From Privilege to Peril

Keep it just to the females at
first. If you would take your Bibles and turn back once again
to Romans Chapter 9. Now we preached all three chapters
last Lord’s Day at least a flyover of a modified version of considering
these deep chapters. Some had proposed that there
was this significant pause even a silence. as Romans 8 concluded
and perhaps that these two sections are completely unrelated. But
we found that to be not true that these verses are tied even
to the very theme of the book of Romans. The theme of the book
of Romans we saw in verse one 16 chapter one verse 16, I am
not ashamed of the gospel, Paul said, for it is the power of
God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first.
And also to the Greek. Paul wasn’t bringing up some
unrelated subject. The facts, however, seem to contradict
that statement. And that presented a problem
not only to the Jews it presented a problem to the Gentiles to
whom Paul also was preaching because the nation of Israel
in large measure had not come to faith in Jesus Christ. And
so in what sense was this gospel for them. It was indeed somewhat
of a paradox it was to a degree a scandal. It was. In essence,
a trouble and a troublesome thing to the mind of anybody who listened
to the gospel, that those to whom these promises had been
given now suddenly found themselves on the outside looking in. It
was a problem. And so Paul. As he had pointedly declared
that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone
who believes, even though the facts seem to contradict that,
Paul sought to answer one of the most basic questions that
would come to the mind of anybody who heard the gospel. What about
the Jews? What about God’s promises to
them? That’s what the chapters are
all about. Chapters 9 through 11. And as
we come into Romans, Chapter 9, and that is where we’ll begin
this morning, this Lord’s Day. We begin to see that this Opening
section this sense essentially a an introduction that dedication
is not out of proportion. It’s not out of balance given
the subject matter at hand. It was absolutely crucial that
Paul address the nation of Israel and what happened to them since
they have been the recipients of God’s revelation for past
ages. They had been given incalculable
quantities of privileges that were invaluable. But at the same
time, they found themselves, as I said on the outside looking
in, they found themselves largely steeped in unbelief. And the
great quantity of the nation of Israel was quite a problem,
a conundrum, if you will, to the Christian. As the Christian
looked on, it was confusing to them. And so Paul needed to take
a lengthy space to address the nation of Israel and what had
happened to them. And so Paul’s primary goal here
in this opening chapter, chapter nine, is to essentially explain. The spiritual alienation, the
decline, the lack of faith. That was exhibited by this nation. One pastor summed it up aptly
when he said Paul gloried in the ministry to the Gentiles.
It wasn’t that Paul was dissatisfied with them and would have preferred
the nation of Gentiles. Paul was rejoicing that the gospel
had been open to the Gentiles and that they too could come
to faith. He rejoiced in their salvation,
but his own kin, the Jewish nation, had for the most part failed
to accept The salvation offered in the gospel even though it
was presented to them first. Paul longed that they too might
have the scales removed from their eyes. The in gathering
of the Gentiles on no matter how extensive the scale. Could
never compensate for the defection of his own nation and that brings
up an interesting point. I shared with you about the coffee
that I had the disturbing cup of coffee remember that nothing
wrong with the coffee but I actually had a one of these covenantal
brothers almost rooting for the Arab Spring to do its thing almost
rooting for the nation of Islam to rise up against Israel and
wipe it off the map once and for good. Even if it isn’t your
position this morning. that you hold to a literal Israel
that one day God’s promises will be fulfilled to them. What would
glorify God more. Wouldn’t it be more to God’s
glory that this nation so proud so stiff necked so faithless
would one day bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ. It would
go with me if you would. And let’s look. At what I’ve
labeled this morning, from privilege to peril. Look at the first five
verses of Romans 9. Where Paul writes, I am telling
the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience
bearing me witness 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 overall God blessed forever. Amen. Paul. Knew that he must immediately
turn in an address to the Roman Church, who was interspersed
with Jewish believers, but surrounded by Jewish unbelievers. And not
to mention Roman unbelievers as well. There indeed was a conundrum. Why was this nation so blessed,
so privileged, now so faithless? And that’s what Paul begins to
move to answer. And he begins there in verse
one by pointing out that he is telling them the truth. It’s
an interesting and quite abrupt change from what he had just
