Shall All Israel Be Saved? (Romans 11: 25–36)

Romans 8 ends with one of the most comforting promises in all of Scripture: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. But that leads to a deep and pressing question that Romans 9–11 seeks to answer: If God is faithful, what do we make of Israel's rejection of their Messiah?

These three chapters are the theological backbone of Christian assurance, affirming the reliability of God's promises and character.

The Mystery Revealed (v.25)

• Paul does not want the Gentile believers to be ignorant or arrogant.
• "Mystery" = a divine truth now revealed: Israel has experienced a partial and temporary hardening until the full number of Gentiles come in.
• God's redemptive plan is unfolding.

"All Israel Will Be Saved" (v.26–27)

• Likely refers to ethnic Israel as a whole, not every individual or the Church.
• Paul cites Isaiah and Jeremiah to show that this is covenantal fulfillment.
• A future generation of Israel will turn to Christ at His return.

God’s Faithfulness and Mercy (v.28–29)

• Dual perspective:
  • Enemies of the gospel for the sake of the Gentiles.
  • Beloved because of the patriarchs.
• "The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

The Paradox of Disobedience and Mercy (v.30–32)

• Disobedience of Israel led to mercy for the Gentiles.
• Mercy shown to Gentiles will one day provoke mercy toward Israel.
• God allows all to be bound over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on all.
• No one earns salvation; all receive it through grace.

Three Key Claims of Paul:

1. Israel's hardening is partial – a remnant remains.
2. Israel's hardening is temporary – it will end.
3. All Israel will be saved – pointing to a future collective turning.

Paul sees history as a tapestry, not a straight line. Even resistance and disobedience serve the larger purpose of showcasing God’s mercy.

Conclusion:

• God has not abandoned Israel, and He will not abandon us.
• If God remains faithful to Israel despite their failings, He will surely remain faithful to all who trust in Christ.
• The promises begun with Abraham will be fulfilled in Christ.
• Romans 11:25–36 is not just about Israel—it is about the steadfast mercy of God.

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

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• 17:05 (Cont.) Shall All Israel Be Saved? (Romans 11: 25–36)

Transcript

Shall All “Israel” Be Saved? (Romans 11:25–36)

Transcript: 

Let’s begin today at that great turning point in the book of Romans where Paul leaves us breathless—with the profound promise at end of Romans 8: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

That declaration is the mountaintop of assurance in the Christian life. But if we pause to consider its implications, a question immediately arises—one that Paul himself anticipates and has just spent three chapters answering.

If God’s love is so enduring, so unshakable, so sovereign—then how do we explain Israel’s rejection of the Messiah? God made covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He pledged faithfulness to their descendants. And yet, by Paul’s day, the majority of ethnic Israel had not received the gospel.

Has God failed? Has His word failed?

This is not a minor theological question because as I have said before, at stake is the very character of God and the reliability of His promises. 

That’s why Romans chapters 9 through 11 exist. 

These three chapters are not an aside, to be set aside or ignored—they are the theological backbone of Christian assurance.

They force us to wrestle with the tension between divine sovereignty and human freewill, between mercy and judgment, between God's plan for Israel and His plan for the other nations.

And now, here in Romans 11:25–36, Paul brings it all together….

The Mystery Revealed: A Temporary Hardening, A Future Salvation

But Paul begins to close of this section by posing a pastoral concern:

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

(Romans 11;25)

The word “mystery” in Scripture doesn’t refer to something unknowable. It means something that was once hidden but is now revealed by God. And the mystery here is this: Israel has experienced a time limited hardening, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

This hardening is both partial—because a remnant of Jewish believers, including Paul himself, have always remained—and temporary—because it will not last forever.

So, salvation history, all history in fact has a trajectory. God's purposes are moving toward a culmination.

And then Paul makes the stunning statement: One day

“All Israel will be saved.”

 (Romans 11:26)

But what does Paul mean by “all Israel”?

Some take it to mean every Jewish person, past or present. 

Others say it refers to the church, Jew and Gentile together. 

But Paul here seems to be speaking of ethnic Israel, the Jewish people as a whole—because that is what he has been dealing with and talking about throughout these three chapters. 

Not every individual, but a future generation, and a general collective turning back to their Messiah. And Paul says this is not a new plan, but the fulfilment of God’s ancient covenant.

Paul supports this with Scripture:

As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;

    he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

And this is my covenant with them

    when I take away their sins.”

 (Romans 11: 26–27)

These verses echo the promises of Isaiah and Jeremiah—promises of a new covenant in which God will write His law on the hearts of His people and forgive their iniquity.

It is a reminder that salvation is never earned; it is always a matter of mercy.

Paul then explains the paradox of Israel’s current state:

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.” 

(Romans 11: 28)

From the standpoint of God’s election—His covenant promises remain. Why? Because as he says in v 29.

