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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
Robertson: Rom 11:3 - -- They have digged down ( kateskapsan ).
First aorist active indicative of kataskaptō , to dig under or down. Old verb, here only in N.T. (critical t...
They have digged down (
First aorist active indicative of
Robertson: Rom 11:3 - -- Altars ( thusiastēria ).
Late word (lxx, Philo, Josephus, N.T. eccl. writers) from thusiazō , to sacrifice. See note on Act 17:23.
Altars (
Late word (lxx, Philo, Josephus, N.T. eccl. writers) from
Robertson: Rom 11:3 - -- And I am left alone ( kagō hupeleiphthēn monos ).
First aorist passive indicative of hupoleipō , old word, to leave under or behind, here only ...
And I am left alone (
First aorist passive indicative of
Robertson: Rom 11:3 - -- Life ( psuchēn ).
It is not possible to draw a clear distinction between psuchē (soul) and pneuma (spirit). Psuchē is from psuchō , to ...
Life (
It is not possible to draw a clear distinction between
Vincent: Rom 11:3 - -- They have killed thy prophets - and digged, etc.
Paul gives the first two clauses in reverse order from both Septuagint and Hebrew.
They have killed thy prophets - and digged, etc.
Paul gives the first two clauses in reverse order from both Septuagint and Hebrew.
Vincent: Rom 11:3 - -- Digged down ( κατέσκαψαν )
Sept., καθεῖλαν pulled down . The verb occurs only here and Act 15:16. Compare on Mat 6:19.
Alone (
Sept. has the superlative
Vincent: Rom 11:3 - -- Life ( ψυχήν )
From ψύχω to breathe or blow . In classical usage it signifies life in the distinctness of individual existence,...
Life (
From
Scripture. In the Old Testament, answering to
The New-Testament usage follows the Old, in denoting all individuals from the point of view of individual life . Thus the phrase
These and other passages are opposed to the view which limits the term to a mere animal life-principle. See Eph 6:6; Col 3:23; the compounds
As to the distinction between
1. That there are cases where the meanings approach very closely, if they are not practically synonymous; especially where the individual life is referred to. See Luk 1:47; Joh 11:33, and Joh 12:27; Mat 11:29, and 1Co 16:18.
2. That the distinction is to be rejected which rests on the restriction of
3. That
4.
Whatever distinction there is, therefore, is not between a higher and a lower element in man. It is rather between two sides of the one immaterial nature which stands in contrast with the body. Spirit expresses the conception of that nature more generally, being used both of the earthly and of the non-earthly spirit, while soul designates it on the side of the creature. In this view
1. The individual life, the seat of the personality.
2. The subject of the life, the person in which it dwells.
3. The mind as the sentient principle, the seat of sensation and desire.
Wesley -> Rom 11:3
"did"
Literally, "in," that is, in the section which relates to
JFB: Rom 11:2-4 - -- (The word "saying," which follows, as also the particle "and" before "digged down," should be omitted, as without manuscript authority).
(The word "saying," which follows, as also the particle "and" before "digged down," should be omitted, as without manuscript authority).
Clarke: Rom 11:3 - -- Lord, they have killed thy prophets - They will not permit any person to speak unto them in thy name; and they murder those who are faithful to the ...
Lord, they have killed thy prophets - They will not permit any person to speak unto them in thy name; and they murder those who are faithful to the commission which they have received from thee
Clarke: Rom 11:3 - -- Digged down thine altars - They are profligate and profane beyond example, and retain not the slightest form of religion
Digged down thine altars - They are profligate and profane beyond example, and retain not the slightest form of religion
Clarke: Rom 11:3 - -- I am left alone - There is no prophet besides myself left, and they seek to destroy me.
I am left alone - There is no prophet besides myself left, and they seek to destroy me.
TSK -> Rom 11:3
collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes -> Rom 11:3
Barnes: Rom 11:3 - -- Lord, they have killed ... - This is taken from 1Ki 19:10. The quotation is not literally made, but the sense is preserved. This was a charge w...
Lord, they have killed ... - This is taken from 1Ki 19:10. The quotation is not literally made, but the sense is preserved. This was a charge which Elijah brought against the whole nation; and the act of killing the prophets he regarded as expressive of the character of the people, or that they were universally given to wickedness. The fact was true that they had killed the prophets, etc.; 1Ki 18:4, 1Ki 18:13; but the inference which Elijah seems to have drawn from it, that there were no pious people in the nation, was not well founded.
And digged down - Altars, by the Law of Moses, were required to be made of earth or unhewn stones; Exo 20:24-25. Hence, the expression to dig them down means completely to demolish or destroy them.
Thine altars - There was one great altar in the front of the tabernacle and the temple, on which the daily sacrifices of the Jews were to be made. But they were not forbidden to make altars also elsewhere; Exo 20:25. And hence they are mentioned as existing in other places; 1Sa 7:17; 1Sa 16:2-3; 1Ki 18:30, 1Ki 18:32. These were the altars of which Elijah complained as having been thrown down by the Jews; an act which was regarded as expressive of signal impiety.
I am left alone - I am the only prophet which is left alive. We are told that when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them and hid them in a cave; 1Ki 18:4. But it is not improbable that they had been discovered and put to death by Ahab. The account which Obadiah gave Elijah when he met him 1Ki 18:13 seems to favor such a supposition.
Seek my life - That is, Ahab and Jezebel seek to kill me. This they did because he had overcome and slain the prophets of Baal; 1Ki 19:1-2. There could scarcely be conceived a time of greater distress and declension in religion than this. It has not often happened that so many things that were disheartening have occurred to the church at the same period of time. The prophets of God were slain; but one lonely man appeared to have zeal for true religion; the nation was running to idolatry; the civil rulers were criminally wicked, and were the leaders in the universal apostasy; and all the influences of wealth and power were setting in against the true religion to destroy it. It was natural that the solitary man of God should feel disheartened and lonely in this universal guilt; and should realize that he had no power to resist this tide of crime and calamities.
Poole -> Rom 11:3
Poole: Rom 11:3 - -- See 1Ki 19:10,14 .
Digged down thine altars: these were not the altars of the high places, for they are commended that cast them down; nor the alt...
See 1Ki 19:10,14 .
Digged down thine altars: these were not the altars of the high places, for they are commended that cast them down; nor the altars in the temple at Jerusalem, for they were out of the reach of the ten tribes, against whom Elias complains: but such altars (say some) as the godly of the ten tribes did build to serve God with, when they were not permitted to go up to Jerusalem; in which case the building of private altars (as some learned Jews have affirmed) was allowed. Or else by
altars you may understand such altars as Elias himself, by the special commandment of God, had erected. Others, by digging down God’ s altars, do understand their corrupting and destroying the true worship of God; and the words are to be taken synecdochically, or metonomically, the sign being put for the thing signified.
I am left alone so it was, for aught he knew; for few, if any, did publicly own the true worship of God: so general was the defection of the ten tribes in those days.
Gill -> Rom 11:3
Gill: Rom 11:3 - -- Lord, they have killed thy prophets,.... By the order of Jezebel, wife of Ahab king of Israel, 1Ki 18:4. This sin of slaying the prophets of the Lord ...
Lord, they have killed thy prophets,.... By the order of Jezebel, wife of Ahab king of Israel, 1Ki 18:4. This sin of slaying the prophets of the Lord is charged upon the Jews by Christ, Mat 23:31, and by the apostle, 1Th 2:15. In the text in 1Ki 19:14, it is added, "with the sword": which expresses the manner of death they were put to; and this clause is there put after the following, according to a rule of transposition among the Jews; See Gill on Mat 27:10.
And digged down thine altars; either the altars which the patriarchs had formerly built, and were still in being; and though not used, yet were kept and had in great veneration; wherefore the pulling of them down was done in contempt of them, and of the worship of God, which had been formerly performed there; or else such altars, which the religious among the ten tribes built, since the times of Jeroboam, who forbad them to go up to Jerusalem, but ordered them to go to Dan or Bethel; which they not choosing to do erected altars in different places for divine service, and which the Jews r say were allowed; for from that time, the prohibition of altars at other places than at Jerusalem ceased:
and I am left alone: meaning either as a prophet, not knowing that Obadiah had hid an hundred prophets by fifty in a cave, 1Ki 18:4; or else as a worshipper of the true God, imagining that he was the only person in Israel, that had a true zeal for the Lord of hosts:
and they seek my life; lay in wait for it, Jezebel by her emissaries being in quest of him; it is added in 1Ki 19:14, "to take it away"; for she had swore by her gods, that by the morrow about that time, his life should be as the life of one of the prophets of Baal he had slain; and in one copy it is added here.
expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Rom 11:3
1 sn A quotation from 1 Kgs 19:10, 14.
expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Rom 11:1-36
TSK Synopsis: Rom 11:1-36 - --1 God has not cast off all Israel.7 Some were elected, though the rest were hardened.16 There is hope of their conversion.18 The Gentiles may not exul...
MHCC -> Rom 11:1-10
MHCC: Rom 11:1-10 - --There was a chosen remnant of believing Jews, who had righteousness and life by faith in Jesus Christ. These were kept according to the election of gr...
There was a chosen remnant of believing Jews, who had righteousness and life by faith in Jesus Christ. These were kept according to the election of grace. If then this election was of grace, it could not be of works, either performed or foreseen. Every truly good disposition in a fallen creature must be the effect, therefore it cannot be the cause, of the grace of God bestowed on him. Salvation from the first to the last must be either of grace or of debt. These things are so directly contrary to each other that they cannot be blended together. God glorifies his grace by changing the hearts and tempers of the rebellious. How then should they wonder and praise him! The Jewish nation were as in a deep sleep, without knowledge of their danger, or concern about it; having no sense of their need of the Saviour, or of their being upon the borders of eternal ruin. David, having by the Spirit foretold the sufferings of Christ from his own people, the Jews, foretells the dreadful judgments of God upon them for it, Psalms 69. This teaches us how to understand other prayers of David against his enemies; they are prophecies of the judgments of God, not expressions of his own anger. Divine curses will work long; and we have our eyes darkened, if we are bowed down in worldly-mindedness.
Matthew Henry -> Rom 11:1-32
Matthew Henry: Rom 11:1-32 - -- The apostle proposes here a plausible objection, which might be urged against the divine conduct in casting off the Jewish nation (Rom 11:1): " Hath...
The apostle proposes here a plausible objection, which might be urged against the divine conduct in casting off the Jewish nation (Rom 11:1): " Hath God cast away his people? Is the rejection total and final? Are they all abandoned to wrath and ruin, and that eternal? Is the extent of the sentence so large as to be without reserve, or the continuance of it so long as to be without repeal? Will he have no more a peculiar people to himself?"In opposition to this, he shows that there was a great deal of goodness and mercy expressed along with this seeming severity, particularly he insists upon three things: - 1. That, though some of the Jews were cast off, yet they were not all so. 2. That, though the body of the Jews were cast off, yet the Gentiles were taken in. And, 3. That, though the Jews were cast off at present, yet in God's due time they should be taken into his church again.
I. The Jews, it is true, were many of them cast off, but not all. The supposition of this he introduces with a God forbid. He will by no means endure such a suggestions. God had made a distinction between some of them and others.
1. There was a chosen remnant of believing Jews, that obtained righteousness and life by faith in Jesus Christ, Rom 11:1-7. These are said to be such as he foreknew (Rom 11:2), that is, had thoughts of love to, before the world was; for whom he thus foreknew he did predestinate. her lies the ground of the difference. They are called the election (Rom 11:7), that is, the elect, God's chosen ones, whom he calls the election, because that which first distinguished them from the dignified them above others was God's electing love. Believers are the election, all those and those only whom God hath chosen. Now,
(1.) He shows that he himself was one of them: For I also am an Israelite; as if he had said, "Should I say that all the Jews are rejected, I should cut off my own claims, and see myself abandoned."Paul was a chosen vessel (Act 9:15), and yet he was of the seed of Abraham, and particularly of the tribe of Benjamin, the least and youngest of all the tribes of Israel.
(2.) He suggests that as in Elias's time, so now, this chosen remnant was really more and greater than one would think it was, which intimates likewise that it is no new nor unusual thing for God's grace and favour to Israel to be limited and confined to a remnant of that people; for so it was in Elijah's time. The scripture saith it of Elias,
2. The rest were blinded, Rom 11:7. Some are chosen and called, and the call is made effectual. But others are left to perish in their unbelief; nay, they are made worse by that which should have made them better. The gospel, which to those that believed was the savour of life unto life, to the unbelieving was the savour of death unto death. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. Good old Simeon foresaw that the child Jesus was set for the fall, as well as for the rising again, of many in Israel, Luk 2:34. - Were blinded;
(1.) Isaiah, who spoke of such a judgment in his day, Isa 29:10; Isa 6:9. The spirit of slumber, that is, an indisposedness to mind either their duty or interest. They are under the power of a prevailing unconcernedness, like people that are slumbering and sleeping; not affected with any thing that is said or done. They were resolved to continue as they were, and would not stir. The following words explain what is meant by the spirit of slumber: Eyes, that they should not see, and ears, that they should not hear. They had the faculties, but in the things that belonged to their peace they had not the use of those faculties; they were quite infatuated, they saw Christ, but they did not believe in him; they heard his word, but they did not receive it; and so both their hearing and their seeing were in vain. It was all one as if they had neither seen nor heard. Of all judgments spiritual judgments are the sorest, and most to be dreaded, though they make the least noise. - Unto this day. Ever since Esaias prophesied, this hardening work has been in the doing; some among them have been blind and senseless. Or, rather, ever since the first preaching of the gospel: though they have had the most convincing evidences that could be of the truth of it, the most powerful preaching, the fairest offers, the clearest calls from Christ himself, and from his apostles, yet to this day they are blinded. It is still true concerning multitudes of them, even to this day in which we live; they are hardened and blinded, the obstinacy and unbelief go by succession from generation to generation, according to their own fearful imprecation, which entailed the curse: His blood be upon us and upon our children.
(2.) David (Rom 11:9, Rom 11:10), quoted from Psa 69:22, Psa 69:23, where David having in the Spirit foretold the sufferings of Christ from his own people the Jews, particularly that of their giving him vinegar to drink (Rom 11:21, which was literally fulfilled, Mat 27:48), an expression of the greatest contempt and malice that could be, in the next words, under the form of an imprecation, he foretels the dreadful judgments of God upon them for it: Let their table become a snare, which the apostle here applies to the present blindness of the Jews, and the offence they took at the gospel, which increased their hardness. This teaches us how to understand other prayers of David against his enemies; they are to be looked upon as prophetic of the judgments of God upon the public and obstinate enemies of Christ and his kingdom. His prayer that it might be so was a prophecy that it should be so, and not the private expression of his own angry resentments. It was likewise intended to justify God, and to clear his righteousness in such judgments. He speaks here, [1.] Of the ruin of their comforts: Let their table be made a snare, that is, as the psalmist explains it, Let that which should be for their welfare be a trap to them. The curse of God will turn meat into poison. It is a threatening like that in Mal 2:2, I will curse your blessings. Their table a snare, that is, an occasion of sin and an occasion of misery. Their very food, that should nourish them, shall choke them. [2.] Of the ruin of their powers and faculties (Rom 11:10), their eyes darkened, their backs bowed down, that they can neither find the right way, nor, if they could, are they able to walk in it. The Jews, after their national rejection of Christ and his gospel, became infatuated in their politics, so that their very counsels turned against them, and hastened their ruin by the Romans. They looked like a people designed for slavery and contempt, their backs bowed down, to be ridden and trampled upon by all the nations about them. Or, it may be understood spiritually; their backs are bowed down in carnality and worldly-mindedness. Curvae in terris animae - They mind earthly things. This is an exact description of the state and temper of the present remainder of that people, than whom, if the accounts we have of them be true, there is not a more worldly, wilful, blind, selfish, ill-natured, people in the world. They are manifestly to this day under the power of this curse. Divine curses will work long. It is a sign we have our eyes darkened if we are bowed down in worldly-mindedness.
II. Another thing which qualified this doctrine of the rejection of the Jews was that though they were cast off and unchurched, yet the Gentiles were taken in (Rom 11:11-14), which he applies by way of caution to the Gentiles, Rom 11:17-22.
1. The rejection of the Jews made room for the reception of the Gentiles. The Jews' leavings were a feast for the poor Gentiles (Rom 11:11): " Have they stumbled that they should fall? Had God no other end in forsaking and rejecting them than their destruction?"He startles at this, rejecting the thought with abhorrence, as usually he does when any thing is suggested which seems to reflect upon the wisdom, or righteousness, or goodness of God: God forbid! no, through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles. Not but that salvation might have come to the Gentiles if they had stood; but by the divine appointment it was so ordered that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles upon the Jews' refusal of it. Thus in the parable (Mat 22:8, Mat 22:9), Those that were first bidden were not worthy - Go ye therefore into the highways, Luk 14:21. And so it was in the history (Act 13:46): It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but, seeing you put it from you, lo, we turn to the Gentiles; so Act 18:6. God will have a church in the world, will have the wedding furnished with guests; and, if one will not come, another will, or why was the offer made? The Jews had the refusal, and so the tender came to the Gentiles. See how Infinite Wisdom brings light out of darkness, good out of evil, meat out of the eater, and sweetness out of the strong. To the same purport he says (Rom 11:12), The fall of them was the riches of the world, that is, it hastened the gospel so much the sooner into the Gentile world. The gospel is the greatest riches of the place where it is; it is better than thousands of gold and silver. Or, The riches of the Gentiles was the multitude of converts among them. True believers are God's jewels. To the same purport (Rom 11:15): The casting away of them is the reconciling of the world. God's displeasure towards them made way for his favour towards the Gentiles. God was in Christ reconciling the world, 2Co 5:19. And therefore he took occasion from the unbelief of the Jews openly to disavow and disown them, though they had been his peculiar favourites, to show that in dispensing his favours he would now no longer act in such a way of peculiarity and restriction, but that in every nation he that feared God and wrought righteousness should be accepted of him, Act 10:34, Act 10:35.
2. The use that the apostle makes of this doctrine concerning the substitution of the Gentiles in the room of the Jews.
(1.) As a kinsman to the Jews, here is a word of excitement and exhortation to them, to stir them up to receive and embrace the gospel-offer. This God intended in his favour to the Gentiles, to provoke the Jews to jealousy (Rom 11:11), and Paul endeavours to enforce it accordingly (Rom 11:14): If by any means I might provoke to emulation those who are my flesh. "Shall the despised Gentiles run away with all the comforts and privileges of the gospel, and shall not we repent of our refusal, and now at last put in for a share? Shall not we believe and obey, and be pardoned and saved, as well as the Gentiles?"See an instance of such an emulation in Esau, Gen 28:6-9. There is a commendable emulation in the affairs of our souls: why should not we be as holy and happy as any of our neighbours? In this emulation there needs no suspicion, undermining or countermining; for the church has room enough, and the new covenant grace and comfort enough, for us all. The blessings are not lessened by the multitudes of the sharers. - And might save some of them. See what was Paul's business, to save souls; and yet the utmost he promises himself is but to save some. Though he was such a powerful preacher, spoke and wrote with such evidence and demonstration of the Spirit, yet of the many he dealt with he could but save some. Ministers must think their pains well bestowed if they can but be instrumental to save some.
(2.) As an apostle to the Gentiles, here is a word of caution for them: " I speak to you Gentiles. You believing Romans, you hear what riches of salvation are come to you by the fall of the Jews, but take heed lest you do any thing to forfeit it."Paul takes this, as other occasions, to apply his discourse to the Gentiles, because he was the apostle of the Gentiles, appointed for the service of their faith, to plant and water churches in the Gentile nations. This was the purport of his extraordinary mission, Act 22:21, I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles; compare Act 9:15. It was likewise the intention of his ordination, Gal 2:9. Compare Act 13:2. It ought to be our great and special care to do good to those that are under our charge: we must particularly mind that which is our own work. It was an instance of God's great love to the poor Gentiles that he appointed Paul, who in gifts and graces excelled all the apostles, to be the apostle of the Gentiles. The Gentile world was a wider province; and the work to be done in it required a very able, skilful, zealous, courageous workman: such a one was Paul. God calls those to special work whom he either sees or makes fit for it. - I magnify my office. There were those that vilified it, and him because of it. It was because he was the apostle of the Gentiles that the Jews were so outrageous against him (Act 22:21, Act 22:22), and yet he thought never the worse of it, though it set him up as the butt of all the Jewish rage and malice. It is a sign of true love to Jesus Christ to reckon that service and work for him truly honourable which the world looks upon with scorn, as mean and contemptible. The office of the ministry is an office to be magnified. Ministers are ambassadors for Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God, and for their work's sake are to be esteemed highly in love. - My office;
[1.] To have a respect for the Jews, notwithstanding, and to desire their conversion. This is intimated in the prospect he gives them of the advantage that would accrue to the church by their conversion, Rom 11:12, Rom 11:15. It would be as life from the dead; and therefore they must not insult and triumph over those poor Jews, but rather pity them, and desire their welfare, and long for the receiving of them in again.
[2.] To take heed to themselves, lest they should stumble and fall, as they Jews had done, Rom 11:17-22. Here observe,
First, The privilege which the Gentiles had by being taken into the church. They were grafted in (Rom 11:17), as a branch of a wild olive into a good olive, which is contrary to the way and custom of the husbandman, who grafts the good olive into the bad; but those that God grafts into the church he finds wild and barren, and good for nothing. Men graft to mend the tree; but God grafts to mend the branch. 1. The church of God is an olive-tree, flourishing and fruitful as an olive (Psa 52:8; Hos 14:6), the fruit useful for the honour both of God and man, Jdg 9:9. 2. Those that are out of the church are as wild olive-trees, not only useless, but what they do produce is sour and unsavoury: Wild by nature, Rom 11:24. This was the state of the poor Gentiles, that wanted church privileges, and in respect of real sanctification; and it is the natural state of every one of us, to be wild by nature. 3. Conversion is the grafting in of wild branches into the good olive. We must be cut off from the old stock, and be brought into union with a new root. 4. Those that are grafted into the good olive-tree partake of the root and fatness of the olive. It is applicable to a saving union with Christ; all that are by a lively faith grafted into Christ partake of him as the branches of the root - receive from his fulness. But it is here spoken of a visible church-membership, from which the Jews were as branches broken off; and so the Gentiles were grafted in,
Secondly, A caution not to abuse these privileges. 1. "Be not proud (Rom 11:18): Boast not against the branches. Do not therefore trample upon the Jews as a reprobate people, nor insult over those that are broken off, much less over those that do continue."Grace is given, not to make us proud, but to make us thankful. The law of faith excludes all boasting either of ourselves or against others. "Do not say (Rom 11:19): They were broken off that I might be grafted in; that is, do not think that thou didst merit more at the hand of God than they, or didst stand higher in his favour.""But remember, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Though thou art grafted in, thou art still but a branch borne by the root; nay, and an engrafted branch, brought into the good olive contrary to nature (Rom 11:24), not free-born, but by an act of grace enfranchised and naturalized. Abraham, the root of the Jewish church, is not beholden to thee; but thou art greatly obliged to him, as the trustee of the covenant and the father of many nations. Therefore, if thou boast, know (this word must be supplied to clear the sense) thou bearest not the root but the root thee. "2. "Be not secure (Rom 11:20): Be not high-minded, but fear. Be not too confident of your own strength and standing."A holy fear is an excellent preservative against high-mindedness: happy is the man that thus feareth always. We need not fear but God will be true to his word; all the danger is lest we be false to ours. Let us therefore fear, Heb 4:1. The church of Rome now boasts of a patent of perpetual preservation; but the apostle here, in his epistle to that church when she was in her infancy and integrity, enters an express caveat against that boast, and all claims of that kind. - Fear what? "Why fear lest thou commit a forfeiture as they have done, lest thou lose the privileges thou now enjoyest, as they have lost theirs."The evils that befall others should be warnings to us. Go (saith God to Jerusalem Jer 7:12), and see what I did to Shiloh; so now, let all the churches of God go and see what he did to Jerusalem, and what is become of the day of their visitation, that we may hear and fear, and take heed of Jerusalem's sin. The patent which churches have of their privileges is not for a certain term, nor entailed upon them and their heirs; but it runs as long as they carry themselves well, and no longer. Consider, (1.) "How they were broken off. It was not undeservedly, by an act of absolute sovereignty and prerogative, but because of unbelief. "It seems, then, it is possible for churches that have long stood by faith to fall into such a state of infidelity as may be their ruin. Their unbelief did not only provoke God to cut them off, but they did by this cut themselves off; it was not only the meritorious, but the formal cause of their separation. "Now, thou art liable to the same infirmity and corruption that they fell by."Further observe, They were natural branches (Rom 11:21), not only interested in Abraham's covenant, but descending from Abraham's loins, and so born upon the premises, and thence had a kind of tenant-right: yet, when they sunk into unbelief, God did not spare them. Prescription, long usage, the faithfulness of their ancestors, would not secure them. It was in vain to plead, though they insisted much upon it, that they were Abraham's seed, Mat 3:9; Joh 8:33. It is true they were the husbandmen to whom the vineyard was first let out; but, when they forfeited it, it was justly taken from them, Mat 21:41, Mat 21:43. This is called here severity, Rom 11:22. God laid righteousness to the line and judgment to the plummet, and dealt with them according to their sins. Severity is a word that sounds harshly; and I do not remember that it is any where else in scripture ascribed to God; and it is here applied to the unchurching of the Jews. God is most severe towards those that have been in profession nearest to him, if they rebel against him, Amo 3:2. Patience and privileges abused turn to the greatest wrath. Of all judgments, spiritual judgments are the sorest; for of these he is here speaking, Rom 11:8. (2.) "How thou standest, thou that art engrafted in."He speaks to the Gentile churches in general, though perhaps tacitly reflecting on some particular person, who might have expressed some such pride and triumph in the Jews' rejection. "Consider then,"[1.] "By what means thou standest: By faith, which is a depending grace, and fetches in strength from heaven. Thou dost not stand in any strength of thy own, of which thou mightest be confident: thou art no more than the free grace of God makes thee, and his grace is his own, which he gives or withholds at pleasure. That which ruined them was unbelief, and by faith thou standest; therefore thou hast no faster hold than they had, thou standest on no firmer foundation than they did."[2.] "On what terms (Rom 11:22): Towards thee goodness, if thou continue in his goodness, that is, continue in a dependence upon and compliance with the free grace of God, the want of which it was that ruined the Jews - if thou be careful to keep up thine interest in the divine favour, by being continually careful to please God and fearful of offending him."The sum of our duty, the condition of our happiness, is to keep ourselves in the love of God. Fear the Lord and his goodness. Hos 3:5.
III. Another thing that qualified this doctrine of the Jews' rejection is that, though for the present they are cast off, yet the rejection is not final; but, when the fulness of time is come, they will be taken in again. They are not cast off for ever, but mercy is remembered in the midst of wrath. Let us observe,
1. How this conversion of the Jews is here described. (1.) It is said to be their fulness (Rom 11:12), that is, the addition of them to the church, the filling up again of that place which became vacant by their rejection. This would be the enriching of the world (that is, the church in the world) with a great deal of light and strength and beauty. (2.) It is called the receiving of them. The conversion of a soul is the receiving of that soul, so the conversion of a nation. They shall be received into favour, into the church, into the love of Christ, whose arms are stretched out for the receiving of all those that will come to him. And this will be as life from the dead - so strange and surprising, and yet withal so welcome and acceptable. The conversion of the Jews will bring great joy to the church. See Luk 15:32, He was dead, and is alive; and therefore it was meet we should make merry and be glad. (3.) It is called the grafting of them in again (Rom 11:23), into the church, from which they had been broken off. That which is grafted in receives sap and virtue from the root; so does a soul that is truly grafted into the church receive life, and strength, and grace from Christ the quickening root. They shall be grafted into their own olive-tree (Rom 11:24); that is, into the church of which they had formerly been the most eminent and conspicuous members, to retrieve those privileges of visible church-membership which they had so long enjoyed, but have now sinned away and forfeited by their unbelief. (4.) It is called the saving of all Israel, Rom 11:26. True conversion may well be called salvation; it is salvation begun. See Act 2:47. The adding of them to the church is the saving of them:
2. What it is grounded upon, and what reason we have to look for it.
(1.) Because of the holiness of the first-fruits and the root, Rom 11:16. Some by the first-fruits understand those of the Jews that were already converted to the faith of Christ and received into the church, who were as the first-fruits dedicated to God, as earnests of a more plentiful and sanctified harvest. A good beginning promises a good ending. Why may we not suppose that others may be savingly wrought upon as well as those who are already brought in? Others by the first-fruits understand the same with the root, namely, the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from whom the Jews descended, and with whom, as the prime trustees, the covenant was deposited: and so they were the root of the Jews, not only as a people, but as a church. Now, if they were holy, which is not meant so much of inherent as of federal holiness - if they were in the church and in the covenant - then we have reason to conclude that God hath a kindness for the lump - the body of that people; and for the branches - the particular members of it. The Jews are in a sense a holy nation (Exo 19:6), being descended from holy parents. Now it cannot be imagined that such a holy nation should be totally and finally cast off. This proves that the seed of believers, as such, are within the pale of the visible church, and within the verge of the covenant, till they do, by their unbelief, throw themselves out; for, if the root be holy, so are the branches. Though real qualifications are not propagated, yet relative privileges are. Though a wise man does not beget a wise man, yet a free man begets a free man. Though grace does not run in the blood, yet external privileges do (till they are forfeited), even to a thousand generations. Look how they will answer it another day that cut off the entail, by turning the seed of the faithful out of the church, and so not allowing the blessing of Abraham to come upon the Gentiles. The Jewish branches are reckoned holy, because the root was so. This is expressed more plainly (Rom 11:28): They are beloved for the fathers' sakes. In this love to the fathers the first foundation of their church-state was laid (Deu 4:37): Because he loved they fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them. And the same love would revive their privileges, for still the ancient loving-kindness is remembered; they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. It is God's usual method of grace. Kindness to the children for the father's sake is therefore called the kindness of God, 2Sa 9:3, 2Sa 9:7. Though, as concerning the gospel (namely, in the present dispensation of it), they are enemies to it for your sakes, that is, for the sake of the Gentiles, against whom they have such an antipathy; yet, when God's time shall come, this will wear off, and God's love to their fathers will be remembered. See a promise that points at this, Lev 26:42. The iniquity of the fathers is visited but to the third and fourth generation; but there is mercy kept for thousands. Many fare the better for the sake of their godly ancestors. It is upon this account that the church is called their own olive-tree. Long it had been their own peculiar, which is some encouragement to us to hope that there may be room for them in it again, for old acquaintance-sake. That which hath been may be again. Though particular persons and generations wear off in unbelief, yet there having been a national church-membership, though for the present suspended, we may expect that it will be revived.
(2.) Because of the power of God (Rom 11:23): God is able to graft them in again. The conversion of souls is a work of almighty power; and when they seem most hardened, and blinded, and obstinate, our comfort is that God is able to work a change, able to graft those in that have been long cast out and withered. When the house is kept by the strong man armed, with all his force, yet God is stronger than he, and is able to dispossess him. The condition of their restoration is faith: If they abide not still in unbelief. So that nothing is to be done but to remove that unbelief that is the great obstacle; and God is able to take that away, though nothing less than an almighty power will do it, the same power that raised up Christ from the dead, Eph 1:19, Eph 1:20. Otherwise, can these dry bones live?
(3.) Because of the grace of God manifested to the Gentiles. Those that have themselves experienced the grace of God, preventing, distinguishing grace, may thence take encouragement to hope well concerning others. This is his argument (Rom 11:24): "If thou wast grafted into a good olive, that was wild by nature, much more shall these that were the natural branches, and may therefore be presumed somewhat nearer to the divine acceptance."This is a suggestion very proper to check the insolence of those Gentile Christians that looked with disdain and triumph upon the condition of the rejected Jews, and trampled upon them; as if he had said, "Their condition, bad as it is, is not so bad as yours was before your conversion; and therefore why may it not be made as good as yours is?"This is his argument (Rom 11:30, Rom 11:31): As you in times past have not, etc. It is good for those that have found mercy with God to be often thinking what they were in time past, and how they obtained that mercy. This would help to soften our censures of those that still continue in unbelief, and quicken our prayers for them. He argues further from the occasion of the Gentiles' call, that is, the unbelief of the Jews; thence it took rise: " You have obtained mercy through their unbelief; much more shall they obtain mercy through your mercy. If the putting out of their candle was the lighting of yours, by that power of God which brings good out of evil, much more shall the continued light of your candle, when God's time shall come, be a means of lighting theirs again."" That through your mercy they might obtain mercy, that is, that they may be beholden to you, as you have been to them."He takes it for granted that the believing Gentiles would do their utmost endeavour to work upon the Jews - that, when God had persuaded Japhet, Japhet would be labouring to persuade Shem. True grace hates monopolies. Those that have found mercy themselves should endeavour that through their mercy others also may obtain mercy.
(4.) Because of the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament, which point at this. He quotes a very remarkable one, Rom 11:26, from Isa 59:20, Isa 59:21. Where we may observe, [1.] The coming of Christ promised: There shall come out of Zion the deliverer. Jesus Christ is the great deliverer, which supposes mankind in a state of misery and danger. In Isaiah it is, the Redeemer shall come to Zion. There he is called the Redeemer; here the deliverer; he delivers in a way of redemption, by a price. There he is said to come to Zion, because when the prophet prophesied he was yet to come into the world, and Zion was his first head-quarters. Thither he came, there he took up his residence: but, when the apostle wrote this, he had come, he had been in Zion; and he is speaking of the fruits of his appearing, which shall come out of Zion; thence, as from the spring, issued forth those streams of living water which in the everlasting gospel watered the nations. Out of Zion went forth the law, Isa 2:3. Compare Luk 24:47. [2.] The end and purpose of this coming: He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Christ's errand into the world was to turn away ungodliness, to turn away the guilt by the purchase of pardoning mercy, and to turn away the power by the pouring out of renewing grace, to save his people from their sins (Mat 1:21), to separate between us and our sins, that iniquity might not be our ruin, and that it might not be our ruler. Especially to turn it away from Jacob, which is that for the sake of which he quotes the text, as a proof of the great kindness God intended for the seed of Jacob. What greater kindness could he do them than to turn away ungodliness from them, to take away that which comes between them and all happiness, take away sin, and then make way for all good? This is the blessing that Christ was sent to bestow upon the world, and to tender it to the Jews in the first place (Act 3:26), to turn people from their iniquities. In Isaiah it is, The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto those that turn from transgression in Jacob, which shown who in Zion were to have a share in and to reap benefit by the deliverance promised, those and those only that leave their sins and turn to God; to them Christ comes as a Redeemer, but as an avenger to those that persist in impenitence. See Deu 30:2, Deu 30:3. Those that turn from sin will be owned as the true citizens of Zion (Eph 2:19), the right Jacob, Psa 24:4, Psa 24:6. Putting both these readings together, we learn that none have an interest in Christ but those that turn from their sins, nor can any turn from their sins but by the strength of the grace of Christ. - For this is my covenant with them - this, that the deliverer shall come to them - this, that my Spirit shall not depart from them, as it follows, Isa 59:21. God's gracious intentions concerning Israel were made the matter of a covenant, which the God that cannot lie could not but be true and faithful to. They were the children of the covenant, Act 3:25. The apostle adds, When I shall take away their sins, which some think refers to Isa 27:9, or only to the foregoing words, to turn away ungodliness. Pardon of sin is laid as the foundation of all the blessings of the new covenant (Heb 8:12): For I will be merciful. Now from all this he infers that certainly God had great mercy in store for that people, something answerable to the extent of these rich promises: and he proves his inference (Rom 11:29) by this truth: For the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. Repentance is sometimes taken for a change of mind, and so God never repents, for he is in one mind and who can turn him? Sometimes for a change of way, and that is here understood, intimating the constancy and unchangeableness of that love of God which is founded in election. Those gifts and callings are immutable; whom he so loves, he loves to the end. We find God repenting that he had given man a being (Gen 6:6, It repented the Lord that he had made man ), and repenting that he had given a man honour and power (1Sa 15:11, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king ); but we never find God repenting that he had given a man grace, or effectually called him; those gifts and callings are without repentance.
Barclay -> Rom 11:1-12
Barclay: Rom 11:1-12 - --There was a question now to be asked which any Jew was bound to ask. Does all this mean that God has repudiated his people? That is a question that ...
There was a question now to be asked which any Jew was bound to ask. Does all this mean that God has repudiated his people? That is a question that Paul's heart cannot bear. After all, he himself is a member of that people. So he falls back on an idea which runs through much of the Old Testament. In the days of Elijah, Elijah was in despair (1Ki 19:10-18). He had come to the conclusion that he alone was left to be true to God. But God told him that, in fact, there were still seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. So into Jewish thought came the idea of The Remnant.
The prophets began to see that there never was a time, and never would be, when the whole nation was true to God; nevertheless, always within the nation a remnant was left who had never forsaken their loyalty or compromised their faith. Prophet after prophet came to see this. Amos (Amo 9:8-10) thought of God sifting men as corn is in a sieve until only the good are left. Micah (Mic 2:12; Mic 5:3) had a vision of God gathering the remnant of Israel. Zephaniah (Zep 3:12-13) had the same idea. Jeremiah foresaw the remnant being gathered from all the countries throughout which they had been scattered (Jer 23:3). Ezekiel, the individualist, was convinced that a man could not be saved by either a national or an inherited righteousness; the righteous would deliver their own souls by their righteousness (Eze 14:14, Eze 14:20, Eze 14:22). Above all, this idea dominated the thought of Isaiah. He called his son Shear-Jashub, which means The Salvation of the Remnant. Again and again he returns to this idea of the faithful remnant who will be saved by God (Isa 7:3; Isa 8:2; Isa 8:18; Isa 9:12; Isa 6:9-13).
There is a tremendous truth beginning to dawn here. As one great scholar put it: "No Church or nation is saved en masse." The idea of a Chosen People will not hold water for this basic reason. The relationship with God is an individual relationship. A man must give his own heart and surrender his own life to God. God does not call men in crowds; he has "His own secret stairway into every heart." A man is not saved because he is a member of a nation or of a family, or because he has inherited righteousness and salvation from his ancestors; he is saved because he has made a personal decision for God. It is not now the whole nation who are lumped together as the Chosen People. It is those individual men and women who have given their hearts to God, of whom the remnant is composed.
Paul's argument is that the Jewish nation has not been rejected; but it is not the nation as a whole, but the faithful remnant within it who are the true Jews.
What of the others? It is here that Paul has a terrible thought. He has the idea of God sending a kind of torpor upon them, a drowsy sleep in which they cannot and will not hear. He puts together the thought of a series of Old Testament passages to prove this (Deu 29:4; Isa 6:9-10; Isa 29:10). He quotes Psa 69:22-23. "Let their table become a snare." The idea is that men are sitting feasting comfortably at their banquet; and their very sense of safety has become their ruin. They are so secure in their fancied safety that the enemy can come upon them all unaware. That is what the Jews were like. They were so secure, so self-satisfied, so at ease in their confidence of being the Chosen People, that that very idea had become the thing that ruined them.
The day will come when they cannot see at all, and when they will grope with bent backs like men stumbling blindly in the dark. In Rom 11:7the King James Version says, "they have been blinded." More correctly, it should be, "they have been hardened." The verb is poroun (
It can happen to any man. If a man takes his own way long enough, he will in the end become insensitive to the appeal of God. If he goes on sinning, he will in the end become insensitive to the horror of sin and the fascination of goodness. If a man lives long enough in ugly conditions he will in the end become insensitive to them. As Burns wrote:
"I waive the quantum of the sin,
The hazard of concealing;
But och! it hardens a' within,
And petrifies the feeling!"
Just as a callus can grow on the hand, a callus can grow on the heart. That is what had happened to the mass of Israel. God save us from that!
But Paul has more to say. That is tragedy, but out of it God has brought good, because that very insensitiveness of Israel opened the way to the Gentiles to come in. Because Israel did not want the message of the good news, it went out to people who were ready to welcome it. Israel's refusal has enriched the world.
Then Paul touches on the dream which is behind it all. If the refusal of Israel has enriched the world by opening a door to the Gentiles, what will the riches be like at the end of the day, when God's plan is fully completed and Israel comes in, too?
So, in the end, after tragedy comes the hope. Israel became insensitive, the nation with the callus on her heart; the Gentiles came by faith and trust into the love of God; but a day will come when the love of God will act like a solvent, even on the callus of the heart, and both Gentile and Jew will be gathered in. It is Paul's conviction that nothing in the end can defeat the love of God.
Constable: Rom 9:1--11:36 - --V. THE VINDICATION OF GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS chs. 9--11
A major problem concerning God's righteousness arises out o...
V. THE VINDICATION OF GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS chs. 9--11
A major problem concerning God's righteousness arises out of what Paul just claimed for God. It is this. If God is for His elect and will never remove His love from them, why has He set aside His chosen people, the Jews? It certainly looks as though something separated them from His love. If God has turned away from Israel, are Christians really that secure? The problem focuses on God's righteous dealings with humankind and therefore was one that Paul needed to deal with in this epistle.
In chapters 9-11 the apostle defended the righteousness of God in His dealings with Israel. Having explained how God justifies sinners Paul now found it necessary to justify God Himself, to prove and declare Him righteous.288 The apostle to the Gentiles proceeded to show that God had not removed His love from the Jews. Nothing had separated them from His love. God's present dealings with Israel do not indicate that He has abandoned them but need viewing in the light of His future plans for the nation. In the future God will also glorify Israel.
In chapter 9 Paul dealt primarily with God's dealings with Israel in the past, in chapter 10 with their present situation, and in chapter 11 with His future plans for the nation.
We note in these chapters that God's dealings with Israel as a nation are similar to His dealings with individual Christians whom Paul had been speaking of in recent chapters. God elected both Israel and each Christian.289 Unsaved Israel, as many unsaved individuals, tried to establish its own righteousness by obeying the law instead of by believing God's promise. A mass conversion of Israel will occur in the future (11:25-32). It is similar to the grand picture of the climax of salvation that we have in chapter 8. God will prove faithful to Israel as well as to individual Christians. The whole section dealing with Israel culminates in rapturous praise to God (11:33-36) as the section dealing with individual salvation did (8:31-39). While these parallels do exist, Paul did not stress them.
Constable: Rom 11:1-36 - --C. Israel's future salvation ch. 11
In chapter 9 Paul glorified God's past grace in sovereignly electing...
C. Israel's future salvation ch. 11
In chapter 9 Paul glorified God's past grace in sovereignly electing Israel as a vessel that would honor Him in a special way in time and space. In chapter 10 he spoke of Israel's present refusal to respond to His provision of Jesus Christ. In chapter 11 he revealed God's future plans for the nation that, when unfolded, will fully vindicate His righteousness.
This chapter proves that God has a future for ethnic Israel, the racial descendants of Jacob. That future is distinct from the future of the church that true believers of both Jewish and Gentile races living now compose. Romans 11 not only vindicates God but dispensational theology. Covenant theology on the other hand argues that God will fulfill the promises concerning future blessing that He gave Israel in the church.325
"This chapter from the historical point of view is logically necessary. The Old Testament clearly promises Israel headship or leadership in the world's worship . . . Israel as a separate people is to be restored and to realize the promises made to them in the Old Testament."326
"The great historian Arnold Toynbee classified Israel as a fossil civilization' and did not know what to do with it. For some reason, the nation did not fit into his historical theories."327
Constable: Rom 11:1-10 - --1. Israel's rejection not total 11:1-10
The first pericope gives hope for the future by showing that even now some Jews believe.
11:1 The opening ques...
1. Israel's rejection not total 11:1-10
The first pericope gives hope for the future by showing that even now some Jews believe.
11:1 The opening question carries on the rhetorical style of 10:18 and 19. God has not rejected the Israelites because they have, on the whole, rejected Him. The proof of this is that Paul himself was a member of the believing remnant, a Christian Jew. Paul even came from the small and sometimes despised tribe of Benjamin (cf. Judg. 19-21) yet God had saved him.
11:2 The faith of Paul and other believing Jews, though few, proves that God has not completely rejected the people whom He had elected (foreknew, cf. 8:29).
In Elijah's day Israel's departure from God was widespread.
11:3-4 Elijah concluded that he was the only Israelite who had remained faithful to the Lord. God assured him that He had preserved other Israelites who constituted a believing remnant within the unfaithful nation.
"The very fact of God's choice excludes the possibility of his desertion of his own."328
11:5 Likewise in Paul's day and today there are believing Jews who constitute a remnant among the physical descendants of Jacob. By referring to God's gracious choice Paul focused on the real reason for the presence of a remnant.
11:6 The apostle elaborated the final thought of verse 5 here. It is the grace of God, not the works of the remnant that is the real cause of their condition. Believing Jews are not superior, just greatly blessed.
11:7 Verses 7-10 summarize the argument (v. 7) with supporting Old Testament quotations (vv. 8-10). Verse 7 ties back to 10:3.
The Greek word translated "hardened" (eporothesan) is not the same one Paul used in 9:18 (sklerunei). The one he used in 9:18 simply pictures a hardening. The one he used here describes hardening with the result that the hardness renders the person more difficult to get through to from then on. It is as though a callus built up over the Israelites that made them less sensitive to God.329
". . . God's hardening permanently binds people in the sin that they have chosen for themselves."330
"This postponement in Israelite history is not so much an interruption of redemption as an extension of predicted hardening (Rom. 11:7-10). The Exile, which was a punishment for national disobedience, has therefore been prolonged during the present age until the appointed time for Israel's national (and spiritual) restoration (Acts 1:7; 3:21; Rom. 11:25-27)."331
11:8 The quotation in this verse is a combination of Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10. Paul used these passages to prove the following point. The Israelites did not follow God faithfully even though they saw God's miraculous deliverance from Egypt, experienced His preservation in the wilderness, and heard the warnings of the prophets. God gave them a spirit of stupor because they failed to respond to the numerous blessings that He bestowed on them.332 A similar example would be a person losing his appetite for steak because he eats steak every day. This was apparently an instance of God giving them over to the natural consequences of their actions (1:24, 26, 28).
11:9-10 The Jews regarded Psalm 69 as Messianic in Paul's day (cf. John 15:25). The quotation from this psalm (vv. 22-23) records David's desire. He wished that his enemies' table (i.e., blessings) would become something that they would stumble over. The enemies in view were the Lord's enemies as well as the king's since he was the Lord's anointed. This is really what had happened to the Israelites who had set themselves against God by rejecting His Son. Inability to see clearly and bondage to the Law had resulted (cf. Act. 15:10). The Greek phrase dia pantos usually means "continually." It probably means that here rather than "forever."333 Paul would explain that Israel's obstinacy and bondage would not last indefinitely (v. 26). Paul explained that God had brought upon the Jews what David had prayed would happen to his persecutors.
Even though as a whole Israel had reaped the fruit of her own stubborn rebellion against God, God had called a remnant within the nation for salvation. The presence of this remnant shows that God has not cast off His chosen people completely or been unfaithful to His promises to them.
College -> Rom 11:1-36
College: Rom 11:1-36 - --IV. THE SALVATION OF
GOD'S TRUE ISRAEL (11:1-32)
Thus far in chs. 9-10 Paul has painted a very dark picture of Israel. He has implied that they are ...
IV. THE SALVATION OF
GOD'S TRUE ISRAEL (11:1-32)
Thus far in chs. 9-10 Paul has painted a very dark picture of Israel. He has implied that they are "cursed" (9:3). He has spoken of them as "vessels of wrath prepared for destruction" (9:22, NASB). They have pursued righteousness, but have not found it (9:31-32) because of their willful ignorance of what true righteousness is (10:3). Indeed, Israel is "a disobedient and obstinate people" (10:21).
At the same time Paul has stressed the fact that God is welcoming the Gentiles as "the objects of his mercy" (9:23-24), according to prophecy (9:25-26). The Gentiles found the very righteousness the Jews were seeking (9:30), again according to God's plan (10:19-20).
Such teaching naturally raises the question, "Did God reject his people?" (11:1). Has he simply given up on Israel, and turned his attention solely to the Gentiles? Romans 11 addresses this question and answers it with an emphatic No! God's desire and intention are still to save as many Jews as possible, even to the point when ultimately "all Israel will be saved" (11:26).
This chapter discusses not just the fact of Israel's salvation, but also the means by which God is accomplishing it. This involves intricate interrelationships between the Jews and the Gentiles, which God uses for the salvation of both. Even as Paul writes about this, he is overwhelmed with awe and amazement at the wisdom and mercy of God, and most appropriately closes out the chapter and the entire section with a hymn of praise to the Creator and Redeemer (11:33-36).
It is important to see that the question addressed here is different from that in ch. 9, which focuses on God's covenant faithfulness to ethnic Israel, i.e., how he kept his promises to them and how they fulfilled their purpose in God's plan. In ch. 11 the focus is not on the Old Covenant purpose for Israel as fulfilled in Jesus Christ (9:4-5), but on God's intended place for Jews as individuals under the New Covenant, in terms of salvation and eternal destiny. Throughout this chapter, the issue is salvation . What is God's plan for Israel with regard to salvation in this New Covenant age?
In this connection a major issue of interpretation is the place of Israel as a nation in this NT era. One main view is that God is still under obligation to save, restore, and preserve national Israel because of the covenant promises he made to the patriarchs. MacArthur states this position: "God cannot be finished with the nation of Israel - for the obvious reason that all of His promises to her have not yet been fulfilled" (2:92). "Because of God's promise to Abraham and to his descendants through Isaac . . . , the nation of Israel has always been and always will be divinely preserved. . . . God's character and integrity, His trustworthiness and faithfulness depend on His continued preservation of Israel" (2:93). "God's unqualified promises to Israel included the assurance that He would never completely forsake her." Even the Jews' initial rejection of their Messiah "could not abrogate the ultimate fulfillment of His promises to them. It is that glorious truth that Paul explains and clarifies in Romans 11" (2:95).
Another main view is the one defended here, i.e., that only the Old Covenant was made with Israel as a nation, that the essence of this covenant for Israel was service and not salvation, and finally that all God's covenant obligations to national Israel were fulfilled when Christ came into the world the first time. Under the New Covenant God is dealing with the Jews as individuals, not as a nation. He is now gathering together the remnant, the new Israel, the true spiritual Israel, from among both Gentiles and Jews. Those who believe the gospel and accept Jesus as their Messiah are added to this remnant. See Lard, 345; McGuiggan, 319-320.
The following exposition will show that Paul's teaching in Rom 11 is more consistent with the latter view.
A. GOD'S TRUE ISRAEL IS THE REMNANT
CHOSEN BY GRACE (11:1-6)
Has God rejected Israel? The answer to this question is already obvious in chs. 9-10. In the first place, God has not rejected them; they have rejected him . "All day long I have held out my hands" to invite them to myself, God says (10:21), but "they did not submit" (10:3). See Matt 23:37.
In the second place, even if there is a sense in which God has "rejected" Israel, he has not rejected them all. Some Jews are still among "the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory" (9:23-24). These are "the remnant" of whom Isaiah spoke (9:27-29); they are the Jews who accepted God's righteousness on God's terms (10:1-17). They are still "his people," Israelites in the truest sense of the word.
Near the beginning of this main section (9:6b) Paul declares that "not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." This means in effect that there are two Israels. One is the physical nation descended from Jacob (renamed Israel, Gen 32:28), which was called as a group into covenant relationship with God to serve his redemptive purposes. The other is the remnant, the relatively small part of the nation who as individuals put their heartfelt trust in God's promises as the basis of their personal salvation. This remnant is "his people" in a double sense, both ethnically and spiritually.
The remnant is the subject of this paragraph. Paul's point is that God can never be accused of rejecting "his people," because there has always been a remnant from among the Jews who have accepted his way of grace and are thus in personal fellowship with him. Thus no matter what happens to the nation as a whole, "Israel" will never perish, because "the real Israel has always been less than the nation" (McGuiggan, 317).
1. God Has Not Rejected His People (11:1-2a)
11:1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! The word "then" (ou , oun , "therefore") indicates that this question might naturally arise from the preceding chapters. Paul simply anticipates it and responds to it. The word for "reject" is ajpwqevw (apôtheô - here in the middle voice). It means "to push away, cast away, or thrust away (from oneself); to repel; to spurn; to reject; to disown; to repudiate."
To be rejected or cast away by God is a terrible prospect for anyone, but for the Jews it was an absolutely unthinkable idea, given the facts that God had chosen them through Abraham (Gen 12:1-3), had established his covenant only with them at Sinai (Exod 19:5-6; see Deut 14:2), and thus had regarded them as his unique people for some 2,000 years. God described them as "my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself" (Isa 43:20b-21a). "I will be your God and you will be my people," he promised them (Jer 7:23; see Lev 26:12).
But in view of 9:6b, we may ask, to which Israel does "his people" refer? Some think it refers only to the remnant, since "from Abraham onward only believing Israelites were 'his people'" (Lenski, 680). Others say it refers to "the nation as a whole" (Godet, 391; see MacArthur, 2:99). Strictly speaking neither view is correct. Contra Lenski, at this point "his people" is not spiritual but physical, as Paul's self-identification in v. 1b shows. But neither is it a reference to physical Israel as a whole, as if such a question ("Has God rejected the nation of Israel as such?") could be answered yes or no. Rather, Paul is thinking of ethnic Jews, but he is thinking of them as individuals . Has God rejected all of them?
The answer depends upon what is meant by "rejected." Does this "rejection" relate to Israel's role of service in God's redemptive plan, or does it relate to their personal, individual, eternal salvation? It cannot refer to the former, because such a question is irrelevant and meaningless. There is no sense in which God has ever rejected or will ever reject his nation Israel, either as a whole or as individuals, in reference to their role as the covenant people who prepared for the Messiah's coming into the world. God cannot reject them in reference to this role, because every purpose for which he thus chose them has already been fulfilled (9:4-5). Because of this it is true, to be sure, that there is no longer any rationale for Israel's continuing existence as a nation, or as Jews as distinct from Gentiles. Their existence as God's special, unique physical nation has thus come to an end (10:12; Gal 3:28; Col 3:11). But this is not the same as being "rejected." We may say, rather, that in full accordance with God's plan Israel as a nation has been honorably retired from service.
"Rejected" in this context must then refer to the question of personal salvation. Has God excluded his own people, the Jews, from salvation? Has he shut them out of heaven? Is the gospel invitation closed to Jews? Such a question does not (indeed, cannot) apply to Israel as a nation, but it does apply to all Israelites as individuals.
"Did God reject his people?" The question itself contains a Greek particle (mhv , mç ) which shows that a negative answer is intended. The question could thus be worded, "God has not rejected his people, has he?" Paul's answer is an emphatic and resounding NO! (mhΙ gevnoito , mç genoito ; see 3:4; JC, 1:228). The very idea is unthinkable, and the evidence shows that it is not in fact the case.
The first bit of evidence that God has not rejected his people, the Jews, is Paul himself: I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. Here Paul emphasizes his physical Jewishness. He is an "Israelite," which at the very least is equivalent to "Jew" (see 9:4). He is also "of the seed of Abraham" in the literal, physical sense (see 2 Cor 11:22), specifically of "the tribe of Benjamin," which along with Judah was one of the only two original tribes to be restored to their homeland following captivity and to remain intact into NT times. Thus "Paul shows that he is as firmly located within Judaism as anyone can be" (Dunn, 2:635).
Why does Paul make a big deal of his Jewish credentials? Some think he does so in order to make it clear that he is expressing "an authentically Jewish viewpoint" (Dunn, 2:635; see Fitzmyer, 603). I.e., he is showing that he, as a Jew, realizes just how repugnant is the whole idea that the Jews - the Jews, of all people! - could be rejected by God. He would thus be explaining why he recoils so vehemently from this suggestion (see Murray, 2:66). To paraphrase him, "I, too, am an Israelite, to whom the very idea of God's rejection of His people is an impious and incredible idea, to be repelled with horror" (Denney, 675).
This answer is possible, but more likely Paul thoroughly identifies himself as a Jew in order to give "living evidence" that God has not rejected "his people" (Moo, 673). "How do I know that God has not excluded Jews from salvation? Because I, Paul am the most Jewish of Jews, and I am saved!" Thus Paul himself is "proof that God had not abandoned Israel" (Bruce, 211), proof that a remnant does exist. As Brunner says, Paul "himself is the strongest evidence for the fact that saving grace can even subdue a fanatical advocate of the righteousness of the law" (93).
11:2a God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Again Paul emphatically denies that God has rejected his people. The wording here (as in 11:1a) seems to be taken from 1 Sam 12:22 and Ps 94:14, which use the future tense to assert God's promise: "The LORD will not reject his people." Paul changes it to past tense and thus states it as a fact; God has kept his promise!
Why does Paul add the qualifier, "whom he foreknew"? This again raises the crucial question as to the essential meaning of proginwvskw (proginôskô ; see 8:29; JC, 1:505-511). Many, especially Calvinists, declare that it refers to an act of distinguishing, choosing love, and is thus the same as election or predestination. Those who take "his people" as referring only to spiritual Israel (the remnant) usually accept this meaning of "foreknew" here. Thus they take this passage as another reference to the unconditional salvific predestination of the elect remnant, especially among the Jews, similar to the Calvinist interpretations of 8:29 and 9:6-29. In this context it becomes another reason why God has not rejected his people. How could he reject the very ones whom he has chosen ("foreknown") from all eternity for salvation? Thus "the 'foreknowing' is the guarantee that God has not cast off his people" (Murray, 2:67). "Foreknowledge and rejection are mutually incompatible" (Stott, 292).
Many of those who equate foreknowledge with predestination do not think it refers to the eternal salvation of the elect in this verse, however. This is because they take "his people" as referring to the Jewish nation as such. I.e., God cannot reject the nation of Israel, because he unconditionally chose it and set it apart with his electing love (i.e., his "foreknowledge"). Cranfield (2:545) takes this view: "We take it then that the relative clause refers to the general election of the people as a whole, and indicates a further ground for denying that God has cast off His people. The fact that God foreknew them (i.e., deliberately joined them to Himself in faithful love) excludes the possibility of His casting them off." Denney says, "Israel stood before God's eyes from eternity as His people, and in the immutableness of the sovereign love with which He made it His lies the impossibility of its rejection" (676). "Israel is the only nation God has foreknown and predetermined to be His people," says MacArthur. Because he has done so, "He can never totally reject them" (2:100). This is not a choosing of all Israel for salvation, though; it has to do only with the nation's irrevocable historical role as God's special people (see Moo, 674-675; Morris, 399).
The problem with each of the above views is its erroneous understanding of foreknowledge as such. As I have shown earlier (JC, 1:505-511), foreknowledge means just that: knowing beforehand, in the sense of prior cognitive or mental awareness. "Foreknew" here could then mean the same as in 8:29, i.e., God did not reject those from among his people whom he foreknew would accept his grace through faith. The effect then would be to narrow the meaning of "his people" from the nation in general to the remnant. I.e., has God rejected his people? No, he has not rejected all of them. To be more specific, he has not rejected the ones foreknown to become believers, who by their very faith are the only ones who are truly "his people."
I do not think this is the point, however. I take "his people" in v. 2a to be the same as in v. 1a, i.e., it refers to all ethnic Israelites and thus to the nation of Israel; but it refers to them as individuals and not as a national unit. To say that God "foreknew" his people Israel means that even before he singled them out for a central role in his redemptive plan, he knew in advance the kind of people they would be all along the historical path to the Messiah and beyond. Nothing about them - their weaknesses, their failures, their unbelief, their idolatries - took him by surprise. He foreknew all these things and chose them anyway, because he also foreknew that there would always be a faithful remnant who would turn to him with believing hearts, who would keep the messianic hope alive, and who would turn to the Messiah when he came.
Thus God's foreknowledge of his people included a foreknowledge of their persistent rebellion (JC, 1:509), as well as a foreknowledge of a continuing, faithful remnant. The latter is the main point, as vv. 2b-5 show. Because he foreknew there would always be an abiding remnant who is the true spiritual Israel, he did not abandon his ethnic people, even though he foreknew that most of them would never respond to his gracious invitation (10:21).
2. God Had a Remnant of Believers in the OT (11:2b-4)
11:2b-3 Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah - how he appealed to God against Israel: "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"? In v. 1 Paul cited himself as evidence that God has not rejected his people; now he refers to a familiar incident from the OT as a further, more general proof (Godet, 392; Hendriksen, 2:361). In so doing he explicitly affirms the remnant concept introduced in 9:27-29.
"Don't you know" implies a positive answer: "You surely know, don't you?" "In the passage about Elijah" refers to 1 Kgs 17:1 through 2 Kgs 2:11. Students of Scripture in Paul's day would have known where to find this, even though they did not have chapter-and-verse divisions as we do today.
Paul refers to the specific place in the Elijah section where "he appealed to God against Israel." This is an unusual prayer, since most "appeals" to God regarding other people are intercessory, "a positive plea on behalf of someone," which is the way this same word is used in 8:27, 34. But here Elijah is pictured as pleading with God against someone, in fact, against the people of his own nation (Moo, 675, n. 23).
Elijah's prayer grows out of his frustration and despair over Ahab's and Jezebel's success in introducing Baal-worship into Israel (1 Kgs 16:31-32). Despite the Lord's great victory over Baal and his prophets at Mt. Carmel (1 Kgs 18:16-40), Elijah was cowed by Jezebel and went into hiding in a cave at Mt. Horeb (1 Kgs 19:1-9). Here he was confronted by God, who twice asked him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kgs 19:9,13). Both times, Elijah answered (1 Kgs 19:10,14) with the complaint selectively paraphrased by Paul here in v. 3.
Elijah's words sum up his perception of the religious crisis facing Israel at that time. God's prophets were certainly being killed on Jezebel's orders (1 Kgs 18:4), and the altars were being demolished (1 Kgs 18:30-32). Elijah's lament that he was "the only one left," even if it refers to prophets and not just true believers in general, is surely an exaggeration reflecting more his mood of despair than the facts as he knew them (see 1 Kgs 18:13,22).
The term translated "left" ("I am the only one left") is important because it ties in with several other words that represent the remnant concept. The word is the passive form of uJpoleivpw (hypoleipô - used only here in the NT), and means "to be left behind." Two other one-time words from this same family used in this context are leivmma ( leimma , 11:5) and uJpovleimma ( hypoleimma , 9:27). Both mean "the ones left behind," i.e., the remnant. In v. 4 a more common word meaning "to leave" kataleivpw (kataleipô ) is used. Thus when Elijah complained, "I am the only one left ," he was to the point of thinking he alone constituted the remnant of true believers (or at least true prophets).
11:4 And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." In order to shake Elijah out of his black mood, God gave him a demonstration of his solemn majesty (1 Kgs 19:11-13) and some concrete instructions (1 Kgs 19:15-17). He added the firm yet gentle reminder that Elijah was not alone; there were seven thousand other true worshipers of Yahweh in Israel (1 Kgs 19:18).
Many think the number "seven thousand" is not meant to be literal, but (since it involves the perfect number 7) is symbolic for the complete and perfect number of believers among Israel (see Cranfield, 2:547; Dunn, 2:638). Paul follows the LXX and adds the word ajnhvr (ançr , "male") after "seven thousand," i.e., "seven thousand men ." For a parallel see Acts 4:4. (The NIV translates ançr ["men"] in Acts 4:4, but leaves it out here.) If the number itself is symbolic and not literal, this is irrelevant. If not, then the total number of believers in Elijah's day were even greater than seven thousand, including women and youth (see Matt 14:21).
God's statement, "I have reserved for myself," uses the verb kataleivpw (kataleipô ), another "remnant" term (see v. 3). Its usual meaning is "to leave." Those with Calvinist leanings see an oblique reference to unconditional predestination in this word. "Emphasis is placed on God's action; he had reserved these" through his "efficacious grace and differentiation," says Murray (2:69). The term refers to "the divine decision," says Cranfield (2:546).
But this is not the point. Certainly this is an act of God regarding these men, but God's act is conditioned on the fact that they "have not bowed the knee to Baal." God is telling Elijah, "There are more than just you who have remained faithful. Indeed, I have identified and singled out from the great majority of Israelites a group of seven thousand true worshipers. I have separated them from the rest; in my sight they are a different group, a remnant. These are the ones I have kept in my saving grace and in close fellowship with myself."
They are the ones, God says, "I have reserved for myself ." They are "his people" in a special, spiritual sense. In this spiritual sense only these seven thousand belonged to God; the rest were Baal's. This remnant alone was the true Israel of 9:6b (McGuiggan, 319). "The seven thousand are Israel to Him" (Denney, 676). Thus God did not reject his people Israel. Though most rejected him, he still counted as his own those who sought him in faith. Though most abandoned him, these are still enough - a remnant to be sure - to constitute "his people."
3. Those under Grace Are God's New Covenant Israel (11:5-6)
11:5 Paul's reference to the Elijah incident is a good example of the remnant reality in OT times, but his main point is that this is an analogy of the Jewish situation in his own day. So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. Paul uses three words to connect this verse with the preceding one: "so therefore also." He does not want us to miss the parallel, i.e., there is no difference between Elijah's day and "the present time."
What is the nature of the parallel? The main point is the very existence of a remnant from among the people of Israel. God is no more rejecting his people in this gospel era than he was in Elijah's day. In the earlier time of national apostasy at least seven thousand remained true to God, "and so in Paul's day there was a faithful minority who had not rejected the gospel" (Bruce, 211). The existence of this remnant is sufficient to prove that God has not rejected his people, and thus that he is still faithful to his word and to his promises.
Many OT passages speak of the remnant concept. The immediate reference for most of them is the temporal deliverance of a remnant of survivors from the hands of oppressive enemies such as Assyria and Babylon (e.g., Ezra 9:8; Isa 1:9 [Rom 9:29]; Isa 10:20-22 [Rom 9:27]; Isa 11:11,16; Isa 37:4,32; Jer 6:9; Jer 23:3; Jer 31:7; Ezek 9:8; Ezek 11:13; Joel 2:32; Amos 5:15; Mic 2:12; Mic 4:6-7; Mic 7:18; Zeph 3:13). Many refer to the end of the Babylonian captivity and the restoration of the remaining Israelites to their homeland. Because this event in itself is typological of spiritual deliverance from sin, many of these remnant references have clear messianic import. Thus it is appropriate that the remnant concept be used by Paul in a spiritual sense to represent those Jews delivered by the power of Christ from their bondage to sin. They are the true Israel, in contrast with the rest who still languish in such bondage.
The second part of the parallel has to do with the means by which the remnant of Israel is distinguished from the nation as a whole, i.e., the remnant is "chosen by grace." Literally Paul says that in this present time a remnant "has come into existence according to an election [or choice] of grace." Even though this was not stressed in the OT itself, by virtue of the parallel being drawn here we must conclude that the Old Covenant remnant, such as the seven thousand in Elijah's day, were also established according to an election or choice of grace.
Paul says that the New Covenant remnant has "come into existence" or has "come to be" (NASB). The word is givnomai ( ginomai - a word the NIV completely ignores), which basically means "come to be, become, originate" (AG, 157). The perfect tense of the verb may be referring to a single past historical event that brought the New Covenant remnant into existence, i.e., the establishment of the NT church (Acts 2).
Paul's statement that the remnant has come into existence "according to a choice of grace" is often interpreted as an affirmation of Calvinist unconditional election. It shows, says Murray, that the distinction between the nation as a whole and the remnant is due solely to "God's gracious election," i.e., to "the sovereign will of God" and not to "any determination proceeding from the will of man" (2:70). As such it is often equated with the election of 9:7-18 as interpreted by Calvinists (e.g., Moo, 677).
I reject this meaning for Paul's statement. For one thing, this election is not the same as that in ch. 9. The subject here is election to salvation; in ch. 9 it was election to service. Also, we have already seen in our discussion of 8:29 that election to salvation is based upon divine foreknowledge (precognition) of human choices. The remnant is a group chosen by God, but chosen according to his foreknowledge.
What does it mean to say that the remnant has come into existence according to a choice of grace? We must keep in mind that Paul is here explaining how the remnant is different from the nation as a whole, and I believe that he does intend for us to understand this by comparing it with the election in 9:7-13. In that passage Paul emphasizes that being chosen as an instrument for God's use in carrying out his redemptive purpose was not a matter of natural right based on natural birth, but was a matter of God's sovereign choice. It was "God's purpose in election" (9:11) that led him to select Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau. None of these sons had an inherent claim to the privilege.
Likewise, being part of the saved remnant (spiritual Israel) is not a matter of physical birth as a Jew; no ethnic Israelite has an inherent claim to salvation. Being a part of the remnant is a matter of God's choice, and he has the sovereign right to establish the basis or criterion by which he chooses some Israelites rather than others. Thus the remnant is according to choice, not birth. Here the election of 9:11 and that of 11:5 are similar.
But there is an important difference between these two elections. Since 9:11 was not election to salvation, it was not described as an "election of grace." But in 11:5 the issue is salvation. The remnant consists of those within the nation of Israel who are saved, and the only way for sinners to be saved is by receiving God's gift of his own righteousness through faith (9:30-10:13) - in other words, by grace. This speaks to another main difference between the mass of ethnic Israel and the remnant. The former sought salvation by works or by their own righteousness (9:32; 10:3), while the latter sought it by faith in the righteousness of God. Thus to say that the remnant has come into existence according to an election of grace means that God chooses to save those Jews (and Gentiles, 9:30) who themselves choose his way of grace rather than the futile way of law. "God chose to elect all those who would choose to accept the grace extended through his son" (DeWelt, 176).
We must not lose sight of Paul's purpose for even mentioning the remnant here. His point is to show that God has not rejected his people; the existence of the remnant is evidence that he has not. The fact that he is willing to constitute this remnant according to the terms of grace rather than law shows how faithful he is, and just how determined he is to preserve "his people" in spite of their sin.
11:6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. This verse sums up some of the main conclusions concerning law and grace as ways of salvation that were discussed in chs. 1-5 (see also 9:30-10:4). It also reinforces the point made under 11:5 above, that the main difference between ethnic Israel and remnant Israel is the latter's choice of grace instead of law as the only way to a saving relationship with God.
The first part of v. 6 has no stated subject in the Greek; translators usually supply "it." We may conclude from v. 5 that "being included in the remnant" is the understood subject.
The term "no longer" is used here in a logical sense, not temporal. I.e., Paul is not saying that in earlier times remnant membership was by works, but is so no longer. Rather, he is saying that once one sees that remnant membership is by grace, then he can no longer consider it to be by works.
Dunn notes that this is the first time Paul "brings 'works' and 'grace' into direct antithesis" (2:647). This is true of the terms themselves, but not of the concepts. The whole point of chs. 1-5 was the antithesis between law (works) and grace (faith) as ways of salvation. Since faith is a key element in the grace system, sometimes "faith" or "by faith" is simply shorthand for the system as a whole. Likewise, since works are a key element in the law system, sometimes "by works" or "from works" is just shorthand for the law system as a whole - which is the case here. In 10:5-6 Paul contrasts "righteousness by law" and "righteousness by faith"; this is exactly the same contrast as that between "by grace" and "by works" in 11:6.
It is crucial that we correctly understand the meaning of "works," which is the same as "works of law" in 3:28. As explained there (JC, 1:268-271), "works" includes any response to the laws or commandments of the Creator given to human beings as creatures, without restriction as to dispensation (Old Covenant or New Covenant), form (written or innate), and motives (good or bad). Thus it is wrong to limit "works" to obedience to the Law of Moses. It is also wrong to expand the term to include "anything that human beings do" (contra Moo, 678; see 250), since it does not refer to the Redeemer's instructions on how to be saved, i.e., the conditions for receiving salvation. These are not a part of the Creator's law, and are not works in the Pauline sense. See JC, 1:270; MP, 449.
Those who wrongly expand the concept of works to include "anything a person does" usually then proceed to use v. 6 to support their Calvinist interpretation of v. 5. If "works" means anything a person does, this must include not only repentance, confession, and baptism, but even faith itself, insofar as it is a decision of man's will. Thus to Calvinists, even faith, regarded as something a person does as a result of his own choice, is a grace-canceling work. As Murray says, "If grace is conditioned in any way by human performance or by the will of man impelling to action, then grace ceases to be grace" (2:70). Grace cannot be conditioned on anything a person does, says Moo, for then grace would not be free: "For grace demands that God be perfectly free to bestow his favor on whomever he chooses. But if God's election were based on what human beings do, his freedom would be violated and he would no longer be acting in grace" (678). Moo acknowledges that Paul distinguishes works from faith, but declares nevertheless that "Paul's conception of God's grace . . . would seem to rule out anything outside God's own free will as a basis for his actions. To make election ultimately dependent on the human decision to believe violates Paul's notion of the grace of God. . . . God's grace is the efficient cause of salvation, human faith being not its basis but its result" (679, n. 43).
Using the same too-broad definition of works, Morris says 11:6 "rules out the idea that God foreknows what people will do and chooses the elect on the basis of this foreknowledge of their works" (402; emphasis added).
This whole approach to grace is a serious error, since it includes more in the category of works than Paul intends (as discussed above). Also, it is a false concept of the freedom that is inherently involved in grace. That grace is conditioned on certain human acts is not a violation of God's freedom in the bestowal of grace, since he himself is the one who freely chose to do it this way and the one who freely chose what the conditions shall be. Besides, the conditions he has chosen are completely consistent with the essence of grace.
Also, election according to foreknowledge does not contradict grace because the crucial object of God's foreknowledge is not the presence or absence of human works but the acceptance or rejection of God's free offer of grace in accord with the gracious conditions which he himself has laid down.
Paul's point in this verse is simply to sum up the main message of Romans, that the only way for a sinner to be saved is by grace through faith, not by the system of law. The two systems are mutually exclusive; one must choose either God's righteousness (grace) or personal righteousness (works) as the basis for his salvation. One must rely either upon himself or upon Jesus Christ; he cannot do both. Any trust in the worthiness of one's own achievements or the merit of one's own accomplishments is simply incompatible with grace. Trying to get to heaven by being "good enough" nullifies the way of grace.
As applied to remnant Jews, this means that they belong to the remnant not because they are essentially better than the rest, i.e., less sinful or more law-abiding, but because they have submitted to God's way of righteousness (10:3), which is grace. If everyone were to be accepted or rejected on the basis of his works, there would be no remnant. By its very nature the remnant is a grace entity. Though Paul is making this point specifically regarding the remnant of the Jews, it applies equally to the Gentiles, and thus to the church as a whole.
B. UNBELIEVING ISRAEL HAS BEEN HARDENED (11:7-10)
If only a remnant of Israel is saved, what has happened to the rest? Are they totally abandoned and forgotten by God? Having served their covenant purposes as a means of bringing Christ into the world, and paradoxically having refused to accept him as their Messiah, are they now to be completely ignored? Paul's answer is No, but exactly how they continue to be the object of God's attention is somewhat surprising. This is Paul's subject in this paragraph.
11:7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, . . . The first part of this verse is a transitional statement that sums up the preceding thoughts in terms of a contrast between "the elect" on the one hand, and "Israel" ("the others") on the other hand.
Paul does not use the usual word for "the elect" (ejklektov" , eklektos ; see 8:33), but carries over the noun used in 11:5 (ejkloghv , eklogç , "choice, election"). In this context it is synonymous with "the remnant." The term "Israel" here refers to the physical nation in general, or "Israel as a corporate whole," as Moo says (679). But strictly speaking, Paul is referring not to the totality of physical Israel, but only to unbelieving Jews, "the others" in contrast to the elect.
What was Israel "so earnestly" seeking? The answer can be found in 9:30-10:3; they were pursuing righteousness , a right standing before God (Denney, 677; Morris, 402; Moo, 680). In 9:30-31 Paul says the Gentiles found such righteousness though they were not seeking it, while Israel was pursuing it but did not find it. The reason they did not find it, he says (9:32; 10:3), was that they were seeking it in their own works and not in God's gift.
The NIV translates the verb as past tense ("sought"), which is consistent with the past tense of the verbs in 9:31-32; 10:3. But here the Greek is present tense ("that which Israel is seeking for," NASB), which implies that the Israelites in general were still seeking for this righteous standing before God.
The emphasis, though, is not on the action of seeking, but on the result of the search. The good news is that the elect remnant did obtain the sought-for righteousness. The bad news is that the vast majority, Israel as a whole, did not (see 9:30). These are simply called "the others," or "the rest" (NASB), i.e., the rest of the Jews (not the rest of mankind in general, contra Morris, 403).
At this point Paul introduces a new and surprising thought: "the others," the unbelieving Jews, were hardened . This theme is a prominent part of the argument in the rest of this chapter, either implicitly or explicitly. Thus it is crucial that we understand it aright. The following facts concerning this hardening will emerge in the course of Paul's argument, but may profitably be summed up before we go any further. (1) Whatever the nature of this hardening, it is not the cause of anyone's unbelief. The only ones hardened are those who have already rejected God's righteousness in Christ. (2) Whatever the nature of the hardening, it is not irrevocable and final. Those hardened are still able to come to faith, as the next point indicates. (3) God's purpose for this hardening is to use it as a means of converting many Gentiles, which in turn will be a means of converting many of the hardened Jews themselves. Thus paradoxically the ultimate goal and result of the hardening is the salvation of those who are hardened! The sequence of events is as follows: the bulk of the Jews reject the gospel; they are hardened; as a consequence Gentiles are saved; as a consequence of this, many of the hardened Jews are made jealous and are saved; and as a consequence of this, even more Gentiles are saved!
The word for "hardened" is pwrovw (pôroô ), the noun form of which (pwvrwsi" , pôrôsis ) is used in 11:25. (The meaning is the same as the verb used in 9:18, sklhruvnw [sklçrynô ].) The verb pôroô "is a medical term used in Hippocrates and elsewhere of a bone or hard substance growing when bones are fractured, or of a stone forming in the bladder" (SH, 314). Hence it means "to harden, to petrify"; in the NT it is used in the figurative sense: "to make dull, obdurate, insensitive." It refers to "the heart becoming hardened or callous," i.e., to a state in which "a covering has grown over the heart, making men incapable of receiving any new teaching however good, and making them oblivious of the wrong they are doing" (SH, 314).
In this verse the verb is passive, and the agent of the hardening is not identified. Some declare that the Jews hardened themselves. The hardening came about "through their own rejection, choosing rather to obey Satan . . . than the grace of God" (DeWelt, 176). Such self-hardening is certainly a biblically-attested reality (Exod 8:15,32; Heb 3:8,15; 4:7). Some identify Satan as the agent of the hardening, by God's permission (Lard, 351; MP, 451; Godet, 398). Others say the agent of the hardening is "intentionally left vague" and indefinite (Denney, 677; Morris, 403).
There is some truth in each of these views, but the context requires us to identify God himself as the main agent in the hardening of the Jews (see 9:18; 11:8; see Murray, 2:72; Moo, 680; Stott, 293). How he did so is not explained. It is very possible that he hardened them by allowing Satan a free hand to blind their eyes. Citing 1 Kgs 22:19-23, the book of Job, and 2 Cor 4:4, Godet says that "God proves or punishes by leaving Satan to act" (398). It is also possible that God hardened the Jews simply by diminishing or withdrawing his own positive influences toward them, as he did with the Gentiles when he "gave them over" to the destructiveness of their own sinful desires (1:24,26,28; JC, 1:149-150).
In any case there is general agreement that the Jews had already hardened themselves into a state of unbelief before God performed this act of hardening upon them. Thus the divine hardening is not the cause of their rejection of the gospel, but a punishment for it. They were hardened because they deserved it; it was retribution (v. 9) for their sin. It was "a judicial penalty for refusal to heed the Word of God" (Bruce, 215; see Lenski, 686). "God has judicially blinded those of His chosen people who willfully blind themselves to Him," says MacArthur (2:101). "God hardens only those hearts who, in rejecting His gracious offer of righteousness, harden themselves to His grace" (ibid., 103; see Hendriksen, 2:365; Morris, 403). Brunner says it well: "Hardening is being able no longer to say anything but No. God permits them to become entangled in their own No." As with the Gentiles in ch. 1, "so he has now hardened the Jews after they have said their No. The hardening is not the original cause but God's punishment for their unbelief" (94).
What is the result of this hardening? Some interpret it as a final sealing of these Jews in a state of unbelief, and equate it with the eternal decree of reprobation that (in Calvinist thinking) predestines some to hell, just as the eternal decree of election unconditionally predestines others to heaven (Calvin, 417; Murray, 2:72). We may conclude, says Moo, "that God's hardening permanently binds people in the sin that they have chosen for themselves" (681).
This view is a serious error, however, and must be vigorously rejected. Not even all Calvinists agree with it. Hendriksen (2:365) says, "To include Rom. 11:7 . . . in a list of passages proving reprobation is an error," because "even for the hardened ones there is hope," as the following context shows. Cranfield agrees: "The divine hardening is not God's last word for His rebellious people" (2:550). So whatever result this hardening has, it is something done only to unbelievers, and it does not ultimately prevent them from becoming believers. It is neither absolute nor irreversible. Hence it does not contradict the principle that God does not violate any individual's free will to choose his own eternal destiny.
The result of the hardening is Paul's subject in vv. 8-10. It certainly involves an insensitivity toward God's word, blinding one's spiritual eyes and deafening one's spiritual ears toward God's truth. In the act of hardening God takes away "from the heart the faculty of being touched by what is good or divine," and he takes away "from the understanding, the faculty of discerning between the true and the false, the good and the bad" (Godet, 395). In so doing God is simply confirming what is already present in the unbeliever's heart.
Why has God so hardened the Jews? As noted above, it is in the first place a judicial act, a recompense for unbelief. But there is an even deeper reason, a positive one that flows from the deepest and wisest recesses of God's loving heart. God has used many people, including the Jews as a nation, to carry out his redemptive purposes. Sometimes this can be done only by a limited and temporary hardening, as in the case of Pharaoh (9:18). So it is here, that by hardening "the rest" of the Jews, he can use them "as an instrument of his good pleasure" in bringing many people to salvation (see McGuiggan, 322). As Paul goes on to explain in 11:11ff., the hardening of the Jews is intended as a means by which the Gentiles may be saved, which in turn is a means by which the hardened Jews themselves may be brought to faith in their Messiah.
11:8 [A]s it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day." In this and the next two verses Paul draws from three OT passages to reinforce his assertion about the hardening of Israel. These texts are not treated as prophecies but as precedents. In v. 8 two passages are used. "God gave them a spirit of stupor" is from Isa 29:10a, "For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep" (NASB). The last part of v. 8 is from Deut 29:4.
The words from Isa 29:10 make it clear that God is the one who is responsible for the hardening in 11:7. The word for "stupor" suggests not so much a deep sleep as a state of numbness, of being bewildered and stunned. The word is katavnuxi" ( katanyxis ), and probably comes from katanuvssw (katanyssô ), which means "to strike violently, to stun" (Earle, 208). Sometimes a person who has been struck on the head may seem to be fully conscious but is mentally confused and unaware of his surroundings. Just so, says Paul (as did Isaiah before him), God has enveloped Israel in a state of spiritual numbness, in "an attitude of deadness towards spiritual things" (Morris, 403), in a "mental and moral dulness [sic] or apathy" (Hendriksen, 2:364).
The word "spirit" probably means an attitude or a state of mind, but it is possible that it refers to a demonic spirit whom God permits to inflict Israel with this spiritual blindness. See 1 Sam 18:10 and 1 Kgs 22:20-23 for precedents. Whether this be the case or not, the result is God's intention: a "punitive hardening which follows after self-hardening has fully set in" (Lenski, 687). "The eyes of their souls are shut; they see nothing rightly" (Lard, 351).
So that there may be no mistake, the "spirit of stupor" is explained with the reference to Deut 29:4, "eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear." Again, Paul says God gave to Israel these nonseeing eyes and nonhearing ears. The mass of Israel seemed to be spiritually conscious and God-fearing; indeed they had "a zeal for God," but it was "not in accordance with knowledge" (10:2, NASB). God reinforced their own willful ignorance by covering their spiritual eyes and stopping up their spiritual ears.
"To this very day" is part of the quotation from Deut 29:4. Moses' point was that after forty years of wilderness wandering the Israelites still had not come to understand and appreciate what God had done for them in delivering them from Egypt and giving them their own land, even on the very eve of their possession of that land. Paul seems to be saying that the Jews of his day were still laboring under the same spiritual blindness that caused them to crucify their Messiah (1 Thess 2:14-15), and that this blindness had not yet been lifted or counteracted as 11:11-32 suggests will some day happen.
11:9-10 And David says, "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever." These two verses are taken from Ps 69:22-23. This is appropriate because Ps 69 is widely recognized as Messianic and is cited or alluded to frequently in the NT (e.g., Mark 15:23, 36 [Ps 69:21]; John 2:17 [Ps 69:9]; John 15:25 [Ps 69:4]; Acts 1:20 [Ps 69:25]; Rom 15:3 [Ps 69:9]; see Dunn, 2:642). As David wrote the Psalm, it was his prayer for God to deliver him from his enemies and to give those enemies the punishment they deserved. As Paul applies it to his time, he suggests that "what David prayed would happen to his persecutors, . . . God has brought upon those Jews who have resisted the gospel" (Moo, 683). "Paul takes it for granted that the doom invoked in these words has come upon the Jews," says Denney (678).
Paul's main point in citing these imprecations seems to be to reinforce the idea that the hardening affirmed in v. 7 is actually deserved by the unbelieving Jews. David's prayer was for three curses to come upon his enemies. The first is that "their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block." Here "table" may be an allusion to the OT law in general, and especially to its sacrificial system, which involved an altar and a table for eating the sacrificial meal (Denney, 678; Dunn, 2:642-643, 650). Or it may simply be a household table representing the food and fellowship of ordinary mealtime and earthly prosperity in general (Lenski, 689; Murray, 2:74).
In either case the prayer is "a wish that even the good things which these enemies enjoy may prove to be a cause of disaster to them" (Cranfield, 2:551). "Their table . . . is that in which they delight, and it is this which is to prove their ruin" (Denney, 678).
The second curse is that "their eyes be darkened so they cannot see." This clearly ties in with the "spirit of stupor" in v. 8 and the hardening in v. 7, and indicates that Israel as a whole was blinded toward the truth of the gospel.
The third curse is that "their backs be bent forever." It is difficult to tell exactly what calamity this is supposed to represent. It may be a figure for the hard labor of slavery, the heaviness of a burden, a state of weakness, or the overwhelming effects of grief or fear. Any of these could apply to first-century Judaism. Paul may be saying, "May their backs be always weak and feeble under the burden that they bear because of their rejection of the gospel" (Fitzmyer, 607). Or he may be referring to "the state of slavish fear in which the Jews shall be held as long as this judgment of hardening which keeps them outside of the gospel shall last" (Godet, 397).
The main point, though, is expressed in v. 9b, where the wish is that their table may become "a retribution for them." The sense of this term is that of being repaid or paid back in kind. The implication is that all these curses are a recompense or retribution, a deserved penalty upon the Jews "rightly demanded by their wickedness" (Lenski, 690). It declares that "the evil which came upon the Jews was caused by their own fault and sin" (MP, 452); it "confirms the judicial character of their hardening" (Murray, 2:74).
C. THE HARDENING OF UNBELIEVING ISRAEL
BECOMES A BLESSING FOR BOTH THE GENTILES
AND THE JEWS (11:11-16)
In this paragraph Paul is still developing his answer to the question in 11:1, "Did God reject his people?" He has supported his emphatic negative answer by pointing to the existence of the "remnant chosen by grace" (vv. 1-6). But what about the mass of unbelieving Jews not included in the remnant? They "were hardened" (11:7-10).
This leads to the question of the ultimate fate of hardened Israel. Are they simply and finally lost? Is there no place for them in the kingdom? Are they totally excluded from God's mercy and God's plan? "What about the sinning majority? Are they lost forever?" (Morris, 405).
Paul's answer is another emphatic No! It is true that this majority rejected their Messiah, and that God hardened them. But this is not the final word; it is not the whole story. In this section the Apostle shows how even hardened Israel is part of the larger picture of God's mercy, or "how Israel's failure fits into the salvific plan of God" (Fitzmyer, 608). God can use this unbelieving nation for his own redemptive purpose, and even his hardening of them furthers this purpose.
In essence, Paul explains that God's hardening of Israel (especially the withdrawing of direct evangelistic efforts to win them) is intended to start a chain reaction that leads back to the conversion of Jews by indirect means. In summary, the hardening of unbelieving Israel "is the occasion for the coming in of the Gentiles, which, in its turn, is to have the effect of awakening the unbelieving Jews to a realization of what they are missing and so to lead to their repentance" (Cranfield, 2:553). Thus "even the hardening of Israel serves the purposes of mercy" (Achtemeier, 181). As Hendriksen remarks, God's "purpose is ultimately one of grace, and this for the benefit of both Gentile and Jews" (2:366).
Nearly everyone agrees that this section shows that Israel's fall and hardening are not meant to be final. Just as vv. 1-10 show that her rejection is only partial, these verses show that it is intended to be only temporary. "God's punitive action against the majority" is "not his last word concerning Israel" (Dunn, 2:666). The Jews can be saved.
Unfortunately, many interpreters take Paul's basic message of hope for Israel and expand it into a veritable philosophy of history. They see in this paragraph the seeds of a complicated eschatology involving a renewed special role for the Jews as a nation. I.e., they take Paul's statements about Israel's salvation as referring to a large-scale future conversion of the Jews en masse , and a restoration of the nation as such to their original status as the people of God. Many regard this as the key precursor to the end of this age and the final resurrection (v. 15). This theory will receive some attention in the following discussion.
11:11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Of whom is Paul speaking? Not Israel as a whole, as a corporate nation (contra Moo, 686), but only the individual Jews who rejected their Messiah and were subsequently hardened, i.e., "the others" of v. 7 (Cranfield, 2:554; Denney, 678).
The first verb, "stumble" (ptaivw , ptaiô , "to stumble, to trip") is used in a figurative or moral sense, "to make a mistake, go astray, sin" (AG, 734; see Jas 2:10; 3:2; 2 Pet 1:10). The second verb, pivptw (piptô ), has a straightforward meaning: "to fall, to fall down, to collapse." In a moral sense it means "to fall into sin, to go astray," and may have an even stronger sense: to "fall from a state of grace, be completely ruined, perish" (AG, 665).
There is no question that hardened Israel stumbled (9:32-33), but did they fall ? Despite Paul's emphatic No! (mhΙ gevnoito , mç genoito ; see 3:4), the answer to this question is not as simple as it seems. The main reason is that v. 22 refers to these same Jews as "those who fell," and uses the same word as in v. 11 (piptô ).
So what does Paul mean in v. 11? The most common approach is to give piptô an exceptionally strong meaning here, as in the NIV: "to fall beyond recovery." It means to be "finally lost" in the sense of "a complete and irrevocable fall," say Sanday and Headlam (320-321). It refers to a "fall without remedy" (Lard, 354), involving "irretrievable spiritual ruin" (Moo, 687). Paul does imply that falling is more serious than merely stumbling, so this interpretation seems to fit. As Fitzmyer summarizes it, "Israel has stumbled over Christ, but it has not fallen down completely so that it cannot regain its footing" (611).
Is this interpretation acceptable? Yes. It surely fits the context, since one of Paul's main points is that fallen Israel can indeed be saved. A serious problem, though, is that it does not seem consistent with v. 22.
Thus out of concern for v. 22, some have suggested another understanding of v. 11. The point of the question, they say, is this: did Israel stumble "merely for the purpose that they might fall" (Murray, 2:76)? Paul's No! is not intended to deny that they have fallen; it simply means that there is more to the story than this. They have not stumbled just for the purpose of falling, or with the simple result that they are now fallen and that's that. No, Paul's whole point is that God has incorporated Israel's stumbling and falling into a much larger and more glorious plan.
Is this interpretation acceptable? Yes, and in my opinion it is preferable. If anything, it fits the immediate context even better than the more common view, and it takes full account of v. 22. The main problem is that the concept of "merely" must be read into the question.
Another issue is the meaning of the word i{na ( hina ), which connects the two verbs ("so as," NIV). This word can imply either purpose or result. If Paul intends the former, he is asking whether hardened Israel stumbled "in order that they might fall" or "for the purpose of falling." If we read it in this sense, then Paul would be implying that God caused Israel to stumble (to reject their Messiah), and that he had a purpose for causing them to stumble. The issue then would be to identify that purpose, that "divinely intended outcome" (Dunn, 2:652). This of course assumes a Calvinist view of sovereignty and free will, as is the case with Murray, who speaks of "the overriding and overruling design of God in the stumbling and fall of Israel" (2:76).
Most interpreters, however (even among Calvinists), take hina as stating result rather than purpose. That is, has hardened Israel stumbled "with the result that" they have fallen ? This meaning "makes excellent sense," says Dunn (2:653); and this is so however one understands the concept of "falling."
The bottom line is that most Jews have indeed stumbled, i.e., have rejected Jesus and his grace, and consequently have fallen into a state of lostness and spiritual ruin. But that is not the whole picture; that is not the end of the story. The drama of Israel does not end on such a negative note. Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
Paul refers here to "their transgression" (singular). Is this different from the stumbling and falling in v. 11a? It may be useful to bring together and analyze the variety of terms Paul uses to describe Israel's downfall. It seems that he distinguishes three steps in the process, the first two of which are attributable to the sinner's will and the last of which is an act of God. The first step is the sin of rejecting God's way of grace, most significantly the initial sin of rejecting Jesus as the only Savior. The second step is falling out of a saving relationship with God and into a state of lostness. The third step is God's placing those who have so fallen under his wrath and curse.
The first of these steps is what Paul means by "their transgression." It is the word paravptwma (paraptô ma ), which is "frequently used by Paul to denote 'trespass', 'sin' (in the sense of a particular sinful deed)," as Cranfield says (2:555). It is the same as the stumbling in v. 11a, i.e., their stumbling over Christ (9:32-33), their rejection of Christ as the Messiah. It is called "unbelief" in vv. 20,23, and "disobedience" in v. 30.
The second step is the Jews' "fall" in v. 11a (see v. 22), also called their "loss" in v. 12. This is not so much an act of the sinner as the natural result of the first step (the unbelief).
The third step is God's act of hardening (vv. 7, 25), which is his punitive response to the first two steps. This is also called his "rejection" of the Jews (v. 15), and his act of breaking off or cutting off the unbelieving branches (vv. 17,19-20,22).
In reference to the Jews' downfall, these three steps always go together; even when only one is mentioned, the other two are assumed to be a part of the total picture. Thus here when Paul says "because of their transgression," he does not mean the transgression alone, as distinct from the fall and the hardening. Rather, because of the transgression along with the consequent fall and the divine hardening, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
Herein lies the first element in God's plan that evokes Paul's extreme sense of awe and wonder at his wisdom (11:33-36), namely, that God has determined to use the Jews' unbelief and fall (along with his own act of hardening) as a means of bringing salvation to the Gentiles! I.e., "Israel's stumbling was the occasion for redemption to be opened to the gentiles" (Achtemeier, 180). Out of sin, salvation comes! Out of wrath, mercy comes!
This could refer to the fact that by delivering Jesus over to the Romans for crucifixion, the Jews were inadvertently helping to bring about the one great act of redemption that is the source of salvation for all. More likely, though, it refers to the ordinary process of evangelism reflected in the book of Acts. I.e., once Gentile evangelism finally began (Acts 10), the missionary strategy was still to preach to the Jews first. But when the Jews typically rejected the gospel message, attention was turned to the Gentiles. As Moo says, "Paul probably had in mind the way in which he and other preachers of the gospel would turn to the Gentiles after being spurned by the Jews" (687; see Cranfield, 2:556; Bruce, 212). See Acts 13:44-52; 18:1-6; 19:8-10; 28:23-28.
But even this is not the whole story. If it were, hardened Israel would still be abandoned in their lostness. But this is not God's plan. The other element in the divine strategy that evokes Paul's reverent amazement is that God intends the conversion of the Gentiles to arouse the hardened Jews to jealousy (or envy) and thereby cause them to turn at last to their Messiah (see v. 14). The language Paul uses here does indicate a "divine intention" (Cranfield, 2:556). I.e., "the salvation of the Gentiles was intended in the divine providence to arouse in Israel a passionate desire for the same good gift" (Morris, 407). "Thus that hardening of which v. 7 spoke has for its ultimate purpose the salvation of those who are hardened" (Cranfield, 2:556).
Paul has already introduced this theme of "provoking to envy" in 10:19, where he cites Deut 32:21. Some may be concerned that God can speak of envy or jealousy as a motivation for accepting the gospel. Because they think of jealousy as always being sinful, it sounds to them like an "end justifies means" scheme. Some try to avoid this by using the word "emulation" instead (Lard, 355; MP, 454). But this misses the point. Emulation cannot be substituted for jealousy, since it is the effect of which jealousy is supposed to be the cause.
In the Bible jealousy is always the point of this word, but it is not always an evil attitude. God himself is often described as a "jealous God" (see GC, 409-416). Stott well says that "not all envy is tainted with selfishness, because it is not always a grudging discontent or a sinful covetousness." The essence of envy, he says, is the desire to have for oneself what is possessed by another. It is good envy or evil envy depending on the nature of what is desired and on whether one has a right to it (297). Surely in this case the salvation possessed by the Gentiles is something good and something God wants the Jews to have anyway, and the Jews' desire to have it will in no way diminish the Gentiles' possession of it. Thus it is not at all an unworthy motive for accepting the gospel.
In this verse three things are linked in a cause-and-effect chain: the Jews' transgression (their initial negative response to the gospel), Gentile salvation, and Jewish envy. It is significant that in the latter part of the verse there are no verbs, and thus no tenses (past, present, future). We know the first step has already occurred; we assume the second has at least begun ("salvation has come ," NIV, NASB). Many assume the last step (Jewish envy) is still in the future, but our conclusion on this point must be based on the following verses.
11:12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! Most of the content of this verse, rightly understood, has already been either affirmed or implied in v. 11 (Lard, 356; MP, 456-457). I.e., if the Jews' transgression (stumbling, unbelief) results in riches (salvation) for the world (the Gentiles), and if their loss (fall) similarly results in riches (salvation) for the Gentiles, then how much more likely it is that the fullness (salvation) of the Jews will result in spiritual riches for all.
We should note that in the Greek there are no verbs (and thus no tenses) in this entire verse; thus we should be cautious about assigning to any one of these three clauses an entirely past or entirely future enactment.
The first two clauses seem to be restating the link between the Jews' downfall and the Gentiles' salvation taught in v. 11. "Their transgression" is the same word used in v. 11 and has the same meaning, i.e., their stumbling over and rejecting their Messiah in unbelief. "Their loss" is equivalent to the "fall" in v. 11.
The word translated "loss" (h{tthma , hçttçma ) is seldom used and is quite difficult. Some give it a numerical connotation ("diminishing, fewness, diminutiveness, reduction to a small number"), mainly based on the assumption that the corresponding word in the next clause ("fullness") is also numerical. But this is wrong, especially since "fullness" itself should not be understood numerically. Also, it does not fit the context. The subject here is not Israel per se but the hardened portion of Israel, which in comparison with the remnant is not few but many.
