Couldn't the Gentiles be cut off?
Romans 11, the olive tree.
The short answer Settled
Yes, from their place of blessing as a people, not from salvation. The olive tree in Romans 11 is not salvation. It is the place of blessing that grows from God's promises to Israel's fathers.
The tree is not salvation
Israel's natural branches were in the tree by birth, and "Because of unbelief they were broken off" (). They had been in the tree without believing, so being in the tree was never the same as being saved. The tree grows from God's promises; Israel is still "beloved for the sake of the fathers" (). Gentiles grafted in share "the root and fatness of the olive tree" ().
Spoken to a people
Paul says, "I speak to you Gentiles" (), and he names how long their time in that place lasts: "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved" (). Then "God is able to graft them in again" (). Being cut off is the end of the Gentiles' time as the people of blessing.
The usual objection
Paul tells a Gentile, "you stand by faith" (), and warns him, "Otherwise you also will be cut off" (). On this view a believer who does not continue in God's goodness loses his salvation.
The broken branches had never believed, so the tree is not salvation. Paul speaks of Gentiles and Israel as peoples: the same Israel is "enemies" and "beloved" at once (), which can be said of a people, not of each person in it. His warning is to stay humble while the place lasts: "Do not be haughty, but fear" ().
The words behind it
| Word | Where | Form | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| ὑμῖν … λέγω τοῖς ἔθνεσιν hymin … legō tois ethnesin, "I speak to you Gentiles" (Strong's 3004, 1484) | Present indicative | Paul speaks to Gentiles as a people. | |
| τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν tē apistia exeklasthēsan, "Because of unbelief they were broken off" (570, 1575) | Aorist passive indicative | The broken branches had never believed. | |
| ἐπεὶ καὶ σὺ ἐκκοπήσῃ epei kai sy ekkopēsē, "Otherwise you also will be cut off" (1581) | Future passive indicative | The warning to the Gentiles. | |
| ἄχρι οὗ τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσέλθῃ achri hou to plērōma tōn ethnōn eiselthē, "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (891, 4138, 1484) | Aorist subjunctive | Their time in that place has a limit. | |
| ἐχθροὶ … ἀγαπητοὶ echthroi … agapētoi, "enemies … beloved" (2190, 27) | Adjectives | Both said of one people at once. |
No textual variants affect the conclusion.
This study checks the Greek Received Text against the Majority Text, and the written Hebrew against its traditional reading. If a difference could change a conclusion, this note explains it. Otherwise it says that none does.