The Tragedy of Israel

Once there was a congregation that dismissed its pastor because, as one member put it to a newcomer, “the pastor kept telling us, that because of our unbelief and disobedience, we are going to hell.”

When the member is asked, “what does your new pastor tell you?”

He answers the newcomer by saying, “he also keeps telling us we are going to hell for the same reasons, too.”

The newcomer asks, “so what’s the difference between this pastor and the last guy?”

“Well,” the member replied, “when our first pastor said we were going to hell, he sounded like he was glad.

But when our new pastor says it, he sounds like it is breaking his heart.”

And this is what we see from Pastor Paul as we resume our study through Romans in chapter 9.

Main Idea

In verses 1-5 of chapter 9 we will see that Paul is deeply pained by Israel’s rejection of Jesus, despite the religious privileges that belong to them, and his pain comes from a heart of love for them.

Main Idea springs from this message from the heart of the apostle...

Seek to have spirit of loving pastor in Boice’s story...

Seek to have heart of Paul.

The rejection of Jesus as Christ and God by the religiously privileged should fill the saints with unceasing grief.

But before we get to our text, I want to review what we learned the last time we were in Romans so that we can see where Paul is going in his argument in Romans 9.

Setting the Stage

Context of Romans 8

In the beginning of chapter 8 Paul began by unfolding all of the blessings of the life of a New covenant believer.

No condemnation...set free from the law

Romans 8:1–2 NASB95

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Spirit dwelling within us...

Testifies to our Adoption

Helps in our weakness

Groans with us in our sufferings

Intercedes for us

And then Paul transitioned to teach about the hope that we can have even in the midst of our present sufferings.

They do not compare...

Romans 8:18 NASB95

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For...God will cause all things...

Romans 8:28 NASB95

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Hope rooted in His saving love for us....

Calling

Foreknowledge

Predestination

Justification

Glorification

A love that will never end

Romans 8:35 NASB95

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Romans 8:37–39 NASB95

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Question of Romans 9

And so when we come down the mountain top of this wonderful chapter, that peaked with this wonderful promise that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ, we are confronted with a colossal question...

“Has the word of God failed?”

And those who are asking this question are the Jews in Rome to whom Paul is writing to.

And they are asking this question because all of those amazing blessings of forgiveness of sins, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the adoption as God’s sons were originally made to the Jews.

These same Jews whom Paul has said...

Are under judgement

Romans 2:3 NASB95

3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?

Are blasphemers of God

Romans 2:24 NASB95

24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written.

Are just as guilty and unrighteous as the gentiles

Romans 3:9–10 NASB95

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;

And as verse 3 from our text implies, because of their unbelief they are accursed and seperated from the Messiah

And so they see a conundrum of tremendous implications here.

Paul just wrote of the promise that God’s people would never be seperated from the love of Christ…and yet here according to Paul, God’s people from of old are seperated from Christ. And so in Romans 9 through 11, Paul seeks to answer this question, “has the word of God failed?” with a resounding and convincing no.

Even though we are 2,000 years removed from the church in Rome, with it’s Jew and Gentile tensions, even though we are half-way around the world from the nation of Israel, this section in Romans is enormously important to each of our lives.

And that is because the deep and complex theology of Romans 9 forms the foundation of our faith in God’s faithfulness to uphold the promises He makes to us in Romans 8.

Piper, who literally wrote the book on Romans 9, called The Justification of God, and who preached arguably the best sermons on this text exactly 20 years ago, puts it like this, “Romans 9 comes after Romans 8 for this utterly crucial reason: It shows that the word of God’s covenant with Israel has not failed, because it is grounded in God’s sovereign, electing mercy. Therefore the promises to the true Israel and the promises of Romans 8 will stand!”

And our text today, that I have the privilege of preaching to you, sets the stage both emotionally and theologically for this monumental argument.

Transition

With that, let us look to verses 1-3 where we will see our first of two points, Paul’s Pain. Read with me starting in verse 1.

Paul’s Pain - Romans 9:1-3

Paul’s Testimony - vs 1-2

Romans 9:1–2 NASB95

1 I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.

Truth Telling - vs 1

In verse 1, Paul goes to great lengths to justify the genuineness of his grief and establish the authenticity of his anguish.

But why does Paul have to authenticate his pain?