been talking about, if Paul at that moment didn’t have credibility,
who did? But he says suddenly, I am telling
the truth in Christ, in other words, I am speaking as a Christian. Now, you and I would say, well,
a Christian ought to speak truthfully, and we know that that’s true,
but we know that isn’t always the case, right? Paul says, look,
I speak as one whose life is dedicated and devoted to his
Lord Jesus Christ, and as a member, as a part of Christ’s body, I
am bound to truthfulness. It’s interesting. That in the
book of Ephesians, Paul has to admonish the Ephesian believers
to speak truth. But what Paul is pointing to
here is that as a Christian, that ought to be axiomatic for
us. Paul claims that he is essentially speaking in Christ, in the body
of Christ, in accordance with the standards that he knew. Would
be expected of one who would profess faith in Christ. He should
be characterized as speaking the truth. Paul uses this phrase a number
of times in his writings, 1 Timothy 2, 7. For this reason, I was
appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am telling the truth. I am
not lying. Paul sought there to really underscore
the validity of his words. And he he emphasizes it for the
sake of making a point. He does it again in Second Corinthians
11 31. The God and father of the Lord
Jesus Christ he is blessed forever knows that I am not lying here. He calls as it were. It’s almost
as if he says as God is my witness. He says it again in second Corinthians,
seven, four, for if anything, I have boasted in him about you,
I was not put to shame. But as we spoke all things to
you in truth, so also are boasting before Titus proved to be the
truth. In other words, he is endorsing himself. He is endorsing
his words. He is underscoring his credibility. He does it repeatedly and we
do the same thing. And we do so in our case, oftentimes
because Maybe the truth is the truth is somewhat elusive for
us. And so we come up with all kinds of catchphrases right to
tell you the truth. Right. I think my grandmother
started every sentence she almost ever uttered with honestly. Right. You can ask so and so. You know
we try to underscore our own credibility. God is my witness.
Heaven knows Lord knows God only knows. Well, Paul wanted them to understand
that what he was preparing to say, he hasn’t even said it yet.
He’s forecasting here what he is about to say he is saying
as he stands before Christ himself. I’m telling the truth. And then
he underscores it by saying, I am not lying. I am giving you
God’s honest truth here. And he says that a third different
way in that little phrase that follows my conscience bearing
me witness in the Holy Spirit. Now this is an interesting thing.
It’s almost like he calls in a courtroom he calls his conscience
to testify conscience. What do you think. Yeah that’s
right. I mean it’s an interesting phrase but it’s as if Paul is
standing before them and says look I’m telling you the truth.
I’m not lying. Ask my conscience if you’d like.
Everything that Paul knew of himself, he searched himself
and he believed what he was preparing to say to be true, true before
God, true before others and true even to his own conscience. So what does he say? He says,
look, I have the Holy Spirit also. Indwelling me, testifying
on my behalf, holding my conscience accountable, Why would anybody
suspect Paul in the first place of lying or not telling the truth? What Paul is preparing to say
is that he is a man of grief. He’s a grief stricken man, that
he is under great sorrow. And yet to look at Paul on the
outside, you read Philippians, the book of joy, rejoice, rejoice
again, be joyful. Paul repeatedly, and that was
his lifestyle. You could look at Paul and know
that he had been touched and ministered to by God himself.
God had given him a heart of joy. And you might look at Paul
and say, what man of sorrow? What are you talking about? But there was another reason,
another overarching reason that Paul’s words might initially
ring a little hollow, at least with some people. The Jews, the
Jews that really didn’t believe in God might and even some who
did might even begin to come to the conclusion that, you know,
Paul has turned his heart. He’s turned his back on his nation. He doesn’t care about God’s chosen
people. He doesn’t care about the Jew.
And so Paul says, I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not
lying. My conscience bearing me witness
in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief
in my heart. Paul essentially goes before
them and says, you might not know it, you might not see it
on the outside, you might not think so if you’re a Jew. But I am broken hearted over
my nation. They have gone from privilege
to peril. And it is a very real peril. We sometimes almost practically
live as if we’re all universalists. Let me explain that. You and
I would say, well, obviously we’ve read the Bible. We know
that not everybody’s going to heaven. And yet in our heart,
the way that we conduct ourselves, the way that we care for our
neighbors, neighbors, even the way that we care for our friends. The way that we care for them
essentially says, well, you know, everybody’s going to heaven anyway.
