Let's open our Bibles again to
Romans chapter 9. I struggled with the title for
this message. I finally settled upon a gracious
wish. Now, Paul has showed us through
these first eight chapters of his epistle to the Romans, the
sinners are not justified by their works. They were not justified
because of who were related to. He told these people to whom
he was writing, you're not justified because you're a Jew related
to Abraham. Sinners are justified by faith in Christ. We're justified
because Christ, the work he did for his people, when he obeyed
the law, his people obeyed the law. We're justified by faith
in Christ, by trusting in Christ alone without any of our works
being added to it. Now that's God's eternal will
of redemption for his people. in God's will of redemption.
God's will in anything cannot be broken, can it? Now the next
chapter, Paul's going to show us the same thing is true about
God's electing grace. God didn't choose a people because
he saw they were better than anybody else. They didn't do
something to get God to choose them. God didn't know in advance
they would do something to get God to choose them. Just the
opposite. God chose a worthless, undeserving
people to save. And he did that so that his son
would get all the glory in saving them from their sin and doing
what is impossible with men. Nobody can be saved because of
what we do or who we are. Sinners are saved because of
who God is and what God has done for and in his people. That too
is the will of God and it cannot be broken. And that's the security
and the comfort of the hearts of God's people. Now, people
in the world who do not believe this gospel, they would say,
well, I believe what you believe. I wouldn't bother preaching to
people because, you know, whoever God chose to save and be saved
no matter what. So why would I bother preaching?
They would say it doesn't matter, you know, if I believe what you
believe, I wouldn't witness to people. I wouldn't give to support
the gospel. I wouldn't pray that the Lord
saved my loved ones. You know, if you're here at the,
in the Bible class, Wayne opened him in prayer for us. He prayed
for our children. He prayed for our loved twins that don't know
the Lord. Wayne, people would say, well,
I believe what you believe. I wouldn't bother doing that because whatever's
going to be will be. Well, you know, being a Calvinist, believing
in the sovereign, electing, predestinating, saving grace of Almighty God
did not stop the Apostle Paul from caring for people, did it?
He didn't stop Paul from praying for people. He said, I pray for
you continually. It didn't stop Paul from doing anything he could
to go preach the gospel to people anywhere, to sit in the synagogue
and for three days reason with them, opening and alleging to
them that Christ is the Savior. It didn't stop Paul then. And it won't stop us either if
we really believe Christ. Look here at verse 1. This is
the Apostle Paul's attitude. I say the truth in Christ. I
lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. Now Paul is make sure that we
know he's not just giving us some good religious sounding
words. He said, this is the real burden of my heart. And he calls
two witnesses to prove to us, to show to us that this is true.
He calls, let every word be established by the mouth of two or three
witnesses. His two witnesses are his own conscience and the
Holy Ghost. So whatever he's getting ready
to say is pretty serious. This is the real burden of his heart.
It's a weighty matter to him. He says in verse two that I have
great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. Your believing
in election and predestination did not make the Apostle Paul
uncaring or unfeeling about people who didn't believe his message,
did it? That broke his heart when they didn't believe. He
didn't have the attitude, you know, well, whoever's going to
be saved will be saved. I mean, they don't believe, but God's
elect will, so, you know, it really doesn't matter. No, he
didn't have that attitude at all, did he? It broke his heart
when people rejected the gospel of Christ. Their unbelief and
their hatred, their hatred of him, their hatred of his message,
their hatred of his savior, their hatred of his God, didn't make
Paul mad at him. It didn't make him go around
making fun of him. It broke his heart. It made him sad. This
is how sad it made him, verse three, for I could wish that
myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen,
according to the flesh. That's a mighty big statement.
