10:9 - Greatest News Of All Time
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Just over a week ago, my beautiful, thoughtful wife took me to see the G.O.A.T. Now, I’m not talking about Kathie Heuser’s pet goats. G.O.A.T. is an acronym that stands for “Greatest Of All Time” and is usually applied to professional athletes.
We did not, however, go to see Michael Jordan or LeBron James or Tom Brady. Though they might be the “Greatest Of All Time” at their game, that’s for smarter people than me to argue and decide.
Meghann took me to see the great cellist of all time: Yo-Yo Ma, who also has, what is arguably the greatest name of all time: Yo-Yo Ma.
Yo-Yo Ma was playing with the Kansas City Symphony and we were able to get tickets to see him play. This has been a dream of mine for years, to see Yo-Yo Ma play in person. Meghann bought tickets for me way back in June and we’ve been waiting all this time to see the G.O.A.T. We sat a mere 30 feet from Yo-Yo. It was absolutely incredible; the single best show I’ve ever seen. Hands-down. Everything else stands to be a huge disappointment from here on out.
Watch this clip of Yo-Yo Ma and you’ll see what I mean: [Play Video Clip]
In case you are starting to think I’m some kind of yuppie who loves going to the symphony, well, you’re exactly right. But I’m not just a yuppie. I like a lot of other stuff. Ask anyone who’s been to a game with me—be it hockey or soccer, football or basketball (even youth sports)—I’m one of the first people to jump to my feet and scream like a fool; the same is true for the symphony. That night at the symphony while others were yelling “Bravo! Bravo!” I was yelling, “Yo-Yo!!!!” My poor wife...didn’t know she’d get stuck in public with this guy embarrassing her almost daily, and this, for the rest of her life.
There’s nothing like watching someone at the top of their game, and I’ve seen a few—be it the greatest K.C. Royals player of all time: George Brett; the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball: Mariano Rivera; and now, the greatest cellist of all time: Yo-Yo Ma. Standing in the presence of greatness is awe-inspiring.
As we sat there watching Yo-Yo play his $2.5 million cello, I was struck by what I was seeing: truly the “Greatest Of All Time”. No question.
It has dawned on me several times since the concert what a rare privilege it was to hear, in person, the “Greatest Of All Time”.
—>But far more wonderful is having heard the “Greatest News Of All Time”—namely that there’s a way for me to be made right with God.
The news that there’s way for me to be made right with God is exceptionally Good News, because, I’m a scumbag.
The Bible tells me all people—that’s you and me—we are, on our own, dead in our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2). Dead.
The Bible tells me that all people—that’s you and me—we are, on our own, under the power of sin…there is no one righteous, not even one…there is no one who does good, not even one (Romans 3).
What the Bible makes clear is that there is a giant chasm separating me from God, that for all of my effort, for all my striving, for all my religious deeds, I will never, ever reach Him on my own.
It’s more likely that I jump to the moon from here than to be made right with God on my own.
So to hear that there’s a way for me to be made right with God is, I believe, far-and-away, the “Greatest News of All Time”.
This news gets better, infinitely better, when we realize that the “Greatest News of All Time” is for everyone.
The Bible shares this Good News throughout its pages; it would take several hours to touch on every place in the Bible that teaches this. So this morning, for our purposes here, we’re going to focus on the book of Romans, Chapter 10, Verse 9 (and the surrounding verses).
If you would like to follow along, Romans 10 can be found on page 1,758 of the Red Pew Bible in front of you. The text will also be displayed on the screen.
In this verse—Romans 10:9—Paul shares with us the “Greatest News of All Time”—there is a way to be made right with God.
Starting in Romans 9, Paul is speaking about the people of Israel. The discussion is focused around whether or not they will be saved.
He’s concerned, because He realizes that there is only one way to be saved, and he’s afraid his people—the people of Israel—have not trusted in Jesus.
They’ve missed the Messiah; they’ve missed the one and only way to be made right with God.
They’ve tried their very best. They’ve pursued righteousness by obedience to the law, by good works and good deeds. And they’ve failed to hit the mark. They thought they could be made right with God through their doing, through obedience to the law—that’s always a failing endeavor.
If they were able to obey the law perfectly, completely, all the time, then maybe, maybe that would make them right with God.
But here’s the problem: there’s no way that any of them could ever obey the law perfectly, completely, all the time. No way.
