ROMANS 12:1-2 Presenting your Bodies as Living Sacrifices

 

We now come to the practical application of Paul’s letter to the Romans in Chapters 12-15.  

The great doctrines of Romans 1-11 (Orthodoxy) must lead to application (Orthopraxy).   

Right doctrine must be followed by   right doing.  Right living comes as a result of right thinking.  Paul, in almost all his letters deals with the doctrinal foundations of Christianity first before turning his attention to the duties of Christians. 

Matthew Henry (1662-1714) said, “The foundation of Christian practice must be laid in Christian knowledge and faith. We must first understand how we receive Christ Jesus the Lord, and then we shall know the better how to walk in him “.  Truth must be believed. It must be lived out. 

Paul reminds Timothy:” Watch your life and doctrine closely!” (1 Tim 4:16 NIV).

REMINDER: Primary theological truths  contained in Romans 1-11 

• Mankind is a fallen race - “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God“ (Rom 3:23).
• All can only be redeemed through Christ alone, by faith in Him alone.
• All who have faith in Jesus are justified and receive full forgiveness of their sin.
• This brings about true freedom from the slavery of sin and the wrath of God (Rom 8)
• Since no one believes naturally, God sovereignly elects His people from among Jews and gentiles. If He did not do this no one would be saved.  (Rom 9-11)
•  Chapter 11   concludes with the strong reminder that God is merciful to sinners.  This pivotal thought will be carried into Romans 12-15. Sinners who receive God’s mercy are thankful and grateful. They are debtors to God’s mercy. These are the doctrines of grace and if you are a recipient of the doctrines of grace then these   will make us gracious.  This is indeed the mark of a true believer. If you have been saved by the grace of God then you will increasingly exhibit the marks of that grace, by growing in grace (2 Pet. 3:18).  We will return to this thought  shortly...

OUTLINE OF ROMANS 12-15

•  12:1 – 2 Duty to God - WORSHIP
•  12:3-8 Duties to the Church
•  12: 9 – 21 Marks of a true Christian  
• 13: 1 – 7 Duties to  the governing  Authorities
• 13:8 - 14 Duty to love one another
• 14:1 - 15:13 Concerning Christian liberty

1. ROMANS 12:1-2 OUR DUTY TO GOD

OUTLINE

1. Starting point: God’s mercy
2. Response:  worshipping God with our bodies
3.  Exhortation: negatively - nonconformity to the world and positively   - transformation of the mind
4. A surprising result:  God’s will for our life can be discerned

1.  God’s Mercy – The Starting Point

 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God…”.   We saw that Paul ended Romans 11:30-32 on the high note of God’s mercy.  

What is mercy?

On a human level, mercy is the compassionate treatment of someone suffering or in need. The Bible calls Christians “to love mercy” (Micah 6:8); to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36).  This includes forgiving offenses and helping the poor or suffering— all because  we  have received mercy from God.

On a divine level, mercy is the free gift of God’s undeserved kindness and compassion to us, sinners. In Titus 3:4–7, Paul gives us one of the best descriptions of God’s mercy: 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. “God’s mercy is freely granted. It not only forgives our sins and saves us but also withholds the punishment we deserve and makes us fit for heaven.

The difference between mercy and grace: 

Mercy is not receiving the punishment, wrath, or consequences that you do deserve. 

Grace is receiving the unearned gift, favour, and spiritual blessings that you do not deserve (Eph. 2:4–9)

Paul has shown the  greatness of God’s mercy to sinners.  He says in effect, “Look what God has done! Even though you were disobedient, rebellious sinners, God has shown you undeserved mercy. ”

2. An appropriate Response : Give Him your Body as a Living Sacrifice!

“…by the mercies of God … present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship”.  

What ought to be our response to God’s mercy?  Knowing that we cannot repay God for His mercy, there is yet something that we  can and must do: “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”  

Ironically, salvation is the free gift that costs you everything. Paul is not saying, "give Jesus your heart”. God wants all of you. “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, mind and strength”(Deut. 6:4,5; Mk 12:30).

Paul reminds the Corinthians: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.”  (1 Cor 6:20). Salvation is the free gift that costs us everything.  Christian discipleship means giving the totality of ourselves to God.  

