Category Archives: Gentiles

Wooden sign with the word MOTIVATION on a forest hiking trail.
Bible, Covenant, Gentiles, Israel, Jealousy, Romans, Salvation, Scripture

MOVED TO JEALOUSY

ROMANS 11:14

“if somehow I may move my own people to jealousy and save some of them.”

I had the privilege to supervise a lot of people through my ministry career. Some were easier than others, lol. But I always tried to motivate my people to do their best. One way was to never ask them to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself. I would get right there in with them. Motivation is a learned skill, I believe. You have to know what motivates a person. For some, it’s money. Others need words of encouragement. Find what motivates those around you and practice it.

Paul was doing just that. He was trying to motivate the Jews who had rejected Jesus to turn to him by showing them from Scripture the warnings. Here is how Albert Barnes explains Paul statement “I may move my own people to jealousy.” “I may awaken up to zeal, or to an earnest desire to obtain the like blessings. This was in accordance with the prediction of Moses, that the calling in of the Gentiles would excite their attention, and provoke them to deep feeling. The apostle expected to do this by calling their attention to the ancient prophecies; by alarming their fears about their own danger; and by showing them the great privileges which Gentiles might enjoy under the gospel; thus appealing to them by every principle of benevolence, by all their regard for God and man, to excite them to seek the same blessings.” Would that have motivated you?

APPLICATION

The Greek word translated as “move…to jealousy” is parazéloó which comes from para (alongside) and zeloo (boil over with desire). It means “to apply heavy (‘hot’) pressure to provoke change, especially in an ‘up-close-and-personal’ way.” (HELPS Word-studies) Paul was not shying away from the Jews. He was figuratively “up in their face” trying to get them to respond.

Now don’t think Paul was trying to incite the Jews to something that was evil. We often think of jealousy in a negative way, and it is often used that way. But here Paul is trying to get them to return to a relationship with a holy God Who has offered His own Son for them, as well as the Gentiles. The Topical Lexicon says, this “jealousy is not petty envy but the righteous passion of a covenant partner who demands fidelity.”

I am jealous for my wife. I do not want other men to look at her in the wrong way. I am protecting my covenant relationship with her against all others. How far would I go to do that? As far as I had to. I am, after all, her protector. Jealousy isn’t all bad. You have to look at the context of the situation. Here in today’s verse, Paul wants the Jews to get jealous for the relationship which the Gentiles now have with Jesus. He wants them to return to God and their own covenant relationship as a nation which now rests in Jesus. Are you jealous for Him?

Father, I desire to know You more and more and want others to know You as well.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Wooden sign with the word 'FAILURE' on a rural dirt path
Bible, Scripture, Victors, Failures, Romans, Gentiles, Israel, Victory

FAILURE

ROMANS 11:12

“Now if their wrongdoing proves to be riches for the world, and their failure, riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!” 

When we lose a loved one to death, we often will say, “Our loss is heaven’s gain.” That does not diminish the agony of grief, but we know where our loved is and will be reunited with them, if we too are followers of Christ. The same could be said of Christ’s death on the cross. What the world may have seen as a failure was actually a victory. Christ suffered for us, so that we may have redemption and life everlasting with the Father.

In today’s verse, Paul continues his discussion about the Jewish nation’s rejection of Jesus and the inclusion of the Gentiles into God’s promises. I love how this one source describes this verse.

“Paul contrasts Israel’s present héttéma (failure) with its promised ‘fullness.’ Their stumbling becomes the unexpected means by which Gentiles receive salvation, revealing God’s sovereignty over apparent losses. The verse invites expectancy: if God can turn a national failure into global blessing, He will surely bring surpassing glory when Israel’s fullness arrives.” (Topical Lexicon)

APPLICATION

The Greek word héttéma only occurs once more in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 6:7 it is used to describe the failure we, as followers of Jesus, exhibit by taking each other to court instead of settling conflicts biblically. We’ve lost from the very beginning. We are setting a poor example of what it means to trust the Lord. This lawsuit craze isn’t new. In the Roman culture, legal victories meant power.

So, how do we apply this verse and this idea of “failure” to our Christian walk? We are going to have failures in life. No one is victorious all the time. I have friends who struggle with certain aspects of their life. They do well for a while and then slip back into old patterns of sinful behavior. But God’s grace is sufficient and can return us to victorious living if we will allow His will to be our will.

Can I ask you a personal question? When was your last spiritual failure? Last week? Yesterday? This morning? Do not let the devil rob you of your victory in Christ. I read a quote from Oswald Chambers yesterday that applies here, I believe. “If the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of our wrong traditional beliefs about God, he will do so.” Don’t let him. When you do fail, let God raise you up. He stands ready. He has not abandoned you. Call to Him. He is waiting.

Forgive me, Father, when I fail You. Lift me up and place me back on high ground.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Gentiles, Gentleness, Good, Peace, Righteousness, Romans, Scripture

WHAT ARE YOU PURSUING?

ROMANS 9:30

“What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, but the righteousness that is by faith;”

Before Christ radically transformed my life and gave me a desire to pursue Him over all things, I was like every other guy out there. Before Christ, I pursued everything that could give me pleasure. I won’t mention those here, but you can figure that out. After Christ, I still pursued enough of the world to keep me from developing that deep, intimate connection with Him. But…when He transformed me through the obedience to His Word (special thanks to Every Man A Warrior), I became a man, although not perfect, who was pursuing Him and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)

The word used by Paul for “pursue” is diókó which has a description to include a hunter chasing a prey. If you have ever tracked a deer in the woods, that’s the picture here. The hunter does not give up finding his prized prey. He will climb hills, forge streams and even climb over boulders and trees to get to it. Paul was saying in today’s verse that the Gentiles (as a group) had not pursued righteousness that way in the past. But those who have tasted of the righteousness of God have now obtained it through faith. Praise God!

APPLICATION

Diókó is used 45 times in the New Testament. We can’t possibly look at every single instance. However, we can look at a few things we are told to pursue. First, look at 1 Timothy 6:11 that says, “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” That’s a pretty good list of things to pursue, isn’t it? I love how Paul said at the end of that list to pursue gentleness. That is something that most, if not all, of us need to pursue more.

Then the writer of Hebrews writes in 12:14, “Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Now this is a toughy! Paul adds a little clarification of that later in the book of Romans in 12:18. He says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people.” Sometimes our best efforts at peace are thwarted by those with whom we are trying to make peace. Pursue it anyway.

Finally in 1 Thessalonians 5:15, Paul tells us, “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people.” The word “seek” is diókó. Pursue what is good, not for yourself, but for others. That’s what a real man does. He pursues what is good for his wife and children and grandchildren. He sacrifices for them. I pray that every man reading this today will pursue God passionately and with abandon so he can pursue all the things God has for him.

O God, I will pursue You. I will chase after You knowing that You will always be there for me.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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