WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.839 So as I said, today we are continuing our study in the letter to the Romans and we've 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:10.839 come to chapter 10 and we're going to really look at the whole passage that we read, but 00:00:10.839 --> 00:00:17.199 we can just focus our minds by reading again verses 19 to 21. 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:20.160 But I ask, did Israel not understand? 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:24.560 First Moses says, I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation. 00:00:24.560 --> 00:00:27.080 With a foolish nation I will make you angry. 00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:31.719 In Isaiah it's so bold as to say I've been found by those who did not seek me. 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:34.640 I've shown myself to those who did not ask for me. 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:41.759 But of Israel he says, all day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:45.560 people. 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:51.200 The passage that we read is one of the most powerful passages in the whole of Scripture. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:56.200 It's a remarkable chapter because it's got the potential on the one hand to burst our 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:00.320 hearts with joy for all that it speaks about. 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:06.000 But it's also got the potential to break our hearts with sorrow. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:11.879 And I suppose if we understand it well it's probably going to do both. 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:17.960 In these chapters, chapters 9, 10 and 11, Paul is addressing the question of Israel. 00:01:17.960 --> 00:01:22.320 Now although Paul was a leader in the Christian church and this is one of the most well-known 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:29.559 Christians who there has ever been, he was of course an Israelite himself and his background 00:01:29.559 --> 00:01:34.359 before he came to faith was one of a very, very committed Jew. 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:41.479 And here in these chapters he's talking about how the Gospel relates to the people of Israel, 00:01:41.479 --> 00:01:45.199 that ancient chosen people of God. 00:01:45.199 --> 00:01:51.479 And in many ways this section, chapters 8, 9, 10 and 11, are like an extra bit, what 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:55.680 we call a parenthesis, a bit in the middle of the letter that in some ways seemed like 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:56.680 they don't quite fit in. 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.520 You'll remember a few weeks ago we looked at this slide which is telling us the structure 00:02:00.520 --> 00:02:02.439 of the letter of Romans. 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:07.159 Sometimes Romans can be a hard letter to read and you're reading through it all and it can 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:08.759 be a wee bit hard to keep orientated. 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:12.879 So sometimes it's really helpful to remember that the structure is actually quite simple. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:15.080 It's just in two big parts. 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:17.000 First part is all about knowing the Gospel. 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.240 The second part is about living the Gospel. 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:23.200 And right in the middle you've got this section talking all about Israel. 00:02:23.200 --> 00:02:28.400 And it kind of sometimes feels like it's just sitting in there almost slightly out of place 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:34.600 because you could go from the end of chapter 8 to the start of chapter 12 and it would 00:02:34.600 --> 00:02:36.400 flow perfectly. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:41.040 And in many ways when you go to chapter 12 you have to remind yourself of what Paul has 00:02:41.040 --> 00:02:46.560 been saying in chapter 8 that the narrative of the letter flows through very, very clearly. 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:51.159 There's this bit in the middle all about Israel and it's easy to think, well, what's it doing 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:52.520 there? 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:59.800 But if we remember back at the very beginning Paul sets out very clearly the scope and theme 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:00.800 of his letter. 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:02.719 He says, this letter is all about the Gospel. 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:04.800 He's saying, I'm not ashamed of the Gospel. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:08.120 It's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:09.640 That's the great theme of Romans. 00:03:09.640 --> 00:03:15.400 He's explaining how the good news of Jesus Christ works. 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:18.000 And at the end of verse 16 he adds a really important statement. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:25.319 He says it's to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:32.439 And so he is emphasizing that the Gospel message is both for Jew and for Greek. 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:35.879 And that's really why he's so anxious to devote this attention in the middle of the 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:40.000 letter to the question of Israel. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:45.120 And he makes it absolutely clear that he is passionate, absolutely passionate about the 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:48.080 fate of his kinsmen, the Israelites. 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:52.639 You see that at the start of chapter 9, you see that at the start of chapter 10, he is 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:59.879 absolutely passionate about their situation and where they stand before God. 00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:03.000 He says in chapter 9, I'm speaking the truth in Christ. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:04.120 I'm not lying. 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:08.360 My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:13.800 anguish in my heart, for I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:17.800 for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:21.040 And then at the start of chapter 10, which we already says, my brothers, my heart's 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:27.160 desire and prayer for God, to God for them, is that they might be saved. 