Romans 9:1-5

One of the blessings of going verse by verse through books of the Bible is it prevents you from skipping over hard things.

And here we are running into a section of Romans that starts in chapter 9 and goes through chapter 11.

And so, but I do want to say, try to look at this with fresh eyes today.

We'll be in Romans 9 with the next today and then three more Sundays.

But just join me in a quick word of prayer.

Lord, we're just grateful to come together around your word today.

And I pray that it would have your desired effect on our hearts and our lives.

And help me to remain submitted to your word, to remain humble, to put all things before you.

Just ask that you be honored in this time. In Christ's name, amen.

So we will, Nathan took us through Romans 8, arguably one of the greatest chapters that we find in the scripture.

In Romans 8, connect directly to Romans 9.

And we're going to just start with the first five verses today.

So let's just read together from God's inspired and inerrant word.

Romans 9, 1 through 5.

Paul says,

Back in the book of Romans, it's just a good reminder that we never graduate.

We never graduate from the gospel.

We never move on from the cross, but only a more profound understanding of the cross as we grow in our faith.

And if the gospel is true, then it must stand up against the hardest scrutiny.

We need it because we are banking our souls and trusting our souls to this message.

And arguably, the book of Romans gives us the fullest detailed at length explanation of the gospel.

And so, after reading these five verses, one of the things that I learned that has helped me in the past is when you preach on a particular passage of scripture,

preach the mood of that scripture.

If it's joyous, you should be joyous.

If it's sad and convicting, then that's how you ought to preach it.

And I just want to confess to you that I can't, without God's help, preach the mood of this text.

It is a very sorrowful lamentation.

And so, before we move on, I want you just to notice that why does Romans 9, 1 through 5,

it comes following Romans 8, which is one of the greatest explanations of our future glory in Christ.

That nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

A promise to save us, to glorify us with Christ.

Romans 8 gives us great assurance, great hope, and great confidence of our eternal salvation.

There's just a tremendous mountaintop that we reach in Romans 8.

And when we get to the summit, we stop there.

And there's just something that just blows my mind here.

After Paul reaches the heights of Romans 8, reaches the summit of that mountain,

he immediately thinks about those who aren't there with him.

He thinks about those who are still lost in the valley, living in darkness.

When it comes to his Jewish kinsmen, when it comes to his family, the people that he knows, the nation of Israel.

And so, this kind of poses a problem.

This is why this matters, okay?

We're asking the question in the next three chapters.

Has God's promises to the nation of Israel failed?

Have they fallen short?

Gone unfulfilled?

Because by and large, the nation at this time had rejected Jesus as the Messiah.

So have those promises failed to Israel?

And if that's true, if they have failed, then how can we be sure that God will keep his word to us?

See the problem there?

Like, that's the question that Paul is going to tackle in the next three chapters.

How can we trust the promises that he has made to us in Christ,

if the promises he's made to the Jewish people have gone unfulfilled?

That's why it matters.

And so he begins this new section answering these questions at length, chapters 9 through 11.

And he's demonstrating that indeed, God has been faithful to his word.

And that he has kept his promises towards Israel.

So in these chapters, he will show, he will prove that within the nation of Israel, right,

as there's a larger circle of ethnic, national Israel.

Within that is a smaller, concentric circle of saved, spiritual Israel.

A remnant that God has chosen for salvation.

Just a very similar connection to us today.

Just because we see a larger circle of the gathered church.

But we know that just because we can see a church gathered doesn't mean that everyone inside that gathering belongs to Christ.

There are, within these larger circles, smaller, concentric circles of the invisible church.

And that's the way it is with this passage.

This is what he's going on to prove.

But before he goes into that at length, he wants us to take a glimpse into his heart for his fellow Jews.

It's very important because I think if we see how he answers this, how he brings us out, it'll help us later look at these amazing but hard doctrines of salvation, sovereign election, and what God talks about.

So there's only two parts, two points really, of our message today.

Part number one.

Or number one.

See Paul's personal connection to unbelieving Israel.

Paul's personal connection to unbelieving Israel.

He says in verse one,

I'm speaking the truth in Christ.

I'm not lying.

My conscience bears witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unsecretely anguish in my heart.

For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh.

And so many, many believers give lip service to their sadness for the loss.

That's just so bad.

That's just too sad.

Paul, on the other hand, wants us to understand this is not just sentimental.

A sentimental aside from what he's talking about.

It's not just lip service or how bad he feels about the loss.

He truly, actually, sincerely feels deep sorrow in his soul for his Jewish kinsmen that are living in darkness away from Christ.

