Jewish temples, because they could not say Amen to the 00:40:31.43\00:40:34.03 blessing against the heretics. 00:40:34.10\00:40:35.40 So the moves to get Christians out really came from the Jewish 00:40:35.43\00:40:40.17 community, not the Christian community. 00:40:40.20\00:40:42.14 Because the Christian community understood the 00:40:42.17\00:40:45.17 Jewishness of their faith; the Jewishness of who they were. 00:40:45.21\00:40:51.05 So they understood that the root, Shelley, was Jesus. 00:40:51.11\00:40:56.05 Jesus was a Jew. He was predicted 00:40:56.08\00:40:58.79 through a Jewish economy. 00:40:58.82\00:41:00.36 So they understood that. 00:41:00.39\00:41:01.79 But it was the Jews who sort of opposed that, 00:41:01.82\00:41:04.33 and would not accept that. 00:41:04.36\00:41:05.79 And, of course, about 100 A.D. that break was made. 00:41:05.86\00:41:10.47 So Paul reaffirms and reasserts again, 00:41:10.53\00:41:13.70 Hath God cast away His people? 00:41:13.74\00:41:15.34 The answer is certainly not. 00:41:15.37\00:41:16.97 He has not done that. 00:41:17.01\00:41:18.34 He has not cast them away. 00:41:18.37\00:41:19.71 And there were those who did not cast Him away. 00:41:19.74\00:41:23.04 Now the next issue that we deal with is the 00:41:23.08\00:41:25.05 fullness of the Gentiles. 00:41:25.08\00:41:26.78 What does that mean? 00:41:26.82\00:41:28.32 There is some discussion of what it means, but I think in 00:41:28.35\00:41:33.92 general most scholarship says it's talking about the Gentile 00:41:33.96\00:41:39.46 believers coming in, and the fulfillment of 00:41:39.49\00:41:41.83 the gospel commission. 00:41:41.86\00:41:43.20 That Jew and Gentile together will finish this work; 00:41:43.23\00:41:49.67 will become part of this: Jew and Gentile together. 00:41:49.70\00:41:52.61 My time is getting away, so I've got to jump 00:41:54.58\00:41:55.91 to a couple of things. 00:41:55.94\00:41:57.28 Another visible point is all Israel being saved. 00:41:57.31\00:42:01.45 Now there are many who looked at that as being physical Israel 00:42:01.48\00:42:05.02 and Spiritual Israel. 00:42:05.05\00:42:06.39 Because we know that all of physical Israel was not saved. 00:42:06.42\00:42:10.53 There were those who reject it. 00:42:10.56\00:42:12.26 So now I think he's, can I say, Spiritualizing 00:42:12.33\00:42:15.36 this a little bit. Physical Israel, 00:42:15.40\00:42:17.77 Spiritual Israel will all be saved. 00:42:17.80\00:42:21.67 They will accept. Now, the lesson takes pains to say that 00:42:21.70\00:42:27.74 nowhere in the Bible is there this universalist idea that 00:42:27.78\00:42:31.28 everybody's just going to be saved. 00:42:31.35\00:42:32.68 You still have the ability to accept or reject. 00:42:32.71\00:42:36.69 Israel had the ability to accept or reject. 00:42:36.75\00:42:39.69 Some accepted, some rejected. 00:42:39.72\00:42:42.06 And it is that way in the Christian community. 00:42:42.09\00:42:44.46 God will not coerce, He will not force, 00:42:44.49\00:42:46.39 He will not kick the door down. 00:42:46.43\00:42:47.76 That picture we were talking about yesterday of Christ 00:42:47.76\00:42:50.60 knocking on the door. 00:42:50.63\00:42:51.97 You notice there's no handle on the outside of the door. 00:42:52.00\00:42:53.60 You've got to open it in from the inside. 00:42:53.67\00:42:55.30 So He's not going to fight your radio. 00:42:55.34\00:42:56.97 He's not going to fight your computer. 00:42:57.04\00:42:58.37 He's going to need you to turn that noise down so that you can 00:42:58.41\00:43:01.41 hear the still small voice of Jesus Christ. 00:43:01.44\00:43:03.45 And you can accept or you can reject. 00:43:03.48\00:43:06.92 But the Lord is still knocking. 