Romans 10:5-13

Good morning, I invite you to open up your Bibles to Hebrews.

Excuse me, we're not in the book of Hebrews.

We're in the book of Romans, chapter 10.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

We spent a little time in Hebrews earlier today.

Romans, chapter 10.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

Our text for today is Romans, chapter 10, verses 5 through 13.

Romans 10:5–13

Before we get into our text, I want to tell you that I am very tired.

Physically tired.

We have had a lot going on here in the life of the church.

Most of you know I'm in the process of building a house.

Yesterday I was here, down in my study, working on this sermon today.

And I'm not sure that he knew it, but some people were here cleaning,

and Coulson came down and knocked on my door to ask me some questions about chairs,

and I had passed out, and not even thought about passing out.

I don't know if he sensed that I felt awkward when he knocked on the door.

And I said, come in.

I was very startled awake.

So I'm finding myself sitting and just fading into unconsciousness all of a sudden.

So physically very tired.

But more than that, I'm just finding myself lately spiritually tired.

I am tired of unimportant theological debates.

There is so much going on out there and sometimes even in here.

I'm tired of people confusing gospel implications with the gospel itself.

I'm tired of strained relationships and family conflict.

I'm tired of misplaced trust in political parties.

I'm tired of denominational fights and denominational infighting.

I'm tired of people who profess Christ ignoring the word of Christ.

Seems often you can't even have a conversation with people who say they're people of the word.

I'm tired of nitpicky preferences and grumbling.

I'm tired of mission drift.

I'm tired of mental illness and faith deconstruction and lack of assurance.

And in all this exhaustion, I am tempted to lose hope.

Feel this tug to just lose hope as we live in the time between what will be fully realized in Christ.

The days feel really long.

So I'm tempted to lose hope or rather, I may say, to forget the hope that is mine.

And the hope that is the hope of the world.

Beloved, we ought never to grow tired of hearing the gospel.

For it is the greatest of news for a dismally rebellious humanity.

It must be believed, cherished, defended, and shared.

You and I need to be reminded of the good news of Jesus Christ.

I need to hear it all the time.

The following is a quotation that I shared with you on the very first week that we picked up our study of the book of Romans.

Martin Luther said this of the letter.

This epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament and is truly the purest gospel.

It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word by heart,

but also that he should occupy himself with it every day as the daily bread of the soul.

We can never read it or ponder over it too much.

For the more we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.

And so we have before us this morning another opportunity to revel in the good news of Jesus Christ.

This text is straightforward and I expect my comments this morning to be brief.

Often I struggle to condense my notes for our planned time together.

Today, that is not the case.

However, short and simple our consideration of this text is today,

let us not miss the profundity of God's mercy expressed to a people in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

So I'll begin reading in verse 5 of chapter 10.

Before I read, let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and for our good.

And so we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.

Paul writes,

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.

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.

For the scripture says,

Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.

For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

The four at the beginning of verse 5 tells us that Paul is further explaining what he has previously stated.

Last week we saw Paul juxtapose righteousness pursued by the law and righteousness that is by faith.

And in verse 4 of chapter 10, Paul says,

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

That is, Christ puts away any idea that we might pursue the law for righteousness.

So in today's text, he's going to help his hearers understand exactly what he means in verse 4.

And he's going to appeal to the writing of Moses to do so.

He goes to the scripture to make his point.

So look at verse 5.

That is, if you desire to live a life that is pleasing to God, to be called righteous, that is to be perfect,

and you pursue this righteousness by the law, then you will have to conduct yourself entirely by the law.

Your very life will depend on it.

Paul here is citing Leviticus 18 and verse 5, where Moses records the words of God.

Hear them.

You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules.

If a person does them, he shall live by them.

I am the Lord.

And so let me just say it more plainly.

If the basis of your perfection is your perfection, then you will have to be perfect.

Before we proceed any further, I think at this point it may serve someone here to consider why anyone would even desire to pursue righteousness.

Gospel responses must start with an understanding of our sinfulness.

That we are in fact wicked and rebellious and deserve God's wrath.

Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Paul has laid this case out for us extensively.