“…Which is your spiritual worship… That is the meaning of true worship!  Modern Christians think of worship as an event. Some think that singing praise songs is worship. However, the Bible thinks of it as a lifestyle and a habit that pervades our body and mind every day, as it influences the way in which we think and act.  I am a Christian 24/7. Sadly, many Christians have this incredible disconnect between life (how we live) and doctrine (what we believe). And it makes them fundamentally unhappy, because they live a compromised life. The Bible teaches me that what I do with my body is important.    Therefore, I must care  about  where I take my body and what I do with my body. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). I am called to use this body to glorify God – in all situations!  

And all this because I have come to understand that this is not out of a mere sense of duty. Mere duty is legalism.  “Legalism  lacks the supreme sense of worship. It obeys, but it does not adore.” (Geerhardus Vos).  When I adore, I delight in God. I adore because I have begun to understand the nature of His mercy. I understand the consequences. I have been redeemed from a future in eternal hell. I am adopted as His beloved a child. I am loved. I have a place, a home in His eternal family.  I adore, therefore I give myself to Him, not because I have to because I want to.  

3. EXHORTATION : THIS IS HOW WE DO IT 

Exhortation  #1 Do not be conformed to this world

“Do not be conformed to this world”.  That is the great problem with nominal and liberal Christianity.  Liberal Christians think little of God and much of man. Liberal churches accommodate themselves to what people think and want. To do that they will even go against God’s Word, or they twist it.  But God does not want us to be ruled by current culture or the prevailing social norms.  We do not belong to the world.  God’s will is uppermost in our hearts, minds and behavior. And so, we must not send confusing messages into the world.  We must not be   ruled by double standards.   We do what God says in His word.

Exhortation #2 Be Transformed by the Renewal of your Mind

“…but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”   Here we are challenged not to put our minds into neutral but to actively seek the renewal of our minds by learning to think God’s thoughts after Him.   With our mind we  believe, think and exercise our will and desire.   Our mind in the wrong hands can be easily swayed, depending on who we listen to.  

Dear believer, you were designed to listen to God.  

How many years have you spent listening to the world?  

Who is talking to you?  

Many Christians claim to have Christian hearts but  their  minds are instructed by  the ungodly at many levels,  from the  social media, the entertainment culture to our systems of education. The late Voddie Baucham famously said, “We cannot  continue to send our children  to Caesar for their education  and be surprised  when they come home as Romans”.   We can’t be naïve. Our children are  not strong enough  to resist  the world. Do/did you teach your children well?  Do you/ did you know what your children were being taught at school and University? And did you help them?   Are you surprised that they turned out sceptics?  

The Bible says that our mind  has  to be transformed in order to live the Christian life. Well,  how is it transformed? Through renewal.  How is it renewed? Through learning to think God’s thoughts after Him. Our minds need to be held captive by the Word of God.  

Martin Luther  when at  the Council of Worms on April 18, 1521 was  under strong  pressure to  capitulate  to the  very corrupt Catholic  thought system of his day. His response was, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God! To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I therefore cannot, and I will not recant. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." That is where we need to be! Don’t be conformed … be transformed  by the renewing of your mind as your mind is held captive by the Word of God.

IV. THE RESULT:  A TRANSFORMED MIND KNOWS THE WILL OF GOD

“… that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Here is a  surprising and wonderful byproduct: A mind that is transformed by the renewing work of God’s Holy Spirit in accordance with the word of God will be a discerning mind.  It’s as simple as this: You cannot do the will of God if you do not know the will of God.  Wise living, making wise choices begins by  learning what the Bible teaches. The renewed mind, even whilst living in a fallen world is able to discern the issues of life.

Feeding on sound doctrine, feeding on the Word of God, believing God more than you believe anyone else will show you above all else how merciful God is to you. And when you have seen that, all your life will be lived in heartfelt worship, and if that is true,  you will be a blessed woman or man (Psalm 1). 

Romans 11:33-36 PROFOUND THEOLOGY LEADS TO PROFOUND WORSHIP

 

Romans 1-11 concludes Paul’s doctrinal section. 

Doctrine is not a dirty word. 

It is not a divisive word.  

Doctrine brings clarity. 

Doctrine is to the soul and to  the mind  what the skeleton is to the body.

We are  now  ready to move on to consider Romans 12-15, which consists of practical application- the “how- shall- we- then-live” section of Paul’s letter to the Romans. 

Sound doctrine must produce sound living.

Sound living must be based on sound principles.

In this regard we need to know something fundamental about ourselves.  

This is what Romans 1-11 explains.

Here we learn concerning the fundamental human condition: Sin!

Here we learn about how people are made right with God: Justification

Here we learn how that righteousness changes our daily life: Sanctification

Here we learn how God’s plan includes both Jews and Gentiles : Election

 

After reflecting on God’s wonderful plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles in Romans 9-11, he bursts out in praise at the end in 11:33-36.

This is the result of profound theology. 

It leads to profound worship. 

Great theology leads to doxology. 

When we begin to understand something of the unsearchable wisdom, the mercy and the sovereign grace of God, our pride dissolves and gives way to total adoration.

This is truth on fire!

This leads to true worship.

This is where God wants us to be when we have considered  Romans 1–11.

And this is the response that will make us able to live out the practical moral demands of Romans 12–15.  “Morality in the Christian life is not simply the willpower to do right things, because God has the authority to command them. Christian morality is the overflow of worshipping the sovereign, merciful God. That will become plain as soon as we turn to chapter 12”. (Piper).

 

I am looking forward to doing the practical application of Paul’s letter to the Romans with you. But I want to be careful how I deal with it. We must not fall into the trap of becoming mere legalists, people that are merely duty bound. Legalism produces joyless Christianity.  Legalism lacks the supreme sense of worship. It obeys but it does not  adore (Geerhardus Vos) 

We are asking the Lord to do for us what He is doing here with Paul.  

Our prayer is that God would put a delight into our hearts.

Our prayer is that God would be pleased to help us to live from the center of our great theology with great gladness and joy, for the glory of His Name. 

You who are parents will understand the difference. When you ask your children to do something, then your hope is that they will not do it grudgingly. 

Your desire is that they will do it willingly, because they love you and because they love you and want to please you.  

When you are a Christian, God is your Father – your parent. And true Christians will show their love for Him by their obedience to His commandments. That is the spirit of true worship. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn.14:15) 

As Christians we must see all of life as worship. Sundays are days of worship, but so are Mondays and the rest of the week. In that sense we must take note of the opening words  of Romans 12 

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

GREAT THEOLOGY PRODUCES PROFOUND WORSHIP

In 11:33-36 Paul is gripped by the greatness of God. And it has far reaching consequences.                                                                  

1:33a “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”. After pouring out his heart in profound theology under the direction and influence of the Holy Spirit in the first 11 chapters, Paul is lost in wonder, love and praise [1]. 

He marvels at how God directs His plan of salvation. 

God’s ways and methods often leave us astonished e.g. here using Israel's hardening to reach the Gentiles, and then (wonder above wonders) to reincorporate the Jews back into His plan after the fullness of gentiles has been brought in!   Amazing mercy! It is good to be lost in the greatness of the mercy of God! We need to think and meditate much on these things.  We need to remind ourselves and know that we are always in the hands of a God whose character and nature is so large and inexhaustible that it cannot be fathomed (a nautical term). 

We need to be reminded that the riches of His Being cannot be exhausted. We need to be reminded that His wisdom makes us look foolish. His knowledge blows AI (which is the sum-total of human intelligence) out of the water.  

He is the God who has the whole world in His hands. We ultimately own nothing. 

He owns everything.   God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge are very deep. We cannot give Him anything he doesn’t have. We cannot tell Him anything which He doesn’t know.  

He is never confused, and always perfectly in control (Psalm 2). 

Experiencing something of the Majesty of God is an unknown cure for the troubles of our soul. When sickness or trouble or death stares you in the face you know that Someone greater is here! Someone who knows what He is doing is here!

1:33b “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways”: 

This is a very challenging statement. We know that God is unfathomable, and wise. We know that He knows everything – the beginning from the end. He knows what He is doing in us and with us. 

What we find harder to cope with are some of His judgments – 

• why He does not heal us, or 
• why He does not deliver us from certain evils (e.g. Paul’s thorn in the flesh); 
• why He takes away a father in his prime; 
• why He allows us to live in a broken body for so long; 
• why He does not save a loved one even after many repeated prayers.

We wonder what good can possibly come from some of His divine judgments.  Here  are some of these unsearchable judgements. 

• What God did to Job was unsearchable. 
• What God allowed to be done to John the Baptist (Matthew 14; Mark 6) is unsearchable
• and to Stephen (Acts 7) 
• and  to  James,  the brother of John (Acts 12:2) ... 

The current deaths of many Christians at the hands of the Islamists is beyond our comprehension. And yet it is undeniable that God works in and through these circumstances.  The phrase, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church" originates from the second-century Christian church father, Tertullian. And so, it was and so it is. From the  early Roman arenas where Christians were viciously  put to death, through medieval persecutions (see Foxes Book of martyrs)  through to modern persecutions, it is undeniable that Christian suffering has always served as a fertile witness rather than a silencer of the gospel.

11:34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?  

This is a quote from Isaiah 40:13. Like Isaiah, Paul points out that no finite creature (and we are finite creatures) has ever grasped the mind of the Lord.  Likewise, it is also apparent that we cannot offer Him advice or instruction in His governance of the universe (Are we not often guilty of this in our prayers?). God does not hold committee meetings or ask human beings for strategic advice on how to run the universe. God in His very nature needs no counsel.  

Let that sink in. 

11:35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”  

Here is another thing to think about. Paul quotes Job 41:11, implying that God is never put in a position where He becomes a debtor. We can never put God in our debt. Any "good" thing we offer Him, belongs to Him anyway.  

Let that sink in.

11:36a “For from him and through him and to him are all things”. 

This answers three basic questions about our existence:

• Where did our life come from? It came from God. God is the source (from Him).
• How did we come into existance? He is the means (through Him). We came into being through the power and the creative workmanship of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:10).
• Why did God create us?  We were made for God. He is the goal (to Him) of all things. We were made to worship!  We were made to bring God glory. All things exist ultimately for His pleasure, direction, and final purpose.   

11:36b “To him be glory forever. Amen”.  

Because God is self-sufficient and sovereign over history (including Israel's stumbling and Gentile inclusion, and Israel’s re-inclusion), the only proper human response is  to give Him the glory! 

The final word is, Amen (Affirmation: "So be it."). Like Job and his “comforters” we must learn (often the hard way) to submit to God. Let us learn to say Amen frequently when we hear the Word of God read or expounded.

CONCLUSION

This is where God wants us to be,  following a consideration of  Romans 1–11.  

We need to be amazed at His mercy, His free grace to us through Jesus Christ.  The fact that God will have anything to do with ungrateful, thankless, sinful human creatures is amazing!  

But the last word in 11:32 is MERCY!   

Thank God for His mercy.  

Because of mercy we will not perish in our sin. 

Our Saviour has paid the price for our sin.  

We are overwhelmed by His mercy. This is the response that will make us able to live out the practical moral demands of Romans 12–15. And we will be more than dutiful servants. We will feel ourselves to be grateful and thankful debtors.

That will be our entrance ticket into  Romans 12 

Let profound  theology drive you to worship deeper! Amen.

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[1] (Charles Wesley 1747- Love Divine all Love’s excelling)

Finish, then, thy new creation; Pure and spotless let us be; Let us see thy great salvation; Perfectly restored in thee; Changed from glory into glory, Till in Heav'n we take our place, Till we cast our crowns before thee, Lost in wonder, love, and praise!

 

Romans 11:11-32 "Has God rejected Israel?" #2

 

We come to our second part of the exposition of this great 11^th chapter to the Romans.

In 11:1   Paul asked the question, “has God rejected his people”? We know that the Jews, by and large, had rejected Jesus the Jewish Messiah. They had handed Him over to the Roman authorities to be crucified. Does that mean that God has rejected them? Paul’s answer to his own question is, “by no means!” (11:1,11:11). 

It is a nuanced response, and we need to listen carefully to how Paul explains himself.  

In 11:1-10 he affirms that God has always had a remnant among the Jews, the people to whom He chose to manifest Himself among all the tribes of the earth. In 11:1b he firstly  points to himself as an example. In Acts 9 God sovereignly called and saved Paul, a Christ hating persecutor of the church.

