And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good, they don't need God's grace,
and no one so bad that they can't have it.
Which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.
This morning we're continuing our series in the book of Romans.
And you'll remember that the book of Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD.
And it's called Romans for a very simple reason, which is that Paul writes it to the churches that are in the city of Rome.
It is a letter that is about the gospel.
It's about the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection.
And Paul's hope in writing this letter, as we saw back in chapter 1, is that these churches would be established in the gospel.
There will be many applications as we go throughout this letter.
And Paul is especially focused with the mission and the unity of the church.
And as I've told you many times now, we will have all kinds of little spokes, right?
We're going to go on little adventures.
One of them is this morning.
And we will constantly return back to the hub of the gospel.
We are in the section of chapters 1 through 3, which are making one very simple argument.
And that argument is summed up later in this chapter when Paul says,
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
So Paul's making one big point.
He's saying everyone's a sinner.
Everyone deserves God's judgment.
Chapter 1, Gentiles, or we might say non-religious people, deserve God's judgment.
Chapter 2, Jews, or we might say today, religious people deserve God's judgment.
Chapter 3, which we begin this morning, Paul's going to bring his argument to a full conclusion.
If you've been with us, you know that Paul is coming at this idea from all different angles.
He's trying to get it from every possible side, answering all sorts of objections.
So two weeks ago, we said, look, the law, having access to the scriptures, is not going to save you.
Last week, we said having circumcision is not going to save you.
This week, Paul's going to respond to the new objection that's come from the last two weeks.
If those things can't save you, what is the point?
If being in church, if baptism, if scripture is not going to save me, why am I here?
What are we doing?
It's with that question, we turn now to Romans chapter 3, starting at verse 1.
I invite you to turn with me.
You can turn in your worship guide.
You can turn in your Bible.
You can turn on your phone.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.
And Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5 tells us,
Every word of God is true.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
And so that's why we read now Romans chapter 3, starting at verse 1.
Then what advantage has the Jew?
Or what is the value of circumcision?
Much in every way.
To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven, we do thank you and praise you again this morning
that you haven't abandoned us and left us to figure out life on our own.
But instead, you've spoken to us and you've spoken clearly in your word.
And so we ask that you would do that again this morning.
You would do what you've promised to do in Isaiah 55,
that your word will not return void to you,
but it will accomplish great things in the lives of your people.
And so we ask that you would do that.
You would use these words in Romans chapter 3
to accomplish great things in our lives.
Most of all, we ask that you would show us Jesus,
that we would see his beauty and his glory and his power and his authority,
his mercy and his grace and his love more than ever before.
And we ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Many of you know that I was ordained as a pastor in May of 2018.
And to become a pastor in our denomination,
this Presbyterian denomination,
you have to be examined by the regional church.
And so for us, that means you're examined by the churches
in Montana and Colorado and Wyoming.
And one of the tests that you have to take as you're being examined
is a Bible knowledge test.
And they're asking this question,
does this person know enough about the scriptures
to be trusted to be a pastor?
And when you take that exam,
there are some harder questions
that are meant to sort of push you to the limits of your knowledge.
And there are also some easier questions.
There are some softball questions.
And the softball questions are meant to, you know,
help you get some points on your exam
and not feel completely defeated.
One of my friends, who's a pastor here in town in Colorado Springs,
got ordained at the very same time that I did,
the exact same meeting of our presbytery.
And he, in his exam,
he missed this question that I'm about to tell you.
It was not a hard question.
It was a softball question.
Okay, so here it is.
In the book of Daniel, chapter three,
King Nebuchadnezzar takes the prophet Daniel
and he throws Daniel into a fiery furnace.
And when he throws Daniel into a fiery furnace,
he throws three other men in with him.
What are the names of those men?
And how you respond to that question
reveals something about where or how
or whether you grew up in the church.
If you did not grow up in the church,
you might be thinking right now,
wow, that's a really weird question.
And why do I care what the names of the three men were
who were thrown into the fiery furnace with Daniel?
Of what use is that to anyone?
If you did grow up in the church,
the answer is what?
Yeah, everyone knows that, right?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And so the committee examining my friend was shocked.
How in the world could this man make it
through his preparations as a pastor,
get to his exam and not know about Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego?
And so he said this to them.
