Paul has spent the last 8 chapters (chapters 1 – 8) establishing the very principles of salvation.  He has presented wonderful and profound theological truths but truly Paul blew the minds of his contemporary readers when he penned Romans 5:1, “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!”  Peace with God.  Account settled…how?  What?  Simply by grace through faith!  No other cornerstone can be laid, the brick, the rock holding everything together…no other can be laid other than Christ Jesus…all others will crumble!

Its 1 Corinthians Chapter 3.  If anyone builds on the foundation of Jesus Christ, guess what?  It WILL endure!  It will hold up, man…no crumbling!  Maybe that’s been the problem…maybe the whole time…you’re foundation has been to be good enough…to be a good person…to be acceptable to the world…to figure things out…and see what I’m saying?  Things crumble.  Just like these Jews, just like these gentiles…just like Saul of Tarsus.  He worked so hard, built so much, pushed so powerfully…and still it all crumbled…

Building on anything other than the Lord is just ruin man…it comes to nothing and Paul’s heart pours out in this letter pleading with all peoples, with us (especially to the Romans, where he had made the mistake of appealing to them intellectually instead of via the simple gospel (Acts Chp 17)…So he makes it right…simply pleading with them and with us to hear the gospel and respond…

The principles of salvation have been given.  The practicals of salvation are coming…Chapters 12 – 16 but for the next few chapters, chapters 9 – 11, Paul will pour his heart out specifically for his fellow Jew.  Why?  Well a few reasons. 

Paul ended chapter 8 with the victorious declaration that nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ.  At this point, his contemporary reader, the bible scholar, the student of scripture might ask, “But what about the Jews?  Are they separated from His love?  The people who cried out, “crucify Him, crucify Him!”  And so Paul is going to turn a corner here and address that…address what he said all the way back in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also the Greek.”

I also offer you this.  Paul, at this point in his writing, probably can’t see straight for the sake of his tears.  He’s laid out these wonderful truths regarding the grace of God as poured out on the world, on all men, through the blood of Jesus Christ…the public sacrifice of His only Son…and yet he knows the years he spent wishing he had one more swing at this Jesus.  What!?  Remember it was Paul who would go from city to city, dragging Christians out of their houses to be arrested…pulling fathers from their families, throwing children out of the arms of their mothers, destroying communities and persecuting the very One who would still be willing to set him free…all the while with the staunch approval of his fellow Jews.

“What have I done?”  He must have thought at this point in his letter.  “What have I taught them?”  “I’ve fed their fury, I’ve led them in going astray…I’ve written the check of their rejection of Christ in my own sweat…”  Now he seeks to erase it with his tears.  Where he is at right now…after laying the foundation of grace and righteousness through faith is quite understandable…and he takes a pause before walking this out practically to allow God to speak through him to the Jew…to the people he himself has harmed greatly...in fact, who do you think Saul of Tarsus harmed more?  The Christian or the Jew…?  Probably the Jew…Look how he begins here in his passion and grief…

Romans Chapter 9 Verses 1 – 5

• Paul is so burdened that he basically says here that if it were possible he would accept condemnation to save them.  Man this is the heart of Jesus!  Do you see this?  This is the passion of the

Christ, the scream of the Holy Spirit within him!  That although these people are a stiffnecked people…cruel, selfish, boastful and blind…Paul says, “whatever it takes man I’m willing to do it to save them!”

• Moses had this heart.  In Exodus 32, Moses was up on the mountain hanging out with God.  God had given him the tablets of the testimony, the Ten Commandments, and while Moses delayed his return to the camp, the people made an idol and bowed down to it…then Moses comes down off the mountain, sees what’s going on and crashes the tablets into pieces (isn’t that crazy!  Even from the time the tablets were given, from that very second, man couldn’t keep a one – and what’s even crazy is that the first set was written given by God in Exodus 31, but the second set was cut by man in Exodus 34 – why is that crazy?  Because even that speaks of the God man…)
• And so Moses dashes the first set there in Exodus 32… and then after rebuking the nation Israel and after there was much blood- shed, Moses approaches God and says, “If you will not forgive them, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written!”
• Why?  What?  You see his sorrow reveals his responsibility for the people!  The Bible says that we have 10,000 teachers yet not many fathers why?  Because so few care anything about each other…we hear of tragedy and we say, “how terrible” and we take another bite of dinner.  We hear of someone hurting and we mute the show during a commercial to talk about it…who in here will engage?  Who in here will take responsibility for the peace and the salvation of their fellow man?  Who in here has the mind of Paul…the mind of Moses…the mind of Jesus?  Few.
• Now is this even possible?  That Paul could be cursed…that Moses could be cursed in order to save the people…no!  But hear their heart man…see the work of the Holy Spirit…that they would be willing to go to hell just to save another…but you’re right this isn’t possible nor is it required because One has already been cursed for the sake of all the people.
• But man do you see his heart?  For years he led his fellow Jew to the ledge, taught them how to jump, encouraged them to jump, deceived them that the jump leads to life…and now he watches them take that ledge daily…we can’t imagine his grief over who he was…

