RomansChapter 11

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¹So I ask, did God turn away his people? No way! I am an Israelite myself. I come from Abraham's family and from the tribe of Benjamin. ²God did not turn away his people, whom he knew ahead of time. Don't you know what the Scripture says about Elijah? He complained to God about Israel. He said, ³"Lord, they have killed your prophets. They have torn down your altars. I am the only one left. And they are trying to kill me too." ⁴And how did God answer him? "I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed down to Baal." ⁵It is the same now. There are a few people left whom God has chosen by his grace. ⁶And if it is by grace, then it is not by what they have done. If it were, grace would not be grace anymore. ⁷So what? Israel did not get what it was looking for. But the people God chose did get it. The others were hardened. ⁸As it is written, "God made them sleepy in spirit. He gave them eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear. It is still this way today." ⁹And David says,
"Let their table become a snare and a trap.
Let it make them trip and pay them back. ¹⁰Let their eyes grow dark so they can't see.
Let their backs be bent forever." ¹¹So I ask, did they trip so that they fell and can never get up? No way! But because they sinned, salvation has come to the Gentiles. This is to make Israel jealous. ¹²If their sin brings riches to the world, and their failure brings riches to the Gentiles, think how much greater riches their fullness will bring!a ¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. I am the apostle to the Gentiles. So I make much of my work. ¹⁴I hope that somehow I can make my own people jealous. Then I can save some of them. ¹⁵When God turned them away, the world was made friends with God. So what will happen when God accepts them? It will be like life from the dead! ¹⁶If the first part of the dough is holy, then the whole batch is holy. If the root of a tree is holy, then the branches are holy too. ¹⁷Some of the branches have been broken off. You are like a wild olive shoot. You have been joined to the tree among the other branches. Now you share the rich food that comes from the olive root. ¹⁸So don't brag that you are better than those branches. If you do, remember this. You don't hold up the root. The root holds you up. ¹⁹Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I could be joined in." ²⁰That's true. They were broken off because they did not believe. But you stand by faith. So don't be proud. Be afraid. ²¹God did not spare the natural branches. So he will surely not spare you either. ²²So think about how kind God is. Think about how strict he is too. He is strict with those who fell. But he is kind to you, if you keep living in his kindness. If you don't, you will be cut off too. ²³And if the Israelites stop refusing to believe, they will be joined back in. God is able to join them in again. ²⁴You were cut from a wild olive tree. Then, against nature, you were joined to a garden olive tree. So these natural branches can be joined back into their own olive tree even more easily! ²⁵Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery. Then you won't think too highly of yourselves. A hardening in part has come to Israel. This will last until the full number of Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, "The one who saves will come from Zion. He will take away godlessness from Jacob. ²⁷And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." ²⁸As far as the good news goes, they are enemies for your sake. But as far as God's choice goes, they are loved because of their great fathers. ²⁹God never takes back his gifts or his call. ³⁰At one time you did not obey God. But now you have received mercy because they did not obey. ³¹In the same way, they have now disobeyed. This is so that they too may now receive mercy, through the mercy shown to you. ³²God has locked everyone up as prisoners of disobedience. He did this so that he could have mercy on everyone. ³³Oh, how deep are the riches of God's wisdom and knowledge! No one can search out how he judges. No one can trace the paths he takes. ³⁴"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has ever given him advice?" ³⁵"Who has ever given to God first, so that God must pay him back?" ³⁶All things come from him. All things exist through him and for him. May the glory be his forever! Amen.