The basic meaning of hçttçma seems to be "defeat" (Isa 31:8, LXX; 1 Cor 6:7), but the emphasis here seems to be more on the loss (e.g., of possessions, of freedom) that results from an actual defeat. "Loss" is thus a good translation. As a result of their rejection of their Messiah, the Jews suffered the loss of their relationship with God and of the spiritual riches of Christ's kingdom. Thus they exist in "a state of missed blessings" (McGuiggan, 324). This contrasts well with "riches." See Lard, 356; Murray, 2:78; McGuiggan, 323-324.
The point is that the Jews' trespass, along with their consequent loss, is a means of bringing spiritual riches upon the Gentiles, as pointed out in v. 11. "Riches" refers to the spiritual riches of salvation and is equivalent to "salvation" in v. 11. See Eph 1:18, which refers to "the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints" (See also 2:4; 9:23; 11:33; Eph 1:7; 2:7; 3:6, 8; Phil 4:19).
The last clause in this verse is extremely difficult. Literally it is very succinct: "by how much more their fullness" (no verb). How does this fit into the overall structure of the verse? The phrase "by how much more" (povsw/ ma'llon , posô mallon ) shows that some kind of comparison is being made between the first two clauses and this final clause. The common assumption is that "riches" is being compared with "more riches," i.e., if the Jews' transgression and loss bring riches to the Gentiles, their fullness will bring even greater riches .
I believe this misses the point, however. In six of its eight NT occurrences, the phrase posô mallon means "how much more likely it is that," and is usually part of an argument from the lesser to the greater. This meaning fits very well here. Thus the clause is not an argument from riches to more riches, but this: "If the Jews' transgression and loss mean riches for the Gentiles, how much more likely it is that the Jews' fullness [means riches for the Gentiles]."
This conclusion will affect not only how we interpret v. 12, but also v. 15, where "life from the dead" is often identified with the alleged "greater riches" in v. 12. (E.g., see Moo, 689; DeWelt, 182.) Speculation then abounds. I.e., if the riches brought to the Gentiles by the Jews' sin is (rightly) understood as their salvation (v. 11), then the greater riches ("life from the dead") must be something even more significant than personal salvation; indeed, it must be something spectacular, such as a great future universal revival or the final general resurrection at the end-time. E.g., Denney posits some future "unimaginable blessing" (679), and Murray speaks of "unprecedented enrichment" (2:79).
But when we see that posô mallon is not really talking about "greater riches," the basis for such speculation is gone; and when we realize also that there is no verb (and thus no future tense) in this clause, the assumption that this word refers to some great eschatological event is also weakened.
This brings us to the difficult question, what is the nature of the Jews' "fullness" (plhvrwma , plçrôma )? There are two basic views. One is that this is a quantitative fullness, and refers to the ultimate conversion of the "full number" of Jews; the other is that the fullness is qualitative and refers to the Jews' participation in the fullness of salvation.
The former view, that plçrôma means "full and completed number," is, as Cranfield notes, "widely accepted"; and in his opinion it "seems very much more likely" than any other view (2:558). It refers to "the entrance of the full complement of the nation into the Messianic kingdom," say Sanday and Headlam (322). The TEV translates it "complete number." This is often paralleled with a numeric interpretation of hçttçma in the previous clause; see the NEB: "If their falling-off [hçttçma ] means the enrichment of the Gentiles, how much more their coming to full strength!"
To what, then, would this refer? The most common idea is that it refers to a future large-scale conversion of Jews, in contrast with the present "remnant" situation. Israel's "diminishing to a small number," says Godet, will be reversed by a "national conversion" of "the totality of the then living members of the people of Israel" (400-401). "Paul cannot rest content in the thought of only a remnant saved," says Dunn (2:655). We must assume that the Apostle is referring to a future "conversion on a large scale," in line with 11:25, says Lard (357). See also Stott, 296; Moo, 689-690.
Some expand this idea to include the restoration of the Jews to their original status as God's chosen people. The word "fullness" means "a mass restoration of Israel is in view," says Murray. "Nothing else than a restoration of Israel as a people to faith, privilege, and blessing can satisfy the terms of this passage" (2:79, 80). This is often linked with the establishment of a millennial kingdom in the premillennial sense (e.g., MacArthur, 2:110-111).
Others agree that "fullness" means "full number," but interpret this (in a Calvinist sense) to mean the full number of elect Jews as they are gradually converted over the full course of Christian history. This is Hendriksen's view: "The salvation of the full number of Israelites who had been predestined to be saved (cf. 9:6) - hence, not just the salvation of a remnant at any one particular time (see 11:5) - would progressively bring an abundance of blessings to the entire world" (2:367).
The meaning of v. 12 would then be, in Cranfield's words, as follows: "If the present unbelief of the majority of Israel actually means the enrichment of the Gentiles, how much more wonderfully enriching must the situation resulting from the provoking to jealousy of this majority of Israel be!" (2:557-558).
The other view, and in my opinion the correct one, is that the plçrôma of the Jews is meant in a qualitative sense and refers to spiritual fullness, or being filled with all the abundance of salvation. The word itself as used elsewhere in the NT does not refer to "full number" but to "completeness, abundance." See, e.g., John 1:16, "the fullness of his grace"; Rom 15:29, "the full measure of the blessing of Christ"; Eph 1:23, "the fullness of him [Christ]"; Eph 3:19, "that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God"; Eph 4:13, "attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Compare the way the verb plhrovw [plçroô ] is used in Rom 15:13-14; Eph 3:19; 5:18; Phil 1:11; Col 2:10.)
This meaning also fits the context. In v. 12 itself, "fullness" is in contrast with both "transgression" and "loss," words that sum up the lost state as opposed to salvation. This is an especially appropriate contrast with "loss," which as we have seen does not have a numerical connotation; the point is simply the lost state as compared with the saved state.
Also regarding context, this meaning is better in view of the connection between v. 11 and v. 12. Verse 11 describes a cause-and-effect chain: the Jews' transgression leads to Gentile salvation which leads to Jewish envy. The reference to Jewish envy implies Jewish salvation, since this is its intended result (see v. 14). As noted above, v. 12 is giving further reflection on the relations among these three items, especially the idea that the Jews' transgression results in riches (salvation) for the Gentiles. The one thought added in v. 12 is that the Jewish envy (and thus salvation) produced by the Gentiles' conversion would in turn lead to even more Gentiles being saved. Thus it is natural to take "fullness" in v. 12 as referring to the Jews' salvation, which in context corresponds to (since in fact it grows out of) their envy in v. 11.
As another contextual note, we shall see later that this meaning best corresponds to the meaning of plçrôma in v. 25.
Thus I agree with McGuiggan when he says that the Jews' fullness is the "rich blessedness" they receive when they abandon their unbelief and accept their Messiah's salvation. "Israel by unbelief lost blessings, Israel by faith would be fully blessed." McGuiggan rightly says, "There is no ground in the text whatever for supposing that 'fulness' is somewhat equivalent to a conversion of Jews 'on a national scale' or 'on a scale commensurate with their rejection' (numerically speaking)." In fact, in v. 12 "there is no allusion to the number of Jews lost and (therefore, in the antithesis) there is no mention of the number of Jews (to be) saved. . . . 'Fullness' speaks of a rich state of blessedness as opposed to 'loss'" (324). See Lenski, 695.
We must also emphasize that the text does not project this conversion of the Jews to some distant future date; it does not preclude that it could already be happening at that very time. (Remember: the verse has no verbs and no tenses.) In fact, in vv. 13-14 Paul implies that his own ministry is already producing this result.
We must remember that the main point of v. 12 is not about the Jews but about the Gentiles, i.e., what will happen to the Gentiles as a result of the Jews' unbelief as well as their belief. If some Gentiles are saved as the result of the Jews' rejection of the gospel, then we have even more reason to expect Gentiles to be saved as the result of the Jews' envy-induced acceptance of the gospel.
11:13-14 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. Many think v. 13a shows that the Gentiles were in the majority in the church at Rome (e.g., Dunn, 2:655, 669; Moo, 691, n. 39), but Cranfield is right that such a conclusion cannot be drawn from this verse (2:559). Paul is simply saying that he wants the Gentiles among his readers to pay special attention to what he is saying, not just in what follows but in the preceding verses as well.
This is true for two reasons. One, in this whole main section, Israel has been the focus of attention; the Gentiles have entered the discussion only marginally. Thus the latter group "may well have been reasoning that all this about the Jews had little to do with them. They may have wondered why the apostle to the Gentiles should be spending so much time worrying about the Jews" (Morris, 408). Thus Paul stops to reassure the Gentiles that he has not forgotten the main focus of his ministry. He wants them to see "that this argument has an application to Gentiles as well as Jews." He is saying, in effect, "Do not think that what I am saying has nothing to do with you Gentiles. It makes me even more zealous in my work for you" (SH, 323-324). What he is showing them is that the welfare of the Jews and the Gentiles is entertwined.
Paul's other reason for addressing the Gentiles specifically is the possibility that what he teaches about Gentile salvation in vv. 11-12 may lead some to develop an attitude of arrogance toward the Jews (see v. 20). He does not want them to conclude that the Jews are merely a means to an end, that end being the salvation and exaltation of the Gentiles. Paul assures them of his own genuine concern for the Jews' salvation, and in the next section he shows them how much they owe to the Jews (vv. 17-24). He declares that even as God's Apostle to the Gentiles, his work in that capacity has "an Israel-ward significance" (Cranfield, 2:559).
Paul says, "I make much of my ministry." It is possible that diakoniva ( diakonia , "ministry") here means "office" (KJV) in a special technical sense (see, e.g., Acts 1:25; 2 Cor 4:1; Col 4:17). More likely it means simply "ministry" or "area of service" or "mission," i.e., his specific assignment to be the apostle to the Gentiles. "Make much of" is doxavzw (doxazô ), which means "to honor, to praise, to glorify." It is usually used of giving glory to God, and is rarely used of men or anything human (see 8:30; 1 Cor 12:26; negatively, see Matt 6:2). Paul does not say that he honors or glorifies himself, but he glorifies his ministry as a task given to him by God. Thus he honors it not because of its fulfillment in himself but because of its origin in God.
Paul's point is that he has the highest respect for his calling, and approaches it with the utmost seriousness and diligence. "He honours and reverences his ministry to the Gentiles, and so fulfils it with all might and devotion" (Cranfield, 2:560).
To what end does Paul honor his ministry? It is taken for granted that he does so in order to win converts from among the Gentiles, but in view of the divine plan spelled out in v. 11, he knows that his ministry is also an indirect means of bringing his own kinsmen to faith in Christ. "My own people" is literally "my flesh" (see 9:3), i.e., the Jews, "Israel according to the flesh" (1 Cor 10:18, lit.). The relation between their envy and their salvation has already been implied in vv. 11-12 (see the explanation of "fullness" in v. 12 above). Thus he glorifies his ministry, because "the more Gentiles Paul converts, the more of this jealousy he creates, . . . which results in conversions of the Jews" (Lenski, 697).
Paul understands that this process will not be automatic and will not convert every Jew. He pursues his apostleship to the Gentiles "in the hope that" some Jews may be saved thereby. "In the hope that I may somehow" translates ei[ pw" (ei pôs ) plus the subjunctive case of the verb. This is "an expression of expectation," says Dunn (2:656), but as Moo says, it is a "hesitant expectation" (692, n. 46).
Why does Paul say "some of them"? Some interpreters think he says this because he knows that the number of Jews who will be saved through his own ministry will be few in comparison with the great ingathering and restoration of the Jewish people in the future. Thus his converts "are a precious foretoken of the salvation referred to in v. 26" (Cranfield, 2:561), or of the "fullness" in v. 12. As Moo says, "Paul does not see himself . . . as the figure whom God will use to bring Israel to its destined 'fullness'" (692).
I believe this misses the point, especially since the whole idea of a future large-scale conversion of Jews is far from certain. We must look elsewhere for the reasons why Paul says "some of them." First, he refers here only to the results of his own ministry, and he knew that Jews were being won to Christ by other evangelists and would continue to be won by others in later generations. Second, Paul knew from experience that the salvation of every individual Jew was too much to hope for. He knew that the unbelieving Jews of his own generation were hardened and strongly resistant to the gospel. But at the same time he knew that they still had the free will to believe, and that arousing them to envy was a means to this end. Thus by fulfilling his ministry to the Gentiles, he expected "some" of his ethnic brothers to be saved, but not all.
11:15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? "For" indicates this verse is explaining something or giving a reason for something in the preceding context. Some take vv. 13-14 as a parenthesis, with v. 15 going back and picking up especially on v. 12 and repeating it in more specific terms (e.g., Fitzmyer, 612). Others see v. 15 as explaining the last clause in v. 14, i.e., as explaining why Paul is so enthusiastic about his ministry to the Gentiles (e.g., Lard, 358; Cranfield, 2:561-562).
I think it is best to see v. 15 as reaching back into both v. 12 and vv. 13-14, accomplishing both of the purposes named above at the same time (SH, 325). The key thought linking the end of v. 12 and the end of v. 14 with v. 15 is the salvation (fullness, acceptance) of some of the hardened Jews. In v. 15 Paul is stating why he wants to see as many as possible from this group come to salvation, because that is nothing less than "life from the dead."
We cannot ignore the fact that the form of this verse is very close to that of v. 12: if A leads to B, then surely C leads to D. "Their transgression" and "their loss" in v. 12 correspond to "their rejection" in v. 15. In both cases "their" refers to the unbelieving, hardened Jews. In v. 12 their transgression and loss refer to their unbelief and subsequent lost state. But what is the meaning of "rejection" in v. 15?
The word translated "rejection" is ajpobolhv (apobolç ), which comes from the verb ajpobavllw (apoballô ), which means "to throw away, to reject, to remove, to lose." Dunn is correct (2:657) that the contrast with "acceptance" in v. 15b means that apobolç refers to the deliberate act of throwing away or rejecting something, rather than the passive act of losing something. But the question is, who is rejecting whom?
Some say it is the Jews' rejection of Christ and the gospel of his grace. Thus it would be equivalent to "transgression" in vv. 11-12. Fitzmyer prefers this view since 11:1 specifically affirms that God has not rejected his people (612). However, in spite of v. 1, most take v. 15 to mean God's rejection of the Jews, "their temporary casting away by God" (Cranfield, 2:562; see Moo, 692-693). This is equivalent to God's hardening of Israel (v. 7), and his breaking off of some of the branches (vv. 17-20). It is "God's response to Jewish unbelief" (McGuiggan, 327).
But in v. 1 did not Paul emphatically deny that God has rejected his people? How then can he say here that they have been rejected? The Greek words are different, but the concepts seem to be the same. Is there a contradiction, then? The answer is No, and the reason for this is very important. In v. 1 the issue is whether God has rejected the Jews as such, just because they are Jews. I.e., has he rejected every one of "his people"? The answer is obviously No, because there is a remnant of true believers who have not been rejected. But in v. 15 Paul is talking only about the nonremnant Jews, the unbelieving Jews who rejected the gospel and whom God hardened. After their initial refusal to accept their Messiah, God rejected them (hardened them, broke them off the tree).
It is important to understand this so that we do not interpret v. 15 as referring to Israel as a nation . This verse says nothing about God's relationship with the nation as a whole. It refers only to those individual Jews who spurned the gospel and were consequently rejected by God, and to those individual Jews from among this group who later respond to the gospel and are consequently accepted by God - as individuals, on an individual basis. When we try to interpret v. 15 as referring to the Jews in general, or to the Jews as a corporate group, then we place it in conflict with v. 1.
God's rejection of the unbelieving Jews leads to the "reconciliation of the world." Here "world" must be taken in light of v. 12, where it refers especially to the Gentiles (Murray, 2:81; Lenski, 699-700). Thus the point is exactly the same as in the first two clauses of v. 12. "Riches for the world" (v. 12) and "the reconciliation of the world" (v. 15) both refer to the salvation of the Gentiles, with "reconciliation" being a specific aspect of that salvation (see 5:10; JC, 1:326-327). Reconciliation basically means the removal of hostility and the restoration of peace and friendship between two estranged parties. Some think this possibly refers to "the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile in one new people of God" (Barrett, 215; see Stott, 298). Others think it refers to the objective reconciliation of the whole world to God through Christ's propitiatory sacrifice, even if it is not accepted by all and applied to all (see 5:10-11; 2 Cor 5:19). This is Cranfield's view (2:562). Most probably, though, it refers to the actual subjective reconciliation of the believer to God, which is one aspect of individual salvation and the conversion process (see Lenski, 699; Moo, 693, n. 58). This reinforces the point made in the last paragraph, that Paul is thinking here of individuals rather than groups.
We now turn our attention to the second part of the verse, which is similar to the last clause in v. 12, both in its meaning and in its relation to the rest of the verse. I.e., if the assertion in the first part of the verse is true, then that gives us all the more reason to believe the second part.
"What will their acceptance be" is literally "what the acceptance." There is no verb, and no possessive pronoun ("their"). The latter should probably be understood, in view of the similarity to v. 12; but the insertion of the future tense ("will be") is based as much (if not more) on doctrinal presuppositions as on exegetical considerations. The word for "acceptance" is used only here in the NT, but the uses of its verb form support the translation "acceptance." Other possibilities are "reception," "taking to oneself," "acquisition" (Dunn, 2:657), and "the act of welcoming" (Godet, 403).
As with v. 15a we must ask the question, who is accepting whom? Some take it as referring to the Jews' "acceptance or welcoming of the gospel" (Fitzmyer, 612), but most take it to mean God's acceptance of repentant Jews back into a saving relationship with himself (Moo, 693). God has rejected them because of their unbelief (15a), but he is just as eager to receive them back to himself if they will but turn to him.
What is this acceptance? Since it is the grammatical equivalent of "fullness" in v. 12, and since many interpret that fullness to mean a dramatic, large-scale, end-time conversion of the Jewish people, this is a common interpretation of "acceptance" as well. It is "God's final acceptance of what is now unbelieving Israel," says Cranfield (2:562). "Here again we supply will be , and make the Apostle assert the future conversion of the Jews," says Lard (358). It refers, says Murray, to "the reception of Israel again into the favour and blessing of God," i.e., "Israel as a whole," or "the mass of Israel" (2:81).
There is no reason other than a dogmatic one to interpret the acceptance thus, however. We have seen that "fullness" in v. 12 need not have this meaning, and more likely refers to the salvation of individual Jews, something that was already occurring even as Paul wrote. Also, the "rejection" in v. 15a refers to the unbelieving Jews as individuals, not to the Jews as a nation; the same must be true of their "acceptance." We must also remember that there is no future-tense verb in the original text. Thus it is altogether appropriate to interpret this acceptance of the Jews as referring to the ongoing conversion of individual Jews, something that was already happening in Paul's day (Lenski, 700).
What happens when hardened Jews are converted? Well, says Paul, if God's casting away of the Jews results in the reconciliation of Gentiles to God, what can we expect as a result of their return and reception except "life from the dead"? This leads to our discussion of one of the most controversial expressions in this chapter, "life from the dead." Only v. 26 has "sparked more disagreement," says Moo (694).
What does it mean? Stott has identified three main answers: the literal, figurative, and spiritual views (298). Now, giving life to the dead in any sense is a marvelous event (see 4:17), but defenders of the first two of these views believe that in this case it must refer to some future, worldwide, awesome resurrection of unprecedented magnitude. This approach is based on their perception of Paul's lesser-to-greater arguments in both v. 12 and v. 15.
The common assumption is that in v. 12, the lesser element of the argument includes "riches," so the corresponding greater element must be "greater riches." Likewise it is assumed that in v. 15 the lesser includes "reconciliation," so the corresponding greater must be "life from the dead." In both verses what is perceived as the lesser element is identified with the individual's present experience of salvation. Therefore the "greater riches" and "life from the dead" must be something greater than present salvation. Therefore since regeneration is part of this present salvation, then "life from the dead" cannot be regeneration but must refer to something of much greater magnitude. As Stott says, " Much greater riches demands to be understood as something new, even spectacular. To refer it to the new life in Christ which we already enjoy would be an anticlimax" (298). Cranfield agrees, declaring that "life from the dead" "must clearly denote something surpassing everything signified" by "salvation" in v. 11, by the "riches" in v. 12, and by "reconciliation" in v. 15. Therefore "it cannot denote the spiritual blessings already being enjoyed by the believing Gentiles" (2:562). Dunn agrees that it must be "something more wonderful" (2:658), as does Moo: "The logic of the verse shows that it must refer to a blessing even greater or more climactic than the extension of reconciliation to the Gentiles." Why? Because "Paul argues from the lesser to the greater" (694).
What, then, is this greater "life from the dead"? The literal view says it refers to the final bodily resurrection of all the dead at the Second Coming of Christ, as preceded and signaled by the mass conversion of the Jews. This is Cranfield's view (2:563). It is clearly an eschatological event, says Dunn, i.e., "the final resurrection at the end of the age" (2:658). Moo agrees and gives a helpful listing of those holding to or sympathetic with this approach (694, n. 61). He also gives three main arguments for the view (695-696), citing the frequency with which the phrase "from the dead" is used of the final resurrection in the NT, the relation of this event to other parts of the total process described in ch. 11, and Paul's general apocalyptic tendencies.
The second view agrees that "life from the dead" must refer to some sort of sensational, unparalleled event, but interprets it in a figurative sense. It says that the Jews' fullness and reception will trigger some sort of "world-wide blessing which will so far surpass anything before experienced that it can only be likened to new life out of death" (Stott, 298). This will be "a great spiritual movement" (Morris, 411), "an unprecedented, semi-miraculous revival" (MP, 458), "an unprecedented quickening for the world in the expansion and success of the gospel" (Murray, 2:84), "a vast and intense revival of true religion from a state which, by comparison, was religious death" (Moule, 193). Since this is something triggered by the mass conversion of Jews, it must be a mass conversion of the Gentiles (Godet, 404), a "great spiritual harvest" from among the Gentiles (Lard, 359).
The final view, the spiritual view, is that "life from the dead" refers to an element of the individual's present salvation experience, namely, regeneration (see 6:4,11; 8:10; Eph 2:1-5; Col 12:12-13). Thus it is part of the "salvation" and the "riches" mentioned in vv. 11-12, and is in the same category as the "reconciliation" named in v. 15a. This, I believe, is the correct view.
But what about the common assumption that "life from the dead" must be something much different from and greater than this, in view of the fact that Paul is arguing from the lesser to the greater? In my judgment this is a major error based on a faulty understanding of the lesser-to-greater argument as Paul uses it here. As explained above in v. 12, the whole concept of "greater riches" misses Paul's point. There he is not arguing that if a lesser cause produces a significant effect ("riches"), then a greater cause will produce an even more significant effect ("greater riches"). Rather, he argues that if the lesser cause produces a significant effect, we have even greater reason to expect a greater cause to produce a similar effect. No greater effect is mentioned in the verse. The point is that the first two views above are based mainly on the assumption of an equivalence with the argument in v. 12, which itself is misinterpreted.
But what about v. 15? Indeed, there is a lesser-to-greater argument here, but the language is different from v. 12 and the logical force is weaker (Lenski, 701). But it is equivalent to v. 12 in the sense that the lesser-to-greater element in v. 15 (as in v. 12) lies only in the comparative causes in the two clauses, not in the effects. I.e., if the lesser cause (rejection of the Jews) produces a significant effect, then surely a greater cause (acceptance of the Jews) can be expected to produce a similarly significant effect. Thus the argument that "the logic of the verse" rules out the spiritual view is without foundation in fact.
Other considerations should be kept in mind. For example, we must remember that there are no verbs in this verse, and therefore no grammatical reason to think that "life from the dead" refers to some event that is only future. Also, the argument that the terminology "from the dead" refers only to the future bodily resurrection is offset by other linguistic data spelled out in detail by Murray (2:82-83). Also, apart from unfounded speculation regarding the meaning of "fullness" (vv. 12,25) the whole theme of eschatology simply does not appear in this context. The subject of personal salvation is dominant.
Thus we must see "life from the dead" as referring to the spiritual experience of regeneration, of passing over from the state of spiritual death to the state of spiritual life (John 5:24; Col 2:12-13). Paul may be including the Gentiles within the scope of this statement, but its main application is to the Jews themselves. I.e., if the Jews' rejection results in reconciliation for the Gentiles, then the Jews' reception results in their own resurrection to new life in Christ. See Lenski, 701-702; Hendriksen, 2:369. As McGuiggan says, "The Jewish 'received' state is called 'life from the dead'. It is the return of the prodigal in Luke 15. The boy had been lost and was therefore miserably unblessed; he had been 'dead' and was now 'alive from the dead'" (327). Referring to 4:17, Wright says that "the natural meaning of 11.15" is this: 'When a Gentile comes into the family of Christ, it is as it were a creatio ex nihilo , but when a Jew comes in it is like a resurrection'" ( Climax , 248).
When we understand it this way, we see that v. 15 is just summing up what Paul has said thus far in this paragraph. Verse 15a focuses on the spiritual riches enjoyed by the Gentiles, brought about by the Jews' unbelief and rejection (vv. 11-12); and v. 15b focuses on the salvation of the Jews themselves, brought about by their own envy of the Gentiles (vv. 13-14).
11:16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. Though many take this verse as starting the next paragraph, I agree with the NIV that it concludes the thought begun at v. 11. The general subject is still that there is hope for the salvation of the hardened portion of Israel. The main point is that God still has a special place in his heart for "his people," even those who have rejected their Messiah. This does not mean that they receive special treatment with reference to salvation (see 2:1-3:20), but it does mean that God still loves them and will make every possible effort to save them.
This verse uses two metaphors. The first is based on the fact of the divine ownership of all things. To reinforce this fact in the minds of the Jews, God required that the first portion of any product be set apart (made holy) to him in a special way. Paul is here alluding to one example of this general practice, i.e., presenting as an offering to God a portion of bread made from the meal ground from the first-harvested grain (Num 15:17-21). Though Num 15 does not specifically state this, based on the general practice it is assumed that the offering of the firstfruits "thereby consecrated to the Lord the entire grain harvest" (Hendriksen, 2:369), or all the flour and dough made from it.
The second metaphor is the relation of a tree's root to its branches. Since the root is the beginning of the pipeline through which the rest of a tree is watered and nourished, the condition of the root naturally affects the status of the branches as well. I.e., "if the root is holy, so are the branches."
The question is, what do these metaphors represent? In answering this question, two cautions must be observed. First, we should not assume that they are identical in meaning. Second, we should not assume that the point of the root-branches metaphor in v. 16 is the same as the point of the extended root-branches metaphor in vv. 17-24.
Some do take the metaphors to be parallel. For example, some have understood the firstfruits and the root to refer to Jesus Christ. In view of the context, though, it is more probable that they refer somehow to the Jews. The most common view is that the firstfruits and root refer to the patriarchs, especially Abraham, while the "whole batch" or entire "lump" (KJV, NASB), as well as the branches, refer to all the Jews who have descended from them. According to most who hold this view, the Jews as a nation will always be treated in a special way because of their relation to "the patriarchs" (v. 28). Moo says, "Both of the metaphors in v. 16, then, assert that the 'holiness' of the patriarchs conveys to all of Israel a similar holiness" (700). See MP, 463; SH, 326.
What, then, would be the nature of this shared holiness? In a generic sense, to be holy means to be separated or set apart from all the rest; in a religious generic sense it means to be set apart for God or consecrated to God in a way that is special but does not necessarily involve salvation. Some interpret v. 16 thus, as God's promise that the nation of Israel will always be a distinct and special people, just as the patriarchs were set apart in the beginning. Many tie this in with the idea that God will one day restore the Jewish nation to its "original pre-eminence as leaders in the worship of Jehovah" (MP, 464). This does not assert "the salvation of every Israelite but the continuing 'special' identity of the people of Israel in the eyes of the Lord" (Moo, 701). As such this verse gives "support for the ultimate recovery of Israel," says Murray (2:85). Here Paul gives "the grounds of his confidence in the future of Israel" (SH, 326).
Some do interpret "holiness" in a salvific sense, however, and see this verse as a promise that all Israel will one day be saved (see v. 26). To some this means spiritual Israel only, i.e., "all the spiritual descendants" of the patriarchs (Lenski, 703). To others it is a promise that one day all (or a great majority of) ethnic Jews will be saved. In this verse, says Morris, "Paul proceeds to bring out the certainty that Israel will in due course enter salvation" (411; see MacArthur, 2:114).
I disagree with all of the above views. A key point is that the two metaphors are not parallel in their meaning, as if the firstfruits and the root refer to the same thing, and the lump and the branches refer to the same thing. What do they mean, then? In other texts Paul uses the term "firstfruits" (ajparchv , aparchç ) to refer to the first converts in a particular context (16:5; 1 Cor 16:15). That is the point of the first metaphor here. The firstfruits are the early Jewish converts, the Jewish Christian remnant; the "batch" is the Jews as a whole, especially the unbelieving and hardened ones.
Also, "holy" here does have the connotation of salvation. This does not imply, though, that just as the first converts have been saved, so ultimately all Jews will be saved. It means this, rather: if some Jews can be saved, then all Jews can be saved. Lard says it right: "If the first Jewish christians were accepted of God, the whole nation is capable of being accepted. They are not irrevocably rejected" (360; see DeWelt, 183). It is the same hope that Paul holds out in this paragraph when he refers to the "fullness" and "acceptance" of the Jews (vv. 12,15).
The second metaphor is slightly different. The root includes the patriarchs but not them alone; it refers to the entire OT Israelite nation considered as a whole. The branches are all ethnic Jews living in the NT era, considered as individuals. Here the primary connotation of "holy" is the generic concept of "set apart" or "consecrated" to God, but its ultimate reference is still to salvation. The point is this: under the Old Covenant God chose the nation of Israel to be the instrument by which he worked his redemptive purpose in the world (9:6-29). Even though he no longer has a special purpose for Israel as a nation, nevertheless the love and concern he had for "his people" in OT times carries forward into the gospel era. Every branch, i.e., every individual Jew, is just as personally precious and special to him today as was the root, the nation of old. Thus the door of salvation is still open even to the hardened, unbelieving Jews. God is waiting to add them to the remnant.
The point of the verse, then, is not to promise that Israel as a nation will be restored to its OT prominence, nor to guarantee that all Jews actually will be saved. Rather, it is to stress the fact that any and all Jews can be saved (v. 16a), and that God wants them to be saved (v. 16b). Following up on this, the point of the next paragraph is to show exactly how they can be saved.
D. THE OLIVE TREE: A METAPHOR OF JUDGMENT
AND HOPE (11:17-24)
Introduction
In this paragraph Paul stays with the metaphor of the olive tree, but he expands it considerably and uses it for different purposes. In brief, he uses it to show how the NT church is related to OT Israel, and how Jews and Gentiles are related to the church. The main point of vv. 17-22 is a double warning to Gentile Christians. They are warned not to have an attitude of self-righteous superiority toward unbelieving Jews, and not to presume that they are any more immune to falling away than the Jews who fell. The main point of vv. 23-24, on the other hand, is an explanation of how the fallen and hardened Jews can be saved.
Why has Paul used the olive tree as a basis for making these points? For one thing, the OT compares God's people with an olive tree (Jer 11:16; Hos 14:6). Also, it was something his initial readers would have been very familiar with. Dunn notes that "the olive tree was the most widely cultivated fruit tree in the Mediterranean area" (2:660-661). Also, the common practice of grafting branches from one olive tree to another was a perfect illustration of the points he wanted to make.
Since Paul has just used the root-branches metaphor in v. 16, we would expect these two elements to have the same basic meaning in this new paragraph; and most agree that this is so. E.g., those who identified the root with the patriarchs in v. 16 do the same here. I agree that this is the best approach. Thus, as in v. 16, I identify the root with OT Israel as a national unit, and I identify the branches as (in part) including (some) individual Jews who live in this NT era.
In vv. 17-24, however, Paul has expanded the metaphor in at least three ways. First, the concept of the tree as a whole is important here. Whereas v. 16 was about the relationship between generic roots and branches, here a particular tree is in view. How the roots and branches of this tree are related is still important, but it is also important that we understand the character of the tree as a whole. Second, the branches are not limited to individual Jews, but refer also to individual Gentiles. Finally, the grafting of branches is a central element of the metaphor in this paragraph.
The rest of this introduction will explain, first, the concept of the olive tree as a whole, and second, the imagery of the pruning and grafting of the branches.
The Meaning of the Olive Tree as a Whole
Exactly what does this olive tree stand for? It represents the people of God in a general sense, including both OT Israel and the NT church, the latter including both Jews and Gentiles (see Moo, 698). This tree cannot be limited to ethnic Israel alone, as some think (see Fitzmyer, 610, for examples).
In one sense the nation of Israel as it existed in the OT era was a kind of prototree, and was a precursor of Paul's olive tree. This is suggested by the references to the breaking off of some of the Jewish branches (vv. 17-21). If they were broken off, then they were already attached to something. Also, Paul calls his tree the Jews' "own olive tree" (v. 24). In this sense pre-Christian Israel was itself a tree, but this is not Paul's main point. Also, it is important to remember that the OT tree had no implications regarding the salvation of the individual Jews attached thereto as branches. The tree as a whole was an instrument by which God was working out his salvation purposes; some of the individual branches were saved and some were not.
Whatever the nature of this prototree which led to the existence of Paul's olive tree, we must recognize that it underwent a radical transformation in character and purpose with the coming of the NT era. In Paul's metaphor OT Israel is not identified with the tree as a whole, but only with its root. His focus is on the individual branches as they relate to this root. These branches themselves constitute an entirely new group: the NT people of God, the church. Most importantly, unlike the OT prototree, Paul's olive tree is a soteric metaphor. Its branches as a whole are the aggregate of all saved individuals in this new era.
We may now look more closely at the composition of the olive tree. As in v. 16, the root stands for OT Israel as a whole. Thus it includes but is not limited to the patriarchs. It represents the entire nation throughout its entire history from the patriarchs forward, not as the aggregate of saved individuals (the remnant), but as God's covenant servant. It represents Israel in its role of fulfilling God's redemptive purposes, culminating in the coming of the Messiah. Thus the root includes all blessings enumerated in 9:4-5: the patriarchs, the covenants, the promises, and in a sense even the Messiah himself.
The branches of the tree, which are the focal point of the metaphor, are the saved individuals of the NT era. As such they are the new Israel. The olive tree as a whole represents the two Israels to which v. 9:6b alludes, "For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." The root is OT ethnic Israel; the branches are NT spiritual Israel. When the Messiah came and the OT prototree was transformed into the olive tree, this transformation was a moment of crisis for all Jews. Prior to this time all individual Jews - unbelievers as well as believers - were part of the prototree as an instrument of service to God. But with the coming of Christ and the transformation of the tree, all unbelieving Jews as individual branches of the old tree were broken off. There are no unbelievers on the olive tree; its branches consist of believers only.
The olive tree metaphor teaches us that there is a definite discontinuity between OT Israel and the NT church. Paul's tree is not the same as the OT prototree. The latter was transformed at Pentecost (see MP, 464-465) into something different. What once was an entire tree is now just the root of a new tree. The church is as different from Israel as a tree's branches are different from its root.
But this fact in itself implies a continuity between OT Israel and the NT church. The old tree was not simply cut down and replaced with a completely new one. The church by itself is not the entire tree, but only the branches that are growing from a root that is part of that same tree. The two parts of this one tree have never existed simultaneously but are sequential in time. I.e., the root and the branches represent two interconnected stages in salvation history. Though the root itself no longer exists, its prior existence was an essential preparation for the present reality of the branches. Herein lies the basis for one of Paul's main points in this section: the relationship of dependence between the two Israels. I.e., the church as the new Israel is dependent upon what was accomplished by old Israel. The NT branches would have no existence apart from their OT root, and they constantly reap the rich benefits of what God has done through the latter (vv. 17-18). This is one reason why Paul warns the Gentile Christians not to boast over the fallen Jews (v. 18a).
The Imagery of the Pruning and Grafting of the Branches
While the meaning of the olive tree as a whole tells us something about the relation between OT Israel and the NT church, the imagery of the pruning and grafting of individual branches tells us something about the salvation of Jews and Gentiles in the NT era. Unlike the root-branches illustration in v. 16, which dealt exclusively with Jews, the branches in the extended metaphor include both Jews and Gentiles. While Jewish Christians are described as belonging naturally to the "cultivated" olive tree, Gentile Christians are pictured as belonging by nature to a "wild" olive tree and being grafted into the cultivated one (v. 24).
Paul's discussion of Jews and Gentiles in this paragraph is in terms of God's pruning some branches from the tree and grafting others into it. A crucial point is that, when the OT prototree was transformed into the present olive tree, some of the original branches (Jews) that were attached to the former were broken off, which is an indication of their lost state. Before the transformation some of these attached branches were already lost, since the prototree did not have a soteric significance. But when Christ came and the tree was changed, all Jews who refused to accept him as their Savior were removed from the tree. We have every reason to assume that this included some Jews who were previously in a saved state because of their faith in Yahweh as he was known through OT revelation, but who rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah. On the other hand, all Jews who did believe in Jesus remained as branches on the new tree.
At the same time, all Gentiles who accepted Jesus as their Savior were taken from the wild olive tree (the pagan world) and were grafted into the cultivated and transformed olive tree, alongside the believing Jews, in the community of salvation.
Some have raised questions about the accuracy of Paul's knowledge of the olive industry. It seems that the usual procedure for grafting olive branches is to take a shoot from a cultivated but depleted tree and graft it into a wild but vigorous tree, but here it is just the opposite. Some have concluded that Paul as a naïve city boy was just showing his ignorance. Others point to a few ancient sources which show that wild-to-tame grafts were sometimes made, just as Paul describes. Still others say that Paul knew wild-to-tame grafts were not a natural procedure, but he reversed the process in order to show that grace deliberately contravenes nature (v. 24). Either of the last two explanations is acceptable. The details of grafting as an agricultural practice are not crucial to Paul's point. He simply incorporates the general concept into his metaphor and adapts it for his own purposes; one does not have to be an olive tree expert to understand what he is saying.
Paul uses the practice of grafting to make two main points. One is that the Gentile Christians, as wild olive branches grafted into a cultivated tree, have absolutely no room for boasting or considering themselves superior to the Jewish branches that were broken off the tree (vv. 17-22). One reason is that they are dependent upon the Jewish root of the tree for their very salvation and sustenance (v. 18b). The other reason is that their being grafted into the tree is due to their faith in what Christ has done, not to some boastworthy achievement accomplished by their own hands. If they ever reach a point where they no longer believe in Jesus, they too will be broken off just as the unbelieving Jews were (vv. 20-21).
Paul's other point is a continuation of his theme in vv. 11-16, that the lopped-off Jews are not irrevocably lost but can still be saved, even though they are now in an unbelieving and hardened state. Here he is not just declaring that they can be saved, but showing how they can be saved, namely, by being grafted again into their own (transformed) olive tree, the church (vv. 23-24). This regrafting is done branch by branch, as individual Jews come to believe in their Messiah. It has absolutely nothing to do with a supposed "future restoration" of the Jewish nation (contra Godet, 404), or a time when "the natural descendants of Abraham will . . . once again be the Lord's chosen people of blessing" (contra MacArthur, 2:118). It is a possibility that is open to all Jews, any time, anywhere. The stated requirement is simply that they "not persist in unbelief" (v. 23). If they do not, then they will become branches on the tree, i.e., members of the church of Jesus Christ. This is the one hope of Gentiles and Jews alike; this is how "all Israel will be saved" (v. 26).
We should note Paul's emphasis on faith or the lack of it as the key to whether one is part of the olive tree or not. This is consistent with the main theme of Romans, that sinners are saved by grace through faith, and not by works of law (3:28), and consistent with his emphasis on faith in the previous main section (9:30-10:21).
1. Words of Warning to Gentile Christians (11:17-22)
The first part of this paragraph is a specific warning to Gentile Christians not to think of themselves as somehow superior to the Jewish branches that were broken off the tree. This may reflect some tension within the Roman church between Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians, and it may reflect a general cultural anti-Semitism carried over into the church by converted Gentiles. But these are matters of speculation and need not concern us, since the arrogant attitude of which Paul speaks could have been readily aroused just by unsound reflection upon Israel's history and the early decades of church history.
11:17-18a If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. This is an "if-then" sentence in which the if-clause (the protasis, v. 17) is assumed to be true, with the then-clause (the apodosis, v. 18a) naturally following.
Paul keeps the root-branches metaphor introduced in v. 16 and begins to apply it to the way individual Jews and Gentiles are saved. He refers first to the Jews, who are compared with branches on a tree, some of which have been "broken off." This refers to the Jews who refused to accept Christ as their Messiah, and to God's punitive act of hardening and rejecting them (vv. 7, 15). That Paul says only "some" branches were broken off is a deliberate understatement reminiscent of 3:3. Actually the majority of Jews were in this category.
Next Paul refers to the Gentile Christians, whom he is addressing (v. 13). He uses the singular "you" to put his admonitions on a more personal level. This "you" is the typical Gentile Christian representing the whole group (Dunn, 2:673). Paul addressed the Jews in a similar way in 2:1ff.
The Gentile Christian is here described as "a wild olive shoot" (a branch cut from a wild or uncultivated olive tree) that has been grafted into the cultivated olive tree "among the others." The branches of this cultivated tree represent the NT church, and "the others" are the Jews who were the first converts to Christ and thus the first branches on the tree. That the wild branches were grafted in "among" them (beginning in Acts 10) means that they were placed alongside the Jewish Christians who had already been there from Acts 2 and following.
The last part of the protasis also speaks of Gentile Christians. It describes the result of their being grafted into the olive tree alongside the believing Jews. When this happened, says Paul, the Gentile Christians immediately became "fellow partakers" or "sharers together" (i.e., along with the Jewish Christians) of "the nourishing sap from the olive root." As seen in the introduction above, this root is OT Israel as it fulfilled its covenant purpose of bringing the Messiah into the world. In this sense OT Israel is the indispensable source of all the spiritual benefits that are absorbed by the branches, i.e., by each individual member of the church.
The Greek text for "the nourishing sap" is somewhat uncertain (see Moo, 696-697, n. 1). The best reading literally says "of the root of the fatness." This can be translated "in the root, that is to say, in the fatness (of the root)" (Cranfield, 2:567). The NIV follows this option, using "nourishing sap" to translate the word for "fatness" or "richness." The phrase can also be rendered "the rich root" (Moo, 702, n. 28; see the NASB). Either way the main point is that when a Gentile becomes a Christian, he immediately begins to draw upon all the spiritual blessings made possible by two millennia of Jewish history - blessings which are a natural inheritance for Jews who accept their Messiah. The Gentile Christian becomes a partaker in "the blessing of Abraham" (Gal 3:14, NASB); whether he realizes it or not, his "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22). See v. 18b.
In v. 18a Paul draws his conclusion from v. 17: "Do not boast over those branches." This is in the form of an exhortation, but its logical force is "you have no reason" to boast over them. Paul still addresses Gentile Christians (in the person of their typical representative); "those branches" are the Jews. Do these Jewish branches include both Jewish Christians ("the others") and the broken-off branches, or do they include only the branches that were broken off? I agree with Murray (2:86) that the latter is probably the case, in view of v. 19.
Thus in this exhortation Paul warns Gentile Christians not to brag or boast over against the Jews who were broken off the tree, as if becoming a Christian were the result of some kind of competition between the two groups, with the Gentiles being the winners. You have no reason to boast, he says, as if being grafted into the tree were a sign of your superiority over those rejected Jews.
11:18b If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. This is not an implicit permission to go ahead and boast. Rather, Paul is saying, "If you are still inclined to boast, or if you still have a boastful spirit, please remember this . . . ."
What Paul asks them to remember is very close in meaning to v. 17c, but here he is more forceful: " You [emphatic] do not support the root, but [emphatic] the root supports you." It is important to see that the root is not just the patriarchs, as many believe, and especially not just "the covenant of salvation that God made with Abraham," but the entire scope of the Jews' covenant service from Abraham to Christ. Paul is thus asking the Gentile Christians, "What, historically, do the Jews owe to you? Which of their glorious blessings (9:4-5) came through you? Obviously, none; so your boasting is vain. The relationship of dependence is actually the other way around." In Denney's words, "You owe all you are proud of to an (artificially formed) relation to the race you would despise" (680). "Any merit, any virtue, any hope of salvation that the Gentiles may have arises entirely from the fact that they are grafted in a stock" that is fully Jewish (SH, 329). How can they ignore their Jewish heritage? "It is that very heritage upon which the Gentile Christians themselves depend for their own spiritual standing" (Moo, 704).
Moo notes that Paul uses present tense: this OT root "continues to be the source of spiritual nourishment that believers require" (704). "A church which is not drawing upon the sustenance of its Jewish heritage . . . would be a contradiction in terms for Paul" (Dunn, 2:662).
11:19 Wanting to drive this point home further, Paul puts a question in the mouth of the proud Gentile Christian: You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." The way Paul words the question highlights the egotism that he wants to turn aside: "Branches were broken off so that I, even I , could be grafted in!" The implication is that this person thinks God excluded some Jews from the church just to make a place for Gentile believers. "That surely involves some superiority in me," is the implied conclusion (Denney, 680). "I am surely better than those unbelieving Jews!" (Bruce, 218).
11:20a Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Paul's opening word, "Granted" (kalw'" , kalôs ), can be taken as "qualified agreement" (Moo, 705); it is "a form of partial and often ironical assent" (MP, 467). In other words, "There is some truth in what you are saying." Here Paul is probably referring to the point made in vv. 11-16, that "because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles" (v. 11), and "their rejection is the reconciliation of the world" (v. 15).
Paul's next statement can be paraphrased thus: "But this is not the whole story, and it is not even the most important part of the story. It's true that many Jews were broken off, and it's true that you, a Gentile, were grafted in. But this is not a neat, self-contained cause-and-effect sequence, as if there were some sort of intrinsic connection between these two events. No, the important fact is this: the Jews were broken off because of their unbelief ! They refused to believe in Jesus! Those who believed in him were not broken off; would that this had been true for all of them! And you: why have you been grafted into the tree? Not because the Jews were broken off, but only because you have put your faith in Jesus. Even if every Jew had believed, you would still have been grafted into the tree by virtue of your faith."
The implied conclusion, again, is that the circumstances of the Jews' rejection and the Gentiles' acceptance gave the latter absolutely no room for boasting against the former. This warning is reinforced by the reminder that the Gentiles stand, i.e., are saved, only by faith - a way of salvation that insistently excludes any reason for boasting (3:27; Eph 2:8-9).
11:20b-21 Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Here Paul tells the Gentile Christians the proper attitude to develop in place of arrogance: the fear of God. "Do not be arrogant" is literally "do not have high-minded thoughts" (see 12:16; 1 Tim 6:17), i.e., do not think so highly of yourselves. Instead, you should "fear" (NASB), or "be afraid" (NIV).
Either of these translations may be a proper rendering of the Greek fobevw (phobeô ), but they do not necessarily have the same connotation. The fear of God takes two different forms. One is the healthy, reverential awe of the creature before his Creator. The other is the terror and dread of the sinner in the presence of the holy Lawgiver and Judge.
To which of these kinds of fear is Paul referring? Certainly to the first, which is always a main element of holy living. Also, there is no better antidote to arrogance, nothing more conducive to humility, than to come to a full realization of our creatureliness before God Almighty. But what about the second, being afraid of the Judgment? Certainly when it is truly felt, this kind of fear likewise cancels out arrogance as fire consumes tissue paper. As a rule, such fear is inappropriate for Christians, since we are free from condemnation thanks to justification by faith in the blood of Christ. But there is one context in which the fear of terror is still necessary even for Christians, namely, when we stand on the brink of apostasy or falling away. In such a situation, how can we not call to mind that "it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb 10:31)? In view of Paul's warning to the Gentile Christians in v. 21, I think he probably also has this kind of fear in mind in v. 20b, i.e., terror at the prospect of being cut off.
We should make no mistake: in v. 21 Paul holds before us all the real possibility of falling from grace and losing our salvation. This is another reason why Gentile Christians, and Jewish Christians as well, should realize the folly of arrogance regarding their salvation status. Here Paul uses an argument from the greater to the lesser. The "natural branches" are the Jews, who in view of their natal association with the root are inherently suitable for being attached as branches to the tree. But even so, when some refused to believe in Jesus, God did not spare them. I.e., he rejected them and broke them off the tree. This was true even if they were in a saved state before being confronted with the gospel. If they refused to convert their faith in Yahweh to a Trinitarian faith, they were broken off, and given no place in the transformed olive tree. And if God did not spare even these, he will certainly not spare the wild olive branches - Gentile Christians - that have no natural connection with the tree, if they return to their unbelief.
11:22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: . . . This refers to what are rightly called "the two sides of the Divine character" (SH, 329). "Kindness" (crhstovth" , chrçstotçs ; see 2:4) is an attitude of goodwill and generosity toward others, a goodness of heart or "kindly disposition" (SH, 55) that desires the happiness of others and especially their salvation. "Sternness" (ajpotomiva , apotomia ; "severity," NASB) is an attitude of relentless and vigorous commitment to justice, including retributive justice; a strict upholding of the requirements of the law; an "inflexible hardness and severity" in judging (see Köster, "tevmnw ," 107-108). Obviously, then, "the kindness and sternness of God" are "a fascinating contrast of attitudes, held simultaneously," as Morris says (416).
