Sunday Morning Service

Romans 10 (Click scripture reference for audio access)

"Election To The End!"  •  5.27.12  •  Sunday Morning Service, Calvary Christian Fellowship

Intro.

- In Romans 9, Paul the Apostle has firmly established the case for God's sovereignty.

- He is God alone, who is able to do what He wants, showing mercy to those that He wills to show mercy to and hardening those that He wills to harden!

- For many in the church, as well as in the body of Christ at large, this consideration leaves us in an incredible place of tension. Is everything predetermined?

- For those who have wondered yet returned, you will thank God for inspiring Romans 10!

- Chapter 9 gave us the case for sovereign election. Chapter 10 gives us the case for human responsibility! This is God's commentary on the human side of the salvation equation.

- I would have you take note of the three divisions that present themselves in this chapter.

I. Obstacle Explained (v.1-8)

II. Opportunity Examined (v.9-13)

III. Objections Erased (v.14-21)

Text

I. Obstacle Explained (v.1-8)

• Romans 10:1 : "Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved." : The Apostle is writing to a group of Christians that were predominantly Gentile, but that he called "brethren."

- We speak this way but have lost the impact of those words. You and I are brothers and sisters in Christ. God has made us so by the blood of Jesus!

- Paul had grown up in a certain type of home, with certain customs and rituals. Yet, the one thing that he held precious, his people on the whole, did not share with him!

- Paul loved and was loyal to the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, a fixation that was frowned upon by the nation of Israel! That is part of the devastation that plagues Paul.

- This is the passion that drove him. But it's the family of God that consoled him!

- What he had lost in this world on the natural level, was given to him in abundance on the spiritual level!

- What family he lost due to their rejection of the gospel, he gained in those who received it! Listen folks, this is why our fellowship, our times together, are so vital. We need each other!

- There are not many natural families that have the privilege of being spiritual families as well. This is why we need one another.

- Paul is calling out to his brothers in Christ and expressing his deep desire for Israel's salvation, something that they would be able to share with him.

- You might literally say that Paul is saying that nothing would please his heart more and nothing entered his prayers more often, than this subject.

- Notice the order of Paul's words here. His heart's desire. His wish. His hope was for the salvation of the nation of Israel. That is great to desire, but it's greater to pray!

- You can be passionate about souls all day, but you will see very little accomplished until you pray! Passion gets you to the door that only prayer can bring you through!

- This does not mean that your prayers will bring results that you desire. Paul's prayers, at least according to his desired results, were largely ineffective in his time and through his efforts.

- But look at us today. Think of how many Jewish men and women have read the book of Romans and given themselves to Christ! Paul's prayer and ours transcends time and place!

- By the way, please note that sovereignty, election and the present state of Israel had not doused the flame of Paul's desire for Israel to receive salvation, nor did it effect his prayer life.

• Romans 10:2-4 : "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." : "For I bear them witness." I can speak for them. I can affirm the truth of what I am about to say, for I have experienced it.

- The people of Israel were zealous for God. They are excited, fervent for their God and that emotional zeal is renewed constantly, but is divorced from knowledge.

- Paul calls them "ignorant" of God's righteousness. They did not currently comprehend how it was that God declared one righteous which is why they sought to establish their own righteousness.

- They propped up their own idea of what God wanted and sought to have Him respect that! In doing that, they refused to put themselves under the righteousness of God.

- Sadly, many today attempt to do the same thing. Your friends and family members are all deciding for themselves what God wants and seek to prop that up before Him.

- We know that God demands righteousness, but our problem is that we would settle for a greatly diminished version of it! God demands no less than perfection or Christ!

- The Lord's words to His hillside congregation carry the shockwave to this day: "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of God!" (Matthew 5:20)

- How were they ignorant? They sought to fulfill the law that was meant to disappoint them in themselves and point them to Christ!

- Christ is the end of that righteousness. The word "end" here speaks of coming to the goal for the law. The law is a bridge and it leads a person directly to Christ!

- The purpose of God's law is meant to drive you to Jesus Christ and everyone who believes receives this!

