"You stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid." These are troubling words in this chapter. Let's stop and think about them a bit. What is Paul saying? Is he saying that we could actually lose our salvation? Is He saying that God is capricious with HIs authority and election? I don't think so.
One of the greatest struggles in the first century church was race. God's chosen people, the Jews, were especially prejudice towards every non-Jew (Gentiles). Jews could not envision salvation for any Gentile who did not become a Jew. Their self-righteous arrogance kept them from seeing that salvation was for "all peoples".
In the same way, these new "Gentile" believers could become blinded by their arrogance and neglect the gracious gift of salvation. Faith, not race will determine salvation. God's choice, not man's choice seals salvation. Understanding salvation should produce humility and gratitude, not arrogance and elitism.
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