I'm so glad that human unbelief cannot thwart God's sovereign purpose! God overrules human sin and weaves it into His sovereign plan to glorify Himself through the gospel. The cross is the greatest example: Evil men crucified the sinless Son of God, and yet they inadvertently fulfilled God's predestined purpose. Paul's subject in Romans 11 is how God used the unbelief of the Jews to take the gospel to the Gentiles, which in turn eventually will lead to the salvation of the Jews. Paul preached the gospel to the Jews first in his missionary work. If they rejected the message, then he would turn to the Gentiles. So in this sense, the Jews' transgression resulted in salvation for the Gentiles. Jesus predicted the same thing in the Parable of the Tenants. Jesus concluded it by saying, "Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits." (Matt. 21:43) While we can never excuse or justify sin by saying that good will come out of it, at the same time we can take comfort in the fact that human unbelief and sin can never thwart God's sovereign purposes. Where sin abounds, God's grace abounds even more! He works all things, including the sins of people, together for good for those whom He has called to salvation (Rom. 8:28). In light of God's certain fulfillment of His purpose, we can now labor in the Great Commission with great enthusiasm and hope!
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David Bodanza is the pastor of Mission of Grace Church in Westborough, Massachusetts. He is also a practicing lawyer. He holds an M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a J.D. from New England School of Law. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, four...
