Beth-El Baptist Church
06/10/2007
Greg Tomlinson
What does Paul mean by “all
Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26)?
There is much controversy about whom “Israel” is that will be saved in the book of Romans. Some view it as the nation of Israel and others view it as a description of all believers, both Jew and Gentile. The important thing to do is to look at the scriptures in order to gather the answer.
1. Who is the nation of Israel?
Genesis 32:24-29; 35:9-12
Exodus 1:1-11; 19:5-6; 34:27-28
Joshua 1:11
2 Samuel 7:23-24
1 Chronicles 17:20-22
Psalm 135:4
Isaiah 41:8-10
The nation of Israel is comprised of the physical descendants from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God chose each of these Patriarchs to be a special people unto himself. They went into Egypt and were enslaved by Pharaoh, King of Egypt. God brought the descendants of Israel out of Egypt and made them a special covenanted people by giving them the Law from Mount Sinai.
2. Who would Israel be if not the nation of Israel?
Romans 4:10-17; 9:8
Galatians 3:29
Ephesians 2:11-14
Hebrews 8:6-13; 9:15-18
1 Peter 2:7-10
Israel was the covenanted nation but with the death of Jesus who is God in flesh, the covenant was terminated. God, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, covenanted a new people to himself, which consisted of Jews and Gentiles. Since the people of Israel are God’s promised and special people who are now a special people by the promised covenant of a renewed heart, Israel would thus consist of all people who come to God by faith in Jesus Christ. From a Biblical stand point, the difficulty lies in the fact that believers as a whole may be called the people of God, as was Israel, but they are never specifically called Israel.
3. Why would people believe that Paul is not talking about the nation of Israel?
Romans 9:6 (See larger context 9:1-8), 30-33; 10:21
Matthew 8:10-12
John 3:36
Luke 24:21-27
Isaiah 66:1-3
Hebrews 7:5-12;
Acts 5:31
Since God terminated the covenant with the nation of Israel and created a new covenant of the heart and not of the letter, the Israel that is saved must be made of those who are children of faith and not of physical heritage.
4. Why would people believe that Paul is talking about the nation of Israel?
Romans 9:27-29; 10:1-6, 17-21; 11:1-7, 19-32
Acts 2:36; 4:26-28
Paul makes several direct references to Israel in chapters 9-11. The references he makes concerning Israel are in direct contrast to gentiles. Given the usage of “Israel” throughout the book of Romans and throughout the NT as a whole, clearly Paul must be looking at Israel as a global people.
Given the context and the use of Israel in the New Testament scriptures, the “all Israel must be saved” must be a reference to the nation of Israel. This does not mean that Paul sees the return of the Hebrew sacrifices and the Levitical priesthood but it must be the conversion of a mass of Israelite people to recognize Jesus as Messiah, which is faith in Jesus Christ. While this may seem an impossibility based upon what we know about Israel as a nation, be sure of two things.
Acts 4:11 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”
Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible”