Romans: Laying a Solid Foundation

The Bible Teacher's Commentary

Paul J. Bucknell

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COMMENTARY ON ROMANS 10:16-11:10

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OUTLINE OF ROMANS 9-11

I. Clarifying the Identity of the True Israel (9:1-13)

II. The Means Jews and Gentiles become Part of True Israel (9:14-29)

III. The Jews’ Rejection of the Messiah & the Gentiles Acceptance (9:30-10:21)

IV. God has not Forgotten Israel (11:1-32)

A. God has not rejected the few chosen Israelites (11:1-10)
B. Greater blessings will come upon all if ethnic Israel returns (11:11-15)
C. The Gentiles are now being grafted into Israel's olive tree (11:16-24)
D. Some but not all of the Gentiles and Israel will be saved (11:25-36)

COMMENTARY ON ROMANS 10:16-11:10

We should note that the apostle Paul defends his preaching to the Gentiles in Ro 10:14-15. If God wants them to be saved, then it must be God’s will to bring God’s truth to them. Hence, we have legitimized Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles.

He faces a possible objection to this in that if the Word was preached to all, all then would respond. But we have scriptures to caution us to thinking it meant a total acceptance of the message.

"True, indeed, as had been foretold,the merciful offers of the gospel were not universally accepted, ver. 16, but still faith cometh by hearing, and therefore the gospel would be widely preached, ver. 17."

Verse 16 and on is sometimes thought to speak about Israel, but the context is the nations. It is only until verse 19 does Paul come back to referring specifically about the Hebrews.

"The universal revelation of God in nature, was a providential prediction of the universal proclamation of the gospel. If the former was not fortuitous, but founded in the nature of God, so must the latter be. The manifestation of God in nature, is, for all his creatures to whom it is made, a pledge of their participation in the clearer and higher revelations." -Romans by Charles Hodge, p. 349.

What is it that Israel didn't know in verse 19? It is not clear. Because of the following statements, it probably is not the gospel but rather the fact that the Gentiles would believe. The arguments in verses 19-21 in fact are further proof that the nations would hear the gospel.

11:1-6
It might seem that the Lord has rejected His people: chosen and yet not chosen. But in fact God has not rejected the israelites. Paul himself is a good example of a Jew that was foreknown and in time believed on the Messiah.

A good example of this is Elijah's wrestling with the Baal prophets. elijah in his despair saw himself as the only prophet. Everyone else had deserted the Lord but God knew who were His and they numbered 7000. So we should not draw a quick conclusion that God has completely rejected the Israelites.

11:7-10
Our conclusion is not that Israel was completely rejected but along with the former arguments of election and being foreknown, that there is a remnant among the Jews. We should not be surprised to see the hardened hearts of many Jews. We might have a difficult time reconciling man's will with God's choice, but clearly we find that Paul the apostle, and even more important, God Himself, clearly had no problems.

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