00:43:06.95\00:43:08.98 And I dare say, as long as you are alive, 00:43:09.02\00:43:11.05 that knocking is still there. 00:43:11.09\00:43:12.65 It's still there. You can have a lot of noise, 00:43:12.69\00:43:15.86 so it's kind of faint, but if you turn down the noise, 00:43:15.89\00:43:19.49 and listen to your heart, you'll hear that knocking still there. 00:43:19.53\00:43:25.03 Now, one last thing I want to read before my time gets away; 00:43:25.07\00:43:28.54 talking about the Jewish community. 00:43:28.57\00:43:31.11 And this is a statement from Ellen White. 00:43:31.17\00:43:33.01 There is a mighty work to be done in our world. 00:43:33.04\00:43:35.81 The Lord has declared that the Gentiles still be gathered in, 00:43:35.84\00:43:39.65 and not the Gentiles only, but the Jews. 00:43:39.68\00:43:44.25 There are many among the Jews, many who will be converted, 00:43:44.29\00:43:48.62 and through whom we shall see the salvation of God go forth 00:43:48.66\00:43:52.99 as a lamp that burneth. 00:43:53.03\00:43:54.56 There are Jews everywhere, and to them the light of present 00:43:54.60\00:43:59.00 truth is to be brought. 00:43:59.03\00:44:00.64 There are many among them, many who will come to the light, 00:44:00.67\00:44:04.77 and who will proclaim the immutability of the law of God 00:44:04.84\00:44:08.94 with wonderful power. 00:44:08.98\00:44:10.38 That's from the book, Evangelism. 00:44:10.45\00:44:11.88 You know, it is so interesting, as you look at God's working 00:44:11.91\00:44:16.42 among the Jewish community, He said to Abraham, In you all 00:44:16.45\00:44:23.76 nations shall be blessed. 00:44:23.83\00:44:25.16 That, that in your seed. 00:44:25.43\00:44:27.60 And that is repeated in the book of Acts 3:25, that through your 00:44:27.66\00:44:33.40 offspring all nations shall be blessed. 00:44:33.44\00:44:35.47 Then you have this statement in Matthew 27:25, His blood be on 00:44:35.54\00:44:41.48 us and our children. 00:44:41.51\00:44:42.84 And as you look at the history of the Jewish communities 00:44:42.88\00:44:45.75 throughout the world, both of those things are still in force. 00:44:45.78\00:44:49.25 And they are juxtaposed against each other. 00:44:51.09\00:44:54.29 But wherever they go in science, and arts, and culture, 00:44:54.32\00:44:58.29 the Jewish community tends to float to the top. 00:44:58.33\00:45:01.73 One of our, Pastor Lomacang and I, our great hangout is 00:45:01.76\00:45:06.27 B and H Photo in New York City. 00:45:06.30\00:45:08.87 B and H closes at 3:00 o'clock on Friday afternoons. 00:45:08.94\00:45:11.97 It's like Disney Land for techies. 00:45:12.01\00:45:15.74 That industry is controlled by the Jewish 00:45:15.78\00:45:19.88 community to a great extent. 00:45:19.91\00:45:21.25 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, three Jewish brethren who 00:45:21.28\00:45:24.55 took care of Hollywood; the whole diamond 00:45:24.59\00:45:29.56 industry in New York City. 00:45:29.59\00:45:30.93 So wherever they go that idea of being children of God, 00:45:30.96\00:45:34.83 God has never pulled that promise back, even though they 00:45:34.86\00:45:37.67 failed to meet parts of it. 00:45:37.70\00:45:39.03 But there's also this corresponding thing: His blood 00:45:39.07\00:45:42.94 be on us and on our children. 00:45:42.97\00:45:44.31 And that has played out through the years. 00:45:44.34\00:45:46.57 So it's interesting that we see this pattern. 00:45:46.64\00:45:50.71 And yet God is faithful. 00:45:50.75\00:45:52.38 And we believe in these last days when massive numbers 00:45:52.41\00:45:55.35 of Gentiles are coming in, God will not have forgotten about 00:45:55.38\00:45:58.49 His Jewish brothers. 