Romans Chapter 9 Verses 6 – 8

• So check this out.  Paul’s heart is for the Jew, just as it’s always been…even when he was persecuting the church, the entire time he was reping his people…but now he takes a hard look at them and says look, the nation Israel, the people that were and are to be “governed by God” quite literally, many have not gone the way of the spirit…most have gone the way of the flesh…
• What do I mean by that?  Remember Abraham had two sons.  Maybe you remember what happened.  Abraham was old, very old.  And he had no children because his wife Sarah was barren…she was not able to have kids.  And so the Angel of the Lord came to him and told him that he would be the father of nations.  And Abraham said, “indeed, through my servant Eliezzer…as I have no children to give my inheritance to…”
• And the angel said, “nope…your wife Sarah will have a child…”  And Abraham believed…remember Genesis 15?  But then 10 years goes by…no heir…and so Abraham and his wife decide to help God out…and Abraham takes Sarah’s maidservant Hagar as wife and they have Ishmael…and he is called the son of the flesh…why?  Because they heard God’s promise and then their faith failed man…and they turned to works to bring about God’s promise…rather than simple faith…even suffering, not-understanding faith…
• Paul says, “not everyone who claims to be a Jew is a Jew” because after the son of the flesh came who?  The son of promise…Issac!  Ishmael was the attempt of Abraham’s flesh to help God out…help Him get the job done…and how did God feel about that?  Well remember when God gave Abraham the command to offer him Isaac?  He said to him, “take your son, your only son,” in Genesis 22…He didn’t even acknowledge Ishmael!
• Just like that, works that we do in our flesh…trying to help God out…He doesn’t even acknowledge them!  And what’s interesting is that when God reminded Abraham of His promise, before Isaac was born, Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael would live before you…”  Abraham’s cry is all too often my cry!  Lord look at all the things I have done for you…all the work I have put in…all of the time…all of the whatever…and God says, why do you toil for that which I have not asked? 
• That is why I back off so often.  Someone comes to me with a great ministry idea…I’m like, “awesome, go do that thing and I’ll be praying for you!”  And people are like, “why weren’t you there, why weren’t you leading it?”  And in my heart I say, “because I don’t want it to crumble!!”  I want that ministry ordered by the Holy Spirit and ordained by God to bring people to Jesus…I want it to do that…and so I need to get out of the way!”
• The Jews were all up in the way you see.  All up in the way of the people getting to know God as He is able to be known…personally, intimately…without restrain man…and all that, is by faith through grace…but so many had turned to the son of the flesh…to their own works…their own righteousness…Paul calls them out onto the floor…
• And this scripture set calls us as Christians out also.  Are we really “governed by God?”  That’s a fair question, right?  There have been horrid things done in the name of Christ…the crusades murdered thousands…countless faithful men and women were put to death by the church for their blasphemy of not worshipping the pope or the Eucharist…even today we read of church goers protesting at funerals of solders holding signs that say, “God hates you…” Horrid stuff. 
• But what about you?  If you claim Christ as your King, then who is alive?  Him…or you?  What foundation are you building upon?  There are many who say they are a Jew and are not…and there are many who say they are a Christian, and are not…what’s up with you?  I would submit to you that more damaging than holding a ridiculous sign up at a funeral talking about God hates you…is a Christian who doesn’t and yet does not live for the things of God.
• The subtle witness of a lukewarm believer is a killer man.  Because that reveals fear…distrust…and I tell you today…don’t be afraid of failing in running all out for the things of God!  Be terrified of being successful at things that don’t matter…
• God has promised to lead you, protect you, provide for you, to walk all things out for you ultimately to bring about awesomeness…peace, love, deliverance, abundance of life…and yet do you still hold back?  What would you do today if you knew you could not fail?  Knew it man!
• Well listen then…go and do that thing…love her even though she disrespects you…you won’t fail.  Love him even though he demeans you…you won’t fail.  Start that prayer group, begin that Bible study, tell that neighbor about the Lord…you won’t fail…God has promised it and He cannot lie…be governed by God today…be filled with the Holy Spirit…and just be man…God will do the rest…
• Quit being so afraid…you won’t fail.  It’s impossible if your heart is to be something real for God.