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Romans 11:28 – Not Your Enemies

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Will

With regard to the gospel they are enemies, but with regard to the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.

Truth to Learn

The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are God’s beloved people whom He will rescue one day.

Behind the Words

The word translated, “concerning” is the Greek word kata, which primarily means “down.” However, this word has many nuances that imply position or relation. As it is used in this sentence it expresses “the relation in which one thing stands towards another.” So, we could translate it as “with respect to” or “as it relates to.”

“Enemies” is translated from the Greek word, echthros, which is based on the verb echthō, meaning “to hate.” Thus, echthros means “one who is hateful or odious, an enemy.” In this verse it refers to those who are odious in the sight of God. God is not saying that the Jews are His enemies, but that they are enemies of the gospel message.

The word translated “election” is eklogen, based on the verb eklegō, which is made up of ek, meaning “out” or “out of” and legō, meaning “to choose.” Thus, eklogen refers to the act of choosing or the selecting a select few out of a larger collection.

“Beloved” is from the Greek word agapētos, which is based on the verb agapaō, meaning “to love in a social or moral sense.” It means to be ultimately concerned for the welfare of the one who is loved. Agapētos refers to the one who is loved.

Meaning Explained

Paul has been explaining that it was the rejection of the Messiah by the Jews that occasioned the gospel (good news) to be proclaimed to the Gentiles. Remember, also, that Paul is talking in generalities about groups of people, not specific individuals. He starts off the current verse with, “With regard to the gospel, they are enemies.” He is not saying that the Jews are the enemies of Christians. He is saying that the Jews are enemies of the gospel message; they are hateful of the message regarding Jesus being the Messiah and that salvation and the righteousness of God is obtained by believing that Jesus died to pay for the sins of all mankind.

But, Paul goes on to say, with respect to God’s selecting who are righteous and who aren’t, they are beloved because of God’s covenant with the patriarchs. This may be a reference to a passage in Deuteronomy which says,

The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 10:15)

The point is that God choose the Israelites as His special people and though they rejected their Messiah, God will one day turn back to them and restore their position of blessedness because of the covenant (the one sided contract) that He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Application

We should not hate the Jewish people even though they are hateful of the gospel message. Instead, we should recognize that they, as a nation, are loved by God. Sometime in the future He will remove Christians from the earth and once again bless the Jewish people when their Messiah comes as their conquering king.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 11:28 – Not Your Enemies

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Will

Romans 11:28 – Not Your Enemies

Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.

Truth to Learn

The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are God’s beloved people whom He will rescue one day.

Behind the Words

Meaning Explained

The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Romans 5:10 – Living Salvation

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Will

Romans 5:10

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Truth to Learn

Our debt was paid by Jesus’ death, but it is his resurrection to life that secures our salvation.

Behind the Words

“Enemies” is from echthros, which means “hatred, enmity, hostility, or antagonistism.” In Greek, this word is expressed in the nominative, plural. Therefore, a literal translation is “hated ones” or “enemies.”

The word translated “reconciled” is the Greek word katallassō, which is made up of kata, used as an intensifier and allasso, meaning “to change the form or nature of something.” In the New Testament this word is used to indicate the change that God makes in man through conversion so that he may be reconciled to the holy God.

The words “much more” are pollō mallon in the Greek. Mallon is a comparative indicating “more in quality or quantity” and pollō means “much in quantity or amount.” The word pollō has its own comparative form, indicating more of one thing than another. The fact that both words are used together indicates an emphasis in the comparison, that is, “a whole lot more!”

Meaning Explained

This verse represents one of the pinnacles of great theological truth found in the book of Romans. In the previous verse we learned that we were justified by the shedding of His (God the Son’s) blood and, as a result, we will be saved from His (God, the Father’s) wrath at the judgment. Now we see that it was through the death of Jesus Christ that this reconciliation took place. And now that we have been reconciled, of even greater importance is the fact that we shall be saved (from the wrath to come) by His life.

There is a subtle statement here that we don’t want to read past without recognizing. Yes, we will be saved from the wrath of God (from the Great White Throne Judgment and the lake of fire) which we discussed in the previous verse, and this is a particular point that Paul wants us to understand. The previous verse said that we will be saved from the wrath through Him. However, this verse amplifies that statement by saying that we will be saved through “His life.” Do you see that? It is the blood that satisfies God’s justice but it is Jesus’ resurrected life, the fact that he lives to intercede for us, that guarantees we will be saved and live eternally. That is the essence of the gospel which we must believe to be saved; Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and He was raised from the dead (given life) that we might be saved from the Wrath of God. His eternal life is the guarantee that we, too, will be given eternal life. We must believe both in the death and the resurrection, for according to Paul, it is this resurrection and the life that He now possesses by which we will be saved.

Jesus gave His life to pay the penalty of our sins, and God the Father gave that life back to Him so that we might be saved from the wrath of our sins, if we believe in it.

Application

Do you believe it? If so, you will be saved from the wrath that you deserve. However, if you don’t believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you will suffer the wrath that God says we so justly deserve.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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