The very last verse in Romans chapter 9, verse 33, see I lay in Zion, a stone that causes men to stumble, a rock that makes him fall, but the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.

This is the very core of the Christian faith. This is the very heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

and this is the very foundational stone of the entire chapter, Romans chapter 9.

Now, in the last message, we ended up on a very high note in Romans chapter 8. Nothing will be able to separate us

from the love of God through Christ Jesus, our Lord. And then he begins to think, his fellow Jews,

his kinsmen, they're rejecting the Messiah, their Messiah. And he begins to be climbing down that mountain with a very heavy heart.

In reality, the more Paul thought about them and their rejection of their Messiah and the fact that they will be judged for eternity, the more he thought about it, the more

he got depressed. I know some of you will identify with what I'm going to say. Listen carefully.

Here's a godly person who comes to the Lord and is so excited about his or his salvation,

and is so excited about the forgiveness of their sins,

and that they're eternally saved and on their way to heaven. And then they begin to think

they have a father or a mother, a brother or sister, a dear friend, a son or daughter,

who have rejected Jesus. Think about this with me. I know some of you are there. I know you.

Some of you are here in that point. You have deep love for them, your dear ones, and you feel deep

longing in your heart for them to repent and turn to the Lord and be eternally saved.

So you would say, I will do anything.

I'll give anything for them to come to know the Lord and experience the joy of salvation.

I mean, you are bewildered, you are perplexed, you are earnestly praying,

and you are looking for every opportunity for them to respond to the gospel.

You even try to bring them to church to hear the gospel message?

I want you to imagine now, in the midst of that agony, in the midst of that grief,

in the midst of their sorrow, they meet some of Job's comforters.

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