Kindness and Severity

Kindness and Severity

Josh Blackmer, Nov. 23, 2016

What would Paul have us to see in this passage? “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off” (Rom. 11:22). It seems a contradictory concept. Can God be both kind and severe? The answer is yes, God is just. It is the justness of the Lord that demands He is both kind and severe.

In the immediate context, Paul is talking about us, the Gentiles. He states earlier that the hearts of some had been hardened and God allowed them to choose to reject Jesus. Because they stumbled and crucified the Christ, salvation has been made available to all (Rom. 11:11-12). Paul does point out that not all Jews were or are currently against Christ. He himself was among a faithful remnant (Rom. 11:1-5). It is into that faithful remnant that we as Gentiles are grafted—into the kindness of God and the righteous ones belonging to the Lord.

Here again the Bible uses an example from horticulture to explain a Biblical truth. The art of grafting branches from one tree onto another has been around for centuries. The branches that were cut off, in this case the hard-hearted rebellious Jews, leave the soft inner part of the tree exposed. To that the wild olive branch is attached and begins to nourish itself from the new root system. We as Gentiles are the wild olive branch that has been grafted into the “rich root” of the olive tree that God had prepared (Rom. 11:17). So, if we continue in His kindness, we will continue to be a part of that tree.

This great blessing comes with a warning. “Do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either” (Rom. 11:18-21). For the church in Rome, they all needed to understand there was no second-class Christian. Paul wrote it this way, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him” (Rom. 10:12).

The kindness and severity of God are both a warning and an encouragement. It is the severity of God that would cause me to fear the repercussions of sin, knowing that I could be cut off from the root. It is the goodness of God that makes me run from sin and towards Him. Do not fall from the tree into which God has grafted you.