That’s how we live. But not Paul. Paul was absolutely
devastated over the fact that the greater portion of the nation
of Israel was currently in unbelief. Look at the words that he uses,
unceasing grief, great sorrow. This grief that he points to
secondly was was almost a state of mind, he was just almost almost
inundated with these thoughts about the nation of Israel. They
literally could be translated as great heaviness, Paul was
grieved. To the point where it was just
a heaviness, it was a weight upon his own spirit. Initially,
he says, it’s great sorrow, this anguish of heart where he just
felt it all the time. How could this nation have gone
from such great privilege to absolute peril where they are
literally standing above hell itself? Paul, as one said, had been gazing
upon The present blessedness and the future glory of Christian
believers. Remember, I mean, it’s just as
weeks for us that we were in Romans eight, that glorious chapter,
which we savored for such long a period. He had been gazing upon the present
blessedness and the future glory of Christian believers, and now
he turns to consider the unbelief of his own people, Israel. The
contrast causes him to cry out with anguish of heart. This sorrow
in his heart was an intense sorrow was deep. We call it heartfelt. There wasn’t a there wasn’t a
deeper place for Paul to go. And Paul says, as a result of
that. That he has a an idea. And this
one verse is. Has not only Up to this point,
baffled me how somebody could ever even say this. But it has caused no little difficulty
in the life of the church. Paul says, look, I’m telling
the truth in Christ, I’m not lying, my conscience bearing
me witness that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in
my heart, for I wish I could wish that I myself were accursed. Separated from Christ for the
sake of my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh, and you
say what? And maybe the words don’t mean
what they say. And so we begin to look at them accursed. The
word literally in the Greek anathema was a thing originally that was
set up in the temple and destroyed. was literally devoted to destruction. Leviticus 27, 28 characterizes
this. Nevertheless, anything which
a man sets up apart to the Lord out of that all that he has of
man or animal or of the fields or of his own property shall
not be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted to destruction. Well, obviously, what they’re
talking about there is an offering. And in a very real sense, Paul
says, look, I’m ready and willing to be an offering. It was a thing
ultimately that was devoted to ruin utter destruction. But before we go there we have
to look at essentially the Greek grammar where Paul says not I wish but
I could wish he uses what’s referred to as the imperfect tense. I
was wishing it’s essentially an impracticable wish. He can
say that he wishes it, but he knows that he really can’t. The
wish, the promise can’t be fulfilled. It’s as if he says, if I could
only wish. I was wishing if it had been
possible, I could wish it if it were possible, and that’s
why the NAS says I could wish. He doesn’t actually wish to be
accursed from Christ, he doesn’t actually Come to that conclusion
because he has come to know and love his Lord. But he does assert
he does point out this and make this statement. And he says in in so doing. He
doesn’t believe it to be possible. But he takes the nation of Israel
and he says, if I could only stand in their place. If I could
only take their place of condemnation and let them have my salvation,
I almost could wish it. Unless you think that I’m misreading
what he says there in the opening line at verse three, look at
the second line. What does it mean to be accursed? Separated
from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen, according
to the flesh. In other words, he was ready
to lose everything that Christ. If it were at all possible, he
was ready to lose everything that Christ had gained for him. And he gives ultimately two reasons
for that passionate thought, the first is that these Jews,
these Jewish nation, they are his brothers. It’s his family,
it’s beyond family, this is the this is his nation. And Paul comes to the conclusion
that he he begins to ask if he could, if it were even possible,
he would almost ask for the most unimaginable pain. Separation
from Christ forever, literally to be cast to hell. As one commentator said, nothing
less than final exclusion from that glory. Which is going to
be revealed is meant With these words, the full horror of I could
wish myself were accursed comes to expression, literally exclusion
from Christ’s presence. No, Paul’s not the first to utter
such a thought. Moses in Chapter 32. But now,
if you will forgive their sin, and if not, please block me out
from your book. If it were possible. Paul’s love
for his nation, love for the nation of Israel was to the degree
that with one possible exception. Because God prevented it, God
would not allow it, God could not allow it, Paul could almost
form this wish to be cut off for Christ for their sakes. It’s
an astounding thought. And it’s not an empty boast.
