So we'll be starting at Romans 9 verse 30 and we'll be reading through to chapter 10 verse 13.
What shall we say then?
That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith,
! But that Israel, who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness, did not succeed in reaching that law.
Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.
They have stumbled over the stumbling stone.
As it is written, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.
Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own,
they did not submit to God's righteousness.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law,
that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
But the righteousness based on faith says,
do not say in your heart, who will ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down,
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 that we proclaim.
For with the heart one believes and is justified,
and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
For the scripture says,
Well, good morning everyone.
Will you pray with me as we come to God's word?
Now, Father, we always need your spirit to illuminate our minds
so that we understand your word,
and to believe, to break through any hardness,
any remaining hardness in our hearts, to believe it.
I pray, Lord, that as we all sit under your word together now,
that our hearts will be singing all the more
that we can stand before you in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Well, the gospel, the label gospel, literally means good news.
But I can forget sometimes that the cross of Jesus is also offensive.
I think when we get together each week and we just enjoy praising Jesus together,
I forget that it's offensive.
I want to do a little thought experiment to get us going this morning
of two men who appear before God for judgment.
Now, one man, he never goes to church.
He's arrogant.
He's just difficult.
He's difficult to get on with.
He was a drunk.
He did harm to his wife and children.
Now, in his old age, he's playing bowls,
and this Don McMurray guy comes up
and interrupts his lovely afternoon
and shares the message of Jesus with him.
He believes with tears.
He dies that night,
appears before God,
and God says,
Innocent.
Righteous.
Come.
Come into paradise.
Now, another man grows up in the church,
strictly observes Sundays as a Sabbath.
He's decent.
He's hardworking.
He's respected in the community, in church.
He even rises to church leadership.
He's generous, giving to charity.
He dies the same night,
and he sees the other bloke go before him
and sees God's welcome and delight of him
and goes,
Oh, well, I'll be a shoo-in then.
And to his horror,
he hears the words,
Depart from me.
I never knew you.
Now, if you're not offended by that,
I'm not sure we're hearing it properly.
The cross of Jesus offends our deep intuition
that there is good people and bad people.
That intuition is deep.
Our passage today is saying
there's two eternal destinies
at the end of our life.
We see in chapter 10, verse 10,
it's being saved or justified
before that heavenly court,
God saying,
innocent, righteous, saved.
Or, verse 11,
put to shame.
We're each on our way to salvation or shame.
C.S. Lewis, he captures this
much better than I can.
In the end,
that face of God,
which is the delight or terror of the universe,
must be turned upon each one of us,
either with one expression
or with the other,
either conferring glory,
inexpressible,
or inflicting shame
that can never be cured.
It is written,
we shall stand before him,
shall appear,
shall be inspected.
The promise of glory
is the promise almost incredible
and only possible
by the work of Christ
that some of us,
that any of us who really chooses,
shall actually survive that examination,
shall find approval,
shall please God.
Chapters 9 to 11 of Romans,
we're looking at,
the Israelites in Paul's time,
despite all their privileges,
they're still under the wrath of God.
How can that be?
So far in Romans,
we've looked at it from heaven's perspective,
from God's all-powerful,
unconditional mercy.
Chapter 9, verse 16,
so then it depends not on human will
or exertion,
but on God who has mercy.
From heaven's perspective,
all people are under sin.
None of us have lived up
to the knowledge of God that we know.
Some, God hands over
to our sinful desires.
Others, he freely chooses to have mercy.
This belief in God's sovereign mercy,
it's why we can sing,
I have no idea
why you chose me,
but I praise your sovereign mercy.
As Martin rightly urged us,
it shouldn't lead to callous,
Calvinism.
Paul is in anguish here.
Again, we see that in chapter 10, verse 1.
My heart's desire and prayer to God for them
is that they may be saved.
His belief in sovereign mercy
is in anguish,
and he's not sitting on his hands,
he's praying.
It's his belief in that sovereign mercy
that urges him to pray.
I think it actually gives us confidence
to share the gospel.
What else is going to break through
the hardness of unbelief?
God's sovereign mercy can.
So we've looked at it
from God's, heaven's perspective.
But I think in this passage,
Paul is going from earth's perspective.
Human responsibility.
Scripture always affirms 100%
God's sovereignty
and human responsibility, 100%.
How those two fit together.
You tell me afterwards.
I think we'll find out in heaven maybe.
But it's always both.
Someone in our small group
used the quarterwoodism saying
they're two sides of the one coin.
Paul is flipping the coin over here.
We're now looking at human responsibility.
