[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Alright, take your Bible if you would and open it with me to Romans chapter 10.
[0:10] Romans chapter 10. I'm excited to be in the house of God with you today. Excited to have the opportunity to open the Word of God and to study what the Word of God has to say. And I want to tell you this morning that whosoever will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
[0:24] That's what the theme is of Romans chapter 10. Then whosoever will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans chapter 10. And we're going to read that chapter if you would with me.
[0:35] Romans chapter 10. We'll read the whole chapter. So get your Bible ready. You can follow along on the screen. But it would be good if you marked your Bible, underlined some things that might be interesting.
[0:46] As you come back through here, you'll know what you read and what you understood. Romans chapter 10, verse 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.
[0:58] For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
[1:13] For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. For Moses describes the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
[1:26] But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above, or who shall descend into the deep, that is to bring Christ up again from the dead.
[1:41] But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[1:59] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
[2:12] But there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich upon all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
[2:23] How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? 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 except they be sent?
[2:34] As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good news. But they have not all obeyed the gospel.
[2:45] For Isaiah, Esaias, saith, Lord, who hath believed, I report. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard?
[2:57] Yes, Verily, Truly their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses said, I will provoke you to jealousy, by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation, I will anger you.
[3:14] But Isaiah, or Isaiah, Isaiah, is very bold and says, I was found of them that sought me not. I was made manifest of them that asked not after me. But to Israel, He said, All day long, I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and a gainsaying people.
[3:33] Father, I pray today that you would help us to understand that Israel lost the blessings because they refused your word. They rejected you.
[3:44] And dear God, there are people in this room this morning that would not be saved because they are so hung up on their own goodness. And they will reject you. And they too will suffer eternal consequences.
[3:55] I pray, God, that you would make your word come alive. I pray you'd touch hearts. I pray you'd draw us close to you. And I will give you praise for all that you do. In Jesus' precious name.
[4:06] Amen. We're going to work our way through Romans chapter 10. We're going to get as far as we can. We may finish it all. I hope to finish it all. But I want you to go with me if you would. And I want you to look at some different things.
[4:17] Now, the point of the chapter is that Israel has rejected the Messiah. They have rejected Jesus. No doubt God's chosen to save Gentiles.
[4:27] That's what most of us are. And to begin the work of the church. But Israel has rejected God. And they have rejected God's plan. We see a strong emphasis in chapter 10 on human responsibility.
[4:43] In chapter 9, you saw where God was choosing who he would use. In chapter 10, he says, but you will make a choice. You will make a choice. If anyone should have been ready to receive the Messiah, it ought to have been Israel.
[4:56] They had all the prophecies. They had all the promises. The law had been given to them. And the very purpose of the law was to bring them to Jesus Christ. Look, if you would, at Galatians chapter 3 and verse 24.
[5:09] Just make a note of that in the margin of your Bible in Romans chapter 10, verse 1. Look at Galatians 3, 24. Wherefore, wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
[5:24] Now, I want you to look at that verse for me just a second. And I want you to consider what's going on. Are you ready? Look at this. All those 39 books of the Old Testament, all the listing of the Ten Commandments, all the listing of all the rules, and dozens of do's and don'ts in the Old Testament, had one purpose.
[5:42] And that purpose was to say to you, you can't. It was to holler at you, you have failed. And the purpose was, it was to be a schoolmaster and bring us to Jesus.
[5:54] The idea was that as I read the Old Testament, as I tried to obey the Ten Commandments, as I tried to please God, I'd find out I can't please God. I'd find out it's above me.
[6:05] It's beyond me. It's not in me. I'm not good enough. And when I would give up on being good enough and being strong enough, then I would reach out and trust Jesus who could save me.
[6:17] I've told this story, but I've been here long enough now you've heard every story I've ever had. But I was a little boy, about 11 or 12 years old. And I'm from the country. I'd swim in creeks all my life. And you know, you could jump in a creek and just about float across the other side of it in little swimming holes.
[6:32] And I went to the big swimming pool. They had an Olympic-sized swimming pool at this camp. And they said, you can't swim in the deep end unless you can swim all the way across. Well, no problem for me.
[6:43] I took a running jump, dived off of it, and floated basically underwater. All the way to the other side, came up on the other side, said, yes, I can swim. And they let me have the deep end. That was a big mistake.
