God’s Mystery and Mercy

Introduction

Welcome, if you will be moving in your Bibles to Romans chapter 11, Romans 11. I’m going to read from that text in just a moment. I appreciate the past few weeks, you allowing me to kind of go off course a little bit and talk from Ezra and Nehemiah. Great reactions from that from many of you, and I appreciate that. That’s just how things work sometimes. Some things hit me and decided we need to go that direction for a little while, never with the intention to not come back to Romans. And so that’s what we’re going to do this morning, coming back to Romans the 11th chapter, and finishing out Paul’s argument here. This is really the conclusion of the first section of the book.

And so I want to kind of tie some of this together and talk about the complexities of Romans 11 this morning. It’s it is a complex text, and I hope that I can sort of simplify it enough to not preach for an hour and a half this morning. I’m not going to do that. But there’s a lot there, and so I’m going to try to break it down in kind of the big principles or ideas and then work towards some application for us as we conclude this section of the book of Romans. Begin reading with me in Romans chapter 11 and verse 1. Romans 11, verse 1. He says, I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means. For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

God has not rejected his people, whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? Lord, they have killed your prophets. They have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life. But what is God’s reply to him? I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened. As it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see, and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.

And David says, Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see and bend their backs forever. So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means. Rather, through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more were the will their full inclusion mean? Now I am speaking to you Gentiles, and as much then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.

For if their reject rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as first fruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 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 who supports you. 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. Note then the kindness and the severity of God, severity toward those who have fallen, but kindness towards you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you too will be cut off, 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? 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. 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.

O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments, how inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord, 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. Let me just quickly review for you where we’ve been in Romans 9 through 11, which is a somewhat tight unit where Paul is addressing this question well, what about Israel? The previous eight chapters, he’s talked all about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, the Jew first, and equally to the Greek.

He’s made this point throughout the first part of this letter. He’s also said that the just shall live by faith. And so it’s about faith.

And so he’s had this discussion with them in this letter.

Is God faithful to Israel? If this is what he’s doing, if this is his plan of salvation, it seems like he’s abandoned Israel. He’s pushed them off, and now he has some other plan. And Paul’s argument from chapter 9 all the way through 11 is that’s not true at all. God has been completely faithful to his plan. He’s working through Israel, even to this day, as Paul’s arguing here in this letter. And so God remains faithful even though Israel is faithless. And there’s a number of things that we can’t review in chapter 9, especially about how this all works, and that it’s it’s not about the sons of the flesh, but the sons of promise who are God’s offspring. They are sons of Abraham, and a lot of this goes back to earlier parts of the letter.

So chapter four talks all about Abraham and how he’s the father of those who have faith, right? Of the circumcised and the uncircumcised. So a lot of this has already been discussed. Now Paul’s sort of taking it all and pulling it all together with this final argument that is emphasizing the reality that God has been faithful. And in the midst of God’s faithfulness, Israel has been unfaithful. They are unwilling to listen. They are rebellious. The word has been preached to them. They’ve heard the word. This is what Romans 10 is about. It’s not that it hasn’t been preached to them or they haven’t heard about Jesus. They simply have just rejected it. And there is this kind of tripart nature to how Paul argues here, and he does the same thing in Romans 11.

I probably won’t mention again, but I’ll just highlight it for you at the end of chapter 10. He quotes from Psalm 19, Deuteronomy 32, and then a few places in the prophets. And when Paul and other biblical writers do that, what they’re what they’re showing is the all of Scripture proves this point. Right? It’s the Psalms, the law, and the prophets are all pointing to this reality that Israel has repeatedly rejected God, even when God is faithful. And so there’s nothing new about this story. It’s the same story being told repeatedly throughout history, even up to this day when the Lord’s Messiah has come. And now once again, they have rejected God’s plan. This part of the account is really kind of like a book or a movie or something where you get to the end and you start kind of seeing all the pieces come together.

And it saves sort of the big the big reveal. The mystery is revealed at the very end. You’ve probably read some books like that or seen shows or movies where some seemingly inconsequential events that happen throughout the story suddenly make way more sense in the light of further details. When the veil is pulled off and everything is understood, then we look back and we see various events and see how they all work together toward whatever the end of that story was. And that’s a lot of what Paul’s doing here in Romans chapter 11. He even talks about the mystery in verse 25 of chapter 11. And so I want us to really focus in that direction. We’re going to talk about God’s mystery and his mercy.

How all the things that seemingly don’t make sense or maybe seem irrelevant to the story, God and his sovereignty, and because of his love of Israel, and because of his love of the world, all of these are coming together into this perfect plan through which God is going to reveal his mercy to all humanity. So I want to work through this text, maybe in a little bit different way than I normally do. I kind of just want to tell the story, work through chapter 11, and then I want to come back to make some applications. And that’s going to be shown on the slides as well. So we’re going to just work through different sections of the story to kind of break down what’s happening here and why Paul is doing what he’s doing.

1. Elijah and a Remnant Chosen by Grace

The first interesting thing about Romans 11 is this use of Elijah. It seems kind of random that he’s just talked about at the end of chapter 10, Israel’s unfaithfulness, and then he makes this, he declares this reality that God has not rejected his people. Right? Here’s the question: Has he? And he says, no, God has not rejected his people, whom he foreknew. And then he uses this formula, which we’ve seen quite a bit in the book of Romans. Do you not know? Like it’s it’s almost like this should have been obvious. I mean, they should have realized this, right? Do you not know what the scriptures say about Elijah? I can just imagine that they’re thinking, no, what, Paul? We don’t know what you’re talking about here.

But Paul and Elijah and Israel sort of have this big connection. Elijah spends a lot of his ministry working against rebellious Israel. You may remember he’s in the time of Ahab and Jezebel. There’s even stories like when he goes to the widow of Zarephath, and the pagans accept Yahweh. While Jews are not accepting Yahweh, while the Israelites are trying to kill God’s prophets and not listen to them, Elijah goes to pagan territory and they are so aware of Yahweh’s power that they proclaim him as Lord. Do you start to see the connection here? And Paul, in recognizing the similarity of the situation between Elijah and himself, that he is this apostle that goes to the Gentiles. He’s going to magnify his ministry, he even says here to the Gentiles.

And the reality that he goes to them and they listen. They hear the message of the gospel and they welcome him and they welcome Yahweh, and they realize that this is the plan that’s going to save them. Meanwhile, Israel is unwilling to listen. Paul doesn’t show the same sort of reaction that Elijah does in the reference here. Elijah’s depressed. He runs away and he makes this statement that only I am left. And this is another reason why Paul wants to use this in the perception of Elijah. He seems to think he’s the only one who is faithful. But this gives Paul the opportunity to pull in this sort of remnant concept where Yahweh says, No, there’s actually 7,000. There’s a complete group of people here who still have not bowed the knee to Baal.

I’ve kept a remnant, and it is done by grace, not because they’re so great and they’ve done so much, but because God is so merciful and he is so gracious, there are still some Elijah who are with you. And so God has not abandoned his people even in the day of Paul. Paul himself is an illustration of this very fact. He’s an Israelite, he’s a Benjamite, and yet he is an apostle, he’s not a Gentile. And so remember the big picture here is what we’re considering. Sometimes in Romans 9 through 11, people get really tied up in personal salvation. And there are certainly elements of it that are principles that can apply to that. But what Paul’s actually doing here is really looking big picture. And so just understand the logic when he’s saying, hey, I’m an Israelite, I’m a Benjamite, and I am a follower, I’m an apostle, that proves that Jews have not just been neglected and pushed out.

God does not have some new plan where Israel is completely neglected.

It’s a big deal because if God is not faithful to his promises, how can you trust this new plan in Jesus Christ? So this is the reason for the question. If he told Israel they were going to be his people and he was going to save them and deliver them, and then he just kind of scraps that.

2. The Mystery of God's Sovereignty

And so then this leads to this idea of the mystery of God’s sovereignty. He tells them there’s this partial hardening that has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way, all Israel will be saved. There’s a number of confusing elements to this. When he talks about all Israel, we see in chapter 9, if we could kind of bounce back and forth, which we simply don’t have time to do this morning, but you can go read it later, that he establishes the reality that Israel is not by flesh, that Israel is by promise. And so he’s he uses these words in slightly different ways at times in different contexts within the chapter. Sometimes he’s talking about Israel as a physical nation.

