I am speaking the truth in Christ – I am not lying; my
conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit – 2 that I
have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could
wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the
sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are
Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the
covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5
To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to
the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever.
Amen.

There is a sad irony in the seeming success of many Christian
churches and schools. The irony is that the more you adjust obscure
Biblical doctrines to make Christian reality more attractive to
unbelievers, the less Christian reality there is when they arrive.
Which means that what looks like success in the short run, may, in
the long run, prove to be failure. If you alter or obscure the
Biblical portrait of God in order to attract converts, you
don’t get converts to God, you get converts to an illusion.
This is not evangelism, but deception.

One of the results of this kind of "success" is that sooner or
later the world wakes up to the fact that these so-called Christian
churches look so much like them and the way they think that there
is no reason to go there. If you adjust your doctrine to fit the
world in order to attract the world, sooner or later the world
realizes that they already have what the church offers. That was
the story of much of mainline Protestantism in Europe and America
in the 20th century. Adjust your doctrine – or just minimize
doctrine – to attract the world, and in the very process of
attracting them, lose the radical truth that alone can set them
free.

Many observers today are making note that what the liberal
mainline churches did 60 years ago, evangelical churches are doing
today. For example, Steve Bruce writes in his book, God Is
Dead: Secularization in the West,

The mainstream Christian Churches are declining in popularity,
and the conservative Protestant churches are losing their doctrinal
and behavioral distinctiveness. (Quoted in Philip Jenkins, "The
Real Story of Secularization," in Books and Culture, 8/6
[Nov.-Dec., 2002]: 11)

There are thousands of pastors and churches today that do not
think that clear, Biblical, doctrinal views are vital in the life
of the church or the believer. They believe it is possible to grow
a healthy church while leaving the people with few and fuzzy
thoughts about what God is like. But ignorance about God is never a
mere vacuum. The cavity created by ignorance fills up with
something else.

Edward Norman, in his book, Secularization: New Century
Theology, goes right to the heart of the problem when he
describes what that something else is:

Christianity is not being rejected in modern society –
what is causing the decline of public support for The Church is the
insistence of church leaders themselves in representing secular
enthusiasm for humanity as core Christianity. (Ibid, p. 10)

At first the world is drawn to a religious form of "enthusiasm
for humanity," but then it wears thin and they realize that they
can find it more excitingly on TV.

Romans 9 is a great antidote against such diseases in the
church. This chapter is not rooted in "enthusiasm for humanity,"
but in the staggering, shocking, deeply satisfying sovereignty of
God. My prayer is that we will see God for who he really is with
his jagged peaks and fathomless deeps, and that, by his grace, many
will come – not to celebrate themselves, but to worship
God.

Our focus today is on verses 1-3, and specifically Paul’s
sorrow and grief – his anguish over the fact that his
kinsmen, the Jewish nation as a whole, are accursed and cut off
from Christ.

We will look at four aspects of Paul’s anguish:

1. the
   cause of his anguish;
2. the intensity of his anguish;
3. the
   authenticity of his anguish; and
4. the fruit of his anguish.

The Cause of Paul’s Anguish

Let’s read verse 3: "I could wish that I myself were
accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my
kinsmen according to the flesh." This means that Paul’s
kinsmen are accursed and separated from Christ. He softens the
statement of their loss by expressing it in relation to his own
anguish. But the reality is unmistakable. They are accursed and cut
off from Christ. They are lost. They are on their way to hell under
the judgment of God. The word for "accursed" here is anathema and
is used in 1 Corinthians 16:22 where Paul says, "If anyone does not
love the Lord, he is to be accursed."

Now why are his kinsmen accursed and cut off from Christ? Paul
gives two answers. One is that they have stumbled over Jesus Christ
as the goal of the law, and rejected him as their curse bearer and
their righteousness. And the other answer is that God has not
chosen all ethnic Israel to be spiritual Israel.

Consider Romans 9:30ff.

What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue
righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which
is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did
not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by
faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the
stumbling stone, 33 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.’

In other words, Paul pictures Christ as the righteousness that
the law was pointing to. Gentiles saw it, believed, and were
justified by faith – God imputed the righteousness of Christ
to them through faith. But Israel stumbled over Christ. She did not
see him as her Messiah or her righteousness or the one to whom the
law was pointing all along. They saw the way to God’s
righteousness as works, not faith. And so they failed to attain
what the law was pointing to; they stumbled over Christ.

Paul describes this fall of Israel again in Romans 10:2-4.

For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not
in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about God’s
righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not
subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For the goal of
the law is Christ for righteousness to everyone who believes.

In other words, Israel as a whole missed the meaning of the law
and missed the meaning of Christ. The law was to lead them to
Christ, and Christ was to be their righteousness. And the way to be
righteous with Christ’s righteousness was faith, not works.
"The goal of the law is Christ for righteousness to everyone who
believes." But they sought to establish their own righteousness by
works rather than have the gift of God’s righteousness
provided by Christ through faith.

So why are they accursed? Because they rejected the only one who
could save them from the curse of the law. Galatians 3:13 relates
Christ to the curse: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law
by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed
is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’" So Christ became our
curse and Christ became our sin and Christ became our
righteousness. But they would not have him. And so they are
accursed and cut off from Christ.

This is the first answer for why Paul has grief and anguish in
his heart.

