BEHOLD THEN THE KINDNESS AND SEVERITY OF GOD: ide (2SAAM) oun chrestoteta kai apotomian theou: (2:4,5; 9:22,23; Numbers 14:18-22; Deuteronomy 32:39-43; Joshua 23:15,16; Psalms 58:10,11; Psalms 78:49-52; 136:15-22; Isaiah 66:14)

Behold (3708) (eido) is aorist imperative.

Kindness (5544) (chrestotes from the adjective chrestos = useful, profitable in turn from chraomai = to furnish what is needed in turn from chráo = lend, furnish as a loan) (Click for in depth study of chrestotes) Chrestotes describes the quality of being helpful and beneficial. Kindness is God's beneficial provision that meets the need of sinful man. Kindness is not an apathetic response to sin, but a deliberate act to bring the sinner back to God. Kindness reflects benevolence in action, kindliness which disposes one to do good but not a goodness qualitatively but a goodness in action and expressed in deed. Kindness is that temper or disposition which delights in contributing to the happiness of others, which is exercised cheerfully in gratifying their wishes and which supplies their wants or alleviates their distresses. Kindness is not just a sweet disposition but is a serving trait.

Earlier in this letter Paul asked

"do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness (chrestotes) and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" (see note on Romans 2:4)

God's kindness does not excuse men of their sin but convicts them of sin and leads them to repentance. In the next chapter of Romans Paul uses chrestotes to contrast the attitude and action of sinful men writing

"all have turned aside. Together they have become useless. There is none who does good (chrestotes). There is not even one." (see note on Romans 3:12)

TO THOSE WHO FELL, SEVERITY BUT TO YOU, GOD'S KINDNESS: epi men tous pesontas (AAPMPA) apotomia, epi de se chrestotes theou:

Those who fell are the unbelieving Jews, and “you” are the believing Gentiles. But what Paul is suggesting is that the positions are reversible. Gentiles can become objects of God’s severity, and Israel can become the object of His kindness, depending on the response of each to God.

Severity (663) (apotomia from apoténo = to cut off) describes a cutting off, a severing, as of a man cutting off as the gardener cuts off, with a pruning knife, dead useless boughs, or luxuriant stems. from a fruit tree.

Apotomia thus has the root (no pun intended) meaning of cutting right off, or cutting quickly, and corresponds to the verb ekkopto (cut off), with which this verse ends. And in this context, pipto (fell) means to fall down so as to be completely ruined. Paul is therefore speaking of an extremely serious spiritual condition, in which people fell from spiritual opportunity into judgment. (Related topic: God's wrath)

IF YOU CONTINUE IN HIS KINDNESS OTHERWISE YOU ALSO WILL BE CUT OFF: ean epimenes (2SPAS) te chrestoteti, epei kai su ekkopese (2SFPI): (2:7; Luke 8:15; John 8:31; 15:4-10; Acts 11:23; 14:22; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Galatians 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 3:5,8; Hebrews 3:6,14; 10:23,35-39; 1 John 2:19; Jude 1:20,21)

MacArthur believes this should be interpreted as follows:

The previous phrase ("those that fell") looks at the past. Paul then warns those in the present who have identified with the saving gospel that they must continue in His kindness or they, too, will be judged severely like those in the past who were near the blessing and fell. That is a familiar NT idea, which affirms the reality of true, saving faith by its continuity. That is the perseverance of the saints that evidences their genuine conversion (Jn 8:31 15:5-6; Col 1:22-23 Heb 3:12-14, 4:11, 1Jn 2:19).

Not everyone interprets this verse in the above manner. For example Bible Believer's Commentary says:

"It must be constantly borne in mind that Paul is not speaking of the church or of individual believers. He is speaking about the Gentiles as such. Nothing can ever separate the Body of Christ from the Head, and nothing can separate a believer from the love of God, but the Gentile peoples can be removed from their present position of special privilege."

Nelson's Study Bible:

If Gentiles continue in God’s goodness, they will not be cut off, and if Jews turn to God in faith, they can be grafted in again. This is not a reference to individual salvation but to God’s program for Jews and Gentiles.

Beet writes that

All exultation of Gentiles over Jews is now shut out. Not only has the spiritual life of the Gentiles come through the Jews, but the present state of the Jews tells what will become of the Gentiles if they cease to believe.

