Amen. I invite you to take your Bible and open to the book of Romans chapter 9 verses 1 through 6. Romans 9 verses 1 through 6 as we continue our study through the book of Romans, through this great Christian treatise Paul writing about the Christian life, about salvation, about all of those things that we want to grow in our understanding and in our appreciation. So we are in chapter 9 of Romans. By God's grace, we are here in chapter 9 having read through and preached through Romans chapter 8. Then we get to nine, by the way, there were no chapter divisions when Paul was writing. Those were added later, right, for assistance in finding the scriptures, because you would agree with me that this is a rather long letter from Paul. So Romans nine, and, Concluded Romans 8, but that's the foundation of our life. That is a description of how to live the Christian life. And I trust as we read through that we are constantly adjusting our thinking. And that our thinking will conform more to biblical thought and thinking. In particular, Paul's way of thinking. And God giving us the thoughts through Scripture, the way to look at things, the way to live, how to think about certain things. Romans 8. Beautiful. Talking about the power of the Christian life. Talking about the assurance that we have as believers. Talking about the grace of God and how that manifests in our lives through a legal standing with holy God. answering that age-old question, how can we as sinners, lawbreakers, have a legal standing, obtain a connection with a holy God? And while man comes up with all kinds of answers for that, which are normally involving our own self-righteousness, God the Father came up with the answer for that, and that was Jesus, sinless Son of God, bearing in His body our sin on the cross, taking our place, dying our death, sacrificing His own life so that we, by faith in Him, would obtain His righteousness. Because ultimately, you and I need a righteousness better than our own. We need the righteousness of God. And we have that by faith in Jesus. who took our sin that we might have His righteousness. So we give Him great praise and glory for that and tremendously excited for that. And I sense such a great energy this morning. It's only 1128. I don't know how long we can go, but that would be fun for a Sunday. I don't know what Sunday we should do that. Just see how long He can go. Well, some of you would say, well, let him go on. I can't go on any longer. OK, well, that's a good way to wind up by yourself, I think. So anyway, we don't want to be on our own this morning, so we'll focus, right? Focus, Brother Bill. Romans 9, beginning in verse 1. I am telling the truth in Christ. We'll stop there, even though it's just a comma. The first word of the chapter is truth. When you look at the original text, in the original language, the first word there is truth. And it's there for emphasis. So, Paul's, it's not like he hadn't told us the truth, he is, it's he's doubling down on truth. He says, I'm telling the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit. How's that work? Your conscience testifying with the Holy Spirit. Well, the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we're children of God and the Holy Spirit actually has an impact on our conscience. That's what the Christian life is about. Now, we confess Jesus, the Holy Spirit is in an indwelling presence, and that Holy Spirit interacts with our spirit. So the Holy Spirit, Spirit, capital S, interacts, brings conviction to our spirit, lowercase s, our conscience. And that's important. That's over in Romans 8 and verse 16. But we'll go on. He says, I am not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. Where does that come from? He just writes this beautiful chapter on God's grace, on how the Christian life should look, that we are justified by God in Christ, we're acquitted, we're vindicated. He says that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. He says that that Holy Spirit will get us through any trial, any trouble, any tribulation. He says that that Holy Spirit even will or cause our emotions to go toward God in worship. That Holy Spirit motivates us in worship and that Holy Spirit motivates us in living the Christian life as well as hope. The two things that are on your side today, both coming from Jesus, is hope and the Holy Spirit. That's in Romans 8. And now Paul is saying he has great sorrow and unceasing grief in his heart. And we're asking, where did that come from? Because we finished chapter 8 thinking about the great love of God. that the love of God is indomitable, that the love of God is invincible, that the love of God is the most powerful force, and it's with us all the time, and it's coming from God, and it's coming through Jesus, and it's manifested through the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and that is a 24-7 reality for the Christian, and I'm asking Paul why, at this point, In the book, in the letter you're writing, do you have great sorrow and unceasing grief in his heart? Well, we're going to have to read on down, but not far. Verse 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, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons. and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service, and the promises, who are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh who is over all. God bless forever, amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed, for they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel, nor are they all children, because they are Abraham's descendants, but