Goodness and Severity – Romans 11:18-25

 As far as I know, the silliest commercials on television right now, are a series promoting Old Spice. And there is one pair in that series which is particularly funny, at least to me. The first of this pair ran for a few weeks, and it was apparently so popular that they came up with a sequel. A man is in the shower washing with a product which is both soap and moisturizer. That sounds very feminine, so the ad creators had to work their magic to interest the men. As the camera widens we find that this man has a horse’s body, and as the man finishes washing his chest he reaches around and sets the container of soap/moisturizer on his back. In the second ad he professes to be angry, because they have chosen him to be their spokesman. He says that they are practicing the terrible sin of “two-thingism.” Just because their product is two things, they are using him, who is two things, to sell their moisturizer.

Paul tells us here that Old Spice isn’t the only bunch to be promoting “two-thingism.” The Apostle was convinced that God is in some ways made up of two-things. And if Paul believed it then we must believe it too.

Unfortunately, there are millions of people in this world, from next door to the far side of the world, who are wilfully ignorant of this one thing – God’s dualism. For example, that person is an idolater who points to I John 4, saying God is love, and so He cannot hate sin or sinners. There is as much idolatry in our world today as there has ever been, but many of our idols are residing in our hearts and minds. Just because we don’t have an ivory carved statue in our living room or on our lawn, that doesn’t make the idolatry any less real or obnoxious. The woman who believes that God has nothing to do with the tornado, knows nothing about Jehovah. That person’s God is too weak, too ignorant, or too self-absorbed to be sovereign God of the universe. Those Mediterranean hurricanes which nearly sank Paul and did sink Jonah were sent by the Lord. Proverbs 30:4 asks – “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?” Our Sunday School children can give the answer: God controls the wind and His Son’s Name is Jesus. The man who thinks that he can live like the Devil, and yet God will take him to Heaven when he dies, is bowing before a false God – he is worshiping an idol. And that man will spend eternity in Hell because he has not repented of his idolatry nor put his faith in the Saviour.

Jehovah is a God of love and goodness, but He is also a God of severity and wrath. Those two things blend perfectly in Him, whether you and I ever fully grasp that or not. This morning I mean to address this issue, whether I fully grasp this or not.

In every part of God’s revelation He shows to us His goodness and His severity.In nature we see goodness and beauty, but also severity and the extremities of ugly. We see blazing sunsets and hundreds of square miles ablaze in wildfires driven by ferocious words. We see the birth of thousands of little creatures and we see them devoured by predators. We see the intricacies of creation, running like an enormous clock, but then in cancer we see that creation running amok. The God of the Bible oversees every aspect of Creation and what man calls “nature.”

In providence we see both the goodness and severity of God. We drive our family through an intersection where a head-on car crash takes several lives minutes later. Or perhaps we come upon an accident into which we might have been thrown, if it wasn’t that we were delayed by the hand of God half-an-our earlier. It seems that with almost every airline disaster there are stories of people who were supposed to be on that plane, but for one reason or other they missed the flight. Sometimes those people even mention the providence of God.

In the Jews we see the goodness and severity of God. Under kings who loved the Lord and obeyed His commandment the nation enjoyed “shalom” – peace and prosperity. But the wrath of God was so clearly seen when they turned to idolatry and other sins, as to be undeniable.

We could learn about Israel through history books, but their best history is to be found in the Bible. The Word of God is replete with evidence of the goodness and severity of God from the words “Holy Bible” on the outside over to “Genuine Calf Leather” on the inside of the back cover. We’ve just been examining Israel’s exodus, and we see the severity of God on Egypt, but on Israel we see the Lord’s goodness and grace. And we note in the process that there was nothing in Israel worthy of that goodness. We could properly change the words of our title to “justice” and “mercy” or “grace.” The goodness of God was laid upon Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but severity upon Laban, Ishmael and Esau. And yet these latter men were blessed with much goodness when compared to hundreds of others. Of we could turn to certain individuals, like Job, in whom we see both goodness and severity at different points and for different reasons, neither of which was based upon their sins or good works. We could use Jerusalem as an illustration of the goodness and severity of God. At times in history that city was the capital of the universe, the queen of all cities. But how many times has God caused it to be destroyed?

At the pinnacle of all illustrations, we see these two divine characteristics in the events of Calvary. It might be argued that Christ Jesus deserved neither grace nor judgment – goodness or severity. As the God of perfection, sinlessness, and glory, grace might be perceived only as coming from Christ, rather than falling upon Him. And also as completely sinless, Christ should never have been crucified. But the Lord Jesus was tortured to death – not with the permission of God, but with the decree of God. And yet the foundation laying under that terrible treatment was God’s love for the world and for His elect in particular. Calvary wasn’t about Satan; it wasn’t the Devil’s greatest victory; it wasn’t orchestrated by Lucifer. At Calvary “mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” There was only one means of applying God’s ultimate goodness to sinners like us and that was through the severity of the cross.

To eliminate to what some people to be the negative side of God, is to eliminate His ultimate goodness as well. A God who doesn’t hate sin and punishes sin, destroying the sinner, cannot be considered a good God. The only way to see the true perspective of the Lord is to see His shadow as well as His light.

But perhaps I’m getting too far from Paul’s objective in this scripture.

