Gospel Is Not for Israel Alone
Notes
Transcript
Handout
As we have walked through Romans, we have come to Romans 10.
Romans 9-11 deals a lot with Israel.
last time we met, we worked through Romans 10:1-15, today we are going to go back a little and see that Paul is giving us five reasons or proofs that the Gospel is not for Israel only.
God loves the whole world and every person in the world.
His love is not limited to any one nation or people or type of person.
The gospel is universal; it is for the world.
So proof #1
I. The Lord Is Not Partial
I. The Lord Is Not Partial
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
The gospel is universal.
The Lord God treats all men alike.
A. No National Difference
A. No National Difference
There is no prejudice between men in light of God's promise of salvation.
The relationship between God and man is the same for all men.
In God's eyes, all people are His creations, separated from Him because of their sin, and only capable of being saved by His Son's atoning sacrifice.
God does not save some men in a particular way while rejecting other men in a different way or because they are Jews or Greeks.
God is impartial and does not have any favorites.
No one gets saved or is condemned with preference over another.
B. No Difference in Blessing
B. No Difference in Blessing
At least regarding salvation and the Gospel
The Lord God is “rich to all that call upon Him.”
Scripture clearly declares:
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
The Lord God is abundant in goodness and blessings, including grace and mercy.
Every good and perfect thing that exists in the world has come from His kindness and grace because He is so generous.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Note two significant points.
1) God is rich enough
God has enough supply to richly bless all who call upon Him.
There is no limit to the riches of His grace.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
2) God Waits for Our Call
“…unto all that call upon him.”
A man must call upon God to receive the riches of God’s mercy and grace.
II. Salvation by the Same Promise
II. Salvation by the Same Promise
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Note that this promise was foretold in the Old Testament (Joel 2:32).
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, As the Lord hath said, And in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
This verse is one of the great promises of God.
God loves every person, no matter his nationality or race.
He is not willing that any perish.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
In fact, God promises salvation to every man if the man will do but one thing: “Call upon the name of the Lord.”
Note what God says.
A. Whosoever
A. Whosoever
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The word whosoever means anyone and everyone, no matter who they are.
Any person, regardless of nationality, race, or color .
It refers to any individual from any situation, circumstances, background, nation, government, or family.
It refers to everyone, regardless of their morality, their conduct, their income, their happiness, their loneliness, or their popularity, their deformity, their attractiveness, their health, or whether they are in need or not.
Whosoever means that any person can be saved, no matter who he is.
37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
No matter how terrible a person and his circumstances may be, he can be saved.
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
God can still deliver him, even if he is imprisoned by the most dreadful spirit of sin and wickedness imaginable and is in the depths of the inner city or the jungle.
B. Shall Call
B. Shall Call
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
To “call upon the name of the Lord” means at least two things.
1. He believes
When someone calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it indicates that they have faith in Jesus' ability to save them.
It indicates that the person believes and considers Jesus Christ to be the world's Savior and the Son of God who came to earth to save mankind.
Very simply, it means that a person believes the message of John 3:16.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
2. He Yields
When someone calls on Jesus as Lord, it implies that they see Him as the Almighty God and themselves as His servant.
Although we're not talking about Lordship Salvation, people who are saved will understand that He is our Lord.
It implies that a person gives himself over and commits to serving Jesus Christ throughout his or her life—through everything and at all costs.
Although he won't always be perfect in this, he has come to the conclusion that Jesus is Lord.
After a man gets saved and through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, he will yield to Him as Lord.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Christ is Lord, whether we yield to His Lordship or not!
One day everyone will!
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
C. Shall Be Saved
C. Shall Be Saved
“Whosoever shall call … shall be saved.”
That’s it!
Believing and yielding your will to His, “It’s not by my strength or goodness, It is your death, burial and resurrection that saves me. I yield to you, the way, the truth and the Life.”
And you will be saved!
Second proof he gives is that there Is...
III. No Salvation Apart from the Gospel
III. No Salvation Apart from the Gospel
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Remember what has just been said: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
“Whosoever” refers to the whole world.