Sometimes he’s talking about them as the elect or as God’s people. And the whole purpose here, what he’s about to reveal to them, the mystery is not still a mystery. So whenever you see that in the Bible, when it talks about the mystery, that’s because now it’s revealed. It’s no longer a mystery anymore. Right? So now he’s saying, this is what’s actually happening. What’s actually happening in all of this is that God is using these two groups for the best possible outcome because God is sovereign. Because God understands how to work his plan, even when there are disobedient and unfaithful people who are trying to be a hindrance to God in his plan, he managed to work with them to then bring out the fullness of the best outcome possible.

And so essentially in Romans 11, as we just read it, he says, here’s what’s happening. The Jews have rejected the plan. And because they’ve done so, this actually brings salvation to the Gentiles. It makes it apparent, it makes it them aware that this is not just some Jewish thing. Right? This is not just the Israelites who have a relationship with Yahweh, and so it’s about them. No, most of them are rejecting it. It’s about something much bigger than that. And so Paul himself is an example that he’s going to the Gentiles, they’re being converted, and so it creates this opportunity because of the Jewish rejection that now the Gentiles can be brought in. And in turn, when the Gentiles are then brought in, some of the Jews then are jealous.

They look and they see the Gentile response to Yahweh and to his plan, and they’re jealous. And this jealousy seems to have for some of them at least a good outcome that they want to then come back to Yahweh. And so in the process of all of this, the hardening of Israel, the inclusion of the Gentiles, the jealousy of the Jews who then come back to Yahweh, and all of that, he says, all Israel will be saved. Now, there’s a part of this that needs some further explanation. You probably thought you’d never see this word again from the pulpit, but there it is. Zach, a long time ago talked about dendrology. So I threw that in here for you. But there is some dendrology here in Romans 11.

3. The Cultivated and Wild Olive Tree

This idea of wooded plants. He uses this olive tree illustration to explain the very thing I just went through. Right? So he’s explained all of this and he says, okay, it’s like this olive tree. There’s a cultivated olive tree, and there’s a wild olive tree. We’ve got two different ones. All right. And before this, he talks about the idea of the illustration of sacrifice. Right? So he throws this little illustration here in verse 16. If the dough is offered as first fruits, so the first fruits is your harvest, you take the first part of that, you give it to God, then the rest of it’s holy. Right? So the early part of this is dedicated to God, then the rest of it is dedicated to God in essence.

Right? And if the root is holy, so are the branches. Now he’s gonna work from that second illustration to go through this illustration of the olive tree to help them understand how this works. And this is a pretty fitting metaphor for a number of reasons. If you want more info, talk to Zach. I’m sure he’d be glad to talk to you all about this. But olive trees live for thousands of years. When I went to Israel, we went to the Mount of Olives, and one of the things they tell you is some of these olive trees, many of them, were probably here in the time of Christ. They live in extended periods of time. And even beyond that, they’re extremely hard to destroy. Essentially, you just have to burn them all the way through to destroy them.

Very hard to destroy an olive tree, and they live a really long time. This is an apt metaphor, then for what Paul wants to do with this. He also sort of reverses the nature of how all of this works. Again, more info from Zach. I’m not an expert on this, but what I do know in very short form is that when you graft olive trees, you don’t usually use a healthy root. You take shoots from a healthy root and you put it into a wild olive tree, and you use the energy from that wild olive tree to then produce good fruit. But Paul seems to purposely reverse the nature of how this works for his purposes in this illustration. He even talks about it in verse 24.

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? So he’s he understands that parts of this are against nature. This is not how it worked, which then emphasizes the amazing nature of what God is doing, the miraculous nature of God’s work in this process, that God is able to graft what would normally not be able to be grafted. And grafting itself is an extremely difficult and skillful work. People have to really know what they’re doing to make this happen. It’s not easy. So all of this sort of builds into a really good metaphor of what Paul is doing here with the aspect of God and his faithfulness to Israel, how he’s worked through Israel now from the beginning, from the call of Abraham, to bring about his plan, to bring about what he wants to accomplish.

