Romans, #5 The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness, Romans 9:1 - 11:36

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Romans is a complicated book that becomes much easier if due attention is paid to context.  The context of any portion of the first eleven chapters is: the first eleven chapters.  So in some ways, this is the most difficult section of the Book for the simple reason that it is a culmination of all that has been said previously.

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  A brief encapsulation of our previous studies is imperative to this section: chp.1Theme & condemnation of the Gentiles chp.2Condemnation of the Jews chp.3Conclusion: All under sin & in Need of Divine Righteousness chp.4Divine Righteousness is apart from Works of the Law, Circumcision, & the the Law

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Continued synopsis: chp.5Justification by Faith explained: the Manifestation of Divine Righteousness chp.6Putting to Death the Man of Sin: the Attainment of Divine Righteousness chp.7Freedom from sin is freedom from the Law

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Continued synopsis: chp.8The Struggle Within: my mind vs. my flesh- Emancipation through Jesus Christ So, after explaining the Need of, the Manifestation of, and the Attainment of Divine Righteousness, we get see the why of the matter- Why did God do what He did how He did? And understand how this Divine Righteousness is Maintained/Retained.

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Again, breaking the section down seems to help clarify the overall point: chp.9God’s Sovereignty: Why did He choose Israel & reject the Gentiles? chp.10Salvation for all by FAITH! chp.11Why then the Rejection of Israel? The: Extent of their rejection, Purpose of their rejection, Duration of their rejection.

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  chp.9: God’s Sovereignty manifested in Israel’s past election by His mercy and present rejection due to lack of faith. vv.1-5 Israel was elected to receive God’s mercy through certain prescribed advantages: 1. Adoption as sons 2. the Glory 3. the giving of the Law4. Temple service 5. the Promises6. the Fathers &7. the lineage of the Christ, cf. 3:1-2 But despite these advantages, they were rejected!

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Was it then God who failed to keep Israel? Not at all, v.6a. Why then? Through God’s sovereign plan, it would be through the failure of the Elect (Israel) that all could have equal opportunity for salvation. The point is then illustrated through: 1. the children of the promise, vv.6b-9 2. Jacob & Esau, vv Their rejection was not because of works, but by God’s sovereign choice to bring in others!

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Is God then unjust for so dealing with Israel? Not at all: 1. He can demonstrate mercy to whomever He chooses, vv as illustrated through Pharaoh, vv But v.18 seems unfair! v.19 Quite the contrary, as illustrated by the Potter and his Clay, vv How can this be? What’s the point of it all?

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  The Point of it All is this: If God had made salvation a matter only of works, two very remarkable things would have followed: 1. All would have been lost, chps the Divine Prerogative of God’s sovereignty- His Mercy, could not have been demonstrated! vv Thus Israel’s election was not a result of their own works (vv.10-18), but their rejection was because they pursued a righteousness by works rather than by faith, vv.30-33!

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Chp.10: Salvation for All by Obedient Faith. vv.1-3 gives a further description of Israel’s rejection by God: >they sought salvation through the Law >but Christ is “the end of the Law for righteousness” v.4 >If righteousness is based upon the Law, they are spiritually dead for they did not keep it, chp.2, v.5 Therefore….

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Chp.10: Salvation for All by Obedient Faith. Divine Righteousness is achieved by Faith rather than by Law: -through having the word in your heart, vv.8, 10a resulting in righteousness -and through confessing with the mouth Jesus as Lord, v.9,10b resulting in salvation. All of which necessitates the preaching of the gospel word that faith, confession, and salvation may result, vv.11-17!

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Chp.10: Salvation for All by Obedient Faith. But did rejected Israel have an opportunity for justification based on faith through the hearing of the word???? Certainly! -through Isaiah, vv.16,20 -through David, v.18 -through Moses, vv.19 But they did not heed the Word as taught through Isaiah, David, and Moses, v.21! And were thus REJECTED!

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Chp.11: The Extent, Purpose, and Duration of Israel’s Rejection. Israel’s rejection was not complete in the sense of being final. A couple of illustrations are given to prove the point: >Paul himself was an Israelite and would not be proclaiming his own death sentence, v.1 >Elijah thought he was left alone but was informed by God that a remnant yet remained through whom the ultimate salvation would come, vv.2-10

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Chp.11: The Extent, Purpose, and Duration of Israel’s Rejection. Israel’s partial rejection was to allow the grafting in of the wild olive branch- the Gentiles, vv This too would be used by God as motivational jealously to move Israel back into compliance with God’s desires for them, vv.11,14. The partial nature of their rejection is again emphasized in this section, vv.15-16, 18,

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  Chp.11: The Extent, Purpose, and Duration of Israel’s Rejection. The duration of their rejection was “until” (indicating not necessarily what follows but rather speaks of the past in view of of the present) the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. When that objective was accomplished, the hardening influence of God would be removed and His mercy poured out upon the disobedience of both the Jew and Gentile, vv.25-32!

Romans #5, The Maintenance of Divine Righteousness  This concludes the Doctrinal Section of Romans.  Obviously, the next lesson will begin the Practical Applications portion of the Book…. That is, How to Apply Divine Righteousness in Faith, Fellowship, and Daily Living.