#40 HCBC 11-04-07 AM
The Lord’s Table
First for the Jew, then for the Gentile
Romans 9:1-5
The past few sermons from Romans have focused on the
individual!
Rom 8:28 God works in all circumstances for good…
Rom 8:28-30 The good is for us to become like Jesus!
Rom 8:31-39 If God is for us, who can be against us?
Ho will He not give us all things?
Who can bring any charge against us?
Who will condemn us?
Who will separate us from the love of God?
These messages have been intensely personal!
They have been an encouragement to believers
by reminding us that God is at work in our lives
and the work that He has begun
He will carry it on to the day of completion.
They have been an encouragement by reminding us that nothing will ever tear us apart from God’s steadfast love?
Now, as we move to Romans 9, Paul’s focus moves back to
the big picture.
The wrath of God! 1:18 – 3:19
The grace of God! 3:20 – 8:31
The plan of God! 9 - 11
The will of God! 12 - 16
In the section of Romans we just finished, Paul was writing about what God is doing in the life of each individual!
Now, as he begins chapter 9, Paul is writing about what God is doing in history!
And, being a Jew, Paul understands God’s involvement in human history from the perspective of a Jew!
Who is a Jew?
Religious -- Secular -- Political -- Ancestral
Paul’s perspective is religious:
Jews are God’s chosen people--The descendants of Abraham!
They were called:
Hebrews
Israelites
The seed of Abraham
They were chosen and loved by God!
Their males were circumcised in token of their
covenant relationship with God.
They were separated from all other nations!
Jews were described as:
A peculiar people
A holy nation
A kingdom of priests
A special people
The Lord’s portion
They sojourned in Egypt.
They were brought out of bondage by God.
They wandered 40 years in the desert.
God brought them into the Promised Land!
They were under theocracy until they rebelled and
wanted a king like the other nations.
Through disobedience to God they were taken captive
to Assyria and Babylon.
They were restored to their land in the time of Cyrus.
The Jews degenerated as they increased in national greatness
And they often displeased God by their sins.
Other nations:
Envied the Jews
Hated the Jews
Oppressed the Jews
Persecuted the Jews
Rejoiced at their calamities
The Messiah was:
Promised to the Jews
Expected by the Jews
Regarded as the restorer of national greatness…
Sprang from the Jews
Rejected by the Jews
Murdered by the Jews
But God made promises to the Jews:
To pour out His Spirit upon them
To remove their blindness
To pardon their sin
To save them
To sanctify them
To restore them to their land
To bring them future glory and prosperity
So, as Paul turns his attention to what God is doing in human history, his thoughts are of the Jews, his people!
Read Romans 9:1-5
Paul is experiencing great sorrow and unceasing anguish as he thinks about the Jews.
He expresses a willingness to be cut off from Christ for the sake of the Jews!!!!!!!!
Who could say that??
The text says:
Theirs is the adoptions as sons.
God’s chosen people!
In Ex 4:22 God told Moses to tell Pharaoh:
“Israel is my firstborn son.”
Theirs the divine glory.
The visible splendor of God which first filled the
tabernacle and then the temple.
The covenants
The Abrahamic,
renewed to Isaac and Jacob, Moses and David
The receiving of the law
The unique revelation of God’s will spoken by His
voice and written with His finger.
The temple worship
The prescribed regulations for the priesthood and
sacrifices.
The promises
The coming of the Messiah as God’s prophet, priest
and king.
Theirs are the patriarchs
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Moses, Joshua, Samuel and David!
…the human ancestry of Christ!
Matthew traces it back to Abraham!
Luke traces it back to Adam!
When Paul began this letter to the church at Rome,
He acknowledged God’s plan for human history:
Rom 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it
is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who
believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Again, in Rom 2:9-10, Paul expresses God’s sequence regarding His preference for the Jews!
Rom 2:9-10 There will be trouble and distress for
every human being who does evil: first for the Jew,
then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for
everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile.
With spiritual privilege comes spiritual responsibility!
God holds people responsible for what He has given them!
As we celebrate the Lord’s Table this morning,
And remember what Jesus the Messiah did for us 2000
years ago,
We would do well to consider Paul’s heart,
The great sorrow and unceasing anguish!
The tremendous concern that he had for his people.
Do we have any of that sorrow and anguish for other people that do not share in this celebration?
Are we overwhelmed to think about our kinfolks who have no clue about what we are doing her this morning?
Would we even consider giving up what we have in Christ that they might know Him?