Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.
And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. A special welcome if you are new or visiting with us.
We're glad that you're here. And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together as one community.
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 are continuing our series in the book of Romans, but we're also finishing it in one sense.
I warned you last week that we are going to make it to the end of chapter three and then we're going to pause.
Okay, so we will not return to chapter four of Romans until perhaps summer or fall of 2025.
And so I'm about to tell you for the last time this year about the letter to Romans.
Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD.
It is called Romans for a very simple reason, which is that it is written to the churches in the city of Rome.
This letter to the Romans is about the gospel.
It is about the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection.
Paul's hope in writing this letter is that these people in these churches would be established in the gospel.
And as he does that, Paul makes many applications and explores many things,
but he constantly returns to and is focused on the mission and the unity of the church.
And while there are many spokes in the book of Romans,
they always return back to the hub of the gospel.
Last week, we took a look at verses 25 and 26,
understanding the wrath of God and his goodness as our Father,
how he is bringing evil once and for all to an end.
And now we look at the very last verses of chapter three of Romans,
the point that in a sense Paul has been driving to
after his explanation of the gospel in verses 23 and 24,
which is that if it is true what he's told us in chapter one and chapter two and chapter three,
that's true,
then what we need to do,
what we must do is rely and trust on God alone.
That's how Paul ends this chapter.
And so with that, I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter three.
You can turn in your Bible.
You can turn on your phone.
You can turn in your worship guide.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.
And Proverbs chapter 30, verse five tells us,
every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
And so that's why we read now Romans chapter three,
starting at verse 27.
Then what becomes of our boasting?
It is excluded.
By what kind of law?
By a law of works?
No, but by the law of faith.
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Or is God the God of Jews only?
Is he not the God of Gentiles also?
Yes, of Gentiles also.
Since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith
and the uncircumcised through faith,
do we then overthrow the law by this faith?
By no means.
On the contrary, we uphold the law.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven, we do praise you and we thank you as we do every week
that you have called us to worship you
and you've spoken to us in your word.
We confess this morning that we are easily distracted,
that our hearts are attracted to many things,
that often we lose the plot and forget what you've told us in your word,
the hope that you've set out for us in the gospel.
And so we ask for your help again.
We ask that you would pour out your Holy Spirit in a special way among us now
to open our ears and our eyes and our hearts,
that you would help us to see and understand clearly what you have for us
in Romans chapter 3.
And we ask that you would use it to transform us,
to make us more and more into the image of your Son.
And we ask these things in his mighty name.
Amen.
In 2009, Jeanette Walls came out with her book called Half Broke Horses,
in which she tells the story of her grandmother named Lily,
Lily Casey Smith, who grew up in West Texas in the early 1900s.
And her book opens with a story from Lily's childhood,
when Lily was 10 years old.
So this is around 1910 or 1911.
And there is a flash flood in the month of August.
And so they're in West Texas.
This flash flood happens.
And Lily realizes that her and her two younger siblings
will not be able to outrun the flood.
And so they're stuck in this cow pasture.
The water is coming too fast.
Lily is the oldest, takes responsibility for her younger siblings.
They find a cottonwood tree,
and they climb up into it just in time.
As they make it onto the branch of the cottonwood tree,
this six-foot wall of water hits the tree.
And so they realize they've just made it in the nick of time.
Now, that's just the first step, right,
to make it up into the tree.
They have something that's actually more challenging,
which is that night is coming.
And for them to survive, they must stay awake.
Because what happens if you're sitting on the limb of a tree and you fall asleep?
You're going to head into the water, right?
The six-foot wall.
And so Lily, as the oldest, takes responsibility for her two younger siblings and goes to work.
She has them switch places on the branch when their arms begin to get tired
so they can have new muscles holding themselves up.
She keeps her siblings awake by quizzing them with all the things that they know.
She quizzes them on their multiplication tables.
She runs through presidents and state capitals with them.
She runs through the definition of words,
anything that will help them make it through the night.
Her youngest sister, Helen, at one point says,
I can't hold on any longer.
And Lily says, yes, you can.
You can because you have to.
