I could never do that. They pray for two hours a day and when they say they've been praying for me,
they actually mean it. I could never do that. They're the parent who reads the Bible with
their kids every day and their kids look like little saints. I could never do that. They've
just completed reading the Bible for the fourth time this year from cover to cover.
They talk about Jesus with every single person they've ever met.
I've had people say to me in the past, can you pray to God for me because God's more likely to
hear from you than he is from me. I wonder, can we make a separation between people that we think
are good Christians and people we think are not so good or maybe bad Christians?
Sometimes I wonder if we can see people who look like amazing Christians and think,
I just can't be like that person. I don't have the time or the effort. Or maybe they just look a
little bit weird. They're so zealous and fanatical. I wonder if sometimes we can see Christians and
compare ourselves and think, is that what I should be looking like? I wonder then if it makes us feel
a bit depressed about our relationship with God. I'm not nearly as good as them. I'm not a real
Christian. Or maybe it does the opposite. It makes us strive harder and to set the bar higher about what
our lives are to look like. We are in the middle of a series in the book of Romans called Made New,
seeing that we've been made new by God's grace in Jesus. We've seen that we all deserve punishment for
our sins, that we have rebelled against God, but he has justified us. He has offered us his grace
freely at the cross. And as Steve has showed last week, that our God is sovereign. He is in control
of all things. And he offers salvation to those he chooses. And we saw last week that Paul loves
the people that he came from, the Jewish people, the Israelites. And we're going to see that again
today. But now we come to see the reality of a free gospel, that it comes to people who have no history
of relationship with God. It went to the Jews first and now to the Gentiles. And we're going to see that
this causes a challenge for the Jewish people, that they were people who were passionate. They strove hard
to follow their God. But Paul is going to question today who they are actually trusting in. And today,
the challenge for us will be similar. Are we just seeking and striving ourselves to have a particularly
good view of ourselves as Christians? Maybe we are challenged by other Christians and go,
I want to look like that Christian. I want to strive hard. And so today, we're going to be challenged
by what Paul has to say to think, who are we actually trusting in? And to see if our life is
shaped by that. Let me pray for us as we have a look at Romans 9 and 10. Our Heavenly Father,
I thank you for your word to us today. I thank you that it speaks to us every day and in every season.
And I ask that you would be with us to hear your word today, Lord. Pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
As we have a look at this part of the Bible, we have two points. The first point this morning is that
belief is not enough. And our second point this morning is that belief is enough. But that might
seem like a contradiction, but we will get there. First of all, we've seen that Paul has explained
that God is sovereign. He is in control of all things. He is the one who chooses who gets to come
into his kingdom. And Paul answers the question of why those outside of God's family get chosen and
not all of God's people. Have a look at verse 30 with me of Romans chapter 9.
What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, those who are not Israel, Jewish people,
that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith.
But the people of Israel who pursued the law as the way of righteousness have not attained their goal.
Paul's saying that there are those people, the Gentiles, who have had such wicked lives,
they've been more open to the gospel compared with those people who have been pursuing righteousness.
The Jews knew that they had a deep need for righteousness.
But everybody else outside of Israel had no idea how much they needed from God.
But even though the Jews knew they needed righteousness from God,
they've pursued it in the wrong way.
Why haven't they obtained their goal? Verse 32,
because they pursued it not by faith, but by works.
They stumbled over this stumbling stone.
As it is written,
See, I lay a stone in Zion that causes people to stumble,
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.
A stumbling block has been put in the way of the Jewish people.
Now, as a parent of children who have Lego,
I constantly have stumbling blocks around my house.
I love Lego deeply, and a lot of it's my own fault,
because I carried over a good couple of boxes from my own childhood.
And there's nothing like finding a piece of Lego in the middle of the night.
But this stumbling block is far more painful,
far more significant than just an hour moment in the middle of the night.
This stumbling block has stopped the Jewish people
reaching the righteousness that they've been pursuing.
And this stumbling block is Jesus.
This stumbling block has required them to put their works down
and have faith in him.
Because faith in Jesus demands humility.
As long as anyone pursues faith by works,
as verse 32 said,
they're going to stumble pursuing this goal.
