<H3>Chapter # 10  Paragraph # 1  Study # 1<BR />May 6, 2018<BR />Humble, Texas<BR /><a href="https://www.biblical-thinking.org/DOC-Ro3/audio.php?name=Rom180506.mp3">(Download Audio)</a></H3>

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Thesis:&nbsp;&nbsp;  Paul's restatement of his true attitude toward "Israel" is his attempt to argue that God has made a significant shift in His Larger Plan and it is not Paul's hidden hatred that drives his theology.

Introduction:&nbsp;&nbsp;  In chapter nine, Paul argued that his love for his brethren according to the flesh made him willing to be sacrificed for their redemption.  However, as he developed the truth about God's Larger Plan to make Himself more clearly known, "Israel" comes out on the short end of the large issue of receiving benefit from the grace of God.  The conclusion to this line of thought is that "Israel" had no special superior "moral" claim to God because of an innate and aggressive depravity that, barring special intervention by God, would have brought them to the moral equivalent of Sodom and Gomorrah.
This indictment of "Israel" by Paul is so repugnant to the pride and self-righteousness of the Jews that they were strongly encouraged to think that Paul was simply lying in his self-described "love" for them.  If they could believe that about him, they could, then, easily dismiss his Gospel as the delusions of a "hateful man".
Thus, Paul returned to his earlier thesis at the outset of yet another set of arguments that put "Israel" in a bad light as to their moral character.

<ul><li>I. Paul's Second Claim of Genuine Good Will In Respect to Israel. 
	<ul><li>A. It is addressed to his "brethren" who are in Rome and the recipients of this letter. 
		<ul><li>1. This was a tacit admission on his part that he clearly understood that the Jews hated him and were not likely to accept any protestations on his part that he only sought "good" for them. 
		<li>2. But it was also a tacit admission that the power of the argument of the Jews had in it the very real possibility that his readers would be swayed from "faith" by it. 
			<ul><li>a. There are two major issues at the heart of all of the issues of men. 
				<ul><li>1) The first is "Love" and it sets the stage for all else that follows. 
				<li>2) The second is "Faith" and it becomes the power for all the choices that follow. 
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			<li>b. If the "Christians", who were the object of Paul's efforts, could be persuaded that Paul had a very unhealthy attitude toward the Jews, the "logic" of the Jew's argument would take root. 
				<ul><li>1) The Jews would argue, in their massive lack of self-awareness that their arguments destroyed more of their theology than did Paul's, that if "hate" is the root of a man's theology, it cannot be true theology. 
					<ul><li>a) The Jews could not hide their violent hatred for Paul. 
					<li>b) Thus, to argue that <u><b><i>his</u></b></i> theology was rooted in "hate" and, thus, was untrustworthy, indicated a massive lack of self-awareness as well as a self-defeating position. 
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				<li>2) A hate-driven theology <u><b><i>is</u></b></i> untrustworthy and no one wishing to know the truth could be successful by following it. 
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			<li>c. If the "Christians" could be persuaded of the folly of Paul's theology, the entire work of God in their case would be thwarted. 
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	<li>B. It contained a strong declaration that Paul's "heart" was not driven by hatred for the Jews even though his teaching about their moral character put them in a very bad light. 
		<ul><li>1. In this declaration, Paul chose the term translated by both the Authorized Version and the NASB as "desire". 
			<ul><li>a. This term is not the typical term for "desire", as shown by <b>Philippians 2:13</b>. 
				<ul><li>1) In this text, Paul's word in our Romans text is translated "good pleasure" <u><b><i>after</u></b></i> using the typical concepts of both "desire" and "expended effort" in his statement. 
				<li>2) The word there, as well as in our current text, does not indicate "desire" so much as "attitude toward". 
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			<li>b. The word is a combination term made of the verb "to appear to be" and the prefix "well" or "good". 
				<ul><li>1) It is used in both <b>Matthew 11:26</b> and <b>Luke 10:21</b> to explain the basis for a certain course of action taken by God. 
				<li>2) It has primarily to do with an "attitude" wherein the "goodness" of a certain thing is "caused to 'seem' to be". 
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			<li>c. What Paul is saying is that the "attitude of his heart" in respect to "Israel" is not one of vindictive hatred. 
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		<li>2. In this declaration, Paul also added the qualifying phrase "of my heart". 
			<ul><li>a. By this method, he pulled the issue of the "heart" into his argument. 
				<ul><li>1) The heart is the core of all of the values held by its owner. 
				<li>2) It is the crucial governor of <u><b><i>all</u></b></i> of the beliefs and choices that its owner settles upon. 
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			<li>b. By so doing, he is making the claim that, at his core, he is not antagonistic toward the Jews. 
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		<li>3. In this declaration, Paul is making a large distinction between his heart's values in regard to "Israel" and his willingness to state the truth about them as to their blind self-righteousness and moral depravity. 
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	<li>C. It also contained a revelation about Paul's private prayer life. 
		<ul><li>1. The word used to indicate "prayer" is the one of several that focuses upon the intensity of "attitude" behind it. 
			<ul><li>a. Luke used this word in his record of Zacharias' prayer for a son. 
			<li>b. Paul used this word in contexts where both significant interest (longings) and necessary vigilance are in view. 
			<li>c. Thus, Paul is pulling the curtain back in regard to the core of his "attitude" toward the Jews. 
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		<li>2. The qualifying phrase "to The God" is added. 
			<ul><li>a. This addition is relatively unnecessary, given the fact that all really significant interests are addressed to God by anyone who understands God's place in our lives. 
			<li>b. But it is inserted because Paul wanted to remind his readers (brethren) that the only really logical place to turn when significantly interested is to The Ultimate Executor of Power. 
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	<li>D. It also declared Paul's true attitude in the expression of his goal for Israel. 
		<ul><li>1. He says he wants them to "be saved". 
		<li>2. This is the highest good. 
		<li>3. But it also explains the highest plainness of speech, even though that speech is heavily negative about those things in which the Jews are most interested. 
			<ul><li>a. They want to obtain the glory of men by means of their "righteousness" and this makes their "righteousness" unrighteousness. 
			<li>b. They want to be known by their "truth", but it is corrupted by their own blindness in trying to undermine a "theology of hate" when that is what is driving them. 
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<li>II. Paul's Point. 
	<ul><li>A. On one hand he undercuts the accusations of the adversaries. 
	<li>B. On the other he makes it possible for his readers to continue in a love-based "faith" that can only edify them. 
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