A traitor in their eyes

Undermined the two tenants of their religious pride

Offspring of Abraham

Chapter 4

Abraham Father of those who have faith, both uncircumcised and circumcised

Works righteousness under the law

Chapter 2

Hypocrisy of the Judaizers - blaspheme God

Condemned by their failure

3:20 - No man is justified by the works of the law

And in Romans 9-11 - he will reveal that the ultimate reason that the unbelieving Jews are accursed and cut off from Christ is that they are not among the elect

So then Paul anticipates the most common objection lobbed against those who preach God’s absolute sovereignty in election:

How can you feel real grief over the lost if God chooses whom He will save?

And so Paul feels the need to validate his pain and he starts by declaring, “I am telling the truth in Christ”

truth declared in Christ

Paul is so unified with Christ that...

unfathomable to lie

his affections flow from heart of Christ

After declaring positively that he is telling the truth. He gives the parallel statement, “I am not lying”.

And lastly, the truthfulness of his testimony is based on the fact that, his, “conscience testifies with him in the Holy Spirit.” Which is to say that his conscience approves the veracity of his statement based on the testimony of the Spirit.

“in the Holy Spirit”

conscience is led and informed by the Spirit

Great Grief - vs 2

In verse 1, Paul validates his pain and in verse 2 he describes it.

Read verse 1 and 2 again with me, Romans 9:1-2

Romans 9:1–2 NASB95

1 I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.

“Great Sorrow”

Megas - massive and overwhelming sorrow and sadness

Unceasing grief in his heart

2 Tim 1:3 - same word - describes His prayers for Timothy day and night

2 Timothy 1:3 NASB95

3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day,

Constant, unfailing grief deep in his innermost being

Paul’s Desire - vs 3

The authenticity of Paul’s pain has been validated, the intensity of his pain has been expressed and here in verse 3, Paul explains the source of his pain, starting with the preposition for, verse 3,

Romans 9:3 NASB95

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,

Accursed

He wishes that he could be cursed - made an anathema.

Said to Corinthians in 1 Cor 16 that, “those who do not love Christ are accursed”

1 Corinthians 16:22 NASB95

22 If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.

Said to Galatians in Gal 1, that those who preach a false gospel should be treated as an anathema

Galatians 1:9 NASB95

9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

And Paul wishes that he would be treated this way. He wishes to be made an anathema. Like an unclean leper banished from the city, he wishes that he could be seperated, cut off from Christ.

And he wishes that he could do so, because this is the state of his kinsmen, his brothers and sisters according to the flesh. If Paul desires to devote himself to destruction in the place of ethnic Israel, it implies that they are devoted to destruction.

Paul is teaching that, save for a remnant of believing jews, the nation of Israel at large was accursed, and cut off from Christ.

They were an anathema because they did not love Christ, because they clung to the gospel of righteousness by works according to the law and the traditions and rejected the true gospel of salvation in Christ alone through faith alone.

For their sake

So then what he is expressing is a desire to be their substitute, to stand in their place, to be accursed and cut off for their sake, on their behalf.

This wish, this desire forms a bookend with the first verse of chapter 10, which states,

Romans 10:1 NASB95

1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

So deep is his love and desire for his kinsmen to be saved that he desires to be condemned in their place.

Hypothetical “Could”

However, such a thing is impossible. He can not be condemned in their place because there is no condemnation for Paul because he is in Christ Jesus.

He can not be seperated from Christ because neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate Paul from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

Which is why he says “I could wish...”

His desire does not match the reality of God’s unchanging and unending love for Him. It does not fit within the paradigm of God’s choosing of Paul from before the foundation of the Lord, of His calling of Paul to Himself, of His regenerating of Paul’s heart, removing the scales from his eyes.

And so he says as much as he is able, “I could wish that I were accursed for your sake.”

Illustration of Moses

In Exodus 32, we see a similar prayer, and heart from Moses.

40 days after leaving Egypt

Israel gets impatient in Moses absence

Form and worship the golden calf

God informs Moses what the people are doing, Exodus 32:7

Exodus 32:7 NASB95

7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

deserve to experience the wrath of God

Moses descends

Breaks tablets

3,000 men are slain by righteous Levites

Listen as I read Exodus 32 starting in verse 30, Exodus 32:30-32

Exodus 32:30–32 NASB95

30 On the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. 32 “But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!”

Moses interceded on behalf of rebellious Israel and pleaded with God to blot himself out of God’s book of Life as a substitutionary sacrifice in the place of his kinsmen.

