[Transcript may not match broadcasted sermon word for word, and contains extra material that was cut from the broadcast due to time constraints]

       We are finishing up today the second half of Romans chapter 11. Last week we went over the fact that God has reserved for himself a remnant of Israelites to be saved, both in Paul’s time, and in our time nowadays. And he’s going to save even more Jews in the future. We also discussed how many who are Jewish people have hardened their hearts toward God, and how God has given them over to those hard hearts. We even considered how Christians, by believing lies, can harden their hearts in certain areas toward God’s truth. That is one you don’t want to miss. If you missed that discussion, you are definitely going to want to go back and listen, or read, that sermon. It’s so important that we are not hardening our hearts in any area—in any line of thought. Satan will try to push us toward that. He will try to convince us of different things. But our responsibility toward God is not to believe Satan’s lies. We don’t hope for Satan to “delude [us] with plausible arguments” (Colossians 2:4, ESV). Indeed, his arguments in our minds often seem sound and enticing, but they are built and based on things that aren’t really true.

       So, let us turn in our Bibles, or tap in our Bible apps, to Romans chapter 11. Today we are going over the passage of the olive tree and its branches. Beginning in verse 17, we read: “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”

       For clarification here, what does the Olive Tree represent? I think it’s necessary to clear that up first. I believe it’s best understood that the Olive Tree represents salvation—our saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That being the case, the branches broken off, which Paul says are “some” and not all, those branches are the Jewish people who have not believed in the Christ. The wild olive shoot then, of course, are the believing Gentiles. They are grafted in with the believing Jews into the Olive Tree (the trunk of promised salvation). So, in this picture, there are both Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus—who are counting on him for the forgiveness of their sins, for eternal life.

       Notice that the Olive Tree has a “nourishing root.” That’s pretty significant. God provides everything we need to live a successful life. He provides nourishment for us, as believers. What is interesting about this illustration, is that it allows us to picture ourselves as being physically connected to Christ—as being part with him. That’s significant because that’s our goal: to see ourselves in Christ and not to continue to view ourselves as independent of Christ. Remember what Paul has said elsewhere: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me” (Philippians 1:21, 22, ESV). Some of us may have not have arrived at the place where we feel comfortable saying that to ourselves. That’s our ultimate goal. This is how we come to a place of resting in Christ in our lives.

       This also brings up the fact that we see ourselves then by who Christ is, and how we are in him, and we do not define ourselves but what we do or what we don’t do. We don’t define ourselves by any kind of mistake. We don’t see ourselves as good because we do this or that for God or for others. We can accept ourselves since we know that in Christ, being part of the Olive Tree, we are the righteousness of God. Christ has made us completely righteous as he has taken care of all our sins: past, present, and future. Even though we realize that we aren’t as good as we should be—that we still have a lot of growth to go—that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t see ourselves as righteous in Christ. A lot of Christians think that because they can see their sin, that they should walk around with their heads down all the time and a frown on their face. This is an incorrect and immature understanding, though. Our eyes should be focused on Jesus and the righteousness he has given to us.

       Paul said, “remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.” God supports us. Jesus supports us. The Holy Spirit supports us. It’s not what we do that makes us part of the Olive Tree, but what God also already done. We must accept ourselves where we are at in our Christian walks, so that we can make positive progress for the future. If we don’t accept ourselves where we are at, there is no way we can become more like Jesus for the future. Let us consider an example here to try to understand this better. We do not support (that is, uphold in and of ourselves, by ourselves) the company we work for. Rather, our company supports us, as employees. We are not defined in the workplace by who we are independent of our company, but who we are in our company. It is through our companies name and power that we work on behalf of our company. Our employer has power behind them, and we work through that power. And we don’t become arrogant toward our employer, lest we then be fired.

       Verse 19: “Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.”

       What caused the Israelites to be taken off of the tree? Paul’s clear. It was their unbelief. They didn’t believe that Christ was the Messiah, that he died for their sins, and that he was raised back to life again. Anyone who believes, on the other hand, has faith in the Son of God. Note too, that we stand fast through our faith. While we initially had faith to believe in Jesus Christ—to accept him as our Lord and Savior—we also have to continue to have that faith throughout our lives. Paul tells us to avoid pride. How can we define pride? Listen, pride is believers thinking they can do things, do the Christian walk, run a Church, whatever, by their own ability. They believe they’re smart and can call the shots without the Spirit of God’s power. They aren’t depending on God’s ability.

