God never intended to save all of ethnic Israel. He always intended that the children of promise or elect Israel were to be the heirs of the promises. That has not changed. Gentiles are included as children of the promises made to Abraham. That has not changed either. It is about mercy, not law-righteousness. All who receive this mercy come to Christ by faith. God’s intention is that both Jews and Gentiles, though all shut up in disobedience, are given mercy. The writing of this amazing truth causes Paul, the Jewish-born apostle to the Gentiles, to erupt in a doxology to God for His unfathomable mercy.

Dear CCW Family,
Israel has been on the minds of most of us these days. It seems appropriate to revisit an article I wrote 10 years ago addressing the phrase, “And so, all Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:26). Here is the way I see this:
How and When Will All Israel Be Saved?
This phrase has often stymied students of the New Testament, and has been a verse with many interpretations. I offer mine. To adamantly conclude that I have the right one, or even one that has not been proposed by others is presumptuous. What I’m offering is merely from my Bible reading and not from diligently studying other authors on the subject, so I could likely be repeating what another has said. I also realize that a lot rests on the interpretation of this phrase, so one has to very careful to know the context.
Who is “all Israel”?
In my opinion, though Israel is discussed in various ways in Romans 9-11, “all Israel” in this verse (11:26) is “all elect Israel.” I believe Paul is saying, “and so, all [chosen] Israel will be saved.” This comports with 9:6-13 below. Please read it carefully:
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “Through Isaac Your descendants will be named.” That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only this, there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
In the entire section of chapters 9-11, Paul is making the point that the children of promise are those God chooses and calls (9:23-24). These are the elect such as Isaac and Jacob (9:8-13). Some are Jews and some Gentiles, for God says in Hosea, “I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people’” (9:25). Israel as an ethnic entity has rejected God’s offer of Christ, and “it is the remnant that will be saved” (9:27). Whatever one says about the sentence, “and so all Israel will be saved,” we must remember that it will only be the remnant that will actually be saved among Israel and that remnant is the true Israel about whom the promises were made.
Who Responds by Faith?
In chapter 10 of Romans, we see that ethnic Israel as a whole has not responded by faith in Christ, even though they have had a zeal for God. They bypassed God’s way of righteousness through Christ, and continued in law works. The possibility of belief was close to them, but it was the Gentiles who responded much better. Officially, Israel, as the perverse generation, rejected Christ. God “stretched out His hand” and “hardened” the hearts of Israelites because of this—except for the elect remnant.
Are The Promises Made to Israel Abrogated?
Chapter 11 is where our often misinterpreted phrase is found: “and so all Israel will be saved.” How does Paul develop his thoughts?
First of all, Paul asks the question that provides the theme of the chapter: “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be.” Paul introduces his argument in this chapter by using two illustrations—himself and the Elijah story. Israel is not rejected by God because, Paul says, “I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” In other words, he is saying, “I am a case in point that Israel is not rejected and that the promises made concerning them are being fulfilled, because I have believed in Christ as an Israelite.”
And, secondly, Paul reminds them of Elijah. What did God tell Elijah when he thought there were none like him who would follow God?
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Essentially, our day becomes a twenty-four opportunity to worship our God, seeking to live a Christ-exalting life as we walk in the Spirit. We walk with Christ. He goes with us everywhere we go. The Spirit indwells us. We live in God’s world and in His presence. We are not alone today. Instead, we are loved and enjoy the presence of the Lord (Rom 8:31-38; Gal 6:16-26). We worship our God as we love Him supremely, known as the first Great Commandment, and as we love our neighbors sincerly, known as the second Great Commandment.