Imagine you were to die today.
This is a classic question.
Imagine you were to die today.
Let's say it's not COVID-related.
I won't pick anything in particular then.
Let's say you were to die today,
and you were to stand before God,
and God asked you,
why should I let you into my heaven?
What would you say?
Just for a brief moment,
turn to the person next to you,
ask them,
what would you say?
God says,
why should I let you into my heaven?
What would you say?
Okay, I think that's enough.
Now, I would usually at this point
ask for people to shout out things,
but I'm not going to do that this week.
It could have been things like,
I've loved God.
I've gone to church every single week.
I've read my Bible cover to cover.
I've followed him.
I've been a good student.
I've been a good parent.
I've worked hard.
I wonder if the things we say
would start with that little letter I,
because that's the challenge of the Jews.
If they were to answer this question,
their answer would start
with that little letter I.
I've been pursuing righteousness.
I have worked hard in following God.
I have used all of my energy
and all of my effort to follow God.
And God has placed a rock before us,
a stumbling stone.
This stumbling stone
can either be something that stops us
in the way,
or it can be a foundation
which we build our lives on.
The Jews had everything they needed
for salvation,
but they've tripped over their desire
to follow their own path to salvation.
Last week, we saw that Paul put the responsibility
of belief and unbelief
in God's sovereign control.
And it seems that what Paul is now saying
is contradictory.
On the one hand,
Paul is saying,
God is sovereign.
He chooses who he will.
But now he's saying,
well, the Jews pursued the wrong path.
There was a stumbling stone in front of them
and they chose the wrong way.
So which one is it?
Well, both of these things are true.
God's sovereignty
and human responsibility
both stand together.
There's a quote,
it's a wonderful quote
from preacher Martin Lloyd-Jones.
He said,
we are responsible
for our rejection of the gospel,
but we are not responsible
for our acceptance.
This is how God's sovereignty
and human responsibility work together.
We are all responsible
for rejecting God,
for choosing to not follow him,
choosing our own path.
But God is the only one
who is responsible
for calling anybody to himself.
And for Paul,
this is not just a piece of cold doctrine.
This is not just something he theologizes.
He's just not just talking about predestination
in a very cold clinical context.
You can see Paul's pain
and his heart for people in verse 10.
Brothers and sisters,
sorry, in chapter 10, verse 1.
Brothers and sisters,
my heart's desire and prayer to God
is for the Israelites
that they may be saved.
I think for us,
when we talk about the Jews,
it's just a group of people
who are of the Bible.
We are in a part of Sydney
where I don't know
a lot of Jewish people.
I know I have Jewish people
a couple of generations back
in my family lineage.
But when I think of the Jews,
I just think of the biblical people.
I don't know many people
who are Jewish.
But for Paul,
this is family.
This is brothers and sisters,
his parents,
his cousins,
the people he worked with,
the people he taught,
the people in the shops.
This is all of the people
who were very close to him
that he cared for.
And for Paul,
this is just like us
being concerned
for our family and friends
who don't know Jesus.
And it's heightened
because these people
have been longing for Jesus.
They've been waiting for him.
They've been zealous
and desiring God to come.
And Paul speaks positively
of these people.
He sees how much passion
they have towards God.
Verse 2 of chapter 10,
for I can testify about them
that they are zealous for God.
I love this word, zealous.
Zeal can be defined
as great energy
or enthusiasm
in pursuit of a cause
or an objective.
I love talking to people
who are zealous about things.
You know,
there's some people
in our church
who are zealous about running.
And that's always fun
to talk about.
You can see their passion
just exploding out of them.
If you talk to me
for more than about eight seconds,
my zeal for Star Wars
will come out
and it's begun
to infect my children.
I'm sorry, children.
That's just how it is for you.
And there,
you can hear them
shouting out with joy
for Star Wars.
We're all zealous
and passionate about something.
Zeal is energy
and enthusiasm
in pursuit of a goal.
And it's contagious.
And Paul can see
that the Jews
have been zealous.
They have used
their energy
and enthusiasm
to pursue the goal
of righteousness with God.
They've been so zealous.