But note the critical point: a person has to “call” in order to be saved.
A person cannot “call upon the name of the Lord” unless he has heard about the Lord.
Therefore, the gospel has to be carried to the whole world.
This is the point of the present two verses.
A. We Need a Preacher to Go
A. We Need a Preacher to Go
Without a preacher, the world cannot call, believe, or hear.
Paul reverses the order of events to demonstrate his point.
If someone does not believe in Jesus Christ, how can they call on Him?
It's not possible.
Even with secular goals, one must truly believe in them before committing their entire lives to them.
Imagine sacrificing everything you are and everything you have for a goal that you did not believe in!
If a person doesn't truly believe in something, they won't act in that way.
Dealing with the Lord is no different in this regard.
If a person doesn't fully believe in the Lord, he or she won't ask the Lord to save them or surrender and give everything they are and have to the Lord.
Then he says, If someone has never heard of Christ, how can they possibly believe in him?
How can a person know that Jesus Christ came to earth, died for his sins, and rose from the grave, victorious over death, granting him eternal life?
Does everyone have this knowledge of Jesus Christ at birth?
Picture the native in the depths of the jungle.
Does he realize that God's Son died to pay for his sins?
Was he born with knowledge of Jesus Christ?
The response is clear: No!
Before he can believe and ask the Lord to save him, the native in the heart of the jungle needs to hear.
Picture the man in the depths of the inner city,
the city dweller who has never been exposed to the gospel, who has interest only in the things of the city and the world.
Does he know that God’s Son died for his sins?
The response is clear: No!
If he has never heard, no.
Before calling on the Lord to save him and believing, the city dweller must hear.
Picture the religionist in the depths of religion,
the religious person who has only heard of the life of Jesus through the form, ceremony, and ritual of religion and has never heard the gospel clearly presented.
Does the religious person realize that God's Son died to deliver him from sin, death, and hell so that he would no longer serve sin?
The response is clear: No!
Not if he has never heard the gospel clearly explained.
Before he can sincerely believe and ask the Lord to save him, even the religionist must first hear.
(What an indictment and warning to Christians—a warning to present the gospel in simple, clear-cut terms.)
What about hearing without a preacher?
If a preacher or some Christian fails to tell them that Jesus Christ died for them, how would they know?
To hear anything requires a person who either speaks or writes.
A communicator is necessary to receive communication.
You need a messenger in order to hear the message.
The word of the Lord Jesus Christ must be spread across the world, but a messenger is required in order for the message to be spread.
If people are to hear the message, Christians must preach it.
B. We need a Preacher to Proclaim
B. We need a Preacher to Proclaim
Now take note that the preacher or witness is the foundation of missions and evangelism.
Any Christian who confesses the Lord Jesus Christ is considered a preacher in this case.
The message of the Lord Jesus needs to be preached in order for people to hear, believe, and call upon Him.
However, take note of what this passage says: a preacher cannot deliver a message without being sent.
God is the one who sends preachers and Christians as witnesses.
The gospel preachers and witnesses are appointed, qualified, and instructed by God.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
God does the sending, however Christian believers have a part in sending forth laborers as well as God.
We are to pray for laborers
37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
We are to go forth ourselves.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
We are to give to meet the needs of the world.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
C. We Need a Preacher to Spread
C. We Need a Preacher to Spread
The gospel is the message of peace and “glad tidings of good things.”
Note three points.
1. The message of the gospel is peace
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
2. The message of the gospel is “glad tidings of good things”
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
3. The feet of the preacher and witness are beautiful
that is, they are a welcome sight to the world.
The world desperately needs the message of peace and the glad tidings of good things.
this verse is a quotation from Is. 52:7.
The fourth Proof that the Gospel is for Everyone, not just for Israel is that:
IV. Scripture Says the Gospel Is for All
IV. Scripture Says the Gospel Is for All
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Isaiah says that many Jews did not “believe the report [message] of God” (see Is. 53:1).