And so these three children miraculously make it through the night.
The next day, the water recedes, just in time for another conflict to begin.
They make it down the tree.
Lily and her siblings make it to their childhood home,
where their parents, as you can imagine, are worried sick to receive them.
Her mother comes running out of the house, and we're told this.
She sank to her knees, clasped her hands in front of her,
and started praying up to the heavens,
thanking the Lord for delivering her children from the flood.
It was she, the mom, who had saved us, she declared,
by staying up all night praying.
And so she says to her children,
you get down on your knees and thank your guardian angel,
and thank me too.
Now, Lily is completely put out by this.
She says this,
The way I saw it, I was the one who'd saved us,
not mom and not some guardian angel.
No one was up in that cottonwood tree except the three of us.
Then Lily goes to her talk to her dad and says,
There weren't no guardian angel, dad.
She explains how she had been the one who got them into the cottonwood tree.
She was the one who figured out how to have them switch places.
She was the one who ran them through what they knew to keep them awake.
Her mom wants credit for her prayers.
Lily wants credit for her work.
And is there any space or room for God in the midst of that?
Romans chapter 3, verses 27 through 31 asks one piercing and critical question.
Who do you give credit to for your life?
For your success?
Who do you believe deserves the thanks?
Lily has a lot of clarity on who should be thanked.
Lily's mom has tremendous clarity on who should be thanked,
although they have different answers.
This passage raises even further a question,
not just who do you thank,
can you thank yourself?
That's what Lily and her mom are arguing about.
Okay, there was this flood.
Everyone was saved.
Who gets the credit?
I think if we're honest,
many of us feel that story,
even if we don't say it out loud.
Yes, I know as a good Christian,
I'm supposed to give thanks to God, right?
I'm supposed to recognize his sovereign work in the world
and that everything that I have comes from him.
And what about my credit?
What about what I did?
Sure, I'll thank God.
I want my due too.
That's what Paul's getting at here in verse 27.
He asks this question,
then what becomes of our boasting?
And he's asking this question
because of everything that's come before
in the book of Romans.
Remember, I've told you that chapters one through three
are driving in one direction.
Paul has been moving,
while it may not have seemed this way,
in a straight line.
So when he says what becomes of our boasting,
he means what becomes of our boasting
in light of everything that has come before?
What becomes of our boasting
in light of the fact that chapter one,
the Gentiles or the non-religious deserve God's wrath?
What becomes of our boasting in light of chapter two
that the Jews or religious people
also deserve God's wrath?
What becomes of our boasting in light of chapter three
that our only hope is in the gospel.
If the gospel is true,
can we congratulate ourselves?
That's what Paul's asking.
If the gospel is true,
can we pat ourselves on the back?
If the gospel is true,
can we take credit for our salvation?
If the gospel is true,
do we look down on people
who haven't made it as far as we have?
What becomes of our boasting?
And the answer,
the answer to the question,
can we pat ourselves on the back,
is this, no.
No.
Bet you didn't see that coming.
Verse 27,
it is excluded.
There is no room
for anyone but God and God alone
to receive the credit.
If you're rich,
or at least well off,
who do you thank for your wealth?
If you're successful,
or at least you've done good enough,
who do you thank for your accomplishments?
If you're healthy,
or at least healthy enough,
who gets the credit
for your lifestyle?
When the doors are closed,
and all hearts are exposed,
what do you really believe
is the foundation of your life?
when the truth comes out,
what will we see
as our real North Star?
And what do our hearts
and lives
and minds
reveal
about our anchor?
Remember,
I repeated this many times
in the book of Judges.
Psalm 127,
Unless the Lord
builds the house,
those who build it
labor in vain.
Unless the Lord
watches over the city,
the watchman
stays awake
in vain.
I didn't quote
the second part,
though.
Same psalm.
It is in vain
that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread
of anxious toil,
for he gives
to his beloved sleep.
Who gets credit
for your life?
During the book of Judges,
I also told you
about Psalm 20,
verse 7.
Some trust in chariots
and some in horses,
but we trust
in the name
of the Lord,
our God.
