Romans 11

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¹I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ✦ ²God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel: ✦ ³“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”? ✦ ⁴And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ✦ ⁵In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. ✦ ⁶And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. ✦ ⁷What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, ✦ ⁸as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.” ✦ ⁹And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution to them. ✦ ¹⁰May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.” ✦ ¹¹I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. ✦ ¹²But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! ✦ ¹³I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ✦ ¹⁴in the hope that I may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them. ✦ ¹⁵For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ✦ ¹⁶If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches. ✦ ¹⁷Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, ✦ ¹⁸do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. ✦ ¹⁹You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ✦ ²⁰That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. ✦ ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will certainly not spare you either. ✦ ²²Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. ✦ ²³And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ✦ ²⁴For if you were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into one that is cultivated, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! ✦ ²⁵I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. ✦ ²⁶And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob. ✦ ²⁷And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.” ✦ ²⁸Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. ✦ ²⁹For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. ✦ ³⁰Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their disobedience, ✦ ³¹so they too have now disobeyed, in order that they too may now receive mercy through the mercy shown to you. ✦ ³²For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone. ✦ ³³O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways! ✦ ³⁴“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” ✦ ³⁵“Who has first given to God, that God should repay him?” ✦ ³⁶For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. ✦

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In this chapter

Concept Wisdom

Where this chapter connects

Rom 11 ·32 Rom 9 ·13 Eph 3 ·10 Eph 2 ·7 Rom 3 ·7 Acts 13 ·6 1 Cor 10 ·5 Jude 1 ·5

Christ at the center

Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.

How Romans 11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
VideoMike Winger — BibleThinkerMike Winger · Free · reformed
Free verse-by-verse studies through whole books plus careful apologetics — "learn to think biblically about everything." (Reformed-leaning, non-denominational.)

Pastoral

★ Start hereSermonMLJ Trust — Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermonsMartyn Lloyd-Jones · Free · reformed
1,600+ free sermons from "the Doctor," including landmark verse-by-verse series (Romans, John, Ephesians, Acts) — a gold standard of expository preaching.
SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed
Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)
SermonGospel in Life — Tim KellerTim Keller · Free · reformed
Tim Keller's gospel-centered preaching — sermons stream free (the complete downloadable archive is paid).
ArticleRecommended NT commentaries (9Marks / Schreiner)Thomas R. Schreiner · Free · reformed
A trusted pastor-oriented guide to the best commentary on each New Testament book.
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.
VideoVerse By Verse Ministry InternationalVerse By Verse Ministry Int'l · Free · evangelical
In-depth, verse-by-verse expository teaching book-by-book — strong for working straight through a whole New Testament book.
VideoLook at the Book — John PiperJohn Piper · Free · reformed
Watch Piper trace the logic of a passage phrase by phrase on screen — a model of close reading.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Romans 11YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Romans 11David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on RomansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Romans 11Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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