(These are the sermon notes for 4/15/12)
Romans 9.1-5
(Intro example of boy's offering, Arkansas fans, diamondback plate on church bus, preaching)
We all have something we are passionate about. But what happens if our passion is misunderstood?
To this point,
imagine what the casual observer is thinking, or hearing: Paul, an Apostle to
the Gentiles. The overall message is
that the Law of Moses counts for nothing in the grand scheme, in fact, should
be set aside. A battle of tradition. There are no more laws, instead there is
total freedom. Has Paul turned his back on his upbringing? Has he rejected
Judaism? The tone of the letter suggests this is what motivated Paul to begin
chapter 9 as he does. He gives a passionate stance on Judaism. Listen for that
passion as we read the passage.
From Paul, I
learned that passion, his passion for the salvation of the Jews, motivated him.
Of course, this isn’t in the text, but in harmony with the book of Acts, with
his confession as a preacher. As we know, Paul was zealous for the faith in
Judaism. He was the point man at Stephen’s execution. He tells the Philippians
that in his zeal he persecuted the church, as for legalism, he was perfect.
(3.6) He was misguided. Then he saw the
light.
From there, Jesus
redirected Paul’s energies. His focus became proclaiming Jesus to first the Jew
and then to the Gentile. Paul would tell the church of Corinth that though he
could demand to earn his living from preaching, he won’t. That’s not his
motivation. Christ was his focus. Seeing souls come to Christ was his reward.
(1C 9.16) He goes on telling how committed he is.
Now to achieve
this, he became all things to all men. His focus is that when he would enter a
community, he would first go to the synagogue to preach. Acts 13.4 and then 13,
Paul arrives at Cyprus, enters the synagogue, then in Paphos, again does the
same. Time and again, Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles would seek first the
Jew. The exception was in Philippi where there was no synagogue. Lydia became
his first convert there.
So studying Paul’s
life, and his writings, we see that this is something that he took quite
personally. Why? Because, this from our text, verses 3-5, God chose the people
of Israel to bless in all accounts. They have the promise of salvation, the
first to be adopted, the glorious works of God, and finally the lineage of the
Savior of the World. All God did for our salvation, to restore the fellowship,
he used the people of Israel, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. And for God
to so bless one people above all others, his own kin in many cases, it hurts to
see them turn their backs on Christ.
But alas, Paul did
what he could, preaching, sharing, loving them. Some were saved, but many were
not. He knew he couldn’t replace Jesus, though he’d make the same sacrifice if
it’d help. One cannot look at Paul and say he lacked passion for his fellow
Jews. Do we?
No, I am not
talking Israel, though next week, we will look at their role, and their future
role in events of the human journey. What I am drawing is correlation between
Israel and the USA. We are, if I may be arrogant, the new Israel as far as
having been a nation to enjoy a hedge of protection, of God’s favor. Our
culture is based on biblical interpretation. We look to the betterment of our
neighbor, or we once did.
The Church of the
USA has done more to advance the Gospel than any other nation during that time
period years gone by. Now let’s draw closer to home. Arkansas is in the middle
of what is called the Bible Belt. One might expect people to know more about
Christ than anywhere else, at least more so than in California, Arizona or even
New York. Yet the churches are seeing a negative growth. People are leaving
faster than they are coming. I don’t care what label you put on the building.
It’s true for every church in this county.
Why? This is
happening because people see the church as irrelevant. Our “Christian” radio
stations and other media aren’t helping in this. Example: Person “coming to
Christ” not encouraged to plug into local church. Station is church.
But let’s focus
right now. Let us be sure that our aim isn’t to fill our seats. That’s what God
will do when we carry out the mission. When we meet here, it’s so we can
corporately give thanks to God, to break bread, to be encouraged by the Word to
live this week by His strength. Our focus during the week is to be spreading
the Gospel, to share God’s love to a hurting world.
Our motivation is
that we should be moved by the state that we are in, the rampant increase in
immorality, the rapid decrease in respect for God as well as His children. Our
motivation is that our children, nieces, nephews, parents and siblings are
headed for hell and we might be the only ones who can stop them.
And in that light,
it makes it very personal. It’s not just our families. It’s also our friends.
It’s our neighbors in the next apartment or across the lawn or down the
highway. It is those who we interact with on a daily basis.
The only way that
the church, that you and I can make a difference in this world for God is to
develop the passion for our immediate world as Paul had for the people of
Israel. Only then, only when God’s love flows through us will people see our
message. Only then will people call on the name of the Lord. Is this your
passion?
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