Studies in Romans by Ellet Joseph Waggoner

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Jun 24, 1908

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 34, No. 26.

Studies in Romans

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

The Israel of God.

"I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. "But it is not as tho the word of God hath come to naught. For they are not all Israel that are of Israel: neither, because they are Abraham's seed, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, it is not the children of the flesh that are the children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for a seed." Rom. 9:1-8.

PAUL felt so keenly for his "kinsmen according to the flesh" that he had "great sorrow" and "unceasing pain" of heart. His kinsmen were the people of the Jewish nation. But they rejected the great riches of Christ that had been given to them.

Paul recounts the blessed things that the Lord bestowed upon the Jews. His mind grasps the inestimable value of the prize, and then when he thinks that all this has been spurned by his people, he feels heart-sick. They have turned from these true and enduring riches that their Father in heaven has urged upon them and are seeking the fleeting riches of this world. Paul feels so keenly over this that he would be willing to give up his own hopes and blessings in Christ if it would only bring his kinsmen to acknowledge their Lord and Redeemer.

This shows the zeal for the salvation of souls that was ever burning in the heart of the great apostle to the Gentiles. He was so intent on winning others to Christ that he would be willing to be blotted out of existence if it would only accomplish the work of saving this people that have such a wonderful history, and who had enjoyed such inestimable advantages. But now they have rejected their Christ; they have crucified the very One who came into the world to save them.

But in thus rejecting the Redeemer the Jewish people of Paul's time are not isolated examples by any means. The same Redeemer is in the world to-day by His Holy Spirit, and is seeking to win your heart. He is still offering salvation on the same terms that He offered it in Paul's day, and if we reject Him now we commit the same mistake that the people of that time committed. The righteous life that Christ offers as a free gift to each individual is still proffered by the hand of the divine Father, and to reject Him now is just as disastrous to the one who does it as it was to the Jews who lived two thousand years ago.

Observe the things that Paul enumerates as belonging to the Jews: To them belonged the "adoption," "the glory," the "covenants," "the giving of the law," "the service of God," and the "promises;" theirs were the "fathers," and even "Christ as concerning the flesh" belonged to that historic people. But they became engrossed with the thought of their national importance; they trusted in their lineage, and boasted of being the literal descendants of Abraham and of the "fathers." They thought the Lord would surely do great things for them because of their parentage. But God makes it perfectly plain that what He is seeking to develop is character. It does no good to lay claim to being a child of Abraham unless we do the works of Abraham.

"For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel: neither, because they are Abraham's seed, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, it is not the children of the flesh that are children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for a seed." God does not ask the question, Have you been born of certain honorable parents? But He invites us to be born again thru the power of His Spirit. We can not control our birth or ancestry.

That part is fixed; but we can control the matter of being born again. We may have the birth of the Spirit by simply accepting the gift of God. Being born of some certain line of parents, may implant within us certain tendencies, or it may give us certain temporal advantages. But being born again thru the influence of the Spirit of God gives us the character of God's own righteousness, and that is the thing that the Lord is seeking to accomplish in each one of us.

The heavenly adoption into the family of God, so that we become the sons and daughters of God, is most strikingly presented by the apostle Paul in the first part of the eighth chapter, as noted in recent articles. It is this adoption that interests you and me. It is this adoption that each one should seek. This will bring us to the place where we can say "Abba, Father" to the great Person who controls the universe itself. What an indescribable comfort to have it as an actual fact of experience that we are the acknowledged children of the Infinite One! When in distress or perplexity, how good it is to be able to come to Him that is all-powerful and know that He hears us and know that He works for us. Any one who is in possession of the knowledge that he is the son of God, having been adopted into the heavenly family, can meet with no disaster or grief that will crush him. Infinite power can always reach far beyond any of our finite ills. Praise the Lord for His abundant and full salvation! T.