Sunday Sermons
"Greater Love Hath No Man"
"Greater Love Hath No Man"
Romans 9:1 “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit”
“I say the truth in Christ”: “I am telling the truth” (NASV). Notice that the transition from chapter 8 to chapter 9 is quite abrupt. While others were rejoicing in the blessings of being saved (8:31-39) many of Paul’s Jewish kinsmen, rather than celebrating salvation in Christ, were under God’s condemnation. “The truth”: “Truth I speak in Christ!” “In the Holy Spirit”: Paul is referring to the fact that he is conscious and that he is writing under the inspiration of the Spirit and is thus divinely prevented from speaking falsehood. "Paul insists that he is a lover of his people. He must not be thought a renegade whose dissatisfaction with his heritage had driven him to defamation of his people. He lives with the pain of watching his people, in bulk, wander outside of their Messiah when they could so easily be enjoying what God had promised them"
Romans 9:2 “that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart”
“Great sorrow”: The terms great and unceasing reveal that Paul’s pain was deep and unrelenting. This is an “old word for consuming grief” (Robertson, p. 380). Paul was a man that was honest with life. He allowed himself to clearly see and experience the harsh realities of life (God's own people on the road to damnation), and yet he also experienced true joy (Philippians 4:4). He did not seek to protect himself or insulate himself from life. The person, who has a relationship with Jesus Christ, does not have to pretend about anything. Such a person can face life head-on, and it will not destroy their attitude about life, people or the future.
Romans 9:3 “For I could wish that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh”
“I could wish”: “I was on the point of wishing” (Robertson, p. 380). “Just how deep are Paul’s feelings for his fellow Jews? Just how far would he go to save them?” (Romans, Jack Cottrell, p. 46). Here is the notion of sincere desire. “So strongly did he feel for his people that he had found himself (at times) in the past, and even yet, musing with himself and saying, ‘If such were possible, I would buy the salvation of this nation at the price of my own salvation’” (McGuiggan, p. 283/Lenski, p. 583). “Were Paul to act from his intense love for his Jewish brethren alone, it would prompt him to give up Christ himself, if thereby he could save them (Lipscomb, p. 165). "Anathema": “Accursed” (NASV). See Galatians 1:8,9; 1 Corinthians 16:22. “Set apart to destruction and so separated from Christ” (Vincent, p. 100). “But there is in him the heart of a Moses who felt so strongly about the Israelites that he wished to be cut off (Exodus 32:30-32). There is in him the heart of the Christ who radically longed for the salvation of His people to the point of laying down His life for them”
He Really Wanted to Be With Jesus!
Paul felt such intense love for his own people that he was willing to relinquish his own salvation and spend eternity in hell if somehow that could bring his fellow Jews to faith in Christ. Maybe this is why Paul felt he had to multiply his assurances and witnesses in verse 1, because it seems unbelievable that a man who loved Jesus so much (Philippians 1:21-23; Galatians 2:20) should be willing to forfeit eternity with Jesus in order that the lost might be saved. These are not the words of someone who really wasn't that keen on going to heaven. Do I love the lost like this?
What Glorious Privileges They Had!
Romans 9:4 “who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises”
“Israelites”: A name of distinction, Israel goes back to Jacob whose name God changed to Israel (Genesis 32:28), which means contender with God, or prince of God, in honor of his prevailing faith which would not let God go until God had blessed him. “Adoption”: God chose this nation as a people for His own possession (Exodus 4:22-23; 19:5ff; Amos 3:2; Deuteronomy 14:1-2). The term adoption emphasizes God’s deliberate choice and initiative in selecting the nation of Israel. “And the glory": The visible, luminous appearance of the Divine Presence was called by the Israelites the glory of Jehovah (Exodus 24:16; 40:34-35; 1 Kings 8:10-11). This glory often manifested itself in the visible presence of God in their midst in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). “Of course God is everywhere in the sense of His omnipresence, but to no other nation on the face of the earth has God displayed His special presence in glory as He did to His people Israel” (Cottrell, p. 53). “And the covenants”: This refers to the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the covenant made at Sinai, the covenant made with the ancestors of Aaron (priests), and the covenant made with David (Exodus 29:9; Deuteronomy 29-30; Joshua 24:25; 2 Samuel 7:12-17). “Giving of the law”: “Had there ever been an incident like Sinai in the history of the world? What a moment! What a demonstration! What a privilege!" (McGuiggan, p. 284). Deuteronomy 4:7-8 “Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law?” 4:32-33 “Has anything been done like this great thing – has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire… and survived?” “And the service of God”: The whole sacrificial and priestly system (Hebrews 9:1). “And the promises”: “The collective messianic promises” (Vincent, p. 101). Compare with Romans 15:9. “All such promises ultimately pointed toward a single goal, the coming of the Messiah” (Cottrell, p. 55).
Romans 9:5 “whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen”
“Fathers'”: The three pre-eminent fathers were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 3:6,13,15; 4:5). “The greatness of its ancestry (not to mention the heroes of Hebrews 11) ennobled Israel, and made its position in Paul's time harder to understand and to endure. Who could think without the keenest pain of the sons of such fathers forfeiting everything for which the fathers had been called?” “And of whom is Christ”: The crowning glory. “As concerning the flesh”: “On His human side, as far as pertains to His human body” (Alford, p. 920).
“Who is over all”: He may be the Jewish Messiah but He has been given authority over all the nations (Psalm 2; Isaiah 11; Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:21-22). “God blessed forever”: Many feel that this last phrase applies to Jesus. “The Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever, that is, Christ is God” (Vincent, p. 101). “Christ, an Israelite according to the flesh, is Lord of all, God blessed forever, to which we, like Paul, add an emphatic ‘amen’” (Lenski, p. 589). Paul attributes deity to Jesus in other passages as well (Galatians 1:1; Philippians 2:6; Colossians 2:9).
There are Great Privileges Today As Well!
Learning about God from an early age. Having tremendous access to the word of God in one's own language. Growing up surrounded by godly people and having access to God's wisdom. Living in a country where we are free to worship God, hear the gospel and spread the gospel. Being greeted by mercy, kindness, goodness and love in a loving mother or father each morning and evening (Proverbs 31:26)
Romans 9:6 “But it is not as though the word of God hath come to nought For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel”
"Word of God hath come to nought": “Has failed” (NASV). “It doesn't mean God failed to do what He said” (Beck). The fact that millions of Jews (when Paul wrote) stood outside of Christ, still unblessed, would cause some to think that all the promises that God gave to Israel had failed. “If the promises of God were really made to physical Jews by a faithful God why didn't they all have them?” (McGuiggan, p. 286). “For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel”: Physical ancestry by itself never saved a person. God's promises of salvation were always dependent upon faithful obedience. The good news is that a remnant, just like in the time of Elijah (Romans 11:5) had embraced the gospel. The people who really love God and trust Him will step forward in each and every generation. How about us? Will we embrace our blessings and honor our Creator by offering to Him our best (Romans 12:1-2) in love and gratitude? Will we earnestly try to save as many as we can before we exit this life? Can it be said that we truly love God and we truly love the lost?
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
