Romans 3:27-31

It's certainly a blessing to be here this morning. I was telling Chris earlier that I usually feel pretty good about my sermons until everybody starts showing up and I suddenly start to feel the inadequacy of them.

But it's also very nice to see you guys. It also makes a little bit of joy spring up in my heart to see God's people gather together to sing praises to his name and to study his word.

We're going to finish the third chapter of Romans. If you'll turn there with me, Romans chapter 3.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

We're going to read together verses 27 through 31.

I started a couple of weeks preaching from this snazzy iPad, kind of out of necessity the first week, but with this light solo, I'm very thankful that I've been doing that because I can actually see what I'm reading.

I can't quite see my Bible, so I'm glad I copied the text here. Let's read together.

Verses 27 through 31.

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded.

By what kind of law? By a law of works? No.

By what kind of law?

It's a law of works.

A bit of a work in progress.

You'll see there an introductory statement to what we believe as a church.

It links you to a complete statement of faith, but that introductory statement, primarily written by Wes, speaks of the five tenets that came out of the Protestant Reformation.

Many of us know them as the five solas, which is Latin, meaning only.

The five solos.

And this is the phrase.

I want to read it to you quickly.

We believe, Christ's family church believes,

that the Bible alone, sola scriptura,

tells the truth about God's plan for the redemption of his people

and that he eternally saves us by his grace alone, sola gratia,

through faith alone, sola fide,

in Christ alone, solo Christo or solus Christus,

to the glory of God alone, soli Deo gloria.

It's a beautiful, beautiful phrase.

I'd encourage you to memorize it, memorize those solos in that fashion.

And so the thing I kind of want you to draw your attention to

is that sola fide, by faith alone,

which we discussed last week in the previous verses,

verses 21 through 26.

We saw Paul, who's still addressing a primarily Jewish audience,

say that we've all sinned.

None of us are escaping the wrath of God

because we have all sinned, Jew, Gentile.

And if we are Christians,

we are in fact Christians,

that we're justified not by works,

but by our faith in Jesus Christ.

And so we come to this place

where he begins to work out some of the objections.

He goes ahead and addresses them

so that people can't excuse his argument,

but so that he can move on beyond this.

So it's kind of a works versus faith argument,

addressing of these objections.

So I'm going to say this morning that genuine faith is what makes us Christian.

It's what brings salvation to our souls.

Genuine faith placed in Christ.

So let me give you a very probably silly and simplistic analogy for this.

I have a favorite Saturday shirt.

I'm sure many of you have that shirt.

My Saturday shirt's my favorite color.

It's navy blue.

It's a size too big for me.

I've had it for over a decade,

so it's been washed a lot.

You know, it's that nice,

but it's getting kind of thin.

And it kind of has a silly saying on it,

which I just find to be fun.

It has a really simplistic picture of a quilt on it,

and it says,

quilters make better comforters.

I get a kick out of that.

Quilters make better comforters.

Well, yesterday,

I was running errands,

and I have a bit of an idea for a project

I'd like to do here for our building,

a bit of an art project that I've got going on in my brain,

and I need fabrics for that.

And so now in Gainesville,

there's a new Joanne Fabrics.

And so I decided to go to Joanne Fabrics

and look at some of the things they had there

to see if I could make this project work.

And I walked in the store,

and walking in,

I saw the quilting section

and realized what shirt I had on.

I thought,

wow,

people are really going to think I'm into quilting,

being in a store,

looking at fabrics.

And it made me think of this.

If I actually were a man into quilting,

and wanted to feel accepted in Joanne Fabrics,

I think I was the only male there,

I might have actually put a shirt like that on.

I might have wanted to say,

if I actually was a quilter,

I might have wanted to say to that world,

that subculture,

I like quilting.

Look at my shirt.

Of course,

it was entirely an accident.

But we do that,

both as non-Christians and Christians,

in order to fit into the place,

be known for what we want to be known for.

We tend to put on certain airs.

Sociologists call it front stage and back stage.

Everybody has a front stage.

We come out and we perform for the world,

and in the back stage,

we're totally different.

So,

genuine faith

is who we actually are.

What do we actually believe?

Certainly,

what we believe affects the front stage

and ought to be coming out of who we actually are.

But when I say genuine faith,

I'm not talking about the things we put on,

the trappings,

the denomination we're affiliated with,

or what labels we put on ourselves,

or how we dress,

or what buildings we show up to.

