Of Jews & Gentiles-Part 2

Matthew McDonald

The Romans Road • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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INTRODUCTION

*Open your Bibles with me to Romans 11

In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus tells us that “you know a tree by its fruits”

A good tree produces good fruit

A bad tree produces bad fruit

And the whole thing is about life

You can look at your life and the fruit you are growing, and you can tell whether you are a good tree or a bad tree

What we are talking about are the works of your life

Are you filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

Are you constantly telling other people about Jesus?

Are you teaching others how to be more like Jesus, and demonstrating in your own life?

Do you give sacrificially and intentionally to the work of the Kingdom

Or, are the works of your life focused on something else?

Remember, friends that works will not save you!-You are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ

Works won’t save you, but if you are saved, there WILL be works in your life

This is because the Gospel always bears fruit!

TRANSITION—> As we return to Romans today, we also need to remember what Jesus said in John 15:1-6

John 15:1–6 NASB95

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

The works, the things that you do in your life are proof your salvation, or are proof you are not saved

If you are saved, you will produce good fruit, and you can only produce good fruit if you are saved

Pay attention to this last verse:

Those that don’t produce fruit aren’t really in Christ

Those that aren’t in Christ are cut off, gathered together, and thrown into the fire

As we return to Romans 11, we are talking about Jews, Gentiles, and the Kingdom of God

Last week, we were talking about the fact that

not all of Israel is Israel

God uses everyone and everything for the good of those that are following HIm

That God is faithful to keep His people and His promises

That God saves both Jew and Gentile by grace through faith

And that God uses Jews to save Gentiles and Gentiles to save Jews

And what we are going to see this morning is that the branch isn’t as important as the tree

Romans 11:11–24 NASB95

I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

Pray, invite the church to be seated

*LISTENING GUIDES OUT

We pick up this morning, right where we ended last week, in verse 11

God used Israel’s rejection of Jesus to bring salvation to us Gentiles

And God uses the salvation of us Gentiles to make Israel jealous and to draw them back to Himself

Look at the first few verses with me:

Romans 11:11–15 NASB95

The first thing that we need to take note of this morning is related to these things, that

Every purpose of God is accomplished , and His every act fills multiple purposes

We look at events in history, and we sometimes mistaken the acts of man as somehow thwarting or messing with the work of God

NOTHING could be further from the truth

As we look at verse 12 here, I love the truth in it:

If God can use failures and shortcomings for glory and blessing, He can use obedience and faithful

Israel’s rebellion accomplished a purpose of God

When Israel returns to the Lord, that too will also accomplish His purposes

In verses 13-15, Paul uses his own ministry as an example:

Paul was sent as an Apostle to the Gentiles, but everywhere he went, where did he start?

starting with Israel both confirmed their rejection and gave them the chance to turn

Then, Paul would go to the Gentiles

As some of them were saved, the Jews often got jealous

Paul was looking for the character of God’s purposes in his own work-reaching the lost among the Gentiles while also drawing Jews to Jesus through jealousy.

God is using all things and all people to bring about good to His people-If this can be true in those that live in rejection and are bound for Hell, it is even more so in repentance and obedience of the saints!

Let’s continue, verse 16:

Romans 11:16–21 NASB95

If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.

The next thing that you and I need to remember this morning is this:

Everyone that is saved, God has rooted in Christ

Verse 16 gives us a couple of great analogies:

First, there is starter dough

Bakers know that one of the most effective ways to make bread is to keep a bit of the dough from your last batch to make your next one

The whole next batch will be good if the starter good, because it will leaven the whole batch of dough

The most important part is what causes the growth

Secondly, there is the root

Everything in a tree depends on the roots

A good root can overcome a lot of adversity

A tree without good roots will always die

The roots of a tree give life to the whole tree

Jesus Christ, my friends, is the root of life! He is the root of salvation

I have fruit trees in my yard

Oranges, bananas, lemons, tangerines, peaches and pears

But I also have a tree that is special

it is a lemon tree, but it also grows limes

it has had branches from a lime tree grafted into it

And because the Lemon tree has good roots, it grows good limes through those branches

The branches grow different fruit. Good fruit, but different fruit

But it doesn’t matter whether I cut a lemon branch or a lime branch off of the tree

once it is separated, the branch dies:Because what matters is the root

This is what is at the heart of verses 17-21

Because not all of Israel has put their faith in Jesus, there was room for some of us Gentiles on God’s family tree

We haven’t replaced Israel, we’ve just been added to the family tree

There is no room for anyone to boast:

Jews cannot save themselves and We cannot save ourselves

IT ISN’T THE BRANCHES, it is the root of Jesus Christ that gives us life

Christians are not better than the unsaved people around us

We’ve simply been grafted into the one only living root

No one earns salvation-only those who live by faith will be saved

AND NOTICE WHAT PAUL SAYS HERE ABOUT FRUIT-

Verse 21 makes it clear-God isn’t fooled by lip service Christianity

If you are saved, if you are tied to the good root, the good root will grow fruit in your life

And if your belief is not lived out in faith that produces fruit, it isn’t true faith and you aren’t really saved!

Look at the last couple of verse, quickly with me

Romans 11:22–24 NASB95

Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

The last thing that I would have you note this morning is this: that

Anyone can be grafted by faith into the root of Christ-even those who have been cut off

I love this thought by Paul: GOD IS KIND AND SEVERE

He cuts off those that reject Him-He lets them have their way, and head towards the death they so desperately want

He is kind to save you and me by grace

AND do you catch the promise here?

Paul talks about the Jews that have turned away and been cut off

He says, it’s not too late!

While there is air in their lungs it’s not too late

Even if you professed Christ, but have lived without faith, without growing fruit, it’s not too late

God cuts the branches from the root so that they will realize that they need Him

And when they do, there is still room for them on the tree

WHETHER YOU ARE A JEW OR A GENTILE, WHILE WE ARE STILL BREATHING, WHILE CHRIST TARRIES, IT’S NOT TOO LATE!

INVITATION:

You can turn to Christ in faith

You can experience the growth that can only come through the root of Jesus Christ

You can be grafted onto His tree today

Let Jesus grow good fruit in you

Jesus is calling you this morning to be grafted into His family

I will be standing right down here who are ready to know what it means to be grafted to the root of Jesus