Grafted In by Grace

A sermon preached from Romans 11:11–24 by Ps Phil Hunt

Click here to listen to the sermon.

Introduction: The Grafted Branch

Full disclosure before I begin: I am not a farmer. I appreciate what farmers grow and I greatly admire anyone with a green thumb, but I have no desire or patience to engage in that work myself.

Years ago, however, my wife Lori — who does have that green thumb — wanted some fruit trees in our yard. Someone told me that if I went to the Ministry of Agriculture nursery across from the Riverside Police Station, they sold young fruit trees in small black plastic bags, barely this tall. So she sent me with an order, and off I went.

When we were loading the trees, the attendant said to me, now, you need to know something about this orange tree. He pointed to a spot low on the stem and said, do you see that branch coming out on the side? He said, it is very important that you never allow any other branches to grow out of the stem below that one — because that is the orange branch. It was grafted into a lemon tree. The root ball is a lemon tree. They took a branch from an orange tree and grafted it in. So make sure nothing grows below that point, or it will revert to lemon.

Being a non-farmer, I found that fascinating. I leaned in and looked, and sure enough, there was an unmistakable seam in the bark — the visible join where two different trees had been made one. The grafted orange branch was fruitful and productive precisely because it had been joined into a tree that had roots. On its own, lying there cut from the orange tree, it had no future and no capacity to bear fruit. Leave it long enough and you throw it on the fire. But grafted in, there was a future and there was fruit. That orange branch could never draw the nutrients needed to produce oranges unless it had been grafted into something.

That is exactly where you and I find ourselves this morning. If you are God’s child, you are a grafted branch. That is what our text is telling us. We did not produce the root. We did not cultivate the tree. We were cut from something wild — something unable to produce the fruit of holiness that God demands — and by an act of sovereign grace, we were joined to a root, to a tree, to a covenant that God made with Abraham centuries before any of us were born. And the warning Paul gives us in this text is very like the warning that attendant gave me at the nursery: do not forget where your spiritual life comes from, Christian. It is not you that supports the root. It is the root that supports you.

Where We Are in Romans

We have been working through the book of Romans together. In chapters 1:18 through 3:20, Paul established the universal guilt of mankind. Every person in the world is guilty before God. All have sinned, and all are under condemnation. In chapter 3:21 through chapter 5, Paul showed us the divine righteousness — that the answer to our guilt is that God has made a way through his Son, Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross, God declares righteous every single person who repents of their sin and puts their faith in that finished work. In chapters 6 through 8, Paul showed us that we have been sanctified by the Spirit. And that brings us to chapters 9 through 11, which we are about to conclude.

Here is the great question these three chapters have been answering: if the gospel is the power of God for salvation to the Jew first and also to the Gentile, why has Israel largely rejected Christ as a nation? In verse 11 of our text, Paul asks: is their stumbling final? What now?

The answer we will see this morning is this: Israel’s failure is not final, not total, and not without purpose. The inclusion of the Gentiles did not replace Israel in God’s plan. Rather, it is part of the very means by which Israel will ultimately be saved.

Now — who are the Gentiles? None of us walk around introducing ourselves that way. But if you are here this morning and you are not an ethnic Jew, you are a Gentile. That is everyone else. The Jews are the ethnic people through whom God chose to send the Messiah. The Gentiles are everybody else. Paul is addressing two great people-groups, and showing us how God’s purposes for both of them are unfolding. Three things I want you to see.

One: God’s Continuing Plan (vv. 11–12, 15, 17)

Look at verse 11 (I will read from the New Living Translation throughout, as I find its flow helpful for this passage):

“Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not.”

Israel’s rebellion and rejection of Jesus as Messiah cannot derail God’s redemptive plan. God’s plans and purposes do not rest upon man’s faithfulness. God is not standing in heaven wringing his hands, hoping Israel comes through for him so that his programme does not fall apart. The branches may fail and fall, but the root does not fail.

What is astonishing — and it really is almost unbelievable — is that Israel’s rejection of the Messiah becomes the very hinge on which the door of salvation swings open to the Gentiles. Verse 15: “Since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world… their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who are dead.”

And verse 17: “Some of these branches from Abraham’s tree — some of the people of Israel — have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessings God promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.”

This is the beauty of the gospel. The hardening in one direction opened mercy in another. God’s ways are not our ways. There are turns along the pathway of God’s plan that we cannot fully comprehend.

In Acts chapter 13, when Paul and Barnabas were preaching in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia and the Jewish congregation rose up to reject the message of Jesus, this was Paul’s response: “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.” And verse 47: “For the Lord has commanded us, saying, I have made you a light for the Gentiles.”