[6:54] A few days later, I was swimming, and I had gotten as far as I could get. And my legs may be short, but man, they are heavy. And I was getting close to the edge and I could not get to the edge.
[7:05] And I got about this far away from the edge of the pool and I was swimming and I gave up. And I had started dog paddling and I was about to go under and I was scared to death.
[7:15] And people came coming by and they said, hey, buddy, you alright? And I said, sure. I'm fine. Because I don't admit weakness. Amen? Kind of like you. I kind of looked up and said, I am okay.
[7:27] And a few more came by and everybody kept asking me. I mean, it's pretty obvious. You know, when you're going and people are starting to get the idea you may be in trouble. And finally, one guy looked down and he said, buddy, you need a hand?
[7:39] I said, yeah, I'll take a hand. And he just pulled me out. I laid on the side of the swimming pool the rest of the day soaking in the sun and thinking, I ain't never getting water again. Amen?
[7:49] Well, here's what's going on in the chapter. Romans, Galatians 3.24. That is, you ought to figure out you can't make it to the shore. You ought to figure out you can't get to land. You ought to figure out you can't make it to heaven.
[8:02] You ought to figure out you can't get holy enough. And when you get that far, you say, I give. And I trust Jesus. But that's not what the Jews did. The Bible says in John 1.11, He came unto His own and His own received Him not.
[8:17] He came to the Jewish nation He came to them that had 39 books that talked about His coming and they rejected Him. Now, not everybody, but as a corporate whole, as a nation, they rejected Him.
[8:29] There was a guy named Simeon and Anna. You know the story. They were waiting at the temple, a real old man, a real old woman. They couldn't wait. They brought Jesus in and they held Him up in the air and praised the Lord for Him and blessed Him.
[8:40] And they've been waiting to see the salvation of God. But many people in Israel are going to get saved and start the new church. But as a whole, the nation rejects the gospel, rejects Jesus. And these verses are going to show you why.
[8:53] Look, if you would, in Romans chapter 10 and start in verse 1 with me, if you would. Romans chapter 10 and verse 1. No matter how bad Paul wants Israel to get saved, they won't get saved.
[9:05] Verse 1 says, My brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. In chapter 9, he told us, they're my people and I love them and I want them to go to heaven and I'm under a great heaviness and a continual sorrow and I could even wish myself a curse.
[9:21] I want them to go to heaven when they die. I want them to know Jesus. I want them to be used of God. Romans chapter 9 and verse 1 and 2. Verse 2, you'll find the great heaviness and the continual sorrow.
[9:33] Now I want you to notice some things and maybe you could write them down. The reason they wouldn't get saved the reason they wouldn't get saved. Chapter 10, verse 2.
[9:45] For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge. Would you put a circle around the word zeal? Would you put a circle around the word zeal?
[9:57] They were zealous. They were excited. They were motivated. They showed all kinds of external efforts to be in love with God.
[10:07] and they had this great zeal. They had learned how to pray and give and obey the law. They learned how to be good and moral people. They knew how to keep the Ten Commandments and much more.
[10:20] They did love God but they didn't understand Bible truth. They think that they are saved and have no need of salvation because of their goodness. They really believed that it was their birth and their behavior that God was interested in.
[10:33] They look at their heritage and they're sure that everything is okay. Now I just want you to understand something. Listen to me. No matter how excited you are about God, no matter how excited you are about God things, no matter how excited you are about your religion, that won't be enough.
[10:51] I've had the privilege of traveling. I have been in South America, actually in Querétaro, Mexico, and I watched the procession of silence. You have never seen anything like it.
[11:03] I'm telling you, tens of thousands of people on the streets in a city of a million or a little over a million, they were carrying big images that weighed hundreds of pounds.
[11:14] They had chains tied around their feet and as they walked barefooted down the street, all you could hear was the dragging of the chain and the clinking. You could look at the ball come and hit their leg.
[11:25] They were bleeding. They were leaving bloody footprints. Ladies were carrying candles. And the candles had come down and burned their hands, but it didn't matter. They were carrying a load.
[11:36] They were carrying a burden. They were excited, excited about. They were zealous for religion. I have been in North Africa and I have watched the call to prayer.
[11:48] I have watched the call to prayer. I have heard the call to prayer ring out during the middle of the night while I'm asleep. I have been up during the daytime. I have seen hundreds of people get on their faces.