What has Israel done or not done
that means they're still lost.
They're on their way to shame.
So verses 30 to 31 of chapter 9,
I think is what my opening thought experiment
with the two men was trying to capture.
Gentiles, so non-Jewish people,
they did not pursue righteousness,
a righteous life.
Israel did pursue righteousness
by keeping the law.
They're trying to keep the law.
And Gentiles are righteous.
They've got it.
Israel failed to keep the law
and they're lost.
Throughout this whole section,
there's a comparison of two ways
to try and be righteous.
We see there in verse 32.
They did not pursue it by faith,
but as if it was based on works,
on doing.
Righteousness is the ability
to stand before God fully seen
and confident.
He accepts you.
He loves you.
You're right with him.
It's like two friends
who've had a falling out
and they say,
are we right?
Are we good?
And God's like,
yes, we're good.
It's that standing with him.
We're good.
Now, there's two ways
of trying to get that.
Not that to work.
Please hear me correctly.
There's not two roads to get there,
but there's two...
Paul's comparing two ways
people try and get there.
There's a false way
based on the works that you do
and there's a true way,
God's way,
based on faith
and what God has done.
And there is a world of difference.
It's the difference between
boasting to God,
look what I've done,
or boasting in God,
what you have done.
And Paul quotes the law.
Okay,
you're trying to be righteous
by keeping the law.
Are you listening
to what the law says?
He quotes
from the Old Testament
and throughout this passage,
he just kind of,
it's like a medley of a song.
He just jams
all these quotations together.
We don't have time,
I don't have time
to go into all of them,
but he's just,
he's jamming
all these quotations together
going,
are you listening to the law?
Because God's always said,
it's by faith.
And I'm going to lay a stone,
I'm going to do something,
I'm going to lay a stone,
I'm going to lay a foundation stone,
the Lord Jesus.
And some who are trying
to be good and do good,
they're going to stumble
over him and fall.
Others,
that's going to be the foundation.
And then,
chapter 10,
verse 2 to 4,
Paul further explains
why trying to be righteous
by doing,
by works,
is not the correct way.
Verse 2,
speaking of the Israelites,
I bear them witness
that they have a zeal for God,
but not according to knowledge.
I think it's common
to hear outside the church
that if people were just sincere
in their religion,
surely whatever God is up there
will be okay with that.
They're sincere,
they're trying.
Surely being sincere is enough,
but no, it's not.
It's not enough.
In all spheres of life,
we all know that.
Just to be enthusiastic
isn't enough.
You've got to actually know
what's right.
I think Paul's life
is a testimony
to what he's saying here.
His own conversion.
He knew the Old Testament
back to front.
It's not head knowledge.
That wasn't his problem.
He probably knew
the Old Testament
better than any of us
in this room.
It wasn't head knowledge.
That's not the problem.
He believed in Yahweh,
the God of the Bible,
not pagan gods.
He was so passionate for God,
he went house to house
putting Christians in prison.
The first Christian martyr,
Stephen,
he's approving of his death.
He's that passionate
for God and temple and law.
But how devastating
it was for him
when the Lord Jesus
revealed his glory
and said,
why are you persecuting me?
Paul was like this
high-speed train,
very zealous
for God,
heading in the complete
opposite direction.
Sincerity is not enough.
It's even dangerous
if you're headed
in the wrong direction.
Someone today
can have grown up
in the church,
even right now,
assume they've heard this
a thousand times.
They think they know it.
They're involved.
They're committed.
Some people even
go to the mission field.
If you're headed
in the wrong direction
without knowledge,
it's dangerous.
Verse 3 and 4
explain what they should have known.
Verse 3,
for being ignorant
of the righteousness
of God.
We're going to have to
come back to that phrase.
Righteousness of God
and seeking to establish
their own.
They did not submit
to God's righteousness.
So there's a contrast here.
God's or yours.
He's already talked about
the righteousness of God
in chapter 3.
But if we think about
what a Jew
would have already
known about
righteousness,
righteousness of God
here can't mean
God's character.
God's character
is righteous.
A Jew knows that.
A Jew is very aware
that God is right
in all he does.
He is good.
So it's not
God's character here.
Is it the righteous
demands that God requires?
Jews know that.
They've got the law.
They've got the Ten
Commandments.
They know the righteous
demands that God requires.
What goodness looks like.
The righteousness of God,
it is at the heart
of the Protestant
Reformation.
It is at the heart
of true saving faith.
Martin Luther,
he puzzled over this phrase,
the righteousness of God.
He was a monk.
