Romans 11:19

‘You will say then, “Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” '

He then forestalls an objection which he sees as possibly arising (and which he may have heard said among certain carnal Gentile Christians), and that is, said rather gloatingly, that the branches were broken off so that they as Gentiles might be grafted in. Said without gloating that would be perfectly true. But it is a sad reflection that we can admit that the gloating might well have been true, although it must be recognised in mitigation that it might have been in retaliation to the gloating of certain Jews over them as Gentiles. The fact is that carnal Christians can have a tendency to gloat over the benefits that God has given them, rather than simply receiving them with heartfelt gratitude and praise. Compare Romans 3:27; Romans 4:2. And this just as the Jews tended to gloat over the Gentiles. What we must always remember is that anything that we have received has been by the unmerited favour of God. While we may glory in it in the sense of having gratitude to God for the wonders that we have received, we should not gloat over it. Thus they (and we) are to beware of gloating over their privileges.