Rom.9:2-3 - “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race…” Paul tells us this after spending the last chapter describing the context of our relationship with God - He loved me first, motivating me to love Him too (1 Jn.4:19) and His love now compels me to live for Him (2 Cor.5:14-15). Having a heart for God always develops in me a heart for the lost. If I love God, I will love those He loves and will work towards the same things He does, joining Him in His passion and commitment to seek and save the lost (Lk.19:10). As my heart for Him grows, I can’t help but see people the way He does, with the compassion He has for them (Mt.9:36). Apathy about the spiritual condition and future of the lost is tantamount to apathy towards God Himself. If I don’t share His heart to see the lost one, I likely don’t have much of a heart for Him. If I treat His priorities and commands with irreverence and contempt, I can’t reasonably believe I treat Him any differently. It has been said that we only treat God as good as we treat His Word. I believe that holds true with evangelism too: we only treat God as good as we treat the lost. Ultimately, if my love for God is not motivating me to reach the lost with the gospel, I probably don’t really love Him all that much (Jn.14:15).
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