A Love for the Lost
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Romans 9:1-5
Chapter nine starts a new section of the book of Romans.
Chapters 9-11 speak directly about Israels place in all of this.
The change from chapter eight to chapter nine is abrupt.
The church has a logic question that is answered here in this section.
The Jews are God’s chosen people with a unique and special place in God’s purposes.
However, when God sent His Son into the world, they rejected Him.
How do you explain this paradox?
Why would God’s people choose to reject and crucify God’s own Son?
The Jews are God’s chosen people, Paul never questions this.
The Jews have a very special place in God’s plan of salvation.
God has had a plan all along.
Paul really pours his heart out in this passage.
He has a real burning compassion for his people, the Jews.
We need to ask God for this kind of compassion for the lost around us.
In this passage we Learn two key things about Paul:
I. Paul’s Great Love for Israel’s People
I. Paul’s Great Love for Israel’s People
1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
In this we see a great example of how a Christian ought to long for the salvation of the lost around him.
We see first Paul’s
A. Plea for Trust
A. Plea for Trust
Three times in one verse Paul is asking for his hearers to believe him.
The Jews had called Paul a false prophet and a liar.
He proclaimed God’s salvation for all men instead of just the Jews.
So through a three fold repetition he asks for trust.
I say the Truth in Christ
I Lie not
My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.
You can sense the desperateness for Paul’s audience to hear him and believe him.
Have you ever said, “Trust me....”
Then Paul moves from a Plea for Trust to a ...
B. Display of Heaviness
B. Display of Heaviness
2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Already you can sense the seriousness of Paul as he begins this section regarding his kinsmen, Israel.
HE is not angry at them, he has not rejected them, he is not ignoring them in his prayers.
he is heavy in heart about their rejection of Christ.
He has continual sorrow knowing they do not accept the Savior.
Then most shocking of all Paul suggests a...
C. Trade if Possible
C. Trade if Possible
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Paul has just show how we are justified by nothing on our end, and nothing could separate us from the love of God.
So, Paul knows it is not possible to make this trade, but he bears his heart that he would want to, if he could.
To be honest, I don’t know if I could even truthfully be able to truly say this about anyone.
trade my salvation, my safety for all eternity, for someone who is lost?
Paul is a much better Christian than I.
But what a heart for the lost!
What love is on display here for those of his kinsmen that have not believed in Christ.
I wonder, what are we willing to give up so that someone we love would come to Christ?
I read of a woman who became burdened for her drunken, abusive husband. She loved God, but he would not listen to the Gospel! He was a vile man and had no use for the church or for God. One time, there was a revival in the church where his wife attended and she invited the evangelist for dinner. When she set the table for the meal, she only set two plates, one for her husband and the other for their visitor. She did not set a plate for herself. When her husband brought this to her attention, she replied, "I am too burdened to eat. How can I eat when I know that any breath might be your last and that if you die you will go to Hell." She said, "I shall not eat any more food until the day you come to Christ as your Savior, but I shall pray for you and for your soul." He responded by laughing at her and telling her that he would never be saved! But it wasn't many more days until the husband became broken over his sins and came to know Jesus as His personal Savior.
What are we willing to give up in order to see our loved ones come to Christ?
We see in just a few verses of the Great Love Paul had for Israel’s People.
II. Paul’s Great Respect for Israel’s Position
II. Paul’s Great Respect for Israel’s Position
4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Paul’s great love for Israel is based upon Israel’s Position with God.
He is assuring his audience of his respect for Israel.
He never denies their place in the plan and the purposes of God.
He knew they are a greatly privileged people.
They are a people highly favored by God.
He begins with the beginning...
A. The Name
A. The Name
“Who are Israelites...”
These Jews, his kinsmen, were Israelites.
Their name means prince with God or one who contends with God.
Their name had been given to them at the very founding of their nation.
It had come from Jacob, whose name had been changed by God to Israel.
The name later adopted by the descendants of Jacob.
In the sovereignty of God he chose a people, beginning with a man, to be His people.
They became his nation.
In the sovereignty and providence of God we too are chosen by God just as Israel was.
Believers have been given the name of God’s own Son…Christian, follower of Jesus Christ.
Oh we need to be careful not to bring shame to the Lord’s name.
There are many who profess His name, but do not really follow Him.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Do our works match what our mouths say?
Do we uphold the name of Jesus in everything we say and do?
B. The Adoption
B. The Adoption
“…to whom pertaineth the adoption...”
The Jews were adopted as the people of God.
They were chosen in a very real sense to be the children of God.
1 Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Understand however, this is not a national adoption…it is an adoption of those who believed.
Not all citizens of Israel believed God, and being adopted into the family of God has always been by genuine faith.
To be a child of God, you must believe in God.
Romans 9:6–8
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
We who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ have a the distinct privilege to be adopted by God through faith.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Therefore as the children of God we need to live as the children of God.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
The Position of Israel - they took his name (the people of God)
They had partaken in the the adoption.