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:31.080 And so you've got this immensely powerful statement of how Paul is saying, I'm willing 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:38.800 to be cut off myself in order for these Israelites to be saved. 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:44.680 And I want to just pause there for just one minute to notice the difference between Paul 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:48.719 the Christian and Paul the Jew. 00:04:48.719 --> 00:04:53.879 Because you'll remember, I'm sure, that when Paul was a Jew, which is what we can read 00:04:53.879 --> 00:05:01.000 about in the early chapters of the Book of Acts, he was so passionate about his Judaism 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:04.240 that he was ready to go and persecute Christians. 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:06.160 He was ready to arrest them. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:09.319 And he even approved of their execution. 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:16.680 He was so passionate that he was ready to kill the enemies of his faith. 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:22.519 But now, as a Christian, there's a sense in which it's the Jews who are now his enemy, 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:25.839 because they're opposing his message. 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:28.759 And so we ask the question, well, is Paul as passionate? 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:35.399 Is he prepared to kill in order to defend Christianity in the same way that he was willing 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:38.639 to kill in order to defend Judaism? 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:41.159 Well, no. 00:05:41.159 --> 00:05:48.279 Paul's passion is even greater, because Paul is now willing to die that his enemies might 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:51.439 be saved. 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:58.000 And that's the difference that the grace of Jesus Christ can make in someone's life. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.279 So Paul is addressing this question of Israel, and he's particularly addressing the fact 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:08.000 that now in this era of the gospel, it's the people who aren't Jews, the Greeks or the 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:13.319 Gentiles who are enjoying the blessings of this good news. 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:16.040 And so he's almost asked the question, well, what's gone wrong for Israel? 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:20.000 If you look at the Old Testament, all these promises throughout the Old Testament, whenever 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:23.519 you read through the Old Testament, it's always going on about Israel. 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:27.240 And that's the focus of God's dealings with the world. 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:33.639 And yet now in the New Testament, it's the people who aren't Israelites, the Gentiles, 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:35.360 as they tend to be called. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:42.120 These are the people who are coming to faith in Jesus Christ, and the Israelites are pushing 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:43.720 Him away. 00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:45.759 And Paul's asking, what's gone wrong? 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:46.759 Why has this happened? 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:51.920 And he makes it very clear, first of all, that it's not God who has got it wrong. 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:57.879 He says early in chapter nine, it is not as though the Word of God has failed. 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:01.640 And one of the great emphasis of chapter nine that we were looking at last week is the fact 00:07:01.640 --> 00:07:06.160 that the situation now experienced by the Jews is not contradicting anything that the 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:07.160 Old Testament said. 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:10.639 In fact, it's fulfilling what was prophesied. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:12.720 It's not a failure on God's part. 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:17.680 The truth is, it's a failure on Israel's part. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.400 And that's what Paul emphasizes in chapters nine and ten. 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:28.039 Israel, even though they had so many privileges, even though they were God's old covenant people, 00:07:28.039 --> 00:07:30.959 they have got it wrong now. 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:34.879 And he unpacks for us in many ways the mistakes that they've made. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:40.519 And I want us just to think about that together today, a wee bit, because at the heart of 00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:46.560 Israel's mistake was the fact that they tried to approach God on the wrong terms. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:51.839 And they did that in three ways, which we're going to unpack a wee bit. 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:56.040 But what we really need to recognize is that that's three mistakes that we can make as 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:57.839 well. 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:04.399 And so I want you just to imagine, even if you don't believe in God, imagine there is 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:06.639 a God. 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:13.560 And just go with me on this one just now and think to yourself, how should God be approached? 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:18.000 What are the terms for approaching God? 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.839 Israel got it wrong, got these terms wrong in three different ways. 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.840 First of all, they thought that they could stand over God. 00:08:26.840 --> 00:08:28.439 And so I've got a wee diagram here. 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:32.840 Those of you who are visiting here will quickly discover, I love pictures. 