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22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? ~ Romans 11:22-24
Today, we return to our study of Romans 11 where the will of man has challenged the will of God. And, as we will see, the will of God always triumphs over the will of man. Most believe freedom is the ability to do what we want to do when we want to do it how we want to do it. The problem with this is that man is fallen from his original design. God designed us to operate in true freedom which is the ability to operate according to His design because His design is not only the best for us, it is also known as the truth. Anything other than God's design is sin and is steeped in rebellion which invites chaos and destruction.
In v.22 of today's passage we read, "Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off."
When we trusted in Christ's sacrifice for the penalty of our sin, we were gifted with His righteousness and salvation. We were given an inheritance, a heritage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, the patriarchs. In context the Apostle Paul has referenced the olive tree which describes those who have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. These are those who are of the faith of Abraham. These are those who have been made right with God through sheer grace, without any merit of our own.
On center stage in today's passage are the kindness and the severity of God. Our posture towards God is determined by these characteristics and our understanding of them. We have all heard it said that a loving God would not send anyone to hell. This is a true statement. In fact, anyone who ends up in hell will be there because of their choice to go there. If we come to God needy and repentant and acknowledging that we need help, we will always find Him to be loving, gracious, open-armed, and open-hearted. But if we come to Him complaining, excusing ourselves, justifying our wickedness, we will always find that He is as hard as iron, and as merciless as fire, and as stern as a judge.
That phrase: "if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off," gives many much difficulty. That would make sense if we did not understand that in order to be the recipients of God's blessing we must believe in Him. And, when Israel ceased believing, they were cut off and only the remnant remained. It doesn't mean we could lose our salvation because we never earned it in the first place. When some come to the point that they no longer believe, they no longer have access to the goodness of God. In affect, they chose the severity of God over the goodness of God.
In v.23 of today's passage we read, "And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again."
To be in the place of God's blessing we must believe. And when Israel ceased believing, they were cut off. Because of this, there is no place for boasting. The secret of the mystery of the people of Israel and their blindness is this: as long as they come to God in arrogant self-justification, they will always find a hard, iron-willed, stern God. This is true for anyone, not just the Jews. But, when the day comes when they come to Him acknowledging their need for the Savior God who shares His righteousness with broken sinners, the He will be to them as loving, gracious, open-armed, and open-hearted. Is not this our story with Him?
Paul is not saying that anyone who is truly a member of the family of God, based on faith in His Son, can then lose their place in the family of God. Nevertheless, his warning should not be taken lightly because some think they are part of God’s family but, in fact, are not. Paul’s point, even if the particulars of his argument may be difficult for us to follow, it is clear enough: Jews can join the family of God, even though they have in the past rejected entry through the Lord Jesus.
In v.24 of today's passage we read, "For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?"
In the same way that branches receive nourishment from the root system of any tree, the believer in Christ receives nourishment from the Lord Jesus who came to us through the promises given to Abraham. When the believer in Christ delights in the Word of God, the culture of God will flourish in his soul. The key to this process is faith placed in the Lord Jesus. And, it's not the amount of our faith that is the key, it is the object of our faith that enables us to flourish in the truth of God. The smallest bit of faith in the God of the Bible is worth infinitely more than the greatest bit of faith in ourselves. But, our faith counts for nothing unless its object is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 11:1 informs us that "faith is the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance in what we do not see."
Faith in the God of the Bible begins with "what is hoped for," that is, it starts with a sense of discontent. We can never have much faith unless we are dissatisfied with the way we are now, and are longing for something better. If we do not feel dissatisfied with the way we are, it will be impossible for us to exercise any faith in the Lord. That is why, all through the Bible, the great enemy of faith is a complacent spirit, an attitude of self-satisfaction with the status quo. But if we are dissatisfied, if we are looking for something better, then we are positioned to exercise faith in Him.
Our faith in the God of the Bible grows when we invite "the conviction of things not seen" into our lives. This is not only a desire for something better, but an awareness of something else. This is what makes up biblical faith. It means we become aware that we are surrounded by a God whom we can not see with our eyes. Oh, we can see His handiwork all around us but to see Him, our hearts must be engaged. God is most made real to us when we engage Him with our hearts. And, when our hearts are added into the equation of what we can see about Him through His creation, then we will get somewhere in our pursuit of Him.
Charles Spurgeon once said, "Our life is found in 'looking unto Jesus,' not in looking to our own faith. By faith all things become possible to us; yet the power is not in the faith, but in the God upon whom our faith relies."
