Romans 10
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Good evening please turn with with me in your Bibles to , we are still moving through our study on the book of Romans.
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 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. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
(Let’s Pray)
Here we get a glimpse into the heart of the Apostle Paul and the first thing He says here is that they have a zeal, they have a zeal for God but its not according to knowledge. Then He explains what he means in verse 3
For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
What does that mean?
The first thing he says is this Israel never lacked zeal, they were very passionate and zealous what does that word zeal mean?
PASSIONATE ABOUT GOD but they lacked knowledge, there are many people who have the same problem the Jews had, they are very passionate about the things of God but they do not have knowledge. Interesting, this can describe every new beliver who has ever lived. I remember when I was first saved and had begun following the Lord my pastor loved me, he used to tell everyone that boy thinks he can put hell out with a water pistol.
Thats how Israel was I mean they were more passionate about God than anyone, but it says they were ignorant of the righteousness of God, when Paul refers to God’s righteousness and says the people of israel were ignorant of it he is not talking about the righteousness that is Gods He is talking about the righteousness that God gives.
What they were ignorant of is the righteousness that God gives out. Did you know God gives righteousness to people? he declares people righteous, the Jews believed that we as Christians believe that, the difference is how or why does God give righteousness?
How does God bestow righteousness, well Paul actually dealt with this back in the 3rd chapter of Romans.
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
Romans 3:
God grants righteousness to all who believe that is the basis by which God gives righteousness, God gives a righteous standing to people who believe in Christ. now we say it like this is common sense well duh…
but to the Jews this was a huge issue bc for them that was just too easy, it was just too easy to be declared righteous according to how a person believes, Israel insisted on a righteousness they had to work for.
I mean it better be hard and it better take a great deal of effort or it probably is not gonna be real and all of those things the laws and the rules and the regiment of deeds they would perform were not neccesarry.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
So what does Paul mean when he says Christ is the end of the law?
Does he mean there is an end to the law from the standpoint that there is nothing left to be learned or grasped from the law?
No
The law is a reflection of the standard of Gods perfection and holiness what he is saying is that the law is finished for the believer in the sense that it is our faith in Christ which brings us into righteosuness not our behavior.
Your righteous standing is not based on your ability to keep the law. Thanks be to God for that!
Thats what Paul means when He says Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. Christ is the completion He completes the law for rightesouness to all who believe.
to the Jews this was massive and hard stuff they stumbled over it.
THe next 9 verses are going to repeat that rightesouness can only be obtained through genuine faith.
For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
Romans 10:5
Now when Paul says this he is quoting leviticus
You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 18:5
What is God saying?
He is saying that if you keep His laws that you will be declared righteous listen if you keep the law you will live. When Jesus was asked what is the most important parts of the law he said love the Lord you God with all your heart soul mind and strength and the second is liek it love your neighbor as yourself.
Do these and you will live.
If you can keep the law you will live, the problem is nobody can properly keep it. Thats the issue,and they understood this in the OT thats why God had them perform sacrifices for all the people who couldn’t keep the law perfectly.
That is also why God sent His Son to die on the cross for you and me, bc someone had to bear the curse of the broken law. There is a penalty that comes from the broken law and that penalty is death and thats why Jesus ha to come and redeem us from the curse.
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
Galatians 3:
There is a curse that goes along with breaking the law Jesus became that curse for you and me. Thats why Paul goes on to say about righteosuness by faith
But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down)
“or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
What Paul is saying is that righteousness based on faith is not about going into heaven to bring JEsus down, or going into the depths to bring Jesus up bc those things speak of having to work to make it happen, its not about having to work, what is it about?
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);
Righteousness by faith is not about effort and works and doing things and meeting standard and the effort that it takes to make your salvation happen, its not about that, its about believing. He says its as close as the word thats in your mouth. Its as close as your heart, I believe confessing..
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.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Romans
Thats what rightesouness by faith is all about its not about all these great lengths we have to go to, in order to reach a righteousness by the law, but there should be some evidence of our belief, and this is where many get into trouble, they point to this verse and they said well look I believe, now I dont have any desire to read Gods word I dont go to church I dont have love in my heart for others but bc I prayed a prayer and got dunked in some dirty bath water I believe I am saved.
Well James refutes that type of easy believism when He says faith apart from works is dead, Works are the evidenc that one is saved not the means by which we gain salvation.
We recieve the righteousness by trusting in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross
It is important that we cover it bc as I have said a million times Christians are strange we are the only people on the planet that recieve a free gift in salvation and then spend the rest of our lives trying to earn it.
Its like if we fail we are so guilt ridden that we are frozen and stay stuck in a rut when 1 John tells us if we confess those sins to Jesus He is faithful and just to forgives us those sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus is the author and originator of our faith and He is the one who keeps us from falling out of the Love of God.