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:35.679 And so here, you've got God, right? 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:37.279 Obviously. 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:43.080 And you've got somebody standing over God and almost looking down and thinking that 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:48.759 they can tell God what to do. 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:54.320 Paul reminds us at the start of chapter nine that the Israelites had a very special status. 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:58.160 So in the Old Testament, Israelites were unique to them belong the adoption, the glory, the 00:08:58.160 --> 00:09:01.879 covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises to them belong the patriarchs. 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:06.400 That just means the sort of senior figures in senior important figures of the Old Testament 00:09:06.400 --> 00:09:07.600 era. 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:12.840 All these privileges, as we said, Old Testament constantly going on about Israel. 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:21.680 But having that status of being special could very, very easily be twisted in a way that 00:09:21.680 --> 00:09:27.800 instead of thinking we belong to God, you could actually think to yourself, God belongs 00:09:27.800 --> 00:09:30.160 to us. 00:09:30.160 --> 00:09:34.560 And in many ways, the Israelites were guilty of thinking that the special status they had, 00:09:34.560 --> 00:09:39.800 all these things, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, all of these things 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:44.199 gave them the right to determine what God should do and should not do. 00:09:44.199 --> 00:09:47.919 So it's like the picture there, they're looking down on God, telling him what to do. 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:53.199 A great example of that is in John chapter eight, when Jesus is speaking with the Jews, 00:09:53.199 --> 00:09:57.679 he says to them, I speak of what I've seen with my father and you do what you have heard 00:09:57.679 --> 00:09:58.679 from your father. 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:01.479 The Jews answered him, Abraham is our father. 00:10:01.479 --> 00:10:04.519 Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:05.519 did. 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:09.079 But now you're seeking to kill me, a man who's told you the truth that I heard from God. 00:10:09.080 --> 00:10:12.720 This is not what Abraham did, you're doing the works your father did. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:17.879 They said we were not born of sexual immorality, which is a slight at the circumstances in 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:19.520 which Jesus was born. 00:10:19.520 --> 00:10:23.440 They say we have one father, even God. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:29.080 And so when Jesus challenges them, their response is to say, no, no, no, no, God is ours. 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:30.840 How dare you challenge us? 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:35.040 How dare you tell us what we are supposed to do? 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:41.879 And so they are thinking that God was theirs, that they have this great sense of entitlement 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:42.879 to God. 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:50.519 And I think that's part of what Paul is challenging in chapter nine, because in chapter nine, Paul 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:53.559 speaks about that great doctrine of election. 00:10:53.559 --> 00:10:59.839 And it seems to be that the Jews have this pride in their status as God's chosen ones. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:07.240 And yet Paul warns them in Romans chapter nine, he says, not all of Israel are of Israel, 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:10.320 not all who descend from Israel belong to Israel. 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:18.000 That's basically a way of saying you can be part of that nation, but you can still be 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:24.600 far from God, and you can still not have a right relationship with God. 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:30.519 And Paul's teaching in chapter nine really, really powerfully challenges that mindset. 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:35.480 He is saying the fact that you can trace your descendants back from Abraham, perhaps the 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:40.279 fact that you can say that you've got this special lineage and special statement, that 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:49.360 is no guarantee at all that your relationship with God is right. 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:54.519 And Paul says not everyone who's a physical descendant of Abraham is actually saved. 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:56.600 And the Old Testament itself proves that. 00:11:56.600 --> 00:11:59.360 And Paul anticipates the Jews as hang on, that's not fair. 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:08.360 And yet Paul says very powerfully says, who are you, O man, to answer back to God? 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:13.879 And so if we go back to our picture, you've got these people who are standing over God 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:19.439 and saying we have the status, we have the heritage, God can fit into the box that we 00:12:19.439 --> 00:12:20.439 are setting. 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:26.040 And Paul says, who do you think you are? 00:12:26.040 --> 00:12:27.360 Answering back to God. 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:34.440 And he's making it absolutely clear that we can't approach God on those terms and neither 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:38.520 can we. 00:12:38.520 --> 00:12:41.120 Neither can we. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:46.760 And yet people make this mistake all the time today. 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:50.159 We think that we can stand over God and tell him what to do. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:55.679 And it happens in loads of different ways because you see people and they will hold 00:12:55.679 --> 00:12:56.919 onto a belief in God. 00:12:56.919 --> 00:12:59.600 And so they'll say, yeah, I believe in God. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:02.840 I believe in a higher power. 