00:45:58.52\00:45:59.85 Amen, and Amen. Thank you, Pastor C. A. 00:46:00.69\00:46:02.96 You know, I'm going to pick up on some of the Scripture 00:46:02.99\00:46:06.23 that you covered, and you covered it beautifully. 00:46:06.26\00:46:08.66 But to move into mine I need to do that. 00:46:09.16\00:46:11.53 I'm covering Thursday and that's, 00:46:11.57\00:46:14.27 The Salvation of Sinners. 00:46:14.30\00:46:16.34 And what does God desire? 00:46:16.37\00:46:18.31 What is God's number one desire? 00:46:18.34\00:46:20.68 That would be 1 Timothy 2:3-4, and I believe we've 00:46:20.71\00:46:24.15 quoted it many times. 00:46:24.25\00:46:25.58 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 00:46:25.61\00:46:30.29 who desires... How many men? all. 00:46:30.32\00:46:33.66 ...all men to be saved, and to come to the 00:46:33.69\00:46:36.76 knowledge of the truth. 00:46:36.83\00:46:38.16 All that God does is redemptive. 00:46:38.19\00:46:40.60 And I think I've heard this several times 00:46:40.70\00:46:43.43 here already today. 00:46:43.47\00:46:44.80 God is always redemptive. 00:46:44.83\00:46:46.53 His ultimate goal is to redeem not just some of mankind, 00:46:46.57\00:46:51.31 but all of mankind. 00:46:51.34\00:46:53.07 In our personal lives even those things that seem destructive 00:46:53.11\00:46:58.25 or painful are designed to draw us closer to our Lord and 00:46:58.28\00:47:03.45 Savior Jesus Christ. 00:47:03.52\00:47:05.99 Whom the Lord loves He does what? He chastens. 00:47:06.02\00:47:10.19 And so we want to be loved of the Lord, and we want those 00:47:10.26\00:47:14.13 things that are impure in us to be brought to the surface 00:47:14.20\00:47:18.07 so that they can be removed from our lives. 00:47:18.10\00:47:20.64 And that is God's purpose, to redeem mankind. 00:47:20.67\00:47:24.37 Although Paul was called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles, 00:47:24.41\00:47:28.78 his love for his own people wasn't lessened by his mission. 00:47:28.81\00:47:33.15 He defines himself as a Pharisee of the Pharisees. 00:47:33.18\00:47:37.19 Our memory verse today redefines the fact of how much 00:47:37.22\00:47:41.16 God loved His people. 00:47:41.19\00:47:42.59 All he had ever known was Judaism. 00:47:42.66\00:47:45.59 We have mentioned that many times. 00:47:45.63\00:47:48.50 And he had a deep and abiding love for God and for his people. 00:47:48.53\00:47:52.77 He also had been knocked down on the Road of Damascus, 00:47:52.80\00:47:57.07 and had a close encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:47:57.11\00:48:01.34 and made Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior. 00:48:01.38\00:48:05.71 He had accepted Jesus Christ as the coming Messiah, 00:48:07.08\00:48:12.19 the Messiah that he had been taught about all his life. 00:48:12.22\00:48:17.66 Now his heart's desire, his heart's cry was for his people, 00:48:17.69\00:48:22.96 for the Jewish people to come to know that Savior. 00:48:23.00\00:48:27.04 God called him. His mission was to the Gentiles, but that didn't 00:48:27.07\00:48:31.47 lessen his mission to those that he loved; the Jewish people. 00:48:31.54\00:48:35.94 He loved his people, but, you know, he was very 00:48:35.98\00:48:39.48 honest about his people. 00:48:39.51\00:48:41.78 And the Scripture that Pastor C. A. covered, Romans 11:25-27, 00:48:41.82\00:48:49.46 Paul says in this: that blindness in part had happened 00:48:49.49\00:48:54.56 to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come. 00:48:54.60\00:48:59.70 He defined them. He acknowledged 00:48:59.73\00:49:03.10 that they were blind. 