And in all of this, he’s saying he’s taking the Gentiles, which were from a wild olive tree, worthless, doesn’t produce anything that’s good. They are cut off from there and they are grafted into the root. They are grafted into the healthy olive tree, which is Israel, and Israel’s Messiah, which comes through Israel. And this is a really important point, and one that’s often been abandoned in Western religion completely almost. That God, and what his point he’s making here is that God is working through Israel. Israel is important to this. Now, this doesn’t go into things like saving Israel as a nation and all of that. It’s just the reality that God, just as he promised he would do, has worked through Israel. Deliverer will come from Zion, he quotes from Isaiah 59 in verse 26 of Romans 11.

He will banish ungodliness from Jacob, and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins. He’s going to work through his people Israel as he has done through the Messiah to bring about salvation to everyone. And so these wild olive shoots are taken, they’re grafted in. And what’s interesting about all of that is they don’t suddenly become just like the shoots from the cultivated olive tree. They’re still different, but they produce something now that is worthwhile. And so a Gentile that’s brought into God’s people doesn’t suddenly become a Jew in a physical sense. They are still unique, they still have their background, but they all come to Christ in faith. And they all are useful, and they all can now produce fruit, which is an important aspect of this metaphor as well.

So here’s the question. So what? I mean, this is all really interesting for Israel and for the Jews and the Gentiles who are Christians in the first century that Paul’s dealing with. And I’m just going to tell you up front that most of this, a lot of this, particularly the precise details that are happening in 9 through 11, really relate to them.

4. God Always Keeps His Promises

That being said, I think there’s some pretty powerful principles we can take from what Paul’s saying here as we kind of wrap all this up to understand things about the nature of God, about the nature of God’s promises, about his plan and the way he works. We can kind of take all of that from this example of Jew and Gentile, how they’re having to come together as one, and we could then use those principles to help us and understand our relationship with God, our relationship to one another. So let’s talk about some applications here. The first of these, and our kids should know this well, that is that God always keeps his promises. Always. There’s never a time when God does not keep his promises.

That’s why this point is so important that Paul is making to the Jewish and Gentile Christians here in Romans 9 through 11. God made a promise to Abraham, and he keeps his promise to Abraham. He doesn’t just change his mind. God’s not fickle. He doesn’t just decide he’s going to do something different now. God had a plan and he kept that plan and God made promises and God keeps his promises. And maybe even a bigger element of that in Romans 11 is this point that really Paul’s aiming at as you get to the end of the chapter, and that is this story of salvation. What he’s been working on for the last 10 chapters leading up to chapter 11. This whole story of what God’s doing and how God’s working in the world and how he’s interacting with Jew and Gentile, all of this is then proclaiming the wisdom of God and God’s power, his mercy, and ultimately, as we already pointed out, his faithfulness.

And so there’s aspects of that we’re going to kind of pull from as we move forward in some of the other points here in just a moment, but I want us to just stop and appreciate for a moment how amazing God is. I mean, this is not a plan, this is not an operation of a plan in the specific situation with Jew and Gentile that a human mind would have ever imagined or thought of. That’s why he says how unscrutable his ways. I mean, that means it’s it’s impossible to understand. There’s some things about God that we will just never grasp. You know, how is it that God can come up with this plan that even through people’s unfaithfulness, the best outcome is reached. I would love to be able to do that as a father.

You know, with my kids and things happen, and somehow in my amazing wisdom, I can bring about the best possible solution. How many times has that happened? Talk to my kids, probably not many. Because we’re finite. I mean, we don’t have this kind of wisdom. We try to emulate the wisdom of the Heavenly Father. We try to operate as He doesn’t. We do the best we can as earthly fathers and that sort of illustration to do what we can because we care. But we see time and again that God can work through the most difficult circumstances and according to his sovereign will bring about the desired result. That’s amazing. And Paul’s explaining this for both the Jewish and the Gentile Christians to understand. Don’t you see how amazing God is and what he’s accomplishing and how his wisdom works, and that he has the power to make this happen.