Let me just read to you a couple of verses.

First, verse 18.

There he says,

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,

who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

So their non-perfection, their wickedness, right?

The wrath of God is what is due that kind of living.

You should want to flee from unrighteousness and toward righteousness to avoid the just wrath of God.

This is a thing to tremble before.

That the creator of all things would say of you,

You deserve wrath.

God's wrath is white hot.

And we have purchased it with our sin.

Someone may say, though,

I am not sure there even is such a God.

Well, Paul goes on in verse 19 of the same chapter.

For what could be known about God is plain to them,

because God has shown it to them.

Paul argues, chapter 1, verse 19,

Oh no, you do know that there is a God,

and that His wrath awaits you.

Verse 20,

For His invisible attributes,

namely, His eternal power and divine nature,

have been clearly perceived,

ever since the creation of the world,

and the things that have been made.

So it can be seen there is a creator, God.

And then Paul finishes verse 20 by saying,

So they are without excuse.

So we will all one day stand before God in judgment.

And the basis of that judgment will be righteousness.

You will either be found perfect on that day

and avoid the wrath of God,

or found imperfect,

and the wrath of God will bear on you forever.

And if you need some further evidence,

Paul goes on into chapter 2

to say that our conscience bears witness

that there is a God

because we have God's law on our hearts.

That you have ever recognized

that anything is right

or that anything is wrong

is because God made you

and He wrote that law on your hearts.

That's verse 15 of chapter 2.

There's evidence even within our own thinking,

our own moral compass,

that this God does in fact exist.

And we know that we have all done things

that are wrong.

Righteousness should be of great concern to everyone.

Trying to understand and sort out

the right and the wrong of the world

should concern us.

And how we are to be found right

matters greatly.

And it matters greatly

that you know that you cannot achieve

righteousness on your own.

It grieves me how many Christian traditions,

at least claim to be Christian,

and mess this up,

want to add to God's grace,

works for justification.

If you look out there,

it's all over the place.

It's rampant.

Rob Ventura,

the author of a great commentary

on the book of Romans,

said this,

This attempting to be made right with God

by our own strivings

is a tyranny of the highest order

and tragic for the one

who does not comply.

It reigns over us

and it is tragic.

Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans

that righteousness is achieved

through faith alone

in the person and work

of Jesus Christ alone.

I've said to you,

this is the theme of the book,

that we're justified

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone.

And Paul is working out

the great implications of that

all the way through the end

of chapter 11.

And then he tells us

how we should live in light

of this wonderful truth.

Proceeding the verses

that I just read to you

in Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

this is verse 16 and 17,

the thesis statement of the letter.

He says,

Therefore I am not ashamed

of the gospel.

And I just like to insert

the positive of that.

For I am proud of the gospel.

For it is the power of God

for salvation

to everyone who believes,

to the Jew first

and also to the Greek.

For in it the righteousness of God

is revealed from faith

for faith.

As it is written,

the righteous shall live

by faith.

Paul is continually

unpacking

what he has said

in verse 16 and 17

of chapter 1.

We see him here again

doing that very thing.

You have to ask the question,

why?

Why is Paul going

through such labor

to do it?

And it's because

it's so important

for us

to understand.

Justification

by faith,

through faith alone.

This is exactly

what Paul is teaching

here in verses 6-8

as he further employs

the writing of Moses.

Here Paul is citing

Deuteronomy chapter 30

Deuteronomy 30:11–14

verse 11-14

with the introductory phrase

there at the beginning

of verse 6,

but the righteousness

based on faith

says.

So the righteousness

based on works,

this pursuit

of works

says you must be perfect

and you must be perfect

by your own doing.

But the righteousness

based on faith

says,

and here citing

Deuteronomy 30

Deuteronomy 30:11–14

verse 11-14,

for this commandment

that I command you today,

that is,

to keep the law,

is not too hard for you,

neither is it far off.

It is not in heaven

that you should say,

who will ascend to heaven

for us

and bring it to us

that we may hear it

and do it.

Neither is it beyond the sea

that you should say,

who will go over the sea

or into the abyss

for us

and bring it to us

that we may hear it

and do it.

