THE REFUGE
“For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,” Romans 9:3 NASBS
The Apostle Paul makes a striking statement, one that reaches into the very depths of the soul. He speaks in terms that, on the surface, seem impossible to even consider. Yet in doing so, he reveals the profound weight of his love and the depth of his gratitude for the salvation he has received in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Concerning his own people, he writes, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
This statement is deeply paradoxical. No true Christian could desire to be cut off from his beloved Savior, Jesus Christ. Such a separation would mean eternal ruin. Yet what Paul expresses is not a literal possibility, but a heart so transformed by the grace of God that it burns with longing for the salvation of others.
Because of the effectual work of the Holy Spirit within him, Paul’s affections have been so shaped that he is willing to suffer, to be spent, and even to speak in the strongest possible terms, if only it might magnify the glory of God in the salvation of souls. His words echo a heart that would gladly lay down its life, restrain its liberties, and endure any earthly cost so that others might come to know Jesus Christ.
Beloved of God, those who rest fully in the sufficiency of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, this is your hour. God has placed us in His vineyard and awakened us to the truth of our once-dead condition, calling us from death to life and renewing us with a new heart, one stirred with holy affections to glorify Him and to labor for the salvation of souls.
You will not have this opportunity again. Now is the time to pursue holiness, to seek to know Him while still in a body that often pulls toward the desires of this world. Therefore, discipline the body and bring it into submission, taking every thought captive to the truth, all for the glory of God.
With every heartbeat, let your affections be set upon heaven, where your Savior now reigns in glory, yet still bears the scars that carried away your transgressions. Let our hearts echo the cry of Paul in Philippians 3:7–11: “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ… that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own… but that which is through faith in Christ… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Seek His face with unceasing love from the very depths of your heart. Let your soul rise with holy urgency, pressing toward heaven with earnest cries—pleading for those you know are bearing the fruit of destruction, knowing that the Lord Jesus will deal out retribution to those who do not know Him and do not obey the gospel. “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed.”
Yes, to labor for lost souls— yielding ourselves in obedience to His Word, producing righteous fruit through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit that conforms us more into the image of Christ. Let us strive, for His glory, to snatch souls from the fire, while keeping ourselves unstained from the flesh. What a holy calling this is—that God would take vessels such as we are and mold us into instruments useful to Him, to proclaim Christ and Him crucified to a dying world.
What greater calling could a man have than this—to take the message of heaven and press it upon those bound for destruction, with bent knees, pleading with God to save the lost? And let our hearts be so burdened for the lost that we would say with the saints of old, “If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies; and if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to Christ.”
Christian, do not rest. Ask God to stain your cheeks with tears until all within your sphere of influence have heard the message of salvation. O God, by Your Spirit, deepen our hearts in humility for so great a calling. May the grace of God be with you until that great day when we shall see the Lord Jesus as He is.