Therefore, they prove that salvation is not by race, heritage, tradition, religion, institution, nor by works established by the Jewish nation or any other people.
Note a second thing: Isaiah used the phrase, “believing our report.”
Isaiah was saying that believing the message is the way of salvation.
The message was to stir faith.
There are three steps involved in faith.
A. Hearing
A. Hearing
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
A man must be willing to listen to the message of Christ.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
B. Yielding
B. Yielding
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
This a step of mental assent.
A man must agree that the message is true, that the facts of the case are thus and so.
But this is not enough.
Mere agreement does not lead to action.
Many a person knows that something is true, but he does not change his behavior to match his knowledge.
For example, a man knows that eating too much harms his body, but he may continue to eat too much.
He is a double-minded man: he agrees to the truth and knows the truth, but he does nothing about it.
This man still does not have faith, not the kind of faith that the Bible talks about.
C. Committing
C. Committing
When the New Testament speaks of faith, it speaks of commitment, a personal commitment to the truth.
A man hears the truth and agrees that it is true and does something about it.
He commits and yields his life to the truth.
The truth becomes a part of his very being, a part of his behavior and life.
Saving faith is believing in the name of Jesus Christ and committing one’s life to Him.
It is trusting Jesus Christ, completely putting one’s trust in Him, who He is and what He has done.
It is casting one’s life into His hands, believing He will take care of one’s past (sins), present (protection), and future (delivering from death unto life eternal).
Note that the gospel is to be obeyed.
Obedience and belief are synonymous terms when dealing with the gospel.
A person who truly believes in Jesus Christ will obey Him.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
V. Israel’s Disobedience Proved Universality
V. Israel’s Disobedience Proved Universality
18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.
20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.
Why did Israel not obey the gospel?
A. Not Because They Didn’t Hear
A. Not Because They Didn’t Hear
Israel’s disobedience was not because they did not hear the Word of God (v. 18).
18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
The very opposite is true.
Israel was the very custodian of the Scriptures, the very people whom God had chosen to bring salvation to the world.
No matter where the Jewish people were scattered, they had the Word of God and heard it.
(Note that Paul quotes Ps. 19:4 as Scriptural proof of what he says.)
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
B. Not Because They Didn’t Know
B. Not Because They Didn’t Know
Israel’s disobedience was not because the people did not know the truth (v. 19).
19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.
They knew the truth, and they had a dynamic example and demonstration of the truth.
They had the example of the Gentiles who turned to the gospel in great numbers.
Note how Scripture words this: “I will provoke you to jealousy.”
Israel had the stirrings of jealousy and envy to help them turn to the gospel.
They heard and knew.
Their disobedience to the gospel was not because they were ignorant of the gospel.
The gospel was actually lived out before their faces in the person of Jesus Christ and in the Gentiles turning to Christ for salvation.
(Again, Paul supports his point from the Old Testament, De. 32:21; Is. 65:1.)
21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; They have provoked me to anger with their vanities: And I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
C. Because They Were Stubborn
C. Because They Were Stubborn
Note how good God had been to Israel.
God “stretched forth His hands”: inviting, offering forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation, pleading and begging for Israel to return to Him.
“All day long”: being patient, longsuffering, and forbearing, bearing for a long time, waiting until the last moment to turn away.
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
1 Come, and let us return unto the Lord: For he hath torn, and he will heal us; He hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
And still today God is beckoning people to come to Him, including Israel.
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
However, Israel refused and rejected God’s gracious invitations.
Israel chose to remain disobedient and obstinate.
They closed their minds despite the clear evidence and refused to consider the truth of Christ as the true Savior of the world.
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, And as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, Shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
Conclusion
Conclusion
So we see five proofs in this passage that God’s plan of Salvation, his Gospel, is not for Israel only.
And so...
We need to Go!
We need to preach!
We need to share the gospel of Christ to every corner of this world.
Whatever you can do, you need to do it.
If you can go, Go
If you can give, Give
If you can pray, Pray
But let’s stay faithful to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ this week!