He had a conscience
before a holy God.
And he knew his prayers.
He knew his confessions
of sin.
He knew his devotion,
his religious devotion
wasn't enough.
And he said,
I hated the righteousness
of God.
That phrase.
I raged with a fierce
and troubled conscience
because he thought
it meant God's
righteous demands.
He could never live up
to it.
Eventually,
he realized
this righteousness
is something God gives.
And he says,
the passive righteousness
with which the merciful God
justifies,
saves us by faith.
And here I felt
that I was altogether
born again
and the very gates
of paradise
opened up before me.
The righteousness of God
is not that he
instantaneously
zaps you
with a righteous character.
If you follow me around
for one hour
after church,
I'll give you
some evidence of that.
But this is
a righteous status
before God.
We're right
with God.
We're good.
We're more than good.
We're family.
It's a status.
So Israel,
being passionate
for God,
were ignorant
of this gift
of being right
with God.
They wanted
to establish
their own
merit,
to stand
before God.
So I don't want
to submit
to what you give.
And it's going
complete opposite
direction
to what
God has done.
Now we'll come
back to verse 4,
but just verse 5
for a second.
What's so wrong
with trying
to establish
your own righteousness
by doing good?
He quotes
Leviticus 19.5
here.
The person
who does
the commandments
shall live
by them.
If you
sincerely
try to
keep the
law of God,
there's nothing
wrong with
the law of God.
It's good.
Nothing wrong
at all.
But it's
too difficult.
Not because
God set the
bar too high,
but because
sin is so
strong.
If you
try and
have a
righteousness
of your
own,
you almost
always have
to do
this.
You've got
to reduce
the law
of God
to external
performance.
When the
law of God
was always
about your
inner
attitudes
of the
heart as
well.
love the
Lord your
God with
all your
heart and
with all
your soul
and all
your mind
and all
your strength.
Paul
illustrates
this back
in chapter
7, one
of the
Ten
Commandments,
do not
covet.
That's an
inner thing.
Do not
desire to
possess something
for yourself
that's not
yours, like
your neighbour's
house, your
neighbour's
wife.
love the
inner desire,
it crushed
him because
as soon as
he took that
law seriously,
if you take
that law
seriously, you
see coveting
in your
mind, I
don't know, I
see it in my
mind and
heart all
the time.
I love that
neighbour's
deck, their
porch, I
want that.
I love that
new car, I
wish that was
mine.
Even
clothing, I'm
covered in
clothing, I
covet people's
soccer skills and
speaking skills and
personality
strengths and
it's
everywhere.
You take the
law of God
seriously, if
you're trying to
establish righteousness
by the law, you've
got to reduce it to
just external.
If you take the
internal seriously,
you'll be
crushed.
sin is too
strong.
No one lives
up to the
law.
Now, coming
back to verse
four, all
Israel should
have been the
first in line
to welcome
Christ with
open arms and
see him and
appreciate him
because Christ
is the end
of the law
for righteousness
to everyone who
believes.
This is God
giving us
righteousness
through what
Christ has
done.
Paul says
back in
chapter 8
verse 3,
for God
has done,
done,
what the
law weakened
by the
flesh, the
sinful flesh,
could not do
by sending
his own
son.
It's a great
phrase, Christ
is the end
of the law.
Now, what
does it
mean,
end?
There's three
main options
and I'm
happy to talk
about it over
morning tea.
End as in
Christ has
brought the
law to a
conclusion,
like some of
you are
wishing this
sermon would
come to a
conclusion.
No, you're
probably not.
But has it
come to a
conclusion?
Christ is the
goal of the
law?
Kind of like
I'm thinking
of like a
medical student.
All their
training, their
goal is to
be a doctor.
That's the
goal.
That's the
purpose of it
all.
The purpose
of the law
was to reach
Christ.
Is it saying
that he's the
goal?
Or is
the end of
the law in
that he did
the whole
law?
He's the
embodiment of
the law.
He's what the
law looks
like.
Now one
thing we have
to rule out
is that Christ
just comes
along and
scrunches up
the law and
goes, oh,
let's just get
rid of that.
He said, I
did not come
to abolish
the law.
I came to
fulfill it.
Not one
tiniest
dot or
stroke of
the pen,
not one
tiniest dot.
I'm not
coming to
abolish it.
I'm coming
to fulfill
it.
Personally, I
think all
three are
valid, depending
where you go in
the New
Testament.
He is the
only one who
obeyed.
You want to
know what the
law looks
like?
Look at
Jesus.
He obeyed.