“The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

(Romand 11: 29))

God does not revoke what He has promised. His calling is not conditioned on our worthiness but on His mercy and faithfulness. When we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13).

This is good news not just for Israel, but for us all.

Paul then draws the circle even wider:

Just as you (The Gentile Nations) 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[h] receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.” 

(Romans 11:30–31)

Do you see what Paul is saying? God’s plan is not linear—it is a tapestry woven across time with grace. He uses even disobedience to showcase His mercy. 

For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. 

(Romans.11:32)

Here is the outrageous truth of grace: God allows all to fall sometimes, so that in staying true to us through thick and thin, no one can boast. No one earns God’s mercy. All stand guilty apart from grace. 

And so, all people, Jews and non-Jew alike are saved the same way: By the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.

Paul quotes several Old Testament passages to support this bold claim: that Israel’s current condition—its resistance to the gospel—is neither total nor final. 

·         First, he says that Israel has been hardened in part. 

·         Second, that this hardening is temporary. 

·         And third, that in the end, all Israel will be saved. 

Let’s take each of those in turn.

First, Paul tells us that a partial hardening has come upon Israel (Romans 11:25). That is, not every Israelite is shut off from God's mercy. Paul himself is living proof of that. 

Earlier in the chapter, (we looked at it a couple of days ago) he pointed to himself—a Jew who has come to know Christ—as evidence that the door has not been fully closed. 

He also referred to a remnant chosen by grace (Romans 11:5), showing that even in the present, some from among the people of Israel are being saved. 

So, this hardening is only partial. Some still believe and more will believe.

That leads us to the second point: this hardening is also temporary. 

Paul says it will last until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (v.25). 

While there are different views on the timing, Paul seems to envision this continuing even into what some call the tribulation period. 

Revelation 7 speaks of 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel being sealed—indicating a significant turning of Jews to Christ even in the final days of history. So, again the hardening will not last forever. God is not done with Israel.

And that brings us to the third—and perhaps most startling—claim: “So all Israel will be saved.” (Romans 11:26).

Now this is a debated phrase. 

But in verse 25, Paul makes a clear distinction between Israel and the Gentiles. Israel is the nation that has been partially hardened. The Gentiles are those coming in while that their hardening continues. Therefore, “all Israel” in verse 26 must refer to an ethnic Israel, a people different to those other nations now coming in.

Paul supports this by quoting from Isaiah 59: “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob” (v.26). He also alludes to Isaiah 27, paraphrased in verse 27: “This will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” 

The promise is clear: the Redeemer will come, and when He does, Israel’s sins will be forgiven. This has not yet been fully realized. Paul is pointing toward a future event—towards the return of Christ.

Zechariah 12 sheds more light on this moment. The prophet writes that Israel will look on him whom they have pierced and mourn for him. 

There will be a time of national repentance. Israel will recognize the One they rejected. This doesn’t necessarily mean every individual Jew will do that, just as not every Jew rejected Christ the first time he appeared. But there will be a general widespread turning to Jesus as Messiah at the end of the age.

There’s a story told about a young boy who in 1930  was lying in a London hospital bearing the kings name.  He was told the king would be coming to visit. But when King George V arrived, the boy didn’t recognize him, a man came and spoke to him while he was in bed and after he left, he asked who was that? The king the nurses said, the boy said he hadn’t recognised him because he wasn’t wearing a crown. 

In much the same way, when Jesus came the first time, Israel didn’t recognize Him. He wore no royal robes, or outwards signs of royalty only a crown of thorns. But the day is coming when He will return, and the nation will finally see Him as He truly is—their long-awaited King.

God has not abandoned His promises. Not to Israel, and not to us.

God will be faithful to every promise He made to Abraham and his descendants. The promises that began in Genesis will be fulfilled at the return of Christ. God’s sovereignty and Israel’s temporary unbelief are not in contradiction—because God's plan is unfolding through it all. In the end, He will be sovereign, He will be faithful, He will be just—and Paul says, “All Israel will be saved.”

And that gives us hope. Because if God is faithful to Israel, even after all their rebellion, then we can rest assured He will be faithful to us. 

The God who promised that nothing can separate us from His love will never take back that promise. That's the solution to what Paul has been wrestling with since chapter 9. That’s the answer to the so-called “Jewish problem,” as some call it.

But Paul doesn’t stop there. He now turns his attention to the rest of us—and he says something remarkable. In verses 28 to 32.

Paul says “Concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sake; but concerning election, they are beloved for the sake of the patriarchs.”

There are two ways of looking at this.

On one hand, in their current rejection of Jesus, they have become enemies of the gospel. But on the other hand, from the perspective of God’s election, they are still deeply loved—because of the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Their rejection of the Messiah led to salvation being offered to the Gentiles. Their disobedience opened the door for your salvation. But that’s not the end of the story. They are still elect. God still has a plan. He hasn’t revoked His promises.