[11:58] I have been driving down the road in different parts of Africa and they are zealous. They pray five times a day. Right now, they are fasting. From the time the sun comes up until the time the sun goes down, they won't eat anything to please their God.
[12:13] They won't throw bread away because that would be an insult to God who gives them their daily bread. They are zealous. They have a zeal for God.
[12:23] They have a zeal for God and excitement for God. But, you know, you've come here and if I were to ask you, you'd say, I don't miss church. I read my Bible. I'm a giver. I love God.
[12:33] I'm trying my best to please God. I'm working as hard as I can. Well, that was Israel's problem. That was Israel's problem. They were zealous. They were excited. They were motivated.
[12:45] They were hardworking. If you have an ink pen and you've got your Bible open, put a circle around the word for. It says, for, I bear them record. Boy, I'll admit it. No one can deny it.
[12:55] These guys love their religion. These guys love God. These guys are really doing some good stuff. Verse 3.
[13:06] Put a circle around the next word for in the verse. Romans chapter 10 and verse 3. For, they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
[13:22] I want you to underline the word ignorant. They were ignorant. That's a really hard word. In Peru, where I lived for 18 years, to call someone ignorant was a very strong insult.
[13:37] If you look at somebody and say that they were ignorant was an extremely strong insult. And every time, every time I would read it in the Bible, I'd have to explain to them, let me explain what ignorant means. Because they took it as a racially charged term.
[13:50] It was because there were lots of people that lived in the mountains and they were Indians and they didn't speak Spanish as their first language and they were poor and often when they first came to the city, they'd hardly ever even seen a car type deal and they were down in the city and so people would make fun of them and call them ignorant Indians, which was an extremely offensive thing.
[14:11] But Paul says, do you know there are some really strong people and they got a whole Old Testament, 39 books, they know the Bible, they know the Ten Commandments, but they are ignorant of something.
[14:22] There's something they don't know. That's all it means. Now, you could be ignorant on purpose. Some of us are reading it like this. Somebody starts to say something, you go, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, I'm not listening. Na, na, na, na, na.
[14:33] When you quit talking, I'll listen. That's an on-purpose ignorance. There's some people that say, I'm not looking at that. I'm not looking. I don't even want to hear it. Don't tell me about it. I don't want to know about it. They're on-purpose ignorant.
[14:44] But Paul said these Jewish people were ignorant of God's righteousness. But even stronger than that, look at what he said. He said they go about trying to establish their own righteousness.
[14:57] So these people spent their time doing this. Hey, check me out. Watch this. I'm going to give some money to this poor person. Boom. Hey, good point.
[15:08] Mark it down. Point, point, point for me. Point for me. Hey, my wife just smart talked me. I ought to punch her, but I'm going to be nice. Talk any way you want to, baby.
[15:19] Point, point. Right down my point, point. Got my point there. Hey, hey, my kid's a brat. I ought to choke his little head. I won't. Point, point, point. I wouldn't lie, but no, point, point.
[15:30] You keep it up. Y'all got the records going up there. They went about trying everything in their power to get there. You've heard about it. You grew up with it. The idea that your good must outweigh your bad, and up in heaven, God's like putting all the good, and so here's what you're doing.
[15:44] You're like, I cheated on that test. Uh-oh. Better go do three or four nice things. I better walk an old lady across the street like a good boy scout so I can give you another point. Amen? So they went about trying to establish their own righteousness.
[15:57] They went about trying to say, am I a good husband? I am. Am I a good neighbor? I am. Do I treat people right? I am. Do I have a good attitude? I do. I want to establish my own righteousness.
[16:07] I want people to know. I want my neighbor to know. I'm telling you, I'll take care of my neighbor. I'll be a good guy. I establish the fact. Check me out, boys. Compare to me and my neighbors. I am a very good guy.
[16:19] Now read the verse for me. Read what the verse says. It says, going about to establish their own righteousness, but here comes the real problem. Check out what the verse said. They have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
[16:32] Now that's a problem. They're not as worried about how right God is as they are about how right they are. They're not as worried about how right God is as they are about how right they are.
[16:48] They have missed the whole intent of the law. They don't realize that the law was to show us just how holy God is and how unholy we are.
[16:59] You know, God gave the law and he said, this is right. This is what you're to do. And this is what you're not to do. This is the law. And you were supposed to look at that and go, I am never going to be able to do all of that.
