A Heart for the Lost from the Gospel Primer

"What effect do such gospel meditations have upon Paul? What emotions do they produce in him besides the obvious joy he feels while reciting them? Paul bares his soul at the very beginning of chapter 9: 'I have great sorrow,' he says, '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.'  Coming down from the heights of gospel meditation, Paul’s heart was devastated by a burden for his fellow-Jews to experience the saving power of the gospel. His burden existed long before he started writing, but it was undoubtedly intensified by his rehearsal of gospel truths in Romans 5-8, a rehearsal which inevitably led his thoughts toward the plight of those outside of Christ."