Willing to go to Hell
Paul wanted people to get saved.
Romans 9:1-5
There’s sudden turbulence as this flight hovers over Israel’s territory. We have been ascending (chapters 1-4) and enjoying calm skies (chapters 5-8)and a great view from the air as we’ve discussed salvation by grace through faith, victory over sin, the power of the Holy Spirit, adoption and the inheritance of Christ, and the love of God that is stronger than any opposition. But now as this plane of theological conversation comes back to the people of Israel, we roll over a storm. This storm is Paul’s anguish.
Paul’s language is very strong and very deep. He would exchange all the glory and beauty that we just mentioned – and would give not only his life but also the eternal damnation of his own soul – if only his fellow countrymen would get saved.
Verse 3: “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen.” Before we get into the theology of the next few chapters (which may involve more turbulence because of the sharp contrasts of opinions), I think we should stop here for a moment of contemplation. The book opened with “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe!” And he has made very clear just how powerful this salvation is!
But now he would give it up in order to give it away for his brothers in the flesh. “I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart..” and this is something that he’s stating before God – it’s not empty rhetoric. That’s really strong language, and you can almost see him shaking with tears. The people he loves, his own family, the people who brought him to the Law of God are so close, and still so damned!
There are a couple of lessons for us to learn in this:
There is no room for a vindictive attitude.
The writing of this article is in the year of our Lord 2026. I have been shocked at how many times various flavors of “Christians” have been talking disparagingly of “Zionists.” While I understand that nuance of national Israel and ethnic Israel (I’m not getting into that debate here), I’ve also heard disparaging comments against “the Jews” as the people who have rejected Christ.
Yes, they did. Yes, the Jews did call for Jesus’ crucifixion and said, “His blood be on us and our children (Matthew 27:25)!” That’s terrifying. But the response of Jesus Himself was, “Father, forgive them… (Luke 23:24)” If Jesus wasn’t vindictive, then neither should you be.
Paul certainly understood this. Paul argued more with the Jews and suffered more from the Jews than anyone alive today (except Jesus). He was stoned and chased from city to city because of the Jews. If anyone a “right” to be upset and angry at their stubborn refusal to accept God’s Messiah, Paul did. But Paul did not wish destruction on his enemies for any of his. Instead he invited his own damnation if only for the chance to give them his place.
So to those who have a few saucy words to say about how the Jews don’t deserve grace, button up. No one does – and that’s the point.
We could take this application further. Paul suffered persecution from the hands of the Jews, but didn’t seek personal vengeance or retaliation. If you life a Gospel-oriented life, you’re going to face persecution. That could be from the pseudo-tolerant political left as they throw liquids at your while you speak, try to shout you down, break your displays or seek to imprison you. It could be from a communist government that shows up to your workplace and hauls you off to psychological “evaluation.” It could be from radical hindus or muslims who want a monolithic country, free from “foreign” influence. In our humanity, it’s easy to raise our verbal fists and fight. Both Paul and Jesus did confront the wicked hearts of their persecutors. But in our carnality, we can get blinded to the spiritual reality for the physical opposition and get reduced to playing a game of revenge and vindication. Paul’s and Jesus’ confrontations and conflicts with their persecutor never made them vindictive. Likewise, we should also have that attitude.
Passion brings sacrifice.
The thought of exchanging eternal peace and joy with God for someone else’s eternal damnation makes me shudder. I’m thankful that it’s not a choice that God would allow. But that brings a question, how much do I love those who are close to me, but who are not close to Jesus? How faithful are we to engage with them, to pray with them, to pray for them?
When those we love and know well are in rebellion, it’s easy for the emotions of “you know better than that!” to run high and communication to run sideways. Paul was very emotional, but in a sacrificial way. “I would go to hell for you.”
Christianity has more than enough arguments, proofs and logic. There is no close second contestant in the war of ideas and philosophy. But beyond what we know, is Who we know and how deeply we love with His love.
I’ll confess that I’m nowhere near where I want to be. But I want to get there. I want those who are close to me, but not close to Jesus, to know that, despite our (sometimes very radical) differences, I love them. I want them to know that I don’t want to win an argument – I want to win their hearts.
God, give us more grace!