Its easy for us to try to work for Gods approval, I dont know if you have ever heard this, you invite someone to come to church and they say “you know I do need to start coming to church but I need to kind of get my life in order and then I start coming to church.
that comment is the same error Israel had
Its basically as soon as get the effort squared away as soon as I do the work and get things taken care of then I’ll come to church. They are missing the point, the point is that church is a hospital for sick sinners like you and me, its like saying as soon as I get in shape Ill go to the gym.
?
But the essence of what they are saying is that there needs to be an effort on my part and that person who says that is probably someone who thinks that righteousness is something earned not given.
I gotta be good enough
#1 you’ll never be good enough so you’ll never come to church
YOU CANT BE GOOD ENOUGH, where God is going to look on your life and say boom you have arrived
but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 9:
Paul is quoting this OT passage which refers to the coming messiah, and what is JEsus depicted as for Israel?
A stumbling stone?
The MEssiah the one they thought they were looking forward to but they really missed Him when He came just as Isaiah said they would He is going to be a rock of offense and be offended by Him..
WHY?
What about Jesus is so offensive?
Jesus is offensive to our human pride bc He says you will never be good enough and you must trust in me and the righteousness I give bc you will never be rightesous apart from me.
With Israel it was all about effort it was all about what they could do and so they went after a righteousness based on works doing things keep the law, the Pharisees kept them in line let me tell you this is what you gotta do.
They even made rules up God didnt give were gonna make it harder
They would be like you gotta keep on the straight and narrow…
But what did Jesus say to those guys?
You guys heap heavy weights on other peoples backs that you yourselves arent willing to carry
and in the process you keep them from entering the kingdom of God.
When we begin to think that our acceptance with God is based on our effort we have stumbled over the same issue they stumbled over.
People believe their actions are keeping them from Gods love and forgiveness and that somehow they have got to do better o that God will lvoe and accept them. Listen God loved you when you were at your worst, when you were the farthest away from Him you couldve been, when you were enemies of the cross He loved you.
He is not waiting on us to get our lives in order so that He’ll love us
How is a person saved?
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. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:12
Call on the name of the Lord
(explain)
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?
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!”
Paul says preaching the good news is vital for people to hear and to believe faith come sby hearing, hearing the word of God
So many times we think preaching is old and outdated, actually it is the only Biblical way to share the good news the preach means to boldly proclaim, there are so many ways you can communicate but proclamation is the primary means by which people come to faith in Jesus.
For preachers to share the word they have to be sent out
there are so many churches that have 30 minutes of music and a 15 minute sermon, but if the proclaimed word of god is the primary means of communicating the gospel then what are we saying when there is a 15 minutes message and 30 minutes worth of music?
(you oughtta be able to say whatever you need to say in 20 minutes”)
The Bible says we should always be prepared in season and out of season to give a reason for the hope within us, we are to do the work of an evangelist.
How do I know if I have the gift of evangelism?
ITS YOUR PASSION
GOD CONSIDERS IT BEAUTIFUL
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
So we know for people to hear the gospel someone has got to preach and for somebody to preach they gotta be sent out.
WHO HAS BELIEVED WHAT HE HEARD?
This reminds us that you can hear without believeing
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
He is not just talking about hearing with ears he is talking about hearing with faith, he is talking about recieving. bc if everyone who heard got saved everyone would be saved.
For we also have received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith
When the Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God that is not some blanket promise that whoever hears will be saved
But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.”
Now stop there
This is from psalms and its talking about the voice of creation but Paul is borrowing the phrase and applying it to the proclamation of the gospel he says this voice of the gospel has gone out everywhere
But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,
“I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation;
with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”
He is explaining to them that way back in the time of Moses he said God was gonna take a nation who did not know God and use it to make Israle jealous bc they should have recognized God and they should be in the center of His blessing but they are not bc they stumbled over the stumbling stone.
They have made me jealous with what is no god;
they have provoked me to anger with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Paul says way back during the time of Moses God told Israel that he was gonna make them jealous by giving His blessings on nations who never sought after Him. When we say nations were talking about a people we are those people.
We are the ones who have found God even though we werent looking for Him and we are called by God even though we were never the people of God
Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
“I have been found by those who did not seek me;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”
But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
Now remember when Paul says the gentiles have been brought to faith to make Israel jealous he is talking from Israels perspective you and me dont look at it this way.
God uses a people who were not his to show the JEws they missed out and when they see Gentiles claiming the promises of God meant for them they are like wait a minute this is supposed ot be for us
Whats the lesson?
Dont become like Israel dont become so focused on your obedience that you miss the grace of God.....
Dont become so focused on the works for God that you miss walking with God
God accepts you and I based on His faithfulness and His grace not based on our exertion and effort and its a good thing