As we unpack this verse by verse, he says, I'm speaking the truth in Christ.

I'm not lying.

So he's calling on the very presence of Jesus himself to bear witness that he is not lying.

He is being truthful.

We might be tempted to lie, but if we actually had an awareness that Jesus was there with us,

we would have a much harder time uttering a lie.

And so he's not exaggerating.

He's speaking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

So giving further certification to this, he says,

My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit.

You ever notice that when we lie, when lies can out of our mouths immediately,

there's something that convicts us?

It says the law of God is written on our hearts in Romans chapter 2.

Romans 2 · chapter mention

And when we lie, we sin against our conscience.

So Paul calls his conscience to bear witness in the Holy Spirit.

All right, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth.

So the Spirit himself is bearing witness of the truth of what he is going to say.

And our consciences should be bathed in the light and warmth of the Holy Spirit at all times

to maintain integrity.

A conscience surrendered to God's Word and to the Holy Spirit.

That's what we must aim for.

So then he says he invokes that as a witness to his truthfulness and his reliability.

So you might think like,

Well, Paul, have you been lying to us elsewhere?

Like, why do you feel now the need to say,

Hey, I'm telling you the truth?

Because aren't you always telling us the truth?

It's a fair question.

But here's the point.

Why he feels the need to express his true motives about this.

Because what he's about to say could seem so unbelievable, so incredible,

even exaggerated, that we might be tempted to think that he's not actually telling us the truth.

So that's why he emphasizes this.

Everything from out of his mouth, he truly, sincerely believes.

So he looks at his lost kinsmen, the Jewish people, the Israelites.

All right?

So following, again, the most glorious explanation of the gospel recorded in human language in Romans 8,

he immediately breaks into this lamentation.

His tone moves from the apex of joy to very solemn.

As Sinclair Ferguson said,

Paul goes from ecstasy to anguish.

Just like that.

Paul confesses he suffers great.

That's the word mega.

Great sorrow.

Which means immense sadness and deep distress.

And then he says unceasing anguish.

Which means this constant pain and perpetual torment.

Something that he can't just have a moment of and then put it aside.

And it's after him all day and all night.

This perpetual anguish in his heart about his unbelieving Jewish kinsmen.

Later on in chapter 10, verse 1, he says,

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them, the Jewish people,

is that they may be saved.

So he has this desire for all of them to come to know Jesus as the true Messiah.

But isn't it interesting, again, that on the summit of hope in chapter 8,

he immediately thinks about those who are not there with him.

It reminds me of a missionary who went to Papua New Guinea

and shared the gospel with the tribe.

The Moak people shared the gospel at length,

unpacked it for them, and they're all just sitting there in suspense,

waiting to know what's going to happen,

and tells them that Jesus died and that Jesus rose again,

and that they put their hope and trust in Jesus,

that they will be saved.

And they break out into celebration,

like a joyful celebration,

that if they put their hope in Christ, they will be saved.

And it turned into dancing and praising God.

And then the missionary said,

At some point following that,

they all just broke down weeping and crying uncontrollably.

And he inquired why this was happening to one of the village elders.

And he goes,

I think they've just realized that all their family who has gone before them is not with God.

And then they actually returned back to rejoicing not long after that.

That's what we see here.

Paul deeply and truly loves the Jewish people from whom he was born and raised.

He treasures the rich heritage, right,

of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, and the prophets.

Like he loves his people.

Paul loved their customs and their traditions.

He wrote in Galatians 1.14,

that he was extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers.

A deep love for them.

And then he says,

For their sake, right,

some of us may feel sorrow in our hearts.

I know I do,

but not to this degree of anguish.

What he says,

most of us could never follow.

Like,

in our conscience,

I'm like,

I don't know

if I could say that.

But he says,

I wish that I myself were accursed,

cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,

my kinsmen,

according to the flesh.

All right,

now,

now understand,

Paul knows in his head

that that's an impossibility.

Because of what he just wrote in Romans 8.

He knows that nothing can separate him

from the love of Christ.

That's in his head,

but his heart is still aching

with conflict for his lost kinsmen.

Indeed,

if it was even possible,

he says he would choose

to be accursed

for their sake.

that's a word

that some of you may be familiar with.

It means anathema,

cut off,

to suffer the fury and wrath of God

is what it means.

To suffer their punishment,

their kinsmen,

according to the flesh.

He's basically saying,

I'm willing to lose Christ

if they only could gain Christ.

Now,

I only picked one place

for you to turn today.

