Sermon Tone Analysis
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INTRODUCTION:
*OPEN YOUR BIBLES TO ROMANS 10
Winston Churchill has been quoted as saying:
“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing-after all other possibilities have been exhausted.”
The quote is meant to draw a chuckle
While some of us might take a little bit of offense to that, Churchill’s mother was a New Yorker, so he had first-hand experience not related to a war
While it was aimed at Americans, I think it can be spoken to us as human beings
Why is it, as human beings, we are always trying to take the easy way out
Kids try and spend hours trying to avoid cleaning their rooms by shoving in closets and procrastinating
Students of all ages try to cram just enough short-term facts to get a good grade rather than mastering the material
Adults use 1000 lbs of duct tape to half-way fix something that needs to be replaced
I mean, “if duct tape won’t fix it, clearly you’re not using enough duct tape”
Growing up, my grandpa used to say that you can do things the right way or the hard way
You can do it the way it is supposed to be done, and find the results you are looking for
OR, you can try it your way as long as you’d like and still end up having to do it the right way in the end (or suffer the consequences)
TRANSITION:
Last week, our journey through Romans led us through a difficult section of Scripture
We learned that God is more concerned with Justice than fairness
We wrestled with the truth that God already knows who will be saved, and yet He gives us free will to choose
We looked long and hard at the reality that God is glorified, both in those that suffer His wrath and in those that are saved from their sins
And we acknowledged that the grace we find in Jesus Christ causes some to stumble but is salvation to those that He has called
His salvation is available to everyone, but not everyone will receive it
God has planned both for those that will and those that will not
These things are at the heart of the text as we pick back up this morning in Romans 10:1
PRAY, Invite the church to sit
*LISTENING GUIDES OUT
There are two roads to righteousness, and only two.
There are only two roads by which a man can pursue righteousness,
but only one of them leads us to salvation from our sins
Let’s look at them one at a time: verse 1
If you’ve got your listening guide this morning, the first road to righteousness is this
I can live by the Law and try to earn my own righteousness
Sometimes, we like to look at the Jews in Scripture as though they are a people we can’t relate to
They lived under the law of God
They are God’s covenant people
And they often live between leaning on their heritage for salvation or clinging to a checklist of the law
If I just do x, y, and z, I’ll be saved
But, if we’re honest, this is very close to where many live today, isn’t it?
I was born and raised in the church
My grandma was a Christian, my parents were Christians, and so I’m a Christian
If I go to church, and read my Bible, and pray for my food, I’m going to heaven
Isn’t this the whole “good people go to heaven” kind of thinking?
Yes, there are some today that are just like the Jews that Paul is writing about.
Paul desperately desired for them to be saved, and he knew the trap that they fell in by first hand experience.
And what he says here should shake us up, because what he says is your zeal is not enough!
Screaming I love Jesus isn’t enough
Singing all your favorite church songs, old or new, is not enough
doing works of service is not enough
Giving to God of your money until you are left in need is not enough
Coming to church on Sunday is not enough
Getting excited in your prayer times is not enough
Telling others about Jesus is not enough
And you may be thinking, pastor, if that’s not enough, what is?
AND THE ANSWER IS NOTHING!
All of these things are good.
All of these things are EVERY Christian should be doing
THE question isn’t what you should be doing, I think we all know we should do these things
the question is why are you doing them?
Are you doing these things to earn salvation, or because He has saved you?
You can live these things, and by man’s standards you’d be a righteous man
But none of these things can save you.
All of them should be present in the lives of the saved, but none of these things save you
You see, these things can’t save you from your sins
Working for your own righteousness leaves you in the driver’s seat
It is an arrogant-kind-of righteousness.
A “God come look at me” moment
and in verses 5, what we see is that...
the man who tries to earn righteousness only has the righteousness that he is able to attain…and yet he still sins!
You can pursue your own righteousness, but it will never reach the standard of God’s righteousness
Despite your zeal and your best efforts, you will find that your way still falls short
But verse 4 tells us that Jesus is the end of the law for the believer.
That word, end, is true in two ways
First, Jesus meets the end, or the goal of the law.
He fulfills it perfectly, so that through Him we find the law is satisfied by faith
But also, Christ accomplishes righteousness for us, which is what the law intends to do
So, the function of the law ends in Jesus Christ
He didn’t destroy the law, He realized it.
Let’s continue, verse 6
I can pursue my own righteousness, or, if you have your listening guide handy,
I can live by faith and find my righteousness in Christ
The one who lives by faith still does these things-but he does them out of love for Christ
The true Christian knows in their heart of hearts that...
He doesn’t need to scour the heavens in search of God’s righteousness
She doesn’t need to search the scourges of hell to find it
For Jesus, the Word-made-flesh is always near, ready to indwell the heart of those that believe
Jesus enters the heart that believes and is seeking Him.
He pours from the lips of the redeemed
Jesus, the Gospel of salvation, meets you where you are and transforms you into His image
I love verses 9 and 10, because they show the true heart of God in salvation
normally, we like to quote verse 9, but when we separate it from verse 10, we use it like a formula
some even turn into the very thing Paul is speaking against
“SEE!-All
I have to do is say a prayer, confessing Jesus as my Savior and Lord”
But what verse 10 shows us is the context of that prayer is belief
Salvation is not born in you from words that you say, but from heart-felt belief
When you believe in your heart that Jesus is the crucified and risen Son of God, you will, in faith, stake your life on that belief!
What is the first fruit of belief?
It says it right here-confession!
Telling others!!
This is why we can say with confidence that every believer must share their faith-it is the fruit of Christ to tell others
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