That's a big statement. Few of us could in honesty, in
truth, make that statement. We might make it because we know
it's a good sounding religious thing to do, but Few of us could
really say that meaning. I read all the writers I typically
read, you know, and there's a lot of different discussion and ideas
about what Paul meant when he said, I could wish that myself
were cursed in Christ. Many people think Paul meant
that he would gladly die in this life, that he would be cut off
from this life if it would make his brethren, according to the
flesh, his nation, if it would make them come to Christ. And
certainly, Paul put his money where his mouth was in that regard,
didn't he? I mean, it didn't matter that
there were dangers waiting for him. It didn't matter. He knew
when he goes to Rome, somebody's waiting there to kill him. That
didn't matter to him. He's going to go there and preach
the gospel and go in all these different, difficult, dangerous
places. But he was determined to preach
Christ even if it did cost him his life. He counted that a life
well spent. He said, I'm now ready to be
offered. He told Timothy that. Paul spent his life preaching
the gospel. It didn't matter if it cost him
his life, if it would bring someone to Christ. And we can understand
that. Every parent in this room would
gladly die if it would bring their children to Christ, wouldn't
we? We would gladly do that. But the Apostle Paul means more
than that. I'm convinced he means more than that. The word cursed
he uses there means anathema. It means cursed to damnation.
It means cursed to divine punishment. If you look at 1 Corinthians
chapter 16, here's another time Paul used the exact same Greek
word, cursed, anathema. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 22. If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, Let him be anathema maranatha. That word anathema
is the same Greek word translated cursed in our text. Paul says,
if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be damned
when Christ returns. That's what they deserve. Paul
had a deep, heartfelt love for people that would make him make
that statement, didn't he? Paul felt genuine, heartfelt
sorrow where people refused to believe on Christ. But now he
did recognize them as an enemy of Christ. You know, he didn't,
he didn't feel so soft for them that anything they did was okay.
He didn't feel so soft for them. No matter what they believe,
you know, he would say that they're saved. No, he didn't feel that
way at all. Look at Galatians chapter one.
He called them an enemy of Christ. which is exactly what they are.
Anyone who does not believe this gospel, anyone who does not bow
to the Lord Jesus Christ is an enemy of Christ. Galatians 1
verse 8, but though we are an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel unto you than that which we preached unto you, let
him be accursed. And Paul said, just in case you
don't understand what I'm saying, As we said before, so say I now
again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
which you have received, let him be accursed. Let him be damned
when Christ comes. So Paul knew that anyone who
is damned when Christ returns, they're getting what they deserve
in judgment. They refuse to believe on Christ,
but it still made him sad, didn't it? Paul did love and care for
people, but he loved Christ more. He cared more about the glory
of Christ. Paul did love people. I mean,
it's obvious, isn't it? But his love for people was governed
by his love for Christ. That's why he couldn't just say,
you know, whatever anybody preaches and whatever everybody believes
is okay. No, it's not either. No, if they don't believe this
gospel, they're an enemy of Christ. Now, anyway, I said all that
to say this, to show us this. The word Paul used, cursed here,
means curse to damnation. So Paul's saying, I could wish
that I were damned if it would mean the salvation of my nation,
the nation Israel. I don't know about you, but to
me, that doesn't sound like a person who holds to a hard, uncaring,
fatalistic doctrine. Is it you? That's how deeply
Paul loved the nation of Israel. These were his brethren according
to the flesh. Now think about these people.
These are the people Paul loved them. These people hated Paul. I mean, they cursed his name.
They took a vow. One day said, we're not going
to eat again till we kill this man. I mean, they just made,
they were determined to kill him as anything. And Paul loved
him so much. He'd give his life for them. How I wish, how I pray, God give
us that attitude in preaching to people. We don't matter. We don't matter. I'll tell you
what matters, Christ. What matters is people know Him,
believe Him. I can honestly say this to you. I care whether or not you believe
this gospel. I care. If I could just reach out and
put it in your heart, I would. If I could pound it into your
head, I would. We know something about what
Paul's saying here. Now, you know Paul isn't saying
he would really do this, that he would be damned if it would
save his nation. It would not be right for us
to wish that. What Paul says is, I could wish
myself a curse from Christ. He's not actually wishing such
a thing. Because it wouldn't do anybody
any good anyway, would it? Paul's death, the death of a
man, couldn't do anybody any spiritual good. But this is the
point he's making here. We should be this fervent in
preaching the gospel. We really should. Paul could
not be accursed for his brethren. But there was one who was. There
was one who was accursed for his brethren. And His death did
do them good. His death did bring in righteousness
and eternal life for His people. Now that is glorious good news. And we ought to be fervent in