I never watched Veggie Tales
or did Bible stories in Sunday school
because I didn't know Christians as a kid.
My friend didn't grow up in the church.
He didn't become a Christian until he was in college.
He didn't grow up going to Sunday school
learning about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Had he read that story?
Yes.
Did he pay attention to those names?
Not at all.
Right?
Were they critical to him?
He didn't realize that.
He didn't realize he was supposed to know that.
I tell you that story because the initial point
of this passage from Paul is this.
One of the privileges of growing up in the church
is knowing the word of God.
One of the privileges of growing up in the church
is knowing the word of God.
Remember last week we talked about the fact that
signs, religious signs, religious symbols,
religious activity will not save us.
Those things are not our hope.
And so after hearing that, you might be thinking,
that's great.
Okay, Matthew.
Then why are we here?
If religious signs and symbols and activities
don't get us to where we need to go,
what are we doing?
You can imagine the Jews reading the end of chapter two
and they're thinking, okay, Paul, what's the point?
If circumcision doesn't save, why are we doing it?
If the law doesn't save, why are we reading it?
You might think, okay, Matthew, you told me last week
going to church isn't going to save me.
Great.
I'll go to a coffee shop on Sunday morning.
I didn't realize I didn't need to be here.
I'm so glad that's over with.
You told me reading the law would not change my heart.
That's great.
I don't need to read my Bible anymore.
It's a work of the Spirit, so I can just move on.
I suddenly have more time in my schedule.
The Jews reading this would be asking this,
did God make a mistake by introducing circumcision?
Has God changed in some way?
We thought this was really important.
It was so important, in fact,
that God almost killed Abraham at one point
for failing to circumcise one of his kids.
And now you're saying it doesn't matter?
What are we supposed to do with that?
And so that's the question that's being raised here in verse one.
Then what advantage has the Jew
or what is the value of circumcision?
You just told us religious signs and symbols and activity don't save.
So what's their point?
And Paul tells them immediately,
he has a first answer in verse two.
Much in every way,
to begin with,
the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.
And when he says the oracles of God here,
Paul is referring to the Old Testament.
What was the benefit of being a Jew?
Easy.
You had access to the Bible.
You knew things that no other nation knew.
You will reveal things about God
that the Canaanites were not given.
You had insider information.
One of the privileges
of growing up in the church
is knowing the word of God.
Yeah, it doesn't save.
And
it's one of,
Paul even seems to suggest here,
might be for the Jews
the greatest blessing that they have.
And so I'm just gonna pause for a minute
and say a few things.
First,
kids,
do not take for granted
the blessing it is
that your parents bring you here every Sunday.
parents,
do not miss
what a huge deal
it is
to teach your kids
the oracles of God.
Don't forget
how important it is.
it doesn't matter
if your children
are admitted
into Harvard
if they do not know
the word
of God.
It doesn't matter
if your kids
have wild
professional success
if they do not
know
the gospel.
I'm not saying
those things
don't matter.
I'm not saying
they're not important.
I'm not saying
they're bad goals.
What I am saying
is this.
They are not
as important
as knowing
the very
words
of God.
What advantage
has the Jew?
Much
in every
way.
church
what we do
in Sunday school
and nursery
and youth group
really
matters.
We are
giving our
children
one
of the
greatest
blessings.
I've said
this before
and I'll say
it again.
My parents
like all
parents
were flawed
and imperfect.
And my parents
also got two
really basic
really fundamental
things right.
They stayed
married
and they took
us to church
every single
Sunday.
And in the
midst of
imperfection
and mistakes
and failures
as all
parents do
those things
matter
tremendously.
Now I've
been focusing
on kids
for the last
couple
minutes.
Of course
what Paul
is saying
here is
true
of all
of us.
What we
do here
together
every Sunday,
what we do
throughout the
week in our
small groups,
in our
Bible studies,
those
things
really
matter.
don't
underestimate
the power
of being
exposed to
the preaching
of God's
word week
after week
after week.
Don't miss
what a great
privilege it is
to be told
about the
gospel year
after year
after year.
It might
be more
important
than anything
else.
One
pastor says
this,
there is
no higher
privilege
that can
come to
any human
being
than to be
spoken to
directly
by God.
And that's
what Paul
is saying
here.
