Paul's Lament

Daniel Christensen

Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

0 ratings

· 1 view

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Introduction

Romans 9-11

We are back for the first time in nearly three months to the book of Romans. Before we dive back in, I want to give a brief word of thanks to Zach, for opening God’s Word so clearly from the book of Hosea. For my part, I know that we as a church are blessed to have young men who aspire to the ministry and are gifted by God even at a young age to teach the truth of God’s Word to us. Let’s have a hand to thank Zach this morning.

With that being said, let’s spend the first few minutes of our time together this morning re-acquainting ourselves with the book of Romans.

Paul’s great theme is three-fold, and he introduces it in 1:17: Righteousness, life, and faith. Paul’s desire is to prove to his readers and to us the following: Only the righteous shall live, and that life of righteousness is only obtained by faith, only sustained by faith, and only completed by faith, and that faith is the faith of Abraham, who trusted the promise of God despite the seeming impossibility of the circumstances.

Paul proves in chapter 1 through chapter 3 that righteousness is not obtainable through our own works, thus making faith in an external righteousness absolutely necessary.

In chapter 3 Paul introduces that external righteousness, revealed through Christ and received by all who believe in Him.

In chapter 4 Paul draws upon the promise-shaped pattern established by Abraham, who believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, demonstrating that just as Abraham believed, so also we are to believe.

In chapter 5 Paul portrays Christ as the true and better Adam, who comes to reverse the curse and make his people righteous in accordance with grace.

In chapters 6 and 7, Paul takes a break from his main argument to defend himself against those who would accuse him of antinomianism, namely that the Law is worthless and no longer useful for the Christian, by analogizing our relationship with Christ to a slave’s relationship to his master and to a wife’s relationship to her husband.

In chapter 8, Paul picks up the argument again, demonstrating that just as the Christian’s life is obtained by faith, it is also sustained by faith, specifically faith in the work of the Holy Spirit, dwelling in us and sealing us, thereby proving that we are adopted as children of God and share in the suffering and glory of Christ, the true Son of God. The argument reaches it’s climax with a song of hope uttered by Paul, extolling the virtues of a saving and securing Christ who will certainly bring us safely home in his love.

Paul now takes his third extended break from the bulk of his argument in chapters 9-11, which will be our focus over the next few weeks and months.

These chapters are incredibly rich but also incredibly difficult, and therefore we will take as much time as we need to get through and to really understand what Paul is saying here.

To help us with this, I want to first read these three chapters in full, and then I want to give you a brief overview of the argument Paul is making, to give us a kind of roadmap of his main points.

Romans 9–11 NASB95

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 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, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.” That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ ” “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.” Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved; for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.” And just as Isaiah foretold, “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity, We would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah.” What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.” But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, By a nation without understanding will I anger you.” And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I was found by those who did not seek Me, I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.” But as for Israel He says, “All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day.” And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them. “Let their eyes be darkened to see not, And bend their backs forever.” I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” 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; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Paul begins in verses 1-2 by introducing his lament in no uncertain terms. He then follows it up in typical Pauline fashion by not giving a clear explanation of what exactly it is that he is lamenting. The cause of Paul’s grief is implied somewhere between verses 3 and 5. But then in verse 6 Paul changes course radically, making a statement that may shock your Scriptural sensibilities just a little bit: not all are Israel who are descended from Israel! But then Paul goes on to give a massive treatise in verses 8 through 33 on 12 different Old Testament texts to prove his main point from chapter 1: righteousness and life come by faith, not by works, and not by heritage, and not by descent, but by faith alone.

Paul then picks up his lament again in chapter 10 verse 1, where he clarifies what he is lamenting: the unbelief of national Israel. He goes on to explain that national Israel missed the righteousness that Habakkuk spoke of when he said the righteous man shall live by faith. And in case there is any doubt, Paul invokes Moses, Solomon, Isaiah, Joel, Isaiah, Nahum, and David to prove that the righteous shall live by faith, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, and the Word of God has been revealed to all men, Jew and Gentile - leaving none with any excuse.

In chapter 11, Paul reverses his lament, proving first from his own experience in verse 1 and from the Scriptures in verses 2-4 that Israel is not excluded from the covenant. Why? Because, as Paul explains in verses 5-6, God’s sovereign and saving grace extends even to ethnic Israel. He moves on to explain first in verses 7-10 that Israel was hardened and darkened, and in 11 he gives the reason for their hardening: so that God might bring salvation to the Gentiles. Paul then explains the hope for the whole world in verses 12-15: if an Israelite hardening brings salvation to the Gentiles, how much more glorious will an Israelite revival be? In verses 16-24 Paul invokes the promise-shaped pattern of the vineyard to demonstrate that just as there was no distinction between Jew and Gentile in their sin in chapter 3, so also there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile in their salvation, for all branches are part of the same vine, and all fruit comes from the same root. The blessings of Israel are shared, through the sovereign grace of God, with the whole world. Then from verses 25-32 Paul extols God in His unchanging purposes, His compassionate mercy, and His covenant loyalty, summarizing God’s divine purpose for all of humanity: saving a remnant for His glory. Then, to sum it all up, not only chapter 11, not only the literary section of chapters 9-11, but his entire doctrinal section up to this point, Paul sings a song of worship, teaching us by example that the highest doctrines of God’s character and works are not dry or dull, but the most joyful concepts men and women can devote their minds to.

So it is to this magnificent portion of Scripture, standing tall with Job 32-42, and Isaiah 40-45 as the Mount Rushmore passages describing and extolling the wonderful works of God, that we turn our attention to today, and for the coming weeks and months.

As we pore over Paul’s words, my prayer to God and my encouragement to you this: rejoice and worship before the throne of God’s saving grace. Revel in and meditate on his magnificent, marvelous, matchless grace, grace greater than all our sin, grace so amazing that it can save wretches like you and me, so amazing that it will bring us safely home.

So having seen the big picture, the roadmap, let’s take the first step in chapter 9, verse 1.

Paul’s Grief - Verse 2

I have titled today’s message “The Weeping Apostle,” because Paul’s main point here is his sorrow and grief, described in verse 2, and that sorrow and grief reflects and builds upon the pattern of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, and Paul, the weeping apostle, stand together, speaking with one wailing voice.

Let’s open this up a little bit.

Paul describes his emotions with intensity here. He uses the word sorrow first, then grief. Bauer defines sorrow as pain of mind or spirit. This is an internal pain, a pain of the heart to use Paul’s own. The use of the word grief there seems to indicate that there is almost a physical manifestation of this internal pain. It begins inside, but is so strong and so powerful that it causes Paul physical turmoil.

You may be able to identify with that. If you’ve ever been in a situation where you’ve experienced immense loss, you may not necessarily feel and direct physical pain, but as you grieve, you often experience physical symptoms.

Paul’s grief and sorrow here is intense, and that is made further apparent as he described his sorrow and grief as great and unceasing.

Paul is describing himself in a deeply disturbing and deeply upsetting situation.

Further, Paul wants his readers to know just how serious and genuine he is. There is no false grief here. This is not a disingenuous sadness. How do we know? Three times in verse 1 he pleads his own sincerity. First, he is telling the truth in Christ, second, he is not lying, third, his conscience testifies with him in the Holy Spirit. Paul’s grief is genuine, it is legitimate, it is intense, and it is debilitating.

Paul’s grief is great but what exactly is causing it? Paul doesn’t tell us here. It’s implied but he’s not explicit. So we need to jump to the beginning of the next chapter to pick up the source of Paul’s grief, the cause of it.

Romans 10:1 NASB95

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

Who is they? Look at 9:3. His kinsmen, his brethren, the people of Israel.

So Paul’s deeprooted, abiding grief is prompted by the people of Israel, namely that they are not saved, that there has not been a revival among ethnic Jews.

