Welcome to Day 10 of our current series, blogging through Part 2 of the Not Ashamed of the Gospel Bible study from Hellomornings.
Today's Scripture passage is Romans 11: 17 - 24 ...
17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree, 18 do not brag that you are better than those branches. But if you do brag—you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 True enough; they were broken off by unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either. 22 Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen but God’s kindness toward you—if you remain in His kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from your native wild olive and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these—the natural branches—be grafted into their own olive tree?
In this passage of Scripture, Paul is warning the Gentile Believers not to be arrogant towards the Jewish Christians. Although many Jews had been cut off due to their unbelief, Paul reminds them that the Gentiles are only grafted into the people of God by their faith, not because of any superiority of their own.
In verse 16, he tells them very clearly that it is only the root (Father God) that makes any branch grow - no branches are able to grow by their own efforts.
As Believers today, we need to be equally careful not to act superior to either other Christians or to unbelievers - we are all only saved by the goodness of God, through faith in Christ Jesus, and not by any merit of our own.
This is a warning against hypocrisy and a critical spirit among the Body of Christ, which leads to disharmony in the church.
Photo credit: Wham 3622