Secondly, in 11:2-4 he points out that Elijah the prophet (1 Ki. 17-19) felt very alone, when the Lord God showed him that He had reserved 7000 others in Israel. And thirdly, in 11:5 he reminds his Roman readers, “at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.” Surely, God had not forsaken His people. It is true that  Israel, by and large, have been hardened (11:7-10), but Paul reminds us that an elect remnant has been saved (11:7). This hardening has been indicated by the OT Scriptures quoted in 11:8-10[1]. This is where we stopped last time. But Paul is not finished yet. Has God rejected Israel? Again, listen to him as He says a second time in 11:11, “By no means”!  

Again, I want you to keep Paul’s main argument here in view as we consider 11:11-32. He is talking about the salvation of the Jews, and the question is this: Has God abandoned His ancient people, the Jews?  The answer is consistently “no!” and now, in this second part of our text  we shall find that…

ISRAEL’S PRESENT HARDNESS WILL HAVE AN END (11:11-32)

1. CURRENTLY  THIS HAS NOT YET HAPPENED: The Jews’ loss has become the Gentiles gain (11:11-16)

i. Surely the salvation of the Gentiles must make the Jews jealous (11:11-12).  Israel has rejected the Messiah but see what blessing has come to the gentiles! See what spiritual riches have come to the rest of the world because of the gospel. Isn’t this going to make Israel jealous- (what are we missing out on?). Could this draw them to their Messiah? But wait… there is a time of their inclusion coming!  You can see here that Paul anticipates a future restoration of the Jews.

ii. This is one reason why Paul magnified his ministry to the Gentiles (11:13-16). Jesus spoke of the “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). These are the times in which Paul lived, and in which we now live. However, whenever Paul spoke to the gentiles, his own people were not far from his heart. That is why he went to synagogues first. Though it was mostly gentiles that came to Christ, there were some Jews listening in and responding to the gospel, and yet... he was always hoping for more. He was waiting for a miracle… life from the dead! (11:15).  Every conversion is just that – a miracle!  And then think about a national revival -  what a miracle!  We have seen national revivals  in the history of the world, and they have changed the social fabric of nations.  What about Israel, God’s ancient people... 

Has God rejected them? 

NO! In 11:16 Paul points out that Israel was  the first fruit and dough – the prototype and environment of God’s saving work on earth – this was a holy work! If this is so, the roots (patriarchal roots - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) are holy,  and so are the branches. The gentile church cannot   ignore that fact.

11:17 gives way to the olive tree analogy.  Israel is metaphorically described as an olive tree (Jer. 11:16). She is the original olive tree! The gentiles (here described as wild olive shoots) were grafted into that tree (11:17-18) and building on the covenantal promises of God in the Bible they are being nourished by the root of that original olive tree.  Always remember that our Old Testament is the rootstock from which we feed.

Because some natural branches (Israelites who rejected Christ) were broken off due to unbelief, gentile believers might now be tempted to feel superior to the Jews. Paul reminds them here that they do not sustain the root; rather, the root sustains them. 

11:20 A warning follows: do not be arrogant towards the branches – the Jews.

This is followed by 11:21 a reminder that pride goes before the fall. The Jews were broken off because of pride. This happens to anyone who is proud. Note also 11:22 Gentiles must not become presumptuous. If unfaithful, they can easily be cut off. Many a gentile church has been cut off in the history of the church (cf. Revelation 2 & 3).                                                

Then follows  this sober reminder in 11:23-24: God has the power to graft the Jewish people back into their own olive tree, once they believe in the Messiah! And here it is…

2. THE HEART OF THE TEXT: THE MYSTERY OF ISRAEL’S SALVATION (11:25-32)

i.      Their hardening continues until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in (11:25)

ii.          In this way all Israel will be saved (11:26-27)

iii.       They may be enemies of the gospel, but their elect are still loved by God (11:28)

iv.          Salvation for both, Jew and gentiles is by sovereign election - all of God’s mercy (11:29-32)

11:25  Paul cautions the Gentile Christians: Don’t be wise in your own sight. Understand this mystery concerning Israel- it is revealed here: A partial hardening has been brought upon Israel.  

Why has God done this and for how long? 

Answer: “until the fullness of the gentiles has come in.”  