through Isaac your descendants will be named." The Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word. This is the Word of the Lord today, and upon reading this, we may be asking ourselves, what does this have to do with me? Well, it may have more to do with you than you think. Let's give some introductory remarks here about this section. So, chapter 9 begins a section of scripture in Romans that will go all the way through the end of chapter 11. So the very last verse in chapter 11, all the way beginning from chapter 9, verse 1. So from chapter 9 all the way through chapter 11 of Romans, that's one portion of scripture. And there have been many, many scholars that say this is out of place. There are scholars that either say this is very important and this is climactic, chapters 9 through 11, or that they're just still wondering why it's there. So Paul, he's going to tell us, he's going to show us some things through chapter 9 all the way through chapter 11. But the question is, why does he put it there? And what we believe is that it's here in the Bible and it's there for a reason. And in fact, I think it's here for a very good reason. So you think about it. Paul just described this Christian life. He just gives the believer in Jesus all kinds of assurance of their salvation. And the elephant, the proverbial elephant in the room is... Well, what about the Jews? What about all those Israelites? You just said that nothing separates a believer from God, from His love. You just said, Paul, that... You said, if God is for us, who can be against us? that God is for us and we see that great support from God the Father in Christ and in His death on the cross and His burial and His resurrection from the dead. But somebody out there, it could have been a Jew, it could have been a Jewish Christian, somebody is asking, what about the Jews? Sometimes Paul anticipates questions in his writing. So he is going to talk about the Jewish people. And he's gonna answer the question about what's gonna happen to the Jews or what happened to the Jews. Explain that, Paul. We have no connecting word in chapter nine that would connect it with chapter eight. But it's a closer connection, I believe, than a word. I believe that Paul connects what he's going to say about the Jews in chapter 9, 10, and 11. He makes that connection with a very strong emotional connection. It's an emotional connection. Do you hear him? He says, I have what? I have great sorrow. I mean, you can feel the sorrow in his words. And he says, I have unceasing grief in my heart. And then he goes on and he says something that he couldn't, he can't make happen, but he's talking about his love for his own people, his own people being the Jews. And he says, for I could wish that I myself were accursed separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. Well, why would a right-thinking Christian wish himself accursed? Why would a right-thinking Christian wish himself separated from Christ? He's just talking about how his heart longs for his own people to receive Jesus. That's what he's talking about. And the point of application to you and to me is this. Do we, do you, do I, have a fraction of the burden that Paul shares in these verses for his own people for our own people? That's the application. That is something you and I need to wrestle with. Because we tend, we tend, it's just, it's human to tend to just go about our lives, we focus on our own thing, on our own people, our family, our friends, what have you, and forget the greater community and the degree of lostness that is out there. And I think Paul is teaching us here that we should, as believers, have a burden for the lost. We should have a burden for those family members that are not saved. That there should be a burden, a concern for that neighbor, that co-worker, that classmate. Those who do not know Jesus. Because if we have that burden normally, we would do something about that person. If you have a burden for someone, if you want the best for them, you want them to know Christ, you want them to go to heaven, you want to see them in glory one day, that if we have a burden, if we have a fraction of a burden that Paul had for his own people, for those people that we come in contact with every day, that it would lead us to what? It would lead us to look for opportunities to share the love of Christ with them. And we don't, it's been a long time I think since we even talked about, I've talked about having a burden for someone else and their salvation. And I think Paul is bringing to us today the reality that those who are lost are looking at eternal darkness separated from Jesus Christ. Think about that. They have no hope of heaven. None. And it's quite possible that every family represented in this room today has someone that would fit that description. That has no hope of heaven. Oh, they think that if you're just good enough. They think that their self-righteousness will get them to glory, but you know better. And I'm saying to you as a messenger that if we have a burden for them, number one, we will pray for them. We will pray for their salvation. Are you paying attention? If you have a family member who doesn't know Jesus and You have a burden for them, you will pray for them. Secondly, you will conduct yourself around them. And when you're not around them, in a manner that is worthy of the gospel, that reflects Christ's likeness, your behavior, your speech around them would be what? Winsome. Winsome. Let me just say this. We're coming into Thanksgiving and Christmas. Let me say this. An argument over