The Expository Study of Romans

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1 God s Remnant: Romans 11:16-25 Introduction Text Today s passage from Romans Chapter 11 o contains a parable that uses an olive tree to explain how that the gentiles have been grafted into the lineage of blessing o that flows from Abraham. Romans 11: For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Exposition 16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

2 Paul, in his effort to establish the place o of the gentiles in the kingdom of God turns to parables. This verse contains two different illustrations to make his point. o First he uses the illustration of a lump of dough. After the harvest season, o when new grain was brought in, the Israelites by law would honor God with the first portion of the new grain. This is the way they would do that. o The first time they made dough from that new grain, the first of it was separated and baked for the Lord o as a heave offering. By giving God the first fruit, o the Jews sanctified the whole lump of dough. Because they set aside a portion for God, o God promised that he would bless what was left. This principle is still in practice today. o God requires of us that we set aside the first portion of our income for him. As we tithe our income for God, o we are not just blessing and sustaining the house of God, o we are garnering God s blessings on what we have left. Whatever we do with the money that remains, o God is going to bless it and, believe it or not, its going to go further than, and be more profitable than, o the whole lump ever could have been. In this illustration the first fruits represent the patriarchs. o Israel, at her beginning, was sanctified unto God. Because of that the whole lump, the whole nation, is special to God. That is not to say that God will not allow them o to be lost because of their unbelief but that he will try, every way possible,

3 to reach them and change their direction o before it is too late. Indeed, that is the history of Israel, o throughout that Old Testament. As she turns her back on God and wanders off into all kinds o of sin and idolatry, God is constantly trying to get her attention o and change her direction. o First through prophets and prophetic preaching and ultimately through enemies o that come in and subdue the nation leading it into captivity where they will, hopefully, o be reminded of the deliverance of God in the past and turn their hearts back to him. The second illustration o is the basis for the rest of the passage. If the roots of a tree are holy o then so are the branches because the whole tree issues forth from the roots. It gets its nutrients, o its life giving sap, and the resources that sustain it from the roots. The point behind this illustration o is the same as the last, although the application is going to be broader. Here, the roots represent the patriarchs o and the branches represent the nation of Israel. Because the root of the tree is holy the tree itself is blessed of God.

4 17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; What has happened, however, is that the branches o have cut themselves off from the life-giving resources that flow from the roots. Because of their unbelief, o they have turned their back on the God of the patriarchs o and, even though they are the lineage of Abraham, they cannot sustain o spiritual life and vitality without the blessing of God. o So those branches, that have isolated themselves from the blessings of God, o have died. o They have dried out, shriveled up and become hard and brittle. o They are dead branches on a living tree. o Perhaps you ve seen that happen. Maybe you have a tree in your yard where one branch, o for whatever reason, has died. The rest of the tree is healthy. The roots still gather in nutrients o and send them on up the line to the healthy branches, o causing them to grow and produce fruit, but those dead branches stay dead. Paul explains the Gentile church this way: o the dead branches have been broken off and branches from a wild olive tree have been grafted into the trunk o of the original tree.

5 o These new branches are not like the old branches. They are not as profitable as the good olive tree. The wild olive tree doesn t produce fruit. It is not worth much. It doesn t have the breeding and the heritage o that the good olive tree has. Its roots were not holy. o But it has now been grafted into the good olive tree. o Now it is sustained by the same blessings that sustain the rest of the good tree. o It draws from the fatness, or the sap, of the olive tree, o just like the rest of the tree. In the parable the new olive branches o represent the Gentile church. God broke off some of the original branches, o those that were dead and unprofitable, and in their place he grafted in these new wild branches o that had no spiritual inheritance and were not even capable of producing fruit on their own. o But he put them on equal footing with the rest of the branches. o All of a sudden the DNA of the good tree is now flowing through those wild olive branches. o The fruitfulness, the spiritual vitality that flows from the patriarchs forward, o now flows through the Gentiles in the same manner that it has blessed the Jews. What a wonderful illustration. o Those who were not a people at all,

6 became the people of God! o Those who were not fruitful at all, became the bearers of the fruit of God. We were grafted into the blessings of heaven. o We are reaping the benefit of a spiritual heritage that is not ours! The point here is not o that God took another fruitful tree and grafted it in. o He took a wild olive tree. We had no fruitfulness on our own. o And he grafted us into the good olive tree, making us fruitful. Every good thing, o every blessing, every benefit that flows into our lives, we owe it all to God! o We couldn t produce good fruit on our own. It is only because he has grafted us into the flow of his blessings o that we can now produce good fruit in our lives. 18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Paul s word to the Gentiles, though, o is a warning not to become too proud of their position. He is saying, don t get the notion o that you are somehow superior to the Jews that you have replaced. Remember this, o you don t produce fruit on your own. The root doesn t depend on you, but you depend on the root. o The root is where the blessings come from. It is the reason why you are fruitful. o Before you get the idea, like the Jews did, that you are something special

7 o and you can do this on your own, you need to remember o where the blessings are coming from! 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Paul recognizes the tendency of human nature o to become puffed up in itself. And he warns the Gentiles. If you aren t careful o you will look around and say, they were broken off so that I could be grafted in. And you will get the notion o that you are something special. But, Paul says, you need to remember why that happened. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: The Jewish branches weren t broken off o because God preferred the Gentile branches. They were broken off because of unbelief. Don t forget that, he says. o You stand in the blessings of God because of your faith. When the Jews stopped believing o and obeying God, you were willing to believe and obey, that is how you got grafted in. o That is why the blessings of God are flowing though your life. Don t get high-minded he says. o There is no room for arrogance or superiority on your part. o Instead you need to be fearful, or respectful of God. Godly fear is not terror, o it is respect. o We should not fear that God would cut us off for no reason.

8 After all, he didn t cut the Jews off for no reason. But we should also be aware o that, if God cut them off, he can cut us off too. By telling us to fear, o Paul is telling us to watch for our souls, lest we lose our place in the kingdom of God. 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. If God didn t spare the natural branched, o but cut them off because of their unbelief, o that should cause you to be aware that God will not tolerate unbelief in the wild branches either. If the unbelieving, disobedient Jews o were cut off, and they BELONG to the tree in the first place they actually belong there o how much more will God be willing to cut us off if we, too, refuse to believe and obey o but decide, after having been grafted into the good tree, to do our own thing? Paul says to take heed o because, if God didn t spare the Jews, he certainly will not spare us if we go the same way that they did. The fear and respect o that Paul is trying to instill in the Gentile believers is a wholesome respect for God. o The Jews were not just arbitrarily removed from the good tree. o They were not cut off

9 for no good reason. o God cut them off because they quit walking in the faith that connected them to the tree o in the first place. But, before he cut them off o they were dead. He did not take a branch that was struggling o and cut it off. He took branches that had completely died and removed them. The message is not o that God is going to discard you if you struggle in your faith. The message is, however, o if you ever quit struggling and simply choose to follow the flesh and abandon your faith in God, o it will kill you spiritually. And if dead Jewish branches o are subject to removal from the tree, how much more are dead Gentile branches going to be subject to the same judgment? 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Paul says that both the goodness o and the severity of God are on display here. God who is both judge o and the giver of mercy. Becomes a judge to those who reject him o but a giver of mercy to those who trust in him. o The same hands that cut off the dead branches, tenderly graft in the living branches.

10 Those that died in their faith, o who cut off the life-giving flow of the fatness or sap that came from the roots o and ignored the blessings of God, have been cut off. They have experienced the severity of God. o So, even as those who are spiritually dead have experienced the severity of God, those who are spiritually alive, o through their continued faith and obedience, have experienced the goodness of God. Paul goes on to say that o as long as we continue in our faith to be obedient to the will of God, we will be the recipients of his goodness. But if not otherwise we will be cut off. This is written to Gentile Christians. o And the language is very plain. Having once been saved, having once been grafted into the tree, o it is possible to commit the same error as the Jews who were in the tree before you o and to die in your faith even as you are connected to the blessings of God. And if your faith dies, o if you no longer continue in the goodness of God, Paul is very plain, o thou also shalt be cut off. David Bernard says, o If we do not continue to walk by faith that is obedient, then the consequences are clear: o We will cut ourselves off from God s grace and lose our salvation

11 even as the unbelieving Jews of Paul s day did. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. Now watch this. o Even though the unbelieving Jews have been cut off, even they are no longer o dead in unbelief o but have renewed their faith and obedience to God which has brought life back to them, o they can be grafted back into the tree. Once again, failure doesn t have to be final! o All hope is not lost just because one is cut off from the tree. o God hasn t yet gathered the branches and thrown them in the fire. Because they haven t been destroyed yet, o there is still the opportunity for life to spring forth again. o If that happens, the formerly dead branches will be grafted back into the tree. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? Now Paul presents the evidence for his last statement: If God was willing to include the Gentiles, who were cut out of a wild olive tree and were grafted contrary to nature into the good olive tree, how much more will he be willing to take those natural branches, the Jews, and graft them back into their own tree if only they will just believe and obey? This is Paul s heartbeat. He longs for a revival among the Jews. Not at the expense of the Gentiles, there is plenty of room in the tree for both, but he does long to see that which was cut off restored back to the place that it once occupied in the tree.

12 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. This final verse wraps everything up and gives definition to the church age. We are living in a time span where, though both Jews and Gentiles can be saved, God has extended his grace to the Gentile bride. Blindness in part has happened to the Jews. In part, because some of them still believe. But the vast majority refuse to see Jesus as the Messiah. Their unbelief, has created an opportunity for the Gentiles. We have laid ahold of the blessing that they have rejected. We have been grafted into the good tree. However, Paul looks forward to a time when the fullness of the Gentiles has come and God will turn his attention back to the nation of Israel again. Right now he deals with the Jews on an individual basis, none of them are excluded from salvation, any of them can believe and obey the gospel message and be saved, right now. But Paul is looking forward to a time when God will deal with Israel as a nation again. Close Once again, we are admonished not to take our salvation for granted. We have to watch for our souls, to be constantly vigilant. This is reminiscent of the command of Peter as well: 1 Peter 5:8 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Be sober. Be vigilant. That means be watchful and cautious. Because you have an enemy, your adversary the devil, who walks about as a roaring lion seeking those that he can destroy. This word of caution, not to be destroyed by the devil, was not written to the lost, it was written to church folks. We are to be constantly aware that there is an enemy who wants to rob us of our spiritual vitality, who would love nothing more than to see us dry up and die on the tree and get cut off! That is what he wants!

13 But also know that God is not quick to judgment and he is longsuffering in his mercy. He s not cutting off the weak, the weary or the wounded. He cuts off the spiritually dead. Wounds will happen. You will struggle from time to time. But whatever you do, don t let it rob you of the spiritual life that is within you. During those times, remember that you are connected to the root. The fatness, the sap, of God s blessings flows into your life and He will sustain you if you will let him! God has grafted you into the tree and it is not his desire to cut you off!