There’s only One Man who has ever obeyed the law perfectly, completely, all the time. His name is Jesus, the Christ/the Messiah. And Paul realizes unless his people trust in Jesus, there’s no hope for them.
There’s no hope for anyone apart from Jesus.
Paul wants so badly for his people to be saved. At one point in this letter (Romans 9) Paul says he has great sorrow and unceasing anguish in [his] heart and goes so far to say he’d trade places with them if he could—he’d be cursed and cut-off from God if only the people of Israel would believe.
So Paul writes this (Romans 10:1-4)—
1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Paul knows the Israelites are zealous for God in their own way. They think all of their obedience to the law and zeal for the law of God will make them right with God. But in seeking to establish their own righteousness, they’ve missed God’s righteousness.
Self-righteousness is as foolish as it is annoying. No one likes the self-righteous person; no one wants to be friends with that guy. Even worse, spiritually speaking, self-righteousness is a death sentence. You might think you’re good enough on your own, but you’d be wrong.
The Israelites have missed the One who is the culmination of the law, the end of the law. They’ve missed that it’s in Him—in Jesus—that righteousness is available for everyone who believes.
There is a way to be made right with God—righteousness for everyone who believes—it’s just not going to come from us, from our hand, from our supposed goodness.
The Israelites would argue that they could be saved by their good works, by obeying what God had said (as recorded in the Law, the OT).
So Paul quotes from the Law, showing how not even in the Old Testament people were people saved by what they did. God has always saved people by grace through faith.
3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
There is a way to be made right with God, and it’s not due to one’s observance of the law or good works.
To illustrate, Paul quotes from the book of Deuteronomy and makes comparisons with Jesus:
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim:
Moses says in Deuteronomy that no one needed to ascend to heaven to bring down the law again (Deut 30:12). God had already freely given the law.
Paul makes a comparison: in the same way, he says, no one needs to ascend to heaven to bring down Christ again. God already sent Him freely (Rom 10:6).
Moses says that no one needed to descend to the depths of the sea again (Deut 30:13); God had already redeemed His people and brought them through the sea.
Paul makes another comparison: no one needs to descend to the depths, as if to bring up Christ from the dead; God already raised Him (Rom 10:7).
Moses said the law is already available, in Israel’s mouths and hearts if they choose to embrace it (Deut 30:14).
Likewise, Paul claims that the message about faith in Christ is similarly available, in our mouths and hearts, if we embrace it (Rom 10:8).
>The righteousness the Israelites were looking for wasn’t going to be found in the law. And they didn’t need to look for it beyond the person of Jesus. God sent Jesus to them and raised Him from the dead—it’s clear that the complete righteousness of God, offered to everyone who believes, is available in the person of Jesus Christ.
It’s not too difficult; it’s not beyond the reach of the people of Israel. It’s right here before them. And, AND there’s nothing they have to do to earn it. They merely have to confess Jesus and put their faith in Him.
This, this is the way for us to be made right with God; this, this is the “Greatest News of All Time”—
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
I love this. This is Good News, Great News—the Greatest News of All Time, in fact. Nowhere is the way for us to be made right with God more plainly or succinctly stated.
It’s by declaring or confessing with our mouth Jesus’ Lordship, and by believing that He is risen and alive that we are saved.
To whom is this promise available? For whom is this the Greatest News of All Time?
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Do you see the emphasis there, the repetition of anyone, all, everyone?
10:4—everyone who believes
10:11—anyone who believes
10:12—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him
10:13—Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved
This Great News is for Jew and Gentile alike. It’s not for those who follow Israel’s laws; this is God’s gift in Jesus for everyone, anyone, all who call on Him.
The “Greatest News of All Time” makes this clear: anyone, everyone, all who call upon Jesus—who declare that He is Lord and believe that God has raised Him from the dead—anyone, everyone, all who do will enjoy the fullness of salvation that God offers through Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Promised One of God.
Declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord”
Declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord”
These three words—“Jesus is Lord”—make up the earliest Christian confession of faith.
By this—saying “Jesus is Lord”—the earliest Christians were confessing the whole truth about who Jesus was and what He has done. “Jesus is Lord” is shorthand for the gospel, a shorthand for the Good News.
By saying “Jesus is Lord”, Christians are making reference to the gospel as a whole, namely:
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
By declaring that “Jesus is Lord”, the first Christians, who were citizens of a Roman-controlled world were saying that Jesus, not Caesar, comes first.