This morning, the day is new. We look at the day ahead and ask, “What is in a day?” What lies ahead of us this day?
None of us know. I spoke with a friend yesterday, and he had no idea the events of his day until they happened. Total surprise how his day went from one thing to another unexpectedly. Sometimes, we do know what we believe is generally going to happen, but, of course, we do not know the exact details.
Here’s the good news: regardless of who you are or where you are, we each share a series of commonalities regarding our day ahead. For the Christ-follower, this is really good news. If we take time to remember a few of these things at the beginning of our day, it really benefits us; in fact, I promise it will make your day better. Notice how the prophet Jeremiah emphasizes the benefits of remembering a few of these key ideas of “What is in a day.” He writes, “This I recall to my mind and therefore I have hope” (Lam 3:21).
Here are a few of those key realities to remember:
God’s Grace and Mercy Are New Every Morning
Our God is a covenant faithful God. He expresses his loyal love to us daily through His mercy and grace. As we get up and going today, God’s faithfulness provides us a fresh, full helping of grace and mercy – enough to last us all day! Back to Jeremiah:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning;great is your faithfulness.I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;therefore I will wait for him.”
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,to the one who seeks him;it is good to wait quietlyfor the salvation of the Lord. (Lam 3:22-26)
God Loves Us and That Motivates Our Service
The loyal love that provides great mercy and grace every morning also serves us in another way. As we stop to remember God’s love, it serves to motivate us to serve Jesus Christ and others today. The Apostle Paul describes how God’s love for us through Christ, as we remember and meditate on it, begins to influence us and control how we respond to the people and pressures in our day. In reflection of God’s love through Christ to us, we determine to live for Him and not for ourselves.
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Cor 5:14-15)
We Stand Righteous in Christ, Forgiven, and Capable of Honoring the Lord
Because we have a relationship with God through Jesus, which we often called being saved, we now stand as righteous in Christ. We are forgiven of our sins and are intimately known by God. Because we are in Christ, we are no longer condemned; instead, we are now capable of honoring our wonderful Lord. Because of this possibility, we diligently seek to grow in our walk with the Lord.
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. (2 Pet 1:3-7)
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:8-10)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, (Rom 8:1)
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Truth-as-identity is not appealable beyond the assertion of identity. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do to change this trajectory in the short term. Both Biden and his Education Department deserve condemnation for federalizing the issue. Yet as Trump’s Education Department made clear in 2017, they believe the issue of whether schools should accept the claim that a person can choose his or her own sex is to be decided by states and local school districts. The political solutions thus range from “adopt transgender orthodoxy at a moderate pace” (proposed by the Democrats) to “adopt transgender orthodoxy at a slower pace” (Republicans). Both eventually end up in the same place—the entrenched establishment of transgender orthodoxy.

The Story: The Department of Education’s new rule’s expanding protections for LGBT+ students could lead to punishment for those who disagree with transgender orthodoxy.
The Background: On April 19, 2024, the Department of Education released a 1,577-page document issuing its final regulation under Title IX, intended to clarify sex discrimination by educational programs receiving federal financial assistance. Title IX is a federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.
Key points of the final regulations include:

Clarification on Title IX’s definition of sex-based harassment and expanded scope of sex discrimination protection, covering stereotypes, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity
Mandatory responses from schools to sex discrimination incidents
Required supportive measures for affected individuals, ensuring access to education and fairness during grievance procedures
Enhanced protections against discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions, including specific accommodations like lactation spaces
Reinforcement against retaliation towards individuals exercising their Title IX rights
Support for the rights of parents and guardians in the grievance processes of minors
Prohibition of discrimination against LGBT+ individuals, aligning with the Supreme Court’s Bostock v. Clayton County

This last element is likely to be most significant. In the landmark case of Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex, also protects individuals from discrimination based on his or her sexual orientation and gender identity. In this Title IX final rule, the Department of Education incorporates the Bostock decision’s reasoning, expressly prohibiting discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics in federally funded education programs.
One issue not addressed by this regulation is transgender athletes. At a briefing on the regulation’s release, education secretary Miguel Cardona said separate guidance on transgender athletes is forthcoming.
“The Department recognizes that standards for students participating on male and female athletic teams are evolving in real time,” Cardona said. “That’s why we’ve decided to do a separate rulemaking on how schools may determine eligibility, while upholding Title IX’s nondiscrimination guarantee.”
The new regulations will not apply to religious educational institutions. Such institutions controlled by a religious organization may claim an exemption from Title IX provisions that conflict with their religious tenets. The religious exemption in Title IX applies to educational institutions or entities controlled by religious organizations and not to individual students or employees exercising their religious beliefs.
The final compliance deadline for schools and colleges to implement the new regulations is August 2024.
Why It Matters: In 1997, Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest and founder of First Things magazine, proposed Neuhaus’s Law: “Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed.”
He meant that when orthodox beliefs are treated as optional within a church or group, they’re tolerated only conditionally. The orthodox are allowed to hold their beliefs (e.g., that a person’s gender is determined by biology) but cannot assert that their views are normative for everyone. Over time, a new liberal orthodoxy arises (i.e., that a person’s gender is determined by chosen identity) that’s intolerant of the old orthodoxy. This new orthodoxy is based on experiential truths (“I feel, therefore I am”) and identity politics rather than on doctrine, tradition, revelation, or even biological reality.
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