It was hard to settle in,

but I want you to

just join me briefly

in Revelation 20.

Hold your hand,

Romans 9,

and look at Revelation 20.

What does this look like?

You know,

all of us will face

God's judgment one day.

Some of us are prepared.

Some of us are not prepared.

And I want you to think about

where you may be

as well as

what about the state of those

who you love

and you care about?

Your family,

your friends,

those that you have contact with.

And I want you to

think about

approaching the judgment.

Or to envision them

approaching the judgment.

But God is called

the righteous judge.

He always does

what's right.

We've seen a lot of

corruption in our world

and in our nation

with

courts and law

being used

in unjust ways.

God makes no such mistakes.

He is the righteous judge.

And he's vowed

one day

to judge

all humanity

that has rebelled

against him.

Look at Revelation 20.

Go to verse 11.

This is following

chapter 19

of the armies of heaven

coming down

to judge

and make war.

And before the

before the new heaven

and the new earth

in chapter 21

we find this image

of the great

white throne

judgment.

A phrase that

scared the junk

out of me

when I was a kid.

And justly so.

Revelation 20

Revelation 20:11

verse 11

John says

I saw a great

white throne

and him who was

seated on it.

From his presence

earth and sky

fled away

and no place

was found for them.

And I saw the dead

the great and the small

standing before the throne

and books

were opened.

And another book

was opened

which is the book

of life.

And the dead

were judged

by what was written

in the books

according to what

they had done.

And the sea

gave up the dead

who were in it.

Death and Hades

gave up the dead

who were in them.

And they were judged

each one of them

according to what

they had done.

Then death and Hades

were thrown

into the lake of fire.

This is the second death

the lake of fire.

If anyone's name

was not found

written in the book

of life

he was thrown

into the lake

of fire.

I hope that

in a good way

this passage

sobers us

this morning.

We look at God's

throne

that's high

and exalted

and it's white

which means pure

and holy

and at God's

presence

the fallen

creation

just flees away.

Like it's too

unclean

to be in his

sight.

Making way

for the new heaven

and the new earth.

And it says that

all people

all men

the powerful

the great

the strong

world leaders

the rich

the poor

the beggar

on the street

and the most

powerful leader

among us

all stand

before the throne.

And it says that

there are books

plural

see that

books recording

more than likely

every thought

every deed

and every sin

committed

by individuals.

And then there is

a singular

book

the book

of life

that contains

the name

of all those

who have trusted

their souls

to Jesus Christ

the book

of life

of the Lamb.

And it says that

in God's

perfect judgment

he examines

all these things

and it says

if anyone's name

was not found

in the book

of life

they were cast

into the lake

of fire.

The first

death is physical

we all will

suffer that

the second

death

is spiritual

far worse

and if we

do not have

Jesus

approaching this

day

we will perish

under God's

just

and righteous

judgment.

And that

individually

makes me

I will say

I'm

I'm scared

but I'm not

terrified

if that makes

sense.

