Bible Challenge Day 149: Christians, Jews, and Others (Romans 11)

I often get into conversations about salvation. Perhaps oddly, it is not a question I worry about. I assume that God will handle whatever happens after death. And, because God is good, I am confident that what happens after death will be good. The details are fuzzy in my mind, but that seems OK.

But salvation is a big part of the issue in the chapter for Roman for today. Paul is distressed that so many Jews are rejecting the gospel. He seems to want to say two things: Faith in Christ is how salvation works; and the Jews who are rejecting Jesus are not necessarily out of luck. He puts it clearly in verse 28-29: “As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your [Gentiles] sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Paul simply cannot believe that God will reject the Jews. He begins this chapter, “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!” (11:1) He speaks of their “full inclusion”, which will be life from the dead (11:12, 15). He says “all Israel will be saved” (11:26).

Having now made it through nearly half the Old Testament as part of the Bible Challenge, this all makes sense to me. Routinely the Israelites disobey God. And even if God punishes them, God forgives, and the covenant endures. Surely Jesus does not make things worse for his people! As Paul says, this time speaking about Jews and Gentiles alike, “God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that [God] may be merciful to all” (11:32).

What is actually most striking to me in all this, however, is a different point. For salvation, different ethnic and religious groups somehow depend on each other. Paul is interested in Jews and Gentiles. He says, in effect, that the rejection of the Jews opens the door to the salvation of Gentiles. The salvation of Gentiles will in turn inspire the Jews to greater covenant loyalty (11:11-24). Jews and Gentiles are saved together, even if the particular dynamics of salvation differ. That is a striking claim with important implications for Christian-Jewish dialogue!

I take it from all this that the covenant between God and the Jews remains intact, that Jesus has expanded the covenant to include Gentiles, and that we are all in this together. And I wonder if the same kind of expansion could not include other religious groups as well. Might it be the case that our salvation is somehow wrapped up with the salvation of, for example, Muslims, without requiring Muslims to convert to Christianity?

Fr. Harvey