These two attributes are generally equivalent to God's love and God's holiness, which I believe are the two most basic and equally-ultimate moral attributes of God. God's love is his basic goodwill toward other moral beings. Other attributes within the sphere of his love are mercy, patience, grace, and kindness. God's holiness, on the other hand, is his perfect moral character, which is the basis of his work as Lawgiver and Judge. It embraces other attributes such as wrath and vengeance. See GRe, 238-239, 255-257.
Because these two sides of God's nature are equally ultimate, it is a serious misconception to think that they are just two different ways of expressing the same divine attribute. An example of this error is Cranfield's assertion that both kindness and sternness "are the expression of God's holy and faithful love" (2:569-570). There is probably no more widespread false doctrine in Christendom than this, and few with more serious consequences. See GRe , 303-314.
At the same time I will agree with Dunn's contention that these two aspects of God's nature are not of "equal weight," since in Scripture the "stronger emphasis is on grace and mercy" (2:665). This makes his holiness and wrath no less real, no less distinct, and no less ultimate, however. See GRe, 372-375.
Why does Paul admonish the representative Gentile Christian (and us) to "consider" or "observe" the kindness and sternness of God? Because these are the two basic attributes that God expresses toward sinners, depending on their response to the grace of his Son, Jesus Christ. In this context they are the attributes that lie behind the breaking off of the unbelieving Jewish branches and the grafting in of the believing Gentile branches: sternness to those who fell, i.e., the Jews who rejected Christ (v. 11), but kindness to you as a Gentile who has accepted Christ.
In v. 20 Paul stressed that the reason the Gentile Christians were grafted into the tree was their faith in the Messiah, not some merit on their part. Here he shows that God's willingness to accept someone on the simple basis of faith in Christ is a matter of his gracious kindness. There is no merit in faith itself.
Paul says all these things to set up his final warning to Gentile Christians, which also applies to all branches on the olive tree (all members of his church) in all times and places. I.e., the very fact that you are on the tree (and by implication saved) means that you have received the kindness of God. But be warned: you will remain on the tree as a recipient of God's kindness provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.
"Provided that you continue" is ejavn ( ean ) with the subjunctive, a form that expresses a contingency that may or may not be the case in the future. (For the same form see 13:4; 14:8.) God will continue to bestow his kindness upon you, if and only if you "continue in his kindness." To "continue in" God's kindness means to continue to trust his kindness and grace as embodied in the saving work of Jesus. What will happen if you do not continue to trust God's grace? Paul's answer is very clear: "you also," like the Jews who refused to believe, "will be cut off." You will lose your salvation.
This verse brings into sharp focus the issue of whether or not salvation is conditional, which includes the issue of "once saved, always saved." In general Calvinists believe that God's grace is sovereignly bestowed and maintained in an unconditional way, and non-Calvinists believe that it is conditional. But even some non-Calvinists hold that once a person believes by his own free choice, he will unconditionally continue to believe from that point on. This is the essence of the "once saved, always saved" doctrine.
In my judgment this verse unequivocally supports the view that salvation is conditional. Just as becoming saved is conditioned upon faith, staying saved is conditioned upon continuing to believe. You will remain as a branch on the olive tree "if you continue" (NASB) in God's kindness. (See Col 1:23 for the very same point.) More specifically this verse shows that falling from a saved state and thus losing one's salvation is possible. Dunn rightly says, "The possibility of believers 'falling away' . . . , apostatizing, is one which Paul certainly did not exclude." He adds, "Perseverance is a Christian responsibility rather than an unconditional promise" (2:664-665).
How do Calvinists handle this text? One may be surprised to see the strong Calvinist William Hendriksen conclude from this verse that God's kindness is "not unconditional. It requires genuine faith on man's part" (2:375). At the same time this verse does not imply "that those who truly belong to him will ever be rejected," as Stott explains (301).
But how could anyone believe that salvation is truly conditional, and at the same time deny the possibility of falling away? The answer, for the Calvinist, is as follows. First, God does require sinners to have faith in Jesus as a condition for being saved. Therefore, technically, salvation is conditional. But at the same time God sovereignly determines who will have faith and who will not. To those whom God has unconditionally chosen for eternal life, he unconditionally gives the gift of faith. Once the faith has been given, of course, it is the person who believes, and not God. Thus the person is fulfilling the condition for salvation. Hendriksen (2:375) says of 11:22 that it
must not be understood in the sense that God will supply the kindness, man the faith. Salvation is ever God's gift. It is never a 50-50 affair. From start to finish it is the work of God. But this does not remove human responsibility. God does not exercise faith for man or in his place. It is and remains man who reposes his trust in God, but it is God who both imparts this faith to him and enables him to use it.
This, says Hendriksen, is the "sound, biblical sense . . . in which we can speak about salvation as being conditional ."
I sincerely believe that this and other such explanations are nothing but theological double-talk. To say that this is a "sound, biblical sense" in which salvation is conditional, and that such a system "does not remove human responsibility," is a sham. It is not enough just to say that God sets conditions for salvation. The Calvinist may begin with this premise, but then he declares that God unconditionally decides who will meet the conditions, and then unilaterally causes them to meet these conditions. In such a scenario there are no conditionality and human responsibility in any normal sense of these terms.
If persevering faith is a sovereign gift of God, what is the purpose of warnings in the Bible, such as the one in 11:22? Moule (197) grants that such passages imply " contingency in man's continuance in the mercy of God," but they are nevertheless in harmony with "sovereign and prevailing Divine grace." This is true because God both gives and preserves faith in the elect. The chosen will without fail persevere in faith, because God will infallibly enable them to do so. As Moule says, "Grace imparts perseverance by imparting and maintaining faith." And how does grace maintain faith? Among other things, "faith is properly animated and energized" through these warnings themselves.
In my opinion all such attempts to harmonize the "if" in 11:22 (or elsewhere) with Calvinism, or with any "once saved, always saved" belief, amount to more double-talk and reduce Paul's warning to a travesty. Unless there is a genuine possibility that this warning may be disregarded by a genuine believer, then it is not a warning at all, and its very presence in the Bible is deceptive.
Moo's attempt (707, n. 57) to reconcile 11:22 with a denial of the possibility of falling away is a little different but just as untenable. His view is that not every branch on the tree is a true believer in the first place. This must be true, he says, because the unbelieving Jews who were cut off the tree in reality were never part of the tree at all. It is only for the sake of his metaphor that "Paul presents them as if they had been. In the same way, then, those Gentiles within the church . . . who appear to be part of God's people, yet do not continue in faith, may never have been part of that tree at all."
This explanation fails for three reasons. One, it is an unwarranted assumption that all the Jews who were originally cut off from the tree were never truly saved to begin with. As I have already stated, it is quite likely that many Jews who had a faith adequate to save them in light of the limitations of the OT revelation refused to elevate their faith to the NT level when first confronted with the gospel. (Paul himself may have been in this category.) These would be among the branches that were broken off.
Second, Moo's explanation does not take account of the difference between the OT prototree and the olive tree as it has existed under the New Covenant dispensation. All Jews were branches on the former, but this had no soteric implications. The latter is occupied solely by those who are saved, Jews and Gentiles. Is this not the point of the breaking off of the unbelieving Jewish branches in the first place?
Third, the speculation that the Gentiles who do not continue in the faith may never have been part of the tree at all goes against everything Paul says in this paragraph. "You stand by faith," he says to the Gentile representative in v. 20. If the addressee is not saved - not truly part of the tree, then everything about this statement is false. God's kindness has been given to you, Paul says in v. 22, in contrast with the fallen Jews who received God's sternness. There is no way to reconcile this affirmation with a mere appearance of salvation.
The focus in vv. 23-24 will shift to the fallen Jews, but at this point we may note that the conditional promise about Jewish unbelievers in v. 23a is parallel in every way to the conditional warning about Gentile believers in v. 22b. If we cannot take the warning seriously, why should we take the promise seriously? If we say that v. 22 does not imply that an actual falling away can take place, must we not assume that v. 23 does not mean that any fallen Jews will actually be saved? But no one would ever consider the latter. Here is a statement by Stott (301): "After this warning to Gentile believers against pride and presumption, Paul is ready with his promise to Jewish unbelievers. His argument is that if those grafted in could be cut off, then those cut off could be grafted in again." Just so! But the "once saved, always saved" doctrine completely destroys the symmetry between the two conditions and leaves the latter open to doubt. Indeed, Stott himself says of the warning in v. 22, "Not that those who truly belong to him will ever be rejected . . ."! However, I have yet to see him or anyone else say of v. 23, "Not that those Jews who truly rejected him will ever be accepted . . . ."
2. Words of Hope for Hardened Jews (11:23-24)
In these last two verses about the olive tree, Paul returns to the main theme of the chapter, that God has not completely rejected the Jews. It is true that only a remnant accepted the Messiah in the beginning, and that the rest were hardened, rejected, and broken off the tree. But since v. 11 Paul has held forth the possibility and the hope that individuals in this latter group may still return to God. Here he reaffirms that hope as he shows how the rejected Jews may be saved.
11:23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, . . . The parallelism between v. 22b and v. 23a is obvious when we slightly reword 22b while keeping the same thought:
If you [believing Gentiles] do not continue in God's kindness, you will be cut off the tree.
If you [unbelieving Jews] do not continue in unbelief, you will be grafted back into the tree.
The subject here is obviously "those who fell" (v. 22), the Jewish unbelievers. Literally Paul says, "And those also," or, "Yes, and they too" (SH, 330). The verb translated "persist" is the same one translated "continue" in v. 22; and the conditional form is the same, ean with the subjunctive. The then-clause is just the simple future tense of ejgkentrivzw (enkentrizô , used in vv. 17,19), "they will be grafted in." To be grafted into the tree is the equivalent of "life from the dead" in v. 15.
This is a clear indication that God has not abandoned the Jewish people but is ready and willing to receive them back to himself at any time. "The door of opportunity for the entrance of Jews - even for initially hardened Jews - is standing open" (Hendriksen, 2:375).
It is also clear in this verse that the Jews' return to and acceptance by God is conditional . It is conditioned upon their change of heart concerning Jesus. They will be grafted into the tree if they do not continue in unbelief, but turn to Jesus in full faith and surrender. The promise that they will be grafted in is a promise that they will be saved.
In spite of the clear and obvious conditional nature of this promise, some interpreters completely ignore the stated condition and take Paul's statement as an absolute promise that the Jews - all of them - will one day be saved. One writer says that Paul is here speaking of Israel's "glad future" when the whole nation ("all Israel") "shall be grafted in" and restored to "all their original privileges and rights." Even if vv. 23-24 reveal it only as a possibility, it is "established fully as a decreed event in the next section" (MP, 468). Another says of v. 23, "In the end, Israel will accept God's act for her in Christ and will return to her natural place within God's chosen people" (Achtemeier, 184). Commenting on vv. 23-24, MacArthur says, "The destiny of Israel can and will be reversed. Her return to the Lord not only is possible but certain" (2:122). Even though this promise is given here with a condition, "God had long beforehand assured His people that the condition would be met" (2:118).
What is happening here? Just as in reference to v. 22b, we are witnessing an inability - or an unwillingness - to take seriously the significance of Paul's "if." In v. 22, in the interest of preserving the "once saved, always saved" doctrine, some declare that the if-clause is something that will not happen, period. Here in v. 23, in the interest of supporting a particular view of the end-times, some declare that the if-clause is something that will happen, period. Paul might just as well have omitted the "if" in both cases.
We must take Paul at his word. He does not say "when"; he says "if." Hendriksen rightly reminds us that "the apostle does not say or imply that one day all unbelieving Jews are going to be grafted back into their own olive tree" (2:376). Or as Murray puts it, "No assurance is given in this verse that Israel will desist from unbelief" (2:89). Contrary to Fitzmyer, who says "Paul expects unbelieving Israel to be grafted once again" into the tree (616), McGuiggan rightly says that the tone of the verse suggests that he was not predicting "a national scale conversion of the Jews" (331).
We cannot say, of course, that this will never happen. But whether few or many Jews do come to faith in Christ, this verse shows how they will be saved and restored to God, namely, by being grafted into the olive tree, which is the church. There is absolutely nothing here about a restoration of the nation of Israel to its role as a separate and special people of God. The only thing Paul promises the Jews here, conditioned upon faith in Christ, is that they will be grafted into the olive tree. But this is not the same tree from which they were broken off in the first place. This is a transformed tree, only the root of which is OT national Israel. The branches are the new Israel, the church, and they consist of both believing Jews and believing Gentiles. To be joined to the tree is to be united with the Gentiles, not set apart from them again. To expect a national restoration to an OT-like special role is to go against the very essence of the olive-tree metaphor.
We must not allow such false hopes to blind us to the very real possibility Paul sets forth here. The Jews can become a part of the tree, for God is able to graft them in again. The promise does not depend on what was possible with regard to literal grafting practices; it depends on the supernatural power of God: "God is able." Denney says, "Even in the most hardened rejector of the Gospel we are not to limit either the resources of God's power or the possibilities of change in a self-conscious, self-determining creature" (681).
We should note that God's grafting the Jews into the tree is not the same as causing them to believe. The first part of this verse makes it clear that there is a difference between the believing and the grafting-in. God can and will graft them in, i.e., will add them to his church, but they must first meet the stated condition of not persisting in unbelief.
11:24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! This verse does not add anything new; it simply reinforces the last statement in v. 23, that God is able to graft the fallen Jewish branches back into the tree. It is an argument from the greater to the lesser. Paul says it is a lot easier to graft a broken-off branch back into its own olive tree than to graft wild and alien branches into that tree. Since God has already done the latter (in saving the Gentiles), we can be sure that the former (saving the Jews) will be no problem for him.
Using the singular, Paul still addresses the typical representative of all Gentile Christians. The first part of the verse sums up the Gentiles' situation in terms of the olive tree. The phrase "by nature" probably does not modify the wild olive tree itself (contra the NIV), but rather the branch that was cut out of it (see Cranfield, 2:571; Moo, 708, n. 63). I.e., it should read, "If you, who by nature belong to a wild olive tree, were cut off from that tree and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree . . . ."
This means that the Gentiles by nature belonged to the pagan world. This is where they were born and reared; this is where they learned and lived by the antibiblical worldview. This is where they were "at home," i.e., on the wild olive tree. But when they came to Christ they were cut off from this tree and grafted into the "cultivated olive tree," which is described as "cultivated" because of its Jewish root. The cultivation process includes all of God's dealings with the Jews from Abraham up to the first coming of Christ. Because of this background the earliest Jewish Christians - the first branches of the transformed olive tree - in a sense grew naturally out of this root. But when Gentiles were pried loose from their paganism and united with this OT root (Lenski, 712), this was definitely "contrary to nature," i.e., against everything they had thus far stood for.
On the other hand, v. 24b says that when unbelieving Jews ("these") are converted, this is like grafting broken-off branches back "into their own olive tree." Because of its Jewish root, even unbelieving, broken-off Jews have a natural affinity with the olive tree. Indeed, it is called "their own tree" for this very reason. OT ethnic Israel is not the tree as such, but it is the root of the tree. Thus when a Jew is converted to Christ he is being attached to his true roots; he is taking his natural place among the branches (the church) that were the divinely intended goal of the Israelite nation all along. What could be more natural than this?
Verse 24b is sometimes taken as an unqualified promise that the natural branches will be grafted in again, i.e., that they will be saved. E.g., Denney (682) says the future tense ("will be grafted in") refers to the "actual restoration of the Jews." In view of the "if-then" form of the verse, however, it is more reasonable to take this as a logical future. I.e., Paul is simply stating a greater-to-lesser argument: if A is true, then it is even more likely that B will also be true. Also, the condition in v. 23 must be carried over into v. 24; "will be grafted in" must be qualified with "if they do not persist in unbelief."
The main point is to show that from God's side, there is absolutely no obstacle to the Jews' salvation. Their hardening (v. 7) and their rejection (v. 15) need not be the final word concerning their eternal destiny. God is ready and willing to receive them back, if they will believe in their Redeemer. He has already added repentant, believing Gentiles to the church; and if he has done this, how much more likely is it that believing Jews will also be added? The key expression is povsw/ ma'llon (posô mallon , "by how much more"), the same phrase used in v. 12 in a similar kind of argument. The purpose of the present argument is to give us confidence in God's power to save even fallen Jews.
Two implications from this olive tree metaphor must be emphasized. First, there is in this New Covenant age only one olive tree, only one chosen people, only one way of salvation. Any Jews who are saved will be saved by being grafted into this one tree. The Jewish branches and the Gentile branches are joined together into one aggregate of saved persons (the church), where the Jew-Gentile distinction is irrelevant. As Moo says, "Basic to the whole metaphor is the unity of God's people." There is only one olive tree, "whose branches include both Jews and Gentiles" (709). Hendriksen says (2:376), "For Jew and Gentile salvation is the same. . . . Remember: ONE OLIVE TREE ."
A second implication is that, contrary to a common misconception, it is possible for someone who has fallen from grace to be restored to full fellowship with God. Heb 6:4-6 is often misinterpreted as teaching the opposite, that it is impossible for a once-saved but now-fallen person to be brought back to a saved state. Some translations perpetuate this error by the way they translate Heb 6:6 (e.g., the word "because" in the NIV, and "since" in the NASB).
The olive-tree metaphor, however, shows that this interpretation of Heb 6 is false. This is true because we must assume that some of the Jews who were broken off the tree (v. 17) were believers in Yahweh as they knew him from the OT revelation and were thus in a saved state until they heard the gospel of Jesus and initially refused to accept it. E.g., Acts 2:41 says about 3,000 persons were baptized and added to the church on the day of Pentecost, when the church began. Unless this number includes the entire Pentecost audience, or unless it constitutes one hundred per cent of the pre-Christian Jewish believers who were present, then we must assume that some believing Jews who were present at Pentecost "fell away" by not accepting Christ on that day. Since both of these possibilities are highly unlikely, we can assume that some of the "natural branches" being grafted back into the tree are fallen-away believers who are being restored to salvation. This means the alternative translation of Heb 6:6 given in the NIV and NASB margins ("while," i.e., "as long as") is the correct one.
In other words, Paul's teaching about the olive tree refutes both the "once saved, always saved" error, and the "once fallen, always fallen" error. Both are equally unbiblical.
E. GOD'S PLAN FOR ISRAEL'S SALVATION (11:25-32)
In this paragraph all eyes are usually focused on v. 26a, "And so all Israel will be saved." This is "the center of this paragraph," says Moo (712); the NIV makes this statement the heading for the entire section. What it means, though, is notoriously difficult, and is the subject of endless discussion. Every part of it is controversial. How extensive is the word "all"? Does "Israel" refer to ethnic or spiritual Israel? To what status is Israel "saved"?
One of the more common conclusions based on this text is that at some time in the future, at or near the end of this age, most living Jews will turn to Christ and be restored as a nation to a place of preeminence in God's kingdom. As Moule says, in this text Paul "now, in plain terms, reveals and predicts a great future Restoration" (197).
I cannot accept this interpretation, for reasons that will be made clear in the following exposition. At this point I will simply say that in v. 26a, emphasis is usually placed on the wrong word, namely, "all," with the verse being read thus: "And so all Israel will be saved." In my judgment the emphasis should be on the word "so," taken in the sense of "thus, in this manner." Thus we should read it: "And in this way all Israel will be saved." I.e., regarding Israel's salvation Paul's point is "How?" and not "How many?"
This does not mean that there is a question whether Israel's salvation will be by some means other than faith in Jesus. That issue has already been settled, especially in ch. 10. Rather, the question has to do with the interrelationship between Israel and the Gentiles, continuing the discussion begun in v. 11. Paul has already emphasized that Israel's sin and rejection have been used by God as a means to save the Gentiles; here he is emphasizing that the salvation of the Gentiles is God's means of bringing salvation to Israel.
This becomes clear when we view this paragraph in the perspective of ch. 11 as a whole. The discussion is still controlled by the question in 11:1, "Did God reject his people?" The answer is an emphatic No, for two reasons. First, there existed in the past, and there continues to exist "at the present time . . . a remnant chosen by grace" (11:5). What about "the others"? They were hardened (7b-10). Second, even those who are presently and hereafter hardened may still turn to Christ and be saved, because God has worked out a complex plan for showing mercy upon both Jews and Gentiles. This plan is spelled out in 11:11-32.
In the first step of his plan God uses the sin and hardening of Israel as a means of bringing the riches of salvation to the Gentiles. Paul emphasizes this in 11:11-16, while at the same time revealing that the salvation of the Gentiles will in turn be used to bring salvation to the Jews. The olive tree metaphor is an interlude meant to preclude Gentile Christian arrogance, especially by showing that the underlying reasons for being lost or saved are unbelief and belief respectively, for both Gentiles and Jews (11:17-24).
This leads to the present paragraph, where the main emphasis is on the climactic second step of God's plan, namely, that God will use the salvation of the Gentiles as a means of bringing salvation to the Jews. This is the way in which "all Israel will be saved." In v. 26a the word all is meant to be contrasted with the remnant saved "at the present time" (v. 5). I.e., in v. 5 Paul affirms that a saved remnant existed at the time of his writing. But what about "the others" - the mass of unsaved Jews, both present and future? They can be saved, too; and the burden of vv. 11-32 (vv. 25-32 in particular) is to show how this is done. I.e., all Israel, not just the presently-existing remnant, will be saved. But how will they be saved? In this way: by the fullness of the Gentiles (v. 25), if they put their faith in Jesus Christ . (v. 23).
These two main aspects of God's complex plan for showing mercy upon all are summed up in vv. 30-31: because of the Jews' disobedience the Gentiles have received mercy (v. 30; see vv. 11-16); and likewise because the Gentiles have received mercy, Israel will also receive mercy (v. 31; see vv. 25-32)!
What, then, is the purpose of this paragraph? Some think it is to reveal the mystery of Israel's future. For example, Dunn's heading for this section is "The Final Mystery Revealed" (2:675). Fitzmyer's heading is "The Mystery of Israel: It Will All Be Saved" (618). This can hardly be the purpose, however, since there is nothing in this paragraph that has not been stated or implied earlier.
Moo suggests that the purpose of vv. 25-32 is to resolve the tension present throughout chs. 9-11, i.e., the tension between "Israel's current hostile relationship with God" and "God's expressed and irrevocable promises to Israel" (712-713). But this issue as such was resolved in ch. 9, where Paul indicates that God's election of and promises to ethnic Israel related to their service and not to their salvation.
It is best to view this paragraph as presenting no new data, but as simply summing up the main points of ch. 11 with the main emphasis being on the way God uses the salvation of the Gentiles to bring mercy upon Israel. This serves as a fitting climax to chs. 9-11 as a whole, in that God is shown to be not just fair and faithful in his relationship with the Jews, but much more than fair in that he offers them his undeserved grace and mercy.
1. The Mystery of Israel's Salvation (11:25-27)
First of all Paul declares the mystery of Israel's salvation: its reality, its means, and its nature. He begins with a word not translated in the NIV: gavr ( gar , "for, because"). This word links vv. 25ff. with the olive tree illustration. Especially, the imagery of grafting the broken-off natural branches back into the tree helps us to understand how Israel will be saved.
11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: . . . "I do not want you to be ignorant" is a formula Paul sometimes uses to call attention to an important point (see on 1:13; JC, 1:96-97). "Brothers" is part of the formula. It indicates he is addressing the entire church, but the context shows he has Gentiles mainly in mind (see 11:13). In 11:17 he began using second person singular, addressing a typical representative Gentile Christian; but here he switches to second person plural. In this paragraph "you" and "they" still refer to Gentiles and Jews respectively.
Specifically, Paul does not want the Gentile Christians to be ignorant of "this mystery." The word "mystery" does not mean something that is and forever will be mysterious and incomprehensible. In the biblical context it refers to a truth once hidden in the mind of God and undiscoverable by human reason, but now made known by divine revelation and fully open to human understanding. Thus Paul is claiming that what he is teaching here is a revelation from God. We need not assume that it was revealed to Paul himself, though it probably was, nor that it was revealed only to him (see Eph 3:3-5). Nor should we assume that this was something revealed to him only at the moment he was writing these words (see Gal 1:11-18).
The reason Paul wants Gentile Christians to understand the mystery is "so that you may not be conceited," or "lest you be wise in your own estimation," as the NASB literally translates it. In vv. 18-20 Paul has already warned Gentile Christians against arrogant boasting in view of the fact that they were being gathered into the church while only relatively few Jews were being saved. Here he warns them again not to be "puffed up with self-importance" (Cranfield, 2:575), i.e., not to assume that God had permanently abandoned Israel and was now focusing his attention exclusively on them (see Morris, 419).
Exactly what is the content of the mystery that will nullify the Gentiles' pride? In the NT the word musthvrion (mystçrion ) is often used in a general way for revelation concerning Christ and his church. A mystery that was of special importance to Paul, though, was the revelation that God had always intended to include Jews and Gentiles together in the church of Jesus Christ (Eph 3:3, 4, 9; see 2:11-3:11). In Eph 3 the emphasis is on the fact that God is bringing the Gentiles into the church; here in 11:25 the emphasis is on the fact that unbelieving Jews may still be brought into the church.
More specifically, in 11:25 the mystery focuses on "interdependence between the salvation of the Gentiles and that of Jews" (Hendriksen, 2:378). I.e., not only are the Jews and Gentiles united together in the one church, but in accordance with God's plan each group in part owes its inclusion to the other. This is spelled out in the rest of this verse and the beginning of v. 26 in three clauses: (1) "Israel has experienced a hardening in part"; (2) "until the full number of the Gentiles has come in"; (3) "and so all Israel will be saved." This is the mystery, once hidden and now revealed. Moo rightly points out that the mystery is not just the fact that "all Israel will be saved," but rather the way Israel will be saved, as expressed in v. 25b (716-717; see also Murray, 2:92; Stott, 302). Actually, vv. 25b-26a are a kind of summary of what has already been taught in vv. 11-24; thus we should not assume that "this mystery" refers only to what follows. It includes the content of the preceding verses as well.
The first element of the mystery is that Israel has experienced a hardening in part . . . . Paul has already referred to this hardening in v. 7. As we saw there, it is God's response to Israel's initial rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. In essence it is "a judicial process by which he hands people over to their own stubbornness" (Stott, 302).
Paul says that Israel's hardening was only "in part" (ajpoΙ mevrou" , apo merous ). Most seem to understand this phrase in a numerical sense, i.e., only a part of Israel were hardened. The NRSV translates it, "A hardening has come upon part of Israel"; see Murray, 2:92; Cranfield, 2:575. If this is the meaning, it is certainly not a new thought, in view of the clear distinction made in v. 7 between the elect remnant and "the others."
In my judgment, though, this is not what Paul means. The sentence says literally that "hardness from a part has happened to Israel," not "hardness has happened to part of Israel." The word "part" is not the object of the verb, nor does the phrase "from a part" modify Israel. It is possible that it modifies "hardness" itself, but more likely it modifies the verb, as it does in its other four NT occurrences. Either way it means that even though Israel was hardened, the hardening was only partial; the unbelieving Jews were not completely hardened so as to preclude the possibility of repentance. The NIV ("a hardening in part") reflects this view, as does the NASB ("a partial hardening").
Is this a new point, not made known until v. 25? Not really. That the hardening is only partial is clearly implied in the earlier references to Israel's salvation (vv. 12,14-15,23-24). Thus it would seem that there is nothing new in this statement in v. 25 about Israel's hardening. This part of the "mystery" has already been set forth.
The heart of the mystery is in the next clause, i.e., that the hardening will last until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. Combined with the preceding clause, and read in the light of vv. 11-12,15,18, this implies that the hardening of Israel has something to do with the coming of the full number or fullness of the Gentiles. At the same time, taken with the following clause (26a), and read in the light of vv. 11,13-14, it implies that the fullness of the Gentiles has something to do with the salvation of "all Israel." As said earlier, the "mystery" thus is how salvation of Jews and Gentiles is interrelated. It is important for the Gentile Christians to see this, in order to avoid thinking too highly of themselves.
The key question is the meaning of the expression "the full number of the Gentiles." The word translated "full number" (plhvrwma , plçrôma ) is the same word the NIV translates as "fullness" in v. 12, where it refers to the fullness of the Jews. It seems that most interpreters favor the numerical connotation of the word, both here and in v. 12. It is said that Paul is referring to the "full destined number" of the Gentiles (Moule, 199); "the full completed number, the complement of the Gentiles, i.e., the Gentile world as a whole" (SH, 335); "the full number, totality, of the Gentiles" (Denney, 683); "numerical completion" (Moo, 719); "the full number of the saved Gentiles" (Lenski, 727). For some this refers to the total number of Gentiles saved over the whole course of church history up to the very end (e.g., Hendriksen, 2:378-379; Hoekema, Bible , 144). For others it refers to an unprecedented mass conversion of Gentiles near or at the end, "a greatly increased influx of Gentiles into God's kingdom" (Murray, 2:95; see Dunn, 2:680).
As was the case in v. 12, I cannot accept a numerical connotation for plçrôma . Hence (contra the NIV) I do not see this as referring to the "full number" of Gentiles, but rather to the fullness of salvation as it was proclaimed to and accepted by the Gentiles, beginning in Acts 10. (See on v. 12 above.) The NT nowhere else uses plçrôma in a numerical sense, but does use it for the fullness of salvation. See John 1:16; Rom 15:29; Eph 3:19. See also Col 2:10, which uses the verb form of the word: "you have been given fullness in Christ" (NIV). Thus the "fullness of the Gentiles" is the "spiritual wealth with which God will make the Gentiles full" (McGuiggan, 332, quoting Beet), "the abundant nature of the blessings in Christ's gospel" (ibid., 333). Thus Paul is not saying anything basically different from v. 11: "Because of [the Jews'] transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles"; or from v. 12: "Their loss means riches for the Gentiles"; or from v. 15: "Their rejection is the reconciliation of the world."
In what sense does this full salvation of the Gentiles "come in"? This is eijsevrcomai ( eiserchomai ), the common word for "go in, enter." In the NT it is occasionally used for people entering the kingdom (e.g., Matt 5:20; 7:21; John 3:5) or entering eternal life (Mark 9:43,45). Thus many take it in v. 25 as referring to the full number of Gentiles entering the kingdom or the church. But on some occasions the word means simply to come or to appear (see Luke 1:28; Acts 10:3; 19:30). I take it in a similar sense here, i.e., "until the salvation of the Gentiles has appeared or arrived or come into the picture." Compare 5:12, where Paul uses this word to declare that sin entered or came into the world. Here he uses it to affirm that salvation came into the Gentile world.
The point is that the hardening of the Jews was the occasion for the commencement of the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles. Thus the Gentile Christians should not gloat over the Jews' lost state; in one sense they owe their very salvation to it.
The other side of this coin is that the partial hardening of Israel has happened (and by implication will persist) until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. This places a limit on the hardening of Israel. Once the Gentiles' participation in the blessings of salvation has become fully established, the period of Israel's hardening will be over.
Those who interpret "fullness" as referring to a final ingathering of Gentiles at or near the second coming must naturally see this hardening as still present and as continuing up to or near the end. However, if we see the "fullness" as referring to the initial ingathering of Gentiles into the church, then the time of Israel's hardening was relatively brief and perhaps was coming to an end in Paul's own day. This is why he can say in v. 31 that the Jews "may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you [Gentiles]."
Paul implies that the Gentiles' experience of the fullness of salvation in some way leads to the cessation of Israel's hardness (see the references to arousing the Jews' envy in vv. 11, 13-14). The further implication is that Gentile Christians, rather than feeling conceited because they are saved and most Jews are not, should instead be actively preaching the gospel to the Jewish community.
We may note again that what Paul affirms here in v. 25 has already been either stated or implied in vv. 11-24; hence this verse is not revealing anything new but is summarizing the "mystery" already set forth.
11:26a The last element in the mystery is this: And so all Israel will be saved, . . . This is the conclusion drawn from the first two parts of the mystery, and in fact from 11:1-25 as a whole. Has God rejected his people? It is true that most of them were hardened. But in God's plan this hardening is instrumental in bringing the fullness of salvation to the Gentiles. Once the Gentiles have experienced this fullness, the Jews will be moved to envy and will be ready to receive God's mercy. Thus the hardening will last only until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. After this they may be grafted back into the olive tree, if they accept the mercy offered to them through the gospel. And in this way, all Israel will be saved. So how can anyone say that God has rejected his people?
As we discuss this verse, three questions must be kept in mind at the same time. First, what does "Israel" mean? Also, how extensive is the "all"? Finally, what kind of salvation is Paul talking about? The key issue, of course is this: does this verse predict and thus guarantee the salvation of a large mass of Jews at some point in the future, or does Paul have something else in mind?
Before we examine the phrase "all Israel," it is important to have a proper understanding of the first two words in the verse, "and so." The word "and" clearly ties this sentence to the last two clauses, but the word "so" (ou{tw" , houtôs ) does so in an even clearer and more crucial way. Some take this word as indicating a temporal sequence between v. 25b and v. 26a: Israel has experienced a partial hardening until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and "when this is done" all Israel will be saved. Bruce refers to the "well attested use" if houtôs "in a temporal sense" (222). But such a use is hardly well attested. Indeed, Fitzmyer argues that a temporal meaning is not found elsewhere in Greek (622), and Moo agrees with him (719-720). It is best to reject this meaning for the word.
Rather, houtôs here should be given its common meaning of "in this manner, thus, so" (AG, 602). The point is not when all Israel will be saved, but how . Cranfield says the word is emphatic: "It will be in this way, and only in this way," that all Israel will be saved (2:576). And what is this way? Here the term points us not to what follows but to what precedes. I.e., Israel will be saved by the coming of salvation to the Gentiles (v. 26b), which will arouse jealousy in the Jews themselves (vv. 11,13-14). Thus, "under the influence of the jealousy so excited - under the impression produced on the Jews by the sight of the Gentiles in their fulness peopling the kingdom - all Israel shall be saved" (Denney, 683). So also Godet (411), Dunn (2:681), and Moo (720).
But exactly what is meant by "all Israel"? The following discussion will seek to answer this question in two steps. First, the three major views will be explained. Second, the main arguments for and against these views will be presented, and one of the three will be identified as the best approach.
Of the three major views, the one most commonly held is that "all Israel" refers to ethnic Israel as a whole . (We shall call this view A.) The basic idea is that at some point in the future, once the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, there will be a mass conversion of Jews. This does not mean that every individual Jew will be saved, but it does mean that most Jews living at that time will become Christians. It is pointed out that the OT occasionally uses "all Israel" in this sense, e.g., 1 Sam 25:1; 1 Kgs 12:1; 2 Chr 12:1; Dan 9:11. Thus all Israel, and not just the present remnant (v. 5), will be saved. This view enjoys a "strong consensus," says Dunn (2:681).
This view has two versions, eschatological and noneschatological. The former says the future conversion of all Israel will be associated with Christ's Second Coming. Cranfield says it is probable "that Paul was thinking of a restoration of the nation of Israel as a whole to God at the end , an eschatological event in the strict sense" (2:577). It is clear, says Moo, "that Paul places this event at the end of time"; it will be "a large-scale conversion of Jewish people at the end of this age" (723-724). It will be "the climax of salvation-history," says Dunn (2:692). For some this will involve the restoration of Israel as a national entity, along with its repossession of the original promised land. This is a common feature in the dispensational premillennial view of end-time events. "All Israel," says MacArthur, means "the entire nation that survives God's judgment during the Great Tribulation" and thus prepares the way for the millennium (2:128-129; see Pentecost, Things , 504-507).
The noneschatological version of this view says there will be a future mass conversion of Jews, but not necessarily associated with the end-times and not involving a nationalistic restoration. "All Israel" will be saved by becoming a part of the church, alongside Gentile Christians. As Moule puts it, Paul is "predicting the conversion of some generation or generations of Jews, a conversion so real and so vastly extensive that unbelief shall be the small exception at the most, and that Jews as such shall everywhere be recognized as true Christians" (199). Murray strongly defends this view (2:96-100), as does Stott, who says Paul promises that "the great mass of the Jewish people" will one day experience "salvation from sin through faith in Christ," but does not promise "a return to the land" as a "political entity" (303-304). See also Lard (370-371) and SH (335-336).
The second major view is that "all Israel" means the remnant portion of ethnic Israel , or all believing Jews in all generations. (We shall call this view B.) Here the term "Israel" is taken in a slightly different sense in v. 26 as compared with v. 25 and elsewhere. I.e., it may be true that the mass of Israel has been hardened (v. 25), but all of true spiritual Israel will be saved (v. 26). They will be saved not in a single mass conversion but in the normal process of evangelism, being brought to faith in Christ and added to his church over the whole course of church history.
Hendriksen, a Calvinist, defends this view, saying that "all Israel" means " the total number of elect Jews ." It means that on the Judgment Day "not a single elect Israelite will be lacking" (2:381). Hoekema likewise says that v. 26a describes "the bringing to salvation throughout history of the total number of the elect from among the Jews" ( Bible , 140). These are "the true Israelites," he says (141). What Paul means, says Lenski, is that "all God's true Israel, all of it that really deserves the name, will be saved" (719). This includes all true Israel "from the patriarchs onward until time ends" (724). As McGuiggan puts it, "Believing Jews are the real Israel. They are the Israel within Israel," of whom Paul speaks in 9:6 (335). Thus "all Israel" means " every Jew who is truly an Israelite" (336).
The third main view of "all Israel" is that it refers to the whole of spiritual Israel , including both believing Jews and believing Gentiles. (We shall call this view C.) In other words, it is God's new Israel, the church, which is identified in Gal 3:29 as "Abraham's seed," in Gal 6:16 as "the Israel of God," and in Phil 3:3 as "the circumcision." This view was common among the early church fathers (see Fitzmyer, 623-624), and was espoused by Calvin, who says, "I extend the word Israel to all the people of God" as gathered from among both Jews and Gentiles (437). See also Wright, Climax (250); and Smith (2:43).
We turn now to the second step of our discussion of "all Israel," which is to set forth and evaluate various arguments for and against these views. We shall begin by examining the main arguments for A, that "all Israel" means ethnic Israel as a whole. The best argument for this view is that it is consistent with the way the term "Israel" is used elsewhere in Romans, and especially in this context. In 9:1-11:25 the words "Israel" and "Israelite" occur eleven or twelve times (allowing for textual variations), and "in each case the reference is clearly to Jews, never to Gentiles" (Hendriksen, 2:380). Thus, it is asked, how can we possibly expect Paul, abruptly and without qualification, to use this same term in v. 26 with an entirely different meaning? Murray declares "that it is exegetically impossible to give to 'Israel' in this verse any other denotation than that which belongs to the term throughout this chapter. . . . It is of ethnic Israel Paul is speaking and Israel could not possibly include Gentiles" (2:96). Especially, since "Israel" in v. 25 undoubtedly means the whole nation, it is impossible that he would use it in a different sense in v. 26 (Bruce, 221-222). Thus, says Cranfield, that "all Israel" here "does not include Gentiles is virtually certain" (2:576).
A second argument for A is that it seems most consistent with the overall context of 9-11. I.e., one of the main issues in this whole section is the fate of the nation of Israel (Godet, 410). "The whole context shows clearly that it is the actual Israel of history that is referred to" (SH, 336). Thus, says Hughes, "there is no way 'Israel' here can be spiritualized, considering the context of chapters 9-11. It clearly refers to ethnic Israel, the Jewish people" (199).
A third argument for A is that the salvation of all ethnic Israel has already been affirmed several times in this chapter, especially in the reference to Israel's "fullness" in v. 12, her "acceptance" in v. 15, and her "grafting in" in vv. 23-24. Thus it is likely that v. 26 refers to the same thing, "because in vv. 15,25, we have had already a prediction of a restoration of Jews, en masse , to grace" (Moule, 199). It would be anticlimactic to refer v. 26 to anything less; indeed it would be "exegetical violence" (Murray, 2:97).
A final argument is that if "all Israel" is anything less than the whole nation of Israel, then this statement does not deserve to be called a "mystery" (v. 25) in the sense explained above. To say that all true/elect/spiritual Israel will be saved, whether in the sense of B or C, is called a truism or a tautology (Godet, 411), i.e., something true by definition. Only "the whole of ethnic Israel" does justice to the term "mystery" (Cranfield, 2:576-577; Morris, 421).
Do these four arguments rule out B and C, and establish A? The first argument is the strongest, and in my judgment makes C unlikely. I do not believe it rules out B, however, as will be seen below. The second argument likewise has merit and weakens the case for C, but again it does not rule out B. The third argument is altogether invalid because it is based on a false understanding of vv. 12,15, and 24-25. These verses do not refer to a future mass conversion of Israel. (See my explanation of them above.) Indeed, Hendriksen says that prior to v. 26 "the reader has not been prepared for the idea of a mass conversion of Israelites. All along Paul stresses the very opposite, namely, the salvation, in any age (past, present, future) of a remnant" (2:379). The fourth argument might have some merit if the emphasis in v. 26a were on the word "all." But since the emphasis is actually on the word "so," i.e., "in this way," the argument misses the point completely. The how of all Israel's salvation is surely worthy to be called a mystery. See Moo, 722.
The conclusion is that the arguments for A and against B and C are not as strong as one might expect, given the widespread acceptance of this view. The last two arguments are invalid in themselves; and the first two arguments, while making C unlikely, by no means rule out B. The issue then turns on whether a good case can be made for B.
Before turning to B we shall briefly consider C, the view that "all Israel" means all spiritual Israel in general (the church), including both believing Jews and believing Gentiles. I have already indicated that I believe the use of the term "Israel" in 9-11 makes this view unlikely. One cannot appeal to 9:6 to support this meaning for "Israel" in v. 26a, since the "spiritual Israel" in 9:6 includes only Jewish believers and not Gentile believers. Thus I agree that it is unwarranted to say that "Israel" in v. 26a means "spiritual Israel" in the broadest sense of that term, the church.
The argument that the context as a whole militates against this view is not as strong, since the salvation of Jews and Gentiles together certainly has been considered in this main section (9:24; 10:12), and even in the immediate context (the olive tree). Moo makes a good point, though, when he says that this view would weaken "the hortatory purpose of Rom. 11:11-32," which is to counter the Gentiles' tendency to hold themselves above the Jews. In fact, "for Paul in this context to call the church 'Israel' would be to fuel the fire of the Gentiles' arrogance by giving them grounds to brag that ' we are the true Israel'" (721).
While I do not accept this view (C) and believe that a good case cannot be made for it, I do not consider it to be an oddity or to be totally out of the question. As Wright ( Climax , 250) points out, "Israel" is used in two different senses in a single verse (9:6) without warning or explanation. Can we rule out a similar tactic here? Also, in 9:24-29 Paul does speak of Jews and Gentiles together in the context of the remnant. In 10:12-13 he declares that no distinction can be made between Jews and Gentiles with regard to salvation. In 11:17-24 the olive tree contains both Jews and Gentiles, and even v. 25 refers to the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles, at least by implication.
This leads to our examination of the arguments for B, which I consider to be the correct view. When Paul says that "all Israel will be saved," he is speaking of all ethnic Jews who also belong to the true spiritual Israel. The first argument for this view is that it is consistent with the way Paul uses the term "Israel" in 9-11, and thus belies the criticism that A is the only view that interprets the term consistent with the context. To say that Paul uses this term elsewhere in this section only for ethnic Jews may be true; but that does not affect B, which agrees that v. 26a refers to ethnic Jews. The only issue is whether Paul uses the term only in the sense of the nation as a whole , and 9:6 shows that he does not. In 9:6 Paul uses the term "Israel" twice, first referring to the nation as a whole and then referring only to spiritual Israel, the remnant. In the Greek text of 9:6 these two uses are almost consecutive, being separated by only one Greek word. Thus 9:6 is more than enough justification for regarding "Israel" in 11:26a as referring to spiritual Israel, even though the same term in 11:25 refers to Israel as a whole.
The second argument for B is that it is totally consistent with the context in general. Proponents of A say that v. 26a must be talking about the nation as a whole, because the status of the nation as a whole is exactly what 9-11 is all about: How can we reconcile Israel's lostness with God's faithfulness? But this is not the whole picture. It is true that in 9-11 the unbelief of Israel in general is the problem , but it is also true that the existence of a remnant who believe is part of the answer to the problem. Hence the remnant concept is a prominent theme in the context as a whole. See especially 9:6,23-29; 11:1-7a.
Third, this view (B) is also consistent with the line of thought Paul is developing in ch. 11 specifically. Has God rejected his people? No. Though most are hardened, he has a remnant. But is there any hope for those who are hardened? Yes. Especially now that salvation has come to the Gentiles, all hardened Jews may believe in Jesus and become a part of the remnant . Paul has just declared that God can and will graft the broken-off branches back into the olive tree, conditioned upon their abandoning their unbelief (v. 23). In v. 24 Paul assures us that God will graft these natural branches back into the tree, but the condition of faith is obviously meant to be carried over from v. 23. The same is undoubtedly true in v. 26. When Paul says "All Israel will be saved," in view of v. 23 we must understand it as "all Israelites who believe in Jesus Christ - i.e., the remnant - will be saved." This shows the importance of translating houtôs as "thus, in this way." When Paul says "in this way" all Israel will be saved, he is referring not just to the summary statement in v. 25, but to the more complete explanation in vv. 11-24, including the emphasis on conditionality in vv. 23-24.
A fourth argument for B is that it does justice to the word "all" in "all Israel." One of the most serious flaws of A is that it really does not take the word "all" seriously. In practically every version of it, the only Jews who are saved are those who happen to be living at and possibly after a point of time still in the future, and for many it is only that final generation of Jews who are saved. Most individual Jews in the scores of generations preceding that time are actually not saved. Thus the saved "will be just a fragment of the total number of Jews who have lived on the earth. How can such a fragment properly be called 'all Israel'?" (Hoekema, Bible , 144). Also, as McGuiggan points out, if the issue here is God's faithfulness to his promises to the Jews, how is the saving of just one generation evidence of such faithfulness? "Did he make these promises only to a coming generation of Jews? Did he not make them to past generations of Jews? . . . In what way does the salvation of a coming mass of Jews vindicate God's faithfulness?" (335-336; see Hendriksen, 2:379). But if "all Israel" means "the entire remnant of Jews," then this refers to every believing Israelite in every generation. All who meet the condition of v. 23 will be saved.
A fifth argument for B is that it is consistent with Paul's teaching in the following verses that "all Israel" is being saved now . As we shall soon see, the OT texts cited as confirmation of v. 26a refer to the first coming of Jesus and to the present salvation from sin by God's grace. They do not refer to the Second Coming and to some future national restoration (Hendriksen, 2:380). Especially, in v. 31 Paul says it is God's plan that the Jews "may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you [Gentiles]." View A does not do justice to this "now," but B does. See Hoekema, Bible , 145-146.
Finally we may point out that Moo's criticism that C is not consistent with Paul's exhortations to the Gentile Christians (to not consider themselves better than the Jews) does not apply to B, since the remnant of which B speaks is from among the Jews only. In fact, though Moo accepts A, he declares that B "deserves consideration as a serious alternative" (723).
A final question in reference to "all Israel will be saved" is the meaning of "saved." At stake is whether this salvation includes something special for the Jews, or whether Paul is referring simply to the ordinary salvation from sin enjoyed by Gentile believers as well. Those who hold to the eschatological version of A usually take the former approach, saying that this salvation includes the restoration of Israel as a political entity to its original Palestinian homeland as a preparation for the millennium (see MacArthur, 2:128-129; Cranfield, 2:577-578). Almost everyone else, though, in view of vv. 26b-27, understands "saved" to mean the ordinary way of salvation which Paul has been expounding throughout Romans. As Stott says, it is "salvation from sin through faith in Christ. It is not a national salvation, for nothing is said about either a political entity or a return to the land" (304). Moo agrees that there is no evidence in Rom 11 that salvation includes restoration to the land (724, n. 59).
If this is the case, how does the salvation of all remnant Israel depend on the fullness of the Gentiles? The main thing is that the latter is an occasion for envy on the part of the Jews (11:12,13-14), but DeWelt reminds us also that it must involve "nothing short of the faithful preaching of the gospel by the Gentiles to the Jews" (188).
11:26b-27 . . . as it is written, "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." This is a brief OT confirmation that God is now saving "all Israel" through the gospel of Jesus Christ. These lines are taken from the LXX version of Isaiah. Verse 26b is basically the same as Isa 59:20; v. 27a is from Isa 59:21a; v. 27b is from Isa 27:9. In the last citation Paul changes "his sin" to "their sins." The phrase "from Zion" also represents a change. The Hebrew text here reads " to Zion"; the LXX has " for the sake of Zion"; but Paul says " from Zion." The fact that salvation comes "from Zion" is specifically mentioned in Ps 14:7; 53:6; 110:2. Paul chooses to incorporate this thought into his OT citation in order to make his point more clearly. (See Moo, 727-728.)
The word for "deliverer" is a participial form of the verb ruvomai ( ryomai ), which means "to save, to rescue, to deliver." The Hebrew text has lag ( go'el ), "Redeemer" (see GRe, 15-20). This originally would have been applied to Yahweh, but Paul's use of it here shows it is definitely a messianic prophecy. The "deliverer" is Jesus Christ. See 1 Thess 1:10.
"Jacob" of course was the original name of Isaac's favored son before it was changed to Israel. OT poetic and prophetic literature often used it as a synonym for Israel when referring to the Jewish people. That is its meaning here. It simply means "Israel" or "the Jews."
