The Stumbling Block of the Cross

To understand the text, we need to go back, so let’s look again at all of chapter 9, so that we can properly get a context for the passage we’re dealing with.

Read Romans 9:1-29

Romans 9:1–29 (ESV)

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—

that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

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.

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.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,

and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”

This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”

And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,

though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—

she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!

Romans 9:1–29 ESV

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 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. 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. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ” And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”

For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”

Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—

even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ”

“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”

And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,

for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”

And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”

Paul is continuing his discussion about his zeal for the Jews. He speaks of God's sovereignty in salvation and his faithfulness to save.

Here Paul is asking a glorious paradox:

How could it be that Israel did not receive the salvation they sought, while the Gentiles attained a righteousness they were not seeking?

Put another way, how can people who are desperately seeking God miss him, and yet people who seem to be just going through life find him?

How can a Buddhist monk, or a dutiful Islamic Imam, or a faithful Hasidic Jew miss heaven while a reprobate can repent and find salvation.

Picture of Hotdog Man

Imagine two men. One is a world class athlete who has spent his whole life working towards a race. He has gone to the gym, he's taken supplements, he has studied the terrain of the course and plotted every step. And then imagine that a spectator eating a chili dog on the sidelines somehow gets caught up in the race and inexplicably wins it when all he's trying to do is eat his chili dog.

That's what Paul is conveying here. The Gentiles did get what they did not pursue.

HOW? So how do we understand the present state of Israel in light of the calling of the Gentiles? How is it that some people are saved, while others are not? How is it that some seekers of truth miss the truth while some inexplicably are brought from darkness to light, often men and women we would have never guessed would have come to faith in Christ?

They Didn’t Have Saving Faith

The answer is the nature of and the source of Saving Faith.

The Baptist Confession of 1689 states that “The grace of faith…is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts. Faith is ordinarily produced by the ministry of the Word.”

Jesus answers this question throughout his ministry, but in perhaps no place more starkly than in Matthew 7. Turn with me there:

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Hebrew has no special forms for comparison or superlatives. Thus in absence there are various devices used, one is repetition. The repetition of a word shows it to be superlative.

Thus, when the people announce "Lord, Lord" they are expressing their crying out to Jesus. They aren't just saying, "I know Jesus" they are shouting their commitment to him. They are committed to Jesus. These aren't passive adherents, they are actively serving him. What Jesus is picturing for us are ardent searchers of truth.

But they reveal their sin in the text by their justification.

Matthew 7:22 ESV

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

Notice the source of their justification is their own deeds: Did we not...

This is at the heart of all who would enter heaven under their own power and by their own righteousness.

These are like the Jews who Paul describes in our text.

Romans 10:1–3 (ESV)

For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

They have zeal for the Lord. But Zeal is not the key to the cross.

This is important for us to note.

The Jews were zealous. It was not the zealous crowds who threw palm branches before him who arrived into paradise. nor was it the zealous Jews who had zeal for the law. All the zeal for Christ's fame or the law cannot save us.

Paul’s Letter to the Romans a. Why Israel Did Not Attain the Righteousness She Pursued, 9:30–10:4

Unlike the Gentile world that Paul condemned for their failure to honor God or give him thanks, indulging rather in idolatry and immorality (1:18–32), Paul testifies that his fellow Israelites do have a zeal for God. ‘Zeal for God’ was an important aspect of Jewish piety with its roots in the OT. It denoted passionate concern for God’s honor and his law, often involving violence. It is exemplified in people like Phinehas, Elijah, Simeon, Levi, and Mattathias (see ‘Additional Note: Zeal in Israel and in Paul’, below). Prior to his conversion the apostle himself was ‘zealous for God’

Philippians 3:5–6 ESV

circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

In fact, the were called by Christ "workers of lawnlessness" (Matthew 7:23)

It's also not those who know Jesus who arrive at Paradise.

Look at what they call Jesus. "Lord, Lord." They knew Jesus. You can almost see the scene in heaven.

Here they are, standing at the Pearly Gates and they are shouting, "Hey Jesus! Hey Jesus!"

Like people seeing a movie star, they shout out, "I know him!"

The Jews knew the law. Those Jesus speaks of knew Jesus.

