Be afraid of pride.

Romans 11:19-21 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Paul was concerned about the attitude of the predominantly Gentile church in Rome toward the Jews. He warned them about being arrogant toward the Jews, thinking that they were superior to the Jews since God had cut His own people off and grafted them in. In these verses, Paul basically accused them of the same arrogance in the Jews that got them cut off. The Jews thought they were superior to everyone else, that only they were accepted by God because of who they were and what they knew. Now, the Gentile church was in danger of thinking they had been accepted because they were superior to the Jews and were accepted because of who they were and what they knew. Paul reminded them that their standing before God was based solely on the fact that they believed in Jesus. Yes, they were right to conclude that God cut them off, but not for the reason they thought it was. It was because of unbelief, and if they were arrogant, thinking that they stood because of who they were and what they had done, then they were in the same position of unbelief and arrogance. Why should God not cut them off as well? The solution to this danger was to fear, to take heed, that they not give any room for that attitude in their hearts. If we really understand the love of God and the gift of righteousness in Christ is the basis for our relationship with Him, we won’t allow any room for arrogance or pride in our hearts toward others who are not saved. We are not better than they. We stand by faith in what God has done, not reliance upon what we have done or our knowledge of spiritual things. As we live to love with Jesus, that is our message. God is love, and His plan of salvation is that whoever believes on the name of the Lord Jesus and trusts in His work on their behalf, will be saved. Being satisfied in the love of God in Christ more than in ourselves, we glorify God and proclaim Jesus Christ to those He puts in our paths. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com