They've been willing
to go to any lengths
to obey God.
Think of the Old Testament laws.
You know,
sacrificial laws,
laws about the Sabbath,
cleansing,
sacrifices.
The Jews were so zealous
about the laws
that they put laws
on top of laws
on top of laws.
They were so concerned
with not breaking the laws,
they protected those laws
by making sure
they didn't even get close
to those laws,
which ended up being
their downfall
when Jesus came
because they didn't know
the heart of the law.
They were extremely focused
on pleasing,
honoring,
and serving God.
But,
the rest of verse 2,
but their zeal
is not based on knowledge.
Since they did not know
the righteousness of God
and sought to establish
their own,
they did not submit
to God's righteousness.
Christ is the culmination
of the law
so that there may be righteousness
for everyone
who believes.
This is the complete opposite
of the modern thought,
it doesn't matter
what you believe
as long as you believe it.
Have you heard this
in talking with people?
Oh, you know,
I'm glad you've got
your beliefs.
I'm happy for you
to have your beliefs.
It's good that you've got
your beliefs.
And I've got my beliefs.
And so it's good for us.
As long as you believe
what you believe,
I'll believe what I believe,
as long as,
you know,
you try not to force
your beliefs on me.
You keep yours over there,
I'll have my beliefs
over here.
This is what the modern day
view of faith
and belief is.
And Paul says,
no,
it doesn't work.
Because the Jews
were very sincere
and devout.
They were zealous
about their beliefs.
They believed
and they would have looked
far more devout,
far better
than many Christians today.
The same could be said
of Buddhists
and Muslims.
We can see people
and think,
you are so devout,
you are pursuing
righteousness
with all of your energy,
with all of your zeal.
But Paul is saying,
it doesn't matter
how much you believe,
it doesn't matter
how committed you are,
it doesn't matter
how much of your life
or your money
you give away,
if it is all
a mistake.
If your zeal
is not based on knowledge,
you're just
running very hard
down the wrong path.
The truth is
that zeal
without knowledge
is just fanaticism.
It is my wife
Alyssa's birthday
this Friday.
She's turning
very young again.
You thought I was
going to get in trouble
then, didn't you?
And let's say
out of my love
and zeal for her,
I made her
a birthday cake.
I know,
great husband, right?
And I'm going to pour
a lot of my time
and my energy
into this cake.
And it gets
to her birthday
and I've made
an amazing sponge cake.
One of my favourites.
Loads of cream
because that's
what I like.
And as she's eating it,
you know,
at first she's joyful
and happy
and thankful
that her husband
has not only made the cake
but cleaned up
after the cake.
And as she's eating it,
her face
slowly changes,
getting more
and more concerned
with each chew.
And Alyssa says,
this doesn't have dairy
in it, does it?
You know
I'm intolerant
to dairy.
It turns out
I've ruined her day
in the next couple of days.
In that situation,
I've had zeal
and passion
and love
and works
and I can say,
yes,
I'm an awesome husband,
I'm a great husband.
But I haven't had knowledge.
And it's disastrous.
Belief
is not
enough.
The Jews,
Paul says,
they've pursued
the wrong thing.
And so it doesn't matter
how hard
we run
down a path
if it's the wrong path.
What are our lives
built on?
Will Jesus
be a stumbling block
or will he be
the foundation
of our lives?
The hard truth is
that it is possible
to come to church.
It is possible
to have
all outward appearance
of following Jesus.
But to still
in effect
be like the Jews,
trusting ourselves.
When we come
with humility,
then we see
that we bring
nothing
except our need.
And so
on that day
when we get
to meet Jesus,
on that day
when we stand
before God
and he says,
why should I let you
into my heaven?
I can truthfully say,
do you know what God?
There is no reason
why I should come in.
You know me
far better than I do.
You know that I have
rebelled against you.
You know that I have
hurt you.
I've hurt
my own family,
my loved ones.
I've disobeyed you.
There is
no reason
why you should
let me in.
Except Jesus said
I can come in.
Just believing
really hard
in something
is not enough.
And yet,
brothers and sisters,
belief is
enough.
Paul says
we don't need
works to save us.
And he uses
language from
Deuteronomy
in verse 6
of chapter 10.
Who will ascend
to heaven
to bring Christ down?
Or who's going
to descend
into the deep?
That is,
to bring Christ
up from the deep.
This is a,
it's a picture
of what we have
to do to get
into heaven,
to deal
with our sins
or to be good
enough to get
into heaven.
But instead,
what we have
to do,
what needs
to be done
is very near.
verse 9,
if you declare
with your mouth
Jesus is Lord
and believe
in your heart
that God
raised him
from the dead,
you will be saved.
I love
this explanation
by Paul
of the gospel.
It is this
wonderful little
summary of
everything in the
gospel in these
two phrases.
To say that
Jesus is Lord
is such a
significant claim.
The word
for Lord
here,
it's
Kyrios.
You know,
think all
of our
favorite
tennis player,
Nick Kyrios.
Nick Kyrios
sees himself
as a Lord.
That's what
his name means.
Kyrios means
Lord.
But it's not
just someone
who's good
at something
or who's
got authority.
This word
for Lord
is supreme
being.
This is
the Lord
of all things.
This has
power over
everything.
And while
Nick Kyrios
might think
that of himself,
that is not
him.
But to say
that Jesus
is Lord,
that declaration
means I
believe Jesus
is the one
who sits
on the throne
above every
throne.
He is the
one who has
supreme claim
over the
world and
my life.
And then the
second part of
this phrase,
to believe that
he was raised
from the dead,
is to believe
that he died.
His death
was purposeful.
And that death
couldn't hold him
and so he was
raised.
And so to
believe in these
two little
phrases,
is that
Jesus,
that person,
is God
who has
control over
all things.
And that
God died
for me
in my
place.
And he
has taken
my sin.
Now we
might balk at
this a little
bit when Paul
says all we
need to do
is say some
words.
We might
recoil slightly
as if Paul
is saying we
need to do a
magic formula,
as if we
could walk
down the street
with a piece of
paper that
says Jesus
is Lord
and say,
say this
for me.
And if people
say it,
yes,
you're a
Christian and
you're in.
It's not
quite that.
In the
ancient world,
these are two
sides of the
same coin,
speaking and
believing.
Confessing with
the mouth and
believing with
the heart are
not two different
things.
Anyone who
does one
will do the
other.
And so Paul
is not adding
a work as if
we have to say
this particular
phrase to get
in.
But it's a
picture of the
Christian who
hands over their
hopes into the
hands of Jesus.
No longer like
the Jews trying
to seek their
own righteousness
apart from God,
but handing that
over to Jesus,
trusting that he
is the Lord and
his death is
sufficient.
This is a
wonderful picture
and it goes out
to everyone.
Verse 13,
everyone who
calls on the
name of the
Lord will be
saved.
The Jews'
life, their
life was shaped
by their
belief.
They believed
that to be
saved, to be
righteousness, they
had to pursue it
with zeal and
energy and
everything they
had every
moment.
But for the
Christian, well,
what is the
Christian's life to
look like?
If we believe
that our
righteousness is
not found in
our striving but
in what Jesus
has done, what
is our life to
look like?
What does it
look like then
to be a
zealous
Christian?
To be a
Christian with
energy and
enthusiasm?
It looks like
one responding
to the call,
seeking to
call others.
Have a look at
verse 14 and
15 here with
me, where Paul
pushes the
absolute necessity
of evangelism.
Seeing the
call go from
those who are
saved out to
other people.
We're going to
read it forwards
as it's written
and then I'm
going to read it
backwards for us.
How then can
they call on
the one they
have not
believed in?
How can they
believe in the
one whom they
have not heard
and how can
they hear without
someone preaching
to them?
How can anyone
preach unless
they are sent?
Let me take that
backwards.
We send people
to go and
preach so that
people would
hear so they
would understand
and believe in
Jesus.
I think for
many of us
evangelism seems
like this really
difficult, scary,
big thing that
is really
difficult.
And Paul just
pulls it all the
way back down and
makes it quite
straightforward.
Go, speak,
explain things,
and people will
believe.
This is what
happens when we
believe that God
is sovereign and
in control of all
things.
