Romans 11.18-Paul Prohibits His Gentile Christian Readers From Being Arrogant Towards Saved And Unsaved Jews Because Abraham Supports Them
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday July 19, 2009
Romans: Romans 11:18-Paul Prohibits His Gentile Christian Readers From Being Arrogant Towards Saved And Unsaved Jews Because Abraham Supports Them
Lesson # 370
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 11:16.
This morning we will note Romans 11:18 in which Paul prohibits his Gentile Christian readers from being arrogant towards both saved and unsaved Jews because Abraham, the first Jew, supports them in the sense that he is their spiritual father.
Romans 11:16, “If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.”
Romans 11:17, “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree.”
Romans 11:18, “Do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.”
Romans 11:17 is a protasis of a first class condition indicating the assumption of truth for the sake of argument and contains a wild olive/olive tree metaphor to remind Paul’s Gentile Christians that they have been united to Jewish Christians as joint-partakers of the divine blessings given to Abraham.
They are his joint-partakers of these divine blessings because they are his spiritual descendants and they are his spiritual descendants because like Abraham they exercised faith in the Lord.
The protasis in Romans 11:17: “If and let assume that it is true for the sake argument some branches were broken off (unsaved Israelites) and you (Gentile Christians), being a wild olive tree were grafted in among them (saved Jews) and became partaker with them (saved Israel) of the rich root (Abraham) of the olive tree (Israel).”
The responsive condition would say: “Of course we agree that this is an historical fact.”
Paul’s readers would agree that some branches were broken off because it was a historical fact the majority of Jews rejected Jesus Christ.
His readers would also agree that they have been grafted in among Jewish Christians and had become partakers with them of the promises to Abraham who is the progenitor of the nation of Israel because he taught in Romans 4:16 that Abraham is the spiritual father of their faith.
The apodasis appears in Romans 11:18, “(then) do not be arrogant towards the branches.”
The prohibition “do not be arrogant toward the branches” is directed towards Paul’s Gentile Christian readers since he is addressing those he described in Romans 11:17 as part of the “wild olive” and who “were grafted in among…the branches” who we noted are Gentile believers.
Paul is prohibiting his Gentile Christian readers from assuming arrogant superiority over both saved and unsaved Jews.
This prohibition does not imply that this was taking place since there is nothing in the context, which indicates that this was taking place.
There is nothing in Romans 11:1-17 or Romans 11:19-24, which indicates that this was taking place.
Furthermore, Paul had not yet visited Rome but it is possible that he got a report from one of the individuals mentioned in Romans 16.
However, if this were the case, then surely Paul would have made mention of such a report as he did in 1 Corinthians 1:11, especially when he hadn’t even visited the Roman church when he wrote this epistle.
Some contend that Paul’s statements in Romans 14:1-15:13 indicate a problem in Rome between the Jew and Gentile Christians.
However, it is more likely that Paul’s comments in this passage are to perform preventive maintenance or as a simple reminder to supplement the teaching they were already receiving from their pastors.
This is more than likely what he is doing in Romans 11:17-24 since in Romans 15:15-16, Paul does not say that he was very bold in writing to the Roman Christians so as to rebuke them but to remind them.
Romans 15:15-16, “But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
This passage and the fact that Paul had not yet met face to face the Christians in Rome makes it more likely that the Gentile Christians in Rome were not assuming arrogant superiority over the Jews and that Paul was only attempting to remind them of what they had already been taught.
The prohibition “do not be arrogant toward the branches” is addressing the Gentile Christians’ attitude towards both saved and unsaved Jews.
This is indicated in that he reminds his readers in the apodasis of the first class condition in Romans 11:18, that the root, Abraham supports them, implying that these branches are referring to saved Jews since saved Jews are on the olive tree due to their faith in Christ and are thus connected to the root.
That this prohibition is also to prevent arrogance towards unsaved Jews is indicated by Paul’s statements in Romans 11:19-20 where he reminds his readers that these branches were broken off because of their unbelief and that his Gentile Christians are grafted in because of their faith in Christ.
The reason why Paul does not want his Gentile Christian readers to assume arrogant superiority over the saved Jews is that they are on equal footing with the saved Jews since both are on the olive tree and connected to the root because of their faith, which is non-meritorious.
They are both in union with Christ because of the grace of God and the merits of Jesus Christ and His substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths.
Thus, with regards to salvation there are no racial distinctions (Galatians 3:26-28).
So this prohibition is designed to maintain and build unity among Jew and Gentile Christians in Rome.
The reason why Paul does not want his Gentile Christian readers to assume arrogant superiority over the unsaved Jews is so that they might continue to evangelize the unsaved Jew so as to save some of them.
Furthermore, salvation is of the Jews, thus the Gentile Christians owe much to the Jews.
The Gentile Christians are joint-partakers of the divine promises given to Abraham, the first Jew and the Savior Jesus Christ is a Jew.
The Old Testament Scriptures were given to the Jews.
Therefore, Paul is reminding his Gentile Christian readers in Rome that they owe much to the Jews and that there is no place for anti-Jewish sentiment in the Christian way of life.
Romans 11:18, “Do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.”
“But if you are arrogant” is a first class condition statement, which denotes the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
It stands in contrast with Paul’s Gentile Christian readers obeying his prohibition in the apodasis of the previous first class condition and denotes a hypothetical situation in which they disobey the prohibition.
The context does not indicate that Paul is affirming the truth of the protasis that Paul’s Gentile Christians were arrogant towards the Jews.
Rather Paul is using the first class condition in Romans 11:18 in a rhetorical sense, which has the idea of a polite command, couched in indirect language.
Thus, he is simply issuing a friendly warning and performing preventive maintenance in Romans 11:18 by issuing this prohibition.
The first class condition in Romans 11:18 indicates that Paul is speaking of a hypothetical situation that could possibly take place among the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome.
Romans 11:18, “Do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.”
“It is not you who supports the root but the root supports you” contains the apodasis and is a reminder to Paul’s Gentile Christian readers in Rome that they by no means sustain the root, Abraham but rather Abraham sustains them.
He sustains them in the sense that through their faith in Christ they have become joint-partakers with Jewish Christians of the promises, blessings, privileges and responsibilities of the Abrahamic covenant.
The Abrahamic covenant reveals that God planned to save Gentiles through Abraham’s descendants, the Jews and in particular his greatest descendant, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, there is no place Paul says for Gentile Christians to assume arrogant superiority over the Jews whether saved or unsaved.