God's Mercy is Extended to Everyone
Thinking about Romans 11:25-32.
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB; FOR THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."
Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. (Romans 11:25-32)
So, right up front, I want to tell you that this section has been one of the more challenging sections for me in our study of Romans - it’s right up there with some of the passages from the second half of Romans 7.
Some of Paul’s Writings Are Challenging to Understand.
I’m so thankful that even the apostle Peter thought some of the things Paul wrote were challenging to understand.
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. (2 Peter 3:14-16)
We also receive a warning from the Holy Spirit through Peter - we must be careful not to “twist” the challenging parts of Paul’s letters into whatever we want them to be. As Peter wrote, if we do that, we do so to our “own destruction.”
Approaching Romans 11:25-32.
So here’s my approach to Romans 11:25-32.
I will note some things we can know with absolute certainty based on what we have studied so far in Romans.
I will share some of the things I find challenging to understand in this section.
I will wrap up by bringing us back to what I believe is the theme of this section - so we don’t “miss the forest for the trees.”
What I’m Certain About From Romans 11:25-32.
Paul is still addressing the Gentiles.
Paul is addressing the Gentile mindset toward the Jews. He warned them not to be arrogant in thinking more highly of themselves than they should have been (Romans 11:17-21).
This section in Romans is a reminder to the Gentiles that God still desired the salvation of Jewish people - even though most of them had rejected the gospel thus far (Romans 10:1-4).
Paul does not undermine the gospel.
Paul does not teach that there is a different way for Jewish people to be saved in the future.
If Jewish people could be saved or forgiven any other way than through Christ, then Paul undermines the entire point of this letter - which is that the gospel is God’s power to save all people, Jews and Gentiles (Romans 1:16-17). Each person is saved the same way - through the way of faith in Christ Jesus.
What I’m Uncertain About From Romans 11:25-32.
The fullness of the Gentiles.
What is the fullness of the Gentiles from Romans 11:25? I’ve read quite a bit, and it seems everyone has a slightly different idea.
One writer thought it referred to a certain number of Gentiles being brought into the kingdom through Christ that would trigger a “tipping point” among the Jews to accept and obey the gospel (Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 404). This thought helps to explain Paul’s fervent desire to take the gospel to as many Gentile people as possible - because not only were Gentiles being saved, but it would also help more Jews be saved (Romans 11:11-14).
Another writer thought it referred to the salvation of the Gentiles (Wacaster, Studies in Romans, 402-403) and that God had hardened the Jewish people “up to the point in which Gentile fullness came in” (McGuiggan, Romans, 323). This point of view doesn’t necessarily look to the future, while the first point of view does.
So which one is it? I really don’t know. What I do believe we can know is that either way, God still desired the salvation of the Jewish people, and the only way they would be saved would be through Christ. That was true when Paul wrote Romans, and it’s still true today.
Considering the Theme of Romans 11:25-32.
I guess I gave away my thoughts on the theme in the title of this article.
Paul is reminding the Gentiles that they need God’s mercy and ought to realize that God’s mercy was extended to them because of the Jewish rejection of the gospel (Romans 11:11-16).
Gentiles who were once without hope now had entrance into the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:11-22). This, Paul reminded the Gentile Chritians, was due to the Jewish rejection of the gospel…The implication was that Gentile Christians should be thankful for the temporary disobedience of the Jews rather than being critical. - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 411
God’s mercy was not just for the Gentiles. All had sinned (Romans 3:23), and God’s mercy was extended to both groups - Jews and Gentiles.
Because of God’s mercy, everyone had the opportunity of being saved. Most importantly, salvation was not based on any claims of racial or cultural superiority or any other accomplishment. - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 412
As Christians, we shouldn’t be arrogant when we consider ourselves in comparison to those who have rejected the gospel.
We must remember that we need God’s mercy, the same as everyone else.
At the same time, we must desire the salvation of the lost and do what we can to take the gospel into all the world (Mathew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16).