00:49:03.14\00:49:04.61 What were they blinded to? 00:49:04.64\00:49:06.01 Did they know the law forwards and backwards? Yes, they did. 00:49:06.04\00:49:09.08 What they were blinded to was the coming Messiah. 00:49:09.11\00:49:13.01 And when He came then they didn't know to accept Him. 00:49:13.05\00:49:16.92 And I loved what Shelley said. 00:49:16.95\00:49:18.95 The reason the Gentiles are grafted in, 00:49:18.99\00:49:23.09 it said to make them jealous. 00:49:23.12\00:49:25.73 But that's not our understanding of the word jealousy. 00:49:25.79\00:49:29.33 isn't the accurate defining. 00:49:29.36\00:49:31.17 It was to provoke Israel to return to God. 00:49:31.20\00:49:37.87 See, everything God does is redemptive. 00:49:37.91\00:49:41.24 It may look on the surface, or on the face of it sometimes 00:49:41.31\00:49:45.11 that God is doing something that is unlovely. 00:49:45.18\00:49:48.25 But, Oh, as Jill made so clear, everything God does is 00:49:48.28\00:49:53.29 motivated by pure love. His is pure love. 00:49:53.36\00:49:57.06 Now Paul was quoting from Isaiah, Chapter 59. 00:49:57.13\00:50:00.80 And I wanted to go over that. 00:50:00.83\00:50:02.33 Isaiah, Chapter 59. 00:50:02.36\00:50:04.43 We're going to look in Verses 1 and 2. 00:50:04.47\00:50:07.00 The Scripture says: Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened,... 00:50:07.04\00:50:11.91 Remember, I'm talking about the salvation of sinners. 00:50:11.94\00:50:15.24 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; 00:50:15.28\00:50:19.15 nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities 00:50:19.18\00:50:25.42 have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden 00:50:25.45\00:50:30.29 His face from you, so He will not hear. 00:50:30.33\00:50:32.79 See Isaiah loved his people as well, but he's giving his 00:50:32.83\00:50:38.23 people, the nation of Israel, a message from God. 00:50:38.27\00:50:42.37 And you know what? God was very honest with 00:50:42.40\00:50:45.81 the nation of Israel. 00:50:45.84\00:50:47.21 Isaiah is being very honest, just as Paul was very honest. 00:50:47.24\00:50:50.88 He's calling sin the color that sin is. 00:50:50.91\00:50:54.68 Now just as Isaiah is rebuking Israel, have you found in the 00:50:54.72\00:51:02.56 word of God that every time there is a rebuke it's going 00:51:02.59\00:51:06.23 to be followed with a promise. 00:51:06.26\00:51:07.86 And so he promises here in Isaiah 59:19-20: So shall they 00:51:07.93\00:51:14.04 fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from 00:51:14.10\00:51:17.27 the rising of the sun. 00:51:17.31\00:51:18.64 When the enemy comes in like a flood,... What does God do? 00:51:18.67\00:51:21.98 ...the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against them. 00:51:22.01\00:51:25.41 The Redeemer... Now here is what Paul was quoting. 00:51:25.45\00:51:28.52 The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from 00:51:28.58\00:51:33.42 transgression in Jacob, says the Lord. 00:51:33.52\00:51:36.36 But what do they have to do? 00:51:36.39\00:51:38.19 They have to turn from their transgression. 00:51:38.23\00:51:41.03 Now Paul continues in Romans 11:28-36: And this is to the 00:51:41.06\00:51:49.17 unbelieving Jewish people who will not accept Jesus Christ. 00:51:49.20\00:51:55.01 Paul is telling the Gentiles: Concerning the gospel, 00:51:55.04\00:51:59.28 they are enemies for your sake: but concerning the election, 00:51:59.31\00:52:04.42 they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 00:52:04.45\00:52:06.79 That grafting in. Shelley covered that so beautifully. 00:52:06.86\00:52:10.43 Do you know we are Gentiles? 00:52:10.46\00:52:11.89 How many of you are Gentiles? 