Paul knows it’s not possible. Paul knows that salvation is
by God’s sovereign choice. Paul knows that God has chosen
him and placed him into his own service. But Paul goes right
up to the line and says, if it were only possible. But you know,
there’s another reason why Paul knew full well it wasn’t possible.
He knew that even his own sacrifice, even if he stood condemned in
place of Israel, Paul knew that that wouldn’t bring them to faith,
not necessarily. Because there was one that had
already stepped in as their substitute for salvation, the Lord Jesus
Christ had already done it, and that didn’t elicit their faith. Paul says, look, I could wish
that I myself were accursed, separated, from Christ for the
sake of my brethren and he begins to take us down the annals of
history to all of the privileges that Israel had enjoyed and how
astounding it was that they now found themselves in peril in
the peril of unbelief. He says they’re Israelites to
whom belongs the adoption of sons the glory the covenants
the giving of the law the temple service the promises From whom
is the Christ? See, this is Paul’s second cause
for concern. It already pointed out the fact
that these are my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh.
But there was another thing that bothered Paul, and that was the
fact that they had been so privileged. How could they have had so much
information and so much testimony by God himself? and be so dead
and so blind. As one pastor said, he expounds
in detail the particular character of this amazing tragedy. It’s
the greatest tragedy the world has ever known. That he came
to his own and his own received him not. That they, of all people,
should have betrayed him and crucified him and got rid of
him and rejected him. That is the tragedy of tragedies. And that’s where Paul stands.
And he says, let me take you there. They’re Israelites. You and I know that the name
marked off a special people, a special privilege to a nation,
and that highlighted the paradox that Paul was pointing to. Israel
was from the very beginning a sacred term, a term of faith that indicated
Jacob’s great faith. Wrestling with the angel. He
pointed to the entire nation of those who believed in Yahweh
with great faith. Later on in the in the years
to follow. The name Israel was the the regular
way that The Jews would describe themselves, that was their nation,
the nation of Israel. It was a name of dignity, it
was a name of respect, it was separate and distinct from the
word Hebrew and the word Jewish. Hebrew referred more to language,
Jewish referred more to racial difference, but Israel, Israel
was a name that spoke of their relationship with God as being
profound. Not only were they Israel. It was to them to whom belonged
the adoption of sons. They had been adopted, as it
were, by God, and we talked about this with regards to Christian
adoption in our day and age. Adoption doesn’t always have
this indication, save for Christian homes. Did bring in an adopted
child and make him as one of their own. But in former days,
many would adopt a child almost to bring them into the household
as a slave, a second class citizen, not in God’s eyes. Not in God’s
eyes, no, for him to bring in a child was to bring him in to
the very table of the family and to give him a place at that
table, a place of honor and respect. So what is referred to here? Is God’s gracious adoption of
the nation as his son to bring him in to God’s table as it were. And it was the beginning of a
long history of fatherly care on their behalf, which really
should have generated an engendered love in their heart, practical
love back to God and worship and obedience. Exodus 4.22, You shall say to
Pharaoh, thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn. And that was the status of their
adoption. It wasn’t as a slave. It was as a firstborn son. The
highest place of honor in a family. Hosea 1.11, When Israel was a
youth, I loved him. Out of Egypt, I called my son.
Ultimately, which would be used in the New Testament to point
to Jesus Christ Himself. Deuteronomy 14 1 Isaiah 63 many
verses spoke of this idea of adoption. Not only were they
Israel not only did it belong to them this idea of adoption
into God’s own household but glory. Let’s pause for a minute
on this one. We have a. We have a very limited
understanding of the word glory most of us because we’ve never
seen it. The glory in the Old Testament, glory to a Jew, they
knew exactly what you were talking about. You were talking about
the Shekinah of God, the glory of God. It was God’s visible
presence on Earth and it was powerful and it was intense.
It was profound. It would shake you to your core.