Verse 29 says it clearly: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” That means God’s promises to Israel stand. The gifts listed back in Romans 9—the covenants, the adoption, the law, the worship, the promises—those were given, and they will not be taken back.

The calling of Israel—their selection, their election—that too is irrevocable. God does not change His mind.

This has direct implications for us. As Paul said in chapter 8, those whom God justified, He will glorify. Nothing can separate us from His love. 

Why? Because eternal life is a gift—and Paul says here that the gifts of God are irrevocable.

That, friends, is one of the clearest affirmations in the New Testament of the doctrine we often call eternal security. If you have truly trusted in Jesus Christ, then you are sealed by the Spirit of God—and that seal will not be broken. You are in. You are safe. And that won’t change.

So yes, Israel was disobedient. But God used that disobedience to show mercy to the Gentiles. And now Paul flips the coin: in verse 30, he says,

“Just as you were once disobedient to God, but now have received mercy through their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient, in order that by the mercy shown to you, they also may now receive mercy.”

It’s a bit complex, but let’s keep the main point clear: God allowed both Jew and Gentile to fall into disobedience, so that He could show mercy to both. 

That’s the pattern. That’s the plan. The grace of God triumphs over the rebellion of both groups.

This is a humbling truth: We’ve all fallen short. But that’s exactly where mercy enters the picture. God let us fall so He could lift us up. That’s the logic and the beauty of divine grace.

In these final verses of Romans 11, Paul brings his long discussion about Israel, the Gentiles, and God’s redemptive plan to a stunning conclusion.

For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. 

(Romans 11:30–32)

Paul says something truly unexpected: disobedience itself becomes the stage upon which God displays His mercy.

Earlier in this chapter, Paul explained how God used the disobedience of the Jews to provoke jealousy in order to draw them back to Himself. And now, in a divine reversal, he says He will use the mercy shown to Gentiles to bring mercy back to Israel.

Underline that. Maybe even in your Bible, but certainly in your heart.

That is the conclusion of these three deeply theological chapters that we have now spent a week in. Disobedience, far from frustrating God’s plan, is the very context in which He reveals His mercy.

What we thought was a problem—Israel’s rejection of the gospel—was never a problem for God. It was part of the plan all along.

God’s mercy shines all the brighter against the backdrop of our sin.

Think of it like this: we began by saying disobedience was the great problem. But God turns it on its head. Disobedience becomes the very thing God uses to show the depth of His grace. Not by condoning sin, but by overcoming it with mercy.

And what’s the only appropriate response to such wisdom? And he closes off the chapters with worship.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

    How unsearchable his judgments,

    and his paths beyond tracing out! 

(Romans 11:33)

Paul is quoting Isaiah and Job here—not to resolve the mystery, but to emphasize it:

“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?”

(Isaiah 40:13)

“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?”

(Job 41:11)

The answer, of course, is no one. 

No one can advise God. No one can out-give Him. No one can figure Him out. Like a tiny stone masons mark on a pillar of a great cathedral, we catch only a fragment of the divine architecture. The scope of God’s plan is beyond us. 

What we need is not explanation of the mystery but revelation. And when it is revealed, the only appropriate response is awe.

Paul ends with one of the most beautiful doxologies in all of Scripture:

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” 

(Romans 11:36)

·         From Him—as the source of all things.

·         Through Him—as the means by which all things are sustained.

·         To Him—as the ultimate end goal of all creation.

This is the fitting conclusion to Romans 9 through 11, a section some thought was a problem. And what is Paul’s answer? 

It’s not a problem at all. God is faithful.

Even in their disobedience, God will save Israel. He will fulfil His promises. He is not surprised. He is not baffled. He is not figuring things out as He goes along. No, even disobedience becomes an instrument in His hand to magnify His mercy.

So, what should we do? Paul has already told us in verses 18, 20, and 25:

·         Do not boast.

·         Do not be haughty.

·         Do not be wise in your own opinion.

·         But do fear God.

And above all: Praise Him.

Let me leave you with this:

When the believer understands that God's solution to this so called "Jewish problem" is to ultimately save all Israel, and then everyone else —even through disobedience. Then they will not be proud. They will not boast. They will worship. 

Because nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Nothing can undo His redemptive plan. Not even our sin.

John Bunyan captured this beautifully in his lesser-known allegory The Holy War. In it, King Emmanuel besieges a rebellious city. When the citizens finally surrender, they come out with chains on their necks and declare, "We are guilty. We are worthy of death." But then the King, who had every right to condemn them, shows mercy instead. Why? Because that’s who He is. King Emmanuel—God with us—is a God of sovereign mercy.

We are those rebels. And our chains become the stage on which God’s mercy shines.

So let us say with Paul as we too close off this lengthy journey through these three difficult chapters

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”

To Him be glory forever. Amen.