Romans chapter 11. Begin reading in verse 22. Behold,
therefore, the goodness and severity of God on them which fail severity,
but toward thee goodness if thou continue in his goodness, otherwise
thou also shall be cut off. And they also, if they abide
not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for God is able
to graft them in again. For if thou were cut out of the
olive tree which is wild by nature, that's Adam, and were graft,
contrary to nature, into a good olive tree. That's Christ. How
much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graft
into their own olive tree? Christ was a Jew. He was of the
line of tribe of Judah. He was the line of the tribe
of Judah, the son of David. That's what Paul's talking about
when he says the natural branches can be graft into their own olive
tree. According to the flesh, they
were kinsmen of Christ. So he says, behold therefore.
Now we behold the goodness of God upon his elect, whether they're
Jew or Gentile, both Jew and Gentile, we behold the goodness
of God upon his elect through faith in Christ. And we behold
the severity of God upon the reprobate, whether they be Jew
or Gentile, through unbelief of Christ. Look back up there
in verse 20. He says, because of unbelief
they were broken off. That's the cause why they were
reprobated, because of unbelief. Thou standest by faith, by faith. God's goodness upon his elect
is always through faith in Christ. Always. And God's severity upon
the reprobate is always because of their willful, determined
unbelief. Always. God cut off the physical
seed of Abraham, the nation of Israel, because of their willful
unbelief. And God sent the gospel to the
Gentile world, and he's calling both the Jew, his elect Jew and
Gentile, through faith in Christ. I've titled this The Goodness
and Severity of God. Now, first of all, the goodness
of God falls upon God's elect through faith in Christ. He says
there in verse 22, Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of
God on them which fell severity, but toward thee goodness, if
thou continue in his goodness. Otherwise thou also shall be
cut off. God's goodness includes God's
gift of faith. We don't just conjure up faith.
We have to be given life and we have to be given faith. And
God's goodness includes that life and that faith. When he
says here, if thou continue in his goodness, he means if you
continue in that faith, in Christ, which God in his goodness gave
you. Now, we see this admonition all
through scriptures. Our Lord Jesus gave this admonition.
He said, then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if
you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.
He's saying it will be proven that you were really called by
the grace of God, really given spiritual life, really given
faith to believe Christ if you continue in my gospel. The Apostle Paul gives the same
admonition in several places in scripture. He said back in
Romans 2, in verse 7, he said, to them who by patience, by patient
continuance, in well doing, who seek for glory and honor and
immortality, God shall give them eternal life. those who continue
in the end into faith. Look at Colossians 1 and verse
21. This is a very clear admonition right here for us to persevere
in faith. He says, Colossians You that were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in his sight, if you continue
in the faith. Grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you've heard,
which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, were of
our Paul and made a minister. You see, all who have truly been
born of God have been born of the Spirit of God and they're
preserved by the Spirit of God. So they're going to continue
in God's goodness. They're not going to fall away.
They're going to continue to the end being preserved by God. Listen to Hebrews 10.38. Now
the just shall live by faith. That's a statement, a fact. the
just shall live by faith. Those that are justified by Christ,
they shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we, God's truly called
people, we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but
of them that believe to the saving of the soul. If a professing
believer continues in the gospel to the end, He proves God truly
called him. He proves God chose him from
the foundation of the world. Christ redeemed him. The Spirit
regenerated him. He's preserved by God. He's truly
a child of God's grace. But if a believer that professes
to believe Christ falls away, he does not continue, that doesn't
slight God's grace at all. It doesn't mean God failed in
any way. It merely proves God never called
them in the beginning. God never called them in the
beginning. Those He calls continue. Those who fall away were not
called from the beginning. Listen to John, 1 John 2.19. They went out from us, but they
were not of us. For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us. That's because of God's
grace. That's not because of anything
in us. That's because of God's grace. They would no doubt have
continued. But they went out that they might
be made manifest that they were not all of us. And that's of
the sinner himself. So the goodness of God falls
on God's elect through faith in Christ. And every true believer,
he begins in faith by God's goodness, by God giving us faith. He continues
in faith by God's goodness, preserving us in faith. And so every true
believer continues to the end in God's goodness. But now secondly,
God's severity upon the reprobate is always due to their willful
unbelief. Please get this. Get this. This has to do with God's righteousness. Whenever you look at a doctrine,
you need to look at it from the viewpoint of what declares God's
righteousness. Because that's what this whole
thing's about, is to declare God's holy character. What declares
His righteousness? Look at verse 23. And they also,
if they abide not still in unbelief, If they abide not still in unbelief,
shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. Now, throughout the scripture,
unbelief is always the cause for which God's severity falls
upon sinners. It's always the cause. He said
back up there in verse 20, it's because of unbelief that they
were broken off. Now, go to Ezekiel 18, and I
don't have time to read this whole chapter, but I encourage
you to go home and read this whole chapter. There was a proverb
that the children of Israel were saying, and it went like this. They were saying, the fathers
have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
It meant the fathers have sinned and the children have to pay
for their sin. God's judging the children because
of the father's sin. And God said, you will not speak
this proverb ever again. And so he goes through this chapter
saying that if a father believes, he'll be saved through faith.