What advantage
was it for
you to be
a Jew?
Of so
much
advantage.
You
had
what many
other nations,
what no
other nation
had,
the very
words
of God.
God.
Now if
you're a
devil's
advocate,
you might
be asking,
why?
Why is it
so important
to have the
very words
of God?
Why does
it matter
that your
friend did
not know
about Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego?
That doesn't
seem like a
helpful piece
of information
that I need
to spend
years of
time in
God's
word to
know.
No,
either one,
I don't
need to
know that,
or I
can know
that in
a minute,
right?
Maybe your
friend just
needed an
extra
flashcard,
right?
It's not
that he
missed out
on something
by not
being part
of God's
people.
No,
he missed
out on
some
random,
unhelpful,
unuseful
trivia.
Of course,
I tell you,
I told you
that story.
It's just
an example,
right?
A funny
example of
things that
we take for
granted that
we know if
we grew up in
the church,
but are not
actually obvious.
Actually,
you're going to
be okay if
you don't know
about Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego.
You might not
be okay,
though,
if you don't
know about
some other
things.
There are
many advantages
to God's
word.
Scott already
read some of
them this morning
for us from
Psalm chapter
1.
What does it
tell us?
God's word
brings great
flourishing.
The person
who steeps
himself in
that is the
person who
has great
life.
And so what
did the Jews
have?
They had this
manual for
life that no
one else had
access to.
God's promises.
Even more
than that,
they had
God's promises.
What is the
Old Testament
filled with
if not the
promises of
God?
They knew
things like
this.
Genesis
chapter 12.
In you,
all the
nations of
the earth
will be
blessed.
Christ.
They knew
that God
was at
work in
the world
in a
special way.
They knew
this from
Jeremiah
chapter 31.
This is the
covenant that I
will make
with the
house of
Israel.
I will put
my law
within them
and I will
write it on
their hearts
and I will
be their
God and
they shall
be my
people.
The Jews
had the
promise of
God's
presence.
They knew
that whatever
was happening
in that
moment was
not the
end of
the story.
They knew
this promise
from Ezekiel
chapter 36.
And I
will give
you a new
heart and
a new
spirit I
will put
within you.
And I
will remove
the heart
of stone
from your
flesh and
give you
a heart
of flesh.
The Jews
had the
very promises
of God.
You'll see
this on page
seven of
your worship
guide.
The greatest
thing of
all was
the fact
that through
these oracles
of God
the Jews
were given
a hope.
The hope
of the
coming
of the
Messiah.
The other
nations had
no hope
at all
but Israel
had a
hope.
There was
a great
deliverer to
come.
It was a
light in
the darkness.
They alone
had it.
What a
privilege.
church.
They didn't
just have
the promises
of God.
They had
something even
more important
than that.
The Old
Testament
revealed to
God's people
two things.
It showed
them their
great need
for the
gospel.
It revealed
to them
that they
were without
hope except
for a
savior.
showed
them their
need.
And it
also told
them that
there was
a solution.
It told
them their
need in
places like
Jeremiah
chapter 2.
For my
people have
committed
two evils.
They have
forsaken
me, the
fountain of
living waters.
broken
and they've
hewed out
cisterns for
themselves,
broken
cisterns that
can hold
no water.
The Old
Testament said,
look, you
are looking
for life
in all
the wrong
places.
Humanity
is lost.
It cannot
save
itself.
And they
knew there
was hope
from places
like this.
Isaiah
chapter 43.
But now
thus says
the Lord,
he who
created
you,
fear not,
for I
have
redeemed
you.
I have
called you
by name.
You are
mine.
Then new
promises like
the one in
Isaiah 53.
All we
like sheep
have gone
astray.
we have
turned
everyone
to his
own way
and the
Lord has
laid on
him
the
iniquity
of us
all.
What
advantage
has the
Jew?
Much in
every way.
the Jews
were entrusted
with the
oracles
of God.
They knew
what no one
else knew.
They knew
that mankind
was lost
without hope
by themselves.
And they also
knew that
there was a
great hope.
they knew
something that
mattered
more
than anything
else.
Why are the
oracles so
good?
The oracles
of God
are so good
because they
reveal what
the point
of Romans
is.
Remember I
tell you
every single
week at the
very beginning
Romans is
about the
gospel.