He's the only
righteous one.
I think,
again, talk
about open
morning tea,
I think Paul
is emphasizing
here that
Christ is the
goal that the
law was always
leading to.
I think we
see that in
the way he
uses Deuteronomy
30 in the
next section.
He quotes
Deuteronomy
30 like,
whoa, where
did you get
that from,
Paul?
We're going
to see that
in a second.
Israel have
not submitted
to the
very purpose
of the
law that
the law
pointed to.
It was
always pointing
to Jesus
and then
they're going
in the
complete opposite
direction.
They should
have seen
that.
Now, this
phrase does
raise what
place does
the law
have for us
Christians
today.
I don't
want to go
fully into
that because
that is a
big question,
but I just
want to say
a few
things.
The law
is good
in knowing
God's
character.
We should
read it
to know
God's
holy
character.
God's
The law
is good
for understanding
what our
sin is
and our
problem.
It's good
in that it
points forward
to the
solution
that Jesus
is the
high priest
we need.
He's the
sacrifice
we need.
He's the
temple we
need.
It points
forward to
understand
Christ,
so we
should read
the law.
It gives
us wisdom
for what
love of
neighbour
looks like,
what justice
looks like.
It instructs
and informs
love.
But it
is not a
code,
it is not
a rule
book that
God is
either blessing
or cursing
us according
to our
obedience.
That has
come to an
end.
That is
not how
we should
read the
law today.
So verses
5 to
10,
Paul shows
that the
law itself
was always
pointing
forward to
Christ.
Verses
6 to
10,
he's saying
righteousness
has always
been by
faith in
what God
does.
He
graciously
brings salvation
near to
us.
Now he
quotes
Deuteronomy
9,
4.
Here's one
of those
medleys.
He jams a
few passages
here together.
The first
one,
do not
say in
your
heart,
which the
full quotation
there is,
it's not
according to
your
righteousness.
Anyone who
read the
law should
have understood
that.
It's never
been about
your
righteousness.
You're
blessed by
God because
of his
promises.
That's what
that quote
is about.
And then he
goes to
Deuteronomy
30.
Now if I
was marking
an essay and
a student
interpreted
Deuteronomy
30 like
this,
there would
be red
pen.
Like,
where did
you get
this from
Paul?
That's a
bit of a
leap,
isn't it?
Now,
we're the
student here,
so what is
Paul teaching
us?
it's a
passage,
it's a
passage about
the law.
He's not
saying if
you read
Deuteronomy
30,
you would
find this
hidden meaning.
I don't
think we
should read
scripture like
that, where
we've got to
find a hidden
meaning.
I don't
think he's
doing that.
I think
what he's
doing is,
and how
much more
argument.
If that was
the case
then, how
much more
now?
If under
the time of
the law,
God graciously
brought salvation
near to
them, how
much more
in the time
of the
gospel has
God brought
salvation near
to us?
I think it's
a how much
more argument.
the original
context is
Moses saying
the word
of God,
what I
must do
for God
to be
pleased,
to be
righteous,
it is
understandable,
it is
accessible.
You don't
need to go
to heaven
to find
God's
will.
It's not
impossible.
God's
brought it
right close.
It's not
in the
abyss.
Again,
something
impossible
that you
have to
go find,
you have
to do
something to
go find
what God
wants.
He's
brought it
right up
to your
heart and
mouth,
to Israel
that is.
He has
graciously
brought his
will close
to Israel's
heart and
mouth.
If they
just received
it with
faith,
with a
heart of
faith,
it was
right there.
Which
exposes the
problem.
The problem
was always
inside,
not receiving
it.
But then
he interprets
it how much
more now.
Now we're
in the age
of the
gospel of
what God
has done.
It's not
commands
anymore,
it's a
message.
It's a
God has
brought
salvation
near.
The
message
Christ
has
come
down
from
heaven.
He has
lived the
life you
should have
lived,
I should
have
lived.
He has
died the
cursed
death,
I should
have died,
and he's
been raised,
he is
Lord.
That
message,
God has
graciously
brought it
to your
heart and
mouth.
It is
so near
to you
than me.
You don't
have to go
to heaven
to find
it,
you don't
have to
do,
it's
right
there.
We
often
fret,
have I
done
enough?
we
fret,
all
those
sins
of my
past
that
pierce
your
conscience,
and a
child can
understand
this,
it is
so close
to each
one of
us,
because
it's a
message.
