Romans 11:17

"And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree" Romans 11:17

The way I understand it is that a person who wants a good apple tree does not start from seed. Instead, they choose a root stock of one variety and the main stock from another. In this way, they develop a variety of apple that has the characteristics of both. Roses are the same way. If you plant a hybrid rose, you will note a large knot at the base of the stem just above the root. That is the graft where the flowering stem was attached to the sturdy root.

Paul tells us that some of the branches of Israel were broken off (the ten lost tribes) and that the gentiles (that's most of us) who accepted Jesus as their Messiah, their Lord and Savior, were grafted into the main branch. Any such graft begins immediately to enjoy the benefits of the root - all the nutrients, all the water, all the stability the root has to offer belongs to the new branch as well as the old.

You and I have all the benefits of the natural born Jew. We have all the prophecies, all the blessings - and all the curses if we do not obey God. (You can't pick and choose what you want from the Old Testament. It's not a menu, it's a book of blessings and curses.) Of course, we do have one advantage. Because we came to God through Jesus, the law has been fulfilled for us. It is no longer binding. (Don't get me wrong. We can't willfully disobey the law because Jesus restated most of it in His teachings. The only exception is the command to obey the Sabbath. That command is not repeated in the New Testament.) Because the law is no longer binding, we do not have to be bound to it. We are free from that task master. We are free to love God and obey Him without fear of offending Him with our sinful condition.

So we're home free. Right? Wrong. Paul continue to remind us that what was grafted in can be cut off! Why? If the new branch does not bear good fruit, there is no reason for it to exist - just like a natural branch that does not bear fruit. The end result is that we need to be about our Father's business - the business of winning souls to Jesus - the business of baptizing - the business of disciplining - the business of bearing good fruit. If we aren't doing that, we run the risk of being chopped off by the Master Gardner and cast into the fire! Amen and Amen.