It is
about the
good news
of Jesus'
death and
resurrection.
Why was it
so good
to be a
Jew?
Why is it
so great
to grow up
in the
church?
Because Paul
is not
telling you
here anything
you don't
already
know.
You
already
have the
very
words
of God.
Paul's
saying yes
scripture
does not
save.
Having the
law doesn't
get you off
the hook
but it
does point
you to the
one who
does save.
And that
is of
great
value.
This chapter
in Romans
chapter 3
in just a few
weeks he'll
go on to
say this.
for all
have sinned
and fall
short of
the glory
of God
and are
justified
by his
grace
as a
gift
through the
redemption
that is in
Christ
Jesus.
I've told you
before and I'll
tell you again
that the book
of Romans is
often called
the fifth
gospel
because whatever
Paul teaches
Jesus taught
first.
The same
thing is true
this week.
John chapter
5 Jesus is
rebuking religious
leaders and he
says this
if you
believed
Moses
and it's one
of the
authors of
the Old
Testament
you would
believe me
for he
wrote
of me.
In other
words Jesus is
saying look the
Old Testament was
about me
but if you
do not
believe his
writings how
will you
believe my
words.
Of course
even more
famous is
Luke chapter
24.
Jesus is on
the road after
his resurrection
he's explaining
the Old
Testament to
some men who
are with him
and it says
this beginning
with Moses
and all the
prophets he
interpreted to
them in all
the scriptures
the things
concerning
himself.
Why is it
such a blessing
and a privilege
to have the
oracles of
God?
Because
they show
us
Jesus.
They show
us our
need
for his
grace
and his
mercy
and they
show us
him giving
us
that very
same
grace
and
mercy.
It's
good
because
it
gives
light
in the
dark.
Some of
you if you
were here
during our
series on
1st and
2nd Peter
many years
ago now
heard me
tell you
many times
about
Corrie
Ten Boom
who is a
Dutch
watchmaker
in the
Netherlands
in World
War II
and she
was famous
for hiding
Jews
who were
trying to
escape the
Nazi regime.
She was
eventually
caught for
her work
and she
spent most
of 1944
in a
Nazi
concentration
camp.
One thing
she did
though when
she was in
this
concentration
camp is
she was
able to
sneak in
a copy
of the
Bible
and she
and a
group of
women
would read
it together
whenever they
had a
free moment.
They would
read it in
the morning
and they
would read
it at
night.
And she
tells the
story,
this is on
the back
of your
worship
guide,
from
morning
until
lights
out,
whenever
we were
not in
ranks for
roll call,
our
Bible
was the
center
of an
ever
widening
circle
of help
and hope.
Like
wafts
clustered
around a
blazing
fire,
we gathered
about it
holding our
hearts to
its warmth
and light.
The
blacker the
night around
us grew,
the brighter
and truer
and more
beautiful
burned the
word of
God.
That's the
name of the
concentration
camp they
were in.
It took
place on
two separate
levels,
mutually
impossible.
On
one,
the
observable
external
life grew
every day
more
horrible.
The
other,
the life
we lived
with God
grew daily
better,
truth upon
truth,
glory upon
glory.
Christian,
the blacker
the night
around us
grows,
the brighter
and truer
and more
beautiful
burns the
word of
God.
Now,
I had to
shorten this
quote so it
would fit,
but she
tells us what
they were
reading were
the great
promises of
Romans chapter
eight.
The promise
that nothing
can separate
us from the
love of
God.
the promise
that we
are more
than
conquerors
through
him
who
loved
us.
Then what
advantage has
the Jew
or what
is the
value
of
circumcision
much
in
every
way?
to begin
with,
the Jews
were
entrusted
with the
oracles
of God.
Let's
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we do
praise you
and we
thank you
for the
great
privilege
of your
word.
We thank
you that
it's
living,
that you
brought
dead
things
to life
when you
speak.
You
brought
creation
out of
nothing
by your
words.
We ask
that you
would remind
us of
that and
do it
again this
morning,
that your
word would
be at
work
powerfully
in our
hearts,
in our
minds,
in our
lives,
that you
would bring
new life
to us.
We ask
these things
in the mighty
name of
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
I invite
you to stand
for our
closing hymn.