<H3>Chapter # 10  Paragraph # 2  Study # 7<BR />August 26, 2018<BR />Humble, Texas<BR /><a href="https://www.biblical-thinking.org/DOC-Ro3/audio.php?name=Rom180826.mp3">(Download Audio)</a></H3>

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Thesis:  The "heart" of God's Larger Plan is His extension of grace beyond the borders of Israel.

Introduction:  In Paul's presentation of "God's Larger Plan", he focused upon the bottom line:  the doctrine of salvation by means of "justification by faith".  In order to focus upon this most important truth, he pointed out how Israel had twisted the revelation given in "Law" into a means of regulating entry into a meaningful relationship with God.  This "twist", he argued, was rooted in Israel's refusal to be submissive to God (<b>Romans</b> <b>10:3</b>).  This refusal was, in turn, rooted in a towering arrogance against Jesus of Nazareth and His identity as both God's "Lord" and His "Christ" (<b>Acts 2:36</b>).  And, this towering arrogance was, in turn, rooted in Israel's deep embrace of Lucifer's ambition to be the one who decides who gets the benefits of "Life" (<b>John 8:44</b>).
In order to establish "justification by faith", Paul turned to Moses' "impossibility doctrine" of "justification by the performance of the dictates of law", a doctrine of rebellious pride.  Then, he immediately moved into a detailed explanation of what the doctrine of justification by faith consists:  no assumption by man of God's prerogatives in promises made; and an acceptance of the word of the faith that God not only illumines the heart to truth, but He also puts the necessary words of salvation in the mouth so that they can be "confessed".
And, then, he deliberately turned to the bottom-line issue:  who gets to decide who will be saved?

<ul><li>I. The Larger Background. 
	<ul><li>A. The massive "T"heological shift. 
	<li>B. The massive "applicational" shift. 
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<li>II. The Focus of Our Text:  the "Applicational" Shift. 
	<ul><li>A. Paul's explanatory declaration of "No Difference". 
		<ul><li>1. The reason for the explanation is Paul's return to <b>Isaiah 28:16</b> in <b>10:11</b>. 
			<ul><li>a. This "return" points back to <b>9:33</b> which is the verse that instigated the content at the beginning of chapter 10. 
			<li>b. This "return" is a "return" to the fact that Israel rejected God's chief cornerstone. 
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		<li>2. At issue is the declaration that "the one believing upon Him shall not be brought to shame". 
			<ul><li>a. This declaration <u><b><i>forces</u></b></i> the question regarding whether there is any "difference" between those who are given opportunity to both "hear" the word of the faith and to "believe" unto "salvation" (a restoration to Life by God). 
			<li>b. Paul's argument is that the "no difference" issue does not mean "no difference in national, or genealogical, identity" because he, himself, inserts "Jew" and "Greek" into the mix. 
			<li>c. His "no difference" argument is focused in Romans on two factors. 
				<ul><li>1) His "no difference" argument is also a "return" thesis that was first broached in detail in <b>Romans 3:22-30</b> where there are two major "no difference" issues. 
					<ul><li>a) The first is the universal sinfulness of all men (<b>3:23</b>). 
					<li>b) The second is the universal dominion of "One God" over all of His creation (<b>3:30</b>). 
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				<li>2) This second "no difference" issue is the one found in our current text:  the universality of God's "Lordship" over all. 
					<ul><li>a) With this "lordship" issue Paul directly denies both Lucifer and Israel the "right" to be in the driver's seat regarding the question of who gets to benefit from the Life of God. 
					<li>b) And in connection with this "no difference" of being under the Lordship of the One God, there is the universality of this "Lord's" extension of "riches" to "all that call upon Him". 
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	<li>B. Paul's justification of his "no difference" declaration:  <b>Joel 2:28-32</b>. 
		<ul><li>1. <b>Joel 2:28</b> declares that God will pour out His Spirit upon "all flesh". 
			<ul><li>a. Paul simply takes this at face value:  "all flesh" reaches far beyond "Jewish flesh". 
			<li>b. Peter, in <b>Acts 2:39</b>, in reference to the same Joel text deliberately addresses the "who?" issue of "all flesh" and uses a term that Paul, in <b>Ephesians 2:13</b> and <b>17</b>, uses to address Gentiles. 
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		<li>2. Paul is not arguing that Joel 2 revealed God's plan regarding the Church, but he is arguing that God had already declared that His "wealth" would be extended to non-Jews. 
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