And then if he has a son and the son does not believe, he'll
be damned because of his unbelief. But then if he has a son who
believes, he'll be saved through faith. But then if he has a son
who does not believe, he'll be down because of his unbelief.
And here's the conclusion of it, right here in verse 20. Men say, well, God's not fair
to judge me because of Adam's sin. God says, oh, you're not
going to be judged because of Adam's sin. You're going to be
judged because of your own sin. Look here in Ezekiel 18, 20.
The soul that sinneth, not my father Adam, the soul that sinneth,
it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity
of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity
of the son. The righteousness of the righteous
shall be upon him. That's through faith in Christ.
And the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. That's a man's
own fault, his willful unbelief. Look at verse 26. When a righteous
man turneth away from his righteousness. You get that? When he turns away
from his righteousness. What is our righteousness? It's
Christ. And when a man turns away from
Christ and commiteth iniquity and dieth in them, for his iniquity
that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth
away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth
that which is lawful and right, that's coming to Christ, casting
all your care on Christ, trusting his righteousness alone. He shall
save his soul alive. Because he considereth and turneth
away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall
surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel,
the way of the Lord is not equal. Have you heard that before? When
you declare federal headship, men will say, well, it's not
fair that I'm judged according to Adam's sin. God says, O house of Israel,
are not my ways equal? Are not your ways unequal? You're
gonna be judged according to your sin, not according to another's. Therefore I will judge you, O
house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent and turn yourselves from
all your transgressions, so iniquity should not be your ruin. You
see that? Go to John 3. Christ declared
the same exact thing. John chapter 3, Christ declared
the exact same thing. He said, verse 17, God sent not his son
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already because
he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation. Now here he's telling you this
is why a man will be damned, right here. That light is coming
to the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their
deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved. That's why a man will be damned,
because he did not come to Christ. And he says, but he that doeth
truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that
they're all wrought in God, that God worked them all. When Christ
said the comforter is come, he said the comforter will reprove
the world of sin. Does that mean he's going to
reprove the world of adultery and drunkenness and all those
things? What did Christ say? He's going to reprove the world
of sin because they believe not on me. That's the sin that's
damning. Paul declared the same thing
in 2 Thessalonians. Look at 2 Thessalonians 10. 2 Thessalonians chapter 10. I mean 2 Thessalonians chapter
2 verse 10. He says there in the second part,
the cause they receive not the love of the truth that they might
be saved and for this cause. You see what the cause is? It's
not Adam's transgression. It's their willful unbelief.
For this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they
should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe
not the truth. but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Adam's transgression made it
so that death came upon us. It brought us into a state so
that we can't believe except God has grace upon us and gives
us life and faith in Christ. So all the glory goes to God
if we believe on Christ. But if we continue in that state
that Adam put us in, God says it's because of our own willful
unbelief that we will be damned. And that's just how God says
it. And that's how he says it throughout the scriptures. Now,
all of these scriptures have to be done away with if God judges
a man who has not willfully rejected Christ, such as a mentally handicapped
person. You got to rip out all these
scriptures because God said this is how he's going to judge when
a man's willfully rejected Christ. This is why the severity of God
fell on the Jews. They willfully rejected Christ. Do you get that? Without faith,
it's impossible to please God. God's not going to be charged
with unrighteousness. The children are not gonna be
able to say the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's
teeth are set on edge. God said, you will not say that.
My ways are fair, my ways are equal, my ways are righteous.
If I'm damned, it's my own fault. And that's just, that's righteous. Do you get that? I hope you get
that. Divine judgment is always just. It's always a matter of just
retribution. That's why God says here in our
text, Romans 11, verse 23, if they abide not still in unbelief,
they shall be grafted in, for God's able to graft them in again.
If they continue in unbelief, they'll be damned. But if they
turn and believe on Christ, they won't be damned. Now lastly,
how is it that a sinner, we all willfully rejected Christ. How
is it God's righteous to save us, his elect? Because Christ
bore the severity of God in the place of his elect. That's what
makes it just for God to call us. He says there in verse 23, He says, if they abide not still
in unbelief, they shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft
them in again. For if thou were cut out of the
olive tree which is wild by nature, that is Adam, and were grafted
contrary to nature into a good olive tree, that is Christ, how
much more shall these which be the natural branches, naturally
speaking, their brethren with Christ, according to the flesh,
How much more shall they be grafted into their own olive tree? Christ
is the good olive tree. You remember, if you want to
turn to John 15, verse 1, Christ said, I am the true vine, and
my father's the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit, every branch that doesn't continue in faith, he
takes it away. And every branch that beareth
fruit, he purgeth it, that it might bring forth more fruit.
