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,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved