A Burden for the Lost

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites…”  Romans 9:1-4a

Imagine caring enough about one’s friends, neighbors, and even strangers that one would give up his or her salvation if it would lead to the salvation of these others.  That’s what is called “agape” love, a sacrificial love that puts all others before oneself.  Paul was willing to give up his citizenship in heaven so that his Jewish brothers and sisters could go to heaven in his place.  Moses was another man of scripture who had that same kind of love for his people.  After he returned from Mount Sinai and discovered how the people had made an idol with gold to worship, he begged God to forgive them, and if He wouldn’t forgive them, Moses asked God to blot him out of His book.  However, God told Moses that it would be those who sinned against Him that He would blot out of His book.  No person can be saved for another person because each person must repent and trust in Christ on an individual basis.

Paul, before his conversion, had been a Hebrew of the Hebrews.  He traveled around gathering up Christians and putting them in jail because he was so against Christ and Christianity.  However, on the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to him, and he came to the realizaiton that he was the one who had been wrong.  Ever since that time, he had been spending his life preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.  Because he had experienced the life-changing power of Jesus, he wanted his fellow countrymen and women to have what he had.  In fact, he was so eager for them to be saved, he was willing to give up his relationship to Christ, if that was possible, in order for his fellow Jews to be saved and know the joy and peace that ensues from a relationship with Christ.

These Israelites, of whom Paul was speaking, were God’s chosen nation.  They were adopted by God.  Their tabernacle and temple were filled with His glory.  He gave them His law and covenants through Abraham, Moses, and David.  He also gave them jobs to do in the temple to serve Him.  He gave them numerous promises, the main one being the sending of their Messiah.  They had many honorable and brave men as their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The greatest of all was the sending of Jesus in the flesh so that they could believe on Him and have everlasting life.  Paul preached consistently that Jesus is God.  Paul did everything in his power to convince his fellow Jews that Jesus was the One for whom they had been looking for many, many years.  Throughout their history, God had protected and provided for them.  He made good on every promise, but they just wouldn’t accept the fulfillment of the greatest promise of all.

Paul said that “they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” and “neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children (Romans 9:6-7).  Being a direct descendant of Abraham did not necessarily man that God’s promise would be extended to every descendant.  We have examples of direct descendants who were not included in the promise:  Ishmael, half-brother of Isaac, and Esau, brother of Jacob.  These two were the firstborn in their families but that was no assurance that they would be covered by God’s promise.  However, that doesn’t nullify God’s promise.  He is sovereign and free to choose whomever He pleases.  The descendants of Ishmael, generally speaking, believe in a different god and do not regard Jesus Christ as Lord or God even though they are descendants of Abraham.

When God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, Sarah became tired of waiting and allowed her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, to lie with Abraham, and a son, Ishmael, was conceived, but he was not the son of promise.  A few years later, Isaac, the son of promise, was born to Abraham and Sarah.  Ishmael was born after the flesh representing those who think they can work their way into heaven.  Isaac was born to a mother who was well past childbearing age proving Isaac was indeed a miracle from God.  Isaac was conceived through faith, with the belief in God’s promises the symbol of salvation in the Old Testament.  Esau was the firstborn to Isaac and Rebecca, but God chose his twin brother, Jacob, to further the planned promise of a Savior.  God chose Jacob before the twins were born indicating that was God’s choice and not based on merit.  Jacob was chosen to be the father of the nation that would bring forth the Messiah.  God also blessed Esau, but not in the same way.  He also became the father of a great nation, but not God’s chosen nation.

Only those children of Abraham who believe in God’s promise of salvation through Jesus Christ are the true children of God.  This also includes Gentiles who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Even though Israel is God’s chosen nation, the Jews still have to come by faith to Christ to be saved and be children of God.  Paul was well aware of their need for Christ, and that’s why he was so heartbroken for them.

Next time:  Was all of this fair?