Heart of Christ

Of course, Moses was an imperfect substitute, a great sinner himself, who’s sacrifice would not appease the holy wrath of God. But his heart and his desire to die for the people was not out of place.

And it is just the same with Paul. But in Romans, Paul is not seeking to substitute himself in the place of unbelieving Israel. If he could, he would, but he knows that that is not possible.

And the reason is that Christ is the only unblemished lamb, the Lamb of God who is worthy to take away the sins of the world with His sacrificial death.

Paul knows this. He is not expressing a desire to do a similar work to Christ’s. There is no need for one.

What Paul is expressing here is the heart of Christ. He loves his lost kinsmen as Christ does. He grieves over their unbelief and rejection as Christ did. Luke records in Luke 19:41 that,

Luke 19:41 NASB95

41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,

As one commentator put it, Paul’s statement is, “a spark from the fire of Christ’s substitutionary love.”

Application: Do we love the lost like this?

Do we anguish over those closest to us like this?

Surely, Paul grieved over the gentiles who rejected the gospel, but these verses show a special sorrow over his own people.

I know that so many of you do grieve like this over unsaved spouses, children, parents, brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends. I know that so many of you share this same heart of Paul for them.

I want to encourage you in that grief. Don’t stop your heart from sorrow. Grief over the lost is godly grief.

The Christian life this side of heaven is one of incredible joy and peace found in Christ. We have tasted and seen that He is good.

And the Christian life is also one of deep and incredible grief and sadness. We groan as we suffer trial and loss in this world.

And the chief source of groaning he chief of which is the rejection of Christ and his gospel by our people

parents

grandparents

siblings

friends

neighbors

classmates

coworkers

spouse

children.

In 2 Corinthians 6:10, Paul describes his experience as an apostle as “sorrowful yet always rejoicing”

So then, allow yourself to weep before God in prayer for your people, pleading with hope that the sovereign God would grant them the gift of faith.

And yet I am afraid, that most of you are like me.

Don’t allow yourself to feel this sorrow

Don’t want to fear prospect of loved one’s eternal suffering

Maybe allow knowledge of election to sniffle compassion

Dear friend, if this is you, and the Spirit of God is convicting your heart right now, allow your conscience to be pricked.

Pray for the Spirit of God to produce the compassion and love of Christ for the lost within your own heart.

And then like Christ, when encountering the lost, be moved with compassion to teach those wandering sheep about the gospel of the Good Shepherd.

Transition

Now when we look back at Paul’s message to the Roman church here in chapter 9, what we see that Paul’s pain in verses 1-3, is all the more tragic when we see Israel’s rejection in light of their heritage.

Let’s move to my second point and final point today, The People’s Privilege. Start reading with me in verse 3 so we can get the context of verses 4 and 5.

The People’s Privilege

Romans 9:3–4 NASB95

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, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises,

In Romans chapter 3, Paul asks what advantage has the Jew? And then he answers it saying, “great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.” And it is here in Romans 9 that he continues to elaborate on the privileges given to Israel.

In verses 4 and 5 Paul lays out 8 advantages, 8 blessings, 8 examples of God’s special affection upon those who are the Israelites.

These are blessings of old made by the God of covenant faithfulness to His chosen nation. And this should give you a hint as to why this list is here. It is absolutely tragic and actually confounding that the people whom God blessed this richly would have so vehemently rejected His Gospel.

So then in verse 4, Paul lists 6 of these blessings and splits them into three separate pairs. Paul actually divides these pairs using rhyme and so, even though our english translations didn’t preserve this element, we will follow his structure.

The Adoption, The Giving

The first pair of privileges is that to the Israelites belong the adoption as sons and the giving of the law.

Both of these privileges point back to the Exodus

Exodus 4 - Commissioned Moses to tell Pharaoh

Exodus 4:22–23 NASB95

22 “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 “So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”

Then God delivered his adopted sons when he

Passed over the doors covered by the blood

sparing the firstborn sons

Delivered them out with Pill and Cloud

Led on dry ground

Brought them up to Mount Sinai

Where He came down to deliver His law and make a covenant with His people

The giving of Law a blessing?

Romans 7 - Law increased and aroused sin

Later in Romans 9 - Israel stumbled by pursuing of salvation through works of the law

Not Law’s only function

Guide and tutor, sign post pointing to something greater

The Law is like an exit sign leading people out of a burning building toward Christ, who is the end and goal of the Law.

The benefit of sonship is far easier to understand

not just reference to external privilege - inherently spiritual

Jeremiah 31 - chapter of New Covenant forgiveness of sins

Prophecies new exodus

Jeremiah 31:8–9 NASB95

8 “Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together; A great company, they will return here. 9 “With weeping they will come, And by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.”

The salvific component of sonship is made even more explicit by Paul who only uses the terms adoption.

Points to God’s gracious choosing of Israel

Deuteronomy 14:2 NASB95

2 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

So then, if the adoption and sonship belongs to Israel, how can they be accursed?

The Glory, The Worship

The next couplet is that Israel possessed the glory and the temple service.

These are two references to the worship of God at the Temple.

Greatest blessing experienced by Israel is that the Holy God dwelled among them

Filled the tabernacle and Temple

Tabernacle in middle of camp

Temple on highest hill of capitol city

Leviticus promise

Leviticus 26:11–12 NASB95

11 ‘Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. 12 ‘I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.

Inauguration of Solomon’s Temple

1 Kings 8:10–11 NASB95

10 It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

And the access to the presence of God was mediated by the Levitical priests who performed the temple service.

Interceded between people and God through

prayers

sacrifices

celebration of feasts

Prophesying and preaching the Word

Until the glory departed

Idolatry filled the land and the temple

Led by priests

Ezek 10-11

The Covenants, The Promises

The last couplet includes the covenants and the promises. These two words are the most interrelated of all of the privileges Paul lists in verse 4.

The covenants were made by God to Abraham, to Moses, to David and then to Israel through the prophets.

And these covenants included promises that built upon each other so that the promises made to Abraham are woven into the promises made to Moses and the Israelites at Sinai. These promises are then promised to be innaugurated in the New Covenant by the everlasting royal descendent promised to David.

All that to say, we should think of the covenants as interrelated and connected to the promises made in them.

And all of these promises and covenants belong to Israel.

Possess edenic land

become blessing to all nations

live under everlasting messianic rule

experience an end to exile

receive new heart

indwelled by the Holy Spirit

forgiven of sins

Which leads us to the question, if these promises were made to Israel, how could they be accursed by the God who made these covenants with them, by the Lord who, as the Psalmist writes in, Psalm 100:5, is good; Who’s lovingkindness is everlasting And Who’s faithfulness to all generations?

Please do not try to smooth this tension over with the explanation that these privileges have been passed over to the church. In the beginning of verse 4, Paul uses the present tense verb, that the Jews still are the descendents of Israel and all the blessings still belong to them. Paul will resolve this tension soon if you take him at his word.

And that doesn’t mean we gentiles don’t experience these blessings. We who were far off, strangers to the covenants of promise, as Paul says to the Ephesians, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. As Paul says in Galatians 3, we who belong to Christ then, are Abraham’s offspring. But as Paul will make the case in Romans 11, it is not as if we Gentiles have replaced Israel. To use Paul’s analogy, we are like wild branches who have been grafted into the original olive tree.

With all of that said, let’s move on to our last verse. Verse 5.

The Fathers

Romans 9:5 NASB95

5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

In this verse, Paul adds extra emphasis to this last couplet by breaking up his word pattern from chapter 4 by introducing this next blessing with the possessive pronoun whose are the fathers.

The fathers are a reference to the forefathers of the nation of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is to these men that God made an everlasting and unconditional covenant and promises to, promises of national and universal blessing.

Paul actually uses this phrase to act as bookends to his entire argument in Romans 9 through 11. In the final chapter in this section in Romans, Paul concludes his argument by revealing the mysterious mercy of God who in His wisdom, allowed for the hardening of ethnic Israel so that the Gentile nations would receive mercy and be grafted into His covenant people.

And the reason that God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel will not fail is that, at that moment at the end of the timeline of redemptive history, when the fullness of the elect Gentiles has been saved, Romans 11:26-27

Romans 11:26–27 NASB95

26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

And this final salvation of ethnic Israel is accomplished because, Romans 11:28-29,

Romans 11:28–29 NASB95

28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

So then, the reference to the Fathers in our text points forward to this climax of Israel’s final salvation performed for the sake of the fathers - performed because God’s covenant promises made to them are irrevocable.

I know I just fast-forwarded to the end of the argument and you may be confused about this, but I promise you, it will all fit together when we arrive at the end of Romans 11 this fall. And when we get there keep 9:5 in mind.

