Can God be Trusted?

ROMANS 11:1-2

SUBJECT: ISRAEL’S FUTURE

THEME: God is faithful, and the record demonstrates this in the history and future of the nation of Israel.

Romans 11:1-2a, I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.

INTRODUCTION:

In Romans chapter Eleven, we find ourselves exposed to the great wisdom of God and the promise of Israel’s future restoration (Rom. 11). Paul has been discussing the rejection of Israel in chapter 10; he explains that this rejection is because of their unbelief. Jesus Christ is key to a relationship with God; Israel as a nation rejected Him. Unbelief severed them from God. Paul will now show that God rejecting Israel was neither total nor final (Rom. 11:26-36). Before we address that important subject, it is beneficial to think about God casting away his people.

So, why does any of this matter to us today? Well, if it can be shown from the Scriptures that God did not keep His promises to the nation of Israel, then we have little reason to trust Him for our future as Christians. In that scenario God’s character would have sustained a question-raising blot; is He faithful? Can God be trusted to stand by the commitments He voluntarily made to Israel? Can we really trust Him today? If God is proven to be untrue to His Word, then can He really be God at all? A holy God is terrifying enough, but a treacherous God leaves us with absolutely no reason to expect Him to follow through on anything He says. A God who quits on his promises or because of frustrations is a painful idea…is God really like this?  

LESSON:

Does Israel have a Place in God’s Plans for the Future?

Actually, Israel fits prominently into God Future Plans; They have a Significant Role in the Future.

What about the future of Israel? Is it true, as some teach, that God is through with Israel, that us Christians are now the Israel of God, and that all the promises of Israel now apply to the Church of the Living God? Romans Chapter 11 is the strongest refutation of this view and teaching!

Should we Recognize a Difference Between Israel as a Nation and the role of Christianity? Yes, we must distinguish the national experience of Israel from Christianity and God’s plan for the churches during this age. Israel and the churches are not one nor do the churches replace Israel permanently in the redemptive plan of God. God will yet perform every promise to the nation of Israel and her forefathers; He is entirely faithful to His unconditional promises made to this distinct people. It is important to understand that the Christian movement cannot claim all the blessings and promises which were clearly given to Israel, a nation.  God never confuses the nation of Israel with the Christian Church Age. This distinction is further maintained by the Apostle Paul in

1 Cor 10:31-33, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32, Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

33, Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Three entities are recognized and distinguished in perpetuity; the nation of Israel currently is different from the rest of the world (Gentiles). Secondly, the church of God is not synonymous with Gentiles or Israel though it includes all peoples of all nations including Israel. In the church age such distinctions afford no special privileges or disadvantages; still the cultural idiosyncrasies and customs should be regarded and respected to avoid needless offenses in evangelistic outreach and local church community. In this economy, personal preferences are voluntarily subjugated/de-emphasized/de-prioritized to accommodate the greater profitability/salvation/sanctification of the larger group/population/church. Certainly, the glory of God supersedes all else as the essential source of unity and harmony. The point that must not be missed is that God maintains these as separate entities.

Can We Trust the Promises of the New Covenant to Indicate Israel’s Future? The New Covenant is an important key to understanding the Nation of Israel’s Future and God’s Faithful Character: (Jer. 31-33; He. 8:7-13; 10:9-22). This is God's promise to give free blessing to men through Jesus Christ. It was given to the nation Israel (Jer. 31-34), but Christians also share in the spiritual aspects of the New covenant through Christ (Heb. 8:7-13). The New covenant with Israel promises that God will restore them to their promised land and give them a new heart to obey Him. This will happen when Jesus returns from Heaven (Rom. 11:25-27; Zec. 13-14).

The Promise of the New Covenant: (1) It was made with the nation Israel (Je. 31:31), and (2) it will replace the Mosaic covenant (Jer. 31:32; Heb. 10:8-9). This promise features regeneration and cleansing from sin (Jer. 31:33-34), while (4) reaffirming Israel’s national security and future kingdom (Jer. 31:35-37). (5) The covenant also promises Israel’s possession of the land (Jer. 32:37, 41-44), and the fact that the covenant (6) is eternal in nature (Jer. 32:40). (7) Finally, it involves God’s blessing upon the land (Ezek. 36:29-30).

We as Gentiles or Christians cannot claim any of these promises simply because they were not given to Gentiles or Christians as such; they must be ultimately fulfilled in the life of the nation of Israel to whom they were originally given. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are made joint-heirs with Him. We have spiritual blessings and opportunities through our relationship with Israel's chef Son! This strictly spiritual union with Christ affords us the spiritual blessings and benefits of this covenant alone. Namely, regeneration and cleansing from our sins, but not the national promises related to the land, a national kingdom of Israel, or prosperity and blessing in the Promised Land. These promises belong uniquely to Israel. The false Health and Wealth Gospel message propagated by prosperity gurus is utterly without a biblical foundation. Such a position is theologically, exegetically and dispensationally spurious and irresponsible. They unfortunately have confused the identity and purpose of the nation of Israel with the identity and purpose of the present New Testament Church Age. God still maintains a distinction between Israel and Christianity. Accordingly, the nation of Israel fully retains her God-given place in the future plans of God.  

