To understand what Paul is trying to tell us in Romans 11, we need to be able to follow his flow of thought through the entire chapter. Remember, what Paul writes here, he wrote to Jew and Gentile Christians in the church of Rome in the first century. He wrote to them, but he also wrote for us. Even though there are no direct parallels to the Jew and Gentile Christian problem in the Roman church, there are things that we can learn today about how God has worked to bring his predetermined plan of salvation to pass and how God works in ways that don’t always make sense to us. The question then is: What do you do with a God you cannot fully understand? But, before we can answer that question, we’ve got to answer the questions the apostle Paul addresses in this chapter. Here’s what I see as his flow of thought…

1. Has God rejected his people? No, by his grace, a believing remnant of Jews continues to experience his blessings because of their faith in Jesus. Those who did not believe were hardened (11:1-10).

2. So, as a nation, is Israel’s failure final? No, even though it might seem like God has given up on Israel, he hasn’t. God is using Israel’s current unbelief to extend his plan and promise of salvation to the whole world (11:11-24).

3. What God has done and is doing for Israel is a “mystery,” but what is clear is that in the future God’s favor and blessing will once again rest on Israel as a nation (11:25-32).

4. When we see the mystery of how God has worked to save all people through faith in Messiah Jesus, our theology will become doxology (11:33-36). We need to get comfortable with the fact that some of God’s ways of working can’t be forced into the dimensions of our ways of thinking.

What do you do with a God you cannot fully understand? You _______________him and __________________ him and you _______________ that his judgments are true and his ways are always right for you.