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Sermon #3277

Life From the Dead

A Sermon on Romans 11:13-15

Originally preached Dec. 11, 1964

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Scripture

Romans 11:13-15 ESV KJV
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance …

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Sermon Description

What is the future of the Jewish nation? According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in this sermon on Romans 11:13–15 titled “Life From the Dead,” one does not have to wonder since God prophesied through the apostle Paul that there will be a great day when Israel is saved. While they may have stumbled, this was only temporary in order that the gospel might go to all the nations of the Gentiles. God has promised that there will come a day when the dead come to life; that is, when the spiritually dead Israelites receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and believe in Him. All Christians ought to pray and seek the day when God moves and causes a great revival amongst the people of Israel. Furthermore, Paul warns Gentile Christians from becoming prideful and boastful towards the Jewish people, for both Jew and Gentile are justified by faith in Christ as a gift from God. How should this message change the way Christians live now? Christians ought to seek to evangelize the people of Israel because they know that there will be a day when God causes a great revival amongst them. The church ought to pray and eagerly await the day when God fulfills His promise and brings many national Israelites into the church of Jesus Christ.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The apostle Paul is speaking specifically to the Gentiles in this passage because he wants them to understand God's purposes for both Jews and Gentiles.
  2. Paul magnifies his office as the apostle to the Gentiles but still desires to save some of his fellow Jews.
  3. Even though most Jews have stumbled, some are still being saved which gives Paul joy. We should have the same attitude towards those in error.
  4. Paul repeats his argument from verse 12 to press home his point. Repetition is key to teaching.
  5. The two words "indeed, therefore" are missing from most translations but help provide contrast. The translation should be "For I speak to you Gentiles. Inasmuch therefore, as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I indeed magnify my office."
  6. Paul wants to warn the Gentiles against feeling superior to the Jews just because the Jews have stumbled.
  7. What is happening now is that some Jews are being saved which shows they have not stumbled in order to fall permanently.
  8. If the casting away of Jews has meant the reconciling of the Gentiles, the receiving of the Jews will be like "life from the dead."
  9. "Life from the dead" does not mean the resurrection of Jews or Gentiles. It is a hyperbolic statement meaning great blessing and joy.
  10. The receiving of the Jews will confirm our faith, prove the Bible is inspired, show God keeps promises, lift the church in ecstasy, and be like seeing a hopeless sinner converted.
  11. The gospel being true is proven when unlikely people are converted which gives great joy. The conversion of the Jews will be even greater.
  12. The coming of Christ, who the sermon is focused on, makes this certain. Our faith in Him enables us to look forward to this.

Sermon Q&A

MLJ Romans 11 Questions and Answers

What does Paul mean by "life from the dead" in Romans 11:15?

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the phrase "life from the dead" in Romans 11:15 is a hyperbolic statement expressing the overwhelming blessing that will come to the Gentile church when the Jews as a nation are converted. It does not refer to the literal resurrection but rather describes the tremendous spiritual impact their conversion will have. Lloyd-Jones explains: "If the casting away of them has meant the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be? Well, it'll be like life from the dead. It'll be so wonderful and so glorious that we can't compare it to anything, but almost like life from the dead itself." This is Paul's way of describing "this exceeding great blessing."

How does Lloyd-Jones refute the interpretation that "life from the dead" refers to the resurrection?

Lloyd-Jones refutes the interpretation that "life from the dead" refers to the literal resurrection on several grounds:

  1. The terminology is different: "The resurrection is never referred to in a single instance in that way. The Resurrection is always referred to as the resurrection from the dead, never life from the dead."

  2. Paul deliberately chose the word "life" rather than "resurrection": "If he meant Resurrection, he would have obviously said so, as he says in other places."

  3. It's incompatible with New Testament teaching about Christ's return: "The picture that is given in the Gospels of the second coming of our Lord is always that it is sudden, that it is unexpected."

  4. In New Testament teaching, "the resurrection always ushers in the end, the end of all things," leaving no opportunity for the great blessing indicated in the passage.

Why is Paul so concerned about the Gentiles' attitude toward the Jews in Romans 11?

Paul is deeply concerned about the Gentiles' attitude toward the Jews because he fears they might feel superior to the Jews and despise them. Lloyd-Jones explains: "The danger is to feel that the Jews are entirely cast out, that not only is the apostle no longer concerned about them, but that God isn't concerned about them, that they've been excluded from Blessing, and therefore that they Gentiles are superior to the Jews and can look down upon them and despise them."

He continues: "There was once a time when the Jews used to look upon the Gentiles as dogs, because they were outside the commonwealth of Israel. The danger now is that the Gentiles should do exactly the same thing with regard to the Jews." Paul wants Gentile believers to understand God's ultimate purpose includes both Jews and Gentiles.

What does Lloyd-Jones say will happen when the Jews as a nation are converted to Christianity?

Lloyd-Jones describes the future conversion of Jews as a nation as something that will bring tremendous spiritual blessing and confirmation to the church. When this happens:

  1. It will provide "a tremendous proof of the inspiration of the scriptures" that predicted this event
  2. It will confirm believers' faith who continued to believe God's promises despite appearances
  3. It will reveal God's faithfulness to His promises
  4. It will lift "the church obviously...into a state of ecstasy and of glory and of wonder and of amazement"

Lloyd-Jones compares it to the joy experienced when seeing the conversion of someone who seemed beyond hope, but on a much larger scale: "when this happens to these people of all others, and they come in as a nation, it'll be nothing short of life from the dead, as it were. The impossible has happened."

What warning does Lloyd-Jones give about writing people off as beyond redemption?

Lloyd-Jones warns believers never to write people off as being beyond redemption. He states: "The general warning to us, therefore, at this point is this, that we must be very careful that we ever write people off, as it were, as being beyond redemption. We must never do that." While we should denounce unbelief and error, we must never write off individuals as unable to be saved.

He adds: "It's the old question once more, of drawing this valuable and careful and essential distinction between contending for the truth and not damning individuals who are guilty of error or of apostasy. We must always draw a distinction between the sinner and his sin. We have a view of sin, but that doesn't mean that we damn and condemn the sinner."

The Book of Romans

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.