But the word is very near you.

It is in your mouth

and in your heart

so that you can do it.

If you are looking at chapter 10

verses 6-8

and listening astutely

as I read from Deuteronomy,

you have surely noticed

that Paul's inspired

parenthetical insertions.

You see them there?

The Deuteronomy text

in a simple reading

seems to be saying

that God's law

can be easily kept

by one's own volition.

But Paul helps us

to see its connection

to Christ,

the unfolding reality

of the gospel.

There he says,

but the righteousness

based on faith says,

do not say in your heart

who will ascend

into heaven

and here's the inspired

insertion,

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

or the gospel

that we proclaim.

Now the law

was always

meant to be kept

by faith.

This has not changed

Old to New Testament.

It could have never

been kept perfectly.

It was meant

to press

those who tried

to keep it

toward faith.

They had to believe

that they were

in pursuing righteousness,

somehow

God

would save them.

They knew they couldn't

keep it perfectly,

but yet promises

somehow

are being kept

as we work

to do this thing.

But now because of

the progressive revelation,

we understand

how it is

that it's kept.

We now

have

Christ

and He

is not far off.

That is the point

that Paul

is driving at here.

This confession

of righteousness

based on faith

is in a

Christ

who is near.

He

is near.

Paul

arcs us

through

all that he

has taught

so far

and he brings

us

to the

simple

profundity

of verses

9 and 10.

There he says,

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.

Sincerity

of belief

at the very

core

of

your

being.

Believing

something is

true

and then living

in light

of that truth

and confession

with your mouth

the initial

evidence

of your

belief

that Jesus

is God.

He is

who He

said He

is.

He is

who God

the Father

said He

is.

And that His

resurrection

is factual

and it

validates

His

completed

work

is the

work

of faith.

Believing

in your heart,

confessing

with your

mouth

is the

work

of faith

and the

means

and the

only

means

through

which

God

saves

sinners.

And this

is not

meant to

be

formulaic.

Paul is

not laying

out a

rubric

for us

that we

must go

through

in order

to be

saved.

It is

just

rather

an

explanation

of

faith.

Believing

in your

heart,

grasping

hold of

the reality

of who

Jesus

is

and

what

He

has

accomplished

and

evidencing

that that's

true.

confessing

with your

mouth

that He

is

in

fact

who

He

said

He

is.

It's an

explanation

of faith.

And it's

not a

lifelong

labor.

It sets

us on a

course where

we must

now earn

God's

favor.

It's a

liberating

hope.

It sets

us free

from the

law for

righteousness.

We're still

given the

moral law

as a

guide for

us that

we might

grow in

holiness,

but it

is not

for our

standing

before God.

When we

become

Christians,

we're

changed in

kind.

We're

those who

will stand

before Him

in judgment

and He

will say

of us,

well done,

my good

and faithful

servant,

because we're

clothed in

the righteousness

of Christ.

You've

heard me

talk at

length

about

double

imputation

and I

think it's

so important.

That's why

I say it

so often.

That is

to say,

believing in

the gospel

doesn't just

forgive us

our sin,

which is so

incredibly

important.

We need our

record expunged

if we're not

going to bear

God's wrath

forever.

But not

only that,

we need

the perfection

that the law

requires.

And so we're

granted that

also in

Christ,

the double

trade,

right?

Christ taking

away our

sin and

giving to

us his

righteousness.

We need

both things.

And if we

only think

that Christ

died to

expunge

my sin,

we often

think that

he expunged

my sin

past.

And now

it's up to

me to

live

righteously,

prove that

I was worth

it,

right?

Some kind

of debtor's

ethic kicks

into our

minds.

And in

fact,

he's also

granted us

his

righteousness.

We are

declared

perfect

already.

And this

becomes the

impetus for,

the power for,

the foundation

for righteous

living,

right?

I now

pursue

righteousness

by the

power of

the Spirit

of grateful

heart.

I want

to live

a life

that honors

my God

because he

has declared

me

righteous.

Charles Spurgeon

said this

of this text,

how very

simple.

No

climbing,

no diving,

no imagining,

no long

reckoning of

the understanding,

no strangling

of the mental

faculties.