And we just sang this
a few minutes ago,
right before the sermon.
To this I hold,
my hope is only Jesus.
All the glory
evermore to him.
When the race
is complete,
still my lips
shall repeat,
yet not I,
but through Christ
in me.
Then what
becomes
of our boasting?
It is
excluded.
of course,
Paul here
is ultimately
discussing more
than wealth
and accomplishments
and health.
Ultimately,
what he's discussing
is salvation.
Those who've been
redeemed by God,
who've been bought
by him,
who've been purchased
at a price.
You might ask this,
Christian,
why did God
redeem you?
Did God
redeem you
because you were
smart enough
or cunning enough?
Why did you end up
at Cheyenne Mountain
Presbyterian Church
worshiping God
with his people?
Was it because
you lined up
the right things
in the right way?
Was it because
you figured out
some secret
that other people
were just not
smart enough
to figure out?
Is it because
you made
the sacrifices
required to live
a holy life
before God?
No.
Paul tells us
it's this
and this alone
because
and only
because
God
had mercy
on you.
Then what
becomes of our
boasting?
It is
excluded.
Why though?
Why is it
that boasting
is excluded?
Paul goes on
to answer that.
He says,
By what kind
of law?
By a law
of works?
No,
but by the
law of faith.
And here
the word
law is used
differently
at different
times in the
book of Romans.
In this instance
he's using
law to mean
a principle.
And so we
could read
verse 27
in this way.
By a
principle
of works?
No,
by the
principle
of faith.
And so to
understand that
we have to
understand the
difference between
works and
faith.
Works
is a
life in
which you
rely on
what you
have done
and will
do.
If you live
a life of
works,
you rely on
what you
have done
and will
do.
By the
way,
if that's
your principle,
you can
boast.
If your
life rests
on what you
have done
and will
do,
boasting
should not
be excluded.
you should
be able to
boast in
whatever you
want to,
right?
Faith,
very different.
A life
relying on
what God
has done
and will
do.
Faith
is the
life relying
on what
God has
done
and will
do.
And of
course,
if that's
your principle,
you can't
boast
because God
is the
one who
has done
it.
You'll
see this
on page
eight of
your worship
guide,
clarifying
this contrast
for us
between faith
and works.
Faith is
self-renouncing.
Works are
self-congratulatory.
Faith looks
to what God
does.
Works have
respect to
what we
are.
These two
things could
not be
farther
apart.
Lower down
on the
same page.
Works earn,
but faith
only
receives.
Works earn,
but faith
only
receives.
You can
have one
or you
can have
the other.
You cannot
have them
both.
faith.
In fact,
we also
sang that
earlier this
morning.
Back on
page six.
I will
boast
ever only
in the
Lord my
God,
for I
know
his glory
is my
good.
Those are
the words
of faith,
not the
words
of works.
Paul goes
on to
explain this
for us
even more
in verse
28.
He says,
For we
hold that
one is
justified
by faith
apart from
works of
the law.
If you've
been with
us,
you remember
the concept
of justification
has two
parts to
it.
There's one
part where
justification
is the
theological
term that
means God
makes it
just as if
we never
sinned.
He removes
the record
of our
guilt.
It also
has another
side to
it.
Justification
doesn't only
make it
just as if
we'd never
sinned.
Justification
also means
that God
gives us
Jesus'
righteousness.
It's not
just that he
removes the
bad things
that we've
done.
He gives
us Jesus'
record of
the good
things.
One is
justified.
In other
words,
one is in
right standing,
right relationship
with God,
not based on
anything you
have done,
but on
Christ and
Christ alone.
Justification
restores our
relationship with
God, and
out of that
flows all our
other relationships.
Our relationship
with others,
our relationship
with ourself,
our relationship
with God's
word, God's
world, excuse
me.
Verses 29
through 30 go
on to expand
on that same
basic point,
and the basic
point of verses
29 and 30
is that grace
operates the
same for
every person.
Remember,
Paul has this
burden in
chapters 1 and
2 to say,
look, it's
religious and
non-religious
people who
deserve God's
wrath.
Here he's
simply saying
in these two
verses, 29
through 30,
religious and
non-religious
people, Gentile
and Jew,
they all receive
grace in the
same way.
it's not as
if Jewish
people are
able to
receive grace
by keeping
the law and
that the
Gentiles receive
grace by not
keeping the
law.
No, everyone
needs God's
grace, whether
they're circumcised,
that's the Jew,
or uncircumcised,
the Gentile.
That's why he
says in verse 30,
God is one.
He's saying you
can't split God
up and make him
operate in different
ways with different
people.
No, his
grace is the
need of every
person.
And so in
those verses,
he's simply
expanding on what
he's already
said.
He's shown us
our need in
chapters 1 and
2.
He's told us the
gospel in chapter
3.
He's now saying,
okay, here's the
logical conclusion,
no boasting.
And no boasting
because you're
standing with God
is based on
grace, not
works.
And that
standing with
God based on
grace, not
works, is true
or necessary
for everyone.
I don't mean
that everyone's
received God's
grace.
I mean that is
the way in
which everyone
must.
If a person
is to be in
right standing
with God, it
must be by
grace, never
by works.
Now we've
discussed one
side.
of boasting,
of taking
credit.
I asked you
earlier, hey, if
you're wealthy
or successful
or healthy, who
do you give
credit to?
And you might
have thought in
that moment, well,
I don't need to
worry about that
because I'm not
wealthy, I'm not
successful, and I
don't have health.
So I guess this
doesn't apply to me.
I don't need to
worry, right?
Well, no, the
temptation, no
matter what our
situation is, the
temptation is still
present to have a
life based on
works.
One pastor points
out the other
side.
He says the
problem of
boasting is not
just when we
take credit for
the good things.
The problem of
boasting also
happens when we're
envious of what
other people have
but we don't.
Now that seems
counterintuitive,
but what he's
saying is this,
if we're mad at
God that others
have more than
we do, what
we're saying in a
sense is that the
world should work
based on works.
Hey, I don't
understand, I've
worked longer and
harder.
Why did that
person get it?
Shows our hearts,
right?
Reveals us.
We believe God
should give us
what we think
we deserve.
If we're jealous
and angry,
when we see God's
blessing in other
people's lives,
blessings that we
desperately want,
right?
Think of the
prophet Jonah.
He was mad that
God had showed
grace.
We revealed our
hearts.
We've shown that
we have abandoned
faith for works.
What I'm saying
simply is this.
sometimes God's
grace to other
people offends
us.
And when God's
grace to other
people offends
us, it shows we
do not have a
life of faith.
When we're filled
with resentment,
when other people
get what we think
we deserve,
that's the
language of
someone who
operates by
works.
Now remember,
I've been
telling you as
we've gone
through the
book of
Romans that
what Paul
teaches,
Jesus taught
first.
You may be
familiar with
the parable in
Matthew chapter
20 of the
workers in the
vineyard.
They're hired to
work in a
vineyard, but
some, here's the
catch, are hired
to work for part
of the day.
Some are hired to
work for the
whole day.
So they line up
at the end.
The people who've
only worked a
little bit get
paid first.
So they receive
their pay.
The people who've
worked all day
look and they see
what those people
are getting paid
and they say,
wow, you know,
if someone who
worked half a day
gets $2, then
obviously I'm
going to get $4.
They come to the
end and everyone
has been paid the
same.
The folks who
worked longer
complained that
look, this is not
fair.
How dare you,
referring to the
master in this
parable, but really
to God, how dare
you give us all
the same when
some of us have
worked more than
others?
The master replies
in this way,
am I not allowed
to do what I
choose with what
belongs to me?
Or do you
begrudge
my generosity?
So the last
will be first
and the first
last.
Do we
understand
God's grace
enough
to be okay
with that?
Or do we
think that what
we've done in
this life
has earned
something from
God or
proved something
to him?
If we
believe that,
we are still
in the grip
of boasting.
What becomes
of our boasting?
It is
excluded.
all of this
talk about
different amounts
of work
receiving the
same pay,
though,
raises a fair
question, a
complication.
It's what Paul
gets to at the
end.
If we are
operating not on
the principle of
works, but on
the principle of
faith, does
that not mean
that it does
not matter
what I do?
If everyone
is getting paid
the same at
the end of
the day,
man, that's
good to know.
I guess I'll
sit on my
hands a little
bit.
I guess I'll
do what I
want when I
want.
I guess I'll
take not one
water break,
but ten
water breaks.
I'll disappear
to the bathroom
every hour.
If that's the
principle, I'll
take advantage
of it.
If we all get
the same wages,
then who
cares?
That's what
Paul is
addressing here
in verse 31.
Do we then
overthrow the
law by this
faith?
In other
words, if
we're not
based on
works, why
work?
Why obey
God?
It sounds
like we
don't need
to worry
about that.
And Paul
says, by
no means.
Absolutely
not.
And he
doesn't just
say absolutely
not.
He tells
us why.
On the
contrary, we
uphold the
law.
And Paul
is getting
at this
principle he
explains in
other parts of
scripture, which
is this, true
faith overflows
into obedience.
True faith
overflows into
obedience.
In fact, it
actually empowers
and allows the
only kind of
obedience that's
acceptable to
God.
If you
obey outside
of faith,
what trap
do you fall
into?
You fall
into the
trap of
boasting.
The only
way to
truly and
fully obey
God is to
obey out
of his
grace.
And so in
his letter to
the church
planter Titus,
Paul says
this,
the grace
of God
has appeared
bringing
salvation for
all people,
training us
to renounce
ungodliness
and worldly
passions,
and to live
self-controlled,
upright, and
godly lives
in the present
age.
Note what
Paul doesn't
say.
He doesn't
say self-control
and discipline
and following
the right
regimen
will teach
us to
renounce
ungodliness
and worldly
passions.
No, he
says the
grace of
God
training us
to renounce
ungodliness
and worldly
passion.
It is
God's grace
that allows
and enables
his people
to truly
obey.
True
faith
overflows
into
obedience.
And so
no,
believers do
obey.
They do
follow after
God and
his commands.
They do
it for a
different reason
and from a
different source.
Obedience,
not trying to
earn salvation,
that's the
obedience that
leads to
boasting.
That's the
obedience that
leads us to
believe we
have something
that God
owes us.
No,
obedience as
a fruit of
salvation,
something that
comes out of
God and his
work for us.
That is what
true obedience
is.
In fact,
that's the
only way
you can
truly obey
because any
other way
is an
attempt to
manipulate
God.
What is
boasting
except the
principle that
I can
somehow get
God to
owe me?
True obedience
comes out of
love for God,
gratitude for
what he has
done for
us.
what is
it that
God has
done for
us?
It's his
grace in
Jesus Christ.
It's that
justification
that Paul has
spoken about.
It is that
reconciliation
with God in
our relationship
to him.
It's peace
with God
because of
the work of
Jesus Christ.
That he's
done two
things for
us.
He's taken
the punishment
that we
deserve in
his death
on the
cross.
But not
just that,
he's also
given us
his obedience,
his correct
and right
and perfect
record.
That is the
grace that
leads us
to obedience.
That is what
takes us away
from boasting
and takes us
to praise.
Christ.
Christian,
who do you
give credit
to for
your life?
Who do you
thank for
your success?
Who deserves
all praise
and glory
for your
salvation?
Verse 27
asks it
this way,
then what
becomes
of our
boasting?
The answer
is this.
What becomes
of our
boasting
is,
to God
be the
glory,
great things
he has
done,
so loved
you the
world
that he
gave us
his son.
Let's
pray.
God,
we
do
praise
you
and
thank
you
that
we
don't
live
on the
tightrope
of our
own
performance.
We don't
worry about
whether we've
done enough.
We don't
need to
worry about
what you've
given to
other people.
We know
that you
are a good
and gracious
father,
that you
operate on
a principle
not of
works,
but of
grace.
We ask
that you
would remind
us of that
this morning.
You drive
it deep
into our
hearts,
that it
would lead
us to
praise and
follow you.
We ask
these things
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.