This is the climax of world missions! And following that time  God will remove the hardening —  when He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.”  It appears then that a time will come  when the Jewish people will no longer be hardened in their unbelief in Christ. This does not necessarily mean that every Israelite will come to faith in Christ, but it does means that there will be a great Jewish turning back to God by embracing Jesus Christ, the Saviour. This is what is expected in Scripture passages such as ….

Zechariah 12:10: “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”

Isaiah 66:8: “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labour she brought forth her children.”

Is not this what Jesus meant when He said to these hard-hearted Jews in Matthew 23:39, “I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

11:26,27 ... AND IN THIS WAY ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED

Three Views

Each one of these views have respectable support in Reformed theology

1.   Some read this as the sum-total of all the elect, all true believers across all the ages, Jews and Gentiles alike.  Israel, in this view is seen as synonymous with the “church”.   John Calvin and Martin Luther held to this view.

2. Others see this as the elect from among the Jews across the entire span of history and until the return of the Lord Jesus. It is  similar to #1, but restricted to Jews.

3. A third view holds that in 11:26-32, following the fullness of the gentiles (11:25), the partial hardening of national Israel will be lifted (11:26 see  Isa. 59:20,21) as God shows Israel renewed mercy (11:31,32). At that time there will be a substantial ingathering so that the spiritual fiber of the Jewish nation will be changed, even as the Reformation changed the spiritual fiber of many European countries.

So back to the question with which chapter 11 began: “Has God rejected His people?” 

We are now able to formulate the complete answer:

1.       There has always been a true remnant among the Jews. In 11:1-10 Paul gives three proofs: (i) He himself was a Jew; (ii) In Elijah’s dark days there were 7000 true Jews that had not compromised; (iii) there have been Jewish converts under Paul’s ministry, and dare one say, in every century since our Lord Jesus Christ had ascended to heaven.  

2.       God is not finished with Israel (11:11-32).  For a long time, and right now, the Jewish people have been  severed branches, while the gentile nations have had the privilege of being grafted into that OT stock and root. However, the day will come, when the fullness of the gentile elect will have been gathered (Will you be among them?).  Following this the Jews will be grafted in again. That is the argument of 11:17-24. So, here we have another proof that God has not rejected Israel.  We can yet expect a  substantial harvest; we may and must pray for the large scale  conversion of the Jewish people.   

THIS DOCTRINE IN HISTORY 

The large scale conversion of the Jews has been the expectation of a large number  of  Reformed  pastors and theologians.  An 18^th century preacher, J.C. Ryle had this to say in 1867:

[The Jews] are kept separate that they may finally be saved, converted and restored to their own land. They are reserved and preserved, in order that God may show in them as on a platform, to angels and men, how greatly he hates sin, and yet how greatly he can forgive, and how greatly he can convert. Never will that be realized as it will in that day when “all Israel shall be saved.”[2]

Men like Samuel Rutherford, C.H. Spurgeon, Robert Murray M’Çheyne, Andrew Bonar, John Murray and many more held to this. 

The belief in a future, large-scale conversion of ethnic Jewish people to Christianity is a cornerstone of historic postmillennialism. Among these are the great John Owen and   Jonathan Edwards.  

Pre-millenialists also agree  with this.

 CONCLUSION

Why is this of relevance to us? Why should we take note? And what should we avoid in this matter?

We are aware of what some evangelicals do with all of this.  They make this doctrine  the basis for the political support of the nation of Israel in its current war with the Palestinians. Israel is uncritically endorsed. She  is in rebellion against God. She is not a godly nation, and she is not fighting a holy war.  They too have made life difficult for  Christians and Messianic believers who convert to the Christian faith.   

Having said that  and  based on our text it is right that we should hope and pray for the conversion of Israel, because of her ancient place  and promises in God’s purposes.  The Jews still exist today because God is not finished with them.

Imagine that day, and may it come soon, when many Jewish knees will bow and Jewish hearts obey the gospel of Jesus the Messiah. How and when is this going to happen?  We don’t know, but we are called to live in eager expectation of Christ’s return. And the conversion of the Jews seems to take place in connection with the second coming of Christ.  

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[1] Isaiah 29:10 and Psalm 69:22,23

[2] Are You Ready for the End of Time? [Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2001], 137–138