Romans 11:22-24

Passage

Therefore, see the kindness and the harshness of God: on one hand harshness upon the ones who fell but on the other hand the kindness of God upon you if you should continue in kindness.  Otherwise you will also be cut off.  And those ones, if they should not continue in unbelief they will be grafted in.  For God is powerful enough to again graft them in.  For if you were being cut off of the wild olive tree according to your nature and you were being grafted into the cultivated olive tree contrary to your nature, how much more the ones will be grafted into their own olive tree according to their nature.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I’m going to start at the end of the passage because we’ve been talking a lot the last few days about the Hebrew people and who will be saved out of them.  Paul gives us another picture to understand that he doesn’t teach that all the Hebrew people will be saved.  Paul tells us what a Hebrew person must do in order to be saved.  The Hebrew person who is broken off must do what the Gentile has to do.  Those broken off must get past their unbelief.  They, like the Gentiles, must humble themselves and submit to God.  Those who do that will be grafted back in – even after being broken off!  Again with Paul we see that he no longer sees the Hebrew people through biological and genealogical eyes.  He sees the true Israel as those who live through faith by casting away their unbelief.  But not all will live this way, just as not all Gentiles will live this way.

What does it say about the character of God that He can graft in a branch that had been removed prior?  Why would God remove a branch if He knew that in the future it would be grafted back in?

Second Thought:

Paul encourages us to see two things about God.  We are to see His kindness.  God did not have to graft the Gentiles into His tree.  But He does indeed throw the door wide open and invites us to come and be grafted in.  We simply have to come to faithfulness through the faithfulness of Christ and we can be grafted in!  God is indeed kind beyond what we deserve!

How does this understanding help you become appreciative of God’s character?  How does this understanding help you remain grateful for Christ’s work on the cross?

Third Thought:

Paul also desires that we acknowledge a second thing.  We are to understand that God is not only kind.  God is harsh to those who deserve it.  Paul’s argument makes much sense, even if we would prefer it not to make sense.  If God removed branches and grafted us in, what makes us think that we cannot be removed should we go against God’s free gift to us?  In fact, Paul makes that point precisely at the end of verse 22.  He says, “You will remain if you continue in His kindness.”  Then he specifically says, “Otherwise you will be cut off.”  We are grafted in and our nature is not deserving of that grafting.  If we live according to our nature after we are grafted in, what reason do we have to think we’ll stay grafted in?

How can you live according to God’s kindness?  What does that truly mean?  How do you feel knowing that God can remove branches even after grafting them in?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 11:25-27