Bible ReadingRomans 11:1-24 “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’ But what is God's reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.’ And David says, ‘Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.’ So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.”
[25:53]Romans 10:9-12 “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.”
[30:21]1 Kings 19:10, 18 “He said, ‘I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.’ Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
[26:31]Observation questions- In Romans 11, what reasons does Paul give for saying that God has not rejected God’s people?
- What does Paul say about the remnant, and what contrast does he make between grace and works? [38:10]
- In the olive tree picture, what warning is given to the grafted-in branches, and what are they told to remember about the root? [27:16]
- In Elijah’s story, what does Elijah think is true about himself, and what does God reveal that Elijah could not see? [32:21]
Interpretation questions- Paul says, “if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works.” Why does that matter so much for how a person understands belonging to God? [38:10]
- Romans 10 ties salvation to believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth. How does that help explain why outward obedience by itself is not enough? [29:52]
- The olive tree image holds together both the kindness and the severity of God. How can those two truths belong together without turning faith into either pride or panic? [27:52]
- Elijah could only see failure, but God could still see a remnant kept by grace. What does that suggest about how God’s faithfulness works when a community looks spiritually disappointing from the outside? [32:42]
Application questions- Where is the pressure to earn God’s love or prove worthiness showing up right now—in church life, family life, or inside a person’s own heart? What might it look like to live as though grace is really grace and not compensation? [40:26]
- The church is a group project. How has one person’s faithfulness strengthened the group, and how has one person’s withdrawal or pride made things harder? What kind of presence does each person want to bring to the body right now? [37:31]
- “The root supports the branches.” Where might spiritual arrogance quietly show up—in the form of looking down on other Christians, assuming superiority, or forgetting the story that carries us? [27:16]
- God’s grace does not wait for perfect response in order to be real. What helps a person “sit in the chair” and trust that grace can actually hold their weight? What makes that hard? [40:42]
- If no one can choose their way out of being loved by God, how could that change the way a person deals with failure, shame, or repeated struggle this week? [41:34]
- Freedom from perfection makes joyful obedience possible. What is one area where fear of messing up has made faith feel heavy, and what might joyful obedience look like there instead? [42:01]
- There will never be a last time that God chooses his people. Where does someone in the group most need to hear that today, and how could that truth change the next faithful step they take? [44:13]
