Romans 11

Romans 9–11 forms a single section on the question of Israel's salvation, and this chapter concludes it. Having stated in Romans 10 that Israel heard the gospel yet did not obey, Paul now answers the question of whether God has therefore cast away His people. After this section, exhortations concerning the Christian life begin in Romans 12.

Structure

• Verses 1–6 Paul, noting that he himself is an Israelite, declares that God has not cast away His people. Just as in Elijah's day there were seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal, so now there is a remnant chosen by grace.
• Verses 7–10 The elect have obtained what Israel sought, and the rest were hardened. Paul explains this by quoting the Old Testament.
• Verses 11–16 Through Israel's fall, salvation has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke Israel to jealousy.
• Verses 17–24 Paul warns the Gentiles, branches of a wild olive tree grafted into the cultivated olive tree, not to boast but to fear.
• Verses 25–32 Paul reveals the "mystery" that a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and that afterward all Israel shall be saved.
• Verses 33–36 The chapter closes with a doxology praising the wisdom and knowledge of God.

Key Verses

• Romans 11:5 "There is a remnant according to the election of grace" — links the Old Testament concept of the remnant to grace.
• Romans 11:29 "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" — frequently cited as evidence that God's calling does not change.
• Romans 11:36 "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things" — brings the entire argument of chapters 9–11 to a close in praise.

People and Places

• Paul — identifies himself as a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, and as the apostle to the Gentiles.
• Elijah — the prophet who lamented that he alone was left. Paul cites the account in 1 Kings 19.
• Baal — a Canaanite god. The seven thousand are those who had not bowed the knee to Baal.
• David — named as the speaker when the Psalms are quoted in verses 9–10.
• Abraham — mentioned as the forefather of Israel.
• Zion — cited as the place from which the Deliverer comes (v. 26).

Points for Reflection

• Verses 8–10 are generally understood as quotations from Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and Psalm 69; verses 26–27 as drawing on Isaiah 59:20–21 and other passages; and verses 34–35 as quoting or echoing Isaiah 40 and Job.
• Interpretations of "all Israel" in verse 26 differ. One view holds that ethnic Israel will turn to God on a large scale in the last days, a view that also has support among Reformed scholars. Other views read the phrase, as John Calvin did, as the whole people of God, both Gentiles and Jews, or as the total number of elect Jews throughout history. Dispensationalism places great weight on this verse as evidence of a future for Israel distinct from the church.
• The warning in verses 20–22, "thou also shalt be cut off," is read in Arminianism and Wesleyan theology as evidence that salvation can be lost. In Calvinism, it is read either as a warning addressed to the community as a whole or as a means by which the perseverance of the saints is accomplished.