Paul’s feelings are extreme and emotive here. Not only has he put the strongest possible emphasis on his sincerity, the strongest possible emphasis on his grief and sorrow, he now puts the strongest possible emphasis jut how far he would be willing to go to see salvation come in a widespread way to Israel: he wishes that he could be accursed and separated from Christ for their sake.

That is incredibly intense language. Paul is saying in effect here that he would trade his salvation for the salvation of his brethren.

Paul then spends a few moments recalling the advantage of the Jew, echoing and expanding what he described back in chapters 2-3. The advantage of the Jew was that God had given his oracles to them. He had revealed His word to them through Moses, and they were recipients of the laws and statues of God. Paul expands that here, invoking the Old Testament to describe what God had given to Israel. So for Paul, what are the advantages of the Jew? What is good about being part of ethnic Israel?

Israel was adopted as God’s son. Moses first declares this in Exodus 4:22, when the whole nation is declared collectively to the be the son of God, he expands the theme in Deuteronomy 14:1, where now not only is the nation collectively a son of God, but each member is himself a son of God on an individual level. Jeremiah picks up on the theme in Jeremiah 31, in which God describes His fatherly love to Ephraim His son, and finally, in that famous passage that captured our attention just a few weeks ago, Hosea in 11:1 demonstrates that God Himself, and by extension the prophets, understood Israel to have a filial relationship with God.

Israel possessed glory. Paul seems to have the glory of God as embodied in the glory cloud and the mercy and the tabernacle and ultimately the temple in view here. Moses describes the glory of God as dwelling on the mercy seat in Numbers 7. Samuel understands this as well when he records the response of the daughter-in-law of Eli in the judge to the theft of the ark of the covenant: she gives birth to a son and names him Ichabod, meaning literally “Glory-gone.” To simplify the intent of Moses and Samuel, if the ark leaves Israel, the glory leaves Israel. In reverse, when Israel possesses the ark, it possesses the glory of God.

Israel received covenants. Beginning with Abraham, and on down through Jeremiah, Israel was the recipient of at least four covenants, replete with accompanying blessings and curses.

Israel received the law. Through the mouth of Moses, Israel received and possessed the law of God, the his revelation of himself in his holiness and glory to mankind, communicating who He is, what He does, and what He requires of men. This posession is demonstrated nowhere more clearly than in the picture of the scroll of the law being placed at the hip of the ark of the covenant in Deuteronomy 31, so that it might be carried into battle at the head of the people. The law was central to the national identity of Israel.

Israel was responsible for the temple service. This seems to be a veiled allusion by Paul to the identity of ethnic Israel as the archetypal kingdom of priests, in other words, as those who observe the glory of the Lord and receive His word and then administer the same not only to their fellow Israelites but to the whole world. In other words, Israel knew God so that they might make him known. That is the sum of temple service in the Old Testament.

Israel received the promises. This is connected with the covenants, but carries a strong connotation of blessing. God made manifold promises to Israel throughout their history, beginning with Abraham all the way down to Nehemiah and Ezra. The nations received promises, but not to the depth, breadth, or extent of Israel.

Israel laid claim to the fathers. We might call them patriarchs, but Israel was able to lay claim to the heritage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their foundational examples of faith and faithfulness.

Christ came forth from Israel. Jesus was a Jew. Perhaps no truth speaks more clearly to the advantage and value of Israel: from them came the Messiah, the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. By biological descent, Jesus was an Israelite.

So for Paul there are at least 8 advantages to being an Israelite. But here’s what’s funny.

