A gospel for everyone? Some people think the marvel of the “gospel” is how God would include certain people but exclude others. Some would say the marvel of the “gospel” is how God in the “secret counsel of his will” foreknows, predestinates, chooses, elects, calls a lucky few while arbitrarily (at least from a human perspective) excluding others!
Teachers use Romans 9-11 to build their case for a God who excludes. They point… God loved Israel but hated other nations. God loved Isaac but hated Ishmael. God loved Jacob but hated Esau. God raised up Moses but hardened Pharaoh. God sovereignly chooses people, before they’re even born, or have done anything good or evil, or taken even single breath of air. All men are like clay in the hands of a potter… God shapes some for salvation and eternal life, and some for death. God shapes some to be objects of his wrath and some to be objects of his mercy. God grants the gift of faith to some but withholds the gift of faith from others. And who are you to question God’s mysterious ways?
I believe the marvel of the gospel is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him might have eternal life.” I believe the marvel of the gospel is Romans 1:16, “… the gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes… not just the Jew (those of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel) but also for the Gentile (those not of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel).”
So what is Romans 9-10-11 about? I believe God foreknows, chooses, and elects people to be his instruments, to be conduits of His love… he gives preference to certain people at certain times in certain places, that he might declare his inviting (including love) among the nations, that all people everywhere might believe on Jesus eternal life.
Romans 9,10,11 is about God choosing individuals/nations to be his instrument, not to be the exclusive heirs of salvation. God chose Israel yet not all Israel believed. God chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants yet many hardened their hearts. God chose the Twelve Apostles, yet one of them was the devil. God chose Paul by his mercy and grace—not only because he loved Paul but because God foresaw how Paul might be his instrument to preach Christ to both Jews and Gentiles, insiders and outsiders, those near and those far away.
But here is the marvel of it all! God is so powerful, so infinite, so sovereign that he advances his purpose through whatever good/or bad circumstance emerges… and through whatever good/or bad characters emerge. That’s what Paul is teaching. At the darkest, bleakest moments of life/history God’s purpose of offering salvation to all nations by faith is never thwarted. not Satan, not sin/death, no height/depth, no trouble/hardship/danger/sword/power/angel/demon… not anything in all creation can separate us (exclude us) the from the love that’s in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Do you understand the power of God? When God loves someone (i.e. like you), nothing can stand between God and that which he loves. Ask Pharaoh! Now you can of course refuse God’s love, and reject God’s plan… but why would you—seeing how God spared nothing, not even his One and Only Son, to woo your faith and love?
What if the very text (Rom 9-11) some believe teaches God “excludes” actually reveals how God “includes?” What if the true meaning of Romans 9-11 is that God has made known his ways, and made available his salvation, to “all nations” instead of just “a” single nation? This is actually what Paul states in his other letters!
In Ephesians 3:6 Paul says a mystery that has been kept hidden for ages/generations has been made known. “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” The mystery is that God includes everyone by faith, and doesn’t exclude anyone who would believe on Jesus. The mystery is Ephesians 3:12: “In Jesus, and through faith in Jesus we may approach God with freedom and confidence!”
We don’t have to say to people, “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe you’re included, maybe you’re not. Maybe you’re chosen and loved, but maybe hated, not loved?”
No, we get the privilege of saying, “You are loved! The gospel is the power of salvation of everyone who believes. God desires all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. You can have true hope, true peace… by faith in Jesus, you can approach God with freedom and confidence. There is no mystery, this salvation is offered even to you!”
Some of you might have sincere doubt… you’re saying, “I’ve been taught different. I’m not sure God is so inclusive… I’m not sure the gospel is for everyone. I’m not sure all lives matter to God, I’ve been taught only ‘some’ lives matter to God.”
Well, you know who else wasn’t sure all lives matter? It was the ethnic Jews, the ethnic nation of Israel, the physical/biological descendants of Abraham! They thought their heritage, their genetics, their skin color, their circumcision, their good works, their love of the law and prophets sealed their eternal destiny! But what Paul tells them is “no—you must believe on Jesus—this thing is based on God’s grace.” And more than this, Paul tells them there are Gentiles who are way ahead of you Jews because they were eager to accept God’s grace in Christ Jesus and believe!
At the end of Romans 9:30-32 Paul writes, “What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as a way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.”