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:10.559 And yet that God seems to have no authority over their lives at all. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:13.799 It doesn't really shape the way they live. 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:19.599 So people will spend their lives using Jesus's name as a swear. 00:13:19.599 --> 00:13:24.279 And people will spend their lives dismissing the Bible as irrelevant and outdated. 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:28.839 People will place God pretty near the bottom of a list of priorities where work or money 00:13:28.839 --> 00:13:33.199 or family or football or Facebook will come before him. 00:13:33.199 --> 00:13:39.279 And yet when it comes to the question of eternal life, God is meant to do everything that we 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:43.120 want him to do. 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:48.639 And it's like we stand over God and say, you do what we tell you. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:56.279 And it's a reminder of what a famous German poet called Heine, I don't know how to pronounce 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:57.279 it. 00:13:57.279 --> 00:13:58.279 Heine. 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:04.879 Supposedly said on his deathbed, of course God will forgive me. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:05.879 That's his job. 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:10.240 And I don't know if he actually said that and I don't know what he meant by that. 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:15.480 But a lot of people have interpreted that as a kind of joke, as if to say, God's meant 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:16.480 to forgive us. 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:17.480 Of course he will. 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:23.120 It's just an example of standing over God, telling him what to do. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:29.240 And Paul is telling us you absolutely cannot do that. 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:38.600 And really, common sense should tell us that you can't do that. 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:44.200 Because if we know anything about God, we should know that God is massive and we are 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:46.920 tiny. 00:14:46.920 --> 00:14:48.320 God is our creator. 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:51.920 We are just the creation. 00:14:51.920 --> 00:14:57.600 God is holy, which means he's set apart at a different level, a completely different 00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.240 level to us. 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.300 He is absolutely massive. 00:15:02.300 --> 00:15:08.580 We can never stand over him. 00:15:08.580 --> 00:15:13.320 We can never tell him what to do. 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.320 That's the wrong view of God. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:20.759 And I remember once listening to a sermon. 00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:23.480 It was a sermon by Eric Alexander, who's my Tim Keller. 00:15:23.480 --> 00:15:24.480 Everybody else quotes Tim Keller. 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:26.400 I quote Eric Alexander. 00:15:26.400 --> 00:15:28.280 He was a church, he's still alive. 00:15:28.280 --> 00:15:31.120 He's a retired church of Scotland minister. 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:33.960 I remember hearing him say in a sermon and it was really powerful. 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:38.560 He said, people always ask the question, will you accept 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:39.559 Jesus? 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:40.559 Will you accept Jesus? 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:42.559 Will you accept Jesus? 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:55.079 But he said, the even more serious question is, will Jesus accept you? 00:15:55.079 --> 00:15:57.279 Can't stand over God? 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:02.119 Can't tell him what to do. 00:16:02.119 --> 00:16:03.319 The Jews thought they could. 00:16:03.319 --> 00:16:04.319 That was their first mistake. 00:16:04.319 --> 00:16:08.119 The second mistake they made was that they thought they could work their way up to God. 00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:13.919 There's a very realistic scale drawing of a staircase. 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:17.600 The idea that you can work your way up to God. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:20.519 This is highlighted in what Paul says in these chapters. 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:28.600 He says that the Gentiles pursued a righteousness by works of the law. 00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:31.519 So the idea of righteousness is God's standard. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:36.399 So we think of God, he's up and his standards are really high. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:40.480 The Jews have made this mistake of thinking that they can work their way up to that standard 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:47.039 by doing good stuff, that that will bring them up to the level that they need. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:50.959 And that in many ways is the great error that Paul is addressing in this letter. 00:16:50.959 --> 00:16:55.959 The idea that they can work their way up to God. 00:16:55.959 --> 00:17:01.399 He's saying you cannot reach God's level by your own efforts. 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:04.680 You cannot do it by your works. 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:08.519 But it's interesting, he says that these people have a zeal for a relationship with 00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:09.519 God. 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:13.279 So that they care about God, they want a relationship with God. 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:18.840 They're trying to build that relationship up on their own efforts, on their own merit. 00:17:18.840 --> 00:17:24.440 And we do exactly the same thing today. 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:32.120 All around you, you will find people in the Christian church and also in many of the other 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:38.599 faiths of the world trying to do the same thing, trying to ground the value of their 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:42.359 status before God in their own efforts. 