politics at the Thanksgiving or Christmas table will probably not win them to Jesus. So, they may start it. But, you know, you're probably not going to get very far. But pray for them. And then conduct your life around them and then look for opportunities to talk about Jesus. Look for opportunities to talk about salvation. And look for God's hand in all of that. But I'm just saying we can learn a lot here from Paul in the burden he has for others. For those who do not know Jesus. But notice his words there in verse 3. We're going on, we gotta move on. He says, I wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren. He's talking about the Jews, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. And he identifies them in verse 4 as Israelites. And then he talks about the advantages they had. Have you ever known someone, maybe you know them now, but someone who has had great advantages in religious things? Maybe they were raised in a Christian home. They were raised around the Bible. They were raised going to church, attending a Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church. They were in a healthy church situation. Have you ever known someone like that? Those are advantages. Because there's plenty of people who are raised without a Bible and without a church. There are plenty of people who don't have a preacher. Plenty of folks out there like that. So there are certain advantages that some people have. And that's another question that's for another day. And that is why some people have great advantages in religious things and some people don't. But let it be known that those of us who have had great advantages in Christian things should take advantage of those blessings that God has brought in our lives. And because Paul is describing a people that had great advantages with Christian things, with things pertaining to God and Christ, yet they did not capitalize on those advantages. Have you ever known someone? They could quote scripture. But their life is a mess because they will not acknowledge the God of the Scripture. They will not live for Him. They had great advantage. But they did not capitalize on that advantage. And that's what Paul is talking about right here with his kinsmen. He says, they are Israelites. And he says, to whom belongs, and he's going to list the advantages. This is the only place in the New Testament where the Israelites are referred to as the adoption as sons that they received out in the Old Testament. They were as God's sons. He says, to whom belonged the adoption of sons and the glory? The glory? What glory is that? The glory of God. The glory that would visit them when they worshipped in the tabernacle. The glory that would visit them under the reign of King Solomon when the temple was completed. To whom belonged the glory? Who saw that glory? Paul's kinsmen. great advantage. And the covenants. There's a lot of talk about which covenants he's referring to. He's referring to the Old Testament covenants that were between God and Israel. And the giving of the law. Great advantages, every one of these, in knowing God, in acknowledging God, in knowing God, in seeing Jesus afar off and believing that the Messiah would come. And then once he came to embrace him as the Messiah, as the Savior. And he goes on, and the temple service. Temple is not in the original text, it's just, and the service, and the promises. So they had the service. They had the service in the tabernacle, the service in the temple. They had the promises of God through His Word that a Messiah would come and a Messiah would deliver them. All these advantages. He goes on in verse 5. Whose are the fathers? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. The fathers. That was their lineage. And from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. And just so you know, that last verse, verse 5, is a much debated verse in Romans, in this passage. Muchly debated over whether or not Paul is referring to Christ as God. And it depends on punctuation, but the best way to interpret this is just the way you would interpret it as you were sitting around your kitchen table reading this at home. And that is just what he says, Christ is God, and from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is overall God, blessed forever, amen. And we're very comfortable with that because we know Christ is God. And we know it not only from this verse, we know it from other verses and other Gospels that we've read. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. But it is not as though the Word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel, nor are they all children, because they are Abraham's descendants. But through Isaac your descendants will be named." So Paul, what about the Jews? You got to be careful here. A lot of people start out, they'll start out with a study here, and they're talking about, and it's not correct to say this. Because words matter. People will start talking about this and teaching this and they'll say this phrase and it's not true. And we'll prove that from the Scriptures here in a minute. They'll say, this section of Scripture is all about God's rejection of Israel. It's the way they start. That's incorrect language. Because if you go to chapter 11, verse 1, Sometimes you have to read ahead. Paul says, I say then, God has not rejected his people, has he? Well, thankfully Paul answered the question. May it never be. For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. So we don't talk about this in terms of God rejecting his people. He is talking about a problem. He's talking about