[17:11] I am never going to be able to keep up. Are you kidding me? You got rules on top of rules. And this is just ridiculous. I can't keep up.
[17:21] And the law was meant for you to look at it and say, wow, God's standards are so high that nobody could ever meet them. God's standards are so high that nobody could ever live up to them.
[17:35] That was supposed to be the attitude. But that wasn't the attitude. The attitude was, look, God, you worry about your goodness. I worry about my goodness. And you're checking out. I'm a good guy. Me and you, we're both good guys.
[17:46] That was the basic idea here. God's good. I'm good. We're good. We're all good. You're good. I'm good. We're good. Everybody's good. They went about establishing their own righteousness. And they refused to submit to the righteousness of God.
[18:01] They thought the law was a way to measure themselves and feel good about how well they compared to others around them. By the way, churches are really famous for that, you know. Here comes a guy walking in a room.
[18:11] And he walks in a room. He says, I have only been married one time. Three, two. About to get a divorce. I am really good. Check me out.
[18:22] Point, point. Subtract some points, please. Points, point, point. And walk in and say, I don't smoke, cuss, dance, chew, or go within the do. Point, point. That's about five points.
[18:32] All right, five points. You're not playing Jeopardy, guys. You're not in a game where it's like, keep up with the number of points you have, subtract some points. He said, hey, you're not willing to subtract some. You're not willing to admit it.
[18:42] They were so proud of their own righteousness that they didn't see why they should give up on their own goodness. Some people are literally too good to get saved.
[18:53] Too good to go to heaven. Their concern was to make sure they looked good in comparison to others. They needed to feel good about themselves.
[19:05] To simply give up and admit their failure seemed too extreme to them. Now, I want you to look this way. Now, we'll move on to this point. And we ain't finishing Romans chapter 10. I have just determined that.
[19:16] We'll finish it in a year or two. Watch this. Watch this. If I'm so focused on my own goodness, I don't focus on his goodness. You ever been to a gym?
[19:28] I went once. And then I saw those mirrors and decided that was not God's will for my life. I mean, have you ever been to one of them gyms? I mean, it's really embarrassing. I mean, unless you're one of those guys that got 49,000 muscles where most people never had one.
[19:42] You stand there. And nobody wears any clothes. I mean, all the guys are naked just about. You know, they got a little. So they get set up and going. Take a picture. And you don't look the other way.
[19:53] You look at yourself. You're like, check me out on that side. Check me out on that side. Let me turn around. Check me out. That's where these people were living. And God in heaven was saying, no, you don't measure up.
[20:06] No, you're not good enough. No, you're not up there where you're supposed to be. And they were like, no, don't try. Don't you be belittling me. Don't you be putting me down. Don't you make me feel small.
[20:18] Don't you make me feel less. You remember who I am. Remember who I am. They refused to submit to the righteousness of God. Next verse, if you would.
[20:29] Look, if you would, at Romans chapter 10 and verse 4. They didn't realize that Christ came to be the completion of the law, the end. The law ends in Christ.
[20:40] The law is the road that leads to Christ. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.
[20:53] I want you to look at what it says here. For Christ, the Messiah, God in human flesh, Jesus is the end of the law.
[21:03] It's like this is where the law stops and where Jesus starts for righteousness. Christ did everything the law required and then died as a sinner.
[21:14] His purpose in coming was to help the helpless. When you see your weakness, he will be your strength. When you figure out you can't, he will. He takes our sin and failure and puts them on himself.
[21:28] He is the law fulfilled and he can save. All I have to do is believe that I can't and that he can. With the coming of Jesus, the ministry of the law was over.
[21:41] The law simply points to Jesus. What you could never find in the law or anywhere else, you find in Jesus Christ. I need you to look at this.
[21:52] I want you to understand this verse right here. I want you to get it in your head. Here's what's going on. I'm over here in the gym and I'm working out. Now I'm going over. Hey, measure me.
[22:02] Measure my chest. Measure my chest. Have I grown an inch? Check out my thigh. Measure my thigh. Check my thigh. I'm doing good, ain't I? And then there's this perfect man over here, God in human flesh.
[22:14] And he looks and he says, look, my thighs are this big around. And my calves are this big around. I am perfect. And you're over here looking at yourself. I'm not against going to the gym, by the way.
