Let's pray together.

Father, I ask for your assistance now in opening this passage of scripture and applying it to myself and to these friends here at Kenwood.

And I pray that you would use it to save and to strengthen, to purify, and to enlarge vision and to glorify Christ. I ask this in Jesus name, Amen. Let me read a few of those

verses again before I make a comment.

I'll give verse 1 of chapter 10 of Romans.

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

They're not saved, right?

My prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. And then, for I bear than witness, they have a zeal for God. Let's stop right there.

The most stunning thing about this passage

is that you can have a zeal for God and not be saved.

That's the most amazing thing. And I just

want that to sink in and think with you about it. So let's read it again just

so that you can see it.

Verse one, brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them,

he's talking about his Jewish kinsman,

where he was once upon a time.

My heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they might be saved.

For I bear them witness, they have a zeal for God.

So you can have a zeal for God and not be saved.

Pastors can have a zeal for God and not be saved. Church goers can have a zeal for God and not be saved.

Lay people can have a zeal for God.

Theological seminary faculty can have a zeal for God and not be saved.

...