Rom 10-Asking the Wrong Questions

| Asking the Wrong Questions! Romans 10:5-13

September 30, 2007 (NIV) 5Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.” 6But 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). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” PRAY Scripture Memory:If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. – Romans 10:9 (NIV)Intro:How many of you would consider yourself to be righteous? How many of you would expect those who know you to think of you as a righteous person?My kids’ friends have referred to them as people of faith… Two types of righteousness:“The Righteousness that is by the law”“The Righteousness that is by faith” 1. “The Righteousness that is by the law”ü  The Righteousness that is by the law says that righteousness is determined by what we do (and do not do).v. 5 – The righteousness that is by the law says: “The man who does these things will live by them.”The context:Lev. 18:5 (NIV) – Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord. In Leviticus Moses is pointing out a truth that God’s way is the best way to live. Loving God, keeping the Sabbath, honoring our parents, being truthful, being faithful in our marriages, not stealing or coveting, etc. results in a much better life than the other way around.This is true for individuals and for societies.However, life is far more than mere morality.“If you think you are going to be saved by the law, it is by keeping the law that you must try to be saved.”Gal. 5:2 (NIV) If you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  – If you try to add works to faith as a way of salvation, Christ and His work are of no value to you. ü  The Righteousness that is by the law says I can do it. I can achieve salvation.vv. 6-9 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). In other words we could say that the righteousness that is by the law also says: ‘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).What this means is that that the righteousness that is by the law has the perspective:I can ascend into heavenAnd that means one of two things:Bringing Christ down to a manageable level orBelieving that I can get to heaven by myself(Note: I will explain the second half [descending into the deep] of this shortly) Ø  I can ascend into heaven: ·   I can be good enough to be acceptable to God. My sincerity is what saves me. My church attendance or my giving is what God will measure at the judgement…·   We often casually reject the gospel at funerals… “He/she was such a good person…” Ø  Bringing Christ down to a manageable level: ·   “I’m only human.” “Nobody’s perfect!” – We tend do this when we feel overwhelmed with our sense of sin or with God’s extremely high standards.·   “God understands that I am trying. What more would He want?” ü  The righteousness that is by the law appeals to our human nature. We naturally tend towards this perspective in our half-hearted attempts at obedience.We do this by comparing ourselves to others around us, both favorably & unfavorably…Ø  Favorably – in the eyes of others: We live up to a sufficient level of spirituality that those around us see us as true Christians.Rev. 3:1-3 (NLT) – “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. Now wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is at the point of death. Your deeds are far from right in the sight of God. Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly and turn to me again.We can convince other people that we are spiritually alive, but God sees our hearts. If we are measuring our spiritual vitality by some sense of measuring up favorably to others…Ø  Favorably – in our own eyes: We live up to a sufficient level of spirituality that when we compare ourselves to others we can feel good about ourselves. We do this, also, when we use others’ choices as justification for our own disobedience…Ø  Unfavorably (in our own eyes): We doubt our salvation because we aren’t good enough, as though God’s love for us was based on some goodness in ourselves.Ø  Unfavorably (in God’s eyes): We don’t believe that God really loves us – usually because of some difficult and painful experience… 2. “The Righteousness that is by faith”vv. 6-9 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). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ü  The Righteousness that is by faith believes God. |   | It says: God said it. I believe it. That settles it.The context:Deut. 30:11-20 (NIV) - 11Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.  12It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  13Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  14No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  16For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,  18I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.“The point is that Israel had the law and the law was all they needed. They were not to seek out additional revelation but rather were to occupy themselves with obeying what they had already been given.” (Boice)v. 14 – The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. ü  Righteousness which is by Faith accepts what God has given without demanding something more.So it is with us as Paul applies this concept to salvation:Simply stated, we do not have to go to Heaven or into the world of the dead to find Christ. He is near us. Nor does salvation belong to the elite who have taken mystical journeys to Heaven or Hell. For those who knew something of the Scriptures (as the Jews knew the Law) the saving word was on their lips and heart. That is, the gospel of Christ—the word of faith—was (and is) available, accessible, and simple. Hughes, R. K. There is no need to go up into Heaven to bring Him down. There is no need to go down into the place of the dead to bring Him back. All that is needed is to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.There is no need to look for the miraculous (i.e. going up to Heaven or descending into the depths of Hell) in order to be saved. It is not a miracle worker that we need, but rather the Word of God. Mat. 12:38-42 (NLT) – 38One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove that you are from God.”39But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, faithless generation would ask for a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Son of Man, will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41The people of Nineveh will rise up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now someone greater than Jonah is here—and you refuse to repent. 42The queen of Sheba will also rise up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, because she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now someone greater than Solomon is here—and you refuse to listen to him.We tend to put conditions on our faith, as though God somehow NEEDED us!!! – Like the child who threatens to run away or tries to hold his/her breathLuke 16:19-31 (Lazarus and the rich man)Luke 16:31 (NLT) – ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’ü  Righteousness which is by Faith does not ask for miracles as a condition for faith.Christianity discourages a craving for the miraculousTo ask for miracles, as a condition for faith, is to ask with wrong motives. ü  Righteousness which is by Faith is a matter of the will rather than of having all the answers.The man who would not pray: “God if you are real, make it clear to me.”Christianity discourages a passion for the speculativeTo ask for answers to spiritual questions which the Bible does not address can lead to division and error.ü  Righteousness which is by Faith comes by grace alone.We would rather “ascend into heaven” or “descend into the deep” to get salvation than go by way of the path of grace.However, the gospel is designed to confuse or confound the wise and to shame the strong… ü  Righteousness which is by Faith comes from God’s Word. The righteousness that is by faith says: vv. 8-9 – “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.Ø   The Word is nearIn Nature…In Providence…In our hearts…“The atmosphere is thick with the thoughts of the Eternal. But God’s words are carried by a still, small voice, and our souls are not hushed so as to catch the message.”Ø   It is a Word of faithFaith “conquers the world, the flesh and the devil—triumphs over death, and opens the gates of paradise.”“Its greatness is not inherent, but derived.”The defining characteristic of faith is its object, not its amount.Faith is bound up in love and obedience – It involves the head and the heart, our thoughts and our willSaving faith is FAR more than mere intellectual assent. Summary / Review:There are two types of righteousness, that which is “by the law” and that which is “by faith.”We have a natural propensity to gravitate towards that which is “by the law.”While God’s law gives us very wise principles which, when followed, do work in our favor, they do NOT make us any more or less acceptable to God. They do NOT make Him love us any more or any less.We can not earn God’s blessings by going to church, by giving, by doing good things, etc. We cannot “balance the scales” so-to-speak, by doing more good things. A person can be a very good person, in comparison with those around him, and yet still be headed to a Christ-less eternity, otherwise know as Hell.And yet, at the same time, we must lower God’s standards in order to feel okay about ourselves. We must acknowledge our sin and our desperate need for God’s grace on an ongoing, moment-by-moment basis.We must beware the temptation to measure our spirituality against those around us, either to earn their approval or to feel good about ourselves.We must believe God’s love for us because of the cross, rather than because of ANY sense of lovableness in our selves.We must believe God. His Word MUST be our source of truth. We must not demand miracles or anything else beyond what He chooses to give us…This is matter of choice. It is matter of focus. It is a matter of taking God at His Word. It is a matter of grace. A Truth to Remember:  Righteousness, along with God’s unconditional love, are gifts of grace which can only be received by faith A Challenge to Consider: Are you living in the confidence of faith, based upon God’s love for you in Christ? One thing I heard this morning was… |