"Zion" was one of the hills on which Jerusalem was built. It was used in the OT as a poetic name for Jerusalem itself (e.g., Ps 48:2, 11-12; 51:18; 69:35), and often symbolically for the whole of Israel and the people of Israel (e.g., Ps 74:2; 78:68; 146:10; Isa 1:27; 46:13). Sometimes the nuance was Zion (Jerusalem) as the location of the temple and thus the dwelling place of God (e.g., Ps 76:2; 132:13; Isa 8:18; 18:7; 24:23; Jer 2:19; Joel 3:17,21). In this way "Zion" came to represent heaven itself as God's dwelling place (e.g., Ps 9:11; 14:7; 20:2; 50:2; 53:6; 110:2; 134:3).
In the New Covenant era "Zion" represents the new temple, the new people of God, the church. Messianic prophecies about Zion, such as Ps 2:6 and Isa 28:16 (see also Isa 2:3 and Micah 4:2) could be referring to the fact that the church was established in the earthly city of Jerusalem (Acts 2), from which the gospel then was taken into all the earth. But these texts could also be referring to the church itself, which seems more likely in view of Rom 9:33; Heb 12:22-23; and 1 Pet 2:6. See also Gal 4:26.
How does Paul intend for us to understand "from Zion" in this quote from Isa 59:20? Possibly it just means "Israel," i.e., Christ came forth from the people of Israel. Or it may mean "Jerusalem" in the sense that this is where the church and the preaching of the gospel originated. Most likely, though, it means Zion as God's heavenly dwelling place, i.e., God the Redeemer will come forth from heaven itself.
It makes a considerable difference whether this refers to the Messiah's first coming or his second coming. If it is the latter, this would give support to the eschatological version of view A above. Paul would be saying that all Israel will be saved when the Messiah returns from heaven. Cranfield explains it exactly this way, then observes that this confirms that Paul is speaking of an eschatological salvation for the Jews (2:578). See also Bruce (222), Dunn (2:682, 692), and Moo (727-728).
I believe, on the contrary, that this refers to the first coming of Christ. It is in future tense ("will come") from Isaiah's standpoint, not Paul's. Christ's first coming was just as much from the heavenly Zion as the second will be. The strongest reason for taking it to be the first coming is the specific stated purpose for which the Redeemer comes from Zion. The redemptive acts mentioned by Isaiah and recited by Paul refer not to a political restoration of the Jewish nation but to the personal salvation of individuals. This is why Jesus came the first time: to die for the sins of his people, and thereby to establish a new covenant with them, a covenant to take away their sins.
Specifically the deliverer has come to "turn godlessness away from Jacob" (v. 26b) and to "take away their sins" (v. 27b). This is the saving grace of forgiveness (justification), regeneration, and sanctification. It is a spiritual restoration, not a political one (Godet, 413; Denney, 684). This is the very thing Peter preached to the Jews in his second sermon in Acts: "When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways" (3:26). This taking away of sins, says Isaiah, is the purpose and result of God's "covenant with them."
Of which covenant is Isaiah speaking? Some assume it is the covenant God made with Abraham and his physical seed, the Jewish nation (e.g., Moo, 728-729). From this they conclude that God has promised salvation to the Jews as a nation (e.g., Fitzmyer, 625), and that for this covenant to be fulfilled God must ultimately bring about "the future restoration of Israel" (Murray, 2:100; see Moo, 729). This is completely off the mark, however. The covenant with Abraham was with the nation of Israel as a whole, but its promises were principally temporal blessings relating to Israel's role of bringing the Messiah into the world (9:4-5), not the spiritual blessings of salvation as such. I.e., the Abrahamic covenant did not guarantee salvation to every Jew living under it. Also, the Abrahamic covenant was fulfilled with the first coming of Christ.
The covenant to which Isaiah's messianic prophecy refers is thus not the Abrahamic covenant, but the New Covenant prophesied in Jer 31:31-34, and established through the death and shed blood of Christ (Luke 22:20; Heb 8:7-12; 10:15-17). The central promise of the New Covenant, as stated in Jer 31:34, is this: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." This is exactly what Paul is emphasizing in his quote from Isaiah: God covenants to take away the sins of "all Israel" through the blood of Christ if they will but trust in him. This covenant is conditional (11:23), and God gathers Jews into it one by one over the whole course of church history. This is how all true Israel will be saved.
2. God's Continuing Love for Israel (11:28-29)
11:28 Speaking of the Jews, Paul continues to address the Gentiles, explaining the reason why God's salvation is offered to "all Israel." As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, . . . This verse reflects the tension within God's nature that sums up God's relation to all sin and all sinners, i.e., the tension between his holiness and his love. This is seen in a special way in his attitude toward the Jews; they are at the same time his enemies and his beloved, the objects of both his hatred and his love.
The word ejcqrov" ( echthros ) is usually translated "enemy" in the NT; it speaks of an attitude of enmity and hostility and hatred. The main point here is not the sinner's hatred of God, but God's hatred of the sinner, in contrast with his love for the sinner in v. 28b (Morris, 422). To be hated by God is to be under his wrath, rejected by him, and shut off from him (SH, 337; Cranfield, 2:580). This divine hostility is not directed toward all Jews, but only toward those who have rejected the gospel. They are God's enemies "as far as the gospel is concerned," i.e., because they have refused to accept the gospel and to believe in Jesus as their Messiah (9:30-10:21).
Paul never ceases to remind the Gentile Christians, however, that God's enmity toward the Jews has been the occasion for bringing the gospel to them. The Jews are enemies, yes; but they are enemies "on your account," for your sake, "in order to open His kingdom wide to you" (Moule, 201). See vv. 11,12,15.
But this is only part of the picture, and the lesser part at that. Even though the hardened Jews have chosen to become God's enemies by rejecting the gospel, God still loves them because of the original relationship he established with them through the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). Thus he cannot forget them; he cannot pretend that this relationship never existed. Even if they no longer have a special role in God's ongoing plan, they still occupy a special place in his heart.
"As far as election is concerned" has been taken two ways. In vv. 5,7 Paul uses this same term (ejkloghv , eklogç , "election, choice") for the elect remnant; some interpret it this way here, saying that v. 28b refers only to the remnant within Israel, and thus limiting God's love to the elect alone. Others (correctly) interpret "election" here as referring to God's original choice of Abraham and through him of the entire nation of Israel. This is not an election of individuals to salvation, but the election of the Jews as a corporate body to covenant service, as in 9:11.
Thus, whereas v. 28a reflects the reality of ch. 10 above, v. 28b reflects the reality of ch. 9. God chose Israel as a nation to serve his special redemptive purposes, and poured out upon them his special covenant blessings. Even though this relationship did not automatically guarantee salvation to every individual Jew, God cannot help but regard every natural descendent of Abraham with a special affection. Thus for the Jews perhaps more than others, God is "not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Pet 3:9, NASB). That is why he wants to include them in his new covenant, the covenant of salvation (v. 27). God's enmity to the hardened Jews is real (v. 28a), but it does not cancel out his love for them.
That all Israel is loved by God "on account of the fathers" does not mean that the patriarchs did anything to merit or deserve this continuing love for their descendants. Nor does it mean that God still has unfulfilled covenant obligations toward the fathers. This latter view is quite common, especially among those who believe there is just one covenant of salvation, beginning with Abraham and continuing through the NT era. According to this view, this is why God still loves the Jews and must save them, i.e., "for His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is sovereign and unchangeable" (Moule, 201; see Stott, 306; Dunn, 2:694). "When the Lord elected . . . the nation of Israel to be His own people, He bound Himself by His own promises to bring the Jews to salvation and be forever His beloved and holy people," says MacArthur (2:131). Murray says, "God has not suspended or rescinded his relation to Israel as his chosen people in terms of the covenants made with the fathers," and this is why he will save and restore them (2 @ :101).
This view errs in thinking that the covenant with the patriarchs is the same as the covenant of salvation Jesus established on the cross. Thus it errs in thinking that the patriarchal covenant promised salvation to Jews as Jews in perpetuity. The truth is that every promise to Israel as a nation through the patriarchs was completely fulfilled when Jesus came into the world the first time (9:4-5; Acts 13:32-34).
11:29 This is not contradicted by what Paul says in the next verse: for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. This refers still to God's original general election of the nation of Israel. The "gifts" are not the gifts of salvation (contra Moule, 201; Hendriksen, 2:384; MacArthur, 2 @ :131). They are the benefits described in 9:4-5, which, though glorious in every respect, are still temporal and nonsalvific in themselves. The "call" likewise is not the salvific call to which only the elect respond, as in 8:30 (contra Denney, 684; Hendriksen, 2:384; MacArthur, 2 @ :132; Lenski, 734). It refers to the original call to Abraham and thus the call to Israel as a nation "to be His special people, to stand in a special relation to Himself, and to fulfil a special function in history" (Cranfield, 2:581).
These gifts and this call are "irrevocable," Paul says. This is the first word in the verse in the Greek text and therefore is in a place of emphasis. What does it mean? It comes from metamevlomai ( metamelomai¯ ), which means "to regret, to repent, to change one's mind." Here, with the negating alpha, the word is ajmetamevlhto" (ametamelçtos , "not to be regretted, not to be repented of." (See 2 Cor 7:10.) "Irrevocable" is not the best translation. The point is not that God must save the Jews because he has made an irrevocable promise to Abraham et al . to do so. Rather, it is that God does not regret his choice of Israel as the nation through whom he brought the Christ into the world. Despite the centuries of their heartbreaking unfaithfulness and idolatry in OT times, and despite their current rejection of the gospel, God does not regret all he did for them and through them to carry out his purposes.
This is why they are still beloved to him. Paul begins this thought with gavr ( gar ), "for, because." The Jews are still beloved because of the patriarchs (v. 28b), because God has never regretted this Old Covenant relationship he established with them in the first place. As Lard says, "Their fathers were chosen and loved, and on their account their rejected descendants are still loved" (373).
3. God's Ultimate Purpose Is Mercy (11:30-32)
In describing God's dealings with the Jews and Gentiles, this chapter has strongly emphasized both sides of God's nature: his sternness and his kindness (v. 22), his enmity and his love (v. 28). It has not attempted to soften or disguise the wrath of God against the unbelieving Jews (vv. 7-10,19-22,28a). But this is not the main point of the chapter. The main point is that, in spite of the unbelief and disobedience of Gentiles and Jews alike, God wants the gracious side of his nature to prevail. His ultimate goal and purpose are mercy , not wrath. And the most marvelous thing of all is that God can use the universal disobedience of mankind as a part of his plan to show mercy unto all. By explaining how this is so, this paragraph is a striking example of 8:28.
11:30-31 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. The parts of these two verses are so carefully composed and so deliberately parallel that both must be printed together here. Dunn says this sentence is "the most contrived or carefully constructed formulation which Paul ever produced in such tight epigrammatic form, with so many balancing elements" (2:687). It may be diagrammed thus:
For just as YOU GENTILES
then were disobedient to God, but
now have received mercy
by the JEWS' disobedience;
So also THESE JEWS
now have become disobedient, so that
now they also may receive mercy
by the mercy shown to you GENTILES.
In a real sense this sentence sums up everything Paul has said in this chapter. As Godet puts it, "Ver. 30 describes the rebellion of the Gentiles, then their salvation determined by the rebellion of the Jews; and ver. 31, the rebellion of the Jews, then their salvation arising from the salvation of the Gentiles" (414).
The word pote ( pote, "then, at one time") in v. 30a refers to the pre-Christian era when the Gentiles were limited to general revelation and were given over to the sinful excesses of their rebellion against God (1:18-32). The word nu'n ( nyn, "now") in v. 30b refers to the New Covenant era when Christ has commanded that the gospel be taken to all nations. Morris (424-425) points out that the contrast is not between disobedience and obedience, as if one could make up for his sins by beginning to obey the commandments of the law. As in 3:21-5:21, the only remedy for disobedience is the mercy and grace of God.
To say that the Gentiles have received mercy "as a result of their [the Jews'] disobedience" is simply to repeat vv. 11,12,15. God takes the Jews' rebellion against the gospel of Christ as an occasion for sending that gospel to the Gentiles.
These verses continue to undermine Gentile smugness in relation to the Jews. Paul reminds the Gentiles (1) that they too were once in a state of disobedience; (2) that in one sense they owe their present state of grace to the Jews' disobedience; and (3) that God's plan is for the Jews to ultimately receive the same mercy now enjoyed by the Gentiles, even though they will arrive at it by a slightly different route.
To say that the Jews "have now become disobedient" refers to their initial rejection of the gospel at the beginning of the New Covenant era.
The word translated "in order that" is i{na ( hina ). It usually denotes purpose, as the NIV chooses to translate it here. But if that is what it means here, this would suggest that somehow God caused the Jews to be disobedient, so that he might accomplish the stated purpose. Thus it is important to know two things about hina . First, it can denote simple result rather than purpose (AG, 378). Also, "contrary to regular usage" hina sometimes "is placed elsewhere than at the beginning of its clause, in order to emphasize the words that come before it" (AG, 379). I believe both of these points are in evidence here in v. 31b. We should especially note that, for emphasis, "by your [the Gentiles'] mercy" is placed at the very beginning of this clause, even before the word hina . Taken thus it reads quite naturally as follows: "The Jews have now become disobedient, with the result that, by means of the mercy shown to you Gentiles , they too may now obtain mercy."
This shows that God's ultimate goal, even for the hardened Jews, is that they may receive his mercy and be saved. It also emphasizes again that the salvation of the Gentiles is an instrument by which God will bring this about. This recalls the point about the Jews' being moved to envy by seeing the Gentiles enjoying the fruit of their own covenant service (vv. 11,13-14). It is also an incentive for Gentile Christians to evangelize the Jews. As Lard says, "The Gentiles have now to preach the gospel to the Jews, and induce them to obey it" (374).
The inclusion of the word "now" in v. 31b is very significant. It shows that the statement, "And so all Israel will be saved" in v. 26a does not refer to a mass conversion of ethnic Jews at some far distant point in the future (relative to the time of Paul's writing), but that it refers to the ongoing conversion of remnant Jews beginning even "now," in the first century (Hendriksen, 2:385). Those who take the former view give "now" some other meaning, such as "at any time" (Moo, 735), or "the eschatological now" (Cranfield, 2:586), i.e., sometime during this final messianic age, even if it is toward the end of it (Morris, 425). But the parallel with the "now" in v. 30b shows that Paul is thinking of the "now" in which he was living. Thus as Wright says, it indicates "a steady flow of Jews into the church, by grace through faith," from that very time ( Climax , 249).
11:32 For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. In this final verse of the present section Paul emphasizes once again that God's goal and purpose are to bring mercy to all. The "all" in both clauses probably is not intended to refer to every individual as such, but to all in the sense of both groups , i.e., both Gentiles and Jews. To say God has bound all over to disobedience reflects Paul's emphasis in 3:9, that "Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin" (see 3:9-20). The reference to God's "mercy on them all" does not teach universal salvation, but refers to the fact that he has poured out his mercy on Jews and Gentiles alike (10:12).
As a matter of fact, though, all individuals in both groups are bound over to sin (3:23). Also, there is a sense in which God has mercy on all individuals, in that his mercy is intended for all and is offered to all. It is not the case, though, that all will in fact accept it. "Whether the mercy will ever be actually realized or not, depends on belief in Christ" (Lard, 375).
The word translated "bound over" literally means "to enclose, to confine, to shut up, to imprison." How did God imprison the Gentiles in disobedience? This does not mean that he caused them to sin, or made it impossible for them not to sin. It refers to 1:18-32, and to God's decision to "give them over" to the sinful desires of their hearts (vv. 24,26,28). How did he imprison the Jews in disobedience? Again this does not mean he caused them to sin. It refers rather to 2:1-29, and to the conclusion that the law, in which the Jews trusted, has but one verdict for sinners: condemnation. It refers also to 11:7 and the hardening of Jewish unbelievers. All in all, as Moo says, this statement refers to "God's decision to 'confine' people in the state that they have chosen for themselves" (736).
From another standpoint, to say that God shuts up all men in their sin refers to the divine pronouncement that all have in fact sinned (3:23) and have become trapped in the consequences of their sin with no hope of escaping through any deeds or schemes of their own. "By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight" (3:20, NASB). For sinners this is what it means to be "under law" (6:14,15). For sinners the testimony of the law is a word of wrath. This word of wrath is like cords that bind sinners and leave them shut up in the dungeon of death, in the very vestibule of hell.
But this is not the last word, because God has provided a way of escape from this dungeon, this prison of sin. It is the way of mercy, the way of grace (3:21-5:21); and it is the only way. This is the whole point of Romans: "a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law" (3:28, NASB). "We are not under law but under grace" (6:15). This is the point to which all of ch. 11 has been leading: that God can and will provide this mercy to all, Jews and Gentiles alike. "As they have been together in the prison of their disobedience, so they will be together in the freedom of God's mercy" (Stott, 307).
V. DOXOLOGY: GOD'S WAY IS RIGHT (11:33-36)
Godet rightly remarks regarding this paragraph, "Like a traveller who has reached the summit of an Alpine ascent, the apostle turns and contemplates. . . . The plan of God in the government of mankind spreads out before him," and his heart is filled with admiration and gratitude (416). His response to God's work is nothing less than a doxology (see 1:25; JC, 1:154), a hymn of highest praise to the one who is Creator, Ruler, and Redeemer of all the earth. Awe, wonder, and adoration fill his soul as he pens this "hymnic composition, a poem to the inscrutable wisdom of God" (Fitzmyer, 632). The very writing of it is an act of worship.
How does this doxology tie in with what precedes it? In a sense we may see it as "the conclusion to the whole of the doctrinal section of Romans (1:16-11:36)," as Fitzmyer says (633). It is more appropriate, though, to take it as the capstone for chapters 9-11, where the overall subject is God's faithfulness in his dealings with Israel. The question has been, Does the combination of God's original covenant with the patriarchs and Israel's present lostness mean that God has been unfaithful and untrue to his word? In answer to this question, under divine inspiration, Paul has set forth a theodicy: God's way is right, especially his way with Israel. He has shown that the first covenant dealt with Israel's service as a nation , and that God has faithfully kept every promise he made to them under this covenant (ch. 9). He has also shown that the reason for Israel's lostness is not unfaithfulness on God's part but Israel's own unbelief (ch. 10). Finally he has shown that under the New Covenant God's redemptive plan incorporates Israel's unbelief in a way that leads ultimately back to her salvation (ch. 11).
These are the mysteries that fill Paul with wonder, and elicit from him this "hymn of admiration in honor of the divine plan" (Godet, 419), his "awesome plan" (Moo, 739). Paul no doubt has ch. 11 especially in mind, and particularly the summary statement in vv. 30-32, which emphasizes the mercy of God. Thus he marvels that God has vindicated his faithfulness in the face of Israel's unbelief in a way that glorifies both his holiness and his mercy.
A major theme of this doxology is the inscrutability of God's ways with mankind. Some say that Paul's purpose here is "to glorify God's incomprehensibility" (MacArthur, 2:134). As Morris puts it, this hymn "is prompted by what we do not know about God . . . rather than by what we do know" (427). But this is misleading. Paul certainly emphasizes God's transcendent unsearchableness. But his wonder is evoked not by divine incomprehensibility as such, nor by things still hidden within its depths, but rather by the things that God has revealed to us and which are now open to us. To be sure, we could never have discerned on our own God's awesome plan for saving his people; but God has shown it to us, and that is why we are overwhelmed by the wisdom and mercy of it.
Godet long ago set us straight on this point. Against those who dwell on the divine incomprehensibility as if it were the last word, he rightly observes that Paul's hymn is evoked "not by the obscurity of God's plans, but . . . by their dazzling clearness." They are indeed unfathomable until revealed, but revealing them is exactly what Paul has been doing. "It is therefore in view of the unveiled mystery that the exclamation is raised" (417). Moo also makes this point (740), as does Murray (2:104): "What constrains the doxology is the revealed counsel."
11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! There is disagreement over how this exclamation was intended to be structured. Some take "the depth of the riches" as a single idea, with "wisdom and knowledge" being its double object. See the NIV and NASB. Calvin says it refers to the "deep riches of wisdom and knowledge" (444; see Lenski, 739-740). According to this interpretation, the main emphasis of the whole section would be on God's wisdom and knowledge.
Others take the three nouns, "riches and wisdom and knowledge," as three parallel objects of "depth." In my judgment this view is preferable (contra the NIV), since "the depth of the riches" as a single idea is redundant. According to this view, then, the doxology is emphasizing not just God's wisdom and knowledge, but his riches as well. (The phrase "of God" goes with all three nouns.)
The word "depth" is "a common Greek expression for inexhaustible fullness or superabundance" (MP, 479). The idea is that God is a bottomless, infinite resource of riches, wisdom, and knowledge.
Paul marvels first at the depth of God's riches . This word can mean material wealth (Matt 13:22; 1 Tim 6:17), but usually Paul uses it for spiritual riches, the riches of salvation (e.g., Eph 1:7,18; 3:8; Phil 4:19). This is the way he has used it thus far in Romans; see especially 11:12, where it stands alone without a modifier as it does here in v. 33. The abundant references to God's superabundant mercy in vv. 30-32 are probably foremost in Paul's mind when he praises God for the depth of his riches (see Eph 2:4).
Paul refers next to the depth of God's wisdom , which is a common OT theme (see Dunn, 2:699). Generally speaking, wisdom "is the ability to choose the best possible end, and to choose the best possible means of achieving that end. It is not the same as knowledge, but is rather the ability to put one's knowledge to practical use" (GRu, 285; see 285-289). Here Paul has in mind the specific wisdom God has demonstrated in the way he has worked out the salvation of mankind (see 1 Cor 1:17-2:16), and especially in the way he has used the Jews and Gentiles to help each bring salvation to the other (ch. 11). As Godet puts it, wisdom is "the admirable skill with which God weaves into His plan the free actions of man, and transforms them into as many means for the accomplishment of the excellent end which He set originally before Him" (417).
Finally Paul extols the depth of God's knowledge . God's knowledge is his constant, comprehensive, immediate consciousness or awareness of all facts - past, present, and future. This certainly refers to his omniscience, or his general knowledge of all things; and this includes his foreknowledge of man's free choices, of which he takes account and which he incorporates into his own plan of salvation. Few truths about God are more awe-inspiring than his foreknowledge of man's future free-will choices. It does not behoove us to reject the reality of such foreknowledge just because we do not understand how it is possible. Paul does not question the depth of God's knowledge; he simply bows before it.
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! This basically says the same thing as v. 33a in different words. "Unsearchable" and "beyond tracing out" correspond to "depth," and are similar in meaning and implication. They convey the idea of "unfathomable, inscrutable, incomprehensible." I.e., the thoughts and ways of God are beyond our unaided ability to seek out and discover. The second word is especially vivid. It "literally refers to footprints that are untrackable" (MacArthur, 2:135). Thus Paul is saying that "even when God has gone and has done things we cannot discover the tracks and track his course" (Lenski, 741). We could never have seen in advance where he was going, nor understood how he would be able to accomplish his redemptive purposes. But he has done so, to his eternal glory!
This applies to both God's judgments and his paths. Stott rightly says that God's judgments are "what he thinks and decides," and his paths are "what he does and where he goes" (310). The word for "judgments" is krivma ( krima ), which often refers to a judicial decision to punish wrongdoers (e.g., 2:2-3; 3:8; 5:16). Here it probably is inclusive of all God's decisions as to how he will deal with mankind, and especially "his 'executive' decisions about the direction of salvation history" (Moo, 742; see Lard, 376). The word for "paths" is oJdov" ( hodos ), the common word for "road, way." A better translation here would be "ways" (NASB). The ways of God are simply his works or deeds, "the paths along which God moves in executing his plans and purposes" (Lard, 376). See Ps 95:10; Isa 55:8-9.
These two statements are a confession that the wisdom and the ways of God that work out our salvation surpass our knowledge and are beyond anything we can ask or imagine (Eph 3:19-20). Once they are explained to us, we may understand what God has done, but how he can do it and why he should even want to do it we will never fully comprehend. As finite creatures and sinners saved by grace, we can only do what Paul did and utter heartfelt expressions of praise.
11:34-35 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" These three questions are based on texts from the OT (thus the NIV quotation marks). The first two (v. 34) are adapted from Isa 40:13, "Who has understood the [Spirit] of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?" The last (v. 35) is based on the Hebrew text of Job 41:11 (see 1 Chr 29:14; Job 35:7). The fact that Paul does not say "It is written" or "Isaiah says" indicates that he, under inspiration, is adapting these texts for his own purposes.
It is very likely that the three questions correspond, in reverse order, to the three elements in v. 33a. "Who has known the mind of the Lord?" refers to the depths of God's knowledge . God alone has access to the content of his own mind, but he graciously chooses to reveal some of this content to us through his inspired prophets and apostles (1 Cor 2:9-16). "Or who has been his counselor?" refers to the depths of God's wisdom . A counselor is one who gives advice on how to live and how to act, i.e., how to discern the best ends and the best means to achieve them. God needs no such advice; he does not need to ask anyone for help in devising his plan of salvation and in carrying it out.
The third question, "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" corresponds to the depths of God's riches . The point is that we give nothing to God prior to his bestowing his riches upon us; therefore God's gifts to us are truly gifts and not just a repayment of something he owes to us. As the New Jerusalem Bible translates it, "Who has given anything to him, so that his presents come only as a debt returned?" It is impossible for us to perform some service for God that puts him in our debt. God is sovereign and thus free from any obligation, "except those He places on Himself" (MacArthur, 2:136).
This applies of course to the specific subject of God's dealings with the Jews. God placed himself under obligation to them when he entered into the covenant with their father Abraham. But the covenant itself was a gift and not an obligation; his promises both as made and as fulfilled were his free gift to them. And since those promises have now been fulfilled (9:4-5), the Jews can lay no claim upon God whatsoever, not even one based on the truth of his own word.
This also applies to the whole subject of salvation as a matter of grace rather than works. Only when salvation is by grace can it be a gift and not wages due (see 4:4). This is how God saves any sinner, Gentile or Jew. As far as salvation is concerned, "God is debtor to none, his favour is never compensation, merit places no constraints upon his mercy" (Murray, 2:107).
The answer to each question, of course, is "No one!" As finite sinners we all stand on equal footing before God; we are all helpless beggars who can only hold out empty hands to receive the gifts he earnestly desires to give us.
11:36 This verse first tells us why God is free from any obligation under which someone might try to place him: For from him and through him and to him are all things . In three succinct prepositional phrases the sovereign freedom and glorious supremacy of God are declared. He is related to all things as their source , originator, or Creator: "from him." He is related to all things as the means by which they came into existence and remain in existence: "through him." He is related to all things as the goal or purpose for which they exist: "to him," i.e., unto his glory and for his good pleasure. See Eph 4:6; Heb 2:10.
One should not take these three phrases as referring respectively to the three persons of the Trinity, as some ancient writers did. The Bible makes similar statements concerning Jesus Christ, God the Son (1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:16), but that is not the point here. Each phrase applies to all three persons of the Trinity.
To say that all things are "from God" does not mean that he makes them out of his own essence, a concept that would be equivalent to the false worldview called pantheism. This phrase refers rather to the act of creation ex nihilo , by which God in the beginning brought all things into existence out of nothing. See on 4:17 (JC, 1:300-301); see GC, 97-117.
The expression "all things" should not be limited. The statement is a general truth that applies to the whole of creation, even if the immediate application is to the establishment of the new creation through the work of redemption. We should not be surprised to find such a reference to God as Creator in this final verse of the theological portion of Romans. "In an argument which began with man's rebellion against God as creator (1:18-25), what could be more appropriate than a final acclamation of God the creator?" (Dunn, 2:704).
A final word of doxology closes this part of Romans: To him be the glory forever! Amen. The glory of God is his infinite and total greatness as it is manifested and as it shines forth for all to see (see GC, 446-452); it is "the reflection of all His perfections in all that exists" (Godet, 419). To ascribe glory to God ("to him be the glory") is not to give him anything or add anything to his nature, but simply to acknowledge and confess that he is glorious, and to call upon others to acknowledge this glory as well. Adding the word "forever" (lit., "unto the ages") intensifies the praise even further. On this and on "Amen," see 1:25 (JC, 1:154).
This brings us to the end of what may properly be called the theological section of Romans, namely, chs. 1-11. It is only fitting that it should end on a worshipful note, since, as Stott says, theology and worship should never be separated. He comments (311-312),
. . . On the one hand, there can be no doxology without theology. It is not possible to worship an unknown god. All true worship is a response to the self-revelation of God in Christ and Scripture, and arises from our reflection on who he is and what he has done. It was the tremendous truths of Romans 1-11 which provoked Paul's outburst of praise. . . .
On the other hand, there should be no theology without doxology. There is something fundamentally flawed about a purely academic interest in God. God is not an appropriate object for cool, critical, detached, scientific observation and evaluation. No, the true knowledge of God will always lead us to worship, as it did Paul. Our place is on our faces before him in adoration.
-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV
McGarvey -> Rom 11:3
McGarvey: Rom 11:3 - --Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life . [Against these two proofs adduce...
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life . [Against these two proofs adduced by the apostle it might be objected that if God was not rejecting his people he must be receiving them, but you, Paul, practically admit that this is not the case, for, were it so, why can you point only to your single self as accepted? Surely your very proofs are against you. To this objection Paul presents a third proof -- i. e., the case of Elijah -- and his argument, paraphrased, runs thus: You err in supposing that I alone am accepted, and this I will prove by the case of Elijah, who, prophet of prophets though he was, erred in so judging by appearances as to think that he alone remained acceptable. The law required that the nation use the one altar which stood in front of the sanctuary in Jerusalem (Lev 17:8-9 ; Deu 12:1-14). But the Rabbins say (see Lightfoot and Whitby ad h. l.) that when the ten tribes revolted, and their kings forbade them to go up to Jerusalem to worship, then this law ceased as to them, and the Lord permitted them to build other altars and sacrifice on them as at the beginning (Gen 12:7-8 ; Gen 13:4 ; Gen 13:18 ; Gen 22:9 ; Gen 26:25 ; Gen 33:20 ; Gen 35:1-7 ; Gen 46:1), and as they did before worship was centered at Jerusalem (1Sa 7:9 ; 1Sa 7:17 ; 1Sa 9:13 ; 1Sa 11:15 ; 1Sa 16:2-3). That this is so is proved by the conduct of Elijah, who reconstructed the Lord's altar on Mt. Carmel (which these apostates of whom he speaks had thrown down) and offered sacrifice thereon, and the Lord publicly sanctioned and approved the altar by sending fire from heaven (1Ki 18:30-39). The altars were to be made of earth and unhewn stone (Exo 20:24-25), hence it was proper to speak of digging them down.]
expand allIntroduction / Outline
Robertson: Romans (Book Introduction) The Epistle to the Romans
Spring of a.d. 57
By Way of Introduction
Integrity of the Epistle
The genuineness of the Epistle is so generally adm...
The Epistle to the Romans
Spring of a.d. 57
By Way of Introduction
Integrity of the Epistle
The genuineness of the Epistle is so generally admitted by scholars that it is unnecessary to prove it here, for Loman, Steck, and the Dutch scholars (Van Manen, etc.) who deny it as Pauline are no longer taken seriously. He wrote it from Corinth because he sent it to Rome by Phoebe of Cenchreae (Rom_16:2) if chapter 16 is acknowledged to be a part of the Epistle. Chapter 16 is held by some to be really a short epistle to Ephesus because of the long list of names in it, because of Paul’s long stay in Ephesus, because he had not yet been to Rome, and because, in particular, Aquila and Priscilla are named (Rom_16:3-5) who had been with Paul in Ephesus. But they had come from Rome before going to Corinth and there is no reason for thinking that they did not return to Rome. It was quite possible for Paul to have many friends in Rome whom he had met elsewhere. People naturally drifted to Rome from all over the empire. The old MSS. (Aleph A B C D) give chapter 16 as an integral part of the Epistle. Marcion rejected it and chapter 15 also for reasons of his own. Renan’s theory that Romans was a circular letter like Ephesians sent in different forms to different churches (Rome, Ephesus, Thessalonica, etc.) has appealed to some scholars as explaining the several doxologies in the Epistle, but they cause no real difficulty since Paul interjected them in his other epistles according to his moods (2Co_1:20, for instance). That theory raises more problems than it solves as, for example, Paul’s remarks about going to Rome (Rom_1:9-16) which apply to Rome. Lightfoot suggests the possibility that Paul added Rom_16:25-27 some years after the original date so as to turn it into a circular letter. But the MSS. do not support that theory and that leaves Rom_15:22-33 in the Epistle quite unsuitable to a circular letter. Modern knowledge leaves the Epistle intact with occasional variations in the MSS. on particular points as is true of all the N.T.
The Time and Place
The place is settled if we accept Rom_16:1. The time of the year is in the spring if we combine statements in the Acts and the Epistle. He says: " I am now going to Jerusalem ministering to the saints" (Rom_15:25). In Act_20:3 we read that Paul spent three months in Corinth. In II Corinthians we have a full account of the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem. The account of the journey from Corinth to Jerusalem is given in Acts 20:3-21:17. It was in the spring between passover at Philippi (Act_20:6) and pentecost in Jerusalem (Act_20:16; Act_21:17). The precise year is not quite so certain, but we may suggest a.d. 57 or 58 with reasonable confidence.
The Purpose
Paul tells this himself. He had long cherished a desire to come to Rome (Act_19:21) and had often made his plans to do so (Rom_1:13) which were interrupted (Rom_15:22), but now he definitely plans to go from Jerusalem, after taking the contribution there (Rom_15:26), to Rome and then on to Spain (Rom_15:24, Rom_15:28). Meanwhile he sends this Epistle that the Romans may know what Paul’s gospel really is (Rom_1:15; Rom_2:16). He is full of the issues raised by the Judaizing controversy as set forth in the Epistles to Corinth and to Galatia. So in a calmer mood and more at length he presents his conception of the Righteousness demanded by God (Rom_1:17) of both Gentile (Rom_1:18-32) and Jew (Romans 2:1-3:20) and only to be obtained by faith in Christ who by his atoning death (justification) has made it possible (Romans 3:21-5:21). This new life of faith in Christ should lead to holiness of life (sanctification, chapters Romans 6-8). This is Paul’s gospel and the remaining chapters deal with corollaries growing out of the doctrine of grace as applied to practical matters. It is a cause for gratitude that Paul did write out so full a statement of his message. He had a message for the whole world and was anxious to win the Roman Empire to Christ. It was important that he go to Rome for it was the centre of the world’s life. Nowhere does Paul’s Christian statesmanship show to better advantage than in this greatest of his Epistles. It is not a book of formal theology though Paul is the greatest of theologians. Here Paul is seen in the plenitude of his powers with all the wealth of his knowledge of Christ and his rich experience in mission work. The church in Rome is plainly composed of both Jews and Greeks, though who started the work there we have no way of knowing. Paul’s ambition was to preach where no one else had been (Rom_15:20), but he has no hesitation in going on to Rome.
JFB: Romans (Book Introduction) THE GENUINENESS of the Epistle to the Romans has never been questioned. It has the unbroken testimony of all antiquity, up to CLEMENT OF ROME, the apo...
THE GENUINENESS of the Epistle to the Romans has never been questioned. It has the unbroken testimony of all antiquity, up to CLEMENT OF ROME, the apostle's "fellow laborer in the Gospel, whose name was in the Book of Life" (Phi 4:3), and who quotes from it in his undoubted Epistle to the Corinthians, written before the close of the first century. The most searching investigations of modern criticism have left it untouched.
WHEN and WHERE this Epistle was written we have the means of determining with great precision, from the Epistle itself compared with the Acts of the Apostles. Up to the date of it the apostle had never been at Rome (Rom 1:11, Rom 1:13, Rom 1:15). He was then on the eve of visiting Jerusalem with a pecuniary contribution for its Christian poor from the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, after which his purpose was to pay a visit to Rome on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-28). Now this contribution we know that he carried with him from Corinth, at the close of his third visit to that city, which lasted three months (Act 20:2-3; Act 24:17). On this occasion there accompanied him from Corinth certain persons whose names are given by the historian of the Acts (Act 20:4), and four of these are expressly mentioned in our Epistle as being with the apostle when he wrote it--Timotheus, Sosipater, Gaius, and Erastus (Rom 16:21, Rom 16:23). Of these four, the third, Gaius, was an inhabitant of Corinth (1Co 1:14), and the fourth, Erastus, was "chamberlain of the city" (Rom 16:23), which can hardly be supposed to be other than Corinth. Finally, Phœbebe, the bearer, as appears, of this Epistle, was a deaconess of the Church at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth (Rom 16:1). Putting these facts together, it is impossible to resist the conviction, in which all critics agree, that Corinth was the place from which the Epistle was written, and that it was despatched about the close of the visit above mentioned, probably in the early spring of the year 58.FOUNDER of this celebrated church is unknown. That it owed its origin to the apostle Peter, and that he was its first bishop, though an ancient tradition and taught in the Church of Rome as a fact not to be doubted, is refuted by the clearest evidence, and is given up even by candid Romanists. On that supposition, how are we to account for so important a circumstance being passed by in silence by the historian of the Acts, not only in the narrative of Peter's labors, but in that of Paul's approach to the metropolis, of the deputations of Roman "brethren" that came as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns to meet him, and of his two years' labors there (Act 28:15, Act 28:30)? And how, consistently with his declared principle--not to build on another man's foundation (Rom 15:20) --could he express his anxious desire to come to them that he might have some fruit among them also, even as among other Gentiles (Rom 1:13), if all the while he knew that they had the apostle of the circumcision for their spiritual father? And how, if so, is there no salutation to Peter among the many in this Epistle? or, if it may be thought that he was known to be elsewhere at that particular time, how does there occur in all the Epistles which our apostle afterwards wrote from Rome not one allusion to such an origin of the church at Rome? The same considerations would seem to prove that this church owed its origin to no prominent Christian laborer; and this brings us to the much-litigated question.
For WHAT CLASS of Christians was this Epistle principally designed--Jewish or Gentile? That a large number of Jews and Jewish proselytes resided at this time at Rome is known to all who are familiar with the classical and Jewish writers of that and the immediately subsequent periods; and that those of them who were at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Act 2:10), and formed probably part of the three thousand converts of that day, would on their return to Rome carry the glad tidings with them, there can be no doubt. Nor are indications wanting that some of those embraced in the salutations of this Epistle were Christians already of long standing, if not among the earliest converts to the Christian faith. Others of them who had made the apostle's acquaintance elsewhere, and who, if not indebted to him for their first knowledge of Christ, probably owed much to his ministrations, seemed to have charged themselves with the duty of cherishing and consolidating the work of the Lord in the capital. And thus it is not improbable that up to the time of the apostle's arrival the Christian community at Rome had been dependent upon subordinate agency for the increase of its numbers, aided by occasional visits of stated preachers from the provinces; and perhaps it may be gathered from the salutations of the last chapter that it was up to that time in a less organized, though far from less flourishing state, than some other churches to whom the apostle had already addressed Epistles. Certain it is, that the apostle writes to them expressly as a Gentile Church (Rom 1:13, Rom 1:15; Rom 15:15-16); and though it is plain that there were Jewish Christians among them, and the whole argument presupposes an intimate acquaintance on the part of his readers with the leading principles of the Old Testament, this will be sufficiently explained by supposing that the bulk of them, having before they knew the Lord been Gentile proselytes to the Jewish faith, had entered the pale of the Christian Church through the gate of the ancient economy.
It remains only to speak briefly of the PLAN and CHARACTER Of this Epistle. Of all the undoubted Epistles of our apostle, this is the most elaborate, and at the same time the most glowing. It has just as much in common with a theological treatise as is consistent with the freedom and warmth of a real letter. Referring to the headings which we have prefixed to its successive sections, as best exhibiting the progress of the argument and the connection of its points, we here merely note that its first great topic is what may be termed the legal relation of man to God as a violator of His holy law, whether as merely written on the heart, as in the case of the heathen, or, as in the case of the Chosen People, as further known by external revelation; that it next treats of that legal relation as wholly reversed through believing connection with the Lord Jesus Christ; and that its third and last great topic is the new life which accompanies this change of relation, embracing at once a blessedness and a consecration to God which, rudimentally complete already, will open, in the future world, into the bliss of immediate and stainless fellowship with God. The bearing of these wonderful truths upon the condition and destiny of the Chosen People, to which the apostle next comes, though it seem but the practical application of them to his kinsmen according to the flesh, is in some respects the deepest and most difficult part of the whole Epistle, carrying us directly to the eternal springs of Grace to the guilty in the sovereign love and inscrutable purposes of God; after which, however, we are brought back to the historical platform of the visible Church, in the calling of the Gentiles, the preservation of a faithful Israelitish remnant amidst the general unbelief and fall of the nation, and the ultimate recovery of all Israel to constitute, with the Gentiles in the latter day, one catholic Church of God upon earth. The remainder of the Epistle is devoted to sundry practical topics, winding up with salutations and outpourings of heart delightfully suggestive.
JFB: Romans (Outline)
INTRODUCTION. (Rom. 1:1-17)
THE JEW UNDER LIKE CONDEMNATION WITH THE GENTILE. (Rom. 2:1-29)
JEWISH OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. (Rom 3:1-8)
THAT THE JEW IS S...
- INTRODUCTION. (Rom. 1:1-17)
- THE JEW UNDER LIKE CONDEMNATION WITH THE GENTILE. (Rom. 2:1-29)
- JEWISH OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. (Rom 3:1-8)
- THAT THE JEW IS SHUT UP UNDER LIKE CONDEMNATION WITH THE GENTILE IS PROVED BY HIS OWN SCRIPTURE. (Rom 3:9-20)
- GOD'S JUSTIFYING RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, ALIKE ADAPTED TO OUR NECESSITIES AND WORTHY OF HIMSELF. (Rom 3:21-26)
- INFERENCES FROM THE FOREGOING DOCTRINES AND AN OBJECTION ANSWERED. (Rom 3:27-31)
- THE FOREGOING DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ILLUSTRATED FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. (Rom. 4:1-25)
- THE BLESSED EFFECTS OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. (Rom 5:1-11)
- COMPARISON AND CONTRAST BETWEEN ADAM AND CHRIST IN THEIR RELATION TO THE HUMAN FAMILY. (Rom 5:12-21)
- THE BEARING OF JUSTIFICATION BY GRACE UPON A HOLY LIFE. (Rom 6:1-11)
- WHAT PRACTICAL USE BELIEVERS SHOULD MAKE OF THEIR DEATH TO SIN AND LIFE TO GOD THROUGH UNION TO THE CRUCIFIED SAVIOUR. (Rom 6:12-23)
- SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. (Rom. 7:1-25)
- CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE ARGUMENT--THE GLORIOUS COMPLETENESS OF THEM THAT ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. (Rom. 8:1-39)
- THE BEARING OF THE FOREGOING TRUTHS UPON THE CONDITION AND DESTINY OF THE CHOSEN PEOPLE--ELECTION--THE CALLING OF THE GENTILES. (Rom. 9:1-33)
- SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED--HOW ISRAEL CAME TO MISS SALVATION, AND THE GENTILES TO FIND IT. (Rom. 10:1-21)
- SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED AND CONCLUDED--THE ULTIMATE INBRINGING OF ALL ISRAEL, TO BE, WITH THE GENTILES, ONE KINGDOM OF GOD ON THE EARTH. (Rom. 11:1-36)
- DUTIES OF BELIEVERS, GENERAL AND PARTICULAR. (Rom. 12:1-21)
- SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED--POLITICAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS--MOTIVES. (Rom 13:1-14)
- SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED--CHRISTIAN FORBEARANCE. (Rom. 14:1-23)
- SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED AND CONCLUDED. (Rom 15:1-13)
- CONCLUSION: IN WHICH THE APOSTLE APOLOGIZES FOR THUS WRITING TO THE ROMAN CHRISTIANS, EXPLAINS WHY HE HAD NOT YET VISITED THEM, ANNOUNCES HIS FUTURE PLANS, AND ASKS THEIR PRAYERS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THEM. (Rom. 15:14-33)
- CONCLUSION, EMBRACING SUNDRY SALUTATIONS AND DIRECTIONS, AND A CLOSING PRAYER. (Rom. 16:1-27)
- WHY THIS DIVINELY PROVIDED RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NEEDED BY ALL MEN. (Rom 1:18)
- THIS WRATH OF GOD, REVEALED AGAINST ALL INIQUITY, OVERHANGS THE WHOLE HEATHEN WORLD. (Rom 1:18-32)
TSK: Romans (Book Introduction) The Epistle to the Romans is " a writing," says Dr. Macknight, " which, for sublimity and truth of sentiment, for brevity and strength of expression,...
The Epistle to the Romans is " a writing," says Dr. Macknight, " which, for sublimity and truth of sentiment, for brevity and strength of expression, for regularity in its structure, but above all, for the unspeakable importance of the discoveries which it contains, stands unrivalled by any mere human composition, and as far exceeds the most celebrated productions of the learned Greeks and Romans, as the shining of the sun exceeds the twinkling of the stars." " The plan of it is very extensive; and it is surprising to see what a spacious field of knowledge is comprised, and how many various designs, arguments, explications, instructions, and exhortations, are executed in so small a compass....The whole Epistle is to be taken in connection, or considered as one continued discourse; and the sense of every part must be taken from the drift of the whole. Every sentence, or verse, is not to be regarded as a distinct mathematical proposition, or theorem, or as a sentence in the book of Proverbs, whose sense is absolute, and independent of what goes before, or comes after, but we must remember, that every sentence, especially in the argumentative part, bears relation to, and is dependent upon, the whole discourse, and cannot be rightly understood unless we understand the scope and drift of the whole; and therefore, the whole Epistle, or at least the eleven first chapters of it, ought to be read over at once, without stopping. As to the use and excellency of this Epistle, I shall leave it to speak for itself, when the reader has studied and well digested its contents....This Epistle will not be difficult to understand, if our minds are unprejudiced, and at liberty to attend to the subject, and to the current scriptural sense of the words used. Great care is taken to guard and explain every part of the subject; no part of it is left unexplained or unguarded. Sometimes notes are written upon a sentence, liable to exception and wanting explanation, as Rom 2:12-16. Here Rom 2:13 and Rom 2:15 are a comment upon the former part of it. Sometimes are found comments upon a single word; as Rom 10:11-13. Rom 10:12 and Rom 10:13 are a comment upon
TSK: Romans 11 (Chapter Introduction) Overview
Rom 11:1, God has not cast off all Israel; Rom 11:7, Some were elected, though the rest were hardened; Rom 11:16, There is hope of their ...
Overview
Rom 11:1, God has not cast off all Israel; Rom 11:7, Some were elected, though the rest were hardened; Rom 11:16, There is hope of their conversion; Rom 11:18, The Gentiles may not exult over them; Rom 11:26, for there is a promise of their salvation; Rom 11:33, God’s judgments are unsearchable.
Poole: Romans 11 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 11
MHCC: Romans (Book Introduction) The scope or design of the apostle in writing to the Romans appears to have been, to answer the unbelieving, and to teach the believing Jew; to confir...
The scope or design of the apostle in writing to the Romans appears to have been, to answer the unbelieving, and to teach the believing Jew; to confirm the Christian and to convert the idolatrous Gentile; and to show the Gentile convert as equal with the Jewish, in respect of his religious condition, and his rank in the Divine favour. These several designs are brought into on view, by opposing or arguing with the infidel or unbelieving Jew, in favour of the Christian or believing Gentile. The way of a sinner's acceptance with God, or justification in his sight, merely by grace, through faith in the righteousness of Christ, without distinction of nations, is plainly stated. This doctrine is cleared from the objections raised by Judaizing Christians, who were for making terms of acceptance with God by a mixture of the law and the gospel, and for shutting out the Gentiles from any share in the blessings of salvation brought in by the Messiah. In the conclusion, holiness is further enforced by practical exhortations.
MHCC: Romans 11 (Chapter Introduction) (Rom 11:1-10) The rejection of the Jews is not universal.
(Rom 11:11-21) God overruled their unbelief for making the Gentiles partakers of gospel pri...
(Rom 11:1-10) The rejection of the Jews is not universal.
(Rom 11:11-21) God overruled their unbelief for making the Gentiles partakers of gospel privileges.
(Rom 11:22-32) The Gentiles cautioned against pride and unbelief, The Jews shall be called as a nation, and brought into God's visible covenant again.
(Rom 11:33-36) A solemn adoring of the wisdom, goodness, and justice of God.
Matthew Henry: Romans (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans
If we may compare scripture with scripture, and take the opinion ...
An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans
If we may compare scripture with scripture, and take the opinion of some devout and pious persons, in the Old Testament David's Psalms, and in the New Testament Paul's Epistles, are stars of the first magnitude, that differ from the other stars in glory. The whole scripture is indeed an epistle from heaven to earth: but in it we have upon record several particular epistles, more of Paul's than of any other, for he was the chief of the apostles, and laboured more abundantly than they all. His natural parts, I doubt not, were very pregnant; his apprehension was quick and piercing; his expressions were fluent and copious; his affections, wherever he took, very warm and zealous, and his resolutions no less bold and daring: this made him, before his conversion, a very keen and bitter persecutor; but when the strong man armed was dispossessed, and the stronger than he came to divide the spoil and to sanctify these qualifications, he became the most skilful zealous preacher; never any better fitted to win souls, nor more successful. Fourteen of his epistles we have in the canon of scripture; many more, it is probable, he wrote in the course of his ministry, which might be profitable enough for doctrine, for reproof, etc., but, not being given by inspiration of God, they were not received as canonical scripture, nor handed down to us. Six epistles, said to be Paul's, written to Seneca, and eight of Seneca's to him, are spoken of by some of the ancients [ Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct. lib. 2] and are extant; but, upon the first view, they appear spurious and counterfeit.
