In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

Is God strict, or is he kind? Some people think that God is strict. They see him as a serious law-giver, the one who gave the Ten Commandments. Others think that God is kind. They see him as a loving God who showers us with blessings. Sometimes theologians debate this question. It is a question of theology: Is God strict, or is he kind? If you follow what the Bible says, you must come to the conclusion that God is both strict and kind. Scripture teaches that God is just, but it also teaches that he is gracious and merciful. Today, God's Word urges us to...

1. HE STRICTLY "CUTS OFF" UNBELIEVERS.

When it comes to the Law and what God expects, God is very strict. The word translated "sternness" in verse 22 comes from a Greek word that literally meant to "cut off" rather harshly. Then it came to mean severity, sternness, or strictness with respect to the Law. It does not mean to go beyond what the Law says, but it does mean to press to the full extent of the Law. It means to accept no loopholes and no excuses. When it comes to the Law, God is strict. Scripture teaches here and elsewhere that God strictly and very decisively cuts off unbelievers. There will be no unbelievers in heaven. God does not count any unbelievers as his children.

Some people have this idea that God is some grandfatherly Santa Claus who merely winks at sin and overlooks it with a knowing twinkle in his eye. Many people claim that God would never punish anyone, let alone send them to hell. They think that God just smiles and loves and forgives. We do not deny that God is a loving and forgiving God, but God is also very strict. Behind all of this is the proper distinction between God's Law and his Gospel. According to the Law, God is very, very strict, and demands absolute perfection. He said, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." God expects us to be absolutely perfect. That's why no one can earn heaven by trying to do good works. We have all sinned. And that is no joke! God is strict! If we had to stand before God on what we have done and not done, we would all be condemned!

And yet, some deny this and say, "A loving God would never send anyone to hell." Actually, there are souls in hell right now. What happened to all the unbelieving Gentiles of the Old Testament, the idol worshipers, the worshipers of Baal? Scripture teaches that they perished. Their souls were imprisoned in hell. But, "What happened to all of the Israelites, all of the Jews, who did not believe in the Savior from sin?" Were they treated differently? The answer is given right here in verse 20, "They were broken off because of unbelief. Now, what does that mean?

In this section of Scripture, the Holy Spirit moved the apostle Paul to make an illustration. The illustration is that of a special, cultivated, olive tree. This was not just any old tree in the woods, this was God's special tree. And this tree stands for God's people. The roots would be believers like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Natural branches would be the children of Israel, the Jews, who believed in the coming Savior. They were the descendants of Abraham not just physically, but spiritually, because they believed in God's promise to send a Savior from sin. But, what happened to the individual branches that did not believe? What happened to the individual Jews that did not believe in God's promise of a Savior, that did not trust in the coming Savior for forgiveness and salvation? What happened to them? "They were broken off." And who broke them off? God did! And God did it very strictly, and very decisively. Verse 21 says, "God did not spare the natural branches." Individual Israelites who died in unbelief were condemned without mercy. Does that sound rather harsh? Paul writes, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, {22} "Consider therefore the sternness (or the strictness) of God: sternness (or strictness) to those who fell."

God didn't cut them any slack; he cut them right off of the tree! God didn't give them a break; he broke them right off of his special family tree. They were cut out of God's kingdom, and left out of the paradise he prepared for them in heaven. The souls of those who rejected Jesus in Bible times are in hell right now. They are not God's people, no matter who their parents were. God cuts unbelievers no slack! He cuts them out of his tree forever!

But, wait a minute! What about us? Are we included? Now, consider how kind God is!

2. HE KINDLY "GRAFTS IN" BELIEVERS.

In fact, God grafted in Gentile believers! These people were not born from Abraham's line. They were not physical descendants of that special Jewish line that the Savior was to come from. But, by God's amazing grace, they were brought to faith. By God's powerful Word, they believed in the Savior. And God kindly grafted in each and every Gentile believer that there ever was. He adopted them into his family. He included them in his special tree. And, that was the case for us too. We were grafted into God's special tree, so that now we are God's people. Believers in Jesus are the real Israel today. Believers in Jesus are the true spiritual Israel, the Holy Christian Church!

But don't be proud about that! Don't brag and become arrogant! Instead, be filled with fitting reverence. It is only by God's kindness and mercy and grace that we were included in God's kingdom! And that kindness lasts only as long as we "continue in his kindness" as it says right here. In other words, we are only included in God's kingdom as long as we continue to believe the gospel, as long as we are believers in Jesus. If a person falls from faith, that person is cut out of God's kingdom. Continue in God's kindness, it says, {22b} "otherwise, you also will be cut off.

Just think about this for a few minutes. Way back when God created trees, he made our first parents to be perfect. But then, Satan used a serpent to tempt our first parents to partake of the fruit of the forbidden tree and fall into sin. Then God promised the Savior. He continued to repeat and emphasize and clarify that promise all through the Old Testament. The Savior was to come from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He would be born of the Jewish race and live in the land of Israel. The people knew where to look when he was born. God had promised it all, and by that promise and God's power connected to that promise, many people believed. They were all included in God's tree of believers. Then Jesus came, and lived that perfect life for us. As our Substitute, Jesus went to the tree of the cross to suffer the curse that hung over our heads. There, on the tree of the cross, Jesus suffered and died and paid for all of your sins, and my sins, and the sins of the whole world. He rose from death with our forgiveness that whoever believes in him, whether Jew or Gentile, would be included in God's tree of believers! Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved, and whoever does not believe shall be condemned! And those who are included in God's tree of believers will inherit the tree of life in heaven, and live there forever!

And what about those Jews who don't believe? Well, here's what Scripture says about them in verse 23, "If they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again." So, again, for emphasis we say that whoever believes in Jesus as their Savior from sin shall be saved, no matter what their race happens to be. God clearly wanted the apostles to do outreach among the Jews. If a Jew today would be brought to faith in Christ, could that Jew go to heaven? And the answer is "of course!" All believers are grafted into God's special true whether they are Jews or Gentiles, or of any race that there is! God wants ALL people to be saved. Thank God that he also included us in that number! How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! We believers are branches that have been grafted into the tree of God's kingdom. We are part of the Holy Christian Church, the number of all true believers! What kindness God shows in doing this for us!

But now, I want to talk to you about something very serious. Some of you have been members all of your lives. Some of you have followed generations of believers. Some of you have been coming to church week after week for years. And, some of you might be tempted to think, "I'm all set. I don't need to pay attention. I don't need to read my Bible. I don't need to learn it anymore. I'm all set. Pastor so and so confirmed me. That's good enough. I'm done." If that is what anybody is thinking, then hear what God's Word has to say in verses 20-21. "They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid (or have an attitude of reverence and awe). For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either." Don't be over-confident! We do need to hear and learn God's Word regularly for our faith to stay alive and grow.

But, it could happen that somebody here will drift away from God's Word, and fall from faith. Then we must be very clear in our warning. If you fall from faith, it makes no difference who your parents were or are. God does not work on some kind of good old boy system. He doesn't play favorites. Here's what God says: Unbelievers will be strictly cut off forever. They will perish. But he kindly grafts in believers. They will enjoy the bliss of heaven forever and ever. Beware of complacency. Don't take salvation for granted. Rather, hear about it again and again. And praise God with us! We believers are going to heaven, and we have only God to thank for that. Amen.