Romans 9:1

Romans 9:1 says, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, What Paul was about to tell the Jews of his day, and which we should understand he would make for all time, is that he accepted the truth of the gospel, even though he was born a Jew.  We need to make sure that as we present the gospel to the world that we do so through the Holy Spirit bearing witness to what we say.  Verse two adds, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.  Paul was being persecuted by the Jews, those who were to be God's people, because he was proclaiming the good news of Christ, their promised Messiah to the world.  This rejection was what caused him to have a great heaviness and sorrow in his heart.  He was not feeling sorry for himself, but was feeling a sorrow at their rejection of the only One Who could indeed make them children of God.  He was not proclaiming the promise to the Jews that they were God's chosen people to be made void, but instead to be finally fully realized through Christ. The question then becomes for us today whether we have this same great sorrow in our hearts for those who reject Christ and persecute us for our beliefs.  We can never be effective witnesses for Christ if we want God to punish those that mistreat us.  We must allow the love of Christ to show through us, and He laid down His life, even for those who nailed Him to the cross.  Verse three continues, For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:  Paul states he had this same type love for his fellow Jews. Paul said he would give up his salvation if it meant the salvation of his kinsman.  I don't believe these were just empty words to make Paul look better to the Jews or to feel better about himself.  I believe he had that much concern and compassion for them.  The question for us then is whether or not we have that same compassion for the lost today. When we feel persecuted today, do we ask God with a heaviness in our hearts to forgive them out of love for them, or do we ask Him to punish them for our sakes?  How much are we truly willing to give up for the lost, especially those who hate and persecute us.  Paul said he would give up everything, even his salvation, if the Jews, who were persecuting him, could be saved by his action.  He did not have this ability though. We recognize that Christ alone can save and restore us to God.  Verse four states, 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;  Paul said the adoption into God's family also applied to his kinsman in the flesh, the Israelites.  Being born into the nation of Israel, following the covenants and the law did not save them, because they failed to live up to its standards.  Only through faith in Christ, the adoption, could they be saved. Verse five adds, Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.  Christ came to save all, not just those who were born into the nation of Israel.  The Israelites were just as much in need of redemption as were those that they regarded themselves superior to.  Christ came to redeem all who would accept His sacrifice, and He did it that the Heavenly Father would be blessed forever.