That is why God called Abraham. That is why God set Israel apart as a special people — not because there was something inherently impressive about them, and not because there is something impressive about you, Christian. God never looked at you and saw something that distinguished you favourably from everyone else, some talent or strength or quality that made you more deserving of grace. He selected Abraham and his descendants for one reason: so that they would be a light to the rest of the world. In a world of darkness, the light was switched on through the Jews so that everybody else could know about the Saviour and believe in him.

But the Jews became arrogant. They had the law, the prophets, circumcision — and they treated the Gentiles as beneath them. They took the lamp and covered it with a basket, keeping all the light for themselves. They became exclusive, proud, self-congratulatory, and they did not do what God intended. They kept the truth to themselves.

And yet God’s covenant outlives Israel’s unbelief. The root is still holy. The covenant is still right. The promise still stands.

Two: God’s Universal Purpose (vv. 11–12)

Look again at verse 11: “They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim that salvation for themselves. Now, if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.”

God never intended salvation to be for Israel alone. Abraham was chosen, his offspring were set apart — but they were set apart for a purpose: that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through them and brought into the family of God. Listen to the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12:3: “all the families of the earth.” That is the scope of the promise from the very beginning.

Paul writes to the church in Galatia in Galatians 3:8: “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed.” This was a gospel promise given to Abraham.

Gentile inclusion in the promise was never plan B. It was always plan A. Paul is speaking directly to you and me this morning — to every man and woman in this room who is not a child of Abraham by birth and blood, and yet has been grafted into Christ by grace.

Isaiah predicted it. Isaiah 49:6: “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 59:21: this word will not depart out of the mouth of your offspring or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring, from this time forth and forevermore. Even Ezekiel, when he spoke of the new covenant and the gift of the Spirit poured out on Israel, reminds us that God has not abandoned his redemptive purposes. Ezekiel 36:27: “I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

God’s eternal purpose has always been to gather a people for his name from every nation. That is what I love about Kitwe Church. I do not think there is another church quite like this one in our city. On any given Sunday there are perhaps thirty nationalities sitting in these seats. Most of us are Gentiles. And the olive tree was always intended to produce a greater harvest than just the nation of Israel.

Listen to John in the book of Revelation, chapter 7, verse 9, as he gives us a glimpse into the throne room of God:

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

From the very beginning of the Old Testament, God’s purposes have always been to provide salvation and to call out a people from every tribe and tongue and nation.

Because of the rebellion of Adam and Eve, sin entered the world, men pursued darkness, and the world became so vile that God reset it through a global flood — one righteous man, Noah, his wife, and their sons, eight people total, surviving to repopulate the earth. Within a few centuries the peoples of the world had again wandered far from God, rejected his glory and grace, and turned to wickedness. And God said: I will have a people who will bear my name. He went down and called a pagan idol-worshipper named Abraham out of Mesopotamia, gave him a commission, a land, and a promise. A people. A place. A promise. They were to be a light to the world.

And through Abraham, God would one day send a Lamb who would make a substitutionary sacrifice sufficient for the sins of all the world for all time. In the fullness of time, Jesus was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. He lived a sinless, perfect life. At the age of thirty-three, condemned by Rome at the instigation of the Jewish leaders, he was nailed to a cross and died for the sins of the world — not for any sin of his own. His perfect, sinless blood was a just and complete sacrifice, received as a once-and-for-all substitutionary offering sufficient to forgive the sins of the world. So that anyone — Jew or Gentile — who will turn from their sin and put their faith and trust in Jesus alone, the blood that he shed applied in the Holy of Holies in heaven, can be a sufficient and acceptable sacrifice before the Father for their sins and for mine. This has always been the purpose and the plan of God.

How Then Must We Live? (vv. 17–22)

In light of what God has done for us, how must we respond? Paul gives us three postures.

First, we should live in humility. Verse 17 and 18: “Some of these branches from Abraham’s tree have been broken off, and you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessings God promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.”

The door of salvation swung open by a sovereign act of God. We, the Gentiles, entered in and received all the forgiveness and blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. We were grafted in by grace. The root supports you. You do not support the root. There is therefore no room for pride — not in person, not in place — because this is mercy undeserved. We who have been recipients of God’s grace should be humbled by this undeserved privilege. We should live humbly before God, humbly before one another — lives of humility overflowing with gratitude, not arrogance. The kind of gratitude that breaks out into worship.

Second, we should live in reverent fear. Verse 19 and 20: “You may well say, these branches were broken off to make room for me. Yes, but remember, those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself — but fear what could happen.”

