Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



But it is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named." In other words, it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants.

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." read more.
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,

And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Verse ConceptsHeraldPower, HumanSpirit, Emotional Aspects OfProphecies Concerning ChristForerunnersDivine MessengerCausing People To TurnPeople Going BeforeAcquiring WisdomFathers And SonsPowerful Individualsparentingdisobedience

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Verse ConceptsAnswered Prayerdrought, physicalElijah, Prophecies OfRainMiracles Of ElijahPrayer, Offered WithAsking PermissionThree And A Half YearsLack Of RainLike People By NatureGod Answered PrayerMonthsPassion



God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? Verse ConceptsGod, All knowingForeknowledgeCastawaysGod's ForeknowledgeGod Not ForsakingIsrael HardenedScripture Says






God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? Verse ConceptsGod, All knowingForeknowledgeCastawaysGod's ForeknowledgeGod Not ForsakingIsrael HardenedScripture Says



says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago. Verse ConceptsGod Speaking Of OldGod's Things Revealed

The apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us; read more.
and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you test God by putting upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are."

When they disagreed among themselves, they began to leave, after Paul had made one final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: saying, 'Go to this people and say, "you will be ever hearing, but will never understand; and you will be ever seeing, but will never perceive. For this people's heart has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and their eyes they have closed; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them."' read more.
Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen."

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, has not attained that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, read more.
as it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, and a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! 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 pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." read more.
But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved 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. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should 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, have they stumbled so as to fall? Certainly not! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, 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 fullness mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse to jealousy the kinsmen of my flesh and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole lump is holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the rest to share the root of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "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 only by faith. So do not be proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Therefore consider the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and were grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As regards the gospel they are enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. For God has bound all men over to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.

Even so Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you will all the nations be blessed." read more.
So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them." Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith." But the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who does them shall live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for usfor it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.






God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? Verse ConceptsGod, All knowingForeknowledgeCastawaysGod's ForeknowledgeGod Not ForsakingIsrael HardenedScripture Says



says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago. Verse ConceptsGod Speaking Of OldGod's Things Revealed










And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved. Verse ConceptsRemnantSmall RemnantsGod Saves The NeedyMany In Israel

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I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! 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 pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." read more.
But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved 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.

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, has not attained that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, read more.
as it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, and a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,


I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! 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 pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." read more.
But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved 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. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should 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, have they stumbled so as to fall? Certainly not! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous.

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! 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 pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." read more.
But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved 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. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should 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, have they stumbled so as to fall? Certainly not! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, 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 fullness mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse to jealousy the kinsmen of my flesh and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole lump is holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the rest to share the root of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "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 only by faith. So do not be proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Therefore consider the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and were grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As regards the gospel they are enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. For God has bound all men over to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.




It is for discipline that you endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had fathers of our flesh to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? read more.
For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. read more.
When you read this, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs and members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! 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 pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." read more.
But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved 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. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should 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, have they stumbled so as to fall? Certainly not! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, 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 fullness mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse to jealousy the kinsmen of my flesh and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole lump is holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the rest to share the root of the olive tree,

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? read more.
Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider Israel after the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?

For this reason also, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will live a life worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, read more.
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be spoken against. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but they must serve them all the better, because those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these duties.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. read more.
By these he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and become partakers of the divine nature.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, read more.
to the praise of his glorious grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of the times, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. In him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will,

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.


I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! 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 pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." read more.
But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."






God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? Verse ConceptsGod, All knowingForeknowledgeCastawaysGod's ForeknowledgeGod Not ForsakingIsrael HardenedScripture Says



says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago. Verse ConceptsGod Speaking Of OldGod's Things Revealed

The apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us; read more.
and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you test God by putting upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are."

When they disagreed among themselves, they began to leave, after Paul had made one final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: saying, 'Go to this people and say, "you will be ever hearing, but will never understand; and you will be ever seeing, but will never perceive. For this people's heart has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and their eyes they have closed; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them."' read more.
Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen."

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, has not attained that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, read more.
as it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, and a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! 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 pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." read more.
But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved 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. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should 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, have they stumbled so as to fall? Certainly not! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, 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 fullness mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse to jealousy the kinsmen of my flesh and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole lump is holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the rest to share the root of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "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 only by faith. So do not be proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Therefore consider the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and were grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As regards the gospel they are enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. For God has bound all men over to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.

Even so Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you will all the nations be blessed." read more.
So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them." Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith." But the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who does them shall live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for usfor it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! 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 pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." read more.
But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved 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. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should 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, have they stumbled so as to fall? Certainly not! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, 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 fullness mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse to jealousy the kinsmen of my flesh and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole lump is holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the rest to share the root of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "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 only by faith. So do not be proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Therefore consider the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and were grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As regards the gospel they are enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. For God has bound all men over to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.




Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them.


I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! 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 pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." read more.
But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved 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. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should 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, have they stumbled so as to fall? Certainly not! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous.