Romans 11:22–24: 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. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 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?
Paul continues the illustration of the olive tree. The olive tree is Israel with Abraham as the root. Some of the branches were cut off. The nation, as such, was rejected. God grafted in Gentiles, but not by their becoming Jewish proselytes, which would mean they would have to adopt the Old Testament ritual. Rather, He cut off Israel and grafted in the church—including both Jew and Gentile—directly and immediately upon Abraham by faith. If God could and did do that, it is reasonable to conclude that He can and will take the natural branches and graft them in again. He will not cast Israel away. 1
Application
- Do you look more at your personal difficulty, or His goodness for you in the difficulty?
- God desires to draw you near to Him. Your sin makes you feel like a cast away.
Prayer
Lord, may my worship sing of Your goodness everyday.
1. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (Romans 9-16) (electronic ed., Vol. 43). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