When the common expression of the day was “Caesar is Lord”, Christians refused to say such a thing, refused to worship Caesar.
Instead they asserted that Jesus, and Jesus alone was Lord. And they worshipped only Him.
“Jesus is first. Jesus is primary. Jesus is all. Jesus is the only one we will bow down before. Jesus is Lord.”
To refer to Jesus as Lord was a religiously charged comment. The word “Lord” was used to refer to God Himself. So to dare to call Jesus “Lord” was to make a profession of Jesus’ deity. If Jesus is “Lord” that means He is God, and that has some staggering implications for us.
If you declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” you are confessing the truths that Jesus died, was buried, and was raised on the third day.
If you declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” you are saying that Jesus comes first and that He is the only One you worship.
If you declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” you are saying that He is one with God.
Have you made that declaration, that good confession?
“Jesus is Lord”—this is what you speak with your mouth and believe down in the depths of who you are, if you belong by faith to Him.
Declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and
Believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead
Believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead
Resurrection is the basis for the Lordship of Jesus. The Lordship of Jesus which we confess with our mouths is inextricably linked with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Resurrection is the central tenant of the Christian faith. Christians, by definition, believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. You can’t be a Christian without believing in the resurrection. The resurrection is no optional article of belief—it is the article. It is faith in the Risen Lord that saves.
Jesus Christ crushed the darkness of sin and death when He got up from the grave. The resurrection is not an add-on to our gospel message; it’s the heartbeat and lifeblood of it. The resurrection is proof that God was satisfied with Jesus’ payment on the cross.
Without the resurrection, there is no good news. If Christ is still dead, then we have nothing to preach and nothing in which to hope. If Christ is still dead, our faith is futile, our sin, all-consuming; our death, absolutely certain.
BUT the tomb is empty. Hope lives! Death died when Jesus rose! Jesus destroyed death, triumphed over the enemy, and trampled hell underfoot.
It would be foolish to spread a message that claims a dead man can bring life to other dead men. But the man at the center of Christianity is not dead. He’s alive! “He is Risen! (He is Risen, indeed!)”
Believe in your heart—this is not mere intellectual agreement, but deep inward trust in Christ at the core of one’s being.
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
This is the way—the one and only way—to be made right with God—through faith and trust, through confession of Jesus, through belief in Jesus.
Paul says the one who declares and believes these truths about Jesus is Saved (v. 9). Justified (v. 10). Saved (v. 10). Saved (v. 13).
Saved from what? What do we need saved from? What’s it mean to be saved, justified?
We are sinners, all. We miss the mark every day. We fall short of God’s standard. We need to be saved from sin.
We need to be saved from the wrath of God. God is just. He is Holy. He is perfectly perfect. In His absolute opposition to sin and evil He has to punish sin. Sin will meet the wrath of God.
We need saved from death and hell; the wages of sin is death. The place for the wicked, for those who reject Jesus, for those who seek some other way to be made right with God will spend eternity in hell.
We need saved, justified.
To be justified is to be made acceptable to God through a divine act. Sinners are pardoned from the punishment and condemnation of their sin through what Jesus has done.
To be justified, one has to believe. And that belief results in a righteousness not our own.
Through Jesus we are saved from sin, from the wrath of God, from death, from hell.
We are justified (made right with God) through what He did. He took all our sin and paid the price, once and for all. He absorbed the wrath of God, drinking the cup of God’s wrath down to the dregs. He destroyed death on the cross.
He made the way for us to be made right with God and to be with Him forever.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
In Jesus, we are justified—given the sum total of the requirements of God.
We’re not given a blank slate or a second chance—we’d just mess both of those up and have to crucify Jesus all over again.
We’re not given a second chance, as if we’d do better. We’re not given a clean slate, as if we’d never make another mistake.
Jesus didn’t come to check our report card. He came to give us His.
We are given Jesus’ perfect, spotless record, His righteousness. And that is all we need.
We are justified in Christ, saved by Jesus.
Not by anything we have done, but saved by Jesus, because of Jesus, through Jesus, for Jesus.
There’s a way for you and me to be made right with God—declaring faith in Jesus as Lord and believing in Jesus Christ, the Risen Savior.
He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Come to the Father through Him; it is the only way to be made right with God.
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
It’s the “Greatest News of All Time”, the best news in the wide world.
Friends, call on the name of the Lord—make that declaration, believe in your heart—and be saved today.