October 21, 2024
By Grace Alone
By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.
Read Romans 11:1-32.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Bible speaks of the faithful remnant within ethnic Israel. It was always faith in God, not simply being Jewish, that ultimately saved anyone. Claiming that all Jewish people had faith in God would be like asserting that all churchgoers today are born-again. Of course, salvation is not dependent on either our ethnicity or church attendance. Our relationship with God is a matter of the heart.
When the Jews hardened their hearts and rejected the Messiah, what did God do? He used their rejection to bring the Gentiles to salvation and to make His people envious, that they might come to their Messiah (see v. 11). God used Israel’s rejection of Jesus as a means of grace—not only for their good but for the good of the Gentiles.
You see, our indescribable God is the God of all grace. Both Jew and Gentile alike can only be saved by His mercy through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is based only on the merits of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross. Therefore, not one of us has any room to boast, brag, or feel superior to another. We are all sinners who deserve hell apart from Christ.
The ground is level at the foot of the cross. This is the Gospel. This is the Christian faith. The door is wide open to everyone who will repent, regardless of who they are or what their background may be. No sinner is beyond Christ’s ability to redeem. That is indeed Good News.
Prayer: God, we are all creatures deserving of wrath, and yet You show mercy—even new mercy every morning. Thank You for Your grace. Thank You for making me Your child. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all” (Romans 11:32).
Learn more in Dr. Michael Youssef’s sermon From Valley to Victory, Part 14: LISTEN NOW | WATCH NOW
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