Expound: Romans 9-10:4 - Part A

Paul would have been misunderstood therefore he circles back after having written what he has written to underscore the idea the fact that God is not done with the Jews as a nation. The Jewish people Israel as a nation as an ethnic group he's not done with them.

Even though the nation of Israel had rejected their Messiah God still had a special place for them in his plans. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Skip shares why those plans are so significant for you today. But before we begin we want to let you know about a resource that will deepen your knowledge of God's Word even more. Trials Temptation and the Tongue those are the mega themes of three booklets from Lenya Heitzig that we're making available this month at connectwithskip.com.

Here's Lenya with more on this bundle. In Don't Tempt Me I hand you the keys to unlock the thoughts circumstances and fears that can cause you to give into temptation. And in Speak No Evil I encourage you to avoid setting fires with your words and instead use them to bring showers of blessing. Lenya Heitzig's booklets Don't Tempt Me Speak No Evil and Happy Trials provides help hope and encouragement in dealing with life's challenges. This bundle of three booklets are yours for a gift of twenty dollars or more to help keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air. Get yours when you give today by calling 800-922-1888 or give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer.

That's connectwithskip.com slash offer. Now we're in Romans chapter 9 as Skip Heitzig gets into today's message. Well when we get to chapter 9 as we dipped into it last time we noticed a shift in Paul's tone and Paul's emotion. In chapter 8 he's pretty high. He's pretty exuberant. What will separate us from the love of Christ? And he lists several possibilities and says in all these things we are hupernicao.

We are more than conquerors. So it's it's a great awesome chapter. He's definitely he's definitely pumped.

He's definitely stoked. But when we get to chapter 9 there's a shift. He's brokenhearted. He comes right out of the the shoot so to speak expressing his heartache over his own people and the lostness of his own people and how that he himself could even say look I'm willing to be a curse from Christ for my brethren the Jewish nation. So Paul is emoting quite a bit in chapter 9.

It's very personal to him because of his background as a Jewish man. And so in chapter 9 10 and 11 he speaks about Israel's past present and future. Romans 8 their past. Romans 9 their past. Romans 10 the present. Romans 11 their future. I'm sure that many of the Jewish people especially those who had known Paul personally thought that Paul was a traitor because you know he is saying that Christ is the end of the law to everyone who believes. That the law served its purpose.

It's done. And now Paul is running around preaching to Jew and Gentile a law free gospel. Saying we're not under the law. It's not about keeping the law. The law is over.

It served its purpose. Now we are under a new covenant the covenant of grace. I suppose if you are Jewish and you heard Paul say that you think the guy's a traitor. He left Judaism. He's gone off to Gentile regions.

He's sold out. Remember when Paul wrote his letter to the Philippian church and he gave his background and he says that I was circumcised on the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew of the Hebrews concerning the law a Pharisee concerning zeal persecuting the church concerning righteousness which comes by the law.

I was blameless. Then he said all those things that were once gained to me I counted loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and I do still I do count them as rubbish. Dung.

Scubalon. A very strong word that I might gain Christ. I'm willing to give it all up to gain Christ. So Paul would have been misunderstood. Therefore he circles back after having written what he has written to underscore the idea the fact that God is not done with the Jews as a nation.

The Jewish people Israel as a nation as an ethnic group. He's not done with them. They still are chosen and he still has a plan to incorporate salvation in and through the Jewish nation. And that's why 9, 10, and 11 are very important chapters in the book of Romans. You know over the years I've gotten letters from people who knew that I had a Catholic background who knew that I had a Catholic background and I got one several years ago. I was then approached by somebody locally in another town up in Santa Fe and then just the week before last I got another one of these letters and this was different though all three were different but this was from a gal but they were basically all the same thing saying the Lord laid it on my heart to write to you and to write to you and tell you to return to the Catholic church. And now I don't know in what capacity she thought I should return to the Catholic church. Certainly I couldn't be a priest.

Being married with an adult son and grandchildren does pose an impediment to that possibility. But she did say you could have a role as a deacon leading people back to the true light in this church. Now I understand where she is coming from and part of me wanted to write back a very loving but forthright letter about truth and even stir up a dialogue but then I thought how profitable would that be? So I just read that and the letter that I got a few years back saying basically the same thing that I should return and I can only think that some of them think that I must hate the Catholic church. I don't hate them.