The Christ

Which brings us to our final and most ultimate blessing, “from whom is the Christ according to the flesh”

The Fathers represent the genesis of the people of God, the Christ, the Messiah represents the culmination and fulfillment of the promises that have been made.

Seed of Abraham who blesses all the families of the earth

Perfect Israelite who fulfilled the law of Moses

perfect righteousness purchased the blessings promised

Everlasting son of David who will rule forever

Inaugurator of the New Covenant with His blood

purchased forgiveness

the gift of the Holy Spirit

Everlasting presence of God with us forever and ever

It is from the Israelites that Christ came according to the flesh.

This was the privilege of all privileges. The fathers at the beginning, give rise to the chosen people of God. the Christ at the end, comes from the People.

And the reason that Paul makes this distinction, that the Christ is from Israel according to the flesh is that this climactic privilege is so much bigger and so much greater than they had ever dreamed or realized.

The Messiah is not just fully man with the ethnic heritage of Israel, He is, end of verse 5, “God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”

The blessings of the Israelites could not have a more triumphant conclusion than this, their long awaited Messiah, their Savior, their deliverer, is the sovereign God over all. He is Emmanuel - God with us. And because He is over all, His saving purpose will never be frustrated.

And yet, these two realities, that Jesus is the Christ and that He is God over all are the stumbling block that Israel fell over.

Crucified Him for blasphemy because they did not believe

He is the Christ

He is the I AM, the Son of God

Spurned the Messiah - culmination of all their promises and privileges

Spurned the very covenant God who called them

This is why Paul is so grieved, so torn, so filled with sorrow. The unbelieving Israelites rejected their Messiah and are thus cut off from the One who is from them and came for them.

How can this be?

Paul is going to tell us, if we are willing to come and listen to his teaching from the next 3 chapters.

Conclusion

Concluding Argument

In conclusion, the rejection of Jesus as Christ and God by religiously privileged Israel filled Paul with unceasing grief.

He wished he could take their place - because he had the heart of Christ

Who humbled Himself

left the throne room of heaven to be born in a manger

left glory and honor and praise, to be mocked, beaten and reviled

Who came to serve

Who was the friend of the ungodly

Who took the place of the ungodly

Romans 5:6–9 NASB95

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

Dear friends, have you believed this gospel? That you are an ungodly sinner, whom Christ died for?

Justified by His blood

saved from the wrath of God

and Reconciled back to Him?

Listen up those of you who grew up in Church, with Christian parents who love God and who raised you up in the knowledge of Him and His word. What we just learned in verses 4 and 5 is that your spiritual advantages, however great they are or may have been, will not save you. You must believe the gospel of Christ and be born again.

And if you have believed, if you have been born again, then put on the loving heart of Christ for the lost, the ungodly, his enemies. Follow Paul as He follows His master.

Be filled with unending grief, as I know many of you are, at the rejection of Christ by your kinsmen, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers, your enemies.

And may that grief fuel a passion to continue to call them again and again and again, with a heart filled with love, to repent.

Spurgeon’s Illustration

In a message on this text, Charles Spurgeon told a story that captures this heart well. And I will end with this.

A girl who was not in good health approached her pastor with thoughts about her coming funeral.

She spoke of her father, who was an unbeliever and who had never accepted an invitation from her to go to church.

“Pastor, you will bury me, won’t you?” she asked. “My father will have to come to my funeral and hear you speak, and you will speak the gospel. Please speak it clearly. I have prayed for him a long time. I know God will save him.”

And the father indeed came to the funeral of the girl and he was converted by the gospel message faithfully preached.

She did not die in her father’s place, for Christ already had. But she had the heart of Christ in that she was willing to die, if her death might lead to the conversion of the one whom she loved.

As Spurgeon put it, this should be our constant feeling; how else could we become like Christ than like this?

Let’s Pray

Prayer

Worship - love reaches to the heavens

Thanksgiving - love from before time existed, never seperated

Supplication - give us your compassion and love for the lost,

save our people

fulfill your promises

Benediction

Beloved of Christ, put on the heart of Christ, as the Apostle Paul did, and be filled with grief at the rejection of Jesus as Christ and God by the religiously privileged. And may that grief fan the flame for evangelism to our families, our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, our enemies, and to all the unbelieving earth.

After the service, we elders stand ready to pray with you or talk with any of you about following after Christ.

Hebrews 13:20-21 “20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”