Calvary Road Baptist Church

“WHO ARE ISRAELITES?”

Romans 9.1-5 

Imagine a group of pastors and some of their Church members, from the various congregations in the ancient city of Rome, gathered around one of their number as he reads a letter from the famous Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Huddled as close as they can get to hear their brother read this powerful epistle, from time to time there is a sideways glance at that woman, Phebe, who was entrusted by Paul to handcarry the letter all the way from the Corinthian port city of Cenchrea.

Almost from the start of the letter, the pastors knew what Paul wanted. He wanted what all missionaries want: Support. That was no surprise to them. What was a surprise was how he went about enlisting their aid. After spending an appropriate amount of time establishing his apostolic credentials and greeting them, Paul’s letter dealt with the doctrine of justification, how a sinful man is given the standing of a righteous man before a holy God.

Though they certainly agreed with Paul on the subject of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, they never had in their lives heard the doctrine of justification set forth with such precision, in such crystal-clear terms, as that day long ago when they heard Romans read aloud for the first time. The first quarter of the letter deals with the need of every man for justification. Time and time again, along with airtight logic, Paul quotes verses from the Old Testament that establish the sinfulness of every man, the need of every man, the helplessness of every man, and the hopelessness of every man, whether he be a Jew or whether he be Gentile.

Then Paul moved on to a discussion of the nature of justification. How the pieces began to fit together in their minds and how their hearts were reassured when Paul described how God’s plan for justification has always been the same; how believers in Jesus Christ are justified by faith just as the great patriarch Abraham had been justified by faith. Then Paul went on to describe how a justified person is given a new head, replacing the fallen Adam with the risen Jesus Christ, and how that new head, Jesus Christ, influences our relationship to sinful deeds and righteous deeds after we have been justified. And, most recently, Paul described justification to show that justification really includes glorification and that even in the midst of great suffering and persecution the believer can have the most unwavering confidence that his eternal destiny has been once and for all decided. And this is because the individual believer was foreknown by God, predestined by God to be conformed to the image of Christ, called by God, justified by God, and will certainly be glorified by God.

You and I here today might be satisfied by what Paul has just said, but you can be sure that his Roman audience most certainly was not satisfied. Remember, a number of them in attendance that day, and a number of the Church members who would later hear copies of the letter read were Jewish believers in Jesus Christ. So, even if the Gentile believers were comforted by what Paul said, the completed Jews were not necessarily overwhelmed. Why? Because they were aware of the fact that as individual believers were foreknown, so Israel was foreknown. As individual believers had a predestiny, so Israel’s destiny had been laid out in Scripture for one and all to see. And as Christians had been called, so Israel had been called.

Was Paul’s audience supposed to be overjoyed at his great assurances in Romans chapter 8? If they were, it didn’t work, because there was still the question of the nation of Israel to be dealt with. So, beginning with my message today in Romans 9.1-5, and continuing all the way through the end of chapter 11, Paul does deal with the nation of Israel. Once you find that passage let’s stand together and read from Romans 9: 

1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. 

Addressing a common concern, Paul shows that God’s dealings with the Jewish people and the Gentiles in matters of salvation and blessings are not inconsistent. Having already addressed the need for justification and the nature of justification, Paul now looks at the nation of Israel; their past, their present, and their future. But before Paul can go very far in discussing God’s consistency in dealing with both the nation of Israel and the Gentiles, he must first establish something which many have come to be confused about. Just who or what are these people? In our text for today, Paul educates his readers about who he will be referring to through the next three chapters of this letter to the Romans. 

First, NOTICE PAUL’S DESPAIR WITH REGARD TO THE ISRAELITES 

1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 

His sincerity is evidenced in verse 1: 

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.” 

There are three assertions made by Paul in this verse which underline the seriousness with which he seeks to convince his readers of his sincerity. Remember, Paul is considered an apostate rabbi by those in the Jewish community, a turncoat Pharisee. So, it is imperative that his true feelings toward the Jewish people be communicated. He begins with “I say the truth in Christ.” “Truth I am saying in Christ,” is what Paul is saying. Next, he says “I lie not,” “I’m not fibbing.” He is not fabricating his feelings toward the Jewish people. He is not play acting. What he writes he means. The Holy Spirit of God used his conscience to verify to him his feelings. And those who knew Paul, or who knew about him, would have been struck by this statement. You see, contrary to our modern-day misconceptions about spiritual maturity, if a Christian matures and becomes more spiritual over the course of time his conscience becomes more sensitive and reliable, not less so. So, for Paul to say he is telling the truth and not lying, and to indicate that his extremely sensitive conscience was being used by the Holy Spirit to witness to the truthfulness of his words, meant that what he is about to say he really, and I mean really, means.

His sorrow is evidenced in verse 2: 

“That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.” 

Two words shed some light on the depths of Paul’s sorrow here: First, this word “heaviness.” It’s a word that refers to grieving, such as when you suffer the loss of someone who you love very much. Then there’s the word “sorrow.” That’s pain. That’s heartache. So, we see, my friends, that whoever these people are that Paul is referring to, they are people who he deeply loves and is profoundly heartbroken about. 

Next, NOTICE PAUL’S DESIRE WITH REGARD TO THE ISRAELITES 

Let us consider Paul’s desire in light of what his readers already knew to be true. They knew, for instance, that Jesus Christ had taught that He was “the way, the truth, and the life” and that no one comes to the Father but by Him.[1] Further, they knew that there was no salvation in any other, “for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”[2] What does this verse we are about to read indicate, then, about those people who have thus far rejected the Savior? Verse 3: 

“For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” 

First, the implication of what is written here. I think there is no argument that in this verse is communicated a strong desire, by Paul, for the salvation of the Jewish people. Though not expressly stated, Paul does indicate that he would like to be able to trade places with them, if it would do any good. I also think that in the words of Paul we hear the echo of Moses from Exodus 32.32. Remember the Israelite’s sin of worshiping the golden calf and God’s hot displeasure against them? In Exodus 32.32 Moses suggests that God blot him out of God’s book, taking their punishment for them. Of course, God rejected Moses’ suggestion. Paul’s strong feelings about the Jewish people and his feeling of helplessness in the face of their sin against the God he so passionately loves must have duplicated the feelings Moses felt.

Next, the impossibility of what is written here. The declaration that “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” is a specific example of a more general rule of Bible interpretation.[3] Here’s the rule: No one who seeks to properly interpret and understand what any particular passage of the Bible means can divorce the meaning of that passage from the rest of the Bible’s teachings. So, put it another way. If your interpretation of a passage conflicts with what other passages of the Bible teach, then you’d better hit it again, because the Bible does not conflict with itself. With that in mind, let us draw two conclusions about this verse:

First, whatever Paul does mean here, he does not suggest that his damnation could secure their salvation. Oh, he might wistfully wish that it were possible to exchange his salvation for the salvation of an entire nation, but such is not possible. You see, the only One Who could suffer God’s wrath that others might enjoy God’s favor was Jesus Christ. There is no other way. So, if someone denies Christ and personally rejects Him, no amount of wishful thinking by even the godliest person will result in their conversion, unless they repent of their sins and turn to Christ.

Second, whatever Paul does mean here, he does not suggest that his damnation was possible now that he is a Christian. Let us not forget that this same Paul, in Romans chapter 8, has just surveyed the spiritual horizon for anything or anyone that might affect the believer’s relationship with Christ. And what did he find? Nothing. So, no matter how his broken heart may cry out to do something to affect the salvation of the Jewish people in exchange for his salvation, it simply did not, will not, cannot, happen. God has a plan. Only one plan. And Paul knows what that plan is. Just preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified as fervently as you can. 

Third, NOTICE PAUL’S DESCRIPTION WITH REGARD TO THE ISRAELITES 

Paul is experiencing despair over the Israelites. That his desire is for them to be saved explains his despair. But just exactly who are these people that he loves so very much that he would exchange his salvation for their salvation if he could? Moving from his relationship with those Jewish people who have not received Christ in verse 3, he describes the great privileges they have received from God, in verses 4 and 5: 

4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” 

Nine great privileges are given to the Jewish people by God, thereby identifying them:

First, there is their designation. 

“Who are Israelites” 

These are the descendants of Jacob, renamed Israel by God. But notice, Mr. Roman Catholic, Mr. Jehovah’s Witness, Mr. Worldwide Church of God, Mr. Mainline Denomination. Notice, all of you who misinterpret the Bible and who think that you have replaced the Jewish people as the Israel of God, that Paul tells us that these people he is referring to “are Israelites.” They have thus been designated as the Israel of God by God Himself.

Second, there is the adoption. Though not explicitly stated in the Old Testament, the concept of the adoption of Israel is found in the Scriptures. Not the adoption of the individual, mind you. Paul is referring to the adoption of the nation, here.