- Yet, the sad part is that Israel or any person apart from Christ will continue to construct their miserable little systems and keep it for their lives, only to find that it's built on a faulty foundation!

- Imagine standing in judgment before God attempting to prop up what you thought was brilliant, until you got there.

- When you see Jesus exalted and lifted high in heaven, you'll see the tragedy of not submitting, ordering yourself under God's demand for righteousness.

• Romans 10:5-8 : "For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, 'The man who does those things shall live by them.' But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, 'Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith which we preach):"  Paul quotes here from Leviticus 18:5. God had given Israel the law to make a distinction between them and the Canaanites. The law was binding and called for absolute obedience.

- That was the consistent burden of the Jewish nation. The righteousness of faith was a different story. Paul quotes from Moses' final sermon contained in Deuteronomy 30:11-14.

- Moses was speaking to Israel about their covenant promises that they were bound to keep as a nation. To keep the covenant was life, to disobey it was to invite death.

- If they disobeyed and were cast off into distant lands, then what were they to do? How were they to be saved and restored? Would they have to go to heaven? Would Christ need to rise?

  - Salvation does not require anyone to travel anywhere! Salvation is as near as our next word!

- They were to call upon the Lord for salvation from wherever they were and God would respond! This is what the Apostle preached!

- Calling upon God, believing in Christ, was what would open the door to salvation! This is the word of faith. It's a declaration of one's mind that is put into words. Paul explains in the verse 9.

II. Opportunity Examined (v.9-13)

• Romans 10:9-11 : "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.'" : Here is the original and properly biblical "word of faith!" Paul begins with confession which means to agree, or quite literally, to say the same thing.

- We are to confess openly, with our mouth, that Jesus is Lord. We are to agree with God about the person of Jesus. Is He the Lord of your life? Then you agree with God about Jesus!

- He is not a great example. He is not a wonderful prophet. He is the unique, eternal Son of God who is the Lord, Master, ruler of His people's lives!

- We are to confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead. In other words, you cannot simply string a few words together.

- To believe with the heart means that the center of your being is motivated by this. Your heart informs you daily of this truth that governs your soul.

- You have not just believed in a dead teacher who lived a 2,000 years before you and therefore isn't dynamic. You are believing in a person who is alive today!

- It's really no wonder that a person who confesses a pithy grouping of words lacks any real conviction spiritually. They don't really believe that Christ is alive today!

- He is some far off religious being with little relevance to their lives, save that He is their insurance policy by virtue of their intellectual assent! Wrong!

- God calls you to confess Christ with your mouth. Testify of His reality, having believed in your heart that He is alive and speaking to you dynamically today!

- What happens when that happens? You will be saved! It's a sure promise!

- In that moment of belief, you will be justified. As the next moments progress, God by His Holy Spirit, will begin to change or sanctify you. This will inevitably lead to you to being glorified!

- Your heart is where it started. The center of your being. The place you follow. You believed and then your mouth made confession!

- Whoever makes that confession believes and will not be put to shame! No matter how ashamed the world may make you feel today, your faith will be vindicated.

• Romans 10:12,13 : "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For 'whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'" : This is the protocol for all people who would be saved. There is not one God for the Jew and then another God for the Greek.

- There is only one God that offers salvation and He is rich to all who call upon Him! He is never without resource! It will never happen that one calls upon Him and He just runs out.

- He is ever ready to save, for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved! Do you hear that? Have you called upon the Lord? Do you know His salvation?

- Have you experienced His salvation? You know and have confidence that you have when you hunger for righteousness, you desire spiritual food and you love God's people!

- Paul again quotes from Isaiah 28:16, which is a promise of God to those who call on His name! They will experience His life!

III. Objections Erased (v.14-21)

• Romans 10:14,15 : "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!'" : This first objection stems from whether or not the Jews have heard the gospel.

- The following is both an objection and a mission statement. In order to call on Him, one needs first to believe. In order to believe, they need to hear.

- In order to hear, they need one who heralds the news. In order to have a preacher, one needs to be sent!

