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Sermon #3212

The Privileges Given to Israel

A Sermon on Romans 9:4-5

Originally preached Nov. 9, 1962

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Scripture

Romans 9:4-5 ESV KJV
They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. (ESV)

Sermon Description

It is significant for the Christian to know how to approach God, to enter His presence, to take petitions and prayers to Him, and how to render service to the true and living God. Unlike the Gentile nations, Israel was given specific instructions on this. God had shown them special favor, despite their small number and unimpressive abilities. Moreover, God gave them promises. Through the fathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David), the children of Israel were children of promise. Unlike their pagan neighbors who worshipped idols, the apostle Paul says they were brought into a covenant. Why is the apostle Paul emphasizing this unique privilege of the children of Israel and what is his purpose? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones seeks to answer this question in this sermon on Romans 9:4–5 titled “Children of the Promise.” There is a tragedy in the story of the Jews, one that the Christian must acknowledge. They were a people of such hope and promise and yet they missed it all. Despite that, Christ’s coming was abundantly clear in the Scriptures, most of the Jews could not see it. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones traces the promises made to Old Testament Israel and the tragedy that followed.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The apostle Paul shows the tragedy of the Jews rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.
  2. Paul lists the privileges of the Jews to show why they should have recognized Jesus.
  3. The first privilege is that they are Israelites, God's chosen people.
  4. The second is the adoption as God's children.
  5. The third is the glory, the presence of God.
  6. The fourth is the covenants, God's promises to them.
  7. The fifth is the giving of the law, God's revelation.
  8. The sixth is the service of God, the tabernacle worship.
  9. The seventh is the promises of future blessing.
  10. The eighth is the patriarchs, the fathers of the faith.
  11. The greatest privilege is that the Messiah came from them.
  12. There is controversy over how to translate Romans 9:5.
  13. Some translations make it say Jesus is not God.
  14. The issue is whether "who is over all, God blessed forever" refers to Jesus or the Father.
  15. The context and Paul's writings suggest it refers to Jesus.

The Book of Romans

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.