Rom 11:22

'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.'

Romans 11:22

The apostle Paul is speaking to the Jews in Rome of their salvation, the fact that God chose them, the Jews, to be His chosen people. The same salvation that was also extended to the non-Jews, or Gentiles was a matter of some dispute, which Paul wanted to address. In this passage, however, a warning seems to be sounded to both groups of people.

Paul seems to break God down into being kind or stern here. To both Jew and Gentile, God issues a warning of the consequences of a life spent without involving Him at all. Having read this and countless other warnings in various parts of the Bible, sometimes I'm not surprised that many people see God as

someone who forces people to make a decision that:

1. they don't want to make.

2. they don't see the need to make.

Whereas few grasp the fact that God has made the decision easier for us, by going some way to investing Himself into the process. Where many see God as the 'enforcer' of such decisions, even fewer see Him as the saviour; the one offering a solution to the problem.


In light of this, the verse above seems not so much a rebuke, or even a warning to us. Rather an earnest hope expressed by our Father.

'Consider...'