This epistle to the Romans is placed first, not because of the priority of its date, but because of the superlative excellency of the epistle, it being one of the longest and fullest of all, and perhaps because of the dignity of the place to which it is written. Chrysostom would have this epistle read over to him twice a week. It is gathered from some passages in the epistle that it was written Anno Christi 56, from Corinth, while Paul made a short stay there in his way to Troas, Act 20:5, Act 20:6. He commendeth to the Romans Phebe, a servant of the church at Cenchrea (ch. 16), which was a place belonging to Corinth. He calls Gaius his host, or the man with whom he lodged (Rom 16:23), and he was a Corinthian, not the same with Gaius of Derbe, mentioned Acts 20. Paul was now going up to Jerusalem, with the money that was given to the poor saints there; and of that he speaks, Rom 15:26. The great mysteries treated of in this epistle must needs produce in this, as in other writings of Paul, many things dark and hard to be understood, 2Pe 3:16. The method of this (as of several other of the epistles) is observable; the former part of it doctrinal, in the first eleven chapters; the latter part practical, in the last five: to inform the judgment and to reform the life. And the best way to understand the truths explained in the former part is to abide and abound in the practice of the duties prescribed in the latter part; for, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, Joh 7:17.
I. The doctrinal part of the epistles instructs us,
1. Concerning the way of salvation (1.) The foundation of it laid in justification, and that not by the Gentiles' works of nature (ch. 1), nor by the Jews' works of the law (ch. 2, 3), for both Jews and Gentiles were liable to the curse; but only by faith in Jesus Christ, Rom 3:21, etc.; ch. 4. (2.) The steps of this salvation are, [1.] Peace with God, ch. 5. [2.] Sanctification, ch. 6, 7. [3.] Glorification, ch. 8.
2. Concerning the persons saved, such as belong to the election of grace (ch. 9), Gentiles and Jews, ch. 10, 11. By this is appears that the subject he discourses of were such as were then the present truths, as the apostle speaks, 2Pe 1:12. Two things the Jews then stumbled at - justification by faith without the works of the law, and the admission of the Gentiles into the church; and therefore both these he studied to clear and vindicate.
II. The practical part follows, wherein we find, 1. Several general exhortations proper for all Christians, ch. 12. 2. Directions for our behaviour, as members of civil society, Rom 13:1-14. 3. Rules for the conduct of Christians to one another, as members of the Christian church, ch. 14 and Rom 15:1-14.
III. As he draws towards a conclusion, he makes an apology for writing to them (Rom 15:14-16), gives them an account of himself and his own affairs (Rom 15:17-21), promises them a visit (Rom 15:22-29), begs their prayers (Rom 15:30-32), sends particular salutations to many friends there (ch. 16:1-16), warns them against those who caused divisions (Rom 16:17-20), adds the salutations of his friends with him (Rom 16:21-23), and ends with a benediction to them and a doxology to God (Rom 16:24-27).
Matthew Henry: Romans 11 (Chapter Introduction) The apostle, having reconciled that great truth of the rejection of the Jews with the promise made unto the fathers, is, in this chapter, further l...
The apostle, having reconciled that great truth of the rejection of the Jews with the promise made unto the fathers, is, in this chapter, further labouring to mollify the harshness of it, and to reconcile it to the divine goodness in general. It might be said, " Hath God then cast away his people?" The apostles therefore sets himself, in this chapter, to make a reply to this objection, and that two ways: - I. He shows at large what the mercy is that is mixed with this wrath (v. 1-32). II. He infers thence the infinite wisdom and sovereignty of God, with the adoration of which he concludes this chapter and subject (Rom 11:33-36).
Barclay: Romans (Book Introduction) A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS OF PAUL The Letters Of Paul There is no more interesting body of documents in the New Testament than the letter...
A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS OF PAUL
The Letters Of Paul
There is no more interesting body of documents in the New Testament than the letters of Paul. That is because of all forms of literature a letter is most personal. Demetrius, one of the old Greek literary critics, once wrote, "Every one reveals his own soul in his letters. In every other form of composition it is possible to discern the writercharacter, but in none so clearly as the epistolary." (Demetrius, On Style, 227.) It is just because he left us so many letters that we feel we know Paul so well. In them he opened his mind and heart to the folk he loved so much; and, in them, to this day, we can see that great mind grappling with the problems of the early church and feel that great heart throbbing with love for men, even when they were misguided and mistaken.
The Difficulty Of Letters
At the same time there is often nothing so difficult to understand as a letter. Demetrius (On Style, 223) quotes a saying of Artemon, who edited the letters of Aristotle. Artemon said that a letter ought to be written in the same manner as a dialogue, because it was one of the two sides of a dialogue. In other words, to read a letter is like listening to one side of a telephone conversation. So when we read the letters of Paul we are often in a difficulty. We do not possess the letter which he was answering; we do not fully know the circumstances with which he was dealing; it is only from the letter itself that we can deduce the situation which prompted it. Before we can hope to understand fully any letter Paul wrote, we must try to reconstruct the situation which produced it.
The Ancient Letters
It is a great pity that Paulletters were ever called epistles. They are in the most literal sense letters. One of the great lights shed on the interpretation of the New Testament has been the discovery and the publication of the papyri. In the ancient world, papyrus was the substance on which most documents were written. It was composed of strips of the pith of a certain bulrush that grew on the banks of the Nile. These strips were laid one on top of the other to form a substance very like brown paper. The sands of the Egyptian desert were ideal for preservation, for papyrus, although very brittle, will last for ever so long as moisture does not get at it. As a result, from the Egyptian rubbish heaps, archaeologists have rescued hundreds of documents, marriage contracts, legal agreements, government forms, and, most interesting of all, private letters. When we read these private letters we find that there was a pattern to which nearly all conformed; and we find that Paulletters reproduce exactly that pattern. Here is one of these ancient letters. It is from a soldier, called Apion, to his father Epimachus. He is writing from Misenum to tell his father that he has arrived safely after a stormy passage.
"Apion sends heartiest greetings to his father and lord Epimachus.
I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are
going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my
brother. I thank my Lord Serapis [his god] that he kept me safe
when I was in peril on the sea. As soon as I got to Misenum I got
my journey money from Caesar--three gold pieces. And things
are going fine with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a
line, first to let me know how you are, and then about my
brothers, and thirdly, that I may kiss your hand, because you
brought me up well, and because of that I hope, God willing, soon
to be promoted. Give Capito my heartiest greetings, and my
brothers and Serenilla and my friends. I sent you a little picture
of myself painted by Euctemon. My military name is Antonius
Maximus. I pray for your good health. Serenus sends good
wishes, Agathos Daimonboy, and Turbo, Galloniuson."
(G. Milligan, Selections from the Greek Papyri, 36.)
Little did Apion think that we would be reading his letter to his father 1800 years after he had written it. It shows how little human nature changes. The lad is hoping for promotion quickly. Who will Serenilla be but the girl he left behind him? He sends the ancient equivalent of a photograph to the folk at home. Now that letter falls into certain sections. (i) There is a greeting. (ii) There is a prayer for the health of the recipients. (iii) There is a thanksgiving to the gods. (iv) There are the special contents. (v) Finally, there are the special salutations and the personal greetings. Practically every one of Paulletters shows exactly the same sections, as we now demonstrate.
(i) The Greeting: Rom_1:1 ; 1Co_1:1 ; 2Co_1:1 ; Gal_1:1 ; Eph_1:1 ; Phi_1:1 ; Col_1:1-2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:1 .
(ii) The Prayer: in every case Paul prays for the grace of God on the people to whom he writes: Rom_1:7 ; 1Co_1:3 ; 2Co_1:2 ; Gal_1:3 ; Eph_1:2 ; Phi_1:3 ; Col_1:2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:2 .
(iii) The Thanksgiving: Rom_1:8 ; 1Co_1:4 ; 2Co_1:3 ; Eph_1:3 ; Phi_1:3 ; 1Th_1:3 ; 2Th_1:3 .
(iv) The Special Contents: the main body of the letters.
(v) Special Salutations and Personal Greetings: Rom 16 ; 1Co_16:19 ; 2Co_13:13 ; Phi_4:21-22 ; Col_4:12-15 ; 1Th_5:26 .
When Paul wrote letters, he wrote them on the pattern which everyone used. Deissmann says of them, "They differ from the messages of the homely papyrus leaves of Egypt, not as letters but only as the letters of Paul." When we read Paulletters we are not reading things which were meant to be academic exercises and theological treatises, but human documents written by a friend to his friends.
The Immediate Situation
With a very few exceptions, all Paulletters were written to meet an immediate situation and not treatises which he sat down to write in the peace and silence of his study. There was some threatening situation in Corinth, or Galatia, or Philippi, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. He was not in the least thinking of us when he wrote, but solely of the people to whom he was writing. Deissmann writes, "Paul had no thought of adding a few fresh compositions to the already extant Jewish epistles; still less of enriching the sacred literature of his nation. He had no presentiment of the place his words would occupy in universal history; not so much that they would be in existence in the next generation, far less that one day people would look at them as Holy Scripture." We must always remember that a thing need not be transient because it was written to meet an immediate situation. All the great love songs of the world were written for one person, but they live on for the whole of mankind. It is just because Paulletters were written to meet a threatening danger or a clamant need that they still throb with life. And it is because human need and the human situation do not change that God speaks to us through them today.
The Spoken Word
One other thing we must note about these letters. Paul did what most people did in his day. He did not normally pen his own letters but dictated them to a secretary, and then added his own authenticating signature. (We actually know the name of one of the people who did the writing for him. In Rom_16:22 Tertius, the secretary, slips in his own greeting before the letter draws to an end.) In 1Co_16:21 Paul says, "This is my own signature, my autograph, so that you can be sure this letter comes from me" (compare Col_4:18 ; 2Th_3:17 ).
This explains a great deal. Sometimes Paul is hard to understand, because his sentences begin and never finish; his grammar breaks down and the construction becomes involved. We must not think of him sitting quietly at a desk, carefully polishing each sentence as he writes. We must think of him striding up and down some little room, pouring out a torrent of words, while his secretary races to get them down. When Paul composed his letters, he had in his mindeye a vision of the folk to whom he was writing, and he was pouring out his heart to them in words that fell over each other in his eagerness to help.
INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS
The Epistle That Is Different
There is an obvious difference between PaulLetter to the Romans and any other of his letters. Anyone coming from, say, a reading of the Letters to the Corinthians, will immediately feel that difference, both of atmosphere and of method. A very great part of it is due to one basic fact--when Paul wrote to the Church at Rome he was writing to a Church with whose founding he had had nothing whatever to do and with which he had had no personal contact at all. That explains why in Romans there are so few of the details of practical problems which fill the other letters. That is why Romans, at first sight, seems so much more impersonal. As Dibelius put it, "It is of all Paulletters the least conditioned by the momentary situation."
We may put that in another way. Romans, of all Paulletters, comes nearest to being a theological treatise. In almost all his other letters he is dealing with some immediate trouble, some pressing situation, some current error, some threatening danger, which was menacing the Church to which he was writing. Romans is the nearest approach to a systematic exposition of Paulown theological position, independent of any immediate set of circumstances.
Testamentary And Prophylactic
Because of that, two great scholars have applied two very illuminating adjectives to Romans. Sanday called Romans "testamentary." It is as if Paul was writing his theological last will and testament, as if into Romans he was distilling the very essence of his faith and belief. Rome was the greatest city in the world, the capital of the greatest Empire the world had ever seen. Paul had never been there, and he did not know if he ever would be there. But, in writing to such a Church in such a city, it was fitting that he should set down the very centre and core of his belief. Burton called Romans "prophylactic." A prophylactic is something which guards against infection. Paul had seen too often what harm and trouble could be caused by wrong ideas, twisted notions, misguided conceptions of Christian faith and belief. He therefore wished to send to the Church in the city which was the centre of the world a letter which would so build up the structure of their faith that, if infections should ever come to them, they might have in the true word of Christian doctrine a powerful and effective defence. He felt that the best protection against the infection of false teaching was the antiseptic of the truth.
The Occasion Of PaulWriting To Rome
All his life Paul had been haunted by the thought of Rome. It had always been one of his dreams to preach there. When he is in Ephesus, he is planning to go through Achaea and Macedonia again, and then comes a sentence obviously dropped straight from the heart, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome" (Act_19:21 ). When he was up against things in Jerusalem, and the situation looked threatening and the end seemed near, he had one of those visions which always lifted up his heart. In that vision the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage, Paul. For as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also at Rome" (Act_23:11 ). In the very first chapter of this letter Pauldesire to see Rome breathes out. "I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you" (Rom_1:11 ). "So, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome" (Rom_1:15 ). It might well be said that the name Rome was written on Paulheart.
When he actually wrote the Letter to the Romans, the date was sometime in the year A.D. 58, and he was in Corinth. He was just about to bring to its completion a scheme that was very dear to his heart. The Church at Jerusalem was the mother Church of them all, but it was poor, and Paul had organized a collection throughout the younger churches for it (1Co_16:1 ; 2Co_9:1 ). That collection was two things. It was an opportunity for his younger converts to put Christian charity into Christian action, and it was a most practical way of impressing on all Christians the unity of the Christian Church, of teaching them that they were not members of isolated and independent congregations, but of one great Church, each part of which had a responsibility to all the rest. When Paul wrote Romans he was just about to set out with that gift for the Jerusalem Church. "At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem with aid for the saints" (Rom_15:25 ).
The Object Of PaulWriting
Why, then, at such a moment should he write?
(a) Paul knew that the journey to Jerusalem was not without its peril. He knew that he had enemies there, and that to go to Jerusalem was to take his life and liberty in his hands. He desired the prayers of the Roman Church before he set out on this expedition. "Now I appeal to you brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judaea" (Rom_15:30-31 ). He was mobilizing the prayers of the Church before he embarked on this perilous undertaking.
(b) Paul had great schemes simmering in his mind. It has been said of him that he was "always haunted by the regions beyond." He never saw a ship at anchor but he wished to board her and to carry the good news to men across the sea. He never saw a range of mountains, blue in the distance, but he wished to cross them, and to bring the story of the Cross to men who had never heard it. At this time Paul was haunted by the thought of Spain. "I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain" (Rom_15:24 ). "When I have completed this [that is, when he had delivered the collection to the Church in Jerusalem] I shall go on by way of you to Spain" (Rom_15:28 ).
Why this great desire to go to Spain? Rome had opened up that land. Some of the great Roman roads and buildings still stand there to this day. And it so happened that, just at this time, there was a blaze of greatness in Spain. Many of the great figures who were writing their names on Roman history and literature were Spaniards. There was Martial, the master of the epigram. There was Lucan, the epic poet. There were Columella and Pomponius Mela, great figures in Roman literature. There was Quintilian, the master of Roman oratory. And, above all, there was Seneca, the greatest of the Roman Stoic philosophers, the tutor of the Emperor Nero, and the Prime Minister of the Roman Empire. It was most natural that Paulthoughts should go out to this land which was producing such a scintillating galaxy of greatness. What might happen if men like that could be touched for Christ? As far as we know Paul never got to Spain. On that visit to Jerusalem he was arrested and he was never freed again. But, when he was writing Romans, that was his dream.
Paul was a master strategist. He had an eye for the layout of territory like a great commander. He felt that by this time he could move on from Asia Minor and for the time being leave Greece behind. He saw the whole west lying in front of him, virgin territory to be won for Christ. But, if he was to launch a campaign in the west, he needed a base of operations. There was only one such base possible--and that was Rome.
That was why Paul wrote this letter to Rome. He had this great dream in his heart and this great plan in his mind. He needed Rome for a base for this new campaign. He was aware that the Church in Rome must know his name. But he was also aware, for he was a realist, that the reports which reached Rome would be mixed. His opponents were not above spreading slanders and false accusation against him. So he wrote this letter to set out for the Church at Rome an account of the very essence of his belief, in order that, when the time came for action, he might find in Rome a sympathetic Church from which the lines of communication might go out to Spain and the west. It was with such a plan and such an intention, that in A.D. 58 Paul sat down in Corinth to write his letter to the Church at Rome.
The Layout Of The Letter
Romans is at once a very complicated and a very carefully constructed letter. It will therefore help us to find our way through it, if we have in our minds an idea of its framework. It falls into four definite divisions.
(i) Rom 1-8, which deal with the problem of righteousness.
(ii) Rom 9-11, which deal with problem of the Jews, the chosen
people.
(iii) Rom 12-15, which deal with practical questions of life and
living.
(iv) Rom 16 , which is a letter of introduction for Phoebe,
and a list of final personal greetings.
(i) When Paul uses the word "righteousness," he means a right relationship with God The man who is righteous is the man who is in a right relationship with God, and whose life shows it.
Paul begins with a survey of the Gentile world. We have only to look at its decadence and corruption to know that it had not solved the problem of righteousness. He looks at the Jewish world. The Jews had sought to solve the problem of righteousness by meticulous obedience to the law. Paul had tried that way himself, and it had issued in frustration and defeat, because no man on earth can ever fully obey the law, and, therefore, every man must have the continual consciousness of being in debt to God and under his condemnation.
So Paul finds the way to righteousness in the way of utter trust and utter yieldedness. The only way to a right relationship with God is to take him at his word, and to cast oneself, just as one is, on his mercy and love. It is the way of faith. It is to know that the important thing is, not what we can do for God, but what he has done for us. For Paul the centre of the Christian faith was that we can never earn or deserve the favour of God, nor do we need to. The whole matter is one of grace, and all that we can do is to accept in wondering love and gratitude and trust what God has done for us.
That does not free us, however, from obligations or entitle us to do as we like; it means that for ever and for ever we must try to be worthy of the love which does so much for us. But we are no longer trying to fulfil the demands of stern and austere and condemnatory law; we are no longer like criminals before a judge; we are lovers who have given all life in love to the one who first loved us.
(ii) The problem of the Jews was a torturing one. In a real sense they were Godchosen people, and yet, when his Son had come into the world, they had rejected him. What possible explanation could there be for this heart-breaking fact?
The only one Paul could find was that, in the end, it was all Goddoing. Somehow the hearts of the Jews had been hardened; but it was not all failure, for there had always been a faithful remnant. Nor was it for nothing, for the very fact that the Jews had rejected Christ opened the door so the Gentiles would bring in the Jews and all men would be saved.
Paul goes further. The Jew had always claimed that he was a member of the chosen people in virtue of the fact that he was a Jew. It was solely a matter of pure racial descent from Abraham. But Paul insists that the real Jew is not the man whose flesh and blood descent can be traced to Abraham. He is the man who has made the same decision of utter yieldedness to God in loving faith which Abraham made. Therefore, Paul argues, there are many pure-blooded Jews who are not Jews in the real sense of the term at all; and there are many people of other nations who are really Jews in the true meaning of that word. The new Israel was not a racial thing at all; it was composed of those who had the same faith as Abraham had had.
(iii) Rom 12 is so great an ethical statement that it must always be set alongside the Sermon on the Mount. In it Paul lays down the ethical character of the Christian faith. The fourteenth and fifteenth chapters deal with an ever-recurring problem. In the Church there was a narrower party who believed that they must abstain from certain foods and drinks, and who counted special days and ceremonies as of great importance. Paul thinks of them as the weaker brethren because their faith was dependent on these external things. There was a more liberal party, who had liberated themselves from these external rules and observances. He thinks of them as the brethren who are stronger in the faith. He makes it quite clear that his sympathies are with the more liberal party; but he lays down the great principle that no man must ever do anything to hurt the conscience of a weaker brother or to put a stumbling block in his way. His whole point of view is that we must never do anything which makes it harder for someone else to be a Christian; and that that may well mean the giving up of something, which is right and safe for us, for the sake of the weaker brother. Christian liberty must never be used in such a way that it injures anotherlife or conscience.
(iv) The fourth section is a recommendation on behalf of Phoebe, a member of the Church at Cenchreae, who is coming to Rome. The letter ends with a list of greetings and a final benediction.
Two Problems
Rom 16 has always presented scholars with a problem. Many have felt that it does not really form part of the Letter to the Romans at all; and that it is really a letter to some other Church which became attached to Romans when Paulletters were collected. What are their grounds? First and foremost, in this chapter Paul sends greetings to twenty-six different people, twenty-four of whom he mentions by name and all of whom he seems to know very intimately. He can, for instance, say that the mother of Rufus has also been a mother to him. Is it likely that Paul knew intimately twenty-six people in a Church which he had never visited? He, in fact, greets far more people in this chapter than he does in any other letter, and yet he had never set foot in Rome. Here is something that needs explanation.
If Rom 16 was not written to Rome, what was its original destination? It is here that Prisca and Aquila come into the argument. We know that they left Rome in A.D. 52 when Claudius issued his edict banishing the Jews (Act_18:2 ). We know that they went with Paul to Ephesus (Act_18:18 ). We know that they were in Ephesus when Paul wrote his letter to Corinth, less than two years before he wrote Romans (1Co_16:19 ). And we know that they were still in Ephesus when the Pastoral Epistles were written (2Ti_4:19 ). It is certain that if we had come across a letter sending greeting to Prisca and Aquila we should have assumed that it was sent to Ephesus, if no other address was given.
Is there any other evidence to make us think that chapter sixteen may have been sent to Ephesus in the first place? There is the perfectly general reason that Paul spent longer in Ephesus than anywhere else, and it would be very natural for him to send greetings to many people there. Paul speaks of Epaenetus, the first-fruits of Asia. Ephesus is in Asia, and such a reference, too, would be very natural in a letter to Ephesus, but not so natural in a letter to Rome. Rom_16:17 speaks about difficulties, in opposition to the doctrine which you have been taught, which sounds as if Paul was speaking about possible disobedience to his own teaching, and he had never taught in Rome.
It can be argued that the sixteenth chapter was originally addressed to Ephesus, but the argument is not so strong as it looks. For one thing, there is no evidence that the chapter was ever attached anywhere except to the Letter to the Romans. For another thing, the odd fact is that Paul does not send personal greetings to churches which he knew well. There are no personal greetings in Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, and Philippians, all of them letters to churches he knew well; whereas there are personal greetings in Colossians, although Paul had never set foot in Colosse.
The reason is really quite simple. If Paul had sent personal greetings to churches he knew well, jealousies might well have arisen; on the other hand, when he was writing to churches he had never visited, he liked to establish as many personal links as possible. The very fact that Paul had never been in Rome makes it likely that he would try to establish as many personal connections as possible. Again, it is to be remembered that Prisca and Aquila were banished by edict from Rome. What is more likely than that, after the trouble was over, six or seven years later, they would return to Rome and pick up the threads of their business after their stay in other towns? And is it not most likely that many of the other names are names of people who shared in this banishment, who took up temporary residence in other cities, who met Paul there, and who, when the coast was clear, returned to Rome and their old homes? Paul would be delighted to have so many personal contacts in Rome and to seize hold of them.
Further, as we shall see, when we come to study chapter 16 in detail, many of the names--the households of Aristobulus and Narcissus, Amplias, Nereus and others--well suit Rome. In spite of the arguments for Ephesus, we may take it that there is no necessity to detach chapter sixteen from the Letter to the Romans.
But there is a more interesting, and a much more important, problem. The early manuscripts show some very curious things with regard to Rom 14-16. The only natural place for a doxology is at the very end. Rom_16:25-27 is a doxology, and in most good manuscripts it comes at the end. But in a number of manuscripts it comes at the end of Rom 14 ; two good manuscripts have it in both places; one ancient manuscript has it at the end of Rom 15 ; two manuscripts have it in neither place, but leave an empty space for it. One ancient Latin manuscript has a series of section summaries. The last two are as follows:
50: On the peril of him who grieves his brother by meat.
That is obviously Rom_14:15-23 .
51: On the mystery of the Lord, kept secret before his passion
but after his passion revealed.
That is equally clearly Rom_16:25-27 , the doxology. Clearly, these summaries were made from a manuscript which did not contain chapters fifteen and sixteen. Now there is one thing which sheds a flood of light on this. In one manuscript the mention of Rome in Rom_1:7 and Rom_1:15 is entirely omitted. There is no mention of any destination.
All this goes to show that Romans circulated in two forms--one form as we have it with sixteen chapters, and one with fourteen chapters; and perhaps also one with fifteen chapters. The explanation must be this. As Paul wrote it to Rome, it had sixteen chapters; but Rom 15-16 are private and personal to Rome. Now no other letter gives such a compendium of Pauldoctrine. What must have happened was that Romans began to circulate among all the churches, with the last two local chapters omitted, except for the doxology. It must have been felt that Romans was too fundamental to stop at Rome and so the purely local references were removed and it was sent out to the Church at large. From very early times the Church felt that Romans was so great an expression of the mind of Paul that it must become the possession not of one congregation, but of the whole Church. We must remember, as we study it, that men have always looked on Romans as the quintessence of Paulgospel.
FURTHER READING
Romans
C. H. Dodd, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (MC; E)
A. M. Hunter, The Epistle to the Romans: The Law of Love (Tch; E)
W. Sanday and A.C. Headlam, Romans (Sixth edition, in two volumes, revised by C. E. B. Cranfield) (ICC; G)
Abbreviations
ICC: International Critical Commentary
MC : Moffatt Commentary
Tch: Torch Commentary
E: English Text
G: Greek Text
Barclay: Romans 11 (Chapter Introduction) The Callus On The Heart (Rom_11:1-12) The Wild Olive--Privilege And Warning (Rom_11:13-24) That All May Be Of Mercy (Rom_11:25-32) The Cry Of The ...
The Callus On The Heart (Rom_11:1-12)
The Wild Olive--Privilege And Warning (Rom_11:13-24)
That All May Be Of Mercy (Rom_11:25-32)
The Cry Of The Adoring Heart (Rom_11:33-36)
Constable: Romans (Book Introduction) Introduction
Historical Background
Throughout the history of the church, from postapos...
Introduction
Historical Background
Throughout the history of the church, from postapostolic times to the present, Christians have regarded Romans as having been one of the Apostle Paul's epistles.1 Not only does the letter claim that he wrote it (1:1), but it develops many of the same ideas and uses the same terminology that appear in Paul's earlier writings (e.g., Gal. 2; 1 Cor. 12; 2 Cor. 8-9).
Following his conversion on the Damascus Road (34 A.D.), Paul preached in Damascus, spent some time in Arabia, and then returned to Damascus. Next he travelled to Jerusalem where he met briefly with Peter and James. He then moved on to Tarsus, which was evidently his base of operations and from which he ministered for about six years (37-43 A.D.). In response to an invitation from Barnabas he moved to Antioch of Syria where he served for about five years (43-48 A.D.). He and Barnabas then set out on their so-called first missionary journey into Asia Minor (48-49 A.D.). Returning to Antioch Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians to strengthen the churches that he and Barnabas had just planted in Asia Minor (49 A.D.). After the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), Paul took Silas and began his second missionary journey (50-52 A.D.) through Asia Minor and on westward into the Roman provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. From Corinth, Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians (51 A.D.). He proceeded to Ephesus by ship and then on to Syrian Antioch. From there he set out on his third missionary journey (53-57 A.D.). Passing through Asia Minor he arrived in Ephesus where he labored for three years (53-56 A.D.). During this time he wrote 1 Corinthians (56 A.D.). Finally Paul left Ephesus and travelled by land to Macedonia where he wrote 2 Corinthians (56 A.D.). He continued south and spent the winter of 56-57 A.D. in Corinth. There he wrote the Epistle to the Romans and sent it by Phoebe (16:1-2) to the Roman church.
The apostle then proceeded from Corinth by land clockwise around the Aegean Sea back to Troas in Asia where he boarded a ship and eventually reached Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, the Jews arrested Paul and imprisoned him (57 A.D.). He arrived in Rome as a prisoner and ministered there for two years (60-62 A.D.). During this time he wrote the Prison Epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). The Romans freed Paul, and he returned to the Aegean area. There he wrote 1 Timothy and Titus, experienced arrest again, suffered imprisonment in Rome a second time, wrote 2 Timothy, and died as a martyr under Nero in A.D. 68.2
We know very little about the founding of the church in Rome. According to Ambrosiaster, a church father who lived in the fourth century, an apostle did not found it (thus discrediting the Roman Catholic claim that Peter founded the church). A group of Jewish Christians did.3 It is possible that these Jews became believers in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) or at some other time quite early in the church's history. By the time Paul wrote Romans the church in Rome was famous throughout the Roman Empire for its faith (1:18).
Purpose
Paul wrote this epistle under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for several reasons.4 He wanted to prepare the way for his intended visit to the church (15:22-24). He evidently hoped that Rome would become a base of operations and support for his pioneer missionary work in Spain and the western portions of the empire that he had not yet evangelized. His full exposition of the gospel in this letter would have provided a solid foundation for their participation in this mission.
As Paul looked forward to returning to Jerusalem between his departure from Corinth and his arrival in Rome, he was aware of the danger he faced (15:31). He may have written the exhaustive exposition of the gospel that we have in Romans to set forth his teaching in case he did not reach Rome. From Rome his doctrine could then go out to the rest of the empire as others preached it. Paul may have viewed Romans as his legacy to the church, his last will and testament.
Another reason for writing Romans was undoubtedly Paul's desire to minister to the spiritual needs of the Christians in Rome even though they were in good spiritual condition (15:14-16). The common problems of all the early churches were dangers to the Roman church as well. These difficulties included internal conflicts, mainly between Jewish and Gentile believers, and external threats from false teachers. Paul gave both of these potential problems attention in this epistle (15:1-8; 16:17-20).
Paul also wrote Romans as he did because he was at a transition point in his ministry, as he mentioned at the end of chapter 15. His ministry in the Aegean region was solid enough that he planned to leave it and move farther west into new virgin missionary territory. Before he did that, he planned to visit Jerusalem where he realized he would be in danger. Probably therefore Paul wrote Romans as he did to leave a full exposition of the gospel in good hands if his ministry ended prematurely in Jerusalem.
"The peculiar position of the apostle at the time of writing, as he reviews the past and anticipates the future, enables us to understand the absence of controversy in this epistle, the conciliatory attitude, and the didactic and apologetic elements which are all found combined herein."5
The great contribution of this letter to the body of New Testament inspired revelation is its reasoned explanation of how God's righteousness can become man's possession.
The Book of Romans is distinctive among Paul's inspired writings in several respects. It was one of the few letters he wrote to churches with which he had had no personal dealings. The only other epistle of this kind was Colossians. It is also a formal treatise within a personal letter.6 Paul expounded on the gospel in this treatise. He probably did so in this epistle rather than in another because the church in Rome was at the heart of the Roman Empire. As such it was able to exert great influence in the dissemination of the gospel. For these two reasons Romans is more formal and less personal than most of Paul's other epistles.
The Epistle to the Romans is, by popular consent, the greatest of Paul's writings. William Tyndale, the great English reformer and translator, referred to Romans as "the principle and most excellent part of the New Testament." He went on to say the following in his prologue to Romans that he wrote in the 1534 edition of his English New Testament.
"No man verily can read it too oft or study it too well; for the more it is studied the easier it is, the more it is chewed the pleasanter it is, and the more groundly [sic] it is searched the preciouser [sic] things are found in it, so great treasures of spiritual things lieth hid therein."7
Martin Luther wrote the following commendation of this epistle.
"[Romans] is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes."8
Message9
Throughout the history of the church Christians have recognized this epistle as the most important book in the New Testament. The reason for this conviction is that it is an exposition of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Luther called Romans "the chief part of the New Testament and the perfect gospel." Coleridge, the English poet, declared it to be "the most profound work in existence." Frederick Godet, the French commentator, described it as "the cathedral of the Christian faith."10
To appreciate the message of this book it will be helpful first to consider Paul's presuppositions. He based these, of course, on Old Testament revelation concerning cosmology and history.
First, Paul assumed the God of the Old Testament. He assumed God's existence and full deity. He believed that God is holy and just. He also held that God is the creator, sustainer, and sovereign ruler of the universe.
Second, Paul's view of man is that he is subject to God's government of the universe. Man has received a measure of freedom from God, so he can choose to pursue sin. However, if he does so, he is still in the sovereign hand of God. God can allow the consequences of his sins to have their effects on him both now and forever. Man is also in authority over the rest of the material creation (Gen. 1:28). What man has experienced, the material creation also has experienced and reflects as a result of man's action.
Third, Paul's view of history was that of Old Testament revelation. The important historical events for Paul were those in his Scriptures.
Adam was the first man. He rebelled against God's authority. The result was threefold: the practical dethronement of God in the minds of Adam's descendents, the degradation of humanity, and the defilement of creation. This is a very different view of history from what evolutionists and humanists take. Man has lost his scepter because he rebelled against God's scepter.
Two other individuals were specially significant in history for Paul as we see in Romans: Abraham and Jesus Christ. God called Abraham to be a channel of blessing to the world. Christ is the greatest blessing. Through Him people and creation can experience restoration to God's original intention for them.
These are Paul's basic presuppositions on which all his reasoning in Romans rests. Romans is not the best book to put in the hands of an unsaved person to lead him or her to salvation. John is better for that purpose. However, Romans is the best book to put in the hands of a saved person to lead him or her to understand and appreciate our salvation.
We turn now to the major revelations in this book. These are its central teachings, the emphases that distinguish Romans from other books of the Bible.
First, Romans reveals the tragic helplessness of the human race. No other book of the Bible looks so fearlessly into the abysmal degradation that has resulted from human sin. If you read only 1:18-3:20, you will become depressed by its pessimism. If you keep reading, you will conclude from 3:21 on that we have the best, most optimistic news you have ever heard. This book is all about ruin and redemption. Its first great revelation is the absolute ruin and helplessness of the human race.
Paul divides the ruined race into two parts. The first of these is the Gentiles who have the light of nature. God has given everyone, Gentiles and Jews, the opportunity of observing and concluding two things about Himself: His wisdom and power. The average person as well as the scientist concludes that Someone wise must have put the natural world together, and He must be very powerful. Nevertheless having come to that conclusion he turns from God to vain reasonings, vile passions, unrighteous behavior, envy, murder, strife, deceit, insolence, pride, and perverted conduct. Just read today's newspaper and you will find confirmation of Paul's analysis of the human race.
The other part of the ruined race is the Jews who, in addition to the light of nature, also had the light of Scripture. Paul observed that in spite of his greater revelation and privilege the Jew behaves the same way as the Gentile. Yet he is a worse sinner. Having professed devotion to God and having claimed to be a teacher of the Gentiles because of his greater light he disobeys God and causes the Gentiles to blaspheme His name. Paul concluded, "There is none righteous, no, not one" (3:10). "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (3:23).
The second major revelation of Romans is the magnificence of the divine plan of salvation. This plan centers on Jesus Christ whom Paul introduced on the very first page of his letter (1:3-4). God declared to everyone that the Jesus of the Gospels is His Son by resurrecting Him.
Two words describe Christ's relation to the divine plan of salvation: manifestation and propitiation. The righteousness manifested in Him is available to people through His propitiation. God's righteousness is available to everyone because Jesus died as the perfect offering for sin. The righteousness we see in Jesus in the Gospel records is available to those who believe that His sacrifice satisfied God (3:21, 25).
We can also describe God's relation to the plan of salvation with two words: holiness and love. The plan of salvation that Romans expounds resulted from a holy God reaching out to sinful humanity lovingly (3:22, 24). This plan vindicates the holiness of God as it unveils God's gracious love (chs. 9-11).
Man's relation to the plan of salvation is threefold. It involves justification, the imputation of God's righteousness to the believing sinner. It also involves sanctification, the impartation of God's righteousness to the redeemed sinner. Third, it involves glorification, the perfection of God's righteousness in the sanctified sinner. In justification God lifts the sinner into a relationship with Himself that is more intimate than we would have enjoyed if we had never sinned. In sanctification God progressively transforms the sinner into the Savior's image by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. In glorification God finally restores the sinner to the place God intended for us to occupy in creation.
The creation's relation to the plan of salvation is twofold. God restores creation's king, man, to his intended position. Second, creation realizes all of its intended possibilities that sin has denied it.
Let us note next some of the lessons of this book. What did God want us to learn from it?
First, Romans calls us to measure ourselves by divine rather than human standards. We sometimes evaluate ourselves and one another by using the criteria that our age sets or that we set. However to know our true condition we must use the criteria that God sets. This standard reveals that we are all guilty before God. This is one of the great lessons that Romans teaches us.
Second, Romans calls us to live by faith rather than by sight. God did not come any closer to mankind in the incarnation of Christ than He ever had been. Yet in the incarnation the nearness of God became more obvious to people. In the resurrection the Son of God became observable as the Son of God to human beings. All the glories of salvation come to us as we believe God. Romans contrasts the folly of trying to obtain salvation by working for it with trusting God, simply believing what He has revealed as true.
Third, Romans calls us to dedicate ourselves to God rather than living self-centered lives (12:1). This is the reasonable response to having received salvation. We should give ourselves to God. God's grace puts us in His debt. Paul did not say that if we fail to dedicate ourselves to God we are unsaved. Rather he appeals to us as saved people to do for God what He has done for us, namely giving ourselves out of love. When we do this, we show that we truly appreciate what God has done for us.
On the basis of these observations I would summarize the message of Romans in these words. Since God has lovingly provided salvation for helpless sinners through His Son, we should accept that sacrifice by faith and express our gratitude to God by dedicating our lives to Him.
In conclusion let me suggest an application of the message of Romans.
In view of the greatness of the salvation that God has provided as Romans reveals, we, as Paul, have a duty to communicate this good news to the world (1:14-17; Matt. 28:19). We do this both by lip and life, by explanation and by example (8:29). Our living example will reflect death to self as well as life to God (6:13).
Constable: Romans (Outline) Outline
I. Introduction 1:1-17
A. Salutation 1:1-7
1. The writer 1:1
...
Outline
I. Introduction 1:1-17
A. Salutation 1:1-7
1. The writer 1:1
2. The subject of the epistle 1:2-5
3. The original recipients 1:6-7
B. Purpose 1:8-15
C. Theme 1:16-17
II. The need for God's righteousness 1:18-3:20
A. The need of all people 1:18-32
1. The reason for human guilt 1:18
2. The ungodliness of mankind 1:19-27
3. The wickedness of mankind 1:28-32
B. The need of good people 2:1-3:8
1. God's principles of judgment 2:1-16
2. The guilt of the Jews 2:17-29
3. Answers to objections 3:1-8
C. The guilt of all humanity 3:9-20
III. The imputation of God's righteousness 3:21-5:21
A. The description of justification 3:21-26
B. The defense of justification by faith alone 3:27-31
C. The proof of justification by faith from the law ch. 4
1. Abraham's justification by faith 4:1-5
2. David's testimony to justification by faith 4:6-8
3. The priority of faith to circumcision 4:9-12
4. The priority of faith to the promise concerning headship of many nations 4:13-17
5. The exemplary value of Abraham's faith 4:18-22
6. Conclusions from Abraham's example 4:23-25
D. The benefits of justification 5:1-11
E. The universal applicability of justification 5:12-21
IV. The impartation of God's righteousness chs. 6-8
A. The believer's relationship to sin ch. 6
1. Freedom from sin 6:1-14
2. Slavery to righteousness 6:15-23
B. The believer's relationship to the law ch. 7
1. The law's authority 7:1-6
2. The law's activity 7:7-12
3. The law's inability 7:13-25
C. The believer's relationship to God ch. 8
1. Our deliverance from the flesh by the power of the Spirit 8:1-11
2. Our new relationship to God 8:12-17
3. Our present sufferings and future glory 8:18-25
4. Our place in God's sovereign plan 8:26-30
5. Our eternal security 8:31-39
V. The vindication of God's righteousness chs. 9-11
A. Israel's past election ch. 9
1. God's blessings on Israel 9:1-5
2. God's election of Israel 9:6-13
3. God's freedom to elect 9:14-18
4. God's mercy toward Israel 9:19-29
5. God's mercy toward the Gentiles 9:30-33
B. Israel's present rejection ch. 10
1. The reason God has set Israel aside 10:1-7
2. The remedy for rejection 10:8-15
3. The continuing unbelief of Israel 10:16-21
C. Israel's future salvation ch. 11
1. Israel's rejection not total 11:1-10
2. Israel's rejection not final 11:11-24
3. Israel's restoration assured 11:25-32
4. Praise for God's wise plans 11:33-36
VI. The practice of God's righteousness 12:1-15:13
A. Dedication to God 12:1-2
B. Conduct within the church 12:3-21
1. The diversity of gifts 12:3-8
2. The necessity of love 12:9-21
C. Conduct within the state ch. 13
1. Conduct towards the government 13:1-7
2. Conduct toward unbelievers 13:8-10
3. Conduct in view of our hope 13:11-14
D. Conduct within Christian liberty 14:1-15:13
1. The folly of judging one another 14:1-12
2. The evil of offending one another 14:13-23
3. The importance of pleasing one another 15:1-6
4. the importance of accepting one another 15:7-13
VII. Conclusion 15:14-16:27
A. Paul's ministry 15:14-33
1. Past labors 15:14-21
2. Present program 15:22-29
3. Future plans 15:30-33
B. Personal matters ch. 16
1. A commendation 16:1-2
2. Various greetings to Christians in Rome 16:3-16
3. A warning 16:17-20
4. Greetings from Paul's companions 16:21-24
5. A doxology 16:25-27
Constable: Romans Romans
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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable
Haydock: Romans (Book Introduction) THE
EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,
TO THE ROMANS.
INTRODUCTION.
After the Gospels, which contain the history of Christ, and the Acts of...
THE
EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,
TO THE ROMANS.
INTRODUCTION.
After the Gospels, which contain the history of Christ, and the Acts of the Apostles, which contain the history of the infant Church, we have the Epistles of the Apostles. Of these fourteen have been penned on particular occasions, and addressed to particular persons, by St. Paul; the others of St. James, St. Peter, St. John, and St. Jude, are called Catholic Epistles, because they are addressed to all Christians in general, if we except the two latter short epistles of St. John. --- The epistles of St. Paul contain admirable advice, and explain fully several tenets of Christianity: but an humble and teachable mind and heart are essentially requisite to draw good from this inexhaustible source. If we prepare our minds by prayer, and go to these sacred oracles with proper dispositions, as to Jesus Christ himself, not preferring our own weak judgment to that of the Catholic Church divinely inspired, and which he has commanded us to hear, and which he has promised to lead in all truth unto the end of the world, we shall improve both our mind and heart by a frequent and pious perusal. We shall learn there that faith is essentially necessary to please God; that this faith is but one, as God is but one; and that faith which shews itself not by good works, is dead. Hence, when St. Paul speaks of works that are incapable of justifying us, he speaks not of the works of moral righteousness, but of the ceremonial works of the Mosaic law, on which the Jews laid such great stress as necessary to salvation. --- St. Peter (in his 2nd Epistle, chap. iii.) assures us that there were some in his time, as there are found some now in our days, who misconstrue St. Paul's epistles, as if he required no good works any more after baptism than before baptism, and maintaining that faith alone would justify and save a man. Hence the other apostles wrote their epistles, as St. Augustine remarks in these words; "therefore because this opinion, that faith only was necessary to salvation, was started, the other apostolical epistles do most pointedly refute it, forcibly contending that faith without works profiteth nothing." Indeed St. Paul himself, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, (Chap. xiii. 2.) positively asserts: if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. --- This epistle, like most of the following, is divided into two parts: the first treats of points of doctrine, and extends to the eleventh chapter inclusively; the second treats of morality, and is contained in the last five chapters: but to be able to understand the former, and to practise the latter, humble prayer and a firm adherence to the Catholic Church, which St. Paul (1 Timothy chap. iii.) styles, the pillar and ground of truth, are undoubtedly necessary. Nor should we ever forget what St. Peter affirms, that in St. Paul's epistles there are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and the unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter chap. iii. ver. 16.) (Haydock) --- St. Paul had not been at Rome when he wrote this epistle, which was in the year fifty-seven or fifty-eight, when he was preparing to go to Jerusalem with the charitable contributions and alms, collected in Achaia and Macedonia, for the benefit and relief of the poor Christians in Judea, and at Jerusalem; and after he had preached in almost all places from Jerusalem even to Illyris, Illyrium, or Illyricum. See this Epistle, chap. xv. It was written in Greek. It is not the first in order of time, though placed first, either because of the dignity of the chief Christian Church, or of its sublime contents. --- The apostle's chief design was not only to unite all the new Christian converts, whether they had been Gentiles or Jews, in the same faith, but also to bring them to a union in charity, love, and peace; to put an end to those disputes and contentions among them, which were particularly occasioned by those zealous Jewish converts, who were for obliging all Christians to the observance of the Mosaic precepts and ceremonies. They who had been Jews, boasted that they were the elect people of God, preferred before all other nations, to whom he had given this written law, precepts, and ceremonies by Moses, to whom he had sent his prophets, and had performed so many miracles in their favour, while the Gentiles were left in their ignorance and idolatry. The Gentiles, now converted, were apt to brag of the learning of their great philosophers, and that sciences had flourished among them: they reproached the Jews with the disobedience of their forefathers to God, and the laws he had given them; that they had frequently returned to idolatry; that they had persecuted and put to death the prophets, and even their Messias, the true Son of God. St. Paul shews that neither the Jew nor the Gentile had reason to boast, but to humble themselves under the hand of God, the author of their salvation. He puts the Jews in mind, that they could not expect to be justified and saved merely by the ceremonies and works of their law, thought good in themselves; that the Gentiles, as well as they, were now called by the pure mercy of God: that they were all to be saved by believing in Christ, and complying with his doctrine; that sanctification and salvation can only be had by the Christian faith. He does not mean by faith only, as it is one particular virtue, different from charity, hope, and other Christian virtues; but he means by faith, the Christian religion, and worship, taken in opposition to the law of Moses and to the moral virtues of heathens. The design of the Epistle to the Galatians is much the same. From the 12th chapter he exhorts them to the practice of Christian virtues. (Witham)
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Gill: Romans (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS
Though this epistle is in order placed the first of the epistles, yet it was not first written: there were several epistles ...
INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS
Though this epistle is in order placed the first of the epistles, yet it was not first written: there were several epistles written before it, as the two epistles to the Thessalonians, the two to the Corinthians, the first epistle to Timothy, and that to Titus: the reason why this epistle stands first, is either the excellency of it, of which Chrysostom had so great an esteem that he caused it to be read over to him twice a week; or else the dignity of the place, where the persons lived to whom it is written, being Rome, the imperial city: so the books of the prophets are not placed in the same order in which they were written: Hosea prophesied as early as Isaiah, if not earlier; and before Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and yet stands after them. This epistle was written from Corinth, as the subscription of it testifies; and which may be confirmed from the apostle's commendation of Phoebe, by whom he sent it, who was of Cenchrea, a place near Corinth; by his calling Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, who abode at Corinth, 2Ti 4:20, and Gaius his host, who was a Corinthian, Rom 16:23, 1Co 1:14, though at what time it was written from hence, is not so evident: some think it was written in the time of his three months' travel through Greece, Act 20:2, a little before the death of the Emperor Claudius, in the year of Christ 55; others, that it was written by him in the short stay he made at Corinth, when he came thither, as is supposed, from Philippi, in his way to Troas, where some of his company went before, and had been there five days before him: and this is placed in the second year of Nero, and in the year of Christ 56; however, it was not written by him during his long stay at Corinth, when he was first there, but afterwards, even after he had preached from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum: and when he was about to go to Jerusalem, with the contributions of the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, to the poor saints there, Rom 15:19. The persons to whom this epistle was sent were Roman saints, both Jews and Gentiles, inhabiting the city of Rome; of which city and church; See Gill on Act 28:14; Act 28:15; by whom the Gospel was first preached at Rome, and who were the means of forming the church there, is not very evident Irenaeus, an ancient writer, says a, that Peter and Paul preached the Gospel at Rome, and founded the church; and Gaius, an ecclesiastical man, who lived in the time of Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome, asserts the same; and Dionysius; bishop of the Corinthians, calls the Romans the plantation of Peter and Paul b: whether Peter was ever at Rome is not a clear point with many; and certain it is, that the Apostle Paul had not been at Rome when he wrote this epistle, at least it seems very probable he had not, by several expressions in Rom 1:10; and yet here was a church to which he writes, and had been a considerable time; for their faith was spoken of throughout the world, Rom 1:8; and when the apostle was on the road to this city, the brethren in it met him, Act 28:15. The chief design of this epistle is to set in a clear light the doctrine of justification: showing against the Gentiles, that it is not by the light of nature, and works done in obedience to that, and against the Jews, that it was not by the law of Moses, and the deeds of that; which he clearly evinces, by observing the sinful and wretched estate both of Jews and Gentiles: but that it is by the righteousness of Christ imputed through the grace of God, and received by faith; the effects of which are peace and joy in the soul, and holiness in the life and conversation: he gives an account of the justified ones, as that they are not without sin, which he illustrates by his own experience and case; and yet are possessed of various privileges, as freedom from condemnation, the blessing of adoption, and a right to the heavenly inheritance; he treats in it concerning predestination, the calling of the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews; and exhorts to the various duties incumbent on the saints, with respect to one another, and to the world, to duties of a moral and civil nature, and the use of things indifferent; and closes it with the salutations of divers persons.
Gill: Romans 11 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS 11
The apostle having spoken of the calling of the Gentiles, and given a hint of the perverseness of the Jews in slighting t...
INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS 11
The apostle having spoken of the calling of the Gentiles, and given a hint of the perverseness of the Jews in slighting the Gospel, proceeds in this chapter to treat of their rejection; in which he shows, that it was not universal, though of the greater part in his time; and which he confirms by some passages out of the Old Testament, and then points at the end and design of God in the casting them off; and exhorts the Gentiles not to insult them, but to learn to be humble and cautious by what was done to them; and foretells the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, which will be general, so that their rejection is not final; and resolves the whole dispensation of God, both with respect to Jews and Gentiles, into the unsearchable wisdom and sovereign will of God: he begins with an objection he saw would be made upon what he had said, concerning the calling of the Gentiles, and the unbelief of the Jews, that then God had wholly cast off his people, Rom 11:1, to which he answers with a "God forbid", by way of detestation; and by instancing in himself, who was of the people of the Jews, and yet was called; and by distinguishing between some and others among them: there were some who were foreknown, loved, and chosen of God from everlasting: these were not cast off, but others who were not foreknown, Rom 11:2, and then he illustrates the present case of the Jews by observing how it was with them in the times of Elias; who though he complained of their apostasy and cruelty, and imagined that there were none left but himself that worshipped the true God, yet there were then seven thousand, which were preserved from the idolatry of Baal, Rom 11:2, and so the apostle observes it was now, Rom 11:5, there was a small number whom God of his free grace had chosen, and reserved for himself, and so were not all cast away, as the objection suggested; and having called this choice an election of grace, he argues the contrariety and inconsistency of grace and works in this affair, Rom 11:6, and since it appeared that there were two sorts of people among them, one that were chosen and the other not, hence it was, that though Israel did not obtain the righteousness they sought for, yet they that were chosen obtained it, and so were not cast away, when the rest were, Rom 11:7, and that so it should be, or that this should be the case of the greater part of the Jews, that they should be given up to blindness and hardness of heart, the apostle proves by some testimonies of Isaiah and David, which he produces, Rom 11:8, hence follows an objection, that if this be the case, then God had appointed them to stumble, that they might fall even all of them, and always continue fallen; to which the apostle answers with a "God forbid", as usual, when anything is objected which is abhorred; and by observing the view, event, and order of things; showing, that the fall of the Jews issued in the salvation of the Gentiles; and the salvation of the Gentiles was to provoke the Jews to seek the same mercy, Rom 11:11, and then follows an improvement and illustration of this end, or event of their fall, Rom 11:12, that if the fall and lessening of the Jews were the means of enriching the Gentiles with the riches of Christ and his grace, what a glory must be brought to them, when they should all of them be converted and join them! and that the rejection of the Jews was neither total nor final, the apostle argues from his office, even as an apostle of the Gentiles, whom he addresses as such, Rom 11:13, and from his view and end in executing that office, which was to provoke the Jews to emulate the Gentiles, and so save some of them, Rom 11:14, and then he repeats in other words, Rom 11:15, the argument he had used in Rom 11:12, and proves the future conversion of the Jews, from the instances of conversion and sanctification, which had been, and were then among them; which were as the firstfruits to the lump, and the root to the branches; and were pledges and tokens of a general conversion and sanctification of them hereafter, Rom 11:16, and by occasion of the metaphor of the root and branches before used, he expresses the rejection of the Jews, by the breaking off some of the branches, and the reception of the Gentiles by their ingrafting into a Gospel church state among the converted Jews, enjoying the same privileges with them, Rom 11:17, and since they were originally of a wild olive tree, and merely of grace partook of the root and fatness of the good olive of the Gospel church state, as consisting first of the Jews, they ought not to be haughty and insolent, and boast and brag over the Jews, since they were beholden to them, and not the Jews to them, Rom 11:18, and whereas an objection might be made, that the Jews were cast out, to make room for the Gentiles, Rom 11:19, and therefore the one must be more deserving than the other; the apostle replies to it, Rom 11:20 by granting, that the one were broken off, or rejected, that the other might be ingrafted, or taken in but then as it was owing to unbelief in the Jews that they were cast off, in which the Gentiles were before conversion as well as they, so it was by faith they stood in their church relation, which was the gift of God, and owing to his grace; so that their ingrafting and continuance in a Gospel church state were not the effect of merit in them; wherefore he gives them this good advice, not to be proud and lifted up with their privileges, as though they were of their own deserving, but to fear the Lord and his goodness, from whence they sprung; and suggests, that they should be so far from making such an use of the rejection of the Jews, that it ought rather to engage them to caution, care, and fear; for they were the natural branches in the olive tree, and if these were not spared when behaving disagreeably, they must not expect to fare otherwise, who were originally of the wild olive tree, should they act unworthy of the privileges they enjoyed, Rom 11:21, wherefore the apostle recommends to their serious consideration the severity of God in the casting off of the Jews, and his goodness in taking in them, the Gentiles; and threatens them with cutting off, should they slight, neglect, or misuse the goodness of God to them in his house and ordinances, Rom 11:22, and on the other hand, an intimation is given, that the Jews, though broken off shall be grafted in again, should their unbelief discontinue, and faith in Christ be given them, which was not impossible with God; he is able both to remove their unbelief, give them faith, and reinstate them in a church relation, Rom 11:23, and as it is without doubt he can do it, it looks very likely that he will; which may be argued from the ingrafting of the Gentiles, who were like the olive tree, wild by nature; were cut out from thence, and, contrary to nature, grafted into the good olive tree; wherefore by an argument from the lesser to the greater, much more may it be thought, that the Jews, the natural branches, will, in God's own time, be grafted in their former church state, some of their ancestors were in, Rom 11:24, yea, the apostle argues the certainty of their conversion, and reinstatement into the Gospel church, from the design of Providence in suffering blindness in part to happen to them; which was not intended always to continue, only until all the elect of God are gathered in among the Gentiles; and this mystery of Providence and grace, he thought fit to acquaint the Gentiles with, lest they should be conceited of themselves, as if they only shared the favour of God, and were deserving of it, to the contempt of the Jews, Rom 11:25, Moreover, the apostle affirms that all Israel shall be saved, Rom 11:26, which is consequentially deduced from what he had said, and which he proves by a passage, out of Isa 59:20, and by its being a principal part of the covenant, which God has made with them, which he will not break, but shall be fulfilled; when he shall make them sensible of their sins, and take them away by the application of his pardoning grace, Rom 11:27, and whereas the implacable enmity of the Jews to Christ and his Gospel might be objected to such a gracious procedure of God towards them, the apostle removes the objection, by granting that they were enemies to the Gospel on account of the Gentiles, to whom it was preached; but then there was a chosen people among them, who were beloved of God; which would be made manifest, because of the oath and promise made unto their their fathers, Rom 11:28, wherefore as the purposes, promises, and covenant of God are immutable, so the gifts of his grace, and the calling of his people included in them, are things certain and irrevocable, Rom 11:29, and so the calling of the Jews, and the gifts of his grace designed for them, which is another proof of their calling and conversion; and which is further argued, and made both more probable and certain, by comparing the case of the Jews and Gentiles together; as for the Gentiles, they were formerly infidels and obtained mercy, through the unbelief of the Jews, Rom 11:30, wherefore arguing from the less probable to that which is more so, the Jews, though for the present unbelievers, yet it may be thought, that through the mercy the Gentiles had received, they would some time or other be provoked to seek for, and so obtain the same mercy, Rom 11:31, and the rather this may be given into and received, not only because they both have been in a state of unbelief, but the end and design of God in concluding them in it, were to have mercy on each of them, Rom 11:32, which dispensation of God both to one and to the other by turns, in different ways, was so amazing and unaccountable to the apostle, that he breaks out into admiration at the wisdom and knowledge of God: which were so abundant, that they could not be searched out, conceived of, and expressed, Rom 11:33, the reasons of which lay in his own breast, and are only known to himself no one having known his mind, or been his counsellor, Rom 11:34, nor is he obliged to give an account of his matters, and the reasons of his proceedings, to any of his creatures; he is not indebted to them for anything, nor does he any injustice to any of them, by whatsoever steps he takes in Providence and grace; let that appear, and recompense will be made, Rom 11:35, everything must be resolved into his sovereign will and pleasure, and so this of choosing some, and leaving others, of rejecting the Jews, and receiving the Gentiles, and also that of calling the Jews again; as it is reasonable everything should, since all things are from him, through him, and to him, Rom 11:36, and so all glory is due unto him, and here ends the doctrinal part of this epistle.
College: Romans (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION
I. ROMANS: ITS INFLUENCE AND IMPORTANCE
God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path (Ps 119:105), and no part of it shine...
INTRODUCTION
I. ROMANS: ITS INFLUENCE AND IMPORTANCE
God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path (Ps 119:105), and no part of it shines more brilliantly than the book of Romans. The truth of God's Word sets us free (John 8:32), and Romans teaches us the most liberating of all truths. God's Word is sharp and piercing like a sword (Heb 4:12), and no blade penetrates more deeply into our hearts than Romans. Overall the book of Romans may be the most read and most influential book of the Bible, but sometimes it is the most neglected and most misunderstood book. The Restoration Movement has tended to concentrate especially on the book of Acts, which is truly foundational and indispensable. But Romans is to Acts what meat is to milk. We need to mature; we need to graduate from Acts to Romans.
In 1 Cor 15:3-4 Paul sums up the gospel as these three truths: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised up again on the third day. The reality of the historical facts of the Savior's death and resurrection is stressed over and over in the book of Acts. Romans, however, is an exposition of the meaning of these facts. In the language of 1 Cor 15:3, Romans focuses not on "Christ died," but on the next three words: " for our sins ." Acts explains what salvation consists of and how we may receive it. Romans does the same, but carries the explanation to heights and depths that thrill and satisfy the soul, providing it with an experience that is at the same time intellectual, spiritual, and esthetic.
The unparalleled ability of Romans to convict sinners and to motivate Christians is well attested. The comment of Sanday and Headlam (v) has often been noted: "If it is a historical fact that the spiritual revivals of Christendom have been usually associated with closer study of the Bible, this would be true in an eminent degree of the Epistle to the Romans." Leon Morris (1) concurs: "It is commonly agreed that the Epistle to the Romans is one of the greatest Christian writings. Its power has been demonstrated again and again at critical points in the history of the Christian church."
The role of Romans in Augustine's conversion is well known. In his Confessions he tells how a discussion of Christian commitment with two of his friends brought him under strong conviction, filling him with remorse for his sins of sexual immorality and a sense of helplessness to overcome them. Later he and his friend Alypius went into the garden, taking along a copy of Paul's writings. Augustine went off by himself to weep over his sins. While doing so, he reports, "I heard the voice as of a boy or girl, I know not which, coming from a neighbouring house, chanting, and oft repeating, 'Take up and read; take up and read.'" He took this as a sign from God to open the book of Paul's writings and read the first passage that met his eyes. He quickly returned to where Alypius was sitting and the book was lying. When he opened it, the first words he saw were these from Rom 13:13-14: "Not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." This experience and these words gave him what he needed to turn completely to Christ. He says, "No further would I read, nor did I need; for instantly, as the sentence ended, - by a light, as it were, of security infused into my heart, - all the gloom of doubt vanished away."
Godet (1) declares that "the Reformation was undoubtedly the work of the Epistle to the Romans." Morris (1) agrees: "The Reformation may be regarded as the unleashing of new spiritual life as a result of a renewed understanding of the teaching of Romans."
Insofar as the Reformation depends on the work of Martin Luther, this is surely the case. Luther confesses how in 1519 he had an ardent desire to understand the epistle to the Romans. His problem was the way he had been taught to understand the expression "the righteousness of God" in Rom 1:17. To him it meant the divine justice and wrath by which God punishes sin, which did not sound very much like gospel . "Nevertheless," he says, "I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted." Finally, by the mercy of God, he began to understand this expression in a totally different way, i.e., as the righteousness of Christ that God bestows upon the sinner and on the basis of which the sinner is justified. The effect on Luther was electrifying: "I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates." This new understanding of this one verse - Rom 1:17 - changed everything; it became in a real sense the doorway to the Reformation. "Thus that place in Paul was for me truly the gate to paradise," says Luther ("Latin Writings," 336-337).
Luther's regard for Romans is clearly seen in this well-known paragraph from his famous preface to this epistle:
This epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament, and is truly the purest gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. We can never read it or ponder over it too much; for the more we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes ("Preface," 365).
These words, first published in 1522, were echoed almost verbatim by the English reformer William Tyndale, in his prologue to his 1534 English translation of the New Testament. He says, "This epistle is the principal and most excellent part of the New Testament, and most pure . . . gospel, and also a light and a way in unto the whole Scripture." He also recommends learning it by heart and studying it daily, because "so great treasure of spiritual things lieth hid therein."
The Swiss reformer John Calvin echoes some of Tyndale's thoughts in his own commentary on Romans (xxix): "When any one gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture."
Working indirectly through Luther's preface, the book of Romans had an effect on John Wesley similar to the way it influenced Augustine and Luther. In his journal Wesley recounts his own search for personal victory over sin and assurance of salvation based on trust in the blood of Christ alone. He tells what happened to him on May 24, 1738:
In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: And an assurace was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine , and saved me from the law of sin and death ( Works , I:103).
Modern scholars and expositors seem unable to praise the letter to the Romans highly enough. Philip Schaff has said, "The Epistle to the Romans is the Epistle of the Epistles, as the Gospel of John is the Gospel of the Gospels" ("Preface," v). "This is in every sense the greatest of the Epistles of Paul, if not the greatest book in the New Testament," declares Thiessen ( Introduction , 219). Newell (375) says Romans is "probably the greatest book in the Bible." "If the apostle Paul had written nothing else, he would still be recognized as one of the outstanding Christian thinkers of all time on the basis of this letter alone," say Newman and Nida (1). This familiar praise comes from Godet (x):
The pious Sailer used to say, "O Christianity, had thy one work been to produce a St. Paul, that alone would have rendered thee dear to the coldest reason." May we not be permitted to add: And thou, O St. Paul, had thy one work been to compose an Epistle to the Romans, that alone would have rendered thee dear to every sound reason.
Godet adds, "The Epistle to the Romans is the cathedral of the Christian faith" (1).
Others add even higher praise. Batey (7) says, "Paul's epistle to the Romans stands among the most important pieces of literature in the intellectual history of Western man." "It is safe to say that Romans is probably the most powerful human document ever written," declares Stedman. Some might think this honor should go to the U.S. Constitution or to the Declaration of Independence. "But even they cannot hold a candle to the impact the Epistle to the Romans has had upon human history" (I:1-2). Boice avows: "Christianity has been the most powerful, transforming force in human history - and the book of Romans is the most basic, most comprehensive statement of true Christianity" (I:13).
Commentators often quote this statement from Coleridge: "I think St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans the most profound work in existence" ( Table Talk , 245). Many will certainly agree, but to Coleridge such profundity was not altogether a virtue. For him it meant that Romans "undoubtedly . . . is, and must be, very obscure to ordinary readers" (ibid., 245-246). Indeed, some think that the Apostle Peter may have been referring to Romans in 2 Pet 3:16. But at the same time, perhaps paradoxically, Newell is correct when he says (vii), "There is no more simple book in the Bible than Romans, when one comes to know the book, its contents, its message, its power."
Scholars praise Romans as the clearest statement of the gospel of salvation. As noted above, Luther called it "the purest gospel." Nygren agrees (3): "What the gospel is, what the content of the Christian faith is, one learns to know in the Epistle to the Romans as in no other place in the New Testament." Cranfield says Romans is "the most systematic and complete exposition of the gospel that the NT contains" (I:31). The Restoration scholar Moses Lard (xx) concurs: "It is the whole gospel compressed into the short space of a single letter - a generalization of Christianity up to the hight [sic] of the marvelous, and a detail down to exhaustion." In Stott's words (19), Romans is "the fullest, plainest and grandest statement of the gospel in the New Testament."
Scholars also praise Romans for its unparalleled presentation of the essence of Christian doctrine . In his preface to Romans (380) Luther says that in Romans we "find most abundantly the things that a Christian ought to know, namely, what is law, gospel, sin, punishment, grace, faith, righteousness, Christ, God, good works, love, hope, and the cross; and also how we are to conduct ourselves toward everyone." Thus it seems that Paul "wanted in this one epistle to sum up briefly the whole Christian and evangelical doctrine." Schaff declares it to be "the heart of the doctrinal portion of the New Testament. It presents in systematic order the fundamental truths of Christianity in their primitive purity, inexhaustible depth, all-conquering force, and never-failing comfort. It is the bulwark of the evangelical doctrines of sin and grace" ("Preface," v).
Modern writers agree. "The truth laid down in Romans forms the Gibraltar basis of doctrine, teaching, and confession in the true evangelical church," says Lenski (8). Moo says the Puritan writer Thomas Draxe described Romans as "the quintessence and perfection of saving doctrine." Moo agrees: "When we think of Romans, we think of doctrine" (I:1). Lard (xx) calls Romans Paul's "great doctrinal chart for the future." Newman and Nida (1) declare that "above all else, the appeal of Romans is its theology ."
Concerning its doctrinal content, MacArthur lists 49 significant questions about God and man that are answered by Romans, e.g., How can a person who has never heard the gospel be held spiritually responsible? How can a sinner be forgiven and justified by God? How are God's grace and God's law related? Why is there suffering? MacArthur points out that these key words are used repeatedly in the epistle: God (154 times), law (77), Christ (66), sin (45), Lord (44), and faith (40).
Which of these assessments is correct? Is Romans the crowning presentation of the Christian gospel ? Or is it the grandest statement of Christian doctrine ? Actually, it is both. Romans is the theology of the New Testament; it is also the definitive statement of the gospel. In this epistle doctrine and gospel merge, and the result is a spiritual feast for Christians.
Boice (I:10) advises that "it is time to rediscover Romans." Actually, it is always time to "rediscover" Romans, and down through the history of Christianity individuals have been doing just this. The results have been earth-shaking. It can and does happen over and over, in the lives of individuals, in congregations, in the Church at large. F.F. Bruce (60) has well said, "There is no telling what may happen when people begin to study the Epistle to the Romans."
II. THE AUTHOR OF ROMANS
The epistle to the Romans was written by the Apostle Paul (1:1). In the past a few critics challenged this, but without any real basis in fact. Today, as Cranfield says, "no responsible criticism disputes its Pauline origin" (I:2). Romans was quoted by the earliest Christian writers (Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin), and was attributed to Paul by name by Marcion in the mid-second century. Since the time of Irenaeus (late second century) writers have explicitly and regularly viewed it as Pauline.
Though composed and dictated by Paul, the letter was actually written down by a Christian scribe named Tertius, who inserted his own greeting in 16:22.
A. PAUL'S JEWISH BACKGROUND
It is not necessary to go into the details of Paul's life, except for a few facts that are important in view of the content of the epistle, which relates especially to the distinction between law and grace. One relevant fact is Paul's Jewish background, which he proudly avowed: "I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin," a "Hebrew of Hebrews" (11:1; Phil 3:5; 2 Cor 11:22). Though born in Tarsus, he was reared in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3), the capital of Judaism.
Paul's education included strict and thorough religious training in the contents of the Old Testament - especially the Law (Torah) - at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel was one of the most famous and most revered of all rabbis. His knowledge of the Law was so great that he was practically identified with it, being given the title "the Beauty of the Law." A saying recorded in the Talmud declares, "Since Rabban Gamaliel died the glory of the Law has ceased." "Under Gamaliel," says Paul, "I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers" (Acts 22:3). "Thoroughly" translates
Paul's zeal for God and commitment to his Law was total (Acts 22:3; Gal 1:14). He was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6; Phil 3:5), which he properly identified as "the strictest sect of our religion" (Acts 26:5). The glory of the Pharisees was the Law; they were devoted to akribeia in its interpretation and observance (Dunn, I:xl). Thus Paul not only knew the Law but also devoted himself to scrupulous obedience to its commandments (Acts 26:4-5; Phil 3:6).
This probably means that he was a legalist in the proper sense of that word, i.e., one who sought acceptance by God on the basis of his obedience to the Law. This is implied in the way he contrasted his pre-Christian life (Phil 3:6) and his Christian life (Phil 3:9). This is also the way Pharisees are generally pictured in the Gospels.
Paul's zeal for the Law was expressed perhaps most vehemently in his fanatical persecution of the earliest Christians, all converted Jews whom he no doubt regarded as traitors to God and his Law (Phil 3:6). See Acts 7:58; 8:3; 9:1-2; 22:4-5; 26:9-11; Gal 1:13; 1 Tim 1:13.
B. PAUL'S CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY
The second relevant fact about the Apostle Paul is his conversion. The details need not be recounted here. What is important is that the one who converted him to Christianity was no human preacher, but was Jesus himself (Gal 1:15-16). Also, the gospel he preached was not taught to him by a human teacher; he received it by direct revelation from Jesus (Gal 1:11-12). The result was that Paul's conversion, his change, his turnaround, was complete. Whereas before he was totally committed to the Mosaic Law as a way of life and salvation, once converted he was just as totally committed to the gospel of grace.
As a Christian Paul set himself in complete opposition to everything he had stood for as a Pharisee. He now understood the way of law to be futile (10:3). He saw that his former legalistic approach to salvation was, as Murray says, "the antithesis of grace and of justification by faith" (I:xiii). Thus when Paul presents the classic contrast between law and grace in Romans, he speaks as one who knew both sides of the issue from personal experience and from the best teachers available. As Murray says, he is describing "the contrast between the two periods in his own life history, periods divided by the experience of the Damascus road" (I:xiv).
It is no surprise that Paul's preaching of the gospel and his condemnation of law-righteousness turned the Jews completely against him, even to the point that they tried to kill him (Acts 9:29; 13:45; 14:2, 19; 17:5-8; 18:12; 2 Cor 11:24-26). His opponents included "false brothers" (2 Cor 11:26), the Judaizers, or Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah but still clung to the Law of Moses.
In spite of all of this upheaval, Paul did not turn against the Jews as such. He still regarded them as his beloved brothers according to the flesh (9:1-3; 10:1), and as blessed by God in an incomparable way (3:1-2; 9:4-5). In fact, a major aspect of the teaching in Romans is an explanation and a defense of God's purpose for his Old Covenant people, the Jews (see especially chs. 9-11).
C. PAUL'S COMMISSION AS
THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES
The last detail about Paul's life that is relevant here is his call and commission to be the Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 26:17). His appointment as an apostle (1:1) invested him with the full authority of Jesus Christ and with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that his teachings are truly the Word of God (1 Cor 2:6-13; 1 Thess 2:13). When we read the book of Romans, we must understand it to be nothing less than this.
Also, Paul's appointment as the apostle to the Gentiles (1:5) completely governed his thoughts and deeds from that point on. As a Jew and a Pharisee, he had no doubt shared the typical Hebrew aversion to anything Gentile; and he had no doubt gloried in the Jews' exclusive position as God's chosen people. Thus when God revealed to him the mystery of the Gentiles - that it had been his plan all along to include Gentiles in the people of the Messiah (Eph 3:1-10), Paul was overwhelmed with awe and joy. He unhesitatingly opened his heart to the very people he had once despised. This was another complete turnaround in his life, and he devoted himself totally to his new mission.
Paul's role as apostle to the Gentiles had a direct bearing on his relationship with the Roman church and his letter to them. Paul tells us that he had often desired to visit Rome, in order to preach the gospel and have some converts there, "just as I have had among the other Gentiles" (1:13). But since there was already a church in Rome, God's Spirit directed him into other Gentile areas in Asia Minor and the Greek peninsula first (15:17-22). But now he has covered this territory with three lengthy tours of missionary service (15:19). Thus he is ready to launch out into a totally new area, namely, Spain; and his journey there will take him through Rome, as he announces in this epistle (15:23-24).
Throughout the epistle to the Romans, Paul writes with the full conciousness of his mission to the Gentiles and of the Gentiles in his audience. One point that he clarifies in the letter is the relation of the Gentiles to the Jews with respect to salvation.
III. TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING
Immediately after his baptism Paul began to preach Christ in Damascus (Acts 9:19-20), but soon went away into Arabia (Gal 1:17), which may have been the time he received his revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal 1:12). He went from there back to Damascus, then to Jerusalem (Gal 1:17-18) and elsewhere, and ultimately to Antioch (Acts 11:25-26).
From Antioch Paul launched his first missionary trip among the Gentiles (Acts 13:1-3), which was followed by two more. While in Ephesus on his third journey, "Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. 'After I have been there,' he said, 'I must visit Rome also'" (Acts 19:21). He shortly departed for Achaia (Greece) and arrived in Corinth, where he stayed for three months (Acts 20:1-3). This was approximately twenty years after his conversion, and ten years after the beginning of his first journey.
Corinth was the farthest point of his third trip, whence he retraced his steps back toward Ephesus. He stopped at Miletus instead, and traveled from there on to Jerusalem, with the goal of arriving by Pentecost (Acts 20:16-17). One main reason for the trip to Jerusalem was to deliver the money he had collected from the (mostly Gentile) churches in Galatia, Macedonia, and Greece, to help the poor (mostly Jewish) saints in Jerusalem (1 Cor 16:1-4; Rom 15:25-26). Though "compelled by the Spirit" to go to Jerusalem, he was apprehensive about what might happen to him there (Acts 20:22-23).
It was in the midst of this final journey, during the three months Paul spent at Corinth, that he most likely wrote the letter to the Romans. He was apparently staying at the house of Gaius (16:23), one of his converts at Corinth (1 Cor 1:14). The letter was carried to Rome by Phoebe, a Christian from the church in nearby Cenchrea (16:1).
The exact date of the writing of Romans is calculated in relation to the overall chronology of Paul's life and work. There is no unanimity on this chronology, though the differences of opinion are minor. Everyone agrees that the Apostle's stay in Corinth must have been in late winter and/or early spring, since he planned to set out from there and arrive in Jerusalem by Pentecost. Most agree also that this would have been in the middle or late 50s. Thus Romans was probably written early in A.D. 56, 57, or 58.
IV. RECIPIENTS OF ROMANS:
THE CHURCH IN ROME
Rome was the largest and most important city in the Roman Empire in Paul's day. Its population was probably over one million. Of this number, it is estimated that forty to fifty thousand were Jews, with as many as fifteen identifiable synagogues (Dunn, I:xlvi; Edwards, 9).
How the church in Rome originated is not known. There is no real evidence that Peter founded it, contrary to a common tradition. Some say that Rom 15:20 shows this could not have been the case. Here Paul says that he does not intend to "be building on someone else's foundation." The fact that he did plan to visit Rome and work there implies that no apostle had been there yet (MacArthur, I:xviii; Moo, I:4).
One very common speculation is that the Roman church was probably started by Jews and proselytes from Rome who were in the audience that heard Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10), and who were among the converts baptized that day. Upon returning to Rome, they would have established the church there. If so, and this seems very likely, then the first Christians in Rome were converts from Judaism.
Another likely speculation is that Christians from other churches, perhaps some of Paul's own converts from his earlier work in Tarsus and Antioch and Asia Minor, were among those who started the Roman church and helped it to grow. Perhaps some of Paul's acquaintances named in Romans 16 were among this group. Such a scenario is highly probable, given the importance of Rome and the constant travel to and from that city.
Thus the church in Rome would have begun not as the result of some formal missionary effort, but by residents converted while traveling (e.g., Acts 2:10) and by Christians moving there from other places. Their own evangelistic efforts would certainly have focused on the synagogues of Rome, following the pattern of evangelism reflected in the book of Acts. This would have resulted in converts not only from Judaism but also from among Gentile "God-fearers" who were commonly attached to the synagogues (Dunn, I:xlvii-xlviii).
The epistle to the Romans is addressed "to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints" (1:7). The main question about these saints is the relative number of Jews and Gentiles among them. In answering this question, scholars usually begin with one solid historical fact, and then draw conclusions based on inferences and a bit of speculation. This has led to the following scenario, for which there is considerable consensus among commentators today.
The one fact is that the Roman emperor Claudius issued a decree that expelled all Jews from Rome. This is recorded in Acts 18:2, and is also mentioned by the Roman historian Suetonius. The exact date of the decree is somewhat unclear, but the best calculation is A.D. 49. The reason for the decree is stated thus by Suetonius: "Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, (Emperor Claudius) expelled them from the city" (cited in Fiensy, Introduction , 224). Though we cannot be certain about this, most scholars agree that "Chrestus" is just a mistaken spelling of "Christus," and that the decree had to do with Jesus Christ.
In what way would Christ be instigating disturbances among the Jews in Rome? It is inferred that this refers to conflicts among the Jews stemming from Christian evangelism in the various synagogues. Because there was a wide diversity among the Jews and synagogues in Rome, it is concluded that some were more receptive to Christianity than others, and that this must have led to disputes among them. The resulting unrest was apparently unpleasant enough for Claudius to order all Jews to leave the city. It is also assumed that his decree did not make a distinction between unbelieving and believing Jews; thus even the Jewish Christians had to leave, e.g., Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2). After the decree the Roman church thus would be composed almost entirely of Gentiles. (See Donfried, "Presuppositions," 104-105.)
When Claudius died around A.D. 54, the decree was no longer enforced, and Jews and Jewish Christians were free to return to Rome. Some think, however, that they were still forbidden to assemble publicly (Wiefel, "Community," 92-94). The results for the church would have been twofold. First, the problem with public assembly may have forced the Christians to set up a number of "house churches," a possibility that seems to be confirmed in Rom 16:5, 14, 15. Second, the returning Jewish Christians would find the Roman church dominated by the Gentile Christians, if not in number then certainly in power and influence (Wiefel, "Community," 94-96).
Thus the saints in Rome, to whom the letter is addressed, were almost certainly a mixture of Jewish and Gentile Christians, though there is no way to tell which group had the larger number. If the circumstances outlined in the above scenario are correct, however, it is safe to assume that there was tension if not conflict among the two groups. Wiefel refers to "quarrels about status" ("Community," 96). Bruce says, "It is implied in Romans 11:13-24 that the Gentile Christians tended to look down on their Jewish brethren as poor relations" ("Debate," 180). Dunn speaks of "at least some friction between Gentile and Jew" within the house churches, with the Jews being in a minority and feeling themselves vulnerable (I:liii).
What is obvious is that in the epistle Paul addresses both groups, with some passages being specifically directed toward the Jewish Christians and some toward the Gentile Christians (see Moo, I:10-11; Murray, I:xviii-xix). Some say the letter as a whole is directed mainly to the Jewish saints; others say it was mainly intended for the Gentiles.
Hendriksen is surely right, though, when he says that regarding the main point of Romans this whole question is really irrelevant, since it applies equally to both groups (I:23). All are sinners (3:9, 23), no one will be saved by law (3:19-20), and all are equal recipients of the grace that is in Christ Jesus (3:24; 4:11-12). Hendriksen stresses Rom 10:12-13, "For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"
V. THE OCCASION OF THE WRITING
What were the circumstances that prompted Paul to write his epistle to the Romans? We have already noted that he wrote the letter during his three-month stay in Corinth on his final mission trip. What sorts of things were going through his mind that led him to write it at that particular time?
We are fortunate that Paul reveals his mind to us in certain statements of his desires and plans in chapters 1 and 15. These statements show us what occasioned the writing of Romans.
One main consideration was Paul's immediate travel plans, as they related to his all-determining calling as apostle to the Gentiles (15:15-24). He refers to his "priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God" (15:16). For twenty years he had been preaching in the eastern and northeastern sections of the Mediterranean area, and had covered it well. "So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum," he says, "I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ"; so now "there is no more place for me to work in these regions" (15:19, 23). Thus he decided to change his focus to the northwestern section, Spain in particular (15:24, 28). In his mind he was already planning his trip to Spain.
But first he had to go to Jerusalem (15:25-31). His purpose for doing this was to deliver the funds he had been collecting from the Gentile churches "for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem" (15:26). He wanted to do this personally, to make sure that the funds were properly received (15:28). To this end he asked the Roman Christians to offer two specific prayers for him (15:30-31).
First, he knew that he still had many enemies in Jerusalem among the Jews especially. He knew that some of these enemies had already tried to kill him. Thus he really was not sure what dangers he might be facing in Jerusalem. Nevertheless he was determined to go (Acts 20:22-23), so he requested that the Roman Christians "pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea" (15:31). He was not afraid of losing his life; he just did not want his newly-formed missionary plans to be aborted (Acts 20:24; Rom 15:32).
Second, Paul was not really sure how the offering from the Gentile churches would be received by the Jewish saints in Jerusalem. There were still a lot of suspicions and misunderstandings between the two groups, mostly about the relation between the Old and New Covenants and the role of the Mosaic Law in the life of the Christian. Thus the money he was bringing to the poor in Jerusalem was not just an act of charity, but was also a symbol of unity between the two main factions in the church. Thus Paul was anxious that it might be received in the proper spirit, so he asked the Romans to pray "that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there" (15:31).
Thus Paul was ultimately bound for Spain, after an initial trip to Jerusalem. But there was a third item in his itinerary: an intermediate stop in Rome itself (Acts 19:21; 23:11), a place he had never been. So he announced to the Christians in Rome that on his way to Spain he would stop and visit them (15:23, 24, 28). This was something he had longed to do for many years and had even made plans to do (1:11, 13; 15:23), but had "often been hindered from coming to you" (15:22; cf. 1:13).
Paul had many reasons for wanting to visit the church in Rome. For one thing, he wanted to enlist their help for his mission to Spain. "I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there," he says (15:24). But he had other reasons that predated his plans for Spain. For example, he seems simply to have desired to visit with the Christians there: to have fellowship with them, to enjoy their company, to be spiritually refreshed by them (15:24, 32), and to be encouraged by them (1:12). After all, he knew quite a few of them personally (16:3-15).
Paul's principal longstanding reason for wanting to visit Rome, though, was his desire to preach the gospel there. "I am obligated," he says, "both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome" (1:14-15). By this means or by some accompanying means he would be able to "impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong" (1:11). This would also enable him to "have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles" (1:13).
No wonder that Paul says he was praying "that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you" (1:10).
These are the immediate circumstances that prompted Paul to write the epistle to the Romans. But a simple presentation of these facts does not in itself answer the question of exactly why he wrote the letter. What was his purpose for writing? What did he hope to accomplish by writing this particular letter? This is the subject of the next section.
VI. THE PURPOSE OF ROMANS
The question of Paul's purpose for writing the epistle to the Romans is very controversial; there is much disagreement about it. Everyone agrees on the facts described above relating to the occasion for the writing. The problem is that these facts have to be assessed in view of the contents of the main body of the letter, 1:18-15:13. The question is not just why he wrote a letter to the Roman church, but why he wrote this specific letter with this particular content. Why does he write "such a lengthy and involved discussion to a largely unknown congregation"? (Dunn, I:lv).
There are two basic approaches to this question. The older and more traditional approach is that the historical circumstances as described in the previous section were not particularly relevant with regard to Paul's decision to write the letter. Neither Paul's own plans nor the state of the Roman church presented him with a pressing need or occasion that required him to write. Thus unlike his other letters, Romans is more or less non-occasional. It is regarded rather as a kind of timeless theological essay on the essence of Christianity. As Sanday and Headlam describe this view, "the main object of the Epistle is doctrinal; it is rather a theological treatise than a letter; its purpose is to instruct the Roman Church in central principles of the faith, and has but little reference to the circumstances of the moment" (xl).
The more recent approaches to the purpose of Romans take the opposite view, that it is "a situational letter rather than a doctrinal treatise" (Jewett, "Argument," 265). Paul was not simply writing an essay detached from his circumstances, but was specifically addressing a particular situation that needed his attention at that time. Thus Romans is just as much an occasional letter as 1 Corinthians or Galatians.
Those who take the latter approach usually go in one of two directions. Some emphasize that Paul wrote the letter to fulfill certain needs of his own, relating to his trip either to Jerusalem or to Spain. Others say that Paul wrote mainly to meet the needs of the Roman church at that particular time.
It is possible, of course, that Paul had more than one purpose for writing Romans, as Cranfield says: "It is surely quite clear that Paul did not have just one single purpose in mind but rather a complex of purposes and hopes" (II:815). Dunn (I:lx) and Moo (I:20) agree.
A. ROMANS IS A DOCTRINAL ESSAY
Now we shall go into a bit more detail concerning the possibilities outlined above. The first view is that Paul was not addressing a specific situation but was writing a timeless doctrinal essay. In its most extreme form this view says that Romans is a complete systematic theology, a compendium of Christian doctrine. Shedd (viii) calls it " an inspired system of theology , . . . a complete statement of religious truth." Romans is so "encyclopædic in its structure" that one "need not go outside of this Epistle, in order to know all religious truth."
More recently Bornkamm has taken a similar view, describing Romans as Paul's "last will and testament" - "a summary of his theology in light of the impending danger in Jerusalem" (Donfried, "Presuppositions," 103). Bornkamm says ("Letter," 27-28), "This great document . . . summarizes and develops the most important themes and thoughts of the Pauline message and theology and . . . elevates his theology above the moment of definite situations and conflicts into the sphere of the eternally and universally valid."
Many writers agree that Romans was not occasioned by some immediate need or crisis but was a kind of doctrinal essay. Nygren says (4), "The characteristic and peculiar thing about Romans, differentiating it from the rest of Paul's epistles, is just the fact that it was not, or was only in slight degree aimed at circumstances within a certain congregation." Lenski (10-12) agrees.
Most who take this non-occasional view, however, say that it is an exaggeration to call Romans a full-blown systematic theology. "If Romans is a compendium of theology," says Morris (8), "there are some curious gaps." (See also Moo, I:1; Hendriksen, I:25; W. Williams, 19-20.) It is a doctrinal essay, to be sure, but one that is more focused and limited in its scope.
Just what is the focus of this doctrinal essay? The most common view is that it has to do with the doctrines of salvation, i.e., that Romans is a summary or synopsis of Paul's gospel . Morris says that Paul probably thought his three-month, pressure-free sojourn in Corinth was a good time to bring together the timeless teachings that had crystallized in his thinking during his twenty years as a preacher. Thus he sets forth "a summary of the gospel and its consequences as he understood them" (pp. 18-19). Cranfield likewise says it is likely that Paul "was conscious of having reached a certain maturity of experience, reflection and understanding, which made the time ripe for him to attempt, with God's help, such an orderly presentation of the gospel" (II:817).
Vincent summarizes this whole approach quite well when he says that Romans "is distinguished among the epistles by its systematic character. Its object is to present a comprehensive statement of the doctrine of salvation through Christ, not a complete system of christian doctrine" ( Word Studies , III:x). As Hendriksen says (I:25), "Romans is not really 'a complete compendium of Christian Doctrine.' If it had been Paul's intention to draw up such a document, he would surely have included far more material." The specific doctrine he deals with is one needed not just in Rome but by all people in all times: " the manner in which sinners are saved ." (See Edwards, 3.)
The idea that Romans is a kind of doctrinal essay focusing on the general doctrine of salvation is correct, in my opinion. However, I do not think it is wise to separate it too sharply from the occasion or circumstances discussed in the last section. I question W. Williams' approach, for example, when he says (19), "The Epistle to the Romans is a discussion of the relation of the Gentile world to God's plan of salvation," and in the next sentence says, "This discussion was incidental to the apostle's circumstances." In my opinion this is a false choice. It is an essay on salvation, but its purpose was definitely related to the circumstances at that time, as we shall see below.
B. ROMANS WAS OCCASIONED
BY PAUL'S IMMEDIATE NEEDS
The second major approach to the purpose of Romans is that it was occasioned by the various circumstances relating to Paul's immediate plans in relation to his mission. In other words, it was designed to meet needs that Paul felt in his own life at the time. As Jervell says, "Its raison d'être does not stem from the situation of the Roman congregation, but is to be found in Paul himself at the time of writing" ("Letter," 54).
The main idea here resembles the modern practice of churches requesting that prospective ministers send a tape recording of one of their sermons. In this case Paul takes the initiative and sets forth in writing a "sermon" or a lengthy presentation of his gospel. He does this because he needs to introduce himself to people who are not familiar with him or with what he preaches. Or, he does this because his enemies are spreading false rumors about what he preaches, and are misrepresenting his gospel especially as to what he says about Jew-Gentile relations. Thus Romans is not just a presentation but also a defense of Paul's gospel.
This is how Moo explains the purpose of Romans. The various circumstances that he faced "forced Paul to write a letter in which he carefully rehearsed his understanding of the gospel, especially as it related to the salvation-historical questions of Jew and Gentile and the continuity of the plan of salvation" (I:20). Bruce agrees that it was "expedient that Paul should communicate to the Roman Christians an outline of the message which he proclaimed. Misrepresentations of his preaching and his apostolic procedure were current and must have found their way to Rome" ("Debate," 182). (See Stuhlmacher, "Purpose," 236.)
Why was it crucial for Paul at this particular time to write such a presentation and defense of his gospel? The answer is that it was necessary in order to facilitate his immediate plans. For one thing, he was on his way to Jerusalem with the offering for the poor saints, and was apprehensive about how this would turn out. Thus some contend that in this letter Paul was rehearsing what he was going to say in Jerusalem in defense of himself and in an effort to seal Jew-Gentile unity. He sent the product to the Roman church in a letter, asking them to pray for him and the upcoming Jerusalem episode (15:30-32). Thus, says Jervell, Romans is Paul's "'collection speech,' or more precisely, the defense which Paul plans to give before the church in Jerusalem." He sends it to Rome "to ask the Roman congregation for solidarity, support, and intercession on his behalf" ("Letter," 56). Dunn calls this Paul's "apologetic purpose" (I:lvi; see I:xlii-xliii).
Though this is a fairly common view today, some object to it or at least doubt that it could be the only purpose for Romans (Moo, I:18). Thus other aspects of Paul's immediate plans must have elicited the letter. One of the most obvious is Paul's plan to visit Rome itself. Though he knew some of the Roman Christians, he had never been in Rome and would not know most of the people there. It must have seemed expedient, then, for him to write a kind of "letter of introduction" to himself, especially in view of the false rumors that were probably afoot.
This is how Morris understands it (16-17). Paul used his three-month interlude in Corinth "to write to the Roman Christians to let them know of his plan to visit them and to set down in order something of what the gospel meant." He wanted to give them "a clear but profound statement of the essential message of Christianity as he proclaimed it. This will show the Romans where he stands." MacArthur's view is similar: "Paul's letter to the church at Rome was, among other things, an introduction to himself as an apostle. He clearly set forth the gospel he preached and taught, so that believers in Rome would have complete confidence in his authority" (I:xix). (See also Stott, 34.)
Those who hold this view usually take it a step further, and say that Paul laid out and defended his gospel to the Romans as a means of enlisting their support for his Spanish mission. In a real sense Rome was just a means to an end, both in Paul's itinerary and in his missionary strategy. He needed them as a kind of "base of operations" for what he hoped to accomplish in Spain (Stott, 33). Thus "if Rome was to be his base, the Romans would need to be assured of his message and theological position" (Morris, 17). This is what Dunn calls Paul's "missionary purpose" for Romans (I:lv). This is a fairly common view. (See Cranfield, II:817-818; Jewett, "Argument," 266, 277.)
C. ROMANS WAS OCCASIONED BY NEEDS AT ROME ITSELF
As we have just seen, those who believe the writing of Romans was motivated by the immediate circumstances sometimes locate those circumstances in Paul's own personal needs. Others who take the occasional approach, however, believe that the situation in Rome itself is what Paul is specifically addressing in this epistle. Though he had not been there, he still would have been acquainted with the state of the Roman church. It was, after all, a famous church (1:8). Besides, Paul's Roman friends, such as Aquila and Priscilla (16:3), would probably have kept him informed especially of any problems that existed there (Sanday and Headlam, xl-xli).
Whatever the nature of those problems or needs, Paul wrote to resolve them. Since all of Paul's other letters were "addressed to the specific situations of the churches or persons involved," says Donfried, we must begin with the assumption that Romans "was written by Paul to deal with a concrete situation in Rome" ("Presuppositions," 103). This is what Dunn calls Paul's "pastoral purpose" (I:lvi-lviii).
1. The Need for Jew-Gentile Unity
What sorts of needs existed at Rome that would call forth from Paul's pen the most magnificent gospel tract ever written? Several possibilities are suggested, but the one most commonly held begins with the assumption that there was considerable tension in the Roman church between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. Thus the purpose of Paul's letter was to resolve this tension.
This view usually grows out of the speculations (discussed above) concerning the development of the Roman church following Claudius' decree expelling the Jews from Rome. With Jewish Christians being forced to leave Rome, the Gentile Christians became the dominant force; and this situation prevailed even after the former returned to Rome. This led to conflict between the two factions. This scenario is supported by the various references to Jews and Gentiles (Greeks) in Romans, by the discussion of the weak (Jews?) and the strong (Gentiles?) in 14:1-15:13, and by several references to unity and division within the church (12:16; 15:5; 16:17-18). Such texts seem to be evidence of a "basic division existing between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians at Rome" (P. Williams, "Purpose," 64).
This view has been argued by Marxsen and more recently by Wiefel, who concludes that Romans "was written to assist the Gentile Christian majority, who are the primary addressees of the letter, to live together with the Jewish Christians in one congregation, thereby putting an end to their quarrels about status" ("Community," 96). Here is Edwards' summary (15-16):
Romans is addressed to the problems which inevitably resulted when Jewish Christians began returning to Rome following the edict of Claudius. We can imagine their trials of readjusting to churches which had become increasingly Gentile in their absence. Would Gentile believers who had established their supremacy during the Jewish absence, and for whom the law was now largely irrelevant, continue to find a place within their fellowship for a Jewish Christian minority which still embraced the law? Paul cannot have been unaware of such concerns.
In Dunn's words, "Paul wrote to counter (potential) divisions within Rome among the Christian house churches, particularly the danger of gentile believers despising less liberated Jewish believers" (I:lvii). (See also Stott, 34-36.)
2. The Need for an Apostolic Foundation
Another possible need being addressed by Paul is related to the circumstances of the origin of the church in Rome. It is inferred from 15:20 that no apostle was involved in its founding, nor as yet had even visited Rome. Thus Paul was concerned that the church did not have a solid apostolic foundation (see Eph 2:20), and he writes this epistle in order to provide that foundation. This is the view of Günter Klein ("Purpose," 39, 42), but Morris (11-12) gives reasons for doubting it.
3. The Need for Paul's Gospel
Another possibility (to which I subscribe) is that Paul did indeed recognize the need of the Roman church to hear his apostolic preaching and teaching, but not necessarily in a foundational sense. This view begins with Paul's sense of duty, based upon his special calling, to preach the gospel to everyone in the Gentile world (1:14), including those in Rome: "That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome" (1:15).
But these people are already Christians. Why would Paul want to "preach the gospel" to believers ? Here is a point that is often missed: the gospel is more than just the initial evangelistic witness given to unbelievers with a view to their conversion. It also includes the deeper meaning and implications of the basic facts of salvation, which are things about which even mature believers can never hear enough. That Paul wanted to preach the gospel to the Christians in Rome means that he wanted to go deeper into the meaning of Christ's saving work "for our sins," unfolding for them the full power of the gospel in the Christian life and at the same time clearing up common misunderstandings that may arise through incomplete knowledge.
Paul's desire, of course, was to do this in person, and he had often planned to travel to Rome for this very reason. Up to this point, however, God's providence had prevented it (1:13; 15:22). Now he is once again planning to go to Rome, after his trip to Jerusalem with the offering. But based on his past experience and the uncertainty about what would happen to him in Jerusalem (Acts 20:22-24), at this point he could not be certain that he would ever reach Rome in person.
This led Paul to the conclusion that if he was ever going to preach the gospel in Rome, perhaps the only way he would be able to do so was in writing . Thus he takes the time, while staying in Corinth just before traveling to Jerusalem, to prepare a well-thought-out essay on the gospel as every Christian needs to hear it; and he sends it on to Rome in advance of his intended trip there. Thus it seems likely, says Campbell, that "the letter is the written equivalent of the oral presentation which Paul would have delivered to the congregation had he himself been present" ("Key," 258).
According to this view, then, Romans is not just a basic presentation of the gospel, written in order to provide the Roman Christians with a missing apostolic foundation. And as Nygren (7) rightly notes, "it is a misunderstanding of Romans to see in it a typical example of Paul's missionary preaching." This is contrary to those who think Paul was just introducing himself to the Roman church, hoping to win their support for his mission to Spain by rehearsing the gospel as he usually preached it. Stuhlmacher rightly notes that how Paul "preached and taught as a missionary cannot be simply inferred from the outline of Romans" ("Purpose," 242).
According to this view, then, the primary purpose for Romans is not related to some need within Paul himself (e.g., his concern for defending himself; his missionary plans); nor is it related to some negative situation in the Roman church (e.g., Jew-Gentile disunity). It is motivated rather by Paul's loving concern for his fellow-Christians at Rome, and his desire to bless their hearts and lives with this written version of the deeper aspects of the gospel of grace. This point is brought out very well by Hendriksen (I:24):
Paul, being an intensely warm and loving person, desires to go to Rome in order to be a blessing to his friends (Rom. 1:10, 11) and to be refreshed by them (15:32). Moreover, it is for this same reason that he, now that it is impossible for him to go to Rome immediately , communicates with the Roman church by means of this letter. He writes to the Romans because he loves them. They are his friends "in Christ," and by means of this letter he imparts his love to them . . . .
It is strange that this deeply personal reason . . . , a reason clearly brought out by the apostle himself, is often overlooked. At times the emphasis is placed entirely on theological motivation or on mission incentive: Paul wants to correct errors of the antinomians and/or wants to make Rome the headquarters for the evangelization of Spain. To be sure, these matters are important, but we should begin with the reason first stated by Paul himself in this very epistle.
D. CONCLUSION
We have surveyed the main reasons why Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans. It should be obvious that some of these reasons may overlap or be combined; so we need not focus narrowly upon just one of them. Jewett, for example, says the immediate reason was to resolve the Jew-Gentile tensions, but this was sought in order to gain a strong and unified backing for the mission to Spain ("Argument," 266). After summarizing the missionary, apologetic, and pastoral purposes, Dunn concludes that "all three of these main emphases and purposes hang together and indeed reinforce each other when taken as a whole" (I:lviii).
