Romans 9:1-5: "Israel's Unbelief"

There seems to be a big parenthesis between chapter 8 and 12, in which Paul speaks about the nation of Israel, and how God's plan for His chosen race fits into redemptive history. It can be quite a struggle for somebody to read about the Jews being the chosen race and seeing their blatant rejection of the Messiah. Paul looks to sort this mystery out of the next few chapters.

Paul begins the chapter with a heartfelt plea for his readers to understand his sincerity. After eight chapters of explaining the wonderful divine truths of salvation found only in Christ through faith, many of his Jewish readers caught in a works system righteousness for generations must have felt like complete and utter outcasts. In fact, they may have had hard feelings and perhaps even some ill feelings towards Paul rejoicing in this "Christ". Paul, understanding this, reaches out to his Jewish brethren. He begins by assuring them of his love for them, "I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying". Anyone who had read his previous eight chapters of this book, would know his absolute love and respect for Christ. Saying that as Jesus as his witness he is not lying, but, rather, telling the truth, they could understand his personal honesty in what he was about to say. He even goes a step further to say that "my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit". Other times in his life Paul had called his conscience as a witness. Before the Sanhedrin in Acts 23:1 he says, "Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day". In 2 Cor. 1:12, Paul says, "the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you". For Paul to bring his conscience in as witness truly added to the validity of his statement. Being a Christian, he even had the witness of the Holy Spirit to further add to the truthfulness of his statement, "that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart". Paul wanted his Jewish Brethren to understand, that he wants them to understand he is not just trashing their heritage and the works system they had grown up in their whole lives for any personal vendetta. In fact, he is showing them that his heart is grieved over their rejection of the gospel up to this point. He had made a similar plea to being able to see them at the beginning of the first chapter, "For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established". Paul's heart for his brethren could hardly be questioned. Paul then tells us why the grief in his 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". MacArthur writes, "It was for the salvation of his fellow Jews that Paul expresses himself in hyperbole, saying he was willing even to forfeit his salvation, if, somehow, that could save them from God's condemnation". Paul was basically saying he was willing to give up his most prized possession for the salvation of his Jewish brethren. Paul obviously knew he could not be "separated from Christ" once he was joined to Him in faith, for he had just finished telling us that "nothing can separate us from the love of Christ". However, he was trying to make the point that he would do anything he could, give up anything he had to have his brethren trust in Jesus Christ. What a heart he had for the lost. This passage is so convicting to see Paul's true heart for the lost. I can honestly say that I would have a hard time saying that about anyone I saw that did not have Christ. MacArthur writes, "Only Christ's own gracious love in the hearts of those who belong to Him can produce such self-sacrificing devotion. The more we obey His Word and surrender to His will, the more we will love as He loves".

Paul reflects on the wonderful blessings that have been bestowed on Israel by God, which only adds to his sorrow for them. They were privileged by the mere fact that they were "Israelites". God has chosen them out of all the races to copy and preserve His Words, they were given the prophets of God, witnessed numerous miracles, the very own Messiah was passed through their line. Not only that they were to "whom belongs the adoption as sons". MacArthur explains, "Beyond their patriarchal ancestry, Jews are privileged to have adoption as God's sons. God commanded Moses to 'say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord, 'Israel is My son, My first-born'" (Ex. 4:22). . . . Israel was separated out to be His unique and righteous witness to the rest of the world". It was through their very own heritage that all the promises of God flowed, including adoption. Salvation, however, has always been an individual gift, never a national gift. Romans 9:6 declares, "They are not all Israel who are descended from Israel". MacArthur continues, "Yet, while not in the sense of salvation, it was a nation that God sovereignly bestowed on Israel His special calling, covenant, blessing, and protection. The Old Testament does not refer to God as the Father of individual Jews - in the way the New Testament does of God as Father of individual Christians - but as the Father of Israel. It was for that reason, among others, that the Jewish leaders were so incensed when Jesus referred to God in a personal relationship as His Father". Paul continues to show them the wonderful privileges they have been blessed with because they were His chosen race, "the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers". Israel had truly been blessed to receive all these privileges from God, and yet they continued to receive Christ as Messiah, and for this reason, Paul was extremely grieved.

Lastly, and most importantly, Paul points out that they were privileged to be in the same lineage as "Christ according to the flesh". God had "preordained [Christ] to be a human descendant of Abraham and of David", MacArthur states. His human lineage came from Mary who was in the line of Abraham and David, His heavenly lineage came from God. Paul concludes this small introduction with the wonderful praise of his precious Christ, who he sees as Savior and "is over all, God blessed forever. Amen". This is the beginning of Paul's explanation of Israel's role in all of redemptive History.