Romans 9 – Page 4 – Ministry of Grace Church

that my sorrow is great and I have continual grief in my heart.

Truth to Learn

Paul had deep seated and continual emotional pain because of his unbelieving brothers in the flesh (Jews).

Behind the Words

The word translated “sorrow” is lupē, which means “sadness, grief, heaviness, or sorrow.” But this is not just common sorrow, Paul says it is megas, meaning “great or large.”

“Grief” is translated from odunē, meaning “grief, pain, or distress.” And he says that this grief is adialeiptos. This word is made up of a, meaning “not” and a form of dialeipō, meaning “to leave spaces,” that is “to be intermittent.” Hence, we can see that Paul has unceasing or continual grief in his heart. Now this doesn’t mean that every waking moment of Paul’s life is filled with sorrow; it means that it is a constantly recurring event for him.

The word “heart” is from the Greek word kardia (from which we get our English word cardiac). It refers to the seat and center of human emotion and life.

Meaning Explained

We saw in the previous verse that Paul is declaring an oath to the Jews. The current verse is the content of that oath. The thing he is swearing an oath about is his continual sorrow and great grief. He will tell us in the next verse that this great grief and unceasing sorrow are for his kinsmen in the flesh, that is, Jews. He will also say in the opening of the next chapter that his heart’s desire and prayer for Israel is that they be saved. Paul is saying that he cannot shake this feeling of grief and sorrow whenever he thinks about the lost condition of many, many Jews. After all, they are the ones that God separated out and who received the books of Moses and the Prophets. God has given special attention to them and special revelation of Himself to them as well.

But, alas, Paul knows that many of them are lost because they are relying on satisfying a set of legal requirements to be saved. Paul has spent a great deal of time and effort in the earlier chapters of this letter explaining that obeying the rules will not produce righteousness. Only the grace of God through faith in the Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ) will produce the righteousness they seek.

Application

Now, let me ask you, are you relying on obedience to a set of rules or on certain church doctrines to save you? Are you depending on your baptism or your membership in the church to save you? If you are, you have missed the whole point of what Paul has been teaching in this letter to the Roman Christians. Paul will tell us in the next chapter “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” We will get into exactly what this means when we come to that verse. For now, my message to you is to not depend on your church or your behavior to save you because they will fail you. Instead, fall on your knees confessing your inability to save yourself, believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins, and confess Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, as your Savior and your Lord (Master).

Only then will you be saved and know that you have been chosen. Then, get off your knees and praise God for His mercy and His grace, for He is worthy!

In God's service, for His glory,

I speak the truth in Christ, not a lie, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit,

Truth to Learn

Paul’s concern for the welfare of the unsaved Jews is demonstrated by his passionate proclamation.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “truth” is alētheia, which is composed of a, meaning “not” and a form of lanthanō, meaning “to be hidden or to be unaware of.” Hence, this word refers to something that is not hidden but out in the open and subject to public scrutiny.

“Lie” is from a form of pseudō, which means “to lie or to speak falsely or deceitfully.”

The word “conscience” is from the noun form of suneidō, which means “to be one's own witness, one's own conscience coming forward as witness.” This word denotes a conscience that bears witness to the morality of one's own conduct.

Meaning Explained

Paul was accused by his own countrymen (the Jews) of being a turncoat and of rejecting all they stood for as the chosen people of God in favor of this “new religion.” In fact, his fellow Jews were openly desirous of having Paul killed as we see from the book of Acts:

And Festus said: "King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer. (Acts 25:24)

In reality Paul had not turned from the Jews. In fact, he was greatly troubled that so many of his countrymen not only denied the true Messiah, but were openly hostile toward the gospel. He opens this chapter declaring that he is deeply committed to his countrymen and, in fact, would rather that all of them be saved. But he will demonstrate later in this ninth chapter that election has been part of God’s dealing with mankind throughout history, including the offspring of the patriarchs, and he will cite several examples.

He starts out this verse with a declaration of an oath, “I speak the truth in Christ, not a lie,” yet he does not swear by heaven, or the temple, or any other thing. In fact in Matthew 5:34-36 Christ told us not to swear by these things. Instead, he declares this oath in the presence of Christ himself. We so easily pass by this term, Christ, but the Jews of Paul’s day understood that he was referring to the Messiah, the Anointed One for whom the Jews were eagerly waiting.

So we see that Paul is invoking the witness of the highest authority possible regarding what he is about to say. He follows this up with the witness of his own conscience in the presence of the Holy Spirit as well. This is an urgent plea to his countrymen to understand that what he is about to say is true and straight from the innermost part of Paul’s being.

Application

When challenged by others regarding the truthfulness of what we have said, we are prone to say, “I swear it’s true.” This is an oath declaring the absolute certainty of what we have said. That is just how passionate Paul was about the eternal welfare of his fellow Jews who have rejected the gospel message.

In God's service, for His glory,

Ministry of Grace Church

Category: Romans 9

Romans 9:2 – Continual Heartache

Romans 9:1 – Oath of Certainty