[22:25] I should go. Please don't leave here thinking he don't believe you ought to go to the gym. Y'all should go. Go twice. Go for me and you. Amen. And so, but I just want you to realize that you're over here working out and you're like, measure me.
[22:36] Check me out. Think I'm good. And then you're like, look, Jesus. Look, Jesus. You're like a little kid. You're like my grandchildren. They walk up and they go, check out my bicep, granddaddy. Look how big my muscles are.
[22:47] I can put my hand around their little arm. But they're excited about how big their arm is. That's what we're doing. And that's what the Bible says. The end of the law is righteous. The end of the law is Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.
[23:00] Here's what he wanted you to do. He wanted you to look at it and say, you've got to have a bicep of 48 inches. 48 inches. I don't think that's possible. It ain't. That's Tennessee Hibberley for it is not.
[23:16] And he said, you can't get that big a bicep. So come to Jesus, who is strong enough to carry you. Come to Jesus, who is strong enough to rescue you.
[23:27] That's what he was saying. He was saying, you should be looking at the law and say, man, I don't measure up. That's so funny. You know, I go to the doctor a lot now. I had cancer a little over a year ago, so I'm always going to the doctor.
[23:39] Never went to the doctor in my life. Now I go in and it's like, hey, how you doing, Austin? Fine, how about you? Step on the scale. I don't even take out my, I don't take, I walk in, I got my iPad in my hand, got my phone, got it all. And, you know, you want to take out my shoes?
[23:52] Nah, I don't give a rip. Just weigh me. Because I already know I'm in trouble. I mean, really, I could strip down to my underwear and I'd still be in trouble. Say amen. And so, you know what, then you see her go, she moves up and she goes, I weighed the other day.
[24:09] I weighed in at 248. And this lady came in and weighed in at 89 pounds. And I thought to myself, that's a strong scale, can go from one extreme to the other. Amen. But here's what happens.
[24:20] He says, the end of the law of righteousness is Christ. So you're sitting there thinking, now wait a minute, you're wrong, Austin. I do pretty good. And I can understand how lost people need Jesus.
[24:35] And I can understand how bad people need Jesus. The story's told of this really rich lady who had a coachman. And the coachman went to a revival meeting and he heard the gospel message and he got saved and he came home so happy.
[24:48] He was so happy. And he went in and he was telling the lady he worked for about how God had changed his life and he was happy. And so she said, fantastic. Drive me to that place. I want to know what I need to do. And so she drove up and she said to the preacher, she said, hey, how do I go about getting saved?
[25:03] Is there another way besides the way my driver got it? She said, no. Everybody's got to come the same way. She said, ain't no way. I'm coming like a coach driver comes. You don't know who I am. See, we got that built in pride, don't we?
[25:17] We think we're something. So go to the next verse, if you would. Look, if you would, at Romans chapter 10. Excuse me. I think I should.
[25:27] We're going to verse 5. I think I ought to read you some. Look at verse 5. Moses described the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which does these things shall live by them.
[25:39] That's Romans 10.5. Comes out of Leviticus 18.5. You shall keep my statutes and my judgments. If a man do, he shall live in them. And I am the Lord. Here's what he said.
[25:50] Here's the Ten Commandments. Here's the perfect law. Keep it all. Keep it all. Do every bit of it. Because if you decide to come under the law, you've got to keep it all. The problem is no one has ever, ever kept the law but Jesus.
[26:06] There would have been no need for the sacrificial system in the Old Testament if it were not for the failure to live up to the law. The Old Testament is full of, he blew it, offer a lamb. He blew it, offer a lamb.
[26:18] The nations of trouble, offer a lamb. There's always a sacrifice. So the rule is if you're going to live by the rules, you've got to live by the rules. All of them. All of them. Let me read you some Bible verses.
[26:28] Galatians chapter 3 and verse 10. Some of you came this morning and you think, I do pretty good. I do pretty good. Mr. Baptist, you think everybody's bad. But I'm pretty good. I come from a very good church and very good things.
[26:39] And I've got a good family and I've got a good last name. You don't know. Galatians 3.10 says this. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, curse it is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
[26:56] Now let me say, we're going to read another verse. Well listen, it's just what it said. If you decide to keep the Ten Commandments, that means you've got to keep all the rules in the Old Testament. Every one of them. Every one of them.
[27:07] You say, I do pretty good on that. I ain't kill nobody. I have not committed adultery. Have you ever told a lie? Well we don't want to talk about that one. Amen. Let's talk about something else. And by the way, when I do tell lies, there are little white lies.