Charles Hodge in his commentary on Romans writes that...:

Nothing in this language is inconsistent with the doctrine of the final perseverance of believers, even supposing that the passage refers to individuals, for it is very common to speak hypothetically in this way and say that an event cannot or will not come to pass unless the requisite means are employed, when the occurrence of the event has been made certain by the prior intention and promise of God (see Acts 27:31). The foundation of all such statements is the simple truth that he who intends the end also intends the means; and he brings about the end by providing the means. And when rational agents are concerned, he provides the means by rational considerations presented to their minds and made effectual by his grace, when the end contemplated is good.

This passage, however, has no legitimate bearing on this subject. Paul is not speaking about the connection between individual believers and Christ, which, as he has fully taught in chapter 7 and elsewhere, is indissoluble, but about the relationship of communities to the church and its various privileges. No promise or covenant on the part of God guarantees that the Gentiles will enjoy these blessings through all generations, any more than there was any such promise to protect the Jews from the consequences of their unbelief. The continuation of these favors depends on the conduct of each successive generation. Therefore Paul tells the Gentile that he must continue in the divine favor: Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

Bible Knowledge Commentary writes that...

In these verses Paul summarized his whole discussion of God’s sovereign choice in temporarily putting Israel aside corporately and proclaiming righteousness by faith to all mankind. Consider (ide, “see, behold”) therefore the kindness (chrestoteta, “benevolence in action”; also used of God in 2:4; Eph. 2:7; Titus 3:4) and sternness of God. “Sternness” translates apotomian, used only here in the New Testament (cf. the adverb apotomos in 2 Cor. 13:10 [“be harsh”] and Titus 1:13 [“sharply”]). God’s sovereign choice involved severity toward the Jews who stumbled (fell; cf. Rom. 11:11) in unbelief and were hardened (v. 25), but that same decision displayed the goodness of God toward individual Gentiles. God’s continuing His goodness to the Gentiles depends on their continuing in His kindness. If Gentiles do not continue in God’s kindness, they also will be cut off. This does not suggest that a Christian can lose his salvation; it refers to Gentiles as a whole (suggested by the sing. you) turning from the gospel much as Israel as a nation had done.

Continue (1961) (epimeno from epí = upon, in or at + méno = stay or remain) means abide in, continue in, tarry in, abide or stay in.

FOR GOD IS ABLE TO GRAFT THEM IN AGAIN: dunatos gar estin (3SPAI) o theos palin egkentrisai (AAN) autous: (Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 23:39; 2 Corinthians 3:16)

God is able

Able (1415) (dunatos from dunamai = be able, have power by virtue of inherent ability and resources) (See related in depth word dunamis) pertaining to having the ability to perform some function or being in a position to, be able, be capable able to do something (Related topic: God's Omnipotence)

Graft (1461) (egkentrizo from en = in + kentrízo = make a puncture from kéntron = a prick or sharp point, emphasizing fact of the incision required in grafting) means to insert by making a puncture or small opening and thus to engraft.  Our hearts are hardened by sin and need to be "pricked" by the Word of truth that they might be convicted of sin, righteousness and the judgment to come.

Paul's argument is that if the hard thing, the thing contrary to nature, i.e. the grafting of wild branches into the cultivated olive, has been accomplished, one should not find it difficult to believe that God will restore the broken-off branches (Israel) of the cultivated olive to their former position. Since in tree culture this would be impossible because of the deadness of the branches after they were removed, Paul is indeed talking "contrary to nature."

How will "God graft them in again"?

The prophet Zechariah records Jehovah's promise that one day in the future...

For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and against nature grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much easier will it be to graft these natural [branches] back on [the original parent stock of] their own olive tree. (Amplified)

That is, it is still more probable that Jews, the natural descendants of Abraham, should be brought into the spiritual privileges contained in the promise given to their own ancestor, for nationally they have a covenant relationship with God already, which is not the case with Gentiles.

The great lesson of this passage is certainly that just as the Jews of the Old Testament became proud, assuming that they alone knew God, the same thing may happen to Gentiles in the New Testament era.

Gentile believers must not yield to the temptation to disrespect the Jews. If it had not been for the grace of God, Gentiles would never have been grafted into the life of God which the Jews enjoyed. The new life which enables them to produce fruit grows from the same root that the old stock of Israel grows.