Romans 9:1-5: Selflessness

Romans 9:3.. "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh."

Can I be 100% honest with you [I don't know why I ask, I'm going to do it anyway]? I'm not entirely sure to do with Romans 9:3. The interpretation is clear: Paul quite literally wishes that he was condemned for the sake of his fellow Isrealites' salvation. He is clearly saying that if it were possible, he would choose to be accursed to hell and cut off from Christ that his fellow Isrealites would be saved. The interpretation is clear, but the application is not.

What are we, as Christians, called to do with this verse? Ought we to say the same thing that Paul did? Should we wish that we were "accursed and cut off from Christ" in order that the unbelieving might be saved? Honestly? I don't know. Paul's statement here is so strong, and I'm honestly not sure if we as Christians should say the same. Part of me thinks that wishing to be accursed from Christ for the sake of the lost would be treason, but another part of me thinks that to be accursed from Christ for the sake of the lost would be true devotion.

However, whichever way you would like to specifacly apply the above verse, I think general applicatioin is clear: selflessness. Paul is saying here that his ministry truly isn't about him, it's about saving the lost. He is not focused on his own comfort, and even his own good, but rather the salvation of the lost. This is surely a pattern that we ought to follow.

One commentator says this about the verse before us today:

"It is this grief at the loss of men, this intense yearning for their salvation, that made Paul the preacher he was."

Whether you would like to believe that we ought to selflessly desire the salvation of the lost to the very extreme that Paul did (that is, giving up his own salvation for others) or whether you would not like to take the application of this verse quite that far (once again, I do not fully know where I stand), the point is clear: to be a good minister of God (and all of us are called to ministry by the way...), we must be selfless.

So, how are you doing in your selflessness? Do you long deeply for the salvation of the lost? Does the thought of people going to hell cause "great sorrow and unceasing anguish" in your heart as it did Paul (Rom. 9:2)? If not, I would encourage you to consider that you might be involved in selfishness instead of selflessness. Ultimately, we can either be one or the other: focused on the lost (selfless) or focused on ourselves (selfish). Which one are you?

Note: Paul's conviction here is based on a hypothetical situation. He is saying that if it were possible to lose his salvation for the sake of the Isrealites' salvation, he would do so. However, this is not possible, because once one is saved, he cannot lose their salvation (see 1 Peter 1:4, Romans 11:29).