A reverence

for what

is to take

place there

but I also

can look over

and envision

those that

I know

my family

members

my friends

people that

do not

have Christ

approaching

that throne

they will not

they will not

make it

they will not

survive

and so

I want

to

as best

I can

try to get

to where

Paul is

I hope that

you ask God

to help you

see that

to see

yourself

and those

that you

love

facing

this

oncoming

judgment

from God

this is not

just

a sentiment

that

Paul

himself

had

Moses

likewise

shared

in that

when he

was on

Mount Sinai

an Israelite

camp

turned

to

idolatry

in a

pagan

awful

celebration

of depravity

and unbelief

so Moses

feels

God's

righteous

indignation

towards the

nation

he knows

that punishment

will come

and he

jumps

between the

people

and God

and he

offers

himself

much in the

way Paul

does here

to save

you from

turning

there

if you

want to

look at

later

Exodus

32

30

through

33

but he

said

if you

will

forgive

their

sin

but if

not

blot

me

out

from

your

book

that

you

have

written

and the

Lord

said

to

Moses

whoever

has

sinned

against

me

I

will

blot

out

from

my

book

and so

Moses

himself

felt this

need to

intercede

for his

people

but

as we

know

only Jesus

can bear

the punishment

as a substitute

and take

God's wrath

no man

is capable

then finally

we know

that our

Lord

himself

upon

approaching

Jerusalem

before

he was

to be

arrested

beaten

and

crucified

upon

looking over

the whole

city

Jesus

cried out

oh

Jerusalem

Jerusalem

the city

that kills

the prophets

and stones

them

who are

sent to

it

how often

would I

have gathered

your children

together

as a

hen

gathers

her brood

under

her wings

and you

were not

willing

so Jesus

himself

felt

broken

heartedness

for the

people

so this

is all

Paul's

personal

connection

with

unbelieving

Israel

now

point

number

two

is

God's

personal

connection

to

unbelieving

Israel

and

if you

look at

verses

four

through

five

back in

Romans

9

says

they

are

Israelites

and to

them

belong

the

adoption

the

glory

the

covenant

the

giving

of

the

law

the

worship

and

the

promise

to

them

belong

the

patriarchs

and from

their

race

according

to

the

flesh

is

the

Christ

who

is

God

over

all

blessed

forever

amen

notice

he

says

to

them

belong

meaning

the

Hebrew

nation

they

were

marvelously

privileged

by

God

he

entrusted

things

to

Israel

that

he

did

not

entrust

to

the

Amorites

to

the

Egyptians

to

anybody

else

he

chose

them

by

his

grace

in a

general

sense

as a

nation

right

God

graciously

gave

them

types

and

prefigures

which

are

these

examples

or

pictures

that

God

designed

beforehand

and he

placed

them

in

history

to

point

forward

to

a

greater

larger

fulfillment

namely

Jesus

Christ

and he

he gave

them

so much

and yet

they

rejected

as

for the

most part

by and

large

they

rejected

Jesus

as

the

Messiah

it

says

in

John

John 1:11

1

verse

11

that

he

Jesus

came

to

his

own

and

his

own

people

did

not

receive

him

so

the

reason

for

highlighting

all

this

was

to

say

how

privileged

they

were

as a

nation

is

to

show

how

tragic

their

condition

is

to be

cut

off

from

God

because

they've

been

given

so

much

so

not

the

true

Israel

some

of us

may

think

someone

may

not

trust

in

God

because

they

haven't

just

had

enough

exposure

to

God's

truth

you ever

felt like

that

before

ever

heard

that

well

this

proves

that

that's

not

true

Israel

is

the

ultimate

example

of that

every

advantage

was given

to them

and they

squandered

it

for the

most

part

they had

so many

things

given

from

God

let's

just

walk

through

these

things

briefly

it

says

first

the

adoption

not

used

in a

general

sense

of

giving

salvation

to

every

individual

born

in

ethnic

Israel

rather

that

God

in a

general

sense

chose

them

and privileged

the entire

nation

to manifest

himself

to

to reveal

himself

to

he gave

them

so many

things

in

Exodus

4

22

God

calls

Israel

my

son

my

firstborn

meaning

that

the

provisions

for the

nation

were like

that

of a

firstborn

son

his

care

and

special

attention

was

given

to

them

all

these

blessings

were

poured

out

upon

them

yet

most

of

them

failed

to

lay

hold

of

that

great

blessing

and

they

squandered

it

the

glory

is

the

next

part

of

this

possibly

referring

to

this

visible

we call

the

Shekinah

glory

this

visible

sign

of

God's

presence

and

a

pillar

of

cloud

or

fire

that

we

saw

around

Sinai

the

tabernacle

the

holy

of

holies

a

visible

presence

of

God

among

them

but

also

you could

easily

say

when

God

reveals

his

glory

to

someone

what

he's

doing

is

revealing

himself

to

someone

he's

revealing

his

character

and

who

he

is

and

his

mighty

deeds

and

he

did

that

for

Israel

he

made

known

to

them

saving

revelation

you

want

to

know

how

to

be

made

right

with

me

I'm

going

to

show

you

yet

the

majority

of

ethnic

Israel

failed

to be

amazed

by

that

glory

and

most

did

not

partake

of

it

so

nextly

we

see

the

covenants

see

that

we

all

know

what

covenants

are

a

legal

binding

promise

a

contract

an

agreement

between

two

parties

and

God's

reveal

it

you

know

if

you

study

the

covenants

it's

just

such

a

wonderful

picture

of

God's

grace

he

condescended

came

down

and entered

into a

contractual

relationship

with

those

who

were

in

Israel

right

you

have

the

Abrahamic

covenant

the

Mosaic

covenant

the

Davidic

covenant

and on

and on

where

God

pledged

himself

to

them

and

swore

by

his

own

name

to

keep

his

word

towards

them

he

didn't

do

that

with

the

other

nations

he

chose

to

do

it

with

Israel

yet

most

of

them

failed

to

see

his

grace

in

those

covenants

and

failed

to

keep

their

part

of

those

covenants

then

fourthly

we

see

the

law

could

definitely

refer to

the

ten

commandments

but

also

countless

other

principles

that

God

gave

so that

we

would

know

how to

honor

him

and

obey

him

!