Even the good works that we do in the world,

I'm not talking about those things.

I'm talking about a genuine belief

that Jesus Christ is the Son of God,

and that He is the only way

to restore our relationship with Him,

and avoid eternal damnation.

That's what I mean

when I say genuine faith.

So,

I can put on my

quilter shirt,

all right?

I'm not a quilter.

The genuine faith

would be me actually being a quilter.

Going home and

sewing quilts

would be my genuine faith,

and my

rather lacking example there.

So,

I've got four points for you

out of this morning's text.

I'll read them to you quickly,

and we'll go back and repeat them.

And they are,

genuine faith

excludes boasting.

Number one,

genuine faith

excludes boasting.

Number two,

genuine faith

is liberating.

Number three,

genuine faith

promotes ethnic harmony

and missions

to the end of the earth.

I'll repeat that,

so don't worry about

copying that down, though.

And number four,

genuine faith

changes our hearts.

So,

number one,

genuine faith

excludes boasting.

Verse 27

says,

then what becomes

of boasting?

If righteousness

is by faith alone,

which we've seen

in the previous text,

which is a gift from God,

what becomes

of our boasting?

And Paul says,

very emphatically,

it is excluded.

We have no room

to boast

in our salvation.

By what kind of law?

By a law of works?

By the things we can do?

No.

But by the law

of faith.

By that which we cannot

accomplish.

So boasting is

entirely excluded.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2,

8 and 9,

for by grace

you have been saved

through faith.

And this is not

your own doing.

This is not

your own doing.

It is the gift

of God,

not as a result of works,

so that no one

may boast.

He says that very plainly

for us,

doesn't he?

Your salvation

comes as a result

of faith.

faith.

But that faith

is not your own.

It was a gift

given to you

by Almighty God.

Why?

So that you didn't

do it.

So that you can't

boast in it.

Because God

is jealous

for his glory.

God is

God-centered.

For us to be

man-centered,

for Nathan to be

Nathan-centered,

would be sin.

It would be selfish

of me.

But God is

God-centered.

Because God

is completely

loving toward

the world.

If he were to do

anything else

but have us

focus on him,

he'd be unloving.

Let me say that

again for you

in different words.

God is

the best

thing

that any of us

could experience.

Any of us

could have

and hold for our own.

God is that thing.

He is the creator.

Therefore,

everything

is subservient

to him.

He is better

than all things

because all things

emanate from him.

So if God were to say,

no, no,

don't look at me.

It's cool.

Nathan's a good guy.

Nathan's a good preacher.

Nathan looks good

in his plaid shirts

on Sunday morning.

If he were to say

any of those things,

he would be

unloving toward you

because you would be

looking at me

and not at him.

So God is

entirely God-centered.

He is jealous

for his glory.

He wants us

to praise him

for all things.

Isaiah 41,

Isaiah 41,

he says,

my glory

I will not give

to another.

He will not

give his glory

to another.

So even in our salvation,

it's his work,

it's his doing,

it's a gift

of faith

for us.

So we cannot boast

!

I think there's far

too much boasting.

I get this sense

that there's an air

of arrogance

amongst us

because we've figured

it out.

Right?

We've looked at the landscape

of philosophy

and religion

and we've picked

the right one.

We must be smarter

than everybody.

Right?

We've figured it out.

We've figured it out.

I'm brilliant.

I picked the right one.

No room

for boasting

in the gospel.

If you have a proper

soteriology

to understand

our salvation,

you will be

humble.

a lot of people

have false humility.

A lot of people

would say,

somebody said to me,

Nathan,

you preached a great

sermon this morning.

I go,

no, no.

It really wasn't

that great.

That's not humility.

But if I say,

thank you,

praise God,

because I'm really

bad at this.

I'm so feeble.

You have no idea

how desperate I feel

on a Sunday morning

for God to use me

to proclaim his truth.

That's the kind

of humility

that's birthed

out of a proper

understanding

of the gospel.

So,

genuine faith

excludes boasting

entirely.

Completely

excludes it.

Number two.

Genuine faith

is liberating.

The burden

of keeping the law

has been lifted

from our shoulders.

Verse 28.

For we hold

that one is justified

by faith

apart from the works

of the law.

This is a restatement

of things that he's

been saying all along

in the book of Romans

so far.

And he says it again.