preaching it. Look over at Galatians chapter
3. You know what I'm referring to here, but let's look at it.
Galatians chapter 3. There was one who was cursed
for his people. And his death brought in eternal
life for his brethren. Galatians 3 verse 13, Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us. For it's written, cursed is everyone
that hangeth on a tree. Now, Paul said, I could wish
that I could die if it would bring my brethren salvation.
The Lord Jesus Christ was willing to die. that He would bring salvation
to His people. Christ was willing to die that
His people would have life. Christ is the willing Savior.
He loved His people so much, He willingly died in their place. He loved His people so much,
it wasn't just that He died. No, He willingly took the guilt
of His people. He willingly became guilty for
His people and died in their place. A Calvary, an innocent
man was not put to death. No, the innocent was made guilty.
And then God put him to death in justice. Now that's willingness. And the only way you can be that
willing is true love. Our Lord says, this is how you
know I love you. This is how you know you're my friends. There's
no greater love than this. A man laid down his life for
his friends. He was willing to do that and he did it. He willingly
died that his people would have life. Now like I said, Paul's
death wouldn't do anybody good, would it? The death of a mere
man doesn't have any impact. It can't do anybody any spiritual
good. But this man that Paul is talking about in Galatians
3.13, this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, he's no mere man. He's the God man. He's God Almighty
in human flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
perfect man. You know why he's perfect? He's
God and God's perfect. He is as holy and righteous as
God is because he is God. Yet at the same time, he's a
real man. This God man, he's no mere man. So his death means
something. His death is a miracle and it
accomplishes something miraculous. His death is going to accomplish
whatever it is he intended for it to accomplish. It's going
to accomplish it because of who he is. He's God in human flesh. Well, what did the death of Christ,
the death of the God man, what did it accomplish? It accomplished
the redemption of his people. Paul said Christ hath redeemed
us. This matter is already done.
Christ didn't die to try to redeem somebody. He didn't die to make
redemption available if somebody might choose to accept it. Christ
didn't die to make redemption possible for all the sons of
Adam. Christ hath redeemed us. He hath already redeemed his
people. The great transaction's done.
It is finished. He hath redeemed his people.
Everyone for whom Christ died is redeemed. Now Paul said, I
could wish that I was accursed for my kinsmen. My brethren,
according to the flesh, if it would mean that they would be
saved. But Paul couldn't wish that. He just couldn't wish it.
Because he couldn't bear the curse of someone else, could
he? He's a man who's already under the curse. Paul couldn't
bear the sin of somebody else. He's already a sinful man. He's
got his own sins got to be paid for. Paul could not make this
wish happen. He's powerless to make it happen.
No matter how much we will Someone to hear the gospel and believe
it. We can't make it happen, can we? We're powerless to make
that happen. But the Lord Jesus Christ does
not wish for anything. You think of that. I mean, you
can't even count all the things we wish for, can you? We just
go through our life wishing for stuff. The Lord Jesus Christ
never wishes for anything. He always does exactly what He
will. Exactly. And it was the will
of God to redeem his people from their sin by being made a curse
for them. He made a curse. Just like 2
Corinthians 5.21 says Christ was made sin. Now, we can't understand
that, but he was made sin. It's something worse than being
made a sinner. He was made to be sin itself.
In the exact same way, Christ was made a curse. Now, that's
worse than being cursed. He was made a curse. Now, the
Lord Jesus Christ is blessing personified, isn't He? Every
blessing is in Him. To know Christ is to have eternal
life. Every spiritual blessing is ours
through union with Christ because He is blessing personified. But
at Calvary, Christ was made what he was not so that his people
would be made what they're not. Blessing personified was made
the curse personified at Calvary. He was made the curse that his
people deserve. I look back at Deuteronomy chapter
21. I'm going to show you what this means. Christ was made a
curse. Deuteronomy chapter 21. Verse 22, And if any man hath committed
a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang
him on a tree, his body should not remain all night upon the
tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day. For he that
is hanged is accursed of God, that thy land be not defiled,
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. Now,
every sin, is a sin worthy of death, isn't it? Every sin is
a sin worthy of eternal death. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. The curse of the law is death.