C. The Glory
C. The Glory
“and the glory”
The Jews had the privilege of having the glory of God.
The Shekinah Glory was the brilliant light which descended in the midst of God’s people when God was visiting His people.
It represented God’s presence and they followed it in the form of a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
It also was present in the cloud that filled the tabernacle and came to rest over the ark.
34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
No other people on earth at that time could say that the presence of Jehovah was present with them.
Today believers have seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ...
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
We are indwelt by the very Holy Spirit of God.
We are the light of the world, and are told to..
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
We have a responsibility to shine the glory of God to a lost and dying world around us.
D. The Covenants
D. The Covenants
vs 4. “and the covenants”
The Jewish people had the privelege of the covenants.
A covenant is an agreement betwen two parties…a contract between two or more people.
It’s a special relationship setup and established between two parties.
God made several covenants with Israel.
The Covenant with Noah after the flood
The Covenant with Abraham that he would be the father of many nations.
The covenant of law made at Mount Sinai
The Covenant with David
And then the Covenant of Grace
8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
The thing to notice here is the great love of that God has for man.
Once and again he reaches out and covenants to fulfill his plan.
God sought man at every opportunity, seeking to establish a relationship with him.
3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
E. The Law
E. The Law
“and the giving of the law...”
The Jews had the privilege of the law.
Not just the 10 commandments, but the whole law of God.
God revealed himself and his will to mankind, and wrote it down.
Through the years God had Moses and His messengers write out His will so that man would always know how to live.
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
God revealed Himself so that we would know Him and His will for us.
That is the essence of the Law.
But we have the complete Word of God in our hands…how much more are we held responsible to follow it.
F. The Service
F. The Service
“and the service of God..”
The word translated service here is the Greek Word latreia (lat·ri·ah)
It means to worship, to serve for hire or as a slave, divine service
The service of God that Israel did was in the tabernacle and temple.
When anyone talked about the service of God, it was in direct dealings with temple work.
It is interesting that one of the ways this word is translated is worship.
There is something to be said about our work being a form of worship to God.
The Israelites had the true temple, the true ordinances of God, the true priests, prophets and messengers of God.
The Jews had been given every opportunity and privilege to approach God..to understand God as He had revealed Himself to them.
While others stumbled in darkness creating gods after their own likeness…the Jews knew they were created at God’s own likeness.
The Jews had access to God Himself.
They had the opportunity to have a relationship with God.
And yet they turned their back and walked away from God.
God revealed Himself perfectly in bodily form, and yet they refused Him, they rejected Him.
They were given the Name
They were Given the Adoption
They were given the Glory
They were given the Covenants
They were given the Law
They were given the Service
And then Paul’s Great Respect for their Position was in ...
G. The Promises
G. The Promises
…and the promises
The Jews had the promises of God.
He had shared with them the plan that he had for man.
When man sinned and turned away from God, it was to the Jews that God gave the promise of a Savior...Plus all of the promises from Genesis to Revelation.
There are three things seen in Scripture that are essential when dealing with the promises of God, but these are three things so many in Israel failed to do:
1. Don’t Stagger at the Promises
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
2. Fear Coming Short of the Promises
1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
3. Look for the Promises
especially of a new heavens and new earth.
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Don’t lose out on the promises because we were not look for them.
H. The Heritage
H. The Heritage
“whose are the fathers...”
Speaking of the Heritage of the Jews
The Jews had the privilege of heritage of fathers of faith.
It is so sad when a person has a godly heritage (parents, friends, teachers, pastors, etc.) and yet go astray.
The Bible is full of examples.
It is extremely hard to get them back into church.
Even though the Jews had a godly heritage they refused to see things God’s Way.
I. The Messiah
I. The Messiah
“…and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.”
Most of all the Jews had the incredible privilege of having the Messiah, Jesus from their roots.
They looked for it, but they missed it.
As with everyone, the Jews attitude and response to Jesus Christ determines his eternal destiny.
It didn’t matter that they...
were the people of God
they were adopted
They saw His glory
they were given the covenants
they had the privilege to serve
They had the promises of God
They had the heritage to teach them the way they should go...
It all boiled down to what they would do with Jesus.
Conclusion
Paul’s great love for the people of Israel was evident.
He just wanted them to see the truth.
Paul’s great respect for the Israel’s position was evident.
But none of it matters if they rejected the Messiah.
What will you do with Jesus, if you know Him as your savior ...
You too carry His name
You too are adopted
You too carry His glory in the Holy Spirit
You too are partakers of His glorious covenant
You too have the Law written upon our hearts
You too are given the privilege to be a royal priesthood in Christ.
You too have a godly heritage as the Children of Abraham, and a children of the King
You too have been blessed to know and serve the Messiah.
Now let us be busy serving the Lord and sharing the Good News of the Gospel to all those that will hear.