In Romans 10, Paul laments how the Jews had zeal for God, but they didn’t believe, nor submit to the righteousness of God. Christ was the culmination of their ancient faith, but they ended up rejecting the Christ!
In fact Paul takes this issue up in Romans 11:1, “I ask then, did God reject his people? By no means!” Romans 11:2, “God did not reject is people, whom he foreknew!” They were “foreknown”, yet they still stumbled, disobeyed, and fell. The issue wasn’t God’s lack of willingness/power… it’s that they weren’t willing to believe!
I think a fundamental misunderstanding we have relates to this idea of God “hardening” hearts. In Romans 9, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. In Romans 11:7-10, Paul describes how God hardened the hearts of Israel. God gave his people “a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, ears that could not hear, etc.” But this hardening doesn’t determine the eternal fate of an individual. How do we know? Because in Romans 11:11, despite Israel’s hardening, Paul turns right around and asks, “And yet did they (the Jews) stumble beyond recovery? Not at all!” Despite their hardening, there was still hope, should they believe on Jesus!
If you go back to Romans 1, what is Romans 1 all about? Romans 1 is all about the Gentiles. They didn’t think it worthwhile to worship and serve God. They turned toward wickedness, and every kind of evil. And what does Romans 1 repeatedly tell us? “God gave them over...” This is another way to say, “They became hardened” Yet what does Paul tell us in Romans 1? He tells us that no matter how hardened a sinner may become, “the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes!”
This isn’t some profound revelation. How many times have you observed a person growing harder and harder as they pursued sin? God in his “total sovereignty” releases us to the desire of our hearts. He doesn’t force, he doesn’t coerce… no he foreknows, he predestines, he calls, he invites, he includes, he waits… Romans 19:21 Paul quotes God, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people…” Jesus spoke these same verses as he wept over the city of Jerusalem. And yet what was the reality? Jesus tells us, “Yet [Israel] you were not willing!”
If you read your Old Testament people make their own choices, and God allows people to become hardened in their choices, but then God uses people whatever their choices for his set glory and purpose. Again, God’s not being unjust. His word, his power isn’t failing. God isn’t doing the rejecting… God’s people are rejecting him!
“Boy I don’t know. I’m not convinced. I still think God picks favorites. I think if God wants something, no man can resist his will. If God chose to save you, your fate is sealed, you can’t disbelieve, disobey, resist, or disrupt his plan.”
This kind of deterministic thinking so deeply permeates people’s thinking today. The Jews had extreme difficulty believing God would include even dirty scummy Gentiles in his plan. So right smack dab in the middle of Romans 11, what does Paul do?
First, he points out how the Jew’s rejection of Jesus led to many Gentiles now believing in Jesus. But then he paints one of the most pictures in all Romans… he uses an analogy, a metaphor, he paints a word picture that is so clairvoyant, surely even the Jews, even modern day Calvinists, wouldn’t miss his point! Thou they still do…
Paul asks us to imagine a giant olive tree. An olive tree can live to be thousands of years old! These life-giving trees were used for food, for medicine, and for oil. But look at the root system on that baby! Its epic! Can you imagine how deep and wide those knobby gnarly roots must spread? They descend to the deepest reservoirs of water beneath the ground. Their roots extend out to the furthest distance, absorbing vital but scarce nutrients. Not only is the olive tree drought, disease resistant, but the roots of an olive tree are capable of regenerating themselves even if the trunk is destroyed! Did you know the first plant to emerge after the flood, was an olive tree? Remember how Noah sent out the dove, and it came back with olive branch? In an olive tree, there are natural branches and unnatural branches! The natural branches have been attached to the roots from the beginning, and are virtually as old as the root itself! The natural branches share the same rich history as the roots! But as you know, in every old tree… as the branches grow old… they start to die, and stop bearing fruit. So along comes a vinedresser, and what does he do? He cuts out the dead branches. But this is where it gets awesome. The vinedresser grafts in unnatural branches!
So where does he get the unnatural branches? Paul tells us! The vine dresser looks for wild olive shoots. The wild olive shoots are young and lively and fruitful…. But here is the thing… the wild olive shoots have a tender root system, that’s unable to withstand the heat, and disease and drought, and absorb all the nutrients needed to feed its own branches. The wild olive shoots, though lively, will inevitably die! So what does the vinedresser do? He cuts the wild olive shoots from their weak root system, and he grafts these new branches into the hearty, gnarly, knobby, deep and wide, abundant, vital, ancient, life-giving root system of an established tree! Once grafted, these new branches receive abundant nourishment from the established roots!
