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Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in <\/strong><\/span>His<\/em><\/strong><\/span> <\/span>goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n God demonstrates both His goodness and His severity!<\/p>\n \u201cGoodness<\/span>\u201d is translated from the Greek word chr\u0113stot\u0113s<\/em><\/span>, which is based on the noun chr\u0113stos<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cemployed\u201d or \u201cuseful.\u201d Chr\u0113stot\u0113s<\/em> <\/span>refers to \u201cgoodness, usefulness, or moral excellence.\u201d It is part of the natural character of God\u2019s being.<\/p>\n In light of the metaphor that Paul has been using, that of an olive tree with branches being cut-off and others being grafted in, his use of the word \u201cseverity<\/span>\u201d here is quite intriguing. This is translated from the Greek word apotomia<\/span>,<\/em> which is made up of apo<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cfrom\u201d or \u201caway <\/em>from\u201d and a form of temn\u014d<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cto cut.\u201d So, you see, even though it is commonly translated as \u201cseverity<\/span>\u201d it literally means \u201ccut-off-ness.\u201d This is also part of God\u2019s character and an apt description of Him, given the metaphor of olive branch cutting and engrafting.<\/p>\n Paul has just issued a warning to us Gentiles not to be arrogant regarding the fact that God cut-off the Jews as a people and grafted us in. He is now showing two of the qualities of God; on the one hand, goodness, and on the other hand, severity. We all want to think of God\u2019s goodness and the fact that \u201cGod is love,\u201d but we tend to overlook His severity and the fact that He is holy (perfectly righteous and without sin). His holiness also means that He must judge sin and separate the sinner from Himself. That\u2019s very severe!<\/p>\n Keep in mind that Paul is portraying God as the holy gardener. A good gardener knows that useless and dying branches must be cut off and other branches engrafted if the tree is going to continue to flourish. In a typical olive grove, trees are often hundreds of years old due to proper cutting (severity) and careful in-grafting (goodness).<\/p>\n Let me pause to clarify who Paul is talking to in these verses. Beginning back in verse seventeen, the use of the second person personal pronoun \u201cyou\u201d is \u201cyou singular,\u201d not \u201cyou plural.\u201d In the King James Version you will notice the use of \u201cthee\u201d or \u201cthou,\u201d not \u201cyou.\u201d Therefore, some might interpret this part of Romans eleven as a warning that a person can lose his or her salvation if he or she stops believing. However, notice that throughout this passage Paul is contrasting Jews and Gentiles, not believers and unbelievers. In the Bible, individual nations are often referred to in the second person singular. Therefore, these warnings are to individual Gentiles or individual Gentile nations, not individual believers.<\/p>\n Paul is telling us that God has shown severity (cut-off-ness) to those who have fallen (Jews, plural, who refused to believe), but He has shown kindness (goodness) to individual Gentiles or Gentile nations. This goodness is in the form of \u201cthe fatness of the root\u201d as he told us in verse seventeen. Paul now restates his warning to the Gentile nations that if we don\u2019t continue in His goodness, we as a people or a nation, will also be cut-off.<\/p>\n There are many nations today that receive the blessing of God\u2019s goodness, but there is coming a day when the church will be removed and the Gentile nations will receive God\u2019s severity because of their lack of belief. They will be cut-off, and God will once again engraft the Jewish people.<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\nTruth to Learn<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Behind the Words<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Meaning Explained<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Application<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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