God invites us
into his work to
speak his word and
people will be
saved.
I find there's
this fascinating
little irony.
We don't do any
work to save
ourselves, but God
invites us into
his work to see
other people saved.
people will not
hear about Jesus
unless someone
does the work of
calling.
Now this might
sound daunting.
It might sound
like it's a call
into full-time
ministry.
You've got to
become a preacher.
And for my
father, who is a
minister, this is
the passage that
God used to call
him into full-time
ministry.
He heard this and
went, yes, you're
right.
If people aren't
trained to preach
and then there's no
preaching, well, how
are people going to
hear?
And so this part of
the Bible, God used
wonderfully to call
him into ministry, and
I'm thankful for
that.
But that's not
exactly what it's
describing here.
It is that, but it's
not only that.
It's not just for
full-time ministers of
the gospel, but the
word for preaching
here is done by
heralds.
Think the ancient
world, how
announcement and
news would go
out.
You would send a
herald, a news
person to go to a
town.
And so, you know,
think there's news
that needs to get
out to the empire.
You would send a
herald.
And they'd run to
the town and they
would say, the
emperor is dead.
There's a new
emperor.
And then they'd run
to the next town and
do the same thing.
This is the role of
preaching.
This is the word, to
be a herald, to go
out and spread the
news.
And so it's kind
of like a living
newspaper.
They had the news and
they would go to a
town with the news for
everybody and they
would stand on the
street corner and they
would shout it for
everyone to hear.
But we don't even
really have newspapers
anymore.
Does anybody still get
newspapers?
Does anybody still
read newspapers?
It's all online these
days.
So for us, it's a
little bit more like
being a living version
of Twitter or
Instagram.
I don't know where
people to go to get
news if you get
news anymore.
This is a really
normal picture of
news.
So we are to be the
thing that people are
scrolling.
Instead of people being
influenced by the
latest fitness
influencer or Instagram
chef, people are to
go to the Christian to
be influenced.
And the messengers
must be sent.
And so from this
church, a number of
years ago we sent
Sam and Sally Lowe.
They were sent from
us.
They went to the Gold
Coast and they have
been going out,
preaching the word and
growing a church.
But tomorrow, this
church is also sending
all of us.
I wish it was to the
Gold Coast.
It sounds much warmer
up there at the
moment.
But we're all going.
We're all being sent
tomorrow.
We're all going to our
families, to our
friends, to the front
lines in particular that
we have.
We're going to
universities.
We're going to school.
We're going to our
places of work.
Now we're not going to
go and get a soapbox
like the Herald and
stand and say,
Jesus has died for your
sins and he was raised.
If you'd like to do
that, I've got a
soapbox for you.
That's still a good
and valid thing.
But we're going to
talk about this Jesus
who is the Lord.
About this Jesus who
has died in our place.
Because we believe that
he is the Lord.
And if he is the Lord,
well he's got sovereignty
over my life and
everybody that we know
and their life.
And there's this
wonderful picture of
the impact of those
who share the gospel.
Verse 15, as it is
written, how beautiful
are the feet of those
who bring good news.
Now that sounds
really nice, doesn't
it?
How beautiful are the
feet of those who
bring good news.
Until you remember
the first century
heralds going from
town to town.
With cobblestone
paths and dusty
roads and horses and
camels and everything
that they bring.
Their feet would have
been anything but
beautiful.
They were most likely
some of the grossest,
cracked heels,
smelliest feet you've
ever seen.
And yet, can you
imagine receiving the
very best news from
them?
You've been set free.
War is over.
There is peace.
You'd fall at their
feet and grab them
out of joy.
The news is so good
that it makes
something disgusting
amazing.
The hard part of the
remaining verses of
chapter 10 is what
happens when this
beautiful message goes
out and it goes
unheard.
Verse 21, Paul talks
about what's happened
with the Jews.
From God's perspective,
he says,
all day long, I've
held out my hands to
a disobedient and
obstinate people.
Not all of Israel
will accept the
news.
Not all of those
who hear the gospel
will understand.
Not all will
believe.
And that's the
heartbreaking reality
of the gospel.
