Romans 10

Faith Speaks

Romans 10

I would like to continue with our new series on the book of Romans.

This book is considered Paul’s masterpiece, a very well-constructed summary of Christian Theology.

Considered by many one of the most important books ever written on the Christian faith.

Today we are on chapter 10 of the book of Romans.

Last week we talked about Paul’s love for his people and nation how he would give his own salvation for them.

Today let’s talk about, Faith, Faith Speaks.

Let’s Pray

I believe our Heavenly Father wants to give us a fresh revelation of how important is to confess with our mouths our faith in Jesus.

Rom 10:1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

Paul begins this chapter the same way he began chapter 9 expressing his love for the Jewish people, after his 3-missionary journey, Paul spent some time in Greece where we believe he wrote this letter to the church in Rome, he was staying in Gaius house in Corinth.

He wrote Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He identified himself with them, sharing his heart with them.

Rom 9:1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—

Rom 9:2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

Rom 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.

He makes a Similar expression in chapter 10

Faith Speaks

1 From our Hearts

Rom 10:2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Paul at one time was just like them, full of zeal but not a zeal according to knowledge, or filled with discernment, just a blind passion towards Judaism. He was saying I can relate I was just like them.

People filled with passion without discernment are scary, they are dangerous, Judas Iscariot was a zealot, The zealots were motivated by socio-economics and political factors but they also had some prophetic ideas, they made some great mistakes about the first and second coming of Jesus.

In the beginning they went along with Jesus as He brought the crowds to God but when His message changed to death on a cross, they rejected Him, now they were convinced that Jesus was a false messiah, then Satan entered Judas, and he betrayed him.

I have a great friend who led me to Christ, I loved volleyball since I was 12 years old, I met this friend when he was attending seminary, he was an excellent volley ball player and I love playing with him, he lived a life that attracted me to the things of God, so it was easy for me to welcome Jesus, he was like my friend, and my friend was good because of Jesus.

Few years went by and he join a group of intellectuals who began to criticize the local churches, of course we can find problems

In every church, but these guys were filled with zeal, it was a Sheppard group in the 90”s they became so righteous in their own eyes and so religious to the point that he no longer spoke to his Christian sister in law because she was not part of his community, she was not aloud to see his children and the grandparents were included, they were all Christians, they became pretty extreme, in one of my trips I went to visit them I was able to sit down with him and his wife and shared with them my outside view of what they were doing, and I asked them to leave the place even though they put all their money into it, a big sacrifice, but they love and respected me.

By the grace of God they did, and the whole community fell apart and once again I had my dear friend back. Zeal without the love of Jesus is destructive.

Some argue that Paul was a zealot, his approval of Stephen’s death, and his persecution of the church.

Zeal categorized Saul, anyone who left Judaism for Christ he would go after them.

Paul understood what zeal without knowing God was like.

Rom 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

God’s righteousness is not produced by men’s work is a gift we can not attain it.

When we depend on our own understand, and we don’t submit to Christ, we are asking for trouble. Zeal without submission is very dangerous.

Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

The termination the fulfilment of the law, for everyone who believes you don’t have to keep any rituals, you can not earn it.

Rom 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.

Leviticus 18:5

Rom 10:6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)

Rom 10:7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

Rom 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

Deut 32:11

Faith Speaks

2 With our Mouths

Rom 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Is of great importance that we confess with our mouths what we believe in our hearts specially our faith, in Jesus.

Jesus said “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, if our heart are filled with faith, faith speaks, our mouth will confess that Jesus is Lord!

Mat 12:34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil?

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Mat 12:35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

My life changed, something happened inside of me the minute I confessed Jesus as my Lord and savior.

Somewhere during my childhood, I became hard in my heart, and I had no emotions, it was difficult for me to feel anything, good or bad I was filled with hate, but nothing would move me to tears, I was sarcastic, would laugh of peoples tragedy.

I remember I was 12 when my grandfather died in a car crash, he was closed to us but I couldn’t cry, or have any kind of emotion.

The day I confessed Jesus as my Lord and savior, I believed in my heart and confessed with my mouth, something powerful happened and my emotions came back, now I cry very easily, but I have great compassion and faith for those who are stuck like I was.