       So what happens? The Jews thought they were smarter than God. They thought there is no way that Jesus could be the Messiah since he didn’t match their preconceived notions of what the Messiah would be like. How frequently does the church do this? How often does a church follow a certain way of doing things because they believe that’s the only way God could carry out his Word. Or, they believe it’s the most accurate and precise way of doing things. These ways, though, the churches ways, are actually man’s ways. They are rooted in self-effort, in what people ‘think’ God desires, and not based in what he really wants.

       This following of man’s ways in church instead of God’s ways then does what? Well, it makes God angry. People see themselves as righteous in their own church-ways, in their own ability. And they forget about the Holy Spirit’s power, or snuff out his power. This causes God to draw back. He says, “Well, church, if you feel you know better, if you feel you understand how to do things, if you feel you can handle everything and lead the way, then go ahead and do that.” And God steps back, and out of the picture. Now you have a prideful, self-sufficient, often legalistic church. And then Satan is walking by the church one day and he realizes that God has left that church. In seeing the absence, he looks both ways, doesn’t see anyone coming to stop him (not God--no angels beings around), and he walks in the church and settles in. As Paul says, “For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.”

       And churches who end up operating in this way, without the Holy Spirit’s power, then end up bringing a curse upon themselves. Let’s quickly turn back to Jeremiah chapter 17, and there are a couple of verses I want to think about back there. Jeremiah 17, verses 5 and 6, the Spirit of God warns the following: “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” Let us note a few things here. First, the church or pastor “makes flesh his strength.” In other words, the church relies on human wisdom, that is, fleshly developed ways and models within in the church, on how to serve God, like interact formulas for sharing the Gospel for instance. Or in how to expand or grow the church. They seem good on paper. They look logical, but they don’t produce the fruit they are often promised to produce. And that’s because they were Christian developed formulas without the Spirit of God’s input.

       Second, the church or pastor “shall not see when good comes.” That which they should be embracing, they are not. They are passing over what God is doing because it doesn’t match what they want to do, how they think that God should operate. They have preconceived notions on what they think God’s work should look like. And finally, the Spirit of God says, “He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” In other words, there flock will dwindle, and no one will want to follow their fleshly ways, the ways without God’s input. There will be little to no fruit. And as long as the church or pastor operates in this way, by depending on their own ability instead of God’s, they are under a curse. They don’t see the good when it comes. They pass by it; they don’t recognize it. The congregation is thirsty, they are in a slat land. They aren’t been really fed, fed with anything really worth while. The church is under a curse from God, and they cannot even see it.

       Verse 22: “Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.”

       Here we see the double-sided picture, or double-sided coin of God. We hear so much in Christianity nowadays in regard to the kindness of God. You read a Christian book, listen to Christian radio, perhaps even at to your own church—you definitely hear about the kindness of God. But what about the other side of God? What about the severity of God? There have been times in the past within the church when all the people were taught was in respect to his severity. The old time preacher Jonathan Edwards is coming to my mind. Not to cut on Preacher Edwards—he gave some great sermons—but you get the idea. Look at it this way. You cannot always eat dessert. If you only eat dessert now and always, you would be really big and fat. Any of us are aware that we have to have balance in our diets. There is a time for desert, yes indeed. There is a time for pizza and hamburgers. However, there is also a time for Cheerios and oatmeal. There is a time for broccoli and spinach.

       Unbelief, just like it did for the Israelites, will cut us off from God. Sorry, there is simply no other way to say it. God can be severe. Does God still judge believers? I mean, we know he judges unbelievers. As long as we are in the right with God and are seeking to become more and more like Christ, I don’t think we have anything to worry about. In the same breath, no guarantee exists for anyone against God’s severity who is deliberately straying away from God. For a believer who is knowingly living in sin, who knows better, and yet, for whatever reason is going the wrong direction, look out. That’s how you see wayward Christians get in big messes. That’s how you see preachers fall. Something has gone wrong; Satan has grabbed ahold of their hearts in one area or multiple areas, and they are straying away from God. If I’m talking about you today, I would encourage you to get help. Come back toward God before it’s too late—before you have a real problem, or before permanent damage has been accomplished by Satan.

       Now for the encouragement from God. Verse 23: “And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.”

