Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?
Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the
Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for
the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater
riches will their full inclusion bring! I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch
as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope
that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if
their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance
be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is
holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
(Romans 11:11-16)
When bad things happen, especially to people who are supposedly good, we sometimes ask, “Why did this happen?” When we do, we tend to want one simple reason that covers the whole of the event, and every event like it. God’s blessing of Israel was not just a reward for their good behavior. It was meant to make the other nations jealous so that they would seek God, too. God’s cursing of Israel was not just a punishment for their bad behavior, it was also a warning to the other nations so they would seek God.
The same is true of God’s granting of salvation to the Gentiles. Yes, it was always God’s plan because He loves all people and wants all people to come to know and love Him. At the same time, He is also using the Church to make the Jews jealous, so they’ll come back to Him. There are other lessons that nations and individuals need to learn that add more reasons for events.
There’s a second idea mentioned in this passage: inclusion. God’s purpose is to include anyone and everyone who will receive Him. Recently, I read something that talked about the Church being the inclusive body that at least part of the world so desperately wants. No one is excluded based on race, sex, ability/disability, language, nationality, former religion, education, culture, age, or sin. The only thing that separates someone from this body is the person’s own choice to reject the gospel. Many people claim this is what they want, but they can’t make it work. A big reason for this is because they exclude God. They replace Him with government, or with feelings, or with something else and when it doesn’t work, they blame God and those who follow Him. Instead of listening to their own message, they try to force their laws down everyone’s throats. They imitate and parody diversity and pat themselves on the back for it while demanding uniformity.
This leads me to a tangent. Some people complain that one of the problems with Christianity is that there are too many denominations, too many divisions. If the Church is truly of God, they maintain, there should be only one, with one set of rules that everyone follows. While some of the divisions between one church and another may be serious doctrinal differences, some of them are cultural. Sometimes, the denominations are a function of diversity that God not only allows and accepts, but encourages.
When bad things happen, especially to people who are supposedly good, we sometimes ask, “Why did this happen?” When we do, we tend to want one simple reason that covers the whole of the event, and every event like it. God’s blessing of Israel was not just a reward for their good behavior. It was meant to make the other nations jealous so that they would seek God, too. God’s cursing of Israel was not just a punishment for their bad behavior, it was also a warning to the other nations so they would seek God.
The same is true of God’s granting of salvation to the Gentiles. Yes, it was always God’s plan because He loves all people and wants all people to come to know and love Him. At the same time, He is also using the Church to make the Jews jealous, so they’ll come back to Him. There are other lessons that nations and individuals need to learn that add more reasons for events.
There’s a second idea mentioned in this passage: inclusion. God’s purpose is to include anyone and everyone who will receive Him. Recently, I read something that talked about the Church being the inclusive body that at least part of the world so desperately wants. No one is excluded based on race, sex, ability/disability, language, nationality, former religion, education, culture, age, or sin. The only thing that separates someone from this body is the person’s own choice to reject the gospel. Many people claim this is what they want, but they can’t make it work. A big reason for this is because they exclude God. They replace Him with government, or with feelings, or with something else and when it doesn’t work, they blame God and those who follow Him. Instead of listening to their own message, they try to force their laws down everyone’s throats. They imitate and parody diversity and pat themselves on the back for it while demanding uniformity.
This leads me to a tangent. Some people complain that one of the problems with Christianity is that there are too many denominations, too many divisions. If the Church is truly of God, they maintain, there should be only one, with one set of rules that everyone follows. While some of the divisions between one church and another may be serious doctrinal differences, some of them are cultural. Sometimes, the denominations are a function of diversity that God not only allows and accepts, but encourages.
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