a problem. He's talking about Israelites who were not saved. That's not hard to understand, is it? Obviously, the great sorrow and the unceasing grief in his heart that is referenced in chapter 9 and verse 2 is because a great number of those Jews, of those Israelites, of those Hebrews were not saved. We could read example after example in the Old Testament of Jews who died in unbelief. And then verse 3 where he tells, I wish I myself were a curse separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. You know, he's wanting them to know God in his fullness. He's wanting them to receive Jesus. And they have not. And that is the reason for his inner anguish. That is the reason for Paul's burden. So what is chapter 9, chapter 10, chapter 11 have to do with you and me if he's talking about the Jewish nation? It has to do with you and me because in these chapters, Paul is clarifying once again what it means to be a child of God. What it means to be saved. And he's using the people of Israel as an example of this. So when he says in verse 6, But it is not as though the word of God has failed, For they are not all Israel, who are descended from Israel." He's saying the Word of God hasn't failed. God hasn't failed. The problem is not with God. I wish we would learn that. So often we want to blame God or we want to attribute some problem with God. Listen, the problem is not with God. The problem in particular here is not with God's rejection of Israel. We just read that's not what happened. The problem is Israel's defection from God. The problem is not God's unfaithfulness. The problem is Israel's unbelief. And that's what he's dealing with in these verses. So we go back to chapter four, we'll just read a couple scriptures. Let's go all the way back to one, chapter one. And we'll look at the theme of the whole book, verses 16 and 17 once again, because we need to be reminded of this. Paul says, I believe this is his launching point for the whole book. I believe this is what we read in chapter 8 is all about the power of God for salvation, the power of God in the gospel. It's reflected throughout the book, but especially, I think, climactically in chapter 8. But Paul says this, for I am not ashamed of the gospel. Now I trust we're all right there with Paul today that we are not ashamed of this great and glorious gospel. And Paul tells us why he's not ashamed. He says, for it, it referring to the gospel, is not was primarily, but is, It was, and it is, and it will be the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. This is the foundation. This is his theme. And then look at this. To everyone who believes, to what? To the Jew first. There you go. The gospel was for the Jew, and it was to them, and they had great advantages. But many died in unbelief. And then he says, and also to the Greek, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed. And in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. And that righteousness of God is revealed in Christ. In Christ's death on the cross, in his resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ was righteous, fully righteous, sinless, Son of God, spotless Lamb of God. And this righteousness is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, but the righteous man shall live by faith. In chapter 4, Paul uses Abraham as an example. He was the father of the Israelites, the father of the Jews. And what were the Jews depending on for their favor from God? What was it? Blood and righteousness. Their own blood and their own self-righteousness. And we have said it before. Paul said it. We've preached it. We're not saved by our heritage, by our blood. Just because I've got a little French in me doesn't mean I'm saved. Doesn't mean anything other than I've got a little French in me and I can't even talk it. Right? So the blood, our ancestry does not save us, does not give us favor before God, and that was the way it was with the Jews as well. But they prided themselves in their own nationality and in their own ethnicity. And then they prided themselves in their own self-righteousness. And so look at verse 1 of chapter 4. We're about to be done. Paul says, what then shall we say that Abraham, the Jews always talking about Abraham, Abraham, our father, Abraham, our father. Well, Paul's gonna bring him up. What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, according to the flesh is found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? Scripture says this, Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. We'll stop there. We're not saved, nor were the Jews saved, by their ethnicity or by their nationality. They're saved by believing in Christ just as their own forefather was saved because he believed and it was reckoned or counted to him as righteousness. Because Abraham needed what all of us needed, and that is righteousness before a holy God, and he received it on the basis of faith. It was counted to him as righteousness when he believed. When you and I trust Jesus, The one who is fully righteous, it is counted to our account that we are righteous. His righteousness is transferred to us and we are positionally righteous in Him. We stand before God, as it were, in garments of righteousness. Gone are our filthy rags of our own self-righteousness, our own works. Gone are those days of trying to be good enough to be approved by God. But we receive the righteousness of God in Christ and we are saved and we enter into that joyful Christian life that Romans 8 reminds us all about. We give him praise and glory today. Will you stand as we sing a closing song?