Romans 9:1-5 | The Apostle Paul's Great Sorrow

For many of you listening to me I am sure that you have felt sorrowful over love ones and even close friends who you know have rejected Jesus Christ as their savior. In these first five verses in chapter nine we are given an insight into the apostle Paul’s great sorrow that he has for his fellow Israelites who have been chosen by God, have been given a glimpse of His glory, and the covenants, the law, the temple, and the promises, but they have rejected their long awaited Messiah Jesus Christ as their Savior. Paul’s desire is for them to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

My aim today is to urge you to have the same like sorrow and compassion to reach those whom you love with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Romans 9:1 “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,”

Paul begins by establishing to his fellow Israelites that what he is about to tell them comes from a place of truthfulness, by stating I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying.”

These are strong serious statements being made by Paul, he is taking an oath, and oaths are not to be taken lightly (Ecc 5:5; Matt 5:33-37).

Paul wants his readers to know that what he is about to say to them is “truth in Christ,” the very Christ who is the epitome of truth, I am not lying. To say that “my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit,” Paul’s conscience is clear because the Holy Spirit bears witness that what he is about to say is truth. His reliance on the Holy Spirit to say and what not say cannot be over stated.

Often times we err when allow our emotions guide us what to say. We must rely upon speaking truth in Christ and rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit to speak to others so that our conscience is clear.

Why does Paul go to great lengths to inform his fellow Israelites that he is speaking truth? It very well may be that some Jews felt chided by the things he has said about them.

Romans 2:5 “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,”

Romans 2:17–24 “Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.”

And their may have Jews who felt he hated them because of his loyalty towards the gentiles Acts 21:28 “crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.””

Acts 24:5 “For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.”

None of these accusations were true. Paul wants to make it clear the genuineness of his love for the Israelites by revealing his great sorrow.

Listen to what he says in (v.2). Romans 9:2 “that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.”

Paul has great weight of sorrow lupē a state of mental pain and anxiety—‘sadness, sorrow, distress. This sorrow that he had wasn’t a passing sorrow, he describes it as a “continual grief in my heart.” How deep is Paul’s great sorrow?

Romans 9:3 “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,”

Because of his countrymen’s rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ and his desire for their salvation, he could wish that he himself could be accursed (The word accursed/anathema” means to be delivered up to the judicial wrath of God), and separated from Christ for the sake of his brothers, his kinsmen, the Israelites, if this would save them.

Paul knew that his fellow Jewish nation was grave danger of facing God’s wrath for rejecting Jesus Christ and he wished that he could atone for their sinful action against God. His great sorrow is reminiscent of Moses who himself wanted to sacrifice his life and atone for the nation of Israel.

Exodus 32:32 “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.””

This of course couldn’t happen, hence why he says “I could wish,” because knows that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (8:1), and that no possible way to be separated from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (8:38, 39).

Paul didn’t have the capability to atone for the sins of Israel, Jesus fulfilled that requirement.

Galatians 3:13 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),”

Paul sorrow was great, his heart was for his people to be saved. I wonder do you have sorrow over the people whom you love, does your heart break for the unsaved in your neighborhood, on your job, or at your school because you want them saved from God’s wrath?

Now Paul is going to list the privileges God has given Israel.

Romans 9:4–5 “who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”

They are Israelites. Meaning they are descendants of Jacob, whom God chose to adopt out of all other nations. As His adopted nation He called Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and guided them to the promise land and preserved them for generations to come because the promise Seed, Christ, would come to redeem all of God’s people both Jew and Gentile.

They were privileged to see the glory. The divine radiance, the Shekinah glory, of God’s presence. The Shekinah glory was the pillar of cloud and in the pillar of fire that guided Israel through the wilderness during the exodus. The Shekinah glory of God’s presence that covered over Mount Sinai and came over the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. God’s glory belonged to Israel only, He didn’t reveal His glory to no other nation.

The covenants were given to Israel. God made his covenants with Moses (Ex. 19-23) and David (2 Sam 7:12-16). No other nations received God’s covenants.

The Law was given to Israel. The law was personally written by the finger of God to Israel (Ex. 34:1). And his law was mediated through angels (Gal 3:19). It was Israel who has given the 10 commandments to world.

The temple service. Israel was given the privileged to worship God and offer sacrifices and prayers in the tabernacle, and temple.

The promises. Grant Osborne says that, The “promises” complete the list, paralleling the covenants in the first set. The two go together, since Scripture often speaks of the “covenant promises,” especially the Abrahamic promises here in Romans ( Romans 4:13, 14, 16, 20; 9:8, 9; 15:8). Paul is referring here to all the covenant promises God had given to his people. While Israel often failed to fulfill its promises to God, he never failed his people, and that is Paul’s primary point in this section.

When God made His promises to Israel they were accompanied with His oath that He swore by Himself, Hebrews 6:13 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself.”

Romans 9:5 “of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”

Paul summarizes the greatest privileged Israel received from God, and that was Christ. Christ is the eternal blessed God who is over not just Israel, but He is over everyone, and everything, and He is worthy of praise. Amen.

These privileges Israel received were given to draw them to Jesus Christ and their rejection of Jesus brought great sorrow to Paul because they didn’t see it.

You are privileged that God sent Christ to die for your sins and that you’re in Christ. You to were given the privilege to behold God’s glory through His Son and His Word, you’ve received the His covenant promises, and have been afforded to opportunity worship him corporately in a church building, and personally and individually worship Him each day.

These privileges should bring sorrow to your heart for the unsaved and motivate you to share the gospel of Jesus to your unsaved love ones, friends, co-workers, and others.