We hold

that this is

the truth.

That one is justified

by faith

apart from the works

of the law.

People can do

good things.

It's within our

capacity

as unbelievers

to do

good things.

It's possible

to be

philanthropic.

It's possible

to help

mend wounds.

To dig people

out of the mud

in land fights.

That is possible

to do

apart from

the work

of Christ.

But none

of that

is honoring

to him

if we're not

Christians.

It's self-serving.

You see?

So it's faith

that sets us

before God

as right.

Justifies us.

proclaims us

as righteous

before him.

It's our faith.

It's our belief

in him.

Paul writes

in Galatians 5.1

For freedom

Christ has set us free.

Stand firm

therefore

and do not

submit again

to a yoke

of slavery.

And what's he referring

to?

The great issue

that was going on

in the church

of Galatia

was the Judaizers

those Christian Jews

that were trying

to press people

to become circumcised.

to carry this

outward sign

of what they must do.

Do not

submit again

to a yoke of slavery.

We have been set free

by the grace of Christ.

I'm going to talk

a little bit more

about liberty

when we get

to our fourth point.

I want to give you

an example.

I went to a

missions conference

in Urbana, Illinois

and there

was a group

of Indians

Native Americans

from Canada

so Native Canadians

and they talked

about how

when the

white man came

when the Christians

came

to convert them

that they put them

in schools

and they took away

their names

and they wouldn't

allow them

to speak in their

native tongue

they actually would

beat them

if they did so

and what they

attempted to do

with these

young Indian boys

is turn them

into them.

