Paul starts this section with a very interesting question. “Has God cast away His people”? His response is an emphatic “certainly not”. As we know today as in the first century there are many Jewish people who have converted to Christianity and we also know that many have not. As a part of his thesis in this section, Paul uses two Old Testament citations (Deuteronomy 29:4; Psalm 69:22-23) which he provides as biblical support in verses 7-10. Paul often in his letter to the Romans also cites scripture from earlier chapters of the Book of Romans. In this section it is no different and he continues to cite scripture from chapter 9 and 10 as a strong basis of his argument to live for Christ.

There are two parts to Paul’s arguments in this section. Part 1 describes the positive aspect of his argument suggesting that some in Israel will be saved. Especially those who have become Messianic Jews. Paul calls the Jewish community that has received and follow Jesus Christ the “Remnant” people. Paul describes the Jewish Christians in a positive way as ones who are leading to salvation. The second part of the argument includes those who do not receive Christ and unfortunately will not be saved. He describes the ones who reject Christ in a negative sense and calls them hardened or the process of hardening. Moses describes this hardening of the heart in the Exodus when the Pharaohs heart was hardened by his own doing and then finally by Gods doing.

It is God’s grace that we are saved for all who receive Jesus Christ. God gives us a clear path to heaven. This clear path is called the new covenant. The new covenant introduces Jesus Christ as the mediator to God. Only through Jesus will we find heaven and live for eternity with Him. This is all part of God’s plan from the beginning of time to separate the sheep from the goats. The question I have is are you a sheep or a goat? Which field will you be separated into? Time is short and time is now that we all have to decide what our eternal life will look like and where will we spend it. Remember sheep hear the masters voice (John 10:27) and they will follow Him. If you are not hearing the master’s voice calling you then maybe you are not dedicating enough time to hearing it or more to the point recognizing it when He calls you.

Fast forward today, there are so many people with hard hearts. The ones who do not follow Jesus Christ, the ones who believe they have more power than Christ Himself. The ones who reject God or recognize God but reject Christ. The mix of people and beliefs have not changed over time. These people hold various positions in our communities, in leadership as business owners, in politics and even your everyday workers. This is true no matter what part of the world you live in. We see Christianity increasing places you would never expect and conversely you see Christianity on the decline in places you would never expect to see decreasing.

These are very interesting times we are in. We have the opportunity to do the work that God has called us to do on a daily basis. We just need to decide what field you will live in. The choice is yours and yours alone. There is no one that can make that choice for you just as there is no one else that can save you. Salvation is a gift from God and His gift is free. The danger of being on the fence is that when (nobody knows) God sends His Son to call the church home, you may fall into the wrong field because of your lack of commitment to God.

My prayer is that we all make the choice to receive Christ and live for Him for the rest of our days. God has a path for everyone just as Paul’s teachings tells us. That path is through Jesus Christ. My prayer is that we all would relinquish our lives to Christ and live with Jesus, for Jesus until He meets us in the sky and calls His church home. In Jesus Mighty Name Amen! Amen!