Again, in verse 23, for God has the power to graft. I know there’s more there, but I want us to just stop with that concept for now. God has the power to graft. I don’t have the power to graft. You don’t have the power to graft. It’s not my working or your working that’s making this process all happen. I understand that decisions of free will matter, and we’ll come to that here in just a moment. But the fundamental level of God’s plan and how it works, He has the power to grasp. He has the power to make all of this happen. And he’s done so in a marvelous way. Which just causes Paul to just break into this word of praise, this doxology, he often does at the end of sections.

Very in verse 33, oh, the depths and the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God. He ends the whole section at the very end. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Sometimes Paul just does it right in the middle of a thought because he’s so overwhelmed with who God is and what he’s doing. And so the fundamental level of the gospel should cause us to have that kind of feeling. Being overwhelmed by God and what he has done and what he is doing and who he is and his power and his wisdom, his glory, and his mercy, his faithfulness. All of these elements are vital to understanding Romans 9 through 11, and particularly the end of this in Romans 11 that we just read through.

5. Arrogance Is Completely Out of Place

The second of these points that I want us to come to is the idea that arrogance really is completely out of place for God’s people. The point that Paul’s making repeatedly throughout this letter is that we’re saved by grace. Essentially, what I just went through, that this is by the plan and the working of God, and there’s absolutely no way I could have done that myself.

Explain to me without God how you would have been brought into God’s elect. How would that have worked? I don’t think we can. But God made it happen. He’s worked through his people, and now all Israel, all those who come to him in faith, now are saved. And so any kind of arrogance or hauginess that we might imagine due to our faithfulness or the things that we have done really should be rooted out when we understand the picture that Paul’s painting for us here in Romans 11. He tells the Gentile Christians, actually, three times here, to be aware of this temptation. If we look back in verse 18, as he’s described the mystery, he’s going to talk about the mystery later, but he’s already begun describing it, and God’s great mercy and how all of this has worked, and the Jews’ disobedience, which leads to their salvation, and that eventually that’ll bring them back, and all of this, he’s described all of this, he says, do not be arrogant.

Do not be arrogant toward the branches.

Hidiness and arrogance. If anyone thinks that they’ve got it all together and they know how all of this works, let them read Romans 11. How unsearchable are his judgments. How inscrutable his ways.

And we are blessed in so many ways that we probably can’t even comprehend because what God has done. So he tells these Gentile Christians don’t look at the Jews who are at the moment, and this is important too, nothing is total, nothing is final in Romans 9 through 11. That point has been made numerous times. So any kind of Calvinistic concept that this is like predetermination or some kind of destiny or fate doesn’t really make sense in Romans 9 through 11 because everything is subject to change. As we’ve just read in Romans 11, that some can, if they do not continue in their unbelief, they can be grafted back in. And if you turn to unbelief, you can be cut out. And the idea there is not to make you uncertain or lose assurance.

It’s just the simple reality that the just shall live by faith. This is the point he’s been making the whole time. Faith is the determining factor, it’s the hinge of my relationship with God. Whether or not I’m connected to the root and I’m supported by the root, and I’m receiving nourishment from the root, all depends on whether I’m going to believe in the one who makes it all happen. If I’m going to put my trust in God, who has the power to graft, it all is founded on that reality. And so if I put my faith and my trust in something else, I’m not part of the root. I’ve attached myself to some other idea. And so arrogance is a rot that comes into branches. He says, don’t look toward the unfaithful and think you’re so much better.

As he reaches the end of his argument, he’s again explaining, he does, he explains this like three different times to them. He’s explaining it to them again, and he says, You were at one time disobedient to God, but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, that kind of amazing cycle of things that happen here with Jew and Gentile.