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:51.679 In other words, saying, I'm a pretty good person, therefore, God will accept me on that 00:17:51.679 --> 00:17:54.159 basis. 00:17:54.159 --> 00:17:56.759 But we need to be really, really clear. 00:17:56.759 --> 00:18:00.079 Again, this is coming to God on the wrong terms. 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:03.559 So remember, if you believe that there is a God, you have to think, what are the terms 00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:04.559 for approaching this God? 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:09.039 You think, well, surely it's that I just work my way up to that God and I have to be good 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:13.399 enough, more good stuff than bad stuff in my life will reach me there. 00:18:13.399 --> 00:18:18.319 But no, Paul is saying that is the wrong terms for approaching God. 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:24.960 Because remember, an accurate view of God recognizes that God is massive and that God 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.240 is unbelievably high, indescribably high. 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:39.200 That means he is unreachable if we just try to do it on our own. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:41.640 Completely unreachable. 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:45.519 And Paul captures really well what he's trying to say here when he says that the Jews had 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:49.480 a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:53.559 Because if we think that we can work our way up a staircase to God by our own efforts, 00:18:53.559 --> 00:19:00.759 then it's a failure in terms of our knowledge, because we're not recognizing and not understanding 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:05.200 how high God is and how broken we are. 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:09.039 We can't work our way up to God. 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:13.319 So can't look down on God and tell Him what to do. 00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:16.359 Can't work your way up to God and is if to be good enough. 00:19:16.359 --> 00:19:19.599 The third mistake that the Israelites made was that they thought they could just wander 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:23.719 away from God and find another one. 00:19:23.719 --> 00:19:27.959 And at the end of the chapter, Paul describes the Israelites as a disobedient and contrary 00:19:27.959 --> 00:19:28.959 people. 00:19:28.959 --> 00:19:34.439 That's actually a quote from the Old Testament from a book called Isaiah, chapter 65, where 00:19:34.439 --> 00:19:38.240 he says, I spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people who walk in a way that's 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:44.279 not good, following their own devices, are people who provoke me, my face continually, 00:19:44.279 --> 00:19:47.279 sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:51.279 So that we last sentence that talks about sacrificing in gardens and making offerings 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:52.279 on bricks. 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:56.480 It can sound strange to us, but it's really an expression of religious devotion to a 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:01.920 false God, because that was how people worshiped false gods in those days. 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:08.519 They would offer sacrifices, making offerings not to the one through God, but to various 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:10.920 other pagan gods. 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:17.840 And it was an issue that constantly plagued the Israelites throughout their history. 00:20:17.840 --> 00:20:21.120 They kept on wandering away from God. 00:20:21.120 --> 00:20:23.320 They kept on following false gods. 00:20:23.320 --> 00:20:26.320 They kept on doing things that God had said, don't do. 00:20:26.320 --> 00:20:29.680 They kept on looking at the nations of the world around them who worshiped all sorts 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:32.720 of different gods, gods of fertility, gods of the storm. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:37.000 And they kept on thinking, oh, we're going to do that. 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:42.519 And they would follow the world and walk away from God. 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:45.119 They would wander away from Him. 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:48.960 And the same attitude is all around us today. 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:51.279 Humanity wanders away from God. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:53.640 Humanity rebels against God. 00:20:53.640 --> 00:21:01.559 Humanity dismisses God and does its own thing. 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:16.319 And if God is God, if God is real, then we surely see that the attitude that wanders 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:32.439 away from God in rebellion is bonkers, absolutely crazy to push God away if He's real. 00:21:32.439 --> 00:21:36.839 And yet people do it all the time. 00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:38.359 It led Israel into disaster. 00:21:38.359 --> 00:21:39.839 It'll lead us into disaster. 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:45.079 We cannot wander away from God in that way. 00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:49.720 So the Israelites were guilty of approaching God on the wrong terms in the wrong way. 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:51.159 They thought they could stand over God. 00:21:51.159 --> 00:21:52.159 They can't. 00:21:52.159 --> 00:21:53.199 They thought they could work their way up to God. 00:21:53.199 --> 00:21:54.199 They can't. 00:21:54.199 --> 00:21:57.359 They frequently wandered away and tried to find an alternative God. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.359 They can't do that either. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:08.159 And I look at my own life and I see that I've done all of these things myself. 00:22:08.159 --> 00:22:13.279 And maybe you have too. 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:21.960 And all of this reminds us that the terms for approaching God are very clear and very 00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:24.359 specific. 00:22:24.359 --> 00:22:28.440 And that's the thing I want you to really recognize for today. 