Romans 9A

Paul’s Sorrow

This is a chapter about identity and the grief that comes from a mistaken identity.

Sorrow (v1-3)

The identity in question here is perhaps the most important identity we could ever possess.

Romans chapter 9 is known for its strong and sometimes upsetting truths about who we are in relation to God.

And it seems that nobody is more upset than Paul about the mistaken identity of some of his fellow Jews.

Let’s get straight into it in verse 1 of chapter 9.

Paul begins by assuring his readers that not only are his words serious, his conscience testifies to the authenticity of his convictions.

His conscience is in alignment with his words - there’s no hyperbole here.

He’s writing out a true expression of grief and sorrow.

His words carry the sense of regret or being completely swallowed by sadness.

What could possibly cause such a steady, unbreakable apostle such pain?

The answer is found in verse 3.

Romans 9:3 NASB95

3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,

His grief is on account of the separation that his kinsmen will experience from Christ for all eternity.

Paul is lamenting the eternal destination of his fellow jews.

He says that he wishes he could trade places with them.

He knows that’s not possible, there’s only ever been one substitution that resulted in salvation and that was Jesus’ death on the cross.

But it speaks to the gravity and the extremeness of the torment and pain that he knows they’re going to experience.

Paul’s understands hell to be a real place.

Not a metaphor, or a human construct.

Scripture describes hell as a destination for those who are not believers, or those who’s names are not written in the book of Life.

Revelation 20:15 NASB95

15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

This is a place where God’s active judgement for sin is eternally carried out on those who rejected Christ.

Let me just say that our reaction to unbelievers going to hell should be the same as Paul’s.

Our hearts should be so affected by the assurance of judgement that we can’t help but evangelize to those who are lost.

If we don’t feel devastated at the idea of someone being subjected to that level of torment - we don’t understand that reality of hell.

If we don’t feel premonitory regret for those who are damned to hell we don’t get it.

If you find yourself in that category, spend some time face to face with the reality of hell in scripture - it’ll improve your witness.

Paul is feeling specific sorrow Jews who are going to hell, which should teach us something else.

Not all Jews are saved.

This is evident from Paul’s grief. Why else would he grieve if his people were not going to hell?

And this supposition hits like a bomb in the minds of many Jews during this time.

Israel’s Miscalculation (v4-6)

The idea that Jews are not guaranteed salvation on the basis of their heritage would’ve sounded preposterous to Jews

They rightly understand themselves to be God’s covenant people.

His chosen people.

And Paul supports that fact as he moves through a list of all the distinguished privileges of the Jewish people.

They were adopted as sons,

God gloriously brought them into covenant with Himself

He gave them the Law

He gave them opportunity to serve Him in the temple.

And He promises to be their God with all faithfulness.

These blessings were an expression of God’s favor - but not a promise of salvation

Israel’s miscalculation was that because of their distinct place in God’s plan - they were assured salvation.

However through even a casual study of the scripture, a believer can come to understand that the heritage of the Jews doesn’t buy them salvation.

Throughout the OT, God has draws a line separating the whole of Israel, and a smaller subset of Israel made up of believers.

He does this most famously in connection to the Babylonian exile, leaving a remnant in Israel after the bulk of the Jews were taken out of Jerusalem.

This remnant is a real life symbol of those who are the true believers within the nation of Israel.

God showed this preview of a truth as far back as 1 Kings when He told a weary and lonely Elijah that he’s not alone in his faith and that there were 7,000 believers who would remain in Israel

These OT pictures should have come flooding into the reader’s minds when reading verse 6

God’s word promised and demonstrated this idea that there are some within Israel who do not believe.

Romans 9:6 NASB95

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;

They are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.

That simply means that not all who are descended from Abraham are children of God.

God’s supremacy throughout history

Paul continues to illustrate this point by using the most obvious example of this; Abraham’s sons - Isaac and Ishmael.

You can read the story in Genesis 21

Isaac and Ishmael were half-brothers.

And they shared Abraham as their father.

It would’ve been expected that a son would share in his father’s heritage and privilege.

And yet this was not the story with Isaac and Ishmael.

Instead God chose for Isaac to carry the line of Israel.

He chose Isaac to receive the distinguished position in His plan.

Why?

Because it was Isaac who was born as a result of God’s promise.

Abraham and Sarah were given a promise by God that they would have a son who be a significant link in the chain used by God to establish the Jewish people.

That son was Isaac.

And when he was born through a miraculous set of circumstances, God honors His promise and raises him up to participate in the founding of the Jews.

Ishmael’s story is different.

His mother was Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant.

She had received no promise from God of a son.

Instead Sarah forced her to sleep with Abraham in an attempt by Sarah to fulfill God’s plan.

Rather than waiting for God’s timing Sarah took action.

Her faith was not strong enough to wait on the Lord to fulfill His promises.

Sarah was thinking that a baby needed to be born and God was not moving fast enough.

And so she chose to let her flesh rule the day and thus Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Despite Sarah’s meddling God chose to carry out His original plan with Isaac, instead of Ishmael.

Thus keeping His promise that Paul mentions in verse 9

The promise that Sarah shall have a son.

Can you see how this circumstance perfectly parallels what Paul is trying to teach the church in Rome?

Ishmael was a child of the flesh and Isaac was a child of promise.

Despite the fact that they shared a father - their eternal destinies were not the same.

Ishmael was not a child of God.

Paul is drawing principles from God’s sovereign choices in the old testament to guide our thinking of God’s continued execution of sovereign choices in the NT and beyond.

As we end, I want to highlight another moment from the story of Abraham and his sons.

Turn with me to Genesis 21 verse 9

We’re going to see a situation play out that parallel’s Paul’s sorrow.

Genesis 21:10–13 NASB95

10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.” 11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named. 13 “And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.”

Can you see the parallel here?

Abraham, distressed by the idea of sending Ishmael away, is feeling very much the same as Paul who grieves for his kinfolk who don’t believe.

His feelings are akin to those of a father being forced to send away his son to certain death.

And we should feel similarly about those who are blindly being led into hell by Satan and the cares of the world.

The chapter that follows these opening verses are a frank and unflinching look at the supremacy and authority of God.

Paul is going to push our faces up against the truth of God’s ultimate authority and the justness of His decisions.

But for today, I want you to leave here feeling the burden for those who don’t know Christ.

I’m hoping that you will identify with Paul and Abraham as they feel the weight of sorrow for those who are lost.

We’ll see later in this chapter that God chooses to save who he wills and who don’t know with certainty who those people are.

That insight should propel us into action to share the gospel

We should share the gospel with everyone that we can, precisely because we don’t know who God is drawing to himself.

God’s plan of salvation goes like this

Romans 10:13–15 ESV

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Let us be people who preach the good news.