Romans 9 is one of the classic texts which reveal to the world the mystery of God’s predestinating work of grace whereby He chooses to save some from the total sum of sinful mankind. In this chapter we learn that this choice of God has nothing to do with our wills or abilities or goodness, but wholly in His sovereign pleasure to unconditionally elect us from death to life.
This mystery is vast, and clearly one that has (and should) receive book length treatment. It is my goal therefore to spend the next few weeks (with a gap here and there) expounding this most crucial point of Scripture so that you might be challenged as well. As the Scriptures are the Word of God, we come to Scripture on our knees in humility and reverence praying, “Lord, open my eyes to the truth of Your Word.”
Initially, the Apostle Paul is unfolding to us the mystery of God’s plan of redemption. He did the same at the end of Romans 8 where we found the Golden chain of salvation in Romans 8:30. Likewise the Apostle, who rode the heights of joy and bliss as he proclaimed the unshakable and unending love of God proceeds now into the depths of his sorrow.
The Apostle Paul expressed his love to his fellow Jews in no uncertain terms: “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” (Romans 9:1-3) Like Moses before him, Paul loved his people so much that he would be willing to be cursed by God if it meant their entire salvation. (cf. Exodus 32:32) Even though they had abused him with beatings and had maligned him to the point of even seeking his death Paul yearned for the eternal good of his people.
What leads a person to do this for those who had hated and abused them? Love. Love has the ability to free us from the chains of hatred and bitterness, so that when our aggressors come to mind, hope arises instead of hate. A hope that prays “Lord, bless them as you have blessed me. Forgive them as you’ve forgiven me. Transform them as you’ve transformed me.” It is a love that has only one origin: the heart of God in Christ.
Paul would not be cursed for the sins of his people and neither would Moses. But there was another Jew who was willing to be cursed for the salvation of His people, and this God performed this work for their sake. I’m speaking of the Lord Jesus. He was cursed for the sake of His people’s salvation; that is, for Jew and Gentile alike. His being cursed brings about our salvation and blessing. He alone could do the work because He alone is God and Man as the Apostle made plain, “To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” (Rom. 9:5) If Jesus is not God and Man, then the Apostle Paul is speaking blasphemously, but clearly, this is not the case. Such words did not welcome God’s wrath but God’s approval.
We receive by faith alone in Christ the righteousness of Christ rather than the wrath of God. (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21). The Apostle Paul elaborated this later in his letter to the Galatians: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14)
It is the love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit which stands behind Christ’s being cursed for the sake of His people: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) God’s love sent the Son. But the same love of God gave Israel all of the other benefits enumerated by the Apostle. If you read through Romans 9:1-5, you’ll note the nine benefits listed by the Apostle Paul. The Lord Jesus is only the ninth and last benefit in that list. What do we do with this litany of the love of God? We recognize that the love God has for His people is boundless and rich in evidence. There was no lack in God’s provision so that the Israelites might know the love of God displayed in the promised Messiah, the God-man, Jesus Christ.
But in the end, for all of their privileges, by and large, it was not enough. Sin, like in the garden of Eden, blinded them to the wealth of privileges God Himself had granted unto them. There was no deficiency in the gifts of God, only in the hearts of His people. (cf. Isa. 1). Paul was emotionally overwhelmed by that reality, just as Jesus had wept over the same people.
What about you? Are you as broken hearted over the non-Christians (both Jew and Gentile) in your world as Paul was of his? Do you pray for the salvation of the Jews who today are not believing in the Messiah? Are you praying for the religious hypocrites of your world who claim to be Christian but whose lives reveal a different gospel altogether? What about the spiritually lost? When was the last time you pleaded on behalf of the spiritually lost in your family, job, and community?
All too often, we are so focused upon ourselves that we forget that there are people all around us whose lives are being devoured inch by inch because of their sin and defiance to way of Christ. They have bought the lie that God is there merely to get in the way of their joy rather than seeing sin for what it is: suicide. We must be moved by this. We must be moved to prayer and action. Will you join me in praying for our community and seeking God’s power to cause a true spiritual revival. Not a revival of fabricated emotionalism, but one whose effects will demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit in changed hearts and lives. May Christ allow us to see the fruit of such prayers.