And the way only the very worst criminals would ever be crucified,
hung upon a tree, hung upon a cross, is if they're the worst criminals. The so-called lesser criminals
that they deem still worthy of death, were stoned to death.
And almost in every case, that's what the Jews did. They would
stone a person to death. But God said, everyone who hangs
upon a tree, everyone who's crucified, is accursed of God. And that
curse is so real, that curse is so bad, that you don't leave
his body on the tree overnight. Now after he dies, you take him
off the cross and you quickly bury him in the ground. so that
the whole land doesn't become cursed. Because this man is cursed.
Don't let the curse spread across the whole land. You take him
down from the tree and bury him because he's cursed of God. I don't know everything there
is to know about that law. But I know why God gave that
one law. I know it beyond a shadow of a doubt. He gave that law
for one man. Just one. The Lord Jesus Christ. God gave that law so we would
know Christ was crucified, he was accursed of God. That's why
he hung upon a tree. Now the Jews' form of capital
punishment was stoning. Why didn't they stone the Lord
Jesus? You ever wonder that? Why didn't they stone him? One
day they tried. Remember they took up stones
to stone him? He said, I've done many wonderful works. For which
these wonderful works do you stone me? He said, oh, not for
a wonderful work can you make yourself God. They tried to stone
him, and he just walked through their midst. Well, when they
had their ugly mitts on him, why didn't they stone him? Because
they weren't accomplishing their will. They were accomplishing
God's will. It was God's will that Christ die a substitutionary
death for his people. And God gave this law of crucifixion
as a curse. He gave it so you and I would
know when Christ died, he died as the worst criminal ever. He
died as the worst kind of criminal. He died bearing all of the sin
of all of his people. His people, scripture tells us.
The people that he died for, the people he saved, are a number
no man can number. Now David told us just of his
own personal sins, I can't number them. I can't count my sins.
Well then how can you count a number of sins that no man can number
when you can't, you know, you see what I'm saying? multiplied,
it's exponential. We can't count all those sins.
All that sin was made to meet upon the Lord Jesus Christ. All
that sin was made to be the sin of one man and he died under
the unmitigated wrath of God for that sin. Christ was made
a curse and he took that curse away from his people and put
it away by the blood of his sacrifice. So his people must be eternally
blessed. They can't be cursed, can they?
Christ took the curse away. So they must be eternally blessed.
By his death, Christ redeemed his people. He bought them back
from the curse of the law. That's what redeemed means. It
means bought back. The law had a price on the head
of God's elect. When Adam fell, he put a price
upon our head. Now, if God's going to set him
free, he's going to do it in justice. He's not going to do
something that would be against his law or against his holiness.
If God's going to redeem his people, he's going to do it in
justice. So he sent his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into this
earth and his appointed hour. All those times he said, my hour's
not yet come. My hour's not yet come. Now my hour's come. Get thee behind me, Satan. I'm
going to the cross. The father sent him there to
pay the full redemption price. Everything that was owed, Christ
paid it. He took all the sin of His people.
He became the curse of His people and He paid for it. Paid in full
with His precious blood. So His people are redeemed. They're set free. They're set
free from the curse of the law. They're set free from their sin.
See, the death of Christ didn't make salvation possible, did
it? No, the death of Christ accomplished the salvation, the redemption
of His people. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law by His blood, by His death for His people.
Now that's the gospel we preach. That's the gospel that we believe.