What did Paul mean by the severity of God?The answer demands some review: God sovereignly chose Abram, leaving the rest of the world to the broad road that leadeth to destruction. He did the rest of the world no harm in not choosing him, but He laid great goodness upon Abraham. Eventually, the Lord made part of the family of Abraham into his chosen nation. He did that while they were suffering under Egyptian slavery. During the ten plagues, some of the great severity of God was clearly displayed. Despite suffering the loss of absolutely everything: personal dignity, their first born, husbands, health, farm wealth and commodities of exchange, Egypt still said, “We want nothing to do with this Jehovah.” They made their beds and died on them; they chose their path and it led straight into the Red Sea. They had no one to blame but themselves for the severity of their sufferings. So God brought his chosen nation into the land which He had promised to them. It only took 40 years of great severity, because that was the path that Israel chose – unbelief and rebellion. But the goodness of God was seen throughout that severity, nevertheless. Then throughout the days of the Judges we see a roller coaster of blessings and judgments – goodness and severity. Eventually there were a succession of kings and the same roller coaster ride. The nation became divided and both eventually went into captivity – the severity of God. And then Judah was graciously permitted to return to the Promised Land – the goodness of God. But immediately she began her descent into unbelief once again, until the fullness of time was come and the Saviour appeared. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” And in that the stage was set for Paul’s subject in Romans 11.

Verse 8 – “God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.” They have been cast down, and cast away, although not completely cast away. The original branches of God’s olive tree of grace have been broken off, but kept in a cool, moist barn awaiting regrafting.

This is the severity to which Paul referred. The cornucopia of God’s blessings and goodness is no longer pointed in Israel’s direction. The Gentiles have been urged and invited to reach in and enjoy the grace of the Lord. And what has been the result as far as Israel is concerned? We see a nation living in unbelief and apostasy. Their Messiah came to them, and they received Him not. Without the blessing of their Divine Protector and Benefactor, Israel has become the laughing stock, and the whipping boy of the nations ever since. Too severe, some might say, but not really so. In comparison to the price that was paid by their prospective Redeemer, their sufferings have been little. And many Jews moan and groan about their severe mis-treatment for the last 2,000 years, and some of it has been horrendous, but they haven’t yet seen a tithe of that severity which will fall upon them during the days of Jacob’s Trouble – the Great Tribulation.

What about the goodness to which Paul refers?“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”

I have tried to remind you and keep reminding you of the context of this verse. This is important, in order to keep us from serious error. The goodness of God in this case is not personal salvation, but the prospects of personal salvation. The goodness of God here is the direction of the mouth of that cornucopia to which I referred. Or maybe I should say that it is the direction of the mouth of the gospel preacher. It is little more than that the gospel is being proclaimed and published among us Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and barbarians.

I think that we can liken this entire thought to the history – and future – of the United States. Despite some of the details regarding the Puritans and the early religious history of this nation, the principles upon which the United States was founded were somewhat Biblical. Many of our founding fathers had a Biblical world-view. That is, they looked at the world with a basic agreement with the Bible. Through the suffering and patience of many early Baptists, some wise choices were made regarding religious liberty, leaving the door of the gospel wide open. And during the last 250 years there have been waves of spirituality and Biblical revival, with many of our citizens clinging to their Bibles, despite often misinterpreting it.

In other words, as a nation, we have continued in the Lord’s goodness, with a good portion of our fathers and grandfathers actually recognizing Christ Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of Lords. But it appears to me that we have grown more and more ignorant of this mystery (verse 25), and we have become wise in our own conceits. We have pictured ourselves as the root, forgetting that we have been grafted into the Lord’s tree of grace. We have not heeded the warning that “if God spared not the natural branches,” we have no guarantee that He will not spare us (verse 21).

Without a doubt the goodness of God as been poured out upon this nation for a quarter of a millennium. But with our society’s growing hatred of the things of God; with our increasing love of sin in all its forms and flavors; and with our profound flaunting of sin before the face of God; I believe that we can soon expect to be broken off the tree of grace once again. God has said, “This is my covenant unto them” – Israel. You and I, as Gentiles, don’t have that covenant and can’t expect the Lord’s gracious goodness to go on much longer. What will it be that spells the end of God’s goodness towards us? Will it be economic collapse, upon which brink we stand at this very moment? Will it be the continued increase of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina? Will it be the drying up of the water supply in the farm belt of the continent? Will it be war unlike anything the world has known before? Or will we simply move directly into the days of the Anti-Christ and the Tribulation? In whatever form it will come, I think that you can be sure that the day of the Lord’s goodness towards us is coming to an end, and days of severity are quickly approaching.

But, praise God, there is an even greater blessing than the prosperity which God has given to us. There is personal salvation, which is far greater than any national or ethic blessing. A few minutes ago, we read from Ephesians 2 – an epistle directed primarily to Gentiles like us. It describes God’s goodness to us. Verse 12 – “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

I have deliberately broken chapter 2 into two pieces, because I wanted to finish with words which clearly emphasize personal redemption. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

As I’ve suggested I wouldn’t be surprised if we as a nation don’t soon experience the severity of God. It might be next in the form of the Tribulation, or it might only be a precursor to the Tribulation. If that is the case, for those who are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, it will not be nearly as difficult as it will be for the lost. And far more important than God’s blessings on this continent, is God’s salvation upon the soul. The greatest good in the goodness of God is the gospel. The message of that gospel is the death of the Lord Jesus Christ for our sins according to the scriptures. And the application of that gospel is repentance before God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you prepared for the days of the severity of God? Are you prepared for eternity?