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:35.879 And if God is there, if God is real, the terms for approaching God are very, very specific 00:22:35.879 --> 00:22:40.480 and it's really important that we recognize them. 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:46.880 And yet humanity refuses to conform to these terms. 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:51.120 And in all these different ways, we try to approach God on our own way. 00:22:51.120 --> 00:22:54.480 And this is where we see that humanity is so strange. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:59.599 I don't mean to be insulting, saying you're all strange, but humanity in general, me 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:09.720 and myself included, very, very strange because every day we live with uncompromising terms 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:15.559 all around us, especially in the areas of life that are really important. 00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:18.920 So although sometimes we think, you know, the idea of uncompromising terms, we think, 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:20.120 well, that sounds a bit harsh. 00:23:20.120 --> 00:23:25.279 But really, when it comes to important stuff, we all accept uncompromising terms and we 00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:27.480 all value uncompromising terms. 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:35.200 For example, how many people in Britain today can get on a plane without going through security? 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:36.200 None of them. 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:37.440 It's uncompromising. 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:42.600 How many unsterilized needles are allowed in an operating theater? 00:23:42.600 --> 00:23:46.000 None. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:49.840 How many cars are allowed in the road without brakes? 00:23:49.840 --> 00:23:51.840 None. 00:23:51.840 --> 00:23:56.400 It's absolutely uncompromising. 00:23:56.400 --> 00:23:59.320 And we all conform to those terms, we value those terms. 00:23:59.320 --> 00:24:03.840 And yet when it comes to God, who is more important than anything else, the whole world 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:08.079 thinks that we can decide the standards. 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:10.480 We can set the terms. 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:11.639 We can stand over God. 00:24:11.639 --> 00:24:15.399 We can work our way up to God or we can ignore God and do our own thing. 00:24:15.399 --> 00:24:19.119 And yet the truth is, we can't. 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:26.359 We have to come to God on very, very specific terms. 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:32.559 And so on the picture there, it's narrow, very specific. 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:36.240 And so that makes us ask the question, the really important question, what are God's 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:37.240 terms? 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:41.599 If it's none of those other things, what are the terms for approaching God? 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:49.119 Do you have to scale the height of theological and intellectual knowledge? 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:54.039 So do you have to become really, really high in what you know, really high in what you 00:24:54.039 --> 00:24:56.079 understand, really high in what you achieve? 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:59.799 Do you have to get up to this really high standard? 00:24:59.799 --> 00:25:02.079 Or do you have to plumb the depths? 00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:07.240 Do you have to go through the deepest sorrows and hard experiences? 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:12.240 Do you have to get all the way down to the very bottom of the pit in order to find Jesus 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:13.519 there and bring Him up to you? 00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:16.199 Do you have to ascend to the heavens to bring Jesus down? 00:25:16.199 --> 00:25:20.480 Do you have to go to the pit to bring Him up? 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:22.720 No you don't. 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:26.639 And that's what Paul makes very clear in chapter 10. 00:25:26.639 --> 00:25:31.039 He says the righteousness which is based on faith, that is the right approach to God, 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:36.240 is do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down, 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:39.879 or who will descend into the abyss, that is to bring Christ up from the dead. 00:25:39.879 --> 00:25:41.799 But what does it say? 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:46.559 The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith we proclaim. 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:50.440 Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:52.960 God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:57.920 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved, 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:02.120 for the Scripture says everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame, for there's 00:26:02.120 --> 00:26:06.600 no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord as Lord of all, bestowing His 00:26:06.600 --> 00:26:12.279 riches on all who call on Him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be 00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:14.039 saved. 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:26.519 In other words, God's terms are this, He's putting everything that you need right in 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:31.079 front of you. 00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:37.279 Absolutely everything that you need is right in front of you. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:44.680 And all you have to do is trust Him. 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:50.200 And that is the good news of the Gospel, that is the message of Christianity, that is how 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:52.480 you approach God. 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:56.279 So you don't stand over Him, you don't work your way up for Him, you don't wander off 00:26:56.279 --> 00:27:02.119 on your own, you come right before Him and you listen to what He says, and He says, if 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:07.079 you trust Me, I will save you. 