At one time, that’s where you were apart from God. He says in other places like Ephesians 2, and now you’ve been brought in. Don’t be arrogant. Don’t think you’re so much better than someone who’s struggling in faith right now, or someone who doesn’t believe. We’ve all been there. In fact, he says, For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

6. There Is Hope for the Broken Branches

This is not total. It is not final. Arrogance is out of place. And the final piece of this picture, really, then, is that there is hope. That is the message of the gospel. It’s kind of hard not to talk about all of these together, and you found me doing that a little bit already. But the final picture of this is he’s telling these Gentiles, do not be arrogant in verse 18. Do not be proud in verse 20. And then verse 25, lest you be wise in your own sight, and he’s gonna reveal the mystery to them, right? He’s worried that they’re arrogant. They’re arrogant about their place and their status with God, and then these Jews are gonna come back into Rome because the decree has been lifted and there’s gonna be this kind of animosity.

He’s worried that’s gonna happen. He’s saying, don’t do it. Don’t think you’re so much better. And here’s the reality there is hope for the broken branches. I hope we see that here in this text. Paul’s desire is not that the unfaithful Jews just stay in their unfaithfulness, they stay stubborn, they stay in their unbelief, they stay in their rejection, and so they’re condemned by God. That’s not what Paul wants. In fact, he’s telling them that actually just the opposite is the hope. Through God’s working and through God’s sovereignty, through things that we cannot understand, how inscrutable his ways, God can work things to the counsel of his will to bring about things that we would never imagine. And so those whom we know that are unfaithful or unbelieving.

One of the interesting elements of grafting is that anything below the graft sometimes has to be removed so that the graft can be brought in, right? Another part of this image that works really well. They’re broken off due to unbelief, and then the Gentiles are allowed to be grafted in.

But then Paul says, God has the power to graft them back in again. Don’t give up on them. Maybe it’s God working his plan in a way that’s going to bring somebody to faith. We don’t know. We don’t know how all of that’s going to work. We don’t understand all of God’s judgments. I’m in no place to judge someone’s final destiny. As long as they have breath and as long as they have life, they have an opportunity to return. They have an opportunity to be grafted in. And if that’s God’s desire, if I’m one who’s living with humility, one who’s not arrogant, not set on my place in the olive tree, then I will want them to be brought back in. I will look on them with compassion and mercy, just as God wants to show compassion and mercy.

Conclusion

And hope that they will see their need to be connected and supported by the healthy root. Let’s pray together. Our God, we are alled by your majesty and by your glory, by your wisdom, by your faithfulness. You’ve done so many things that we cannot comprehend. And your ways are impossible for us to understand. The depths of your love and your grace and your mercy. And we pray that the so many who have turned on you who have been rebellious, just like Israel in the days of Elijah, and just like Israel in the days of Paul, that in some way and in some form, they will again realize their need for you. They will understand that your plan is the only plan. And that faith in Jesus Christ is the only answer.

And that they will come back and be grafted back into this holy root. They’ll become part of your people. They will live in accordance with your will, and that they will have faith in you. And we pray this morning that we, as your people here, have no sense of haughtiness or pride about who we are, but realize that we are delivered, that we are saved by your grace, by your mercy. That you’re the one that had the plan that could make all of this happen. And we simply follow your plan in faith and obedience. And in doing so, you bring us in. You make us part of this route that’s healthy and holy, where we can grow and be nourished and be joined to you.

That we will be faithful to you, and that you will one day bring us to the point of finality where we are yours forever, and we can enjoy the bliss of eternal union. We’re grateful for Jesus and his love, his willingness to die so that we might live. And we’re grateful that you are patient so that all have an opportunity to come to repentance and enjoy your grace. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. Maybe this morning that you’re not part of this healthy olive tree. Maybe you’ve come out of the world and you see the worthlessness, the vanity, but nothing good is being produced. If that’s the case, you have hope this morning. You can be grafted into God’s people. You can begin to see things from a different perspective, producing worthwhile fruit in your life, working in God’s kingdom, doing things that mean something for eternity.

We would love to help you with that. The message is pretty simple in word. Paul tells us what we’re supposed to do. We give our lives to Jesus Christ. We die with him, we’re buried with him in baptism, we’re resurrected to newness of life. And we begin walking and living for him instead of the things of the world. And we stand ready this morning to help you do that. Why don’t you come now as we stand and we sing?