the

Hebrew

word

law

Torah

which

means

not

just

legal

stuff

but

instruction

teaching

God

gave

us

careful

instructions

right

as a

loving

father

gives

his

child

showing

him

how

he

ought

to

live

in

the

world

specific

revelation

the

scripture

and

y'all

know

that

like

they

so many

of

them

had

exposure

to

the

scripture

God's

specific

revelation

about

his

character

and

what

he

desires

yet

most

of

Israel

again

they

failed

to

see

the

purpose

of

the

law

they

failed

to

lay

hold

to

the

reality

that

the

law

is

a

servant

leading

us

to

Christ

then

you

look

at

the

next

part

the

worship

also

referring

to

like

mainly

the

temple

service

what

happened

at

the

tabernacle

and

the

temple

that

the

sacrificial

and

ceremonial

system

that

God

had

revealed

to

Moses

Exodus

29

and

through

it

God's

people

could

place

their

faith

in

him

and

provide

atonement

for

their

sin

and

as

we

know

the

supreme

temple

service

was

the

Passover

we're

all

aware

of

that

that

is

Exodus

12

yet

the

majority

of

Israel

failed

to

see

that

those

animal

sacrifices

pointed

forward

to a

final

sacrifice

for

sin

namely

Jesus

Christ

and this

is why

Paul wrote

Christ

our

Passover

lamb

has been

sacrificed

1 Corinthians

5

7

so

Christ

has made

the final

atoning

temple

service

by dying

on Calvary's

cross

and

they

failed

to

see

that

all

those

things

were

pointing

forward

to

him

then

lastly

you

see

the

promises

that

could

be

taken

with

the

word

covenant

the

covenant

and

the

promises

kind

of

summing

it

all

up

all

the

promises

that

God

made

pointing

forward

to

the

coming

Messiah

hundreds

of

prophecies

pointing

forward

to

Jesus

fulfilling

them

bringing

salvation

in

eternal

life

in

his

kingdom

the

new

covenant

though

most

of

them

rejected

the

new

covenant

that

was

coming

to

replace

all

the

old

purchased

by

the

blood

of

Christ

for

those

who

believe

Paul

wrote

in

2nd

Corinthians

all

the

promises

of

God

find

their

yes

in

him

Jesus

Christ

that

is

why

through

him

that

we

utter

our

amen

to

God

for

his

glory

and if

you look

next

you see

the

patriarchs

from

the

loins

of

those

patriarchs

the

fathers

Abraham

Isaac

and

Jacob

came

the

nation

and

God

revealed

himself

specifically

to

those

men

and

from

that

line

came

Jesus

the

Messiah

which

is

next

through

the

Christ

who

is

over

all

blessed

forever

!

Amen!

Jesus

that's

why it's

important

look at

the

beginning

of

Luke

and

the

!

Matthew

you

see

this

lineage

of

Jesus

it's

important

it's

saying

he

was

the

one

he

came

through

the

line

he

was

a

descendant

from

David

Jesus

is

not

just

merely

a

human

being

but

also

fully

God

divine

sovereign

over

all

and

then

Paul

ends

in

praise

if

he

can't

think

about

Jesus

without

busting

out

into

praise

so

in

closing

of

this

part

of

it

the

nation

of

Israel

had

every

advantage

every

grace

given

to

them

to

know

God

and

be

redeemed

by

him

to

worship

him

rightly

so

that

escalates

their

accountability

and their

responsibility

to act

upon the

truth

that was

given

to

them

that's

Luke

12

48

so much

is given

much

is to

be

expected

right

so

some

closing

application

for

us

God

does

not

look

at

the

world

through

good

people

bad

people

he

doesn't

look

at

it

through

a

political

lens

democratic

republican

conservative

liberal

he

doesn't

look

at

it

through

gender

he

doesn't

look

at

it

through

race

he

only

looks

at

it

through

those

who

belong

to

him

and

those

who

don't

and

that's

it

so

those

of

you

today

who

are

without

christ

or

you're

uncertain

about

where

you

stand

with

god

i

want

you

to

see

that

your

attendance

here

is

not

by

accident

or

coincidence

you

may

be

even

unaware

but

this

very

moment

is

ordained

by

god

it

says

in

proverbs

16

9

the heart

of a

man

plans

his

way

but

the

lord

establishes

his

steps

you

are

here

today

we've

been

told

numerous

times

in