Third, there is the glory. Let me ask you, 

Fourth, there are the covenants. What covenants are referred to here? Though it could be the Abrahamic or the Palestinian or the Davidic Covenants, Paul usually refers to just the Old and the New Covenants. He terms the Mosaic Covenant as the Old and the New Covenant referred to by Jeremiah and Ezekiel as the New.

Fifth, there is the giving of the Law. 

Sixth, there is the service. 

Seventh, there are the promises. 

Eighth, there were the fathers. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the progenitors of the nation of Israel, the Jewish people. And, contrary to the claims of the Koran, there is absolutely no evidence that Abraham was ever in the Arab peninsula. So, though Muslims claim Abraham as their patriarch, it was Isaac who was the son of promise, not Ishmael. He certainly could not have been their progenitor through his chosen descendants of Isaac and Jacob. That privilege belongs only to the children of Israel.

Finally, there was the Messiah: 

“and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came.” 

The nation of Israel, by and large, does not recognize the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel, the king of the Jews, but He is. They will recognize and acknowledge Him as such someday. Not when He comes as the lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. He’s already done that. But when He comes as the Lion of the tribe of Judah to save Israel in a day, to put down His enemies, to establish His kingdom, and to sit on the throne of His father David. But until that day comes, let God’s people everywhere recognize who these people are by Paul’s description of them. Though none of these blessings were bestowed because of any merit found by God in those who received these blessings, they must be recognized as blessings. Thus, we recognize who it is that Paul was in such despair over and for whom he had such strong desires. From the description given in Romans 9.4-5 we see that Paul can only be referring to those people known in modern days as the Jewish people. They are Israel. They are the chosen nation of God. And their present spiritual condition must be explained before the Biblical doctrine of justification can be rightly understood and appreciated. 

Finally, NOTICE PAUL’S DECLAIMER 

“who is over all, God blessed for ever.” 

This final statement of Paul’s provides an example every believer should follow. He wants to address the spiritual state of his kinsmen, the nation of Israel. He is in despair because of their rejection of Jesus Christ’s claims to be the Messiah of Israel. His desire is for their conversion. Not the forced conversion at the hand of inquisitors, but the voluntary conversion that is the result of a heartfelt repentance toward sin and faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin.

But notice what happens as he begins to describe and delineate the children of Israel from all other peoples of the world. As he lists blessing after blessing I began to realize, as he must have realized, that each and every one of these distinguishing blessings was a pure act of the grace and mercy of God toward His people. They earned none of these blessings. They deserved none of these blessings. Each and every one of them was the result of a sovereign act of a loving God.

So, it’s no wonder he finishes this statement on the roof top shouting out praise for the God who has so blessed his people Israel. You see, it is God who is over all, here. For Christ has not yet had His enemies made to be His footstool.[4] And his declaration of “God blessed for ever” is very clear. Amen? 

It is oftentimes remarked that truly effective communicators excel in defining their terms. And by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul is one truly fine communicator. And he does define his terms.

Based upon God’s stated purpose for us, we are asked by Paul to place great confidence in God. But the fact that God also has a stated purpose for the nation of Israel, and they don’t seem to be doing too well spiritually as he writes to the Romans, doesn’t inspire confidence in his readers that God’s purpose for them will be fulfilled.

Paul will spend three entire chapters in Romans explaining how God’s dealings with individuals, as well as with the children of Israel as a nation, are not contradictory and are not in conflict. God is consistent, and He is seen to be consistent once we more perfectly understand the situation.

But before we can understand how God’s dealings with us and God’s dealings with Israel harmonize, we have to know just who the Israelites are. We know who we are. At least, those of us who have trusted Christ to the saving of our souls know who we are. And after our consideration of verses 1-5 we now know who the Israelites are. We are ready to hear Paul’s instruction, which we will take up next time, God willing.

I close with this: The Lord Jesus Christ told the Samaritan woman, in John chapter 4, that “salvation is of the Jews.” Of course, He was referring to Himself. He is our salvation and He was brought forth by God from the nation of Israel. And apart from God’s Jewish Savior there is no salvation.

Are you saved from your sins? Now that Paul moves away from justification as it applies to the individual believer, are you sure that you have been justified? Are you really born again?

__________

[1] John 14.6

[2] Acts 4.12

[3] 2 Peter 1.20

[4] Psalm 110.1; Matthew 22.44; Mark 12.36; Luke 20.43; Acts 2.35; Hebrews 1.13; 10.13

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.

Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church