26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."
27 "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."
28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,
31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.
32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
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V. 25 - “I do not want you... to be uninformed of this mystery” - What mystery? There are a couple of answers that fit. First, that salvation is by God’s grace and mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. Second, the Gentiles were added to the family tree of God, even as some Jews were being lopped off because of their rebellion.
The mystery is revealed in the last half of this verse - “a partial hardening has happened to Israel...” Because Israel hardened themselves to the message of salvation from God, the way was opened up for us, the Gentiles. Not all of Israel rejected Jesus. Does this mean if the Jews had not rejected Jesus as Messiah, the Gentiles would have been ‘shut out”? No. The Gospel came to the Gentiles in spite of the Jews, rather than directly through them. The promise is the whole world would be blessed - that is, both Jews AND Gentiles.
“so that you will not be wise in your own estimation” - Don’t think that you are better than others - any others - because salvation has come to you.
V. 26-27 - “so all Israel will be saved” - The salvation of the Gentiles through faith - which has come to them because of the recalcitrance of Israel - will also come to the Jews. This does not mean after all of the Gentiles are saved, then all of the Israelites will be saved. In verse 25, above, we see the phrase “until the fullness”, which is also used in Gal. 4:4. The idea is that when God determined the time was right, He sent His Son to save the world. Jesus came to the Jews, being a descendant of David, and now the time is right for the Gentiles to be offered salvation directly. Before Christ came, the salvation path appeared to be through the Jewish faith and practices. Now it is offered to all. Paul is a evangelist called to preach to the Gentiles. (See: Acts 9:15-16, et. al.)
I am not sure that “all Israel” means that every Israelite will be saved. In several places in the NT, it is noted that salvation is offered to all, but only many will actually be saved - a remnant, so to speak. All Israel has the gospel message. The offer of salvation is made clearly to all Jews. All could accept Christ and be saved. In reality, most will not; neither will most Gentiles
The quotation is from Isa. 59:20-21; 29:7. God has promised holiness to His people. He has promised to take away their sins, take away their guilt, take away their shame. All of this is through Jesus Christ our Lord.
V. 28 - “from the standpoint of the gospel” - It all depends how you want to look at it... Because they rebelled against God - in essence became enemies of God - the gospel has come directly to you.
“From the standpoint of God’s choice” - However, God chose Abraham and his descendants for the promise. Their rebellion notwithstanding, God did not, nor does not rescind His promise. (See: Num. 23:19; Deut. 7:5; Josh. 23:14; 2 Sam. 7:25; Acts 7:17; Gal. 3:17, 18)
V. 29 - “for the gifts and the calling” - There is no substantive difference between “gifts” and “calling”. Both are given by the Lord to us, not because we have earned them, but by His grace. Once given, they are not recalled by God. We did not choose God to bless us. (Deut. 30:19; Josh. 24:15) We can choose to accept and give thanks for His gift. (Psa. 65:4; Isa 14:1; John 15:16; Jam. 2:5) God does not withdraw His offer to us, because we reject it. He waits patiently for us to repent and turn to Him.
V. 30 - “you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy” - (See: Col. 1:21-22; Eph. 2:3-4, 12) “But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us... For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son” (Rom. 5:8, 10)
V. 31 - “they also may now be shown mercy.” - Not that Jews were not previously shown mercy. Paul’s hopes the Jews will see Gentiles are receiving mercy and eternal life, and want the same for themselves. The mercy and grace is already there, but is not efficacious because the Jews are stubborn. God does not force us to be blessed.
V. 32 - “God has shut up all in disobedience” - No one can say, “I am not, nor have been, disobedient!” All of us, everyone, fall far short of the glory of God (See: Rom. 3:23). God is sinless perfection, holy and righteous. We most definitely are not. It is a gap we cannot span, cannot cross.
“so that He may show mercy to all.” - Logically, if all are failures then all need mercy. If there was some way for us to earn our way into God’s presence, then there would be some who would do it. Others would not. How would you know if your efforts were sufficient? There is no way to know, until it is too late. When standing in front of God our Father in the final judgement, some would claim, “It’s not fair! I tried really hard! They got lucky breaks I didn’t get! If I had known, I would have tried harder.” There are as many excuses as there are people.
All need God’s mercy and grace - no exceptions. No one can claim they deserve salvation because of their own efforts. Everyone is dead in sin. God’s mercy is offered freely to all - no exceptions. Everyone has the same “lucky break” - Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior has paid the price.
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