Christ and the Holy Spirit to authen ticate his vital point. He uses not merely informative language but also that which is emotional. The reason for all of this is Paul’s true love for Israel which was far from s om e th in g merely academic. There are too many “professional lov ers” today. Yet, “out of sight is out of mind.” We so quickly forget our feelings expressed on the spur of the moment. Paul said, on the other hand, that he had a “great heaviness and continual sorrow” in his heart for Is rael. “Heaviness” actually refers to sadness and grief, while “sorrow” has to do with physical pain or mental wretchedness. Paul sees Israel not as a group but as individuals; real persons whom he knew and loved. He wanted to give them his Saviour for he knew the joy it would bring them if they only knew Him. Still they would not listen and they actually considered him a trai tor. When he attempted to minister among them, he was thrown out of the synagogue. He Went so fa r as to declare from the depths of his heart, “For I could wish myself were ac cursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsman according to the flesh.” In other words, he was willing to go to the extreme, losing his own salva tion, in order for his people to be It««. Ray Weiskopf (left), retiring director of the Biola Stewardship Department, welcomes his successor, Mr. John Isaac. Due to ill health Mr. Weiskopf was forced to resign after more than t3 years of fruitful service for tho Lord.
offenses, and was raised again for our justification.” Som eone may ask, “How can you be so sure that this is all true?” The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is the eternal guarantee that God has justified ungodly men. This text shows us that the Lord hasn’t merely gra ciously forgiven man, but also He has justly forgiven us. He has actually taken the wrath for us, paying the penalty of our sins which is death. Romans 5:1 gives us the assurance, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This means we have access into His very presence. This is the wonderful privilege today for those who know the Lord Jesus as personal Saviour. Has He become your Paschal Lamb? Come to Him in your weaknesses and sins. You do not need to approach Him in fear, but with joy, knowing that at God’s right hand is your Advocate. O NE OF THE MOST FASCINATING as pects of the Spirit-filled and Spirit-directed writings of the Apos tle Paul is to feel his very heart-throb. In the ninth, tenth and eleventh chap ters of Romans, he clearly reveals his love for his own people after the flesh, Israel. He expresses his earnest de sire and prayer that they might come to know Him, whom to know is life eternal. The first three verses of Romans 9 reveal Paul’s intense longing for them. It is not a manufactured emo tion or something which is merely ex ternal, but rather a continuing, real and sincere burden. He calls upon God to bear witness to his statement as though he were using a mighty oath. He uses his conscience, as well as the Holy Spirit, to bear him wit ness. For a Christian this would be very strong language, however, for a Jew, who is very careful with the name Jehovah, it was intense lan guage. Paul calls upon the Lord Jesus Israel's Hope
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