That is glorious, glorious good news for sinners. You're free
from the law. You're free from the curse. You're
free from sin. You're free from death if Christ
died for you. Now there is a lot of disagreement,
like I said, about what Paul meant. when he said, I could
wish myself a curse. Did he mean separated from God
or did he mean separated just from the world? I want you to
listen to what Robert Hawker said about this. He said, I must
leave the passage as I found it, for I'm free to confess it
is attended with too much difficulty of apprehension for me to explore. Reading everything he had to
say is worth that one sentence, Eric. I must leave the passage
as I found it. But this is what both Hawker
and I conclude, if you have his commentary, read on. This is
what he concludes, and I conclude the same thing. This is my conclusion. If we truly know Christ, if we
really believe that Christ was made a curse for his people,
that he had redeemed his people, That is the gospel of such good
news. We must preach it. We must preach
it faithfully and we must preach it in fervent care for the souls
of the men and women to whom we preach. The Christ that we
preach is our only hope. The Christ I preach to you is
your only hope. That's why I'm so fervent. That's
why if I could rip your heart open and put it in, I would.
We must preach this gospel fervently. It's the best news man has ever
heard. How can we preach the gospel
in a cold monotone and just not care if anybody believes it or
not? How can you take the gospel and just preach it and say, well,
there it is. Believe it. You know, if not, you'll be damned.
I really don't care. You know, God's elected me. We
can't. We can't. Not if we love Christ
and not if we love people. We can't. Look in Exodus chapter
32. Moses and Paul, neither one could
preach the gospel like that. Exodus chapter 32 verse seven. These two preeminent servants
of God were far from being self-serving men. Look at Exodus 32, verse
7. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Go, get thee down, for thy people, which thou hast brought out of
the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned
aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They've
made them a molten calf and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed
thereunto and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said unto
Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked
people. Now therefore let me alone, that
my wrath may wax hot against them, that I may consume them. And Moses I'm going to make of
thee a great nation. I'm going to destroy that whole
people. You just step aside. You let my wrath wax hot. You
step aside. I'm going to destroy them. Every
one of them. I'm going to wipe them off the
face of this planet. I'm going to start over with you. Now, Moses was a self-serving
man. If he was seeking glory for himself
and honor, if he was seeking, you know, that his name lasts
throughout all of history and all these, you know, different
things, That'd be a pretty good deal for Moses, wouldn't it?
He probably thought, all I gotta do is stand here and say nothing.
I'm the most famous man ever. But that wasn't what Moses wanted.
That was not his desire. He wanted the best for that stiff-necked
people. He didn't argue with God. He
didn't say they're not stiff-necked. He didn't say they're not rebellious.
He didn't say they don't deserve your wrath. He wanted the best
for his people, even if it came at his own expense. So Moses
interceded for the people with two arguments, pleading two things
with God. First, he pleaded the glory of
God himself. Verse 11. And Moses besought
the Lord his God and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against
thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt
with great power and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians
speak and say, for mischief did he bring them out to slay them
in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth?
Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy
people. Moses said, Lord, if you don't
bring your people in the promised land after you promised to bring
them there, your glory is going to be gone. The people, the Egyptians,
everybody else in the world is going to say, well, their God
wasn't able to do what he promised to do. He wasn't able to bring
them into the promised land. So Moses said, Lord, spare the
people. Not for their sake. Not because they deserve it,
but for your glory. For your glory, spare your people
and bring them into the land you promised to give them. He
pleaded the glory of God. Second, Moses pleaded covenant
mercies. Verse 13. Remember Abraham, Isaac,
and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swearest by thine own
self. And said a son of them, I will multiply your seed as
the stars of heaven. And all this land that I have
spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit
it forever. Moses said, Lord, bring the people
into the land because you promised to do it. Your covenant mercies
to your people. And Lord, if you don't, all the
heather are going to say, their God's a liar. Why would I want
to believe their God? Why would I want to trust in
their God? Their God's a liar. He promised to do something and
didn't do it. Moses said, Lord, have mercy on your people. because
you promised to have mercy. Not because they deserve it,
but because you promised to have mercy. Do you have anybody you
love that you'd like to intercede for? Pretty good pattern. Believe God's glory and his covenant
mercy. Look at God's response, verse
14. And the Lord repented of the
evil which he thought to do unto his people. But now look over
verse 31. And Moses returned unto the Lord
and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin and have made
them gods of gold. And now if thou will forgive
their sin. And there's a dash there, which
I'm assuming meant a pause. Like Moses didn't know what to
say. Lord, if you'll forgive their
sin. He couldn't think of a word because
it's just too wonderful. It's just too majestic. Lord,
if you'll forgive their sin, this is a greater blessing that
I can even say. And if not, blot me, I pray thee,
out of thy book which thou hast written. Moses sought what was
best for the people, even at his own expense, didn't he? Now
that is having the mind of Christ. And the only way you can have
the mind of Christ, like to intercede for people like that, is if you've
been made a partaker of the divine nature. That's the only way.