In my opinion, though, the dominant reason is the last one discussed above: Paul's desire to preach the gospel to the Romans, and his decision to do so in the form of an epistle. This is the factor that Paul stresses in the introductory section of the letter, where we would expect him to say what is closest to his heart. It seems inappropriate to give priority to ch. 15 on this matter, and to pass over what Paul himself chooses to mention first of all. Just because he tells the Romans about his plans in ch. 15 is no reason to assume that his purpose for writing to Rome is specifically or directly related to these plans.
We may conclude, then, that Romans is indeed an occasional letter, that it was occasioned by the need of the Roman Christians to hear Paul's gospel and by the circumstances that made it expedient for him to send it to them in written form at this particular time. Thus Romans is by design a clear presentation of the deeper implications of the gospel, written not for Paul's sake but for the sake of the church at Rome. The references to Paul's own plans and needs in ch. 15 are secondary.
At the same time, just because of the nature of the situation that caused Paul to write this epistle, the purpose for Romans includes the first view discussed above, namely, that it was intended to be a kind of doctrinal essay focusing on the meaning of salvation through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. As noted above, it is a systematic presentation of the gospel : not necessarily the gospel as proclaimed in an evangelistic situation, but the gospel as unfolded to mature Christians.
When this point is understood, we can see that the epistle to the Romans is intended not just for the saints in Rome in the middle of the first century A.D., but for all Christians in all ages. It is relevant for all since it deals with salvation from sin through God's grace. As Moo rightly says (I:21),
That Paul was dealing in Romans with immediate concerns in the early church we do not doubt. But, especially in Romans, these issues are ultimately the issues of the church - and the world - of all ages: the continuity of God's plan of salvation, the sin and need of human beings, God's provision for our sin problem in Christ, the means to a life of holiness, security in the face of suffering and death.
The circumstances contributing to the writing of this letter were far broader than the immediate situation in Rome and Paul's own immediate travel plans. They included Paul's own pre-Christian life as a Jew who sought acceptance with God on the basis of his own righteousness. They included Paul's twenty years of preaching to sinners of all types, Jews and Gentiles. They included his dealings with new Christians and new churches with all their weaknesses and problems. His experience and knowledge of human nature and human need were personal and comprehensive; thus the gospel of Romans is generic and timeless.
In most of the discussions of the purpose of Romans, a forgotten factor is the role of the Holy Spirit in the inspiration of Scripture. It is Paul himself who tells us that "all Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim 3:16). Whatever circumstances led Paul to compose his letter to the Romans, the choice to write and the message he wrote were not his alone. The Holy Spirit worked through Paul to produce this letter (see 2 Pet 1:20-21), and the Holy Spirit knows more than any man what is needed by every sinner and by every Christian seeking peace and power. In the final analysis it is the Spirit of God, and not just the Apostle Paul, who speaks to our hearts in the epistle to the Romans.
VII. THE THEME OF ROMANS
Almost everyone today rejects the idea that Romans is a compendium or summary of Christian theology as such. It is nevertheless generally recognized that the content of the epistle is doctrinal in nature. Its main body is an essay or treatise with a strong doctrinal emphasis and seems to be built around a particular theme. The question now is, exactly what is the theme of Romans? Several answers have been proposed.
A. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
The Reformation established a way of looking at Romans that still has considerable support among Protestants, namely, that the main theme of the epistle is stated in 1:16-17. It can be summed up in the familiar phrase, "justification by faith," i.e., justification or righteousness before God comes through faith alone. John Calvin (xxix) states succinctly that "the main subject of the whole Epistle" is "justification by faith."
Boers says this is the theme that "currently almost universally controls the interpretation of the letter" ( Justification , 77). This is surely an exaggeration, but the justification view is still very popular. Concerning the principal content of Romans, Nygren says (16), "From the beginning evangelical Christianity has spoken clearly on that point: justification by faith. That answer is correct." Defining "theme" as "central topic" rather than as exclusive topic, Hendriksen agrees that justification by faith, "spread out into 'justification by grace through faith'. . . , is clearly the theme of Romans" (I:29). Edwards (3) says that "the driving concern throughout is salvation - that righteousness comes as a free gift of God and is received by faith alone." Stott (35) says two themes are woven together in the epistle. "The first is the justification of guilty sinners by God's grace alone in Christ alone through faith alone, irrespective of either status or works."
Many scholars today have rejected this traditional approach. Though justification by faith is a main topic in Romans, says Boers (88), it "never becomes thematic." Too much of its subject matter simply does not relate to this subject, he says (78). Moo agrees (I:26-27). (See Stott, 24-31.)
B. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
Those who are not satisfied with justification by faith as the theme for Romans sometimes opt for one that is very similar, namely, the righteousness of God (1:17). Beker says this is "the key term for the letter as a whole" ("Faithfulness," 331). Jewett says the thesis of Romans is that the gospel is "the 'power of God' to achieve the triumph of divine righteousness (Rom. 1:16-17)" ("Argument," 266).
Since the righteousness of God is integrally related to justification by faith, the two themes are sometimes confused. This is because one aspect of the theme of divine righteousness is that the righteousness of God is the basis for the personal justification of individual sinners. This is the sense in which Nygren says that the righteousness of God - in the sense of righteousness from God - is "the fundamental concept" and "the very foundation thought" of the epistle (9, 14-15), even though he says the "principal content" of the letter is justification by faith (16).
But most of those today who say that the righteousness of God is the theme of Romans are using the expression in a broader, more comprehensive sense. For them it includes the idea of the divine righteousness as the basis for individual justification, to be sure. For example, Stuhlmacher says the theme of Romans is "the gospel of the divine righteousness in Christ for those who believe from among the Jews and Gentiles" ("Theme," 334, 337). But in Romans, they say, the theme is more inclusive than this. It includes God's righteousness as the basis not only of his dealings with individual believers, but also of his dealings with mankind in general and especially with the Jewish nation in the context of redemptive history.
The question raised by the indiscriminate offer of justification by faith to both Jews and Gentiles is whether God is being fair with the Jews, in view of all the special treatment he has already bestowed upon them and the special promises he has given them. Does the gospel's "no partiality" principle bring God's justice or righteousness into question? "What is at stake is nothing less than the faithfulness of God," says Beker ("Faithfulness," 330); and this is what Paul is dealing with especially in Rom 9-11. Stuhlmacher explains that the "righteousness of God" refers to "the entire redemptive activity of God in Christ from creation to redemption" ("Theme," 341).
Thus according to this view the theme of Romans is not just the salvation of man but the defense of God, with perhaps the greater emphasis falling on the latter. As Fiensy says (227), "Romans is then a theodicy or defense of God in light of the Jewish-Gentile problem in the church." Gaertner says that the kinds of questions Paul raises in Romans (e.g., 3:3; 3:5; 3:29; 9:14) inquire into the nature of God's dealings with sinners, especially with his fairness and faithfulness. Thus Gaertner labels Romans "the gospel of God's fairness" ("Fairness," 1:14).
C. THE EQUALITY OF JEWS AND GENTILES
A third view is that the theme of Romans is the equality of Jews and Gentiles in God's plan of salvation. This is currently a popular view. It stems mainly from the reconstruction of the origin and development of the Roman church as described earlier in this introduction. It goes hand in hand with the idea that the letter is intended to deal with certain specific circumstances existing in Rome, especially the apparent disunity between Jewish and Gentile Christians. It recognizes that "the entire letter to the Romans is . . . permeated with Jew-Gentile issues" (Fiensy, Introduction , 230).
In its most general form this view says that the main emphasis of Romans is the universality of the gospel: there is just one way of salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike. The transcendent gospel goes beyond the Jew-Gentile distinction. God's salvation is given to both groups equally, favoring neither and offering favor to both.
Boers is an example of this view. He says the consistent theme of the main body of Romans is "salvation of Jews and gentiles, and the relationship between them" ( Justification , 80). This theme is stated in Rom 1:16, "that the gospel is the power of God for all who believe, to the Jews first, and to the Hellenes" (80). That salvation is offered to the Jews first is important, but so is the idea that "there is no difference between Jews and gentiles" (81-82).
Dunn says, "It is precisely the tension between 'Jew first but also Greek' (1:16), which . . . provides an integrating motif for the whole letter." Paul's "repeated emphasis on 'all'" underscores the theme of universality. Even the emphasis on the righteousness of God "is primarily an exposition of the same Jew/Gentile theme," i.e., it is Paul's way of arguing that Gentiles are full recipients of the saving grace of God as much as Jews are (I:lxii-lxiii).
As noted earlier, Stott says two themes are woven together in Romans, the first being justification by faith. But since this applies equally to all people, it is the "fundamental basis of Christian unity." This provides the second theme of Romans, that "'there is no difference' now between Jews and Gentiles. . . . Indeed, 'the single most important theme of Romans is the equality of Jews and Gentiles'" (35-36).
Interpreters differ as to the nature of the circumstances that led Paul to emphasize the theme of equality. Some say the Gentile Christians at Rome did not want to fully accept the Jewish Christians, so Romans is basically defending the right of the latter to full status in the Kingdom of God. This is how Boers understands the "Jews first" theme, as noted above. Jewett says, "Nowhere else in Paul's writings are the concerns of Jewish Christians taken up in so systematic and friendly a manner, thus counterbalancing the prejudices of the Gentile majority of Roman Christians" ("Argument," 276). The development of this theme in Rom 9-11 "is relevant to the situation in Rome," says Bruce. Here Paul "warns the Gentiles among his readers not to despise the Jews, . . . because God has not written them off" ("Debate," 183-184).
On the other hand, some say the problem in Rome was the status of the Gentile Christians. W. Williams says (19-20), "The Epistle to the Romans is a discussion of the relation of the Gentile world to God's plan of salvation." More specifically, Romans is Paul's "defense of the rights of the Gentiles against the Jewish assumption that excluded them from the Church, and from the chance of salvation." Thus "the sole intent of the apostle was to maintain the equality of the Gentiles against the assumption of the Jews." Stendahl agrees that Paul's concern is the salvation of the Gentiles. Even the subject of justification serves the purpose of "defending the rights of Gentile converts to be full and genuine heirs to the promises of God to Israel" ( Paul , 2-4).
Either way the subject is approached, the main point is the same: the principal theme of Romans is to demonstrate the equality of Jews and Gentiles with regard to the saving grace of God.
D. SINNERS ARE SAVED BY GRACE, NOT LAW
All of the themes discussed above are certainly present in Romans, and all are important. All of them contribute significantly to the main theme. But I believe none of them as such is the main point Paul is communicating to us in the epistle. Rather than seeing 1:16-17 as the thesis statement for Paul's treatise, I see it more or less as the starting point leading up to the thesis, which is 3:28: "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."
In the most general sense Paul's thesis relates to the gospel , since his desire to preach the gospel in Rome (1:15) is what led him to compose the epistle as a written version of his gospel. In this sense Moo is correct: "What, then, is the theme of the letter? If we have to choose one - and perhaps it would be better not to - we would choose 'the gospel.'" Romans is simply "Paul's statement of 'his' gospel" (I:28).
But since the gospel is the good news about salvation, also in a general sense the theme of Romans is salvation . As Harrison says (7), "Salvation is the basic theme of Romans (cf. 1:16) - a salvation presented in terms of the righteousness of God, which, when received by faith, issues in life (1:17)." Or as Hendriksen says, the basic doctrine at stake (especially in 1:16-8:39) is " the manner in which sinners are saved" (I:25). And the manner in which sinners are saved, whether Jews or Gentiles, is the same: justification by faith.
But the theme of Romans is more precise than this. Yes, sinners are justified by faith, but this means they are not justified by works of law, which is the only alternative. It is just as important to include the negative statement in the theme as the positive one.
In actuality, then, the basic theme of Romans is the contrast between law and grace as ways of salvation. This contrast is seen especially in 3:28, which (literally translated) says, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law." The contrast is stated succinctly in 6:14, "You are not under law, but under grace." This is the gospel, the good news of salvation. Certainly it is good news to know that God justifies us by faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. But in a real sense it is also good news to know that we are not justified by law-keeping: a way of salvation which is not only futile but which sinners in their hearts know is futile, and which thus leads only to self-deception or to despair.
Commenting on Romans, Grubbs says, "The Gospel versus the Law is the one theme of which he [Paul] never loses sight in the elaboration of the details of this wonderful production" (9). Though this is a very common way of speaking - "gospel versus law" - it is not altogether accurate. The real contrast is grace versus law, and this message as a whole is the gospel.
Thus Paul's theme is indeed that we are saved by grace, not by law. Law is not a viable option as a means of salvation; the only way for sinners to be counted righteous before God is by grace. Yes, we are justified by faith, but not by works of law. Yes, the righteousness of God figures prominently in our justification, but in contrast to the righteousness of man. Yes, Romans does emphasize full equality regarding this way of salvation; Jews and Gentiles are saved the same way. Both are saved by grace and justified by faith as provided by the righteousness of God, but in contrast with every false way.
This contrast between law and grace as competing ways of salvation is not a matter of OT versus NT nor Old Covenant versus New Covenant, as if law were the way to be saved prior to Christ and grace is the way to be saved now that Christ has come. Also, the contrast between law and grace - THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - is not simply the Law of Moses versus the grace of Jesus Christ. No sinner has ever been saved nor can be saved by the law that applies to him, whether it be the Law of Moses for Jews under the Old Covenant, or some other comparable set of God's commandments for anyone else in any other time. Every sinner who has been saved since the time of Adam has been saved by grace and not by law, and this will always be the case.
The problem that Paul addresses in the book of Romans is not one that confronts Jews only, nor Gentiles only. It is not a problem faced only by those who are under the Mosaic Law, nor only by those to whom the Mosaic Law does not apply. The problem being addressed is this: As a sinner, how can I be saved? It is a problem faced by Jews and Gentiles alike, and the solution is the same for both.
Perhaps even more significantly, the problem addressed in Romans is not one confronted only by unbelieving sinners. It is a problem that believers often wrestle with as well (e.g., the Judaizers). When we state the problem thus - "As a sinner, how can I be saved?" - we can break it down into two separate problems. First is the unbeliever's problem: "How can I become saved?" The answer is: by grace through faith, not by works of law. Second is the believer's continuing problem: "How can I stay saved?" And the answer is: by grace through faith, not by works of law.
This is why the epistle to the Romans has always been and always will be in a class by itself with regard to its impact on individuals and upon the church as a whole. Its basic theme is one that is always needed and always applicable, and one that will result in the highest praise to God the Redeemer once it is understood.
PREFACE TO VOLUME 2
The introductory issues regarding the book of Romans have been discussed in Vol. 1 of this work (pp. 21-55). Also, the outline for chs. 1-8 of Romans is included in that volume (pp. 55-58).
References to passages in the book of Romans itself are usually limited to chapter and verse data only. For my policy regarding quotations from other sources, see the note at the beginning of the bibliography.
I wish to express my thanks to my wife, Barbara, for her patience in accepting my writing schedule while this work has been in production. My thanks go also to College Press for inaugurating this project, and especially to College Press editor John Hunter for adjusting to a writer who suffers from incurable prolixity. Another special word of thanks is due to my employers at the Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary who encourage my writing in many ways, especially through their regular sabbatical policy.
Above all, thanks be to God for his saving grace, for his Holy Word, and especially for the letter to the Romans with its incomparable beauty and power.
-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following bibliography includes commentaries, books, and articles cited in the text and footnotes of this work. Citations include a minimum of information; the reader must use this list for full titles and bibliographical data.
When commentaries are cited, only the author's name and page number are given. When other sources are cited, usually just the author's name and an abbreviated title (in bold print below) are given.
I. COMMENTARIES
Barclay, William. The Letter to the Romans , 2 ed. The Daily Study Bible. Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1957.
Barrett, C.K. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . Harper's New Testament Commentaries. New York: Harper & Row, 1957; reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987.
Bartlett, C. Norman. Right in Romans: Studies in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans . Chicago: Moody Press, 1953.
Batey, Richard A. The Letter of Paul to the Romans . Austin: R.B. Sweet, 1969.
Black, Matthew. Romans , 2 ed. New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
Boice, James Montgomery. Romans , 4 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991ff.
Brokke, Harold J. Saved by His Life . Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1964.
Bruce, F.F. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans . Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963.
Calvin, John. Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans . Tr. by John Owen. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1947 reprint.
Cranfield, C.E.B. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. The International Critical Commentary, new series. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975 (1990 corrected printing).
DeWelt, Don. Romans Realized . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1959.
Dodd, C.H. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans . New York: Harper & Brothers, 1932.
Dunn, James D.G. Romans. 2 vols. Volume 38 in Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word Books, 1988.
Edwards, James R. Romans . New International Biblical Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992.
Erdman, Charles R. The Epistle to the Romans: An Exposition . Philadelphia: Westminster, 1925.
Godet, Frederic L. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . Tr. by A. Cusin. Ed. by Talbot W. Chambers. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956 reprint of 1883 ed.
Greathouse, William M. Romans . Vol. 6 of Beacon Bible Expositions. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1975.
Grubbs, Isaiah Boone. An Exegetical and Analytical Commentary on Paul's Epistle to the Romans . Ed. by George A. Kingman. 6th ed. Nashville: Gospel Advocate, n.d.
Harrison, Everett F. "Romans." In The Expositor's Bible Commentary . Volume 10. Ed. by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976. Pp. 1-171.
Hendriksen, William. Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980-1981.
Käsemann, Ernst. Commentary on Romans . Tr. by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.
Lard, Moses E. Commentary on Paul's Letter to Romans . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, n.d.
Lenski, R.C.H. The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans . Columbus, OH: Wartburg Press, 1945.
Lipscomb, David. Romans . Vol. I in A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles. 2nd ed. Ed. by J. W. Shepherd. Nashville: Gospel Advocate, 1965.
Lloyd-Jones, D.M. Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 3.20-4.25-Atonement and Justification . London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1970.
. Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 6-The New Man . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973.
. Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 7.1-8.4-The Law: Its Functions and Limits . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973.
Luther, Martin. Luther: Lectures on Romans . Ed. & tr. by Wilhelm Pauck. The Library of Christian Classics. Vol. XV. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961.
MacArthur, John, Jr. Romans . 2 vols. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1991, 1994.
McGarvey, J.W., and Philip Y. Pendleton. Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, n.d.
McClain, Alva J. Romans: The Gospel of God's Grace . Ed. by Herman A. Hoyt. Chicago: Moody Press, 1973.
Mitchell, John G., with Dick Bohrer. Right with God: A Devotional Study of the Epistle to the Romans . Portland, OR: Multnomah, 1990.
Moo, Douglas. Romans . 2 vols. The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1991.
Morris, Leon. The Epistle to the Romans . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
Moser, K.C. The Gist of Romans , revised ed. Delight, AR: Gospel Light Publishing Company, 1958.
Moule, H.C.G. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans . The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: The University Press, 1918.
Mounce, Robert H. Romans . Vol. 27 in The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995.
Murray, John. The Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. New International Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959, 1965.
Newell, William R. Lessons on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans . No publisher given, 1925.
Newman, Barclay M., and Eugene A. Nida. A Translator's Handbook on Paul's Letter to the Romans . London: United Bible Societies, 1973.
Nygren, Anders. Commentary on Romans . Tr. by Carl C. Rasmussen. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1949.
Reese, Gareth L. New Testament Epistles: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Paul's Epistle to the Romans . Moberly, MO: Scripture Exposition Press, 1987.
Robertson, A.T. The Epistles of Paul . Vol. IV in Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville: Broadman, 1931.
Sanday, William, and Arthur C. Headlam. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . 2nd ed. The International Critical Commentary, old series. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, n.d.
Schlatter, Adolf. Romans: The Righteousness of God . Tr. by Siegfried Schatzmann. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995.
Shedd, William G.T. A Critical and Doctrinal Commentary on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967 reprint of 1879 edition.
Shields, Bruce. Romans . Standard Bible Studies. Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1988.
Smith, Sherwood. Thirteen Lessons on Romans . Vol. 1 (1979); and Thirteen Lessons on Romans . Vol. 2 (1981). Joplin, MO: College Press.
Stedman, Ray C. From Guilt to Glory, Volume I: Romans 1-8 . Waco: Word Books, 1978.
Stott, John. Romans: God's Good News for the World . Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1994.
Williams, William G. An Exposition of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans . Cincinnati: Jennings and Pye, 1902.
Wuest, Kenneth S. Romans in the Greek New Testament for the English Reader . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955.
II. MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS AND ARTICLES
Arndt, William F., and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature . 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957.
Augustine, The Confessions of St. Augustine . Vol. XIV in The Works of Aurelius Augustine. Ed. by Marcus Dods. Tr. by J.G. Pilkington. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1876.
Balz, Horst. "
Bartchy, S. Scott. MALLON CHRESAI: First Century Slavery and the Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 7:21 . Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series, #11. Missoula: Scholars Press, 1973.
Beker, J.C. "The Faithfulness of God and the Priority of Israel in Paul's Letter to the Romans." RomDeb , 327-332.
Boers, Hendrikus. The Justification of the Gentiles: Paul's Letters to the Galatians and Romans . Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.
Bornkamm, Günther. "The Letter to the Romans as Paul's Last Will and Testament." RomDeb , 16-28.
Boswell, John. Christianity , Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.
Bruce, F.F. "The Romans Debate -Continued." RomDeb , 177-194.
Campbell, William S. "Romans III as a Key to the Structure and Thought of the Letter." RomDeb , 251-264.
Carson, D.A. Exegetical Fallacies . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. The Table Talk and Omniana of Samuel Taylor Coleridge . London: Oxford University Press, 1917.
Cooper, John W. Body , Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989.
Corson, John. " Faith Alone Involves Obedience, Too!" Christian Standard . (10/2/77), pp. 5-6.
Cottrell, Jack. Baptism : A Biblical Study . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1989.
. "Baptism According to the Reformed Tradition ." In Baptism and the Remission of Sins . Ed. by David W. Fletcher. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1990. Pp. 39-81.
. "The Biblical Consensus : Historical Backgrounds to Reformed Theology." In Baptism and the Remission of Sins . Ed. by David W. Fletcher. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1990. Pp. 17-38.
. " Covenant and Baptism in the Theology of Huldreich Zwingli." Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1971.
. " Faith , History, and the Resurrection Body of Jesus," The Seminary Review (Dec. 1982): 28:143-160.
. Faith's Fundamentals : Seven Essentials of Christian Belief . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1995.
. Gender Roles and the Bible: Creation, the Fall, and Redemption . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1994.
. His Truth . 2nd ed. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1989.
. Thirteen Lessons on Grace . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1988.
. What the Bible Says about God the Creator . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1984.
. What the Bible Says about God the Redeemer . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1987.
. What the Bible Says about God the Ruler . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1984.
Delling, G. "
DeYoung, James B. "The Meaning of 'Nature' in Romans 1." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society , 31 (December 1988): 429-441.
Donfried, Karl P. "False Presuppositions in the Study of Romans." RomDeb , 102-125.
, ed. The Romans Debate . Revised & expanded edition. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991.
. "A Short Note on Romans 16." RomDeb , 44-52.
Erickson, Millard J. The Evangelical Mind and Heart . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
Fiensy, David A. New Testament Introduction . The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1994.
Foerster, Werner. "
Friedrich, Gerhard. "eujaggelivzomai, etc." TDNT, II:707-737.
Fuller, Daniel P. The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God's Plan for Humanity . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
Gaertner, Dennis. "Romans: Gospel of God's Fairness ." Christian Standard , part 1 (12/20/87), pp. 14-16; and part 2 (12/27/87), pp. 4-6.
Graber, Friedrich. "All, Many." The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology . Ed. by Colin Brown. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975. I:94-97.
Gromacki, Robert. The Virgin Birth : Doctrine of Deity . Nashville: Nelson, 1974.
Gundry, Robert H. Sôma in Biblical Theology: With Emphasis on Pauline Anthropology . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.
Harris, M.J. " Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament." Appendix. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology . Ed. by Colin Brown. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978. III:1171-1213.
Hobbs, A. I. " Conversion : What Is It, and How Produced?" In The Old Faith Restated . Ed. by J.H. Garrison. St. Louis: Christian Publishing Company, 1891. Pp. 254-274.
Hodges, Zane C. Absolutely Free . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989.
Jervell, Jacob. "The Letter to Jerusalem." RomDeb , 53-64.
Jeremias, Joachim. The Central Message of the New Testament . London: SCM Press, 1965.
Jewett, Robert. "Following the Argument of Romans." RomDeb , 265-277.
Kittel, Gerhard, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament . Tr. & ed. by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 10 vols. Grand Rapid: Eerdmans, 1964-1976.
Klein, Günter. "Paul's Purpose in Writing the Epistle to the Romans." RomDeb , 29-43.
Lamar, J.S. "The Ground of Man's Need of Salvation." In The Old Faith Restated . Ed. by J.H. Garrison. St. Louis: Christian Publishing Company, 1891. Pp. 98-119.
Lewis, C.S. The Abolition of Man . New York: Macmillan, 1947.
Luther, Martin. "Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther's Latin Writings ." In Vol. 34: Career of the Reformer IV . Luther's Works (American Edition). Ed. by Lewis W. Spitz and Helmut T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960. Pp. 327-338.
. " Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans." In Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament I . Luther's Works (American Edition). Ed. by E. Theodore Bachmann and Helmut T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960. Pp. 365-380.
MacArthur, John F., Jr. The Gospel According to Jesus: What Does Jesus Mean When He Says, "Follow Me"? Revised ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Maurer, Christian. "
. "
Milligan, Robert. Exposition and Defense of the Scheme of Redemption . St. Louis: Bethany Press, n.d.
Moreland, J.P., and David Ciocchi, eds. Christian Perspectives on Being Human: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Integration . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross . 3 ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965.
Murray, John. The Imputation of Adam's Sin . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959.
Nash, Donald A. "A Critique of the New International Version of the New Testament." Cincinnati: Christian Restoration Association, n.d.
Oepke, Albrecht. "kaqivsthmi, etc." TDNT, III:444-447.
Reese, Gareth L. New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts . 2nd ed. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1976.
Rengstorf, Karl Heinrich. "dou'lo", etc." TDNT, II:261-280.
Ridderbos, Herman. Paul : An Outline of His Theology . Tr. by John R. de Witt. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975.
Rueda, Enrique. The Homosexual Network : Private Lives and Public Policy . Old Greenwich, CT: Devin Adair, 1982.
Ryrie, Charles C. So Great Salvation : What It Means to Believe in Jesus Christ . Wheaton: Scripture Press/Victor Books, 1989.
Sanders, E.P. Paul and Palestinian Judaism . London: SCM, 1977.
Schaff, Philip. " Preface ." In John Peter Lange, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Romans . Tr. by Philip Schaff. Grand Rapids: Zondervan reprint, n.d.
Schneider, Johannes. "parabaivnw, paravbasi", etc." TDNT, V:736-744.
Schrenk, Gottlob. "iJerov", etc." TDNT, III:221-283.
Spicq, Ceslas. Theological Lexicon of the New Testament . Tr. by James D. Ernest. 3 volumes. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.
Stendahl, Krister. Paul Among Jews and Gentiles and Other Essays . Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976.
Stuhlmacher, Peter. "The Purpose of Romans." RomDeb , 231-242.
. "The Theme of Romans." RomDeb , 333-345.
Thielman, Frank. Paul and the Law: A Contextual Approach . Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994.
Thiessen, Henry. Introduction to the New Testament . 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1944.
Trench, Richard Chenevix. Synonyms of the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958.
Tyndale, William. "A Prologe to the Epistle of Paule to the Romayns." In The New Testament, Translated by William Tyndale, 1534 . Ed. by N. Hardy Wallis. Cambridge: University Press, 1938. Pp. 293-318.
Unger, Merrill F. Unger's Bible Dictionary . 3rd ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1966.
Vincent, Marvin R. The Epistles of Paul . Vol. III in Word Studies in the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973 reprint of 1887 edition.
Watson, Francis. "The Two Roman Congregations : Romans 14:1-15:13." RomDeb , 203-215.
Wesley, John. Journal from October 14, 1735, to November 29, 1745 . Vol. I in The Works of John Wesley. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, reprint of 1872 ed.
Wedderburn, A.J.M. "The Purpose and Occasion of Romans Again," RomDeb , 195-202.
Wiefel, Wolfgang. "The Jewish Community in Ancient Rome and the Origins of Roman Christianity." RomDeb , 85-101.
Wiens, Delbert. "An Exegesis of Romans 5:12-21." Journal of Church and Society (Fall 1969): 5:42-54.
Williams, Philip R. "Paul's Purpose in Writing Romans." Bibliotheca Sacra (January-March 1971): 128:62-67.
Young, Richard. Intermediate N.T. Greek : A Linguistic and Exegetical Approach . Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994.
-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV
BIBLIOGRAPHY TO VOLUME 2
The following bibliography includes commentaries, books, and articles cited in the text and footnotes of this work. Citations include a minimum of information; the reader must use this list for full titles and bibliographical data.
When commentaries are cited, only the author's name and page number are given. When other sources are cited, usually just the author's name and an abbreviated title (in bold print below) are given. Some sources are cited with an even more abbreviated reference (see list of abbreviations).
I. COMMENTARIES
Achtemeier, Paul J. Romans . Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1985.
Barrett, C.K. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . Harper's New Testament Commentaries. New York: Harper & Row, 1957; reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987.
Black, Matthew. Romans . 2nd ed. New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
Bruce, F.F. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans . Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963.
Brunner, Emil. The Letter to the Romans: A Commentary . Trans. H.A. Kennedy. London: Lutterworth Press, 1959.
Calvin, John. Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans . Trans. John Owen. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1947 reprint.
Cottrell, Jack. Romans , Vol. 1. The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1996.
Cranfield, C.E.B. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. The International Critical Commentary, n.s. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975 (1990 corrected printing).
Denney, James. "St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans." In The Expositor's Greek Testament , ed. W. Robertson Nicoll, II:555-725. New York: George H. Doran, n.d.
DeWelt, Don. Romans Realized . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1959.
Dodd, C.H. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans . New York: Harper & Brothers, 1932.
Dunn, James D.G. Romans . 2 vols. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word Books, 1988.
Earle, Ralph. Romans . Vol. 3 of Word Meanings in the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974.
Edwards, James R. Romans . New International Biblical Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992.
Fitzmyer, Joseph A. Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary . The Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 1993.
Godet, Frederic L. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . Trans. A. Cusin. Ed. Talbot W. Chambers. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956 reprint of 1883 ed.
Griffith Thomas, W.H. Romans: A Devotional Commentary . 3 vols. London: Religious Tract Society, n.d.
Haldane, Robert. An Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans . MacDill AFB: MacDonald Publishing, 1958.
Harrison, Everett F. "Romans." In The Expositor's Bible Commentary , Volume 10, pp. 1-171. Ed. Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976.
Hendriksen, William. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980-1981.
Hughes, R. Kent. Romans: Righteousness from Heaven . Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991.
Käsemann, Ernst. Commentary on Romans . Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.
Lard, Moses E. Commentary on Paul's Letter to Romans . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, n.d.
Lenski, R.C.H. The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans . Columbus, OH: Wartburg Press, 1945.
Lloyd-Jones, D.M. Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 9 - God's Sovereign Purpose . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991.
Luther, Martin. Luther: Lectures on Romans . Ed. & Trans. Wilhelm Pauck. Vol. XV of The Library of Christian Classics. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961.
MacArthur, John, Jr. Romans . 2 vols. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1991, 1994.
McGarvey, J.W., and Philip Y. Pendleton. Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, n.d.
McGuiggan, Jim. The Book of Romans . Lubbock, TX: Montex Publishing Company, 1982.
Moo, Douglas. The Epistle to the Romans . The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.
Morris, Leon. The Epistle to the Romans . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
Moule, H.C.G. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans . The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: The University Press, 1918.
Mounce, Robert H. Romans . Vol. 27 of The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995.
Murray, John. The Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. New International Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959, 1965.
Newman, Barclay M., and Eugene A. Nida. A Translator's Handbook on Paul's Letter to the Romans . London: United Bible Societies, 1973.
Nygren, Anders. Commentary on Romans . Trans. Carl C. Rasmussen. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1949.
Sanday, William, and Arthur C. Headlam. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . 2nd ed. The International Critical Commentary, o.s. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, n.d.
Shedd, William G.T. A Critical and Doctrinal Commentary on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967 reprint of 1879 edition.
Smith, Sherwood. Thirteen Lessons on Romans . Vol. 1 (1979). Thirteen Lessons on Romans . Vol. 2 (1981). Joplin, MO: College Press.
Stott, John. Romans: God's Good News for the World . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1994.
Vanderlip, George. Paul and Romans . Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1967.
Wuest, Kenneth S. Romans in the Greek New Testament for the English Reader . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955.
II. MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS AND ARTICLES
Arndt, William F., and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature . 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957.
Bilezikian, Gilbert. Beyond Sex Roles . 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.
Büchsel, Friedrich. "
Cottrell, Jack. Baptism : A Biblical Study . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1989.
. "Baptism According to the Reformed Tradition ." In Baptism and the Remission of Sins , ed. David W. Fletcher, pp. 39-81. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1990.
. "The Biblical Consensus : Historical Backgrounds to Reformed Theology." In Baptism and the Remission of Sins , ed. David W. Fletcher, pp. 17-38. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1990.
. Faith's Fundamentals : Seven Essentials of Christian Belief . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1995.
. Feminism and the Bible: An Introduction to Feminism for Christians . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1992.
. " 1 Timothy 2:12 and the Role of Women." Four parts. Christian Standard , January 10, 1993, pp. 4-6; January 17, 1993, pp. 4-6; January 24, 1993, pp. 4-6; January 31, 1993, pp. 4-6.
. " Priscilla , Phoebe, and Company." Christian Standard , December 12, 1993, pp. 4-5.
. " Response to My Critics." Three parts. Christian Standard , November 21, 1993, pp. 5-6; November 28, 1993, pp. 4-6; December 5, 1993, pp. 4-6.
. Tough Questions , Biblical Answers. Part Two. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1986.
. What the Bible Says about God the Creator . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1983.
. What the Bible Says about God the Redeemer . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1987.
. What the Bible Says about God the Ruler . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1984.
Delling, Gerhard. "
. "
Donfried, Karl P., ed. The Romans Debate , revised & expanded edition. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991.
. "A Short Note on Romans 16." RomDeb , 44-52.
Forster, Roger T., and V. Paul Marston. God's Strategy in Human History . Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1974.
Fürst, Dieter. " Confess ." In The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology , ed. Colin Brown, I:344-348. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975.
Gaertner, Dennis. Acts . The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1993.
Hoekema, Anthony A. The Bible and the Future . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.
Hübner, Hans. "
Keil, C.F. and F. Delitzsch. The Pentateuch . Trans. by James Martin. Vol. 1 of Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.
Kittel, Gerhard, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament . Trans. & ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 10 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-1976.
Köster, Helmut. "tevmnw [etc.]." TDNT . VIII:106-112.
Lampe, Peter. "The Roman Christians of Romans 16 ." RomDeb , 216-230.
Lewis, C.S. The Four Loves . London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960.
Michaelis, W. "mavcaira." TDNT . IV:524-527.
Nash, Donald A. "A Critique of the New International Version of the New Testament." Cincinnati: Christian Restoration Association, n.d.
Oepke, Albrecht. "zevw, zestov"." TDNT . II:875-877.
Pentecost, J. Dwight. Things To Come . Findlay, OH: Dunham, 1958.
Pinnock, Clark H. "From Augustine to Arminius: A Pilgrimage in Theology." In The Grace of God, the Will of Man: A Case for Arminianism , ed. Clark H. Pinnock, pp. 15-30. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989.
Piper, John. The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23 . 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
Reicke, Bo. "proi?sthmi." TDNT . VI:700-703.
Schreiner, Thomas R. "Does Romans 9 Teach Individual Election unto Salvation?" In vol. 1 of The Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will , ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware, pp. 89-106. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.
Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins . New York: Crossroad, 1987.
Shank, Robert. Elect in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Election . Springfield, MO: Westcott Publishers, 1970.
Sherlock, William. A Discourse Concerning the Divine Providence . Pittsburgh: J.L. Read, 1848.
Spencer, Aida B. Beyond the Curse : Women Called to Ministry . Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985.
Spicq, Ceslas. Theological Lexicon of the New Testament . 3 vol. Trans. James D. Ernest. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.
Stählin, Gustav. "
. "
Stendahl, Krister. Paul Among Jews and Gentiles and Other Essays . Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976.
Trench, Richard Chenevix. Synonyms of the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958.
Walters, James. "' Phoebe ' and 'Junia(s)' - Rom. 16:1-2, 7." In Vol. 1 of Essays on Women in Earliest Christianity , ed. Carroll D. Osburn, pp. 167-190. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1993.
Weiss, K. "fevrw [etc.]." TDNT . IX:56-87.
Wright, N.T. The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.
. "The Messiah and the People of God." Oxford University: D.Phil. dissertation, 1980.
-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV
ABBREVIATIONS
AG Arndt and Gingrich, Greek lexicon
ASV American Standard Version
GC God the Creator, by Jack Cottrell
GRe God the Redeemer, by Jack Cottrell
GRu God the Ruler, by Jack Cottrell
KJV King James Version
LB Living Bible
LXX Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT)
MP McGarvey-Pendleton Romans commentary
NAB New American Bible
NASB New American Standard Bible
NEB New English Bible
NIV New International Version
NRSV New Revised Standard Version
NT New Testament
OT Old Testament
RomDeb The Romans Debate, by Karl Donfried
RSV Revised Standard Version
TDNT Theological Dictionary of the NT, ed. Kittel
TEV Today's English Version
For fuller titles and publishing information on books, see the Bibliography.
-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV
College: Romans (Outline) VIII. OUTLINE
PROLOGUE - 1:1-17
I. EPISTOLARY GREETING - 1:1-7
A. The Author Introduces Himself - 1:1
1. A Slave of Christ Jesus
2. Call...
VIII. OUTLINE
PROLOGUE - 1:1-17
I. EPISTOLARY GREETING - 1:1-7
A. The Author Introduces Himself - 1:1
1. A Slave of Christ Jesus
2. Called to Be an Apostle
3. Set Apart for the Gospel of God
B. The Gospel and the Old Testament - 1:2
C. The Subject of the Gospel Is Jesus - 1:3-4
1. The Two Natures of Jesus
2. The Incarnation
3. Messiahship
4. The Two States of Jesus
5. The Resurrection of Jesus
6. The Son's Full Identity
D. Paul's Apostleship - 1:5
1. The Origin of Paul's Apostleship
2. The Character of Paul's Apostleship
3. The Focus of Paul's Apostleship
4. The Purpose of Paul's Apostleship
5. The Goal of Paul's Apostleship
E. The Recipients of Paul's Letter - 1:6-7a
F. The Blessing - 1:7b
II. PERSONAL REMARKS - 1:8-15
A. Paul's Prayers for the Romans - 1:8-10
B. Paul's Desires Regarding Rome - 1:11-13
C. Paul's Debt to the Romans - 1:14-15
III. TRANSITIONAL STATEMENT - 1:16-17
A. The Glory of the Gospel - 1:16a
B. The Power of the Gospel - 1:16b
C. The Scope of the Gospel - 1:16c
D. Faith and the Gospel - 1:16c
1. Faith Is a Condition for Salvation
2. Faith Is Not the Only Condition
E. The Heart of the Gospel - 1:17a
F. The Golden Text of the Gospel - 1:17b
PART ONE:
THE IMPOTENCE OF LAW AS A WAY OF SALVATION - 1:18-3:20
I. THE SINFULNESS OF THE GENTILES - 1:18-32
A. Universal Knowledge of God and His Law - 1:18-20
B. Universal Rejection of the True God - 1:21-25
C. The Utter Depths of Gentile Depravity - 1:26-32
II. THE SINFULNESS OF THE JEWS - 2:1-3:8
A. Jews Are Under the Wrath of God, No Less Than the Gentiles - 2:1-5
B. God Will Be Partial to No One in the Judgment - 2:6-11
C. Under Law, the Criterion of Judgment Is Obedience Alone- 2:12-16
D. Jews Who Look to the Law for Salvation Are Condemned by Their Own Disobedience - 2:17-24
E. True Jewishness Is Identified Not by Circumcision but by the Inward State of the Heart - 2:25-29
F. Such Equal Treatment of Jews and Gentiles Does Not Nullify But Rather Magnifies God's Righteousness - 3:1-8
III. UNIVERSAL SINFULNESS AND HOPELESSNESS UNDER LAW - 3:9-20
PART TWO:
THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF GRACE AS A WAY OF SALVATION - 3:21-5:21
I. GRACE AS JUSTIFICATION BY CHRIST'S BLOOD THROUGH FAITH - 3:21-31
A. Righteousness Through Faith Is Now Fully Revealed - 3:21-23
B. Sinners Are Justified by the Blood of Christ - 3:24-26
C. Sinners Are Justified by Faith Apart from Works of Law - 3:27-28
D. The Way of Grace Is Available to All - 3:29-30
E. Grace Lets Law Do Its Proper Work - 3:31
II. ABRAHAM: PARADIGM OF GRACE - 4:1-25
A. Abraham Was Justified by Faith Apart from Works - 4:1-5
B. David Explains and Confirms Justification by Faith Apart from Works - 4:6-8
C. Membership in Abraham's Family Is by Faith, Not by Circumcision - 4:9-12
D. The Inheritance Promised to Abraham Comes by Faith, Not by Law - 4:13-17a
E. Faith Means Giving Glory to God and Believing His Promises - 4:17b-22
F. Those Who Believe Like Abraham Are Justified Like Abraham - 4:23-25
III. GRACE AND ASSURANCE - 5:1-21
A. Assurance of Personal Salvation - 5:1-11
1. Justification by Faith Is the Key to Assurance - 5:1-2
2. Tribulations of Believers Do Not Nullify Assurance - 5:3-5
3. Christ Died for Us While We Were Still Sinners - 5:6-8
4. Our Hope Is Even More Secure Now That We Are His Friends - 5:9-11
B. The All-Sufficiency of the Death of Christ - 5:12-21
1. One Sin of One Man (Adam) Brought Sin and Death to All - 5:12-14
2. Christ and His Sacrifice Are Greater Than Adam and His Sin - 5:15-17
3. Christ's Cross Completely Cancels the Results of Adam's Sin - 5:18-19
4. Grace Triumphs over Sin and Death - 5:20-21
PART THREE:
THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF GRACE GIVES VICTORY OVER SIN - 6:1-8:39
I. OBJECTIONS TO GRACE BASED ON A FEAR OF ANTINOMIANISM - 6:1-7:13
A. Does Grace Make Sin Irrelevant? NO! - 6:1-14
B. Does Freedom from Law Mean We Are Free to Sin? NO!- 6:15-7:6
1. We Are Slaves to God - 6:15-23
2. We Obey God from Our Hearts - 7:1-6
C. Does Grace Mean That Law Is Bad? NO! - 7:7-13
II. GRACE GIVES VICTORY OVER SIN - 7:14-8:13
A. The Christian Continues to Struggle Against Sin - 7:14-25
1. The Nature of the Struggle - 7:14-20
2. The Source of the Struggle - 7:21-25
B. Victory over Sin Comes Through the Holy Spirit - 8:1-13
1. God Frees Us from Sin's Penalty and Power - 8:1-4
2. Sin and Death Are Defeated in Us Through the Holy Spirit - 8:5-13
III. THE ASSURANCE OF FINAL AND TOTAL VICTORY OVER THE FALLEN WORLD - 8:14-39
A. The Holy Spirit Marks Us as Sons and Heirs - 8:14-17
B. The Redeemed Cosmos Is Our Inheritance - 8:18-25
C. God Promises to Bring His Family Through Earthly Trials - 8:26-30
D. God's Gracious Love Gives Us Unshakable Assurance - 8:31-39
PART FOUR:
THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD
IN HIS DEALINGS WITH THE JEWS - 9:1-11:36
I. THE PROBLEM OF ISRAEL: THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF THE JEWISH NATION - 9:1-5
A. Israel's Agony: They Are Accursed - 9:1-3
B. Israel's Ecstasy: They Are Recipients of Unspeakably Glorious Privileges - 9:4-5
II. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ETHNIC AND SPIRITUAL ISRAEL - 9:6-29
A. Israel's Situation and God's Faithfulness - 9:6-13
1. God's Word Concerning Israel Has Not Failed - 9:6a
2. The Key to the Puzzle: the Existence of Two Israels - 9:6b
3. Ethnic Israel Exists by God's Sovereign Choice - 9:7-13
a. The Choice of Isaac - 9:7-9
b. The Choice of Jacob - 9:10-13
B. God's Right to Choose and Use People without Saving Them - 9:14-18
1. God's Righteousness Is Challenged - 9:14
2. God's Sovereignty in Election for Service - 9:15-16
3. God's Purposes Can Be Served by the Unsaved - 9:17-18
C. God Used Ethnic Israel to Produce Spiritual Israel - 9:19-29
1. The Objection - 9:19
2. Paul's Initial Rebuke of the Objector's Attitude - 9:20-21
3. Beyond Ethnic Israel to Spiritual Israel - 9:22-24
a. The Calvinist View
b. Seeing Paul Through Non-Calvinist Eyes
4. Prophetic Confirmation of God's Purpose - 9:25-29
III. ISRAEL'S CHOICE OF LAW RATHER THAN GRACE 9:30-10:21
A. Personal Righteousness Versus the Righteousness of God- 9:30-10:3
1. The Reason for the Gentiles' Acceptance - 9:30
2. The Reason for the Jews' Lostness - 9:31-33
3. The Jews' Rejection of God's Righteousness - 10:1-3
B. Christ Alone Is the Source of Saving Righteousness - 10:4-13
1. An Either-Or Choice: Works-Righteousness, or Faith in Christ - 10:4
2. The Futility of Law-Righteousness - 10:5
3. Saving Righteousness Comes through Trusting Christ's Works, Not Our Own - 10:6-10
4. God's Righteousness Is Available Equally to Jews and Gentiles - 10:11-13
C. The Jews Have Not Believed in Christ, and Their Unbelief Is Inexcusable - 10:14-21
1. The Necessary Prerequisites to Saving Faith - 10:14-15
2. Most Jews Have Not Believed the Gospel Message - 10:16
3. The Jews' Problem Is Not Ignorance but Stubbornness of Will - 10:17-21
IV. THE SALVATION OF GOD'S TRUE ISRAEL - 11:1-32
A. God's True Israel Is the Remnant Chosen by Grace - 11:1-6
1. God Has Not Rejected His People - 11:1-2a
2. God Had a Remnant of Believers in the OT - 11:2b-4
3. Those under Grace Are God's New Covenant Israel - 11:5-6
B. Unbelieving Israel Has Been Hardened - 11:7-10
C. The Hardening of Unbelieving Israel Becomes a Blessing
for Both the Gentiles and the Jews - 11:11-16
D. The Olive Tree: A Metaphor of Judgment and Hope - 11:17-24
1. Words of Warning to Gentile Christians - 11:17-22
2. Words of Hope for Hardened Jews - 11:23-24
E. God's Plan for Israel's Salvation - 11:25-32
1. The Mystery of Israel's Salvation - 11:25-27
2. God's Continuing Love for Israel - 11:28-29
3. God's Ultimate Purpose Is Mercy - 11:30-32
V. DOXOLOGY: GOD'S WAY IS RIGHT - 11:33-36
PART FIVE:
LIVING THE SANCTIFIED LIFE - 12:1-15:13
I. A CATALOGUE OF VIRTUES - 12:1-13:14
A. Grace Demands a Transformed Life - 12:1-2
B. Using the Gifts of Grace for Unselfish Service - 12:3-8
C. Miscellaneous Moral Teaching - 12:9-16
D. Personal Vengeance Is Forbidden - 12:17-21
E. The Relation between Citizens and Government - 13:1-7
F. The Relation between Love and Law - 13:8-10
G. Walking in the Light - 13:11-14
II. CHRISTIAN LIBERTY IN MATTERS OF OPINION - 14:1-15:13
A. Do Not Judge Others in Matters of Opinion - 14:1-12
1. We Should Accept All Whom God Has Accepted - 14:1-3
2. We Answer to Our Lord and Not to Each Other - 14:4-9
3. Each of Us Will Be Judged by God - 14:10-12
B. The Stewardship of Christian Liberty 14:13-23
1. We Must Sacrifice Our Liberty for the Sake of the Weak - 14:13-15
2. Do Not Allow What You Consider Good to Be Spoken of as Evil - 14:16-18
3. We Must Do Only Those Things Which Build Others Up - 14:19-21
4. Each Christian Must Be True to His Own Convictions - 14:22-23
C. Living in Unity and Hope - 15:1-13
1. Selfless Service Produces a Unified Witness - 15:1-6
2. Through Christ's Selfless Service, Jews and Gentiles Glorify God Together - 15:7-12
3. A Prayer That All Believers May Abound in Hope - 15:13
PART SIX:
PERSONAL MESSAGES FROM PAUL - 15:14-16:27
I. PAUL'S MINISTRY AS THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES - 15:14-33
A. Reflections on His Past Service - 15:14-22
B. His Plans for the Future - 15:23-29
C. His Request for Prayer - 15:30-33
II. PAUL AND HIS FELLOW WORKERS - 16:1-24
A. Commendation of Phoebe - 16:1-2
B. Greetings to Individual Acquaintances - 16:3-16
C. Warnings against False Teachers - 16:17-20
D. Greetings from Paul's Companions - 16:21-24
III. CONCLUDING DOXOLOGY - 16:25-27
-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV
