A Hunger For Lost Souls

Romans 9:1 "I say the truth in

Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy

Ghost," Romans 9:2 "That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow

in my heart."

We will see in the beginning of this chapter a sorrowful Paul. As

we have said before in these lessons, Paul was a Pharisee and he never

would quite give up on his Jewish brothers. He went to great lengths

to try to reach them over and over. His greatest opposition came from

his own people. In many cases, Paul practiced the old Jewish law to

try to win them to Christ, but even this failed and Paul went away

sorrowful.

Romans 9:3 "For I could wish that myself were accursed from

Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:"

We see, here, in this verse that Paul would have gone to almost

any length to have his Israelite brothers come to Christ. He says that

he would even give up his own salvation, if this would have saved

them. Paul makes it clear, here, that these Israelites are his

brothers in the flesh, not the spirit. His spiritual brothers are

Christians.

Romans 9:4 "Who are Israelites; to whom [pertaineth] the

adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law,

and the service [of God], and the promises;"

This just means that God had chosen the Hebrews (Israelites) to

give the law to, and he had chosen them to be a peculiar people set

aside to worship Him. God's first choice for the salvation message to

go to was these Israelites.

Romans 9:5 "Whose [are] the fathers, and of whom as concerning

the flesh Christ [came], who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen."

We find, here, the same thing that we find in Revelation about

the physical house of Israel belonging to Father God. The spiritual

house of Israel (Christians) belongs to Jesus. You remember from the

Revelation teaching, that the 144,000 Jews: 12,000 from each of the 12

tribes are marked with the Father's seal and the vast number in white

robes around the throne had been washed in the blood of the Lamb. The

white robed large number were followers of Jesus and bore His name

(Christians).

Romans 9:6 "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect.

For they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel:"

This means those who follow God are His children. The followers

of God are Israelites, not those who were born into the house, but

those who chose to follow God.

Romans 9:7 "Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are

they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called."

Isaac was the son of promise. He represented the Spirit. Abraham

had a son of the flesh (Ishmael). The promises God had made to Abraham

came through the Spirit, not through the flesh. You see from this that

the Spirit of God and the promises thereof are for the Spirit, and not

for the flesh. Galatians 3:29 "And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye

Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Notice above, it

speaks of seed as one, not many seed. Flesh does not inherit the

things of God. I Corinthians 15:50 "Now this I say, brethren, that

flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth

corruption inherit incorruption." God is Spirit and His blessings are

for His children in the Spirit.