Romans 11:20-22

A Study of The Book of Romans

Lesson 81 Chapter 11:20 – 22

By Pastor Randy Johnson

1. Verse 20 “Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:”
1. Read verses 17 – 19 from last week.

a. We must remember, Abraham is the “firstfruit” and the “root” of the tree, the branches is Israel , and the tree should bring forth the fruit of the root however some of the branches did not and they were “broken off”.

b. Those branches broken off were replaced by branches or Gentiles and graffed these Gentiles in among them to replace the broken branches.

c. These Gentile branches that were graffed in were done so only by Gods grace and love and for no other reason. Therefore the braches graffed in have nothing to boast of and should not speak ill of the ones broken off. If it were not for the Grace of God not one Gentile would have ever been saved!

2. “Well; because of unbelief they were broken off…” This is the reason they were broken off. Remember Abraham had faith, therefore the tree branches should have had faith and since they did not then they produced no fruit and were unprofitable to the tree and were therefore broken off and replace with Gentiles.

a. We need to remember, they were not broken off to make room for the Gentile believers but because of their on unfaithfulness.

b. In fact as are studding in Malachi we see their crimes against God, in fact very few actually obeyed Gods word, and therefore few branches remained.

c. While faith in Christ and in God are most important, faith in and obedience to His word is also important.

d. While Israel has been set aside because of their disobedience to Gods word, we also (individually) can also be set aside because of disobedience to His word. God is under no obligation to use any of us for anything.

3. “…and thou standest by faith…” this is why the Gentiles were graffed in because of their faith, however we need never forget faith is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, therefore it is a gift from God, a gift these Israelites did not receive. Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,”
4. “…Be not highminded…” The word “highminded” means - to be lofty in mind, that is, arrogant – We will soon see that arrogance is one of the crimes against God in Malachi, no one that is saved, used of God in any way, or has faith in Gods word has any reason to be arrogant, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
5. “…but fear:” Because we could fall at any time, all God has to do is to remove His blessings and grace. We walk by His grace every second of every day. 1 Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

1. Verse 21 “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee”
1. God is indeed longsuffering and this is because of His grace, however we all need to remember His longsuffering has a limit. God set Israel aside because of their unfaithfulness and He will us Gentiles also. God owes us NOTHING, but we owe God our faithfulness and everything else He demands of us. Without grace we are all lost and eternally damned.
2. Genesis 6:3 “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man…”
3. They were called “natural” because they were “natural descendants of Abraham”. Remember we were graffed in and not natural. But we are also not the natural “children of God, but were adopted” so it is not a disgrace not to be natural as long as we are part of it.
2. 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 shalt be cut off.”
1. What a warning to every single Christian! If you do not continue in His goodness you also will be cut off! The word “severity” means – to cut off.
2. “…if thou continue in his goodness…” If we continue in the goodness that God has graciously given us we are fine and God will continue to bless us and we continue to walk and sup with Him, but if we go off the edge He will cut us off, or set us aside.
3. This goes also for the Lords churches. Revelation 2:4 - 5 “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. (5.) Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
4. Let us all never forget, Gods name must be glorified, His name must be magnified, His character exemplified, He cannot be belittled, or set aside as most today have done. One cannot properly worship God without recognizing His sovereignty, His grace and mercy. So many Gentiles have been set aside and don’t even know it.
5. Anyone who sets the true God aside will be set aside by Him. Broken off of the tree.