- The objector says, "Look at how difficult this salvation is! Look at how much work this is!" Paul says, "Your argument defines my existence!"

- "Because they need to hear, I need to preach. Because I need to preach, God has sent me!" Imagine Paul thinking about this as he went on his three missionary journeys!

- Someone needs to believe, so I need to preach! Folks, understand something here about your unbelieving friends: They will not come to an understanding of faith in a magical way as a rule.

- Sure there are some who will have some sort of experience, but God has ordained that preaching is the means by which a person is saved.

- They are informed and then called by people who herald the news! Paul is correcting an error in the objector and I pray inspiring you for service at the same time!

- Because there are lost and dying sinners in the world, there much be saved and sanctified workers who long to see these verses fulfilled in their lives!

- The elect ones that God is calling to believe, will not be passively won by divine intervention. God calls for human intervention!

- Paul quotes here from Isaiah 52:7. The context is the end of the Assyrian captivity, that has been especially brutal.

- God speaks of bringing them back into the land and out from under the oppressive rule of the Assyrians. Then comes the quote, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel!"

- It's not that feet are beautiful. It's that the news is that wonderful! If it was a beautiful and wonderful thing to call people out from captivity, how much more to call people out from sin!

- Paul is saying that the Jews have no way to claim that God never sent anyone to them! Isaiah had spoken of messengers who had indeed been sent to speak the good news to them!
• Romans 10:16-18 : " But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed our report?' So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: 'Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.'" : But they have not obeyed Paul! They heard the gospel, but they did not obey it. What do you say about that? This was also predicted in Isaiah 53:1.

- This is the opening line to one of the greatest Messianic prophecies in scripture!

- The people of Israel had not believed when Isaiah preached. This was not anything new. But the process is still vital. Faith in Christ still comes by hearing!

- An unregenerate person may hear the gospel a dozen times before he hears what God intends him to hear. When someone preaches the word, the possibility of faith growing grows as well.

- The objector retorts again that they, being Israel have not heard! But God has been announcing this, even from the creation!

- Paul quotes Psalm 19:4 which is a verse that speaks of the voice of creation broadcasting in a way that is easily understood by every tribe and tongue of the earth.

- For theologians, this concept is called "Natural Revelation." But the message of the gospel is "Special Revelation."

- Natural revelation tells us that God exists and that He is powerful. Special revelation tells us that He loves humanity and has redeemed His people from their sin.

- I believe that Paul is saying that the new missionary effort of God's people combined with the natural revelation found in creation broadcasts an even stronger signal throughout the earth!

• Romans 10:19-21 : "But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: 'I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.' But Isaiah is very bold and says: 'I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.' But to Israel he says: 'All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.'" : Maybe Israel was unable to understand the message of Christ. What if they just didn't get it?

- Here's the problem: Moses wrote of God bringing a foolish nation into relationship with the Lord in Deuteronomy 32:21.  Israel had worshipped idols and provoked Him.

- Now, He would give them a taste of their own medicine! He would court a new nation? Who is that nation? The Gentiles who believed! Then Isaiah says, "These guys found me!"

- Isaiah 65:1,2 covers these final verses. God was found by those who did not know He was even there! Most of us who are honest, recognize that this is the truth.

- Before we heard of Christ, God was revealing Himself to us and we responded! We stumbled upon a treasure that we didn't even know was there!

- We who have believed in Him have Him. To Israel, God's hands still remain outstretched to a people who are disobedient and contrary!

- The point is that if the Gentiles could find the Lord, then Israel has no excuse! The problem isn't apprehension, understanding or intelligence. The problem is obstinance!

Conclusion

- The obstacle to any person's salvation is not rooted in God's predestination. It's rooted in human pride! They sought to establish their own brand of righteousness and many follow suit today.

- In God's grace, the opportunity is great. It begins wherever you apprehend this truth, right where you are, for all whose hearts believe in Christ, and whose mouths confess that reality.

- The objections are noted, but there can be no claim of ignorance on the day of Judgment!

- All that's really left is you. What will you say of Christ? Who do you say that He is? The answer to that question is your answer for eternity!