Other Old Testament Passages Mention the New Covenant: (1) It will be established when Israel is restored and blessed before the eyes of all nations (Is. 61:8-11; Eze. 37:21-28). (2) It will involve the placing of God’s sanctuary in the midst of Israel forever (Eze. 37:26-27). (3) Some Psalms record prayers of this future spiritual regeneration of the nation (Ps. 80:18-19; 79:8-9). (4) Some Psalms picture the fulfillment of this covenant (Ps. 85; 130; 72). (5) Mentions of Israel seeking God in the future are references to the New Covenant (Jo. 3:5; 5:15; 6:1). (6) Jesus referred to the New Covenant in His teaching of the new birth (compare Jn. 3:1-15 and Eze. 36:24-29).

The New Covenant and the Church Age: If the New Covenant is not fulfilled in the church (referring to the church in a general, institutional sense), why does the writer of Hebrews apply it to Christians (He. 8:6-13; 10:15-19)? Yes, we Christians do enjoy some of the blessings of the New Covenant today, but its fulfillment is yet future for us all. Hebrews does not say the New Covenant is fulfilled in this Church Age; it plainly says the New Covenant belongs to “the house of Israel” (He. 8:10). The Book of Hebrews refers to the New Covenant to show how the Mosaic system was only temporary and that even the O.T. foresaw that one day it would be abolished and replaced by another covenant. The writer of Hebrews indicates that every N.T. believer partakes of the spiritual blessings of the New Covenant through Christ, but nowhere does he say that this covenant has been transferred from national Israel to the Church Age Christians. The blessings of the NT Covenant have only been realized partially. God has so much more in store for Israel and the world. The Apostle Paul taught that the New Covenant will be literally fulfilled following the Church Age in God’s unfolding redemptive plan (Rom. 11:25-27).

Rom 11:25-27, For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26, And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27, For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

The nation of Israel will be saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (New Covenant) and according to the covenant of God to Abraham. God will complete His current work among the Gentile world; it will be done when the "fullness of the Gentiles be come in." Simply put there are parameters to this current age--a definite beginning and end. One day while we are out evangelizing the last person from this age will be born again! I believe the Rapture of the NT saints will follow very soon thereafter. God will then shift His immediate attention to the nation of Israel and her spiritual redemption through Jesus Christ. He will not abandon the rest of the world; God will actually evangelize the world through Israel. Read Revelation 7 for the account of the salvation of 144,000 Jewish men and a massive Gentile population in just a few years during the Tribulation Period on earth. Therefore, Israel’s rejection is not permanent and certainly not final—she has a brilliant future before her. Like the rest of the world her hope is in Christ Jesus.

Heb 8:9-13, Not according to the covenant [Old] that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, [Old] and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10, For this is the covenant [New] that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11, And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12, For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13, In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

These incredible passages portray a future for the nation of Israel—a new covenant redeemed Jewish people of God; this much cannot be denied. God is speaking and promising these gracious provisions to that nation specifically, and they will transpire during the Tribulation Period and the Millennial reign of Christ Jesus. Yes, Israel as a redeemed nation fits prominently into God’s future plans. Presently, in this Church Age, both Jews and Gentiles are being saved and set apart to God through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the future, after the Rapture of Christians, God will take up His plans for the nation of Israel and began to advance his program most aggressively. Everything He promised Israel will be fulfilled within the context of her national experience. Israel will be saved nationally and spiritually by the grace of Almighty God; this is the profound eschatological reality—a clear fact of Scripture.

Beloved, the fact that Israel has a future in God’s plans is a strong testimony to the faithfulness of God. Yes, Jehovah can be trusted. The Lord Jesus is the Way and the Truth! The Spirit of Truth cannot lie. His truthfulness to Himself and follow through on His Word encourages and strengthens our faith. It promotes faithfulness in the people of God today. We have every reason in the world to trust Him without limitations.

According to Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary faithfulness is “dependability, loyalty, and stability particularly as it describes God in His relationship to human believers. The faithfulness of God and His Word is a constant theme in the Bible. It is particularly prominent in Ps 89 and 119.” This is the true character and nature of God; He is faithful, dependable, and loyal. He sustains stable relationships with His people!

In Deuteronomy 7:9, Moses says, “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” (KJV). Almighty God keeps the covenant He made with Israel. Isaiah the prince of prophets says of Jehovah, “because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee” (Isa 49:7, KJV). Again, the faithfulness of the Holy One is highlighted and exalted. In Lamentations 3:22-23, the weeping prophet, Jeremiah, found incredible hope in the faithful character and nature of God saying, “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. [23] They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (KJV). Our Lord’s faithfulness is not average or really good; it is described as “great!” I recall the Apostle Paul who observes, “If we believe not, yet he [God] abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim 2:13, KJV). This much the apostle knew with a deep experiential knowledge—a conviction refined through the challenging seasons of life. The faithfulness of God is who He truly is. So, go ahead and trust Him fully, entirely, implicitly, explicitly and unreservedly! As our faithful Lord, God CAN be trusted!