Rightly fearing God

Context: After explaining what the Bible means by predestination in general (Ro 9) and for the nation of Israel in particular (Ro 10), Ro 11 now addresses God’s purpose of it. In particular, it shows how God used even Israel’s unbelief for good, namely by revealing to the nations that salvation is by grace, thereby inspiring a right fear of God (v20) and eventually leading also the Israelites to the same faith (v31).

Warm-up: In arts, literature or cinema, what is your favorite illustration of the concept of grace and its power to change people?

Read: Romans 11

1) vv1-5: What prompted Paul’s question in v1, and what answer did he infer from Scripture?

Where did Paul recognize himself in the story of Elijah?
- Do you think he identified with the 7000 or rather with Elijah? Why?
v5: After Paul explained what scriptures mean by election (Ro 9-10), why did he now stress that election is by grace? Hint: What if it were not by grace?

2) vv6-10 contrast grace with works (v6). What did the Israelites seek by means of works?

If the promised salvation can never be obtained based on our own efforts, how can anyone be saved at all?
How did Paul explain why their zealous effort was not rewarded with God’s grace? v6
vv8-10: How do the quotes from Deu 29:4, Isa 29:10 and Ps 69:22-23 explain what hardening means?
- Any of these scriptures could have said instead that people hardened their hearts themselves. Why don’t they? vv20-21

3) What do vv11-22 explain about God’s purpose of hardening any Israelites and what we are supposed to learn from it?

What ‘trespass’ or ‘stumbling’ are vv11-12 talking about? cf Ro 10:16, 21
- How did such ‘failure’ affect world history?
Read again v15: What is the ‘reconciliation of the world’? [Not world peace, Lk 12:51, but reconciliation with God by faith, Ro 5:10]
- Why would no one believe in salvation by grace if history had not demonstrated that the law can save none?
- What will the ‘acceptance’ of Israel be, and what can we expect to happen at that point? A golden age on earth, even though people still die? Why not? cf 1Cor 15:50-52
v16-20: What is the ‘nourishing root of the olive tree’ (v17), and what is ‘arrogance against its branches’ (v18)? v20
vv21-22: By contrast, what does it mean to ‘continue in God’s kindness’?

4) vv23-32: What must happen so that Israel as a nation can be grafted back into its own ‘olive tree’? vv22+25; cf Lk21:24

vv28-30: How then did God in his mercy turn even the disobedience of Israel into a blessing?
v31: How will God’s mercy with the nations eventually also help Israel to find such mercy?

**5) vv32-36: How did Paul arrive here at the conclusion that especially God’s judgements are unsearchable? Hint: What has it to do with the context?**

v32: Why do we find it confusing to hear that God ‘consigned all to disobedience’?
- Why do we react: “This cannot be possible!”?
- Why can man not comprehend how a perfectly just God can do such a thing? v34
At the end of three chapters on election and predestination, how could Paul praise and worship God?
- How does that compare to what this doctrine does to you?

6) Personal and application

Why do you think Paul devoted 3 entire chapters (Ro 9 to 11) to God’s plan and purpose of predestination before moving to the practical applications in Ro 12?
- Why do you think you can or cannot afford to remain ignorant about this part of evangelical doctrine? =>
What does it mean to you to fear God (v20)?
- Should our fear of God include the doctrine of predestination? How so?
- In your personal experience, does the doctrine of predestination promote spiritual pride, or is it its antidote? Why?
  - Hint: How did residual pride manifest in those to whom Paul wrote this letter (vv17-20)
If we are proud, how can we find out and be cured of it?