We know from the
outset that all are
responsible for
rebelling against God
and God is
responsible for
bringing in who
he chooses.
But we never know
who is going to
come in when we
share the gospel.
And so there is a
wonderful beauty
that we share it
knowing that God
does work and he
does save.
But we also know
that some are
hardened, just like
the Jews.
No matter how
often the gospel
is held out to
them, some people
will never believe.
But it is
absolutely necessary
to share the
gospel.
Not for us to be
right with God.
Not out of
compulsion to be
forgiven by him.
But for their
sake.
Because just like
us, how will
people know God
unless they hear
the call?
How will they
hear the word
unless someone
takes it to them?
I read a story
about the former
US President
Jimmy Carter
recently.
I don't know if
you care at all
about American
politics.
But Jimmy Carter
is an
evangelical
Christian.
And as a
Christian, before
becoming the
president, he
shared one of
his issues when
he realised how
zealous he was
for himself and
not for God.
As a part of his
church, he would
visit a few people
on a Sunday
afternoon and he'd
read the Bible
with them and he'd
pray and have a
bit of a chat and
then he'd go on
with his day.
And he said he
was always so
proud of his
efforts and it
left him with a
clear conscience
throughout the
week as if he'd
been doing this
really good thing.
And he counted
up his visits one
day and figured
out that in 14
years he'd done
140 visits.
And he was quite
chuffed at that.
And then in
comparison he
reflected that when
he was running as
governor in 1966,
he spent 16 to
18 hours a day
trying to reach as
many voters as
possible.
In the end of his
campaign, he had
met with more than
300,000 people.
And he said, the
comparison struck
me.
300,000 visits for
myself in three
months and 140
visits for God in
14 years.
Now we can easily
start to think that
evangelism is going
to earn our place
into heaven as if
somehow it's the
deed that we need
to do to make us
righteous before God.
Don't hear that
from me.
But brothers and
sisters, where is
our zeal?
Where are we
placing our energy
and enthusiasm?
Is our zeal for
ourselves like Jimmy
Carter realized?
So we spend our
time and our
efforts making
ourselves look good.
Is it running to
a particular
finish line of
success?
Following God
gets put to one
side as we pursue
best marks at
school, best marks
at university, the
highest amount of
work we can do to
get the next
promotion.
Are we running
towards a finish
line of joy and
success in only
temporary things?
Maybe we see this
zealous Christian
life, you know,
this Christian life
who shares the
gospel with their
friends and family
in a world of you
believe what you
believe and I'll
believe what I
believe and don't
you talk about
them.
And we see some
Christians who are
zealous and think,
ah, they just look a
bit weird.
I don't want to be
like that person
standing on the
soapbox.
And we go, I'm not
going to be like
that.
So I'm just going to
have a bit more of a
mundane life.
Unaware of how
beautiful are the
feet of those who
bring good news.
Where are you
putting your energy
enthusiasm?
I've got a
challenge for you
this week.
Just a very small
taste of what it
would look like to
be zealous for God.
To pursue his
call to love other
people.
To see that call
go out.
A very small
challenge.
I'd like you to
reflect on one
aspect of God's
love for you this
week.
What is, how has
God been good to
you?
It could be that
you've been
reflecting on how
sinful you are and
how much you need
his love and how
good he is.
It could be that
you're so thankful
for this community
of Christians that
God has given you.
One aspect of how
God has been good to
you and to share
that with someone
else.
Someone who is not
a Christian.
God is calling
you to trust in
Jesus as the
Lord and to
call others to
this same Lord
because he is
good.
Let me pray.
Dear Heavenly
Father, we thank
you, Lord, that
you do indeed
call us who are
unrighteous.
we are all
responsible for
rebelling against
you, but God, we
thank you that you
call people and
God, we thank you
that you invite us
into your work.
Heavenly Father,
equip us, give us
words to speak, help
us take a moment to
reflect on how good
you have been.
And Lord, we ask
that this week you
would put one person
in our lives that we
get to share it.
Father, we know
that you are
preparing people to
come to know and
love you.
Help us to see
them for your
glory, Lord.
We pray this in
your son's name.
Amen.