Verse 9
and 10,
these are,
if you want
a memory
verse,
it often
is a memory
verse,
because they're
beautiful
words,
because if
you confess
with your
mouth that
Jesus is
Lord and
believe in
your heart
that God
raised him
from the
dead,
you will
be saved.
For with
the heart
one believes
and is
justified,
and with
the mouth
one confesses
and is
saved.
He has
graciously
brought salvation
so near.
The heart,
the inner,
hidden
belief,
and the
lips is just
an expression
of that
belief,
the public
confession,
Jesus is
Lord,
saved.
How good
is that?
In a
group one
night,
there was a
man named
William Holland,
he was with
John Wesley
and Charles
Wesley,
and they're
reading Martin
Luther's
preface to
Galatians,
and Martin
Luther wrote,
what have we
nothing to
do,
no nothing,
only to
accept of
him who
God has
made to
us our
wisdom,
our
righteousness,
our
sanctification,
our
redemption.
William
Holland said,
at those
words that
came over
me such
a power
that I
cannot
well
describe.
My
great
burden
fell off
in an
instant.
My
heart was
so filled
with peace
and love
I burst
into tears.
I almost
thought I
saw my
saviour.
My
companions
perceiving me
so affected
fell on
their knees
and prayed.
And when
I afterwards
went into
the street,
I could
scarcely
feel the
ground I
trot upon.
God has
graciously
brought
salvation
right up
to your
heart and
mouth.
What are
you going
to do
with it?
All he
asks you
to do
is receive.
Have we
nothing to
do?
Nothing.
And so
verses 11
to 13
is just
emphasising,
he's piling
up Old
Testament
quotes.
Anyone,
everyone,
children,
old,
deathbed,
anyone,
any past,
everywhere,
any race,
anyone.
God is
bringing,
through the
gospel message,
God is
bringing
salvation
right up
to your
heart and
mouth.
Anyone
who responds
in faith
declaring
Jesus as
Lord is
righteous in
him,
found in
him,
not having
a righteousness
of their
own,
but found
in him.
That you
can even
be called
sons and
daughters of
the living
God.
There's
false
forms of
Christianity
that add
to this
message.
They say,
okay,
yes,
that's all
well and
good,
but you've
got to
improve in
your character
and doing
and what you
do in
life will
contribute
on that
final day
in judgment.
judgment.
That is
zeal without
knowledge.
That is
heading in
the opposite
direction.
It is
trying to
establish a
righteousness of
your own and
they can never
go to bed at
night knowing
I've done
enough.
Whereas you
can get
wheeled into
that theatre
at hospital
not knowing
you're going
to wake up
after surgery
and you
can be
at
peace.
This
knowledge is
everything
of what
God has
done.
And
because God
has brought
righteousness
right up to
our hearts
and mouth
in the
gospel message,
the main
barrier to
salvation
salvation is
pride.
That's the
main barrier.
John
Stott in
his book
The Cross
of Christ,
he says
this,
this is the
scandal,
the stumbling
block of
the cross
for our
proud hearts
rebel against
it.
We cannot
bear to
acknowledge
either the
seriousness of
our sin
and guilt
or our
utter
indebtedness
to the
cross.
Surely
we say
there must
be something
we can
do or
at least
contribute
in order
to make
amends.
We sing
that song,
Rock of
Ages.
Have you
paused to
consider the
humiliation
we're admitting?
Nothing in
my hand I
bring.
Simply to
you cross I
cling.
Naked
come to you
for dress.
Helpless
look to
you for
grace.
Foul I
to the
fountain
fly.
Wash me
saviour or
I die.
One person
said all
you need
is need.
all you
need is
nothing.
But the
problem is
most people
don't have
that.
Pride is
the barrier.
There is
sweet assurance
here.
Lay your
deadly doing
down,
down at
Jesus'
feet and
stand in
him and
him alone,
gloriously
complete.
well I'm
going to
pray and
if you're
hearing God's
message to
you for the
first time
I'm just
going to
offer you to
pray this in
your mind
after me as
a way to
respond to
that message
but also as
we prepare for
the Lord's
Supper.
May we all
be praying
this afresh.
Let me
pray.
Amen.
God I
desire your
salvation
more than
anything else.
I renounce
any confidence
I have in
myself,
my
religion
or my
doing
to win
that salvation.
in my
heart I
believe you
raised Christ
from the
dead to
be my
saviour.
And
according to
your promise
I come
to you
with
nothing in
my hand,
naked,
helpless,
foul.
And I
call upon
you Lord
Jesus
to save
me,
to clothe
me in
your
righteousness
that I
might
be called
a son,
a daughter
of God.
Amen.