God is Severe

God is Severe

 

Romans 11:22, 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.

God’s balanced nature is set forth to grip our attention! He wisely pairs severity with goodness, indicating God is both just to those who fall away and loving to those who trust Him.

God’s “severity” toward fallen Israel with His “goodness” toward Gentile believers who continue in His faith is the focus of our meditations. These concepts are addressed on a national and not an individual scale.

An Appreciation of the Biblical Context Would be Helpful!

Picture an olive tree where unbelieving branches were broken off and believers were grafted or inserted in their stead. The Believer’s Bible Commentary affirmed,

“11:21 If God did not hesitate to cut off the natural branches from the line of privilege, there is no reason to believe that He would spare the wild olive branches under similar circumstances.

11:22 So in the parable of the olive tree, we see two great contrasting facets of God’s character—His goodness and His severity. His severity is manifest in the removal of Israel from the favored-nation status. His goodness is seen in His turning to the Gentiles with the gospel (see Acts 13:46; 18:6). But that goodness must not be taken for granted. The Gentiles too could be cut off if they do not maintain that relative openness which the Savior found during His earthly ministry (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9).

It must be constantly borne in mind that Paul is not speaking of the church or of individual believers. He is speaking about the Gentiles as such. Nothing can ever separate the Body of Christ from the Head, and nothing can separate a believer from the love of God, but the Gentile peoples can be removed from their present position of special privilege.”^[1]

Matthew Henry (1662–1714), the British minister and commentator wrote,

“This is called here severity, v. 22. God laid righteousness to the line and judgment to the plummet, and dealt with them according to their sins. Severity is a word that sounds harshly; and I do not remember that it is any where else in scripture ascribed to God; and it is here applied to the unchurching of the Jews. God is most severe towards those that have been in profession nearest to him, if they rebel against him, Amos 3:2. Patience and privileges abused turn to the greatest wrath. Of all judgments, spiritual judgments are the sorest; for of these he is here speaking, v. 8.” ^[2]

And Dr. W. W. Wiersbe devised,

“It is worth noting that, according to Bible prophecy, the professing Gentile church will be “cut off” because of apostasy. First Timothy 4 and 2 Timothy 3, along with 2 Thessalonians 2, all indicate that the professing church in the last days will depart from the faith. There is no hope for the apostate church, but there is hope for apostate Israel! Why? Because of the roots of the olive tree. God will keep His promises to the patriarchs, but God will break off the Gentiles because of their unbelief.

No matter how far Israel may stray from the truth of God, the roots are still good. God is still the “God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3:6; Matt. 22:23). He will keep His promises to these patriarchs. This means that the olive tree will flourish again!”^[3]

Thus, in this light the goodness and severity of God coupled with His pure justice are remarkably set before us to consider carefully!

We Understand God’s Severity as the Counterbalance of His Goodness!

Romans 11:22, differentiates or contrasts God’s “severity” toward an unbeliever nation who fell away with His “goodness” toward believing peoples who continue in His faith. Some clarity surrounding these critical terms would prove enlightening and beneficial.

     ·       Goodness defined: “but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness”, that is God shows mercy to those who hold fast to their faith—those who stay true to His grace.

     ·       Severity defined: “on them which fell, severity”, meaning God’s strict judgment and ‘cutting off’ of those who live in unbelief—“them which fell” points to those who turned away in disbelief.

     ·       “Goodness” and “Severity” reveal that believers are to consciously look at, reflect on, both the undeserved kindness and the extremely strict justice of God. This balance, or stabilizing truth, show more fully His nature. It inspires us to grow in our faith commitment, wholly respect God’s essential nature, and correctly appreciate His infinite grace toward us.

We must take informative account of these two sides of God’s character: His kindness toward those who trust Him and His severity or sternness toward those who reject Him. As Gentile Christians we must reject prideful feelings, humbly stay in God’s kindness through an active faith, or nationally risk being cut off just like unbelieving Israel is now. God does not compromise, negotiate, bargain or adjust on these matters!

 

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^[1] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1726.

^[2] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2223.

^[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 552.