Grafted in by grace
Romans chapter 11:11-11:24
Good morning everyone, Please turn in your bibles or bible app to Romans chapter 11and the book of Ephesians chapter 2.
I want to speak a minute on God’s wonderful Grace and believers accepting that grace and being grafted into the kingdom of God.
1 Peter 5:10
“And the God of all grace will himself restore you and make you firm, strong and steadfast.”
God desires as He gives us grace to have us find Him as Lord and savior of our lives.
Our wonderful Lord for a period of time is keeping that door open so that others might take advantage of His wonderful grace. Amen.
Grace period if you will
Really, grace is God giving us something that we cannot obtain for ourselves.
God giving us what we do not deserve and not getting what we deserve.
G.R.A.C.E. God’s riches at Christ expense
The key being that God gave us grace and mercy at Christ’s expense.
You take Jesus out of grace and you have the holy and the justness of God which brings wrath for our sins which is what each of us deserves.
Romans chapter 11- God is talking about a remnant of believers in the nation of Israel.
Remember Elijah feeling the pressure of persecution, feeling like he was the only one serving God. Crying out to God! “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me.
What was God’s answer, suck it up cry baby! No, that would be my answer before it would be his-- His was, “I have reserved for myself 7000 who have not bowed and worship other gods.”
By His grace, there is a remnant of believers who will serve Him.
Illustration-
During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.
God is saying that He has a safety net to His remnant and will not allow them to fall.
God has mercy upon us because He is a gracious God.
There is a biblical definition of grace-
If we could be saved (salvation) by works it would not be grace.
Grace is of God and works is of man.
If grace (God) is removed from the picture, it would be left to works (man) for salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works so that no one can boost.”
Think for a minute about how your life was before Jesus was Lord of your life- Recall your spiritual condition.
You were without hope because the bible tells us without Jesus there is not hope.
Paul tells us in Romans chapter 6 that without Jesus as Lord that we are actually servants to sin.
Sin shackles us and won’t let go.
God in His marvelous Grace and Mercy offers salvation through Jesus Christ on the cross by faith in what He did on the cross.
God’s grace through our faith in Jesus Christ is how we are saved and redeemed by God.
It is a gift from God and cannot be earned or bought by our works.
Disgrace is thinking that it is something you have done or earned.
Disgrace is accepting Jesus as savior and then living your life as you want to and not obeying God’s Word.
Now keeping all this in mind, let’s look at our text and what God is saying to the remnant of Israel and what He is saying to us this morning who are on the other side of the cross of Christ.
Romans chapter 11:11-11:24 Read from bible
The Jews rejection of the gospel opened up salvation to the Gentiles who was anyone who was not Jewish. The temporary hardening of the Jews allowed us to have the availability to be grafted into God’s grace and mercy.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Thank God for His Grace and Mercy that saves men/women today.
There has always been unbelief, God tells us we must believe through faith in Christ.
There has always been persecution of some sort, in places at times worse than others, but God tells us that He will always have a remnant of believers that will not bow down to idols and will serve God.
“And even if the gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Cor. 4:3-4
You cannot come to Christ without the power of Christ working in your life.
That is why it is so important to respond when He is speaking to us.
I love people that say they got saved. They found Christ! You didn’t find Christ, Christ found you, and you responded to Him and accepted the gift of God which is Jesus Christ, The redeemer of mankind.
God offers His love and salvation to man/women, but a man/women has to accept His offer and respond to God.
God’s word says we are grafted in-
(13) I am talking to the Gentiles, in as much I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead.”
To some that come into church every Sunday and hear a message and sing some songs, and get taught in Sunday School…just think that this just happens.
But for all of us that spend many hours preparing know that it just didn’t happen.
The kingdom of God does not just happen!
God is behind the scenes with a plan and He executes that plan perfectly.
A lot of things just happen, but nothing in God’s kingdom is coincidental!
Most Jews rejected Jesus, but not all!
Most people today reject Jesus, either by ignorance or by thinking they can do it later, but not all!
God does not operate by majority rule- wherever God is and whatever God says is majority rule!
Anyone who is against God is in the minority.
Apostle Paul says
“But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Even though the Christians may be the minority, they will always serve the majority. (Repeat)
In the timelessness of eternity, God launched a plan to rescue mankind through Jesus Christ.
We live today in a time of grace, a time we can be grafted into the family of God by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and serve Him.
Some people are scared of being hurt and trusting God because they think God will do to them what others have done to them.
Some people just have a lazy relationship with God and would be in the greasy grace category because they want what God offers without surrendering to the one that offers.
Has God rejected His people? No.
His people have rejected Him and He is for a period of time holding the door of grace and mercy open.
(17) “If some of the branches have been broken off. And you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root. If you do, consider this! You do not support the root, but the root supports you, you will say then, branches were broken off so that I could be grafted. Granted, but they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.”
Listen,
For those that are the wild olive shoot, God tells us that we get our nourishment from the root.
We cannot survive ourselves.
Root can survive without us, but we cannot survive without being tied to the root.
So many scriptures tell us to fear the Lord, and we conclude all scripture means that we should reverence and respect God- most of the time that is true, but then there is some that say that we should fear the Lord- be mindful that if we do not obey God that there is a consequence.
That is this text.
(22) “consider therefore, the kindness and sternness of God, sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in His kindness, otherwise you also will be cut off, and if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in.”
God’s love is gentle and tough.
God is completely capable of saving our soul and that is His desire.
Gods’ gentleness is seen is His tenderness, kindness, generosity and patience.
God’s toughness is seen in His judgment against sin.
The door of God’s grace is open. It is open right now!
God is doing some amazing things right now,
He is spiritually awakening us and giving us an opportunity to respond to His grace and mercy and love.
I would not be faithful to God’s word if I didn’t also talk about the sternness of God.
The door is open, but it will not be open forever.
When the Spirit of God is speaking to you, it is time to respond and not worry about anyone else.
God has a plan and you are in it! Praise the Lord!
“But where sin abounded, grace much more abounds.” sin is running wild, but the grace of God is freely flowing to those that want it. The implication of the verse tells us that sin is in abundance and multiplying and expanding
“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11)
Do you want to be included in those plans of God?
Do you desire to serve the God of the universe?
Then you need Jesus in your life. You have to respond.
Salvation is personal. Each one of us must do it for ourselves.
Ask Christ to forgive you, to put your faith in the resurrected Christ.
To experience God’s amazing grace.
You can experience that this morning!
By turning from your ways to God’s ways.
By responding now to God’s invitation into the kingdom of God.
That does not just happen, it happens by the Spirit of God inviting you and you respond.
Last thought about God’s grace…you have heard about it but you have not responded to it.
Your biggest enemy at times is your own thinking and your own actions.
Hebrews 12:1- “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily beset us.”
Maybe for some this morning, you have to change:
Your mind of doubt and unbelief.
Maybe you need to get away from the things that God has brought you out of.
Maybe that is changing some of the people that you hang out with because they keep dragging you down.
The grace of God is love and forgiveness of sin freely offered to ones who deserve condemnation due their sin. Grace is actually the total opposite of what we deserve.
It is not about works, we cannot earn it, but it also allowing God’s grace to work in your life to give you the victories needed in our lives.
Repent then says God,
“So that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you”
Altar Call.
