YouTube: https://youtu.be/CDz_onKh0_U

Download Audio: https://od.lk/f/MV8yOTUzOTM5ODlf
Download Video: https://od.lk/f/MV8yOTUzOTQwMDVf
Download PDF: https://od.lk/f/MV8yOTUzOTM5OTlf

Timothy: Romans 9:1-13
The Heart of Paul Towards the People of Israel

1 I tell the truth in Christ, I do not lie, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit,

2 that my grief is great, and a never ceasing pain is in my heart,

3 for I myself was wishing to be a curse from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to flesh,

4 who are Israelites, whose are the adoption and the glory, and the covenants, and the Lawgiving, and the service, and the promises;

5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to flesh, He being God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

6 Not, however, that God’s Word has failed. For not all those of Israel are Israel,

7 nor because they are Abraham’s seed are all children, but “In Isaac a Seed shall be called to you.” Gen. 21:12

8 That is: Not the children of flesh are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for a seed.

9 For the Word of promise is this, “According to this time I will come, and a son will be to Sarah.” Gen. 18:10

10 And not only so, but also Rebekah conceiving of one, our father Isaac,

11 for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of the One calling,

12 it was said to her, “The greater shall serve the lesser;” Gen. 25:23

13 even as it has been written, “I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.” Mal. 1:2, 3

[Literal Translation of the Holy Bible]

Dear God, my Beloved Father, I am grateful for this new day that You have given me and for the Eternal Living Word of God, which nourishes my soul. Though my physical body grows weaker with each passing day, my spiritual body grows stronger and wiser through Your Word. I pray that Your Word sanctifies me and keeps me whole. I ask that Christ strengthens my physical body, and the Holy Spirit enlightens my spirit. I thank Christ and the Holy Spirit for their presence in my life.

Dear Father, I want to share my understanding of Paul’s heart towards the Israelites, as written in Romans 9:1-13.

Dear Father, I understand that in the first four verses, Paul expresses his sadness, frustration, and anguish over the loss of many Israelites. This sadness was not just Paul’s personal emotion but also the work of the Holy Spirit in him, helping him understand the hardening and loss of the Israelites. Paul was saddened by the loss of many Israelites, his own people, who had received God’s promise and blessing. He was so compassionate that he wished he could exchange himself for them. In reality, Christ, an Israelite himself, had already made the sacrifice, but most Israelites refused to accept God’s salvation.

Dear Father, I understand that verse 5 is one of the affirmations of the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God. Sadly, some people who claim to be Your children believe in false teachings that deny the Lord Jesus Christ’s divinity. Through Paul, the Holy Spirit used this verse to emphasize that the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for the redemption of humanity was not just the death of a man but the death of God incarnate. The mystery and justice of God’s salvation surpass all the angels and human minds.

Dear Father, I understand that from verses 6 to 8, it talks about the event where many Israelites did not believe in Christ, leading to their destruction and exclusion from the covenant that You established with Abraham, which did not make You a liar. When You made a promise to Abraham, You made it to a righteous man, someone who had faith in You, and the promise was for his descendants, who also had faith in You and were called righteous like him. Therefore, anyone who is a descendant of Abraham but does not have faith in You cannot be considered part of the covenant. But anyone who has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ becomes part of Abraham’s lineage, through faith, even if they are not of his bloodline. This is a wonderful truth in God’s plan of salvation, which means that anyone from any nation can be saved if they have faith in Christ.

Dear Father, I understand that from verses 9 to 13, it speaks about Your arrangement and selection in Your plan for human salvation so that a person born from the lineage of Abraham, Jesus Christ, will be the head of the chosen holy lineage of God, as prophesied in Malachi 2:15.

Dear Father, I recognize that the Bible is closely linked together to explain to humans about You, about the corruption of humans, about Your love for humans, about the salvation You have given to humans, about the future of those who truly repent and believe in the Gospel of Salvation, about the future of those who reject Your salvation. The rest is up to each person’s choice.

Dear Father, I pray that more and more Vietnamese people will become aware of the websites of the Church in Vietnam so that those who do not know the Gospel will have the opportunity to learn and believe in it. Additionally, those who are already familiar with the Gospel but are being misled by false teachings from those who call themselves “churches” will learn the truth of the Bible and return to it. I also pray that more of Your faithful people in the Church in Vietnam will use their time and online media to preach the Gospel to the Vietnamese people. May You have mercy on and bless the Vietnamese people with an increasing number of people being saved. I thank You, Father.

In the grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Timothy Christian Huynh
03/28/2023