       Jewish or Christian wanderer, it doesn’t matter. Anyone can be brought back to God today. If you’re a Jew, and you have never believed in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, I would encourage you to make that big choice today. Come to God and have a real relationship with him. Jesus has said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, ESV). You cannot have a real relationship with God apart from Jesus. If you’re a wayward Christian today—if you’re living in sin and you know it, I would encourage you to turn from that sin and come back to God today. He will accept you back into his arms. And you don’t have to self-punish yourself for you’re sinning against God. You don’t have to go through that. All can be forgiven today, right now. That’s not cheap grace, that’s the Gospel, and it’s available to you, even if you feel you should have known better. As the Prodigal Son’s Father welcomed the Prodigal Son home, so God will definitely and absolute welcome you home today. You’ll be back in his kindness.

       Continuing on. Verse 25: “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

       Again, Paul warns Christians about being wise in their own sight. He warns against self-effort, depending on oneself instead of depending on God. Anyway, as Paul has been telling us, there are Jews who just aren’t going to believe in Jesus. They aren’t going to accept the Gospel. They have hardened their hearts. They are full of unbelief. And Paul tells us here that this will continue “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” What does this mean, “the fullness of the Gentiles”? We realize that right now we are in the Times of the Gentiles, as theologians have come to call it. It is also probably more commonly called The Church Age. This is the time period after the Jews rejection of Jesus, hence the Gentiles acceptance of him, until God decides this period is over. This period ends with the Rapture of the Church, of which begins the end of days period for our current world setup with our current nations.

       We have not been informed at what time the Rapture is going to occur. Some say that the Gospel has to be preached in all the world first. If you believe that, we are definitely more and more closer to that—actually on the cusp of that. Not only that, but we also understand that the Jews are diligently looking for and expecting their messiah. We know that person as the Antichrist, the person the Jews will believe is their true messiah, even though their real Messiah has already come (namely Jesus). But they will think that coming person is their messiah. And they are prepared to build the Temple in Jerusalem when he appears on the scene and makes it possible for them to do that. Jews are ready in Israel right now to rebuild God’s Temple. It’s that very Temple which the Antichrist will decimate as the Prophet Daniel has told us, declaring himself to be God, betraying the Jewish people whom they had put their trust in. He’ll be another Hitler. We are aware of what Adolf Hitler did, but we haven’t seen nothing yet.

       The ESV Bible here clarifies this verse for us, which other Bible translations have missed. Paul says, “And in this way all Israel will be saved.” It’s not that all Jews will be saved from all time to go to Heaven, but it’s that in the future God will save Jews by what Paul says after that statement in quoting the Old Testament verse, in that Jesus is going to return to the earth and establish his kingdom. In his kingdom then no sin exists, and all the Jews who will live in that kingdom will believe in Jesus and be sin-free. It is a sin-free environment, and it encompasses the entirety of the earth, not only part of it. This is one way we know that Christianity is the only way to God. That’s what the Bible says; it is clear regarding that fact. Anyhow, on this renovated earth then, this sin-free environment, there are no other religions. People don’t sin sexually—there is no gay marriage, no gay rights. Fornication and adultery are absent. There are no murders, no abortions, no stealing, no lies of any kind. It’s a perfect earth. That’s why the way that many see a perfect world today—with the allowance of sin, the celebration of things that God strongly prohibits and is against—is not good. Allowing everyone to do what they want to do for fear of hurting anyones feelings is not good and godly. The earth is going to be quite different in the future.

       Verse 28: “As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.”

       Why are the Jewish people enemies in regard to the Gospel? Once more, are presented with a double-sided coin. On the one side, the Jews have rejected their Messiah, the real Messiah, and to their own destruction are awaiting a messiah who is really going to bring them harm. On the other side on the coin, God still considers them his chosen people. Paul brings up two points as to why this is still the case. For one, it’s because God remembers the righteousness of their Forefathers, how they loved God. And two, it is due to the fact that God promised those same Forefathers that he would bring great blessings to Israel, and even establish a kingdom for them that is everlasting. God always does what he says he’s going to do.

       This has been a common prayer of mine. I recall during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings—not too long ago—I was praying for Judge Kavanaugh, we might say, brother Kavanaugh, and I told God I wanted him to allow justice to be done, that he be showed to be in the right, that the system work as it should, and this for the sake of Washington and Lincoln. I told God to remember George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and to preserve democracy for their sake. I knew that the United States had been particularly wicked as of late in regard to certain areas, so I had to call upon God to remember our Forefathers, those who loved him. I reminded God of all the other men, our Forefathers, who loved him. And much to my happiness, God did a miraculous thing in vindicating the judge, in answering my prayers and the prayers of many others. I mean, who could forget Lindsey Graham’s powerful rebuke of the Democrats who were sitting there in the Senate on live T.V.? It was shocking as I sat at working watching it live. All of us in the TV control center stopped and listened at the hearing of this man’s words. I personally never cared much for Lindsey Graham, that is, until that day. Now I have the utmost respect for the man.

       Pointing to the future, Paul goes roundabout here to say that Israelites will be saved as a result of seeing Christ within the Gentiles. God plays off of the Israelites jealousy to bring them into saving faith with him. Again, not all Jews everywhere and at everytime will be saved, but there will be some who are brought into right relationship with God through Jesus. We recognize that God has allowed them to go their own way—to go away from him. He hasn’t forced them to be in right relationship with him. However, when God does bring them back to himself, this will serve to show his glory. For sure, people coming back to God, and God’s permitting of evil, also works to show his glory in the end. This doesn’t mean God is causing people to sin, it surely doesn’t mean that. But, it’s another way of saying that God works good out of all things for those who love him, and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

       In light of all of this, Paul now praises God. Verse 33: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

       No matter how much we study the Bible, we never reach the point where we feel satisfied in what we have learned. That’s how deep, rich, and wise God’s knowledge is. I love American history, and I have studied different topics and areas of it for sure, as many of you are aware. While American history may seem deep, it doesn’t even compare to the deepness of the Bible. It’s amazing what we can learn, new things that we find, and how we can apply what we have learned to our lives, to better ourselves. The richness of God’s Word is amazing. There are so many different angles we can come at it, there are a variety of things that we can squeeze out of the same passage. God is truly wise, and no other word from men or other book in the world can match the Bible’s wisdom. Nothing is more sound. Nothing even comes close.

       Really, in closing chapter 11, what Paul has said sums up the entire first eleven chapters of Romans as a whole. Namely, that we have been made at peace with God, that we have been brought in right relationship with him. And while we may try to understand God and his ways, as we’ve been studying, I think most of us realize by now that there actually is no way for us to do that. I mean, even at the moment we believe we have come to understand something, sometimes even at that point we still do not fully understand it. We cannot tell God anything that he doesn’t already know. We can’t teach God, or try to tell him the better way to do something. He does allow us to sway his hand in prayer, but he will never violate his own Word in letting us do so. At the end of the day, God always knows what is right, and we in comparison, don’t. We have nothing to give or offer to God. We cannot pay him back when he helps us.

       It’s amazing in our own lives when we see God doing something and we say, “Why is God doing this? What is happening to us?” But then later in time, after all is said and done, we come to understand in looking back that God knew exactly what he was doing. And what he was doing is just what we needed for him to teach us what he was teaching us. It is true that, in reality, we cannot understand God and his ways. God will do things in our lives that we think may have been best done another way. But God knows what he is doing. He has his own ways. He doesn’t desire to see us suffer, not by any means. As the writer of Hebrews has told us: “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:5, 6, ESV). Yes, the Lord loves us, and while something at the moment may feel unpleasant, later we are very glad and happy that God has done what he has done.

       Paul says everything, including ourselves, actually belongs to God. Of God and Christ, Paul has told us elsewhere: “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:5, 6, ESV). Notice that we even exist for God. I’ve stated in the past that the very sole reason for our existence is to be in relationship with God. Truly, that’s why God created us in the first place. If we are a Christian, we exist through Christ. Paul said to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, 21, ESV). Whether Christian or non-Christian, God owns everyone, and all of us will answer to him. But he is a fair judge, and we do not need to fear that interaction, as I believe Christians often do.

       You should fear Judgement Day if you’re not a believer in Jesus, if you don’t have a personal relationship with God. Yes, God is going to hold you responsible for your sins if you’re not in right relationship with him, and don’t have a payment for them. The good news today is that God has provided a way for you to be put into good relationship with him, for your sins to be paid, and that is through Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus came to the earth and died on the cross for all sin, and anyone today, Jewish person or Gentile person, who trusts in his sacrifice before God and resurrection from the dead can gain life now, and have eternal life for the future. Tell God in prayer right now that you want to trust in Christ.

-Daniel Litton