00:52:11.93\00:52:13.40 We are grafted in! 00:52:13.43\00:52:15.93 Thank God for that grafting in! 00:52:16.00\00:52:18.37 For the gifts and callings of God... 00:52:18.40\00:52:20.40 Don't you love this? 00:52:20.44\00:52:21.80 The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable. 00:52:21.84\00:52:25.14 God doesn't make you a promise, doesn't make a covenant 00:52:25.17\00:52:29.24 with you, and then break that covenant. 00:52:29.28\00:52:30.98 We break covenant. God has never broken a covenant. 00:52:31.01\00:52:35.55 God will never break a covenant. 00:52:35.58\00:52:37.25 Men break covenants. 00:52:37.29\00:52:38.69 Go on, Verse 30: For as you were once disobedient to God,... 00:52:38.72\00:52:42.62 Now he's talking to us. 00:52:42.66\00:52:44.19 You know, Pastor Lomacang, you said initially that you felt 00:52:44.23\00:52:47.50 like this was covering legalism. 00:52:47.56\00:52:49.70 I think my lesson that I'm looking at is covering us, 00:52:49.73\00:52:55.17 we Gentiles, getting a higher opinion of 00:52:55.20\00:52:58.24 ourselves than we ought. 00:52:58.27\00:52:59.61 It also covers racism. 00:52:59.64\00:53:02.81 Do you know it's not by race, it's by grace? Amen! 00:53:02.84\00:53:06.11 No longer can your race... You say, I am of 00:53:06.15\00:53:09.15 this race or that race. 00:53:09.18\00:53:10.62 Not by race honey, it's by grace. 00:53:10.69\00:53:12.92 For as you were once disobedient to God,... You Gentiles. 00:53:12.99\00:53:16.86 ...you have now obtained mercy through their disobedience: 00:53:16.93\00:53:20.73 Even so these also have now been disobedient, 00:53:20.80\00:53:25.23 that through the mercy shown you, 00:53:25.27\00:53:28.97 they also may receive mercy. 00:53:29.00\00:53:31.41 See, Oh this makes it so clear. 00:53:31.44\00:53:33.84 God wants to show His grace and His mercy not just to one group 00:53:33.88\00:53:38.55 of people, but to everybody. 00:53:38.58\00:53:40.78 For God has committed them all to disobedience, 00:53:40.82\00:53:43.75 that He may have mercy on all. 00:53:43.79\00:53:46.49 O the depths and riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 00:53:46.52\00:53:49.72 how unsearchable are His judgments, 00:53:49.76\00:53:52.56 and His ways past finding out. 00:53:52.59\00:53:54.46 For who has known the mind of the Lord? 00:53:54.50\00:53:57.73 or who has become His counselor? 00:53:57.80\00:54:00.57 Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be repaid to him? 00:54:00.64\00:54:05.11 For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: 00:54:05.14\00:54:08.78 to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 00:54:08.81\00:54:13.35 Remember, God is always redemptive. 00:54:13.42\00:54:15.85 When we Gentiles realize the mercy that has been given us, 00:54:15.88\00:54:20.99 we're the wild olive branches that God has had mercy on, 00:54:21.02\00:54:25.86 then surely that should prompt us, motivate us to 00:54:25.89\00:54:29.76 have mercy on others. 00:54:29.80\00:54:31.57 As imitators of Christ, we must not draw a distinction 00:54:31.63\00:54:36.97 between precious souls. 00:54:37.01\00:54:38.57 No matter the nationality, the race,... 00:54:38.61\00:54:42.31 See if this touches you in any way. 00:54:42.34\00:54:46.01 ...the color of skin, is there any distinction drawn in your 00:54:46.05\00:54:52.82 heart just by what you see concerning a person? 00:54:52.85\00:54:57.09 There's not in the eyes of God. 00:54:57.13\00:54:59.13 Race, color of skin, financial status, caste, or political 00:54:59.16\00:55:06.50 persuasion, we, all we see, and all God sees, 00:55:06.53\00:55:12.04 poor souls in need of a Savior. 