The Church in Rome was expanding rapidly and boasted a remarkably diverse congregation, made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers. Thus, Paul felt a natural inclination to visit them, similar to his previous visits to other largely Gentile communities. However, even though Paul’s ministry was primarily directed at the Gentiles, he began to observe a complacency emerging within the Gentile group that had only previously been noted among Jewish believers. As a result of the apostles’ criticisms aimed at the Jewish believers and their adherence to the traditional customs, the Gentiles started to believe that with the Jews having lost their salvation, they were now in a closer relationship with God than the Jews.
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:12-13 (NIV)
Paul clarified the current situation faced by the Jewish believers and corrected his audience, explaining that the same grace extended to the Gentiles is still available to the faithful of old if they choose to accept the Good News. There is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, rich and poor—everyone is invited to share in the same salvation. Jesus died for the sins of the entire world, not just for a select few, so that the divide between the Creator and His creation could be bridged for all who call on His name.
A Life That Reflects Christ
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:15 (NIV)
Today, more emphasis is placed on reaching the unreached in remote villages, collecting funds to plant churches, and sending missionaries to distant locations. We often overlook that our behavior in our current communities is also a reflection of the light of Christ to the world. Living like Christ allows His light to shine through us, rather than leading separate lives—one social that we live on the weekdays and one righteous life that we portray on Sundays.
In church, we may act pious and mission-oriented, but in society, we often behave like everyone else, seeking justice against those who wrong us. We are careful that no one should take advantage of us, and we must not be left behind in our careers and the ways of the world. We do everything that Christ warned us against, but by paying someone else to preach the word, we might think we’ve fulfilled our role. More than preaching, we are called to embody the word. Our lives should serve as an example through which others can come to know who God is. Our testimony is conveyed not just in our words but also in how we live it out in front of others.
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
“Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Romans 10:16-18 (NIV)
Why, even after hearing the good news, do many still fail to understand the message of the gospel?
Some people think that today’s distractions keep us from spending time with God. However, we should remember that the problem of misunderstanding (or even misrepresenting) the word of God has been present since Paul’s time, even during Isaiah’s time, and it is still prevalent today. People are often preoccupied with their own thoughts and the understanding they formed since childhood, unwilling to remain open to the new teachings of God. They become satisfied with what they already know and have no desire to go deeper, because going deeper would be tough to accept. They convince themselves that nothing more is needed to know God, as though they have already unravelled the mystery of who He is. In doing so, they shape God according to their own convenience, and anything beyond that comfortable picture threatens to shatter the belief they have built.
We are Not Alone
The prophet Elijah experienced even greater opposition than Paul or Isaiah. While fleeing from the queen who wanted him dead, he found himself without any support. In his anguish, he turned to God, asking why he was there was no one else that wanted to walk on the path of righteousness. God answered him on the mount, revealing that he was not alone, for there was a remnant of faithful followers of which Elijah was unaware.
God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”
Romans 11:2-3 (NIV)
Why do we so often feel as though we are the only ones doing the will of God?
Many people around us appear not to follow God’s wishes, and when we believe our actions align with His will, we often see ourselves as righteous. The Pharisees judged the disciples as being in error, while the disciples countered that the Pharisees were mistaken, yet both had been chosen by God. Both were granted salvation through grace, but we tend to overlook this truth the moment we start to judge others.
We cannot see the heart, and the heart that is tuned to listen to God will only lean toward righteousness. Yet we are often more concerned with the spreading of lies than with the absence of truth among our own circle. We take on the role of changing people’s hearts and attitudes, forgetting that God alone is the one who can change hearts.
I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
Romans 11:4-6 (NIV)
When Elijah thought he was all alone standing for God, God met him on the mountain and reminded him that he stood there only because of God’s grace. God had called others like him, marked by that same grace, even when Elijah felt overburdened and surrounded. We are not always living among people of similar faith, and satan uses those who abuse the gospel to show us the hopelessness of what we are doing, hoping we will give up and join with the majority. But if we hold on to God, in our lowest moments He reveals the remnant He has kept, the one we were not even aware of, just as He did for Elijah. When we see people of a similar mindset working for God without recognition or credit, like Elijah we are encouraged and continue what we have been called to do.
Forgetting Our Own Grafting
Paul does not want the Gentile believers to look down on or reject the Jews because of their unbelief. He explains that Israel’s stumbling is not permanent, and God used their rejection of Christ to bring salvation to the Gentiles. The Gentiles are like wild branches grafted into God’s olive tree and should remain humble, remembering that they are supported by the same promises God gave to Israel. Paul hopes that the Gentiles will be now a source for the Jews to return to God.
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root
Romans 11:17 (NIV)
Why do we forget our own journey through grace every time we deem someone unredeemable?
We feel as though God loves us the most, and we fail to understand His will at work in other lives. We replace grace with a sense of achievement, believing that our obedience or our devotion is what brought us this far in our journey. We can see both the good and the bad in ourselves, but when we struggle to do good, we extend grace to ourselves, while withholding that same grace from others when we see them fail. If a church needs renovation, people give toward it wholeheartedly because it is their church, but if another church needs repairs, people grow hesitant. In the same way, our prayers are often reserved only for those with whom we expect some benefit in return.
After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! Romans 11:24 (NIV)
We were the wild branch grafted into a tree that was never naturally ours, saved only by a mercy we did not earn. If God was willing to graft in a branch that did not belong, how much more readily will He graft back in the branches that were always His own. The mercy we received through their disobedience is the very same mercy now waiting to be extended to them. We have no ground to stand on except grace, and the moment we forget that, we forget the very root that holds us.
Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. Romans 11:30-31 (NIV)
The Jordan Valley 
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