Romans chapter nine is where we're going to start. We're actually going to do a survey of chapters

9, 10, and 11, but we begin here in chapter 9. Paul makes a shift from chapter 8 to chapter 9.

The first eight chapters of Romans were really about man's sinful condition and God's gracious provision of salvation

through faith in Jesus Christ. When we get here to chapter 9, Paul pivots, and he is not

going to talk about the human race generally. He's now going to talk about Israel and the Jewish people

specifically. Because as a Jew, Paul writes how grieved he is that most of his fellow Jews

do not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. And he's just sick about it.

He's heartbroken about it. And that he's grieved in addition because many of his fellow Jews

believe that because they are God's chosen people, they can lean into that and they are good to go.

And so Paul will spend three chapters, Romans 9, 10, and 11 talking about Israel's condition

and God's redemption concerning the Jewish people.

And I want you to just see how each of these three chapters begins.

I'm going to read a few verses from the beginning of chapter 9, the beginning

of chapter 10, the beginning of chapter 11. And then we'll sew all this together. But Romans

9, starting at verse 1, I'll read verse 1 down through the middle of verse 4. He says, I tell you,

I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy

Spirit, that I have

great sorrow and continual grief in my heart, for I could wish that I myself were accursed

from Christ, for my brethren, my countrymen, according to the flesh, who are Israelites.

Jump to chapter 10. First four verses, brethren, my heart's desire and

prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a

zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness

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