Nothing Paul has listed is a Jewish-exclusive benefit. In fact, all of these items have been mentioned by Paul already in Romans in connection not with Israel, but with the church in Rome, made up primarily of Gentiles. Think about it. Just a few verses earlier, Paul expounded on the adoption of the believer as a son of God. Chapter 6 teaches us that the glory that filled Christ and raised Him from the dead now fills us by virtue of our baptism. The allusions to circumcision in chapters 2 and 3 teach us that the circumcision of the Old Covenant typified the faith of the new covenant. Chapters 6 and 7 teach us that the law is not only for Old Covenant Israel, but for all faithful followers of Yahweh. Chapter 8 teaches us that just as Israel was responsible for temple service as those who were tasked with watching and keeping the temple, so also we are responsible for watching and keeping the New Covenant temple, the church and her members. Chapter 4 applies the promises of Abraham to all who believe God as Abraham did, with emphasis not on Israel but on the church in Rome, and then argues additionally that Abraham’s fatherhood is not of those who are biologically descended from Abraham, but those who are spiritually descended from him - those who are his children not by flesh but by faith, again with special focus not on Israel but on Rome. Finally, throughout chapters 3-8, Paul continually emphasizes that Christ is in union with all who trust in him, again with the focus being not on Christ’s belonging to Israel, but on His belonging to Rome and by extension all believers. For Paul up to this point, Christ belongs to Rome by faith far more than He belongs to Israel by flesh.

So what is Paul’s point here with the series of 8 facts about Israel that are also apparently facts about the church here in verses 4-5? In order to understand the answer to that question, we need to understand the hermeneutics and theology of typology. I won’t give a full explanation here, but I will commend to you one of the most compelling volumes I have ever read: Typology by Dr. James M. Hamilton Jr. to learn more about this topic. In any case, I will provide you with a few basic definitions so we can get after what Paul is saying here. Three words: archetype, ectype, and antitype. At the risk of being overly simplistic, this is what you need to know: the archetype is the first in the series, the ectype is any entry in the series that comes between the first and the last, and the antitype is the last in the series. For Paul here, Israel is an archetype. They were the first in the series to receive adoption, glory, covenants, law, temple service, promises, patriarchs, and Christ. Now for you nerds out there, you know that technically here, Israel is actually an ectype. Adam is the archetype, because he was the true first party to receive all of this. But that’s a conversation for a different time. For now, let’s think of Israel as the archetype. For Paul’s purpose then, in all his dealings with these topics throughout the book of Romans as they apply to the church, he is placing the church in the role of the antitype. Again you nerds out there will know that Christ is the true antitype, and the church is what we would call an extended antitype, or an antitype by union, but that’s also outside the scope of our study this morning. What we need to get from this right now, and you can write this down, Israel and the 8 advantages or blessings that she possesses, that is the archetype. The church, as she receives those same advantages or blessings, is the antitype. Israel then serves as a sign and shadow, pointing forward to the final fulfillment of these blessings for the church, and in fact only existing because of the future hope of this fulfillment.

But here’s the rub for Paul. It would be rather easy for us to throw Israel out. You say okay, Israel and her blessings typified the church and her blessings. Christ came, inaugurated the church, fulfillment comes, antitype is here, who cares about the archetype anymore? Once the movie comes out, you don’t keep watching the trailer. That would be the natural way of thinking about things. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the “natural” way of thinking about things is errant at best, heretical at worst, and to throw out Israel as the archetype is to be just that: errant at best, heretical at worst. That would be what theologians call replacement theology, that the church has replaced ethnic Israel and there is now no longer any place for ethnic Israel in the covenants of God. Replacement theology says all that was transferred to the church and Israel is like the worn out old suit that gets sent to Goodwill. Paul is clear here: that is false. The fulfillment of the blessings of Israel in the antitype of Christ and His church is still applied in force to Israel. All these advantages don’t go away simply because they’ve also been extended to Gentiles. As Paul will continue to explain throughout these three chapters, the church has not replaced Israel but neither are there two distinct peoples of God with separate advantages and blessings. There is one people, with one set of benefits and blessings, made one because they are branches on one vine. Some may be natural, some may be wild, but all are grafted into the one root, the root of Jesse, the blessed vine of Isaiah 5 and John 15, Jesus Christ.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. We haven’t gotten to chapter 11 yet.

For now, suffice it to say that Paul’s point here is that the blessings and benefits of the church, typified by the blessings and benefits of Israel, do not nullify Israel, but rather

Related Media

Related Sermons