[27:19] The only problem is that term is never found in the Bible. In Spanish it was always so funny. In Spanish they used to call them mentiras piadosas. Which means righteous lies.
[27:31] I only tell holy lies. When I lie, it's a holy lie. Well God doesn't have that term anywhere in his Bible. But isn't it amazing how we do it? Look at it.
[27:41] He says you've got to continue in all the things. And if you don't, you're under a curse. Verse 11. So you understand. Very next verse. No man is justified by the law in the sight of God.
[27:53] It is evident for the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith. But the man that does them shall live in them. Now look this way man.
[28:04] Look here. You ready? Here's what he said. You've got to listen to this. No man. Go back to verse 11 up here for me please. No man is justified by the law in the sight of God.
[28:18] Well my church thinks pretty good of me. That's not what the verse says. Underline it in your Bible. In the sight of God. God never looks and says, yeah you did good man. I mean you got a 99.9 on that test buddy.
[28:30] You did good. You was almost right. He said no. No man is right. No man is just in the sight of God. Because God says obviously.
[28:42] Look at verse 11. It's evident. It's obvious. It's as clear as the nose on your face. It's this. The just shall live by. Help me. The just shall live by faith.
[28:55] In verse 12 he makes something clear. And the law is not of faith. When you're dealing with the law. You'll either do it all.
[29:06] Or you'll do none of it. When you deal with the law. You'll either do it all. Or you'll do none of it. The Bible says in James chapter 2 in verse 10. Whosoever shall keep the whole law.
[29:17] And yet offend in one point. Is guilty of all. Now. As a teenager. When I used to preach. I used to illustrate that. Like if you could imagine.
[29:28] A chain. Ten length chain. Like the ten commandments. And the ones anchored in heaven. And you're hanging on to the bottom one. It really doesn't matter. Which one of those links break. You're fried.
[29:40] You say I did real good on the first seven. There. I have been known to look at some stuff. That wasn't mine. And want it. But I mean. That's not that big a deal. It's not in the third. Hey. It ain't the first five. He said you mess up on one.
[29:51] You're fried. You see. If you're going to live by the rules. You got to keep all the rules. If you're going to keep. If you're going to do the good stuff. You got to do all the good stuff. You can't have a bad hair day.
[30:03] You can't wake up on the wrong side of the bed. You can't get off on the wrong foot. You either always right. Or you're wrong. You can't be right a hundred times. And mess up once.
[30:14] You're right. Or you're wrong. You've already been studying in the book of Romans. We have gone from Romans 1.1. All the way to Romans chapter 10. And we're now at verse 5. But I want you to notice what it said in Romans 3.20.
[30:25] Where we were before. Therefore by the deeds of the law. There shall no flesh be justified in his sight. That's another repeat of what we've already read. By the deeds of the law.
[30:35] By doing what the Bible says. By doing what the Bible says. By doing what the Bible says. You don't have to worry. You have to do it all.
[30:46] Nobody. No flesh is justified. No flesh is justified by keeping the rules of the law. For by the law is the knowledge of sin.
[30:57] Underline it in your Bible. The law is the knowledge of sin. You know. When you think in terms of. A perfect specimen.
[31:10] You know. You might tend to think. And I heard a guy say last night. What's what's what's your favorite part in this. And he said. When I'm talking. Because I'm good. That's what he said.
[31:20] He said when I'm talking. Because I'm good. And and I like. I like. I like to hear myself talk. Watch this. You might think that you're okay. You might think.
[31:32] That your weight's right. And your height's right. And your body dimensions are right. But man. If you have a brand new baby. Have you ever noticed what they do at the hospital? They get your new baby. And they start measuring it. And then they pull out this chart.
[31:44] And say. Your baby. His head's bigger than everybody's head. When I was born. My daddy looked at me. And said I was the ugliest baby. He had ever seen. And before he died.
[31:54] He said. He still believed. That in all the years. He'd been alive. I was the ugliest baby. I love my daddy. He was the ugliest baby he ever saw. But can you imagine. They get through measuring your baby. And they say. Wow.
[32:05] That is one massive head. You're looking at your baby. My baby's perfect. Then they say. Look at his weight. And they got this chart. And then you bring them in for the three month checkup.
