After announcements:
Mat 21:1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem… Jesus sent two disciples,
Mat 21:2 saying to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey
tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me…
Mat 21:6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
Mat 21:7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.
Mat 21:8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees
and spread them on the road.
Mat 21:9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the
Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" …
(same day – but we pick it up now from John’s eye-witness account)
Joh 12:27 Jesus said, "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'?
But for this purpose I have come to this hour.
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will
glorify it again."
Joh 12:29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel
has spoken to him."
Joh 12:30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
(Worship)
Romans: Grace and Faith
11:1-6
“Has God Rejected His People?”
Open Bibles to Romans 11
PRAY
Rom 11:1 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.
Rom 11:2 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?
Rom 11:3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am
left, and they seek my life."
Rom 11:4 But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not
bowed the knee to Baal."
Rom 11:5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
Rom 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer
be grace.
Three sections today…
1. Context Eliminates Confusion (11:1-2a,5b)
a. An intro/review of some of the teaching from NU regarding election/chosen (11:1-5)
2. The Elijah Reference (11:2b-4)
a. the story Paul refers to in 11:2b-5 (1 Kings 19)
3. Grace and works (11:6)
a. V6 is a recap of righteousness by faith – not by works
1) Context Eliminates Confusion (11:1-2a,5b)
As you may be aware, Romans 11 is often used as a “pet passage” to prove what I believe to be a false
doctrine: that God creates all mankind, but chooses to only save some.
 The word “chosen” in the context of salvation is indeed found in v5.
o And any time “chosen” is referenced in scripture (which isn’t very much – 7 total times
in the NT. 3 of which are actually in the context of salvation), those who believe and
teach that God blindly plucks people up and out from an otherwise sorry group of
rejected souls, jump on the opportunity to spread their twisted view of what this word
implies.
It is important to teach the truth, because the very character of God – His just quality, unconditional
love, and unchanging nature – is at question.
 I will not be recapping everything we taught at Underground.
 PLEASE – if you missed it – get online and listen.
o My teaching notes are also online if you prefer to read instead of listen.
 That said, I will recap and elaborate even further on what was taught at Underground over the
next several sermons, because that’s what Paul does – for the most part – in chapter 11.
Now, in our passage today, the context is incredibly easy to decipher:
 It is clearly stated in the very first sentence: “Has God rejected His people (Israel)?”
 The translation “I ask then…” isn’t quite right.
o Paul’s not asking the question.
 Rather, he is clarifying what he’s NOT saying or teaching.
 Remember, chapter 10 ended with the following quote from Isaiah 65, “of Israel
(God) says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary
people."
 Some readers could infer that to mean God has finally given up on his people.
o Answer: Paul says right away, NO! (by no means) Twice! Once in v1, and firmly stated
again in v2.
 Paul has been leading up to this ever since chapter 1, in the 3-part “God gave
them up” series, starting in v24.
 In that series, the teaching was this:
o God gave them up. He did not “give up on them.”
o And that is still true 10 chapters later.
 So here’s what’s maddening:
o Those who teach that “God creates all mankind, but chooses to only save some”, use,
as a favorite passage to support their false claim, a passage that EMPHATICALLY
states that God does NOT reject people.
 Let me say that again… (repeat)
o And to double-down on this truth, Paul actually says – clear as day – in several places in
chapter 11:



“Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking” (v7)
 IOW, God isn’t the one doing the rejecting: Israel is.
“Through (Israel’s) trespass (the sin of rejecting Messiah) salvation has come to
the Gentiles” (v11)
And he flat-out labels is “Israel’s rejection” in v15
 Humans are indeed RESPONSIBLE to ACCEPT God’s invitation to COME.
Staying with v5 for a moment before we get to part 2…
When it comes to election (chosen) and grace (11:5), it’s always worth mentioning how Jesus dealt
with it.
 First, “Chosen” refers to the “chosen people of God” going back in recorded history 1700 years
before Christ.
o “elect/chosen” is the English translation of the Greek word:
 Eklektos = From G1586; select; by implication favorite: - chosen, elect.
 (when your Bible says “chosen” it is this same word, eklektos)
 And that Greek word is translated elect/chosen in Hebrew – the language used
in the OT.
 Now, Jesus never uses “eklektos” until the final week before the Cross
o And in that week, only twice:
 Once, answering the disciples’ questions about the end times – that God will
gather His chosen from the 4 winds and spare them from the final tribulation.
 And once in Matthew 22 at the very end of the parable of the Master’s banquet,
which we’ve referred to several times over the last few months.
o When Jesus taught about being “saved,” he never mentioned “election”.
 But he mentioned “pistis” or “pisteuo” (believe and faith) 129 times!
o And get this: Jesus is never recorded in the gospels ANYWHERE as mentioning the word
“grace”.
 Why?
 Jesus Himself is the very manifestation of God’s grace.
 John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.”
 IOW, “I AM grace, incarnate.”
So, context is KEY! As always.
2) The Elijah Reference (11:2b-4)
(11:2b-4) Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? (3)
"Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they
seek my life." (4) But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who
have not bowed the knee to Baal."
This is so contextually cool, it’s gonna rock your world…!
Please notice:
 Some scholars refer to Elijah as “The Martin Luther of Israel in his day.”
o




He was called to constantly challenge Israel’s leaders – many of whom had led God’s
people to follow other gods/idols
o And he was despised by those leaders for it
o He was under constant fear of being killed by His own people
o And he felt alone in his call.
One of the reasons Jesus is often questioned to be “Elijah” is because of Elijah’s role among the
Hebrew people as somewhat of a savior for Israel against evil.
And most of the people of Israel treated Elijah – 900 years earlier – the same way they treated
Jesus.
This is no off-the-wall reference Paul brings up.
o Israel – in 925 BC – was rejecting God by a huge percentage of their number.
o The Hebrew people were divided (Israel and Judah) in Elijah’s generation.
 Just as they are in the early church – believers and rejecters
Again, speaking to the Israelites, Paul is appealing them to learn from their own history about
whether or not God rejects His people.
The quotations Paul cites are from 1 Kings 19:10-18…
 Don’t have the time to read the whole back-story AND elaborate, so let me summarize:
o Elijah just had a major battle between him alone as God’s sole remaining faithful
prophet, and 400 false prophets, employed by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel
 (this is the “they” Elijah is referring to in v3)
 God wins – rain comes, prophets are defeated…
 and Elijah flees from Jezebel (the heavily influential tempter of God’s people to
follow Baal), in fear for his life
 and goes into isolation, has a pity party with God, wants to die,
 but God keeps feeding him via an angel, with food that ended up sustaining him
for another 40 days and 40 nights of fasting.
o Then God speaks to Elijah, “What are you doing here?”
 And Elijah answers with a bit of a whine attached, most likely, saying
(paraphrase) he’s been faithful to God, but nobody else has, he’s all alone now,
and the evil people are chasing him, and he’s donna die…
 And the implication here is that Elijah is wondering the same thing about God as
the Israelites are in Paul’s day:
 Is God finally finished with His people?
 Is it over?
 But here is where a very famous exchange between God and Elijah happens.
o 1 Kings 19:11-13 And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind
tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD
was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in
the earthquake. (12) And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the
fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. (13) And when Elijah heard it…
there came a voice to him and (God) said (again), "What are you doing here,
Elijah?"
Now, follow me in this, church, because the context is so beautiful!
 It’s no mistake about the similarities I’ve mentioned, and the reason the Holy Spirit inspires
Paul to include this exchange as it corresponds to





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o Israel’s rejection of God in Elijah’s day,
o And Israel’s rejection of God in Paul’s day.
Please notice how God revealed Himself to Elijah in this exchange:
o See, God is often seen in a strong wind – and people often look for Him there.
o He is often found in powerful things, like an earthquake.
o He is often found in fire – like in the wilderness, or tongues of fire on the heads of
the saints at Pentecost…
 But not on this occasion with Elijah.
o Here, God was in the low whisper.
 The unexpected place.
 The quiet place.
 The humble place.
 And in that low whisper, God repeats his question to Elijah, “What are you
doing here?”
 Doesn’t that sound a lot like Jesus?
o Unique. Unexpected. Humble.
o And Jesus was brilliant in asking questions.
o And the question I find Jesus often asking me: “Kyle, What
are you doing here?”
(next – blank) Does anyone else see this beautiful connection Paul is driving at – in a
subtle way?
o Just like in Christ’s day, God comes (via Jesus) in an unexpected way.
o Right in the middle of God’s character being questioned as to whether or not He has
rejected His people, God appears to Elijah in this unique, yet very famous way.
o Now, hundreds of years later, in God’s perfect timing, Messiah comes, and extends
a question to all mankind: “What will you do with me?”
Now, what’s funny is Elijah doesn’t catch the subtlety (of the new nature in which God is
revealing Himself to him), and answers the question in the exact same way:
o Paraphrase: “I’m the only faithful Israelite, I’m all alone, the evil people are chasing
me, and I’m gonna die…”
o Word-for-word, the same answer.
Like many Israelites in Jesus’ day, they didn’t catch the uniqueness in God’s call.
o They were looking for him in the thunder, wind, fire, earthquake…
o But he came in a manger, to a lowly family, in a quiet town, grew up just like
everybody else, and even in the last week of his ministry life, he arrived in
Jerusalem humbly, riding in on a donkey.
God answers Elijah in the same way Paul answers the Israelites in AD 60:
o No, I have not rejected my people.
o No, I am not starting over, or giving up.
Now, the question is significant: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
o When Elijah answers with defeat in his voice, God says, GO.
 I’m not done yet, so therefore, neither are you.
 Anoint a new king in Syria.
 Anoint Elisha as your future replacement.
 And YES, I have kept for myself a remnant of 7,000 who have not turned to
other gods.
3) Grace and Works (11:6)
Rom 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer
be grace.