And you would say, how many times would I have to see that before
it would change my life? And we would like to say once.
If we saw this amazing, bright, undefinable light, wouldn’t you
remember that the rest of your life? Wouldn’t that change the
way that you live? Wouldn’t that change your view
of God? One described it as a mysterious, visible manifestation of the
divine presence. It’s just kind of this thing. It does not appear that this
light was perpetual, but it was a pledge of sacred privilege
as a means of communication entirely unique upon the earth. It was
an outward sign of God’s presence. It was all they were going to
see, but they knew it was of God. They knew it was a divine
light. They knew that it was the image
of the invisible God. One described it as divine radiance. I like that a body of light or
fire often pictured as being surrounded by a cloud. Listen
to just a few, I’d love to read them all, listen to just a few
of the references of Scripture, the scenes that are presented
before us. First and foremost, Exodus chapter
14. Don’t try to chase me down on
this one, I’m just going to refer to a few, I’ll give you the references
and you can read them later this afternoon. Exodus 14, the angel
of God who had been going before the camp of Israel moved and
went behind them and the teller of cloud moved from before them
and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of
Egypt and the camp of Israel. And there was the cloud along
with the darkness. Yet it gave light at night. That wasn’t the last time that
would be. That’s all you need, right? That’s all I need. That’s
what we say, that’s all I need to come to faith. Show me the
ark, right? Show me the shroud. Show me the
you know, we always want these things. Well, if you’ve seen
the Shekinah of God, it would change your life. It should.
And it wasn’t just once, it was repeatedly throughout Israel’s
history. Exodus 24, verse 16. The glory of the Lord rested
on Mount Sinai. Now, can you imagine this? You’re
all down in the valley looking up at the mountain and down comes
this cloud of bright light that covers the mountain. The glory
of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, the cloud covered it for six
days, and on the seventh day he called to Moses from the midst
of the cloud and to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance
of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the
mountaintop. Wow, what a scene. Changed Israel’s
life forever, right? No, but it wasn’t the only time. That they saw this glory, Exodus
40, the cloud rested on covered the tent of meeting and the glory
of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to. This is
some kind of cloud. Moses was not able to enter the
tent of meeting because the cloud had settled upon it. The glory
of the Lord filled the tabernacle. What a powerful image that Israel
had been privileged, essentially, to see a manifestation of God
himself. This bright light, Exodus 25,
22, Leviticus 16, 2. I will appear in the cloud over
the mercy seat. Numbers, repeatedly throughout
the book of Numbers. 14, 10, 21, 16, 19, 42. On and
on and on it goes. This cloud, this incredible vision
of God’s presence. And it changed Israel’s life.
No, it didn’t. This manifestation of God. If Israel could have, they would
have bottled it up like lightning bugs in a jar, right? But they
couldn’t because they couldn’t. They forgot all about the light.
They forgot the testimony. They forgot about the God behind
the light. Not only were they Israel, not
only did they own the adoption of sons and the glory and the
covenants, covenant plural pointing to all the covenants that God
had given repeatedly ratified over and over again, beginning
with Abraham. And following on and on, God
was the one that initiated it. God was the one that picked them.
And repeatedly. God would come and from time
to time interact with them and reiterate his covenant with them.
The giving of the law, how many nations had God given his law? Nobody, nobody but Israel. Nobody
knew how they were supposed to live. Nobody knew what God preferred
what God loved what God hated. Nobody but Israel. And suddenly
God took them aside and he gave them his law. He told them exactly
what he expected of them in in deep deep detail. It was a positive revelation.
He called them to himself. He beckoned them as it were to
his knee and he said, this is what I want from you. No other
nation had that. What about? The temple service,
that’s what’s translated here, and that’s a good translation,
and so far as it goes, it literally means worship. It is our service
back to God and Israel had that. How many other nations knew exactly
how to approach God? And when they got there, he’d
be there. And when he when they walk in, he would meet with them. No other nation enjoyed that.
