Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. Romans 11:22
“Provided you continue in his kindness!” What does that mean? I thought that Jesus said that he would not lose one person of everyone God has given him? If those of us grafted into the branch rooted in God can be cut off, what does that say about Jesus losing even one whom God has given him? Then in Revelation, Jesus tells us to hold onto what we have until the end; does that mean that if we don’t hold onto it, we will lose it? Forgive me for throwing you into confusion this morning, but this is the way I chew on God’s word. The truth is that we can’t achieve any of this on our own; we must keep our faith in Jesus, though it may only be the size of a mustard seed. I don’t think it’s wrong to have a healthy amount of fear of God. If more people feared him, we would live in a much safer place. Consider that if you are that easily lost, maybe he never had you, the grafting never took, so the branch was going to die anyway. Perhaps that’s why Paul tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
No comments:
Post a Comment