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:14.440 Now, that trust in our hearts inevitably involves confession with our mouths, which what Paul 00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:19.119 speaks about there, because the two are absolutely inseparable, and that again makes perfect sense, 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:24.119 because if you said you trusted somebody but you didn't want to talk about it, then that 00:27:24.119 --> 00:27:28.199 would be trust that's being slightly held back. 00:27:28.199 --> 00:27:33.239 And trust that's held back is not really trust, is it? 00:27:33.239 --> 00:27:41.239 And so inevitably, you trust in Jesus, you want to confess Him and acknowledge that He 00:27:41.239 --> 00:27:43.159 is your Savior. 00:27:43.159 --> 00:27:50.919 And that's the Gospel's terms, that Jesus has done everything, absolutely everything 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:57.800 that is needed for your salvation, and all God asks is that we trust in Him. 00:27:57.800 --> 00:28:02.920 And so you don't need to ascend to the heights and you don't need to reach down to the bottom 00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:10.880 of the depths, you don't need to go and find Jesus. 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:15.960 Because Jesus has come and found you. 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:18.720 And He's holding salvation right in front of you. 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:23.319 That's why Paul says the word is near you. 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:24.799 It's in your mouth. 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:27.039 You can read it out loud for yourself. 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:28.039 It's in your heart. 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:31.039 You can read it and think about it. 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:35.559 It's right in front of you. 00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:42.079 And it was right in front of the Israelites as well. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:44.360 But they pushed God away. 00:28:44.359 --> 00:28:49.119 That's what Paul says at the end of the chapter. 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:56.599 God says that the Israelites, all day long, I've held out my hands to disobedient and 00:28:56.599 --> 00:29:01.919 contrary people. 00:29:01.919 --> 00:29:08.240 And I think that this verse is a really important verse because it really sets before us very 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:13.799 clearly what God's terms are. 00:29:13.799 --> 00:29:24.519 God's terms for you approaching Him are that He's holding out His arms to you. 00:29:24.519 --> 00:29:29.519 Holding out His arms to you. 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:38.480 And all you have to do is run to Him and trust Him. 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:46.640 And in the name of God, please do not be disobedient and contrary. 00:29:46.640 --> 00:29:53.440 And I think that this image of outstretched arms is really powerful and really beautiful. 00:29:53.440 --> 00:30:02.920 And in many ways, here is where we find the biblical balance between God's sovereign election 00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:05.039 and our personal responsibility. 00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:09.440 That's the two great truths that chapters 9 and 10 of Romans speak about. 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:14.839 Chapter 9 tells us that God chooses those on whom He will have mercy. 00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:20.559 Chapter 10 tells us that the gospel is freely and openly offered to all. 00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:27.399 And salvation is promised, promised to everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. 00:30:27.399 --> 00:30:31.159 And we know that both of these doctrines are true and yet they can be a wee bit hard to 00:30:31.159 --> 00:30:32.559 reconcile at times. 00:30:32.559 --> 00:30:37.759 And I know that I can't explain it perfectly and there's a lot that I can't explain perfectly. 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:41.079 And of course, that makes sense because we can't look down on God and put Him in our 00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:44.879 box and explain every single detail of what He does. 00:30:44.879 --> 00:30:51.960 But I think in terms of trying to balance this idea of God's sovereignty and our responsibility, 00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:57.000 the idea that we're completely dependent on God and yet at the same time we're not fatalistic 00:30:57.000 --> 00:31:00.799 in saying that, well, God will do what He likes so we don't do anything. 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:03.119 We have a responsibility to respond to Him. 00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:07.599 In terms of that balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility, I think that the 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:15.000 image of outstretched arms, that this verse is setting before us, is really helpful. 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:21.839 Because when my daughter Annie was wee, I would come home and you'd come in the door 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:24.319 and I would stretch out my arms to Annie. 00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:30.159 And everyone in here, every mum, dad, auntie, uncle, granny, even pal, friends or families 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:31.360 will know what this is like. 00:31:31.360 --> 00:31:37.080 You stretch out your arms and she'd run in to my arms and she'd wrap her arms around 00:31:37.080 --> 00:31:45.040 me and I would pick her up and it would be great, a great way to come home. 00:31:45.040 --> 00:31:46.480 Dads never get tired of that, by the way. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:50.519 You daughters here who are like 25, just go for it. 00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:51.880 Dads never get tired of that. 00:31:51.880 --> 00:31:57.279 Maybe you just don't run too fast. 00:31:57.279 --> 00:32:02.480 So Annie runs to me, she throws her arms around me, she doesn't wait for me to go and grab 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:05.359 her and drag her into my arms against her will. 00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:12.160 She runs to me and when she runs into my arms, she's holding me as tight as she can, but 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:18.119 really I'm the one who's holding her. 00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:22.879 And she knows me as her father and she runs to me, but she doesn't know everything about 00:32:22.879 --> 00:32:25.079 me, she doesn't know the whole story of my life. 00:32:25.079 --> 00:32:32.759 She can't comprehend everything about me because she's just we, but I know her and I've known 00:32:32.759 --> 00:32:37.559 every detail of her life since the day she was born. 00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:42.759 She runs to me because she loves me, but the real truth is that she only loves me because 00:32:42.759 --> 00:32:49.960 I loved her first and she feels safe grabbing on to me thinking I'll never let go, but the 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:56.000 real truth is that she's safe because I will never let go. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:33:06.600 And I think in a similar way, we run to God in faith and we hold on to him, but the real 00:33:06.600 --> 00:33:12.279 truth is that he is holding us. 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:16.920 And we know that he is God and through faith in Jesus Christ we know him as father and 00:33:16.920 --> 00:33:22.720 yet at the same time we can't comprehend everything about him, but the real truth is he knows 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:28.519 us and he knows everything about us. 00:33:28.519 --> 00:33:40.360 We run to him because we love him, but the real truth is he loved us first, long before 00:33:40.360 --> 00:33:43.759 we ever loved him. 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:52.119 And we feel safe and we think we'll never let go, but the real truth is we're safe because 00:33:52.119 --> 00:33:56.400 he will never let go of us. 00:33:56.400 --> 00:34:01.799 And God sovereignty and our responsibility meet perfectly in the gospel. 00:34:01.799 --> 00:34:04.519 We run to God on his terms. 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:09.480 We come to him in faith and when we do so, we discover that he's loved us from all eternity. 00:34:09.480 --> 00:34:16.199 He's chosen to make us his own and he's done everything, absolutely everything required 00:34:16.199 --> 00:34:19.719 for us to be saved. 00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:26.280 Now, if you keep away from Jesus, then that balance of sovereignty and responsibility 00:34:26.280 --> 00:34:30.800 in the gospel will be a stumbling block. 00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:37.760 But if you run to Jesus, that stumbling block will become the cornerstone on which your 00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:41.520 whole life is built. 00:34:41.520 --> 00:34:50.160 And it's a great reminder that we need to come to God on his terms. 00:34:50.160 --> 00:34:53.000 And God's terms are not, you need to make yourself good enough. 00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:55.200 God's terms are not, you need to sort out your life. 00:34:55.200 --> 00:35:00.080 God's terms are not, you need to make yourself a better person. 00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:12.519 God's terms are that his arms are open and are stretched out for you. 00:35:12.519 --> 00:35:19.199 And everything that Jesus achieved in his death and resurrection, every detail of theology 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:27.319 that the Bible sets before us, every single element of God's great plan of salvation has 00:35:27.320 --> 00:35:34.680 been done so that God could hold his arms out to you today. 00:35:34.680 --> 00:35:46.519 It has brought you here today to hear that, that God's arms are open and all you have 00:35:46.519 --> 00:35:50.200 to do is run to him. 00:35:50.200 --> 00:35:55.120 And that's why this chapter should make us burst with joy. 00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:58.799 The fact that no matter how broken we are, no matter how much we've mucked up in our 00:35:58.799 --> 00:36:03.519 lives, no matter how many mistakes we've made, we can run to him and everyone who calls on 00:36:03.519 --> 00:36:04.519 him will be saved. 00:36:04.519 --> 00:36:07.799 And that's the message that the whole world needs to hear, which is why Paul says in this 00:36:07.799 --> 00:36:10.279 chapter, go, people need to hear. 00:36:10.279 --> 00:36:13.599 So we need people to preach and we need people to be sent. 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:20.239 It is so important that we go out with this message because God's promise will never fail. 00:36:20.239 --> 00:36:25.879 This chapter can make our hearts burst with joy, but this chapter can also make our hearts 00:36:25.879 --> 00:36:30.759 break with sorrow. 00:36:30.759 --> 00:36:43.559 Because to push away God's open arms is the most tragic thing that anyone could ever do. 00:36:43.559 --> 00:36:50.119 And maybe you've pushed God's arms away lots of times in your life. 00:36:50.119 --> 00:36:51.119 I did. 00:36:51.119 --> 00:37:00.320 The amazing truth is that God's arms are still open. 00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:05.079 So what's the story of your life going to be? 00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:09.039 Is God going to say all day long I've held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:17.679 people or is God going to say I held out my hands and you ran in? 00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:22.559 May that be true of us all. 00:37:22.559 --> 00:37:25.360 Amen. 00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:33.880 God our Father, we thank you for the simplicity of the Gospel. 00:37:33.880 --> 00:37:40.480 And we are all guilty of making it too complicated, we're guilty of standing over you and expecting 00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:43.200 you to do what we say. 00:37:43.200 --> 00:37:47.840 We're guilty of trying to work our way up to you thinking that our achievement is what 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:52.200 makes us, is what's important. 00:37:52.200 --> 00:37:56.480 And we're guilty of wandering away from you. 00:37:56.480 --> 00:38:04.719 And we want to thank you that none of these are the right way of coming to you. 00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:12.079 And that the terms of coming to you are actually the most beautiful and most simple and most 00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:14.480 wonderful. 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:18.880 That because of Jesus Christ your arms are open. 00:38:18.880 --> 00:38:23.679 And oh God we just thank you for that and we just want to run into your arms and never, 00:38:23.679 --> 00:38:25.960 ever, ever wander away again. 00:38:25.960 --> 00:38:29.599 God keep us and lead us and make us all your own. 00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:56.559 In Jesus' name, amen.