The little boy in you if you are a guy or the little girl if you are a woman needs to be set free again and join life.

Rom 10:10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Rom 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Rom 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

The church in Rome it was mixed, Jews and gentiles all the Jews were kicked out of Rome by Claudius around 41 AD for about 12 years the book of Acts, Suetonius and Cassius Dio roman historians refer to this event.

Faith Speaks

3 With our actions,

Evangelize

Rom 10:13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Today we are celebrating the death of Henry Opukahai’a one of the first Christians of Hawaii.

He was born here on the Big Island in Ka’u 1792 died on Feb 17, 1818 at Cornwall, Connecticut.

When he was 9 years old a major tragedy struck his family, Kamehameha the great was unifying the Islands of Hawaii and his village was not part of Kamehameha’s troops, the warriors came in and murder his mom and dad, in-front of him and as he tries to run away with his younger brother on his back they spear the brother and killed him too, he asked to be killed too but the warrior takes him to his house on the North of the Island, a year or so later an uncle of his who was a high priest finds him and ransomed him, at the age of 11 years old his uncle takes him back to the south to teach him how to be a Hawaiian high priest, and offer human sacrifice.

This was the farthest thing in Henry’s mind he wanted to leave Hawaii and all the trauma he endured; he wanted peace of mind.

In 1807 a ship name, the Triumph under captain Caleb Britnall stop here at the bay and Henry took off swimming to the ship, and he asked the captain to go with him. After the captain negotiated with the uncle, he let the boy go, for a pig.

On the ship he met another boy a little younger name Thomas Hopu from Kohala. Henry was 15, 16 years old and Thomas was 14. Christians on the ship began to teach them English.

Years later now at the steps of Yale, just one building, they were found crying, by the future Rev Edwin Dwight a senior at Yale College, they were lamenting that “No one give me learning.”

Edwin decided to help them and took them to meet his uncle, Edwin was the Nephew of Timothy Dwight the IV president of Yale.

Some time in between living with the Dwight’s and later meeting Samuel Mills and living with him Henry and Thomas came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

He not only confessed his faith in Jesus, but now he wanted to come back to Hawaii to evangelize his people, he and Thomas would pray every afternoon for that. Now he was translating the bible into Hawaiian, he created the written words, and he was recruiting missionaries.

He died on Feb 17, 1818 from but it was through his memoir and Thomas

Hopu testimony that a group of missionaries board the Thaddeus in 1819 and came to Hawaii, to evangelize Hawaii, they didn’t know if they would be accepted or rejected, if their mission would be successful or a failure but they obey the word of the Lord and came to share the gospel and plant schools.

The rest is all part of our story, the king donated his canoe house and house, this land, our sanctuary, to be the first Christian church in Hawaii, a great revival followed where 97% of the population came to Christ. 20 years later a church in Hilo, Haili church became the largest church in the world with 11 thousand members, 1840’s

We want to see the Spirit of God moving over the Islands again!

Rom 10:14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Rom 10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Rom 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”

Rom 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Bill Johnson in one of his messages call our attention to this, is what we are hearing now, not what we heard, past tense, through the word of Christ that will release faith in our hearts.

Is what we hear believe and receive that will release faith into our hearts.

Faith Speaks

1 From our Heart’s

2 With our Mouth’s

3 With our Actions

Have you asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Joh 3:16

To receive Him we need to accept Him as God’s son, repent from our sins and a life of selfishness, asking Him to be your Lord and savior, not that you deserve it, but is a gift from God.

If this is your desire today, please repeat this prayer after me?

Heavenly Father I’m sinner, I’m sorry for my sins, I’m willing to turn away from my sins.

I receive Christ as my savior,

I confess him as Lord

from this moment on I want to follow and serve him,

in the fellowship of his church,

In Jesus name. Amen!

1Co 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;

1Co 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke itand said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

1Co 11:25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

1Co 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.

1Co 11:27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

Heb 9:14 dead works, acts, sins

E mau aku ka loko maika’i o ka Haku, Iesu Kristo; me ke aloha a ke Akua, a me ka launa pu ‘ana mai o ka Uhane Hemolele ia ‘olua, a me makou apau. Amene.