Knowing Jesus doesn't save us. In fact, that knowledge damns them. Knowing God alone condemns.

Let me give you an example.

Let's say I go to the White House, hop the fence and start racing for the doors. Secret service comes out guns drawn and I say, "But you don't understand, out of my way, I know Joe Biden."

That knowledge will only succeed in accomplishing one thing: My death at the hands of the secret service.

As Paul Washer notes, the issue isn't do I know Jesus, the issue is does Jesus know me?

Israel knew God. But knowing God alone always damns us.

It's not do I know God, but am I known by him.

That's the issue that Paul is addressing. The cross is a stumbling block. Why? Because it's at the cross where the cry of Hosea that Paul quotes in vv. 25-26, and the cry of Isaiah in vv. 27-29 that is the crux of the whole thing.

Romans 9:25–26 ESV

As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”

It is at the cross that the Gentiles "who did not pursue righteousness" have attained it.

So What is Saving Faith

We are saved by grace, but even that requires us to ask what is meant by that.

One way to look at this question is free grace - The basic teaching of Free Grace Theology is that responding to the “call to believe” in Jesus Christ through faith alone is all that is necessary to receive eternal life.

Put simply, free grace says if you said a prayer and believed you are saved and there is no other evidence necessary to prove that salvation.

The problem with this is what Jesus says in Matthew 7.

Matthew 7:15–20 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Notice what he says, you will recognize them by their fruit. Jesus is saying that just as it is impossible to imagine a tree bearing fruit other than the tree it is. No apple tree bears figs, or orange tree, pears, so too it's impossible to imagine a Christian who doesn't bear the fruit of righteousness.

But what Jesus is teaching her is a salvation that bears fruit. Now that fruit is what?

It's repentance and obedience.

Now let me be clear: This is not works salvation. This is not "repent and be obedient and you will be saved" as if those things are the causes of our salvation, but what Paul is teaching in Romans 9 is clear: the fruit of God’s gracious regenerating of the souls of sinners is FAITH that leads to Repentance and obedience.

That is why the gentiles were saved. Because of their faith in Christ.

Now where does this faith come from?

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Luke 17:5 ESV

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

John 6:63–65 ESV

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Look at what scripture clearly teaches:

God through the Holy Spirit regenerates men and gives them faith to believe in Christ and He is justified by grace.

John MacArthur, whose book The Gospel According to Jesus lays out the case for this. “The gospel call to faith presupposes that sinners must repent of their sin and yield to Christ’s authority.”

In other words, a sinner who refuses to repent is not saved, for he cannot cling to his sin and the Savior at the same time. And a sinner who rejects Christ’s authority in his life does not have saving faith.

2 Corinthians 7:9–10 ESV

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Notice this. Godly grief is different from worldly grief. There is a grief that leads us to repentance and a grief that does not. Godly grief changes us from the inside out. It changes the nature of our relationship with sin. True repentance is not, “I’ve done bad things that I shouldn’t so I’m going to stop doing them so I can get to heaven.”

THAT’S WHAT THE PHARISEES DID. That’s the heart of their unbelief. They rejected the savior.

Romans 10:3 ESV

For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

So True repentance is a recognition of how my sin effects God and a sorrow at grieving the heart of the one who loved me so and gave his son for me.

One is PERFORMATIVE, the other is RESTORATIVE.

One leads to DESTRUCTION, the other to SALVATION.

So here’s what we see: The Cross is the message of a loving God who sent his son to die on a cross, and he, through the Spirit, quickens the hearts of sinners so that they can respond in faith to the grace offered by God and truly repent and surrender to God forever. We will speak more on this next week, as we discuss the victory of the cross, the gospel requires more than making an intellectual decision or mouthing a prayer. The sheep will follow their Shepherd in submissive obedience. The tree of Grace planted in the heart of man by God, the seed of which is the life, death and resurrection of Christ, will bear the fruit of salvation and obedience in the life of God's people.

To do otherwise is unimaginable.

This is the stumbling block of the cross: Faith given by God to repent of our sins, and trust in his son for the salvation of man.

So here’s the question? Have you truly repented of your sins and trusted in Christ.