Proverbs 28:14: “Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always.” Isaiah 66:2: “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” Paul to the Philippians in chapter 2, verse 12: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” The only fitting response to sovereign mercy is reverence, wonder, and godly fear — and that fear leads to worship. We will see next week that this worship is the very destination Paul has been building toward all along: to sit back in awe and behold the magnificence of God’s plan, saving his people from every tribe and tongue and nation.

Third, we should continue to live in vibrant faith. Verses 21 and 22: “For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe towards those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.”

There is a pastoral warning here. The branches lying on the ground are a warning to the branches still standing. Continue to live in faith in God’s kindness, or you will be cut off. Does this mean a true believer can lose his salvation? No — Paul is addressing the Gentile community corporately, just as he addressed Israel corporately. But the warning is real and applicable to those whose profession of faith proves empty.

And that may be you this morning. You position yourself as an olive branch. You say you have always been here, you were born into the church, your parents were Christians. Be careful. Wild olive trees do not produce fruit — that is the whole point. If you are genuinely a child of God, grafted in by grace, there will be fruit on the branch. What fruit? The fruit of holiness. God-like living. A desire to serve, love, and obey God. Not perfection — we still fail, because we are not yet fully perfected until we see him face to face. But the difference is this: when a genuine believer sins and falls, they are immediately overcome with sorrow, guilt, and a disdain for that sin. They get up as quickly as they can and run for cleansing. They do not wallow.

Think of the difference between a sheep and a pig. Both are on the farm. If a sheep slips and falls headlong into a mud pile, it scrambles up immediately, distressed and crying, running for help. But a pig does not need to slip — the mud pile is its happy place. It dives straight in and wallows with delight. And that is exactly where some of you are. Your happy place is out with the people of the world. You are happiest when you are doing the things that are contrary to God. And you drag yourself in on a Sunday morning to do your hour of religion to convince yourself that everything is fine. Paul is addressing exactly that condition. The nutrient-rich root is not flowing through you if you bear no fruit.

Three: A Future Hope for Israel (vv. 23–24)

Verse 23 and 24: “If the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree.”

God has not cast away Israel. To be cut off is not the same thing as being cast away. The broken branches are still branches. The severance is real, but it is not final. The Gardener has the power to graft them back into the covenant promise. Unbelief broke them off, but God did not abandon them. The door that closes on unbelief opens again to faith. The condition of return is the same as the condition of standing: trust in the God who justifies. Every member of the nation of Israel, every true Israelite by birth who puts their faith and confidence in Jesus their Messiah, God will bring into the fullness of that covenant.

Verse 24: “You by nature were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.”

If God provokes his own people to jealousy through the Gentiles, it is because the door is still open. And beloved, the door is still open for you this morning. If there is hope for Israel — who rejected Christ, who crucified him in their rejection — there is hope for you. No matter what you have done, no matter how far you have gone, no matter how dark your life or how deep your sin, God will forgive you. The payment Jesus made upon the cross was sufficient and complete.

If Israel’s loss was the world’s gain, what will their fullness be? The restoration and salvation of Israel is not just good for them — it is life from the dead for the whole world. There is hope for Israel, and there is hope for you. If God will fulfil his promises for them, how much greater your assurance that he will fulfil his promises for you. Romans 8:32: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

God the Father stands with hands outstretched, waiting and welcoming you this morning. Those whom he will in his grace and mercy graft into this cultivated olive tree are those who put their faith in his Son.

Conclusion

So what is the point? God’s plan to gather worshippers from every nation on earth was not derailed by Israel’s rejection of their Messiah. It was advanced by it. What looked like failure was the very hinge on which the door of salvation swung open to the Gentiles — to us, to you. We are not here this morning because we found God. We are here because God, in his sovereign mercy, grafted us into an ancient and holy root that was never ours by nature.

That ought to make you want to bow before him and worship. And it ought to motivate us to go out into the world and labour diligently until he returns.

If you have not yet been grafted into this covenant promise, humble yourself today. Come to God by putting your faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, the only Saviour. There is no other way and no other name. It is Jesus only. Repent and believe — now, right where you are.

And if you are a Christian, humble yourself today in awe that God would choose to graft you into the olive tree. Worship the Lord in gratitude for his glorious grace, and go this week resting in the power of the Holy Spirit within you.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray that these promises and realities made to the nation of Israel would stir us up and motivate us. Help us to see your amazing grace — the unmerited mercy that you bestow and will bestow on any who believe because of the sacrifice of Jesus your Son. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the blood applied. Father, I pray that if there is anyone here who does not know you as their Lord and Saviour, today would be their day of faith. Lord, for those of us who have been grafted in by grace — may we be humble, may we live in reverent awe of your amazing grace, and may we be motivated to serve you faithfully. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.