There is another answer – a deeper answer – to why
his kinsmen are accursed, explained in verses 6-29, namely, that
God has not chosen all ethnic Israel to be spiritual Israel. We
will look at this after Thanksgiving. But it will be relevant this
morning when we get to the third point.

But first, point two:

The Intensity of Paul’s Anguish

Verses 2-3: "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." Notice the translation here:
"I could wish" to be accursed. The point is that Paul’s grief
is so great over the lostness of Israel that he stands on the brink
of damnation, ready to throw himself in, if it were possible. But
it is not possible. That’s why it says, "I could wish." The
reason it’s not possible is found four verses earlier in
Romans 8:38-39 – Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate
God’s elect, Paul included, from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord.

In other words, God has not designed a world where a person can
be damned because of Christ-exalting love. If there were such a
world, then the Biblical standards of the world that exists would
not apply, and Paul stands ready to take Israel’s place in
hell. But he can’t. God does not send people to hell because
they love others enough to sacrifice for them. So Paul cannot take
the place of Israel; he can only grieve.

Oh,
that we would have more of Paul’s spirit here! Do you
grieve? Do you feel sorrow and anguish over your kinsmen, that they
are accursed and cut off from Christ? I know that hundreds of you
do. That’s good. Nurture that grief with Biblical truth. And
remember, Jesus said that we should love not only those who love
us, but also our enemies (Matt. 5:43-44). So may Bethlehem be a
place of tears as well as joy. May we be Biblical Christian
hedonists! As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:10, "Sorrowful, yet
always rejoicing."

And if anyone should raise the legitimate question: Will we then
be sad throughout eternity because of those who are accursed and
cut off from Christ in hell? Will heaven be a place of eternal
grief? – the answer is no. "God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes . . . neither shall there be mourning nor crying
nor pain anymore" (Rev. 21:4). Why? Jonathan Edwards put it like
this:

With respect to any affection that the godly have had to the
finally reprobate, the love of God will wholly swallow it up. And
cause it wholly to cease. (The Works of Jonathan Edwards
[Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust], Vol. 2, p. 899)

Those who
die in their sinful rebellion – we say it with tears now
– will not have the power to hold heaven hostage with their
own misery. Here we groan and weep. There we are consumed with the
glory of Christ.

Let us learn from Paul. He knows that his kinsmen are lost and
ready to be cast into outer darkness forever. But he does not say
that with rage or fierceness. He says it with anguish.

The Authenticity of Paul’s Anguish

Verse 1: "I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my
conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit." This is
Paul’s introduction to the words in verse 2: "I have great
sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart." This is a remarkable plea
in verse 1: Believe me. Believe me. I am telling the truth in
Christ. I am not lying. He can’t prove it – how can you
prove your grief? Tears can be manufactured. Trembling voices can
be learned and artificial. He can’t prove it. He can only
plead that his conscience is moved by the Holy Spirit and that his
testimony is shaped by Christ.

But why is all this necessary? Because some doubted his love and
the genuineness of his sorrow. Why? Because Paul has said things
that could be taken as anti-Jewish. Back in Romans 2:24 he quoted
the prophets, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles
because of you." In Romans 3:9 he said, "Are we Jews any better
off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both
Jews and Greeks, are under sin." In the next verse (v. 3) he is
about to say that Israel is accursed and cut off from Christ. And
then, most amazingly, he is about to say in verse 6: Not all Israel
is Israel. God’s covenant does not guarantee the salvation of
every Jew. The ultimate reason why some are accursed and cut off
from Christ is that they are not among the elect. He will say in
Romans 11:7, "Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The
elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened."

This is the deepest reason why Paul must virtually take an oath
that he is telling the truth that his anguish is real. There will
always be this kind of objection that Paul was facing here: people
will say, "You cannot feel real grief over the lost if God chooses
freely and unconditionally whom he will save." Paul knows this is
an objection, and all he can do here is say: I really grieve over
Israel, and I really believe that God is sovereign over who is
saved and who is not.

Beware of over-simplifying the heart of God and the hearts of
loving saints. There are more emotional possibilities in this world
than you may think. Paul set us an example to follow: He taught in
verse 15 that God says, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." And he
showed us how to grieve over those who do not receive mercy. Beware
of the reasonings of man exalted against the word of God. Beware of
making your present emotional possibilities the standard of
God’s.

Finally, the Fruit of Paul’s Anguish

I find this in Romans 10:1, "Brethren, my heart's desire and my
prayer to God for them is for their salvation." The fruit of
Paul’s anguish for his kinsmen who are accursed and cut off
from Christ is to desire their salvation and to pray for them to be
saved. Again, I say, don’t follow the reasonings of skeptical
men here. Don’t say: There is no reason
to pray for sinners if God is sovereign to save. Say instead,
Because God is sovereign to save, I will pray for sinners with
hope. Because Paul prayed for their salvation, I will pray. Because
Christ prayed on the cross for their salvation, I will pray.
Because I have grief and anguish in my heart, I will pray.
And as it says in 2 Timothy 2:25, "God may perhaps grant them
repentance." To that end let us pray for Israel and for the nations
and for our kinsmen that they might be saved.

May the Lord do it even now. If you are still under the guilt of
your sins and accursed and cut off from Christ, don’t stay
there. Christ has become a curse for us. He has died for our sins
and risen from the dead. Trust him as your only hope and your
all-satisfying treasure. And you will be saved. Amen.