“Then you will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ True enough; they were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but beware, because if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 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.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Recently we talked about a parable Jesus told in Matthew 22 where a king hosted a wedding banquet for his son. The first set of guests composed of his longtime friends didn’t want to come, so he had his servants invite everyone else they could find. Paul was quoting from that idea to explain how the Gospel was offered to the Gentiles. Later in that same parable, one of these second-invitation guests showed up at the party, but is not dressed properly. What happens to him is something Paul has in mind in this next part of his thoughts on the place of the church in light of the Jews’ rejection of the Gospel. Let’s take a look.

I said it before and I’ll say it again. Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast or the highways and byways is the idea that undergirds this entire section of Paul’s letter to the Roman believers. The rejection of Jesus’ invitation into God’s kingdom on the part of the group which should have been the quickest to receive it was shocking, yes, but it was also predicted.

They had been used to having things essentially their way for a very long time. At least, that was the case from a religious standpoint. From a geopolitical standpoint it was very obviously not the case, but this is what played a role in hardening their religious entrenchment. Their religious identity had been the thing that had sustained them through all sorts of trials and tribulations. Now that Jesus was coming along and offering something that seemed to deviate from the script they had all memorized, even though He presented it as the fulfillment of their identity rather than a replacement for it, they were too stuck in their ways to receive what He was offering.

The result, as Jesus Himself predicted in that parable, was that God had extended the invitation into His kingdom to all of the outsiders. The Gentiles, who the Jews considered obviously unfit for the kingdom of God, not only received the invitation into the kingdom, but responded to it with gusto. They couldn’t believe they now had access to the life that was truly life. And it seems that the more the Gentiles rushed into the church, the more the Jews hardened their resolve against it.

This was all really exciting for the Gentiles, but Paul is cautioning them here against drifting in the direction of pridefulness because of it. They—we—were not brought into the kingdom because of anything inherently special about them. God’s invitation was all grace from start to finish.

After warning them against this pride, though, Paul imagines what their initial response might be. “Then you will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.'” In other words, “Hey, God booted them out because of their unfaithfulness in order to make room for me.” To put that yet another way, “You say I’m not so special to God on my own, but He did what He did to make room for me, so there must be something about me that prompted God’s action.” Essentially, they were wrestling with Paul’s point. How could Paul emphasize humility when they had obvious reason for pride?

Paul initially grants the argument. “True enough.” You’ve got a point there, Paul allows. “They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith.” You were willing to put your faith in Jesus when they couldn’t get past their unbelief. And as a result, you have been made a part of the root of God’s kingdom while they have been cut off. You are pretty special for that.

But just when Paul has them feeling like they had managed to score a point, he turns the tables on them. “Do not be arrogant, but beware.” Beware? Of what? I thought you had just said that we have been grafted onto God’s tree. What do we need to beware of now? This: it was Israel’s pridefulness that led to their unbelief. If you start walking the same path of pridefulness, you will similarly drift over into unbelief, and your fate will be the same as the Israelites. “Do not be arrogant, but beware, because if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.”

The moment we think our standing before God depends even the slightest amount on us and what we bring to the table is the moment we reveal that we don’t understand why we are standing there in the first place. And if we don’t understand why we are standing there in the first place, then perhaps the reason is that we aren’t really standing there legitimately at all.

The thing we have to remember in all of this is that God is not dependent upon us. Just the opposite is true. We are entirely dependent upon Him. Thankfully, He is entirely consistent with His character, but that consistency, while a blessing if we are willing to seek Him humbly and by faith, can become a kind of curse if we try to stand apart from His grace on our own two feet. God is perfect in love and perfect in justice. He is perfect in kindness, but also in holiness. He is perfect in mercy, but also in righteousness.

When someone has endeavored to stand apart from Him, He will deliver them to the natural consequences of their decision. He will not let someone approach His throne or enter into a relationship with Him unworthily. Indeed, in Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast, when a guest from the second round of invitations showed up not dressed appropriately, he was promptly tossed out on his ear. He assumed the invitation meant he was special enough to be able to come into the party on his own merits. He wasn’t. No one was. Anyone who entered the feast entered on the grace of the host and needed to come dressed appropriately for the occasion.

To put that more directly, entering God’s kingdom is a function of faith and faith alone. We must entered clothed in Christ or we will not enter at all. Our righteousness does not meet with the standards of God’s righteousness. Not even close. That is the severity of God’s holiness. But the kindness of God moves Him to extend to us the covering of Christ’s righteousness if we are willing to put our faith in Him. In Christ we can stand, but it is because we are standing in Him and not on our own. We do well to remember that. In fact, our standing before God depends on it. We need to make sure we are always standing in Him lest we reveal that we were never standing in Him in the first place.

This is all what Paul has in mind at the end of this little passage in v. 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.” In other words, if you start walking the path of the Jews, you will experience the fate of the Jews. In the end, faith in Jesus is all that counts. He did what we can’t so we can have what He earned. Let us receive it with gratitude, and continue to stand in faith and faith alone.