I love them. My heart breaks for them who like many of the Jewish religion believe that their relationship to their church to their church or with the Jews to their synagogue is enough and that that merits their salvation. So I can relate a little bit to Paul and his sentiment here. Now as we get into chapter 9, 10, and 11 there's something else you need to know. You know that Paul quotes the Old Testament a lot right when he writes his letters in the New Testament. He was a rabbi. He knew the Old Testament and in the book of Romans he does this quite a bit. He will often appeal to Old Testament texts. What's interesting is that half of Paul's quotes in the book of Romans from the Old Testament half of them are in chapters 9, 10, and 11 dealing with the Jewish people. He knows his audience and also what's interesting is 40 percent of those Old Testament quotes are taken from one prophet, the prophet Isaiah. So in chapter 9 verse 1, I tell the truth in Christ even though we dipped into this.

We're going to kind of go back take it as a unit. I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh. Here when Paul is speaking about Israel he's speaking not about his spiritual brothers and sisters but his brothers and sisters racially as Jewish people. He has sorrow in his heart and he's going to explain that sorrow.

But the fact that Paul says something that I don't know that I could say. He said I have great sorrow that I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh. Now this reminds me of somebody else in scripture. A guy by the name of Moses. Moses was up on Mount Sinai received the 10 commandments directly from directly from God. He's walking down all excited to give the children of Israel the 10 commandments.

He looks down in the camp and sees them getting into a drunk debauched state dancing around a golden calf. He breaks the tablets on the ground symbolic of the fact that look I haven't even given you the law and you've already broken it. Second commandment you will have no other gods or make no idols first commandment no other gods before me besides me.

You've broken one and two and I haven't even delivered them to you. God in effect says Moses stand aside I'm just going to destroy them. I can raise you up to lead a different nation.

We'll start from scratch. Moses stepped in as an intercessor and said Lord forgive them and if not blot my name out of your book that you have written. Now that's that's a kind of a love that I don't relate to. As I look around at my nation today I don't think that I could say Lord you can just take salvation away from me if you save my nation. I look at my nation thinking you know what they kind of made their gods they kind of made their bed let them let them sleep in it.

They made their stupid choices let them live with it. That isn't the heart of Paul and that certainly isn't the heart of Jesus. And he said I could wish that I myself were estranged apart from Christ if it brought salvation to my people.

That's probably a very strong figure of speech. I don't think Paul wished that he wouldn't be a saved person or that that would do anything but he is expressing a sentiment. And he says verse 4 who are Israelites that is racially the Jewish nation who are Israelites not spiritual Israel literal Jewish people to whom pertain the adoption. The adoption is the fact that they were called the children of Israel. God said you are my son my firstborn.

I chose you out of all the other nations in the earth. They had a special relationship as adopted so to speak. God entered a covenant with them of all the people in the world God chose them as a special nation.