No other nation had the privilege of divine worship. As it’s called
in Hebrews nine. God told them exactly, exactly
what he wanted, exactly how he wanted them to worship. Every
other nation was groping in the dark as far as how to approach
God, but not Israel. They knew precisely what to do
in order to please God in his worship. The glory, the covenants,
the giving of the law, the temple service promises. What promises? Throughout the nation’s history,
God had repeatedly lavished upon them promise after promise, starting
with Abraham and moving forward. God constantly encouraged them
with the promises of his word. To Abraham, he said in chapter
17 of Genesis, you will be the father of a multitude of nations. I will make a nation of you.
Kings will come forth from you. I will establish my covenant
with you. I will give to your descendants
after you the land of your sojourning promise after promise after promise. The Jews have more than any nation,
all the nations of the earth combined. They have the glory,
the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple services,
the promises, the fathers. Just talking about the heritage,
the patriarchs that we know so well, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
David, and really the entire ancestry of Israel. And they
have the scriptures to testify of them. But, you know, you put all those
things together and what Paul is about to say was a privilege
that exceeded them all. Israelites to whom belonged adoption
of sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple
service, the promises, the fathers, you put that all in one side
of the scale and you put the following in the other side of
the scale. It doesn’t even doesn’t even
match up. From whom is the Christ? Paul
reminds that it was to the nation of Israel that the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Messiah, had been promised. They were the ones
that were to birth forward the Messiah, the promised one that
was coming to save the world. He was. He was Jewish. According to the flesh, that’s
what Paul says there in the verse. Earthly speaking and from an
earthly standpoint, Jesus Christ was Jewish. And it was one of
the nation of Israel’s greatest promises of all, that one day
to them would come forth the Messiah. Paul says, what great,
great privileges. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus begins
to look about at all the little cities, all the little towns,
all the little places they had gone, taking the Gospel, That
it just dismissed it out of hand, slighted it, not paid any attention
to it, did not receive it. And it’s recorded in chapter
11, verse 20, that he, that is, Jesus, began to denounce the
cities in which most of his miracles were done because they did not
repent, just like the nation of Israel so quickly forgot about
the Shekinah of God and his promises. So, too, they quickly dismissed
these miracles. And Jesus said this. Woe to you,
Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if
the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, which occurred
in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. In other words, he says, how
can you be so dull? How can you be so indifferent? One said, The paragraph serves
as an admirable interruption to the three chapters which it
opens. But while Paul is to set forth the responsibility and
the guilt of Israel, such an opening expression of passionate
love disarms. It was a paradox, it was a scandal. that the very nation which had
been chosen and prepared by God, which could glory in so many
unique privileges of divine grace into which the Messiah himself
had been born, should have failed to recognize him when he came.” Paul says, by way of reminder,
I have great sorrow. When I look at what all of Israel
has been privileged to enjoy, I have great sorrow and unceasing
grief in my heart. For I could wish myself a curse
separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen,
according to the flesh. My question to the saints this
morning. For whom do you have even a fraction? of this compassionate concern. One pastor said it well, the
person who is unconcerned about those who are perishing may well
wonder whether he is even a Christian. For whom do you have even a fraction? We can’t wish ourself a curse.
God is the one that chose us for salvation. We can’t give
up our salvation. Christ has already done all the
sacrificing that needs to be done. But who do you long to
see saved? Who do you plead with God to
be saved? For whom do you labor and strive,
not only in prayer, but by words to reach out so that they too
might come to know the Savior? One old pastor said it this way.
The church would never lack converts. If all its members or even its
ministers Felt for their friends and fellow. The deep concern
expressed by the apostle for his kinsmen, the Jews. Paul was
passionate. He was passionate to see them
come to be saved because Paul knew that they had gone from
privilege and now hung in peril. They were in absolute peril before
God. Let’s go before God on behalf
of our own hearts. Oh, merciful God, just as no
man could ever love his friends as Christ loved. No one of us, even if we were
able to give our lives, none of us could save even a single
soul. And yet, Lord, we understand,
we grasp the tone of Paul’s heart. When he says, if it were even
possible, I could wish. I would rather trade. My own
salvation for the sake of my countrymen, Lord, for how many
do we long with that passion? Father, grant us the grace and
so work in our hearts. That you would restore to us
that care and concern for the loss that was so much a part
of Paul. We thank You and we praise You
in Jesus’ name.