Month: August 2011

I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.
Rom 9:1-2

After a statement like that, surely our interest is peaked.  What would cause “great sorrow and continual grief” in the heart of the apostle Paul?  His next statement brings me under heavy conviction.  “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh…” (Rom 9:3) It is the awareness of the lost state of his kinsmen, the Israelites, that has Paul so grieved.  He is so burdened for their salvation that if he could suffer hell in their stead that they might be saved, he would do so.  That desire is what the word “accursed” in v. 3 signifies!

Do you understand now why his statement is so convicting?  Do we feel a burden anywhere near that strength for the lost around us?  They are in our households.  They sit in cubicles next to us.  We pass them on the street and in the grocery store.  We interact with certain ones nearly everyday!   Paul’s burden for the lost was heavy (“great”) AND constant (“continual”)!  Even with all the ground he covers in Romans 9 (and he covers quite a lot), at the beginning of chapter 10 we see this thought is still weighing on his mind as he sighs, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.”

So, is that our hearts desire?  Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt 6:21) Do we treasure the eternal souls that are all around us?  Are they of great value to us?  Am I most concerned that my kids get a good education and excel in sports, or do I weep for their precious souls and nurture them spiritually with my words and example?  Am I more interested in what my boss thinks about my job performance or whether or not her soul is safe in the arms of Christ?  What do we think about as we converse with others?  I’m praying that everytime I interact with someone, God will give me a great awareness that I am dealing with an eternal soul!  Too often the things we’re focused on are petty in light of eternity.  God help us today to get beyond the outward appearance and be more interested in the heart, even as you are! (1 Sam 16:7)

Jamie

¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
Rom 8:19-22

Do you hear it?  There is a deep sigh emanating from the creation as it groans under bondage.  Although it was man who committed sin, the sad result was that the entire creation felt sin’s effects.  When, by man, sin entered the world, so did death! (Rom 5:12) The creation existed in harmony prior to the fall of man.  The lamb was safe with the lion and felt no threat from the bear, but after the fall, David had to kill both predators to preserve his flock. (1 Sam 17:34-36) So, the creation groans, longing for a restoration, a new heavens and earth, where “the wolf and the lamb shall feed together”. (Is 65:17, 25)

You hear it, don’t you Christian?  You’re all too familiar with that groaning because it comes from within you!  “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Rom 8:23) We tire of carrying around this flesh and its infirmities.  We long to be rid of its struggle with sin.  We weep that our love for our Savior is still so weak while our lusts are still so strong!  Don’t you want to worship our Lord the way He deserves?!!

Yes, we understand the creation’s groaning, but be encouraged, dear saint!  The restoration has already begun!  Already, the wolf-like spirits of men that would devour God’s little lambs are being changed, and these wolves and lambs are feeding together!  Who hated the Lord’s sheep like Saul of Tarsus?!!  He was bent on their destruction, but God made him a new creation in Christ Jesus!  There was such a change of heart that by the time Ananias met him, he that had once been an enemy was called “brother”! (Ac 9:1-17) Do you see it, Christian?  Do you see this new heavens and earth being formed by our Creator?  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:17) The curse is being reversed even now, and soon we will see that truth in its fulness!

When will the creation experience this reversal?  What will accompany the end of that groaning?  The creation is eagerly awaiting the “revealing of the sons of God”.  When all the world sees the church for who they truly are, this curse will be fully lifted!  When the world sees that those they despised and rejected (as they did their Lord before them) are the apple of the Creator’s eye, the most special people on the face of the earth, then the end, or rather the beginning, will come!  Keep groaning, church, but groan knowing that when God subjected the creation to this bondage, He did so “in hope”! (Rom 8:20) Our present state will not last for God has determined a glorious end for all those who hope in Christ!  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Rom 8:18)

Jamie