To whom pertain the adoption. Next on the list the glory. I think the glory was a reference to the physical glory of God that was with the children of Israel while they were going from point A to point B going from Egypt into the promised land. The presence of God was with them every time they would camp every time they would move from the camp there was a visible sign of the glory of God the shekhinah the shekhinah glory of God. So during the day it was a cloud that hovered over the camp of Israel over the tabernacle proper at night it was a pillar of fire. So a built in night light for 40 years this kind of warm glow at night outside your tent you'd get up at night you couldn't sleep you go outside and and the sky would be glowing as a reminder that God is with you in your midst. Then during the day and I got to tell you in the Sinai desert where you get especially in the heat of the day in the summertime where it's like living in a tent in Phoenix in the summer to have a cloud covering to have a cloud covering you in your encampment every day that's pretty handy it's pretty awesome. So it was it was something that rested over the tabernacle and later on entered into the temple that Solomon built but that was the glory of God visible as a reminder of his presence with the people. So the Israelites they're children of God in the Old Testament the glory was committed to them the covenant is next on the list God made a covenant with Abraham for the land God made a covenant with Moses for the people God made a covenant with David for the kingdom and the Messiah the giving of the law is next on the list God revealed himself through the scriptures through the law through the prophets the law is the the Torah the initial meaning of that is the 10 commandments the broader meaning of that is the first five books of Moses the full extent of that is the entire Old Testament scriptures the Tanakh God revealed himself through the scriptures to them next is the service of God that's something that means God provided a means of approach to him by the service of the priests in the tabernacle and the temple a sacrificial system prayers that were offered seasons of gathering and convocation during the year all of that was the service through the tribe of Levi through the priests and the high priests so that God's people could approach him and the promises think of all the incredible promises God gave to the Jewish nation he promised them land he promised them a kingdom something he has yet still to fulfill he promised them a Messiah so he is listing the benefits that God has given to his nation Paul a Jew a Hebrew of Hebrews I belong to this nation it's a special nation God picked them and then notice verse five of whom are the fathers Abraham Isaac Jacob patriarchs and from whom according to the flesh Christ came so he is he's the the pinnacle of all the promises God gave he is the ultimate revelation that God gave to the Jewish nation through the Jewish nation came the Jewish Messiah that we Gentiles are worshiping our following it's important you realize Jesus was a Jewish man Jesus wasn't a Christian he didn't go to church he went to synagogue he was dedicated in the temple he was bar mitzvahed as a son of the commandment he said I didn't come to destroy the law I came to fulfill the law of whom are the fathers from whom according to the flesh Christ came and here's one of the strongest affirmations of the fact that Jesus Christ is God the deity of Christ notice verse five of whom are the fathers and from whom according to the flesh Christ came notice who is over all the eternally blessed God amen now that is a perfect translation from the Greek language of that verse he is the eternally blessed God amen but it is not that the word of God has taken no effect for they are not all Israel who are of Israel nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham but quoting now scripture in Isaac your seed shall be called that is those who are the children of the flesh these are not the children of God but the children of the promise are counted as the seed so you know how Paul is writing he's writing in a diatribe form he is posing a question as if he's sitting next to a dissenter somebody who would disagree with him and he is supposing what the disagreement might be and then after he brings up the question the issue he then answers the question so it is not that the word of God has taken no effect somebody might say um you talk about all the promises God made since all of Israel did not believe in Jesus but the nation itself as a majority has rejected Jesus as the Messiah does their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah mean that God's promises have failed that's where we left off last week we kind of dealt with that question and then closed and what we said is this rejection by the majority does not negate God's promise to the minority there is always a few who do believe there's always a remnant in the scripture and he will he will hammer this through chapter 9 that there is a remnant who believe here's what we need to understand about how God works God does not operate on the basis of human relation it's not who you're related to well my parents were believers my my grandparents were Christians good God has no grandchildren God only has children are you a child of God so God does not operate on that basis of human of human relation God does not operate on the basis of human perfection it's not what you do to earn it it's not your good works it's not like you you meet a certain threshold now you've worked hard and you've earned it so now God sort of owes it to you doesn't work that way God operates on the basis not of human perfection or of human relation but of divine election he makes a sovereign choice and he cites the case of Ishmael the first born of Abraham and Isaac the second born though before Isaac was even born God chose Isaac not Ishmael it was God's sovereign choice before birth he was the son of promise even though Sarah said take my handmade Hagar AB you know I can't do this I'm an old I'm an old hen I can't I can't pull this off but so let's help God out a little bit you take my handmaiden Hagar you guys have a child and we'll call that God's promise the firstborn that child was Ishmael later on God gave them the son of promise when Sarah became pregnant and Isaac was born that was the son of promise and so it's interesting when you read even the book of Genesis where God in Genesis 22 says to Abram take now your son your only son Isaac wait a minute Abraham going to say he's not my only son I've got a son who's years old some say up to 30 years old his name is Ishmael but the son of God recognized as the only son was the son God had promised in advance Isaac take now your son your only son Isaac so that is those who are children of the flesh verse 8 these are not the children of God but the children of the promise are counted as seed for this is the word of promise at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son and not only this but when Rebecca also conceived by one man that would be Isaac even by her father Isaac for the children not yet being born nor having done any good or evil of that purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him who calls it was said to her the older shall serve the younger as it is written Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated when Rebecca could not have children she was unable to have kids she was barren her husband Isaac prayed this is a good thing for a husband to do prayed for his wife and the Lord answered his prayer Rebecca became with child and she was having a difficult pregnancy she didn't know why and she's complained to her husband goes well if if everything's all right with me how come I'm having such a hard time in my pregnancy and so the Lord spoke to her when they both prayed about it before the Lord the Lord said two nations are in your womb in other words you're going to have twins two nations are in your womb two peoples will be separated from your body and the older shall serve the younger that's Skip Heitzig with a message from his series expound romans now here's Skip to tell you about how you can keep encouraging messages like this coming your way 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