October 20, 2023 | Be On Mission
Grafted in by the Kindness of God
Scripture: Romans 11(NIV)
1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, 8 as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.”
9 And David says:
“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.”
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is[my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Devotional
At the outset of Christianity, nearly all the first believers were Jews who embraced Jesus as the Messiah. Gentiles (non-Jews) who believed in Jesus were seen as second-class Christians, and were expected to be circumcised and fulfill the other six hundred laws of the books of Moses. In time, through the missionary work of Paul and others, Gentile believers began to outnumber Jewish believers in Jesus. The tables turned. Now many Gentile Christians were questioning whether any law abiding Jew would ever be fit for the kingdom.
But Paul reminds the Gentile believers in Rome that they are merely broken off, wild olive shoots that have been grafted into the nourishing, life-sustaining olive tree. How humbling for those who lived in the seat of the Roman Empire to be reminded that their faith was grafted into God’s chosen people only by His kindness.
How do you view your salvation? Is it something that just exists, like the atmosphere? Is it something that you were born into, like being an American? Is it something you take for granted, like oxygen? Is it something you have worked for, like your career?
Or do you see your faith more in family terms? You had no choice as to who gave birth to you, who nurtured you, and who provided for you through your teen years. You were grafted into your family.
In much the same way, we who are followers of Jesus have been grafted into the family of God. God chose Israel. Nothing can change that. But through Jesus Christ, He makes the same promise to all who believe: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9).
Indeed, all Israel will be saved. God has not given up on His chosen people. The nation of Israel will see a great acceptance of faith in Jesus as the true Messiah and Lord! While not every citizen of Israel nor every member of a Christian church will actually believe, those who do will be grafted in to Jesus, who said, “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5).
Poem
Rejection
How often have I killed the prophet
Ignoring words of warning
How often have I tumbled altars
True worshippers were forming
How often have I bowed the knee
To some self-made false idol
How often have I spread a lie
Thus leaving tongue unbridled
How often have I sought success
While trampling on another
How often I’ve rejected God
And sought unfaithful lover