And that's the way that we should preach the gospel. That's the
way we should support the gospel at our own personal expense.
That's the way we should witness to people with this kind of self-sacrifice. Because look what the Lord told
Moses, verse 33. And Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever
has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. God says
the only people I'm going to blot out of my book are the people
who refuse to believe me, who refuse to believe this gospel
and worship idols. That's the only people. My people
I promised to have mercy on, I'll have mercy on. Those people
that I promised to save, I'll save them. Those people that
Christ shed his blood for, they'll be cleansed. See, the death of
Christ makes salvation sure. because of who died. This is
the son of God. Christ, the God made, was cut
off for his people. Now that accomplished something.
That accomplished this, his people never be cut off, because his
death satisfied God's justice. They'll never be separated from
the father. That's why the father said, I'll never leave you nor
forsake you, because he forsook his son at Calvary. This is a
glorious gospel. Those for whom Christ died will
never be cut off. But those who refuse to believe
him, their damnation is just as sure as the salvation of those
that do believe him. Because there's no other hope.
There's no other Savior. Now that's good news. Salvation
in Christ is sure. He hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law. Now come to Christ. Right where
you sit without moving a muscle, you come to Christ in the heart.
You come to him. He'll never cast out a needy,
guilty sinner. Never. He said, all those that
come to me, I'll never cast them out. You come to Christ and find
rest for your soul. He said, come, come to me. I'll give you rest if you're
weary, if you're soul weary. Come to me. I'll give you rest.
You don't have to work to try to please God. I've done it for
you. You come rest in me. Is your sin not just something
that you do, but a defilement of your soul? Is it a stain upon
your soul that you can't scrub out, you can't get away from?
Then come to Christ. You come to Him and you will
be cleansed of your sin. You will. Remember that leper? Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean. What did the Lord say? I will. I will. You know, you can tell
the Apostle Paul cared for the people he preached to, can't
you? You can tell me. I'll tell you what. Christ cares
for His people. much more. You come to Christ
and you cast your sorry, sinful soul upon him. Cast all your
care upon him. For he careth for you. That's
a sure salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. And not a wish,
is it? It's an accomplishment. Let's bow in prayer. Our Father, how we thank you.
for such a Savior as our Lord Jesus Christ. How we thank you
for complete, full redemption in Him because of who He is.
That Almighty God will become a man to redeem sinful men and
women, a people that He's loved from all of eternity. By His
perfect obedience, He's made His people righteous. By His
death as their substitute, He's cleansed them from all sin. Father,
how we thank You for compassion for sinners. The compassion of
our Savior for sinners such as we are, without any hope, without
any help, dead and stinking and rotting in our trespasses and
sins. His compassion for needy sinners. How we thank You for Your compassion
for Your people. You're weak. Oh, how weak, how
frail, how poorly we reflect upon our Savior. But yet you
have compassion, unending compassion for your people. You're touched
with the feeling of our infirmity. And Father, we're thankful. And
Father, we pray for a heart like our Savior. Give us the mind
of Christ. that to our generation that we
preach the gospel faithfully to them, that you give us a compassion
for the lost, to point them to Christ. Don't give us a hard,
uncaring feeling. Father, let us believe from the
heart. Let us preach from the heart as someone did for us. Let us
do that for others. Bless your word, we pray. Bless
it to your glory, to the hearts of your people. First, in the
precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray and give thanks.