Rom. 11:22-24 - Kindness and Severity of God

22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?
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God Will Welcome Them Back!

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V. 22 - “Behold then the kindness and severity of God” - It depends on your point of view. If you reject God’s offer of salvation in Jesus, you may think God is being too harsh. If you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and His forgiveness of your sin, you know His kindness and mercy. You’ve received what you do not deserve - eternal life, peace with God, freedom from sin and guilt, and victory over death (you will be with Him forever!). See: “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God's wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)

V. 23 - “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in” - Salvation is offered to the Jews, in spite of their rejection. If they can overcome their pride and disbelief God will save them just as He has done for us. We can only be saved by faith in Jesus. The Jews can only be saved by faith in Jesus.

V. 24 - “ For if you… were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree” - The picture painted here is you Gentiles were ‘wild’, outside the boundaries of the farm or orchard, not bearing edible fruit. God took you wild branches, adding you to His precious tree of life. You now have life eternal. You can know God, be with Him, be friends with Him, be part of His family! If God can do that for you (Note He did do that!) thin of what He will do for the Jews. 

“how much more” - God pruned them from His family. He can graft them back in. Gentiles are not part of His chosen family, and are added at His grace. We are welcomed into the family. The Jews are welcomed back. See: Luke 15:11-32. The parable of the prodigal son fits here. They rejected and then came back. They are lost but are now found. There is much rejoicing for those who were lost are are now saved! There is also rejoicing over those of us who were in the wilderness, “wild branches” as it were, when we have heard the message and come to Christ as Savior! The OT prophets foresaw that Gentiles would be added to God’s’ family.

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