This is Paul’s metaphor for understanding salvation, but it was Jesus’ metaphor first. What did Jesus say in John 15:1-2? ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
The Jewish people, the ethnic nation of Israel, were the old branches. Some of the Jews embraced Christ, and thrived. But some of the Jews stumbled over Christ, and would not believe, and would not obey the gospel. They rejected Jesus. God didn’t reject them, they rejected God. And they became unfruitful, and they died, and God the great vinedresser pruned them off the tree…
But then God went out and collected up the tender Gentile shoots, and grafted them into the very place where the Jews were once naturally rooted in God. And guess what! The Gentiles thrived! They were refreshed, and they bore much fruit! Paul’s hope in Romans 11 is that the old branches would wake and become jealous of these new Gentile branches, and get grafted back in. But what’s the problem with the old branches?
Notice what Paul says in Romans 11:20… “they were broken off because of unbelief, and because they didn’t stand by faith”! “Oh you mean it wasn’t God’s fault? God wasn’t rejecting them?” BINGO! Yet look what Paul says as a warning to us! “Do not be arrogant, but tremble.” Tremble why? Romans 11:21, “Because if God didn’t spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either!” [i.e. should you not believe]
“Well what are you saying, that my salvation is dependent on faith?” That’s exactly right! Romans 11:22-24, “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you will be cut off! And if they [the Jews] don’t persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again! After all, if you [Gentiles] were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to your nature were grated into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these the natural branches [the Jews] be grated into their own olive tree.”
Friends this olive tree of salvation was the Jewish inheritance all along! This is why back in Romans 9:2-5 Paul begins this whole conversation saying, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship, theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah who is God over ALL, forever praised.” hearty, gnarly, knobby, deep and wide, abundant, vital, ancient, life-giving heritage!
Theirs is the entire kit and caboodle! What a shame then that those branches destined for glory, disbelieved, became unfruitful and died. Not only did they get pruned, but they got replaced by unnatural Gentile branches! How tragic those God chosen as an instrument of God’s love ultimately rejected God’s love in Christ Jesus!
And yet there is still hope! Why? Because God is an inclusive God. He is a God who doesn’t just include Gentiles, but he is a God who re-includes even Jews. Romans 11:23, “God is able to graft them in again!” Romans 11:11, “they haven’t fallen so far as to fall beyond recovery/ redemption!”
This ought to be incredibly encouraging news! Some of you wonder if God is even willing to save you. Some of you wonder if there is still hope, if maybe you’ve fallen so far from God your now beyond recovery! Friends! Not only is God willing to include you, but if necessary re-include you by that same faith…
A refreshing church is an inclusive church. A church that embraces God’s love. A church that proclaims God’s love. A church that offers, calls, invites, extends, welcomes all who might believe on Jesus. A church so deeply rooted in Christ, it becomes holy just as God is holy. This is how God saves us… Colossians 2:6-7, “Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
COMMUNION
When God does grafts you back in, when by faith you willingly abide in Christ, and become rooted in Him… the root… GOD himself… makes you holy! Look! Romans 11:16, “If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.”
Our approach to religion is often weighing people’s holiness, and then deciding whether to include/exclude them. God’s approach is opposite. God grafts us into Himself, he includes us through faith in Christ… and then once rooted causes us to become holy, righteous, good… to become more like Christ… to bear fruit for his glory!
But let’s not reverse the order… First God includes us, then God transforms us. First we believe, first we belong, God grafts us in… better behavior comes much later.
Notice in Romans 1:5 what Paul says, “Through Jesus we received grace and apostleship to call Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.” The obedience that comes from what? The behavior that comes from what? Obedience comes from believing, from faith, from belonging, from being included, from being grafted into the root which is Christ!
2 Corinthians. 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come!” If a person is in Christ, we don’t need to freak out about what their behavior is, or even has been. We need to pray, and anticipate their transformation… If you’ve become discouraged in your struggle against sin… your confidence needs to be in Christ, the root, who makes all things holy in His time, by grace, through faith…