[32:15] Or the six month checkup. And what do they do? They weigh everything. And then they get off the chart. And go. In the 88th percentile. Ooh. Only 28th percentile. I think he's a little slow on that.
[32:27] Then they get to high school. Or college. Or wherever they are. And they're constantly measuring us. And see. That's what the law does. That's what the law does.
[32:38] The law measures you. The law measures you. When we got to the New Testament. Jesus said. I know you heard it said. Thou shalt not kill. I know you heard that.
[32:49] But let me say unto you. Not only shalt thou not kill. But if you think murderous thoughts. If you have an insulting heart. You are a murderer.
[33:00] Those Pharisees were going. I have never killed anybody. And he said. I know you hadn't. But you sure have had the thoughts. So you're guilty. The other guy said. Well I have never lusted after a woman in my heart.
[33:10] And he said. I know what it said. It said thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you. If you even look at a woman. And think the thoughts. You're guilty. Everybody. That's why. You remember the story. You remember the story.
[33:20] Of the woman taken in adultery. And you know what. Remember what Jesus said. Jesus said. Whichever one of y'all hadn't sinned. You go ahead and throw the first rock. And they got to thinking. And everybody disappeared.
[33:34] And he looked up. And they're all gone. So this morning as you're here. I want you to know. He'll save you. But the biggest obstacle to your getting saved. Is this. You really are too good to be saved.
[33:45] You won't admit you've messed up. That's why. The publicans. The tax collectors. And the prostitutes. Came to Jesus. Because it was easy.
[33:56] You said. You're a sinner. They go. Yep. Capital S. Sinner. That's me. But they say to you. You're a sinner. And you go. Ho. Ho. Ho. Ho. Ho. Ho. Ho. I'm a Baptist.
[34:08] No. Whoa. Whoa. Ho. I'm a Catholic. I'm a Catholic. Whoa. Ho. Ho. Ho. Presbyterian. I'm Methodist. I'm a big C Christian. I serve God.
[34:20] Here's what he's trying to say. I don't care. You don't measure up. You don't measure up. It's only through Jesus and what he did on the cross of Calvary.
[34:32] Will you submit to his righteousness? Take your Bible and go back and I'll quit with this right here. Romans chapter 10 and verse 3. They were ignorant of God's righteousness.
[34:43] And they went about to establish their own righteousness. And here's the key words. And they have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. They said, wait a minute. I'm good enough.
[34:55] I don't need his help. As I swam in that pool that day and I got almost to the edge of the pool, I knew this. I had rescued tons of little kids at the creek back home.
[35:06] They'd get in there and I could swim in the creek and I could grab them. And I could even sink underwater and hit my feet and bounce and get out of the pool. Out of the deep part of the little swimming hole we had in the creek.
[35:17] I wasn't about to admit I couldn't swim. There were dozens of boys my age at this camp. I couldn't let them think I couldn't swim. I wasn't about to swim in the kitty end of the pool.
[35:29] Do you know who I am? I'm Austin Gardner. I'm from McEwen, Tennessee. Bless God. I grew up on a farm. I can do it. And so when people came by and I was literally about to drown, my answer was, I'm all right.
[35:46] I'm all right. I'm all right. Until finally when I realized I had already gone under and tried to hit the bottom. But you know when you're in that deep end that's about 8 or 10 foot deep, you can go under.
[35:58] And when you're about 11 years old, it's a long ways to the bottom. I was trying to get down and push off of my feet and get to the thing. I was dog paddling. I was doing everything I could to save my life.
[36:09] I couldn't get out of the pool. That's where you are this morning. But your pride won't let you say, I'm in trouble.
[36:20] Your pride makes you refuse to admit you're in trouble. And so you'll go home and you'll keep sinking until it's over and it's too late.
[36:31] I ask you to admit you've sinned and trust Jesus and what he did on the cross at Calvary. Father in heaven, I love you. And I thank you for the chance to serve you.
[36:42] And I pray, God, that your name would be glorified and magnified. I pray that you would come through this service and work. Holy Spirit, there's somebody here that's not saved and they need to be saved. And I pray you deal with their heart and save them.
[36:54] There's somebody in this room that is saved. But, God, they're just so proud of themselves and so judgmental and critical and hyper-spiritual and better than other people.
[37:05] I pray you'd wake them up. I pray, God, that your name would be magnified and glorified. I pray you'd show yourself. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia.
[37:15] For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.