All Israel will be saved (4)
Here's what I think leads up to "And so all Israel
will be saved" in 11:26. Jewish critics of Paul's gospel about Jesus
the Messiah said that his message would mean God was faithless. God had
promised salvation to Israel through the coming Messiah, the Messiah
arrived and a vast number of the Jews were excluded even though
the Messiah was theirs (9:5). It didn't help Paul much to say that they
had rejected the Messiah because Paul was insisting that that was
precisely how salvation would come to the world. So here it is. The
Jewish Messiah comes to save Israel, salvation is to come through his
being rejected, the Jews do the will of God in rejecting him and they
are excluded! And to make matters worse, while the heirs are excluded
Gentiles receive the salvation inheritance. And what was Paul's
response when he has done explaining? All Israel will be saved!
That's one side of the coin. The other arises from
the Gentile perspective. In Galatians, Judaizers wanted to exclude
Gentiles ("they must become Jews if they want Messianic blessings"). In
Romans arrogant Gentiles are saying that Jews are excluded. God is done
with them. The proof of that are the many Jews that are lost in
unbelief. "There's a new people—Gentiles." And what's Paul's response
when he has done explaining? All Israel will be saved!
All that have descended from Abraham through Jacob
are not "Israel" Paul says in 9:6. So when you see unbelievers cut off
from among their people (see Acts 3:22-23) you must not conclude that a
true Israelite has been cut off. The Israelite that rejects faith (in
Jesus Christ) shows he is not Abraham's child, he is not truly an
Israelite. A true Israelite, a real Jew has both the flesh and faith of
Abraham (9:7-8). When Paul says that "all" Israel will be saved he is
saying that the remnant that now exists is God's last word about the
Jews. He has not gathered in the existing remnant and said, "No more!"
The "all" Israel is that portion of Israel that already believed and
every other Jew that wishes to come to God in Jesus Christ via the
gospel. Imagine a man coming in response to God's gospel about Jesus
Christ and wanting to be saved. God says, "What's your ethnic
background?" The man replies, "I'm a Jew!" God says, "Oh, no you can't
be saved I've closed the door on Jews." That could never happen! That's
something like arrogant Gentiles were thinking. Paul says that God
elected Israel and made covenant promises to them and he doesn't go
back on those (11:29). God's offer of Messianic blessings is wide open
to every presently unbelieving Jew! Paul could point to a Jew that has
rejected the gospel and say, "That is an Israelite." He could point to
a Jew that has rejected the gospel and say, "That is not an Israelite."
He would have been correct both times. See Romans 9:6 and compare
Revelation 2:9 and 3:9.
And he
insists that God has rejected not a single true Israelite. A Gentile
with the faith of Abraham is a child of Abraham (Galatians 3:27-28 and
Romans 4:11) but a Gentile without faith is as cut off as a Jew without
faith. Neither of them is a true child of Abraham. (But while Paul
called Gentiles children of Abraham he didn't call them "Israelites".
See Abraham's children or Israelites?) So "all Israel" are all
the physical kin of Abraham who also have his heart. Not one of these
has ever been or ever will be lost. No matter what arrogant Gentiles
say.
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.