Then by all means please demonstrate the proper interpretation of Romans 11:17-23. Simply claiming that someone has an incorrect interpretation of a passage without demonstrating either how they interpreted it incorrectly or how it should be interpreted isn’t helpful at all and doesn’t prove anything. Make an actual argument that amounts to something more than simply replying nuh uh.
Paul is talking about Israel as a nation, not individual salvation. The olive tree represents the spiritual blessings of God, and the branches represent nations or groups of people (Jews and Gentiles), not individual believers losing salvation.
Romans 11:17-18 "And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee."
- Some Jewish people (as a group) were broken off due to unbelief, not loss of salvation.
- Gentiles were grafted in, meaning they now partake in God’s spiritual blessings.
- This is about God turning from Israel as a nation and working with the Gentiles, not individuals losing salvation.
Romans 11:19-20 "Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:"
- The branches (Israel as a nation) were removed due to unbelief. This does not mean saved people lost salvation, but that God’s focus shifted to the Gentiles.
- The warning is against pride, not loss of salvation.
Romans 11:21-22 "For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
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."
- Again, this is talking about nations, not individuals.
- If the Gentiles (as a whole) turn from God, He can shift His work again.
- This is about God’s dealings with groups of people, not individual salvation.
Romans 11:23 "And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again."
- If Israel as a nation believes again, God will restore them.
- This has nothing to do with an individual losing and regaining salvation but with God's dealings with nations.
So to conclude:
- Individual salvation is eternal (John 10:28, Romans 8:38-39).
- The warning is against national arrogance, not personal apostasy.
- Unbelief leads to being cut off from God's blessings, not losing salvation.
This passage actually proves eternal security, because it confirms that God is dealing with nations, not individuals, and that once you are saved, you are eternally secure in Christ. Romans 11 is about nations being used by God, not individuals losing salvation.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”