Lessons from The Jews
A Sermon on Romans 11:11-12
Scripture
11I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches …
Sermon Description
What can we learn from the apostle Paul’s teachings on the Jewish people? In this sermon on Romans 11:11–12 titled “Lessons from the Jews,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that Christians have much to learn from Paul about the church, themselves, and the gospel. He says that this prophesy will take place in the future. Paul believed that there would be a great revival amongst the people of Israel when they come to know Jesus Christ. The reason why the Jews rejected the gospel was in order that the truth of Christ might go to the Gentiles. The church must understand that oftentimes God uses rejection to actually further the proclamation of the gospel. The church must trust in God and in His goodness, believing that He will accomplish all He intends. The future restoration of Israel ought to cause Christians to lay aside prejudice and evil feelings toward the Jewish people, and they ought to love them and bring the gospel to them. Christ Jesus is the only means of salvation for both Jew and Gentile. The church is to proclaim this message of forgiveness and mercy to all people until Christ returns in glory.
Sermon Breakdown
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The miracle of biblical prophecy. The condition of the Jews and their rejection of the Gospel was prophesied. Prophecy also foresees the future of the Jews. The fullness of Israel will come in.
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An explanation of the miracle of the preservation of the Jews as a distinct nation. God has preserved them to show that His promises are sure.
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Our attitude towards the Jews should be one of concern, compassion, and a desire to provoke them to jealousy by bringing them the Gospel.
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A warning against jumping to conclusions in understanding God's dealings. God knows what He is doing. He has a plan and purpose.
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God's ways of working are strange. He often works indirectly, in ways opposite of what we expect. We have a "penny in the slot machine" mentality, wanting direct and immediate results. But God works over the long term, like a farmer sowing seed and waiting months for the harvest.
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God seems at times to be cutting across His own plan, but it is only temporary. We must trust Him, even when we can't understand. His ways are higher than our ways.
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This passage gives insight into God's workings in past history, like using the rejection of the Gospel by some to promote its success among others, as with the Reformation and evangelical awakenings. God may do something similar today.
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We should have an attitude of separation from apostate churches, but also a desire to provoke them to jealousy by our living witness. Our aim should be to win them back to the truth.
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Nothing is impossible with God. No one is hopeless where God is concerned. If God can restore Israel, He can save anyone.
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We should have humility in understanding God's workings. We know nothing, so we should trust in Him who is over all. The church depends on God, not us. We should yield ourselves to Him.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.