It is just

believe God's

testimony

concerning

his Son

and thou

shalt

be

saved.

You need

not be

brilliant

to come

to Christ.

Christ.

You need

only to

recognize

your

transgression

and your

need of

a Savior

and then

to believe

that Jesus

is that

Savior.

We are

justified

by grace

alone,

through faith

alone,

in the person

and work

of Jesus

Christ

alone.

I will

read to

you a

poem.

I believe

the last

time I

read this

poem,

I didn't

know who

to attribute

it to.

I now

know who

to attribute

it to.

It is

called

The Stairs

and it is

by Theodosia

Pickering

Garrison.

It was

written in

1907.

If this

comes up

familiar to

you,

now we

know who

actually

wrote this

poem.

She wrote

this.

Oh,

long and

dark,

the stairs

I trod,

with stumbling

feet to

find my

God,

gaining a

foothold bit

by bit,

then slipping

back and

losing it.

There came

a certain

time when

I loosened

my hold

and fell

thereby,

down to

the lowest

step my

fall as

if I had

not climbed

at all.

And as

I lay,

despairing

there,

there came

a footfall

on the

stairs,

and lo,

when hope

had ceased

to be,

my God,

this poem

of one

who had

labored

to find

themselves

approved

before God

by their

own effort

and failed

and failed

and failed

and came

to a point

of absolute

despair.

I have

nothing,

I can do

nothing,

which is a

prerequisite

that we might

be saved,

that we

would be

humble.

I can

add nothing

to the

equation

of my

salvation

and God

becomes a

man,

comes into

a world,

perfectly

keeps the

law on

our behalf,

dies the

death that

we deserved,

doesn't stay

dead but is

resurrected three

days later,

proving that he

is in fact

the Christ.

He is now

ascended,

seated at the

right hand

of God.

He intercedes

for his

people and he

reigns from

that place.

one day

he will be

told to get

up and come

back for his

people.

If we

are alive

in that day,

we will join

him in the

air,

he will judge

all the

peoples and

he will make

all things

new.

And it's

because of

that that we

have hope

in tired

days.

On the

final day

when we

stand before

God in

judgment,

Paul tells

us in

verse 11,

for the

scripture says,

and here he

is quoting

Isaiah 28

and verse 16,

everyone who

believes in

him will

not be put

to shame.

He goes on

to tell us

the extent

of the

offer of

the gospel

which we'll

look at

further next

week.

He has

stated

precisely in

his letter

that all,

whether Jew

or Greek,

are saved

by graceful

and through

faithful,

alone,

and the

completed

person and

work of

Jesus Christ

alone.

He said

this before,

but it

bears repeating,

especially as

he unfolds

God's purpose

for Jews

and Gentiles

in chapters

9 through

11.

Whether

Jew

or Greek,

there is

no distinction,

verse 12

tells us,

for the same

Lord is

Lord of

all,

bestowing

his riches

on all

who call

on him,

that we

would be

saved,

right,

for everyone

who calls

on the

name of

the Lord.

And that

is to

say,

the name

of the

Lord

represents

all that

he is,

cries out

to him,

his person

and his

work

will

be

saved.

God

and

so today,

if you

have yet

to call

on the

name

of the

Lord,

do so.

I feel

like the

application

is much

more complicated

than that.

There is

a way

to be

saved,

and it

is by

grace

through

faith

in

Christ.

Do

not

labor

to

save

yourself,

which

will end

in your

demise,

but throw

yourself

on the

mercy

of

God.

Confess

with your

mouth that

Jesus is

Lord,

and believe

in your

heart that

God raised

him from

the dead.

If you

have called

on the

name of

the Lord,

do not

lose hope.

The

gospel is

the power

of God

for salvation,

and we

should be

proud of

it.

We

should

believe

it,

we

should

cherish

it,

we

should

defend

it,

and we

should

share

it.

For

everyone

who

believes

in

him

will

not

be

put

to

shame.

I'm

so very

glad

that we

have

this

letter

that

Paul

wrote

under

inspiration

to the

Roman

believers

here in

front of

us for

our

benefit

today.