You see there, if we bring forth fruit, it's God's doing. Now
ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you except
you abide in me. I'm the vine, you're the branches.
He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. If a man abide
not in me, what's gonna happen to him? He's cast forth as a
branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into
the fire and they're burned. Why? Because he abode not in
Christ. Because he continue not in Christ.
Everything is pointed to Christ, and God says, this is why men
are going to be damned. They rejected my son. And it's
going to be a righteous thing because each one that rejected
my son, God said, that's why I'm going to damn them. That's
why I'm going to damn them. They rejected my son. And all
rejection, all sin is a choice. You know that? All sin is a choice. Men like to talk about Well,
God made me this way. God didn't make you a sinner. Men sin because Adam sinned. It was all in the purpose of
God, but our transgression's our own fault. And we come forth
in that dead state so that we choose to sin, and therefore
sin's our own fault. And unbelief is the chief sin
for which men will be damned. That's clear throughout the scriptures.
And the reason that's clear is because God is righteous. When
men fly in the face of God's righteousness, that doesn't sit
well with me. Because God's righteous. He doesn't
do anything unrighteously. He didn't judge his son. until
he had put the sin of his people on his son so that it was a just
thing for God not to spare his own son. That's how righteous
God is. He would not judge his own son
until he had made him sin for us. But because he did, because
Christ bore the shame of his people, and Christ was made a
curse because of that for his people, He took away all that
severity of God toward his people so that there's nothing now from
God but goodness toward his people. And God's gonna call His people,
and He's gonna give His people life, and He's gonna give us
faith, and He's, when it says here, He's able to graft them
in again, this is just an analogy. Understand that? It's not like
they were cut out of Christ, and then they're gonna be put
back in Christ. They've always been in Christ from the beginning.
But just as we see it, it looks like they were cut off. and God's
grafting them back in. That's just an analogy so we
can understand it. But they were always in Christ
from the beginning. God chose them in Christ. They
were in Christ when he redeemed them. And they're gonna be called
into Christ and made to see they're in Christ and inseparably united
with Christ by God's grace. So that's what we have here.
That's why God's able to graft them in again is because Christ
justified them on the cross. So God's goodness must fall on
God's leg. Look at Isaiah 54, 7. This right here talks about it. Isaiah 54, 7. God says, for a small moment
have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face
from thee for a moment, But with everlasting kindness will I have
mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as
the waters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters
of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that
I would not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee. For the mountains
shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall
not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace
be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. God told Ezekiel to tell the
dry bones to live. And I'm calling on the dry bones
this morning to live. I'm calling on the dry bones
to live. Call it on you to believe on
Christ. And God told Ezekiel, pray to
God to send the Holy Spirit to give him life. And I'm praying
God will send his spirit this morning and give you life. Don't
wait. Life is fragile. Don't wait. I have a friend down in Sylacauga,
Alabama. This is how fragile life is.
Friday night, his wife heard a noise. She went to see what
it was, and he was at the bottom of the stairs. He had fallen
down the stairs, and she called 911. He was unconscious, and
they life-flighted him to the hospital, and he was brain-dead,
and he never regained consciousness. That's how fragile life is. It
can be gone in an instant. Steps this man had probably walked
up and down a hundred times, a thousand times. That's how quickly your life
can be snapped away. Don't wait to believe on Christ.
Don't put it off and think, well, I'll believe on Him one day.
You won't ever do it. Seek Him. Listen to the Lord.
Seek ye the Lord while He may be found. Call ye upon him while
he's near. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. Come to Christ today. Don't tarry. I pray God bless that. Let's
stand together. Our gracious God and Father,
we thank you that you are righteous and holy. We're thankful, Lord,
that the judge of all the earth always does what's right. Because
of Christ's righteousness, it's right that you call out your
people. And because of men's own willful unrighteousness in
not believing on Christ, it's righteous that you damn men.
Lord, we're thankful that you're righteous. We're thankful that you, in Christ,
through his blood, have made your holy justice to be the friend
of your people. We're thankful that we must be
called because you're just and holy and righteous. Save us,
Lord, because of your righteousness. We ask that you be with our friends
who are suffering. Be with our brethren everywhere.
and help us to understand this great truth that you set before
us for Christ's sake. It's in his precious name we
pray. Amen.