00:55:12.11\00:55:14.54 Just like we received redemption by the mercy of God, the foot at 00:55:14.61\00:55:20.75 the cross is what? it's level. 00:55:20.82\00:55:23.59 Whosoever will is welcome. 00:55:23.62\00:55:26.32 Joel 2:32, and then I'm through, Pastor Lomocang. 00:55:26.35\00:55:29.36 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of 00:55:29.39\00:55:35.33 the Lord... Say it with me... shall be saved. 00:55:35.36\00:55:38.97 Wow, Wow! You know, this lesson is just... This whole study on 00:55:39.00\00:55:43.37 Romans has been, not only a journey for us, but it has been 00:55:43.41\00:55:47.64 a deepening of our journey. 00:55:47.68\00:55:49.08 You know, it's like a new coat of paint. 00:55:49.71\00:55:51.55 You cannot walk through the book of Romans without 00:55:51.58\00:55:53.62 being affected by it. 00:55:53.68\00:55:55.12 But thank you, each one of you. 00:55:55.15\00:55:56.55 And if I summarize what you said: Sunday I said avoid 00:55:56.58\00:55:59.82 legalism at all costs. 00:55:59.85\00:56:01.26 Monday, grace is not works, works is not grace. 00:56:01.29\00:56:04.49 I love the way you pointed that out. 00:56:04.53\00:56:05.89 And, Shelley, the Lord has not restricted salvation. 00:56:05.93\00:56:09.73 That's a beautiful thing. 00:56:09.76\00:56:11.10 That's the words I pulled from that. 00:56:11.13\00:56:12.47 Pastor C. A. began with the phrase, So what? 00:56:12.50\00:56:14.37 Salvation is not unconditional. 00:56:14.40\00:56:17.91 So what, salvation? 00:56:17.94\00:56:19.41 And so what do we do with this? 00:56:19.44\00:56:20.78 Now that we have all of this, what do we do with it? 00:56:20.81\00:56:22.78 And then Thursday. I brought a couple of things. 00:56:22.81\00:56:24.88 But Mollie, God is always... God's work is always redemptive. 00:56:24.91\00:56:28.08 Not by race, but by grace. 00:56:28.12\00:56:29.98 A new cliche. You always come up with these wonderful things. 00:56:30.02\00:56:32.35 And we don't have a ton of time. 00:56:32.39\00:56:33.76 We have about a minute here. 00:56:33.79\00:56:35.12 But one thing we didn't point out was the phrase in this whole 00:56:35.16\00:56:37.86 study: Christ is the end of the law. 00:56:37.89\00:56:39.83 I think this is so important, because people think that that 00:56:39.86\00:56:42.26 means that the law ended. 00:56:42.30\00:56:43.63 But it simply meant the goal and the purpose of the law 00:56:43.67\00:56:46.00 is to lead us to Christ. 00:56:46.03\00:56:47.40 And, you know, normally we would go ahead and summarize. 00:56:47.44\00:56:51.64 But, Jill, what would you say to those who are listening to 00:56:51.67\00:56:54.14 this program today? 00:56:54.18\00:56:55.51 You've got ten seconds, if so much. 00:56:55.54\00:56:56.88 2 Peter 3. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, 00:56:56.91\00:57:00.98 but that all should come to repentance. 00:57:01.02\00:57:03.28 Choose to accept Jesus. 00:57:03.32\00:57:04.72 Shelley. Amen, I would just say that Praise God for grace, 00:57:04.75\00:57:09.02 Praise God for the Old Testament Scriptures 00:57:09.06\00:57:12.83 that we may know our roots. 00:57:12.86\00:57:14.20 Pastor C. A., five seconds. 00:57:14.23\00:57:15.56 Amen. The grace of God who brings salvation has 00:57:15.60\00:57:17.37 appear unto all men. Amen. 00:57:17.40\00:57:19.30 Mollie. Praise God that it's appeared to all men! 00:57:19.33\00:57:21.87 That's right friends. 00:57:21.94\00:57:23.27 You could see that grace is in fact the foundation, 00:57:23.30\00:57:26.07 through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:57:26.11\00:57:28.01 May you know the God of Paul that wants to be your God also. 00:57:28.04\00:57:32.45 God bless you till we see you again. 00:57:32.48\00:57:34.02