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Friday, January 21, 2011

All Israel shall be saved...Romans 11:26

"and so all Israel shall be saved; just as it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob."--Romans 11:26.  Romans.  A letter written to the church in Rome.  If my understanding is correct, this letter was written to the church in Rome around the time Nero was emperor.  Nero is known to have been one of the biggest Roman persecutors of the church at the time.  Paul makes the statement that all Israel shall be saved.  This does not mean literally all Israel.  Earlier in this chapter Paul makes reference to the fact that some "branches were broken off" so that others would be grafted in.  Those "broken branches" fell because of disobedience to God.  Those grafted in makes reference to the Gentiles.  The Bible also speaks elsewhere that those who are in Christ are also the seed of Abraham, they are Israel and share in the inheritance of Abraham.  So all Israel shall be saved. If we are in Christ, we are Israel, and a deliverer will come and all ungodliness will be removed from Jacob. Paul is quoting from Isaiah 59:20.  

All ungodliness will be removed from Jacob.  Jacob's name was changed to Israel.  Ungodliness will be removed.  As Christians, our ungodliness was removed by the blood of Christ.  The removal of this ungodliness required obedience on our part.  An obedience which began by obeying the commands to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to repent of our sins, being baptized into Christ per Acts 2:38 and Romans 6.  Remember how Paul made reference to the fact that those who came before were removed because of their disobedience. The Israelites of old were chosen by God but because of their disobedience many of them lost their inheritance.  In the time of Moses, almost an entire generation died without ever seeing the Promised Land.  Why? It was a lack of faith which results in a lack of obedience.  Obedience needs to come from faith. Whether it's obedience to the gospel with belief, repentance and baptism into Christ or obedience to God after we have become Christians.

As a fallen people, ungodliness is in our nature.  But remember the words of Isaiah, a deliver will come from Zion and all ungodliness will be removed from Israel.  As Christians we are called to live contrary to the ungodly or sinful nature.  This involves a choice. A choice to obey God and remove anything from our lives that is causing us to act in an ungodly manner.  A deliverer will come from Zion and all ungodliness will be removed from Israel. If we fail to obey God in this life, ungodliness will still be removed but it will be removed from Israel altogether. Israel, God's chosen people, will be delivered and go on to their inheritance in heaven but the ungodly will receive what is due them.  I don't really like closing this on a somber note, but we need to examine ourselves.  Is there ungodliness in our lives that is removing us from being in fellowship with God and His chosen people?  Receiving our Promised Land in heaven is contingent upon our obedience to God from faith in Him.  If you are a Christian, I encourage you to take some time to examine yourself and remove anything that might be causing you to act in an ungodly manner.  If you are reading this and are unsure altogether of your eternal salvation, I encourage you to click the link to the side "Are You Sure of Your Eternal Salvation?" which contains a series of studies.  Let us remember that ALL Israel will be saved. Let us remember that a deliverer will come and that He, Jesus Christ has come and He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.  DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL GOD BLESS!      

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