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"Grafting" (Romans 10:17)

There is something I have noticed in my work as a pastor of a local church which I would like to share. 

Many of you will be familiar with the "Engel scale". It is an attempt to quantify, in terms of a "timeline" the progress of someone from unbelief, to faith, to Christian maturity. Minus 10 (-10) on the Engel scale is a virulent atheist (think of a famous evolutionary scientist and author of many books denying the existence of God). Minus 2 or 3 is someone on their way to becoming a Christian, but who has not yet come to the faith. Zero is the moment of conversion/rebirth.* This is followed by four or more further stages, as the new/young believer progresses towards Christian maturity, which includes active involvement in the church and Christian service. 

What I want to focus on is the period after the "zero" moment of conversion. 

What I have observed in church life, particularly in the two churches where I have served as the "lead pastor", is what I have called "grafting". 

What I mean by grafting is a reference to what Paul writes in Romans 11:17, "you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root[c] of the olive tree"

What Paul is describing here is a process whereby those who do not belong (Gentiles, wild olive shoots) are "grafted" into the covenant people of God, and, in due course, become part of the tree. 

There are several dimensions to this: 

  • Believing God's revelation, and believing in Christ who is the root. 
  • Public profession of Christ, identifying yourself as a Christian in the eyes of the world 
  • Finding your place in God's people, establishing and nurturing new brother-sister relationships
  • Change in behaviour and lifestyle
  • Continuing to be sustained spiritually, abiding in Christ, and receiving his grace, including by the means of grace such as the Word, prayer and the sacraments
  • Finding a place of service, starting to use gifts 
My observation has been that this process, which in some ways follows the initial moment of rebirth and of formally joining the church, lasts some time, and "success" or "failure" can determine the ongoing path of the new Christian. In some cases, "failure" to properly graft can lead to someone "growing cold" spiritually, or being estranged from the local church where they came to faith, sometimes irreparably. I suppose it is similar to when a branch grafted into a tree doesn't "take", resulting in it withering or worse. 

On the Engel scale, this phase of "grafting" is something like 1 1/2 (one and a half), that is to say, after conversion/baptism, but before completely belonging to God's people. That is not, of course, to deny that our whole lives are a process of "becoming Christians" and of progressive sanctification. 

I hope these thoughts are helpful for others, as they have been helpful to me. Here is the Russian version of this post, written up in 2013. 

*Different Christian theologies perceive this moment in slightly different ways; the Engel scale perceives the "act" of repentance and faith as minus 1, and the moment of rebirth as "zero". Reformed theology, which I hold to, would consider the moment of rebirth to come first, and repentance and faith to be the fruit of a renewed heart. Or, those two events could be considered to be "two sides of the same coin". 

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