This is a summary of Romans 1-10, reiterating that salvation is by accepting an invitation by grace, not
by working and being good enough, or earning your seat in heaven by obedience to the Law, as the
Pharisees (and many other Jewish leaders before them) had been twisting the scriptures and teaching
now, for several hundred years.
Grace is the Greek word “charis,” meaning “benefit, favor, gift”
 In the context of salvation it is important to understand that “charis” is unmerited favor.
o The cross of Christ IS that grace.
 The invitation to COME –
 all have sinned and fallen short of attaining heaven
 But the prophesied Savior has come – He is God’s only Son, Jesus,
Messiah.
 Believe in HIM, and you will be saved from what your sin deserves:
death.
 To really drive this home: Just imagine Jesus saying things like this:
o Mat 11:28, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will
give you rest…
 Except you. And you. And you back there. And all of you in that section. Don’t
even bother.”
o Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world (err, I mean some lucky people within the world),
that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him (err, wait… I mean that whoever
God chooses to give the ability to believe) should not perish but have eternal life….
o Or at the Triumphal entry after that exchange with the Pharisees, when He says …
 “when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself….
 … and the lucky ones whom God gave the supernatural ability to
recognize me will do so, but all the others – the vast majority of the
world, in fact – are damned to Hell before they were even born.”
 Drop mic. Thank you, and good night.
(Next – blank) Church, the very heart, character, and definition of the LOVE of God is at stake with this
false doctrine.
 Let me encourage you:
o BELIEVE THE SCRIPTURES.
o Believe Jesus.
o Believe IN Jesus.
I encourage you:
 Do not question your salvation based on poor doctrinal views.
 If you must, Question your salvation on the basis of whether or not you BELIEVE.
God does not reject His people.
 And “the world” is God’s people (John 3:16; 12:32
 He is the Creator – the One who formed you in your mother’s womb (Ps 139, Jer. 1:5)
 God did not and does not do the rejecting.

Humans are indeed RESPONSIBLE to ACCEPT the world-wide grace-filled invitation to COME.
TWO applications to end the message today:
1) “What are you doing here, _____?”
 For the believer, that’s God’s question for you today.
o For anyone who is tired, lonely, questioning God’s resolve to finish what he started in
you, or others…
o God asks, “What are you doing here?”
 And His purpose is to remind you that He’s not done, and therefore, neither are
you.
 GO – I have work for you to do as my child, my representative, my image
bearer…
 I have people hidden away that you haven’t met yet – that you don’t even know
about.
 There is a time for rest, to be comforted, to be refreshed, to hear God in a new
and fresh way, and maybe that’s you today, believer.
 Today, be encouraged that God isn’t done, and therefore, neither are
you.
 Answer the question.
 What are you doing in your current state?
o And what, therefore, is God’s plan for you while He is still active
in His world today?
2) God’s grace-full invitation is extended to YOU.
 We’ve been growing as a church – pretty exciting!
 I haven’t had the chance to do what I love to do – meet and get to know all those who are new.
 Therefore, I don’t know where everyone in this room is at regarding their eternal home.
 God’s grace-full invitation is extended to YOU.
o I’d like everyone in this room to stand.
o I’m going to lead you in a conversation with the Lord that most of you have already had.
o But perhaps there are some in this room who have yet to have it.
o I’d like to do a responsive reading – something I haven’t done in years – but it serves a
purpose sometimes.
 Today that purpose is to allow anyone who has yet to confess their belief in
Jesus to know how to have that conversation with God – your Father.
 If you will be saying this for the first time, awesome!
o But don’t just read it aloud.
o The question is, do you believe it?
o There are no magic words to say when it comes to salvation in Jesus Christ.
o Paul says “confess with your mouth and believe in your heart and you will be saved.”
What’s the reference??? – Romans 10:9!
 Jesus said “Out of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)
 Who do you believe Jesus to be?
 That’s the single, most significant question you will ever answer.
OK, here we go:
Kyle: Jesus is the Son of God
Church: Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, Savior of the World
Kyle: Jesus placed every sin ever committed on his shoulders.
Church: And went to the cross with them.
Kyle: And died, shedding his sacrificial blood as a substitute for me.
Church: Jesus, please forgive me of all my sins!
Kyle: And remember them no more!
Church: I believe You died upon that cross.
Kyle: And were buried in a tomb for 3 days.
Church: But then God raised You from the dead!
Kyle: And You ascended into heaven.
Church: And therefore conquered sin and death!
Kyle: He is alive!
Church: And I put my faith in Him for eternal life.
Kyle: Thank you God, for your grace.
Church: Thank you Jesus, for saving my soul.
Kyle: Thank you Holy Spirit of God, for dwelling within me.
Church: And reminding me daily that I am eternally secure with You.
Kyle: In JESUS’ name…
ALL: Amen!
If you have questions about what we just read – if you want to talk further… please come see me NOW.
Reminder:
 Next Sunday is Resurrection Day!
o Sunrise service near the parking lot at 5:45
o Invite your family and friends to our 10 AM service!
 I will be preaching a sermon that includes part of my testimony, as well as
others’ sharing, too.
Stuart and Tim are also available for questions and prayer!
God and be the church!