Jesus

was not

a white

middle class

Republican

but yet

we press

at people

to become

us

take on

our culture

we could set

free

from that

they proceeded

to have a

drum circle

which I didn't

connect to at all

but the point was

we can use

the things

that are ours

as a Native

American people

to praise

the one true God

we've been set

free

from the burden

of the law

in John chapter 4

John 4 · chapter mention

Jesus meets

with the woman

at the well

the Samaritan woman

and she

says to him

where is it

that we should

worship

she presents

this question

to him

because

my people

are saying

we should

do it

on this

mountain

and your

people say

it should

happen

in Jerusalem

in the city

there

where's the

proper place

for that to

happen

and Jesus

responds to her

the hour is

coming

and is now

here

when the true

worshipers

will worship

the father

in spirit

and truth

for the father

is seeking

such people

to worship

him

God is spirit

and those

who worship

him must

worship

in spirit

and truth

we've been

liberated

from the law

number three

genuine faith

promotes

ethnic harmony

and missions

to the ends

of the earth

verses 29

and 30

where is God

the God

of the Jews

only

is he not

the God

of the Gentiles

also

yes

of Gentiles

also

since God

is one

who would

justify

the circumcised

by faith

and the

uncircumcised

through faith

recall that he's

writing to a

primarily Jewish

audience

and they

would have

known

who God

was

who is this

God

that Paul

is talking

about

they were

very familiar

with Exodus

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

when Moses

is being sent

to the people

to be setting

them free

from Egypt

and he says

who should I

say has sent

me

I'm going to

sound like a

crazy guy

who should I

say has sent

me

and we see

then this

name for God

that the Hebrew

people held

very sacred

Yahweh

I am

who I am

is what he

responded

I am

who I am

that means

that God

is the source

of all things

he's the source

of all life

everything plugs

into him

he plugs

into nothing

to get his

power

all emanates

from his

being

so we

were all

then

created by

God

I don't

think any

Jewish people

are sitting

in this

room

with us

today

so we're

on the

Gentile

side

of Paul's

argument

but all

the different

ethnicities

out there

we were

all

created

by God

and that's

Paul's

argument

isn't God

the God

of everyone

is he just

the God

of the Jews

is there

another God

that created

the other

peoples

of the earth

no

because God

is I

am

who I

am

he is

the source

of all

things

that ought

to change

the way

we feel

about

other

ethnicities

and notice

I'm

using my

terms

carefully

I haven't

said race

once

have I

using the

term

ethnicity

there's

certainly

differences

amongst us

aren't there

there are

people from

different

countries

and cultural

backgrounds

race

is

socially

constructed

we invent

race

in order

to draw

lines

create

divisions

the big

genocide

in Rwanda

was a

was a

fabricated

genocide

Denmark

was ruling

correct me if I get this

wrong

Denmark was ruling

and created by

measurements of

people's faces

by measurements

of their faces

divided them into

two groups

the Tutsis

and the Hujus

divided them into

two groups

of people

because they knew

that if they could

divide the people

they'd be less

likely to rise up

against them

they created

they invented

races

of people

and they

fabricated

they pushed

warring

between them

once a million

people

were hacked

with machetes

because of

the invention

of race

it's tragic

the gospel

speaks through

that

doesn't it

we gotta love

all kinds

of people

even the ones

we don't understand

there's no doubt

that there are

varying cultures

I don't get

all the peoples

of the world

what motivates them

why they like

certain foods

it's beyond my

understanding

but yet

I don't love

them the same

because their

God is the same

as my God

and he created

them

just like

he created

me

Matthew 28

18

we're commanded

to make

disciples of

all nations

not

just our own

or those who

we feel

most comfortable

with

but of all

nations

Revelation

Revelation 7:9

chapter 7

verse 9

and 10

we see a

picture

of the throne

room

and if this

doesn't motivate

us to share

our faith

to the ends

of the earth

I don't know

I don't know

what to do

for you

if this doesn't

get you excited

about world

missions

John writes

after this

I looked

and behold

a great multitude

that no one

could number

from every nation

from all the tribes

and peoples

and languages

standing before

the throne

and before the

Lamb

clothed in white

robes

with palm branches

in their hands

and crying out

with a loud

voice

salvation belongs

to our God

who sits on

the throne

and to the Lamb

genuine

faith

promotes

ethnic harmony

and missions

to the end

of the earth

number four

genuine faith

changes our

hearts

verse 31

do we then

overthrow the law

by this faith

so here he has

the people

who have

done their best

to live

by this law

do we then

overthrow the law

by our faith

by no means

if you were here

a couple of weeks ago

you'll remember

that that phrase

in Greek

is the strongest

negative term

he could have placed

in that place

absolutely no way

is what he's saying

by no means

on the contrary

we uphold

the law

the Jews thought

that their salvation

came to them

because they

did good things

because they

threw in the effort

they didn't understand

the sacrificial system

if that's what they believed

they didn't understand

that there was nothing

all their effort

there was nothing

they could do

they couldn't

uphold

the law

but here comes

Christ

he doesn't come

to abolish the law

but to what

fulfill it

what's he talking about

when he says that

I did not come

to abolish the law

but to fill it

that's in Matthew chapter 5

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

if you care

he didn't come

to abolish the law

but to fulfill it

when we place

our faith in Christ

we receive the spirit

of God

which moves in us

which creates in us

the ability

to have right motivation

and to live for him

changes our hearts

God says in Ezekiel

Ezekiel 11:19

chapter 11

verse 19 and 20

and I will give them

one heart

he's talking about

the church

what he'll do

for his people

I will give them

one heart

and a new spirit

I will put within them

I will remove

the heart of stone

from their flesh

and give them

a heart of flesh

that they may walk

in my statutes

and keep my rules

and obey them

and they shall be

my people

and I will be

their God

and then later

chapter 36

verse 27

Ezekiel

God says

and I will put

my spirit

within you

and cause you

to walk

in my statutes

and be careful

to obey my rules

so we're given

then the ability

to live

righteously

we're declared

righteous

and given

the ability

to live

righteously

that means

something for our

life

doesn't it

I mean

in our

in our

liberty

we have the ability

now

we don't

have to be

burdened

by this law

if I don't

keep this law

perfectly

then I'm cursed

there's no way

around that

and none of us

have been able

to do that

and that is a burden

on our shoulders

that burden

has been lifted

because of the grace

of Christ

but now

because we have

God's spirit

working within us

we love God

and the things

of God

we will want

to do

what he wants

us to do

that's why

the gospel

is so

vital

to our

daily

Christian

living

some people

feel like

we've moved

beyond that

I'm a Christian

now

I've heard

that story

heard it over

and over again

I get it

I was sinful

Jesus died for me

I placed my

faith in him

in that

is the motivation

for my

Christian living

the spirit

of God

stirs in me

when I hear

the gospel

presented

when I am

reminded of

who I was

and who I am

now

and what

happened

to get me

there

I am

moved

to praise

him

by living

a righteous

life

I wish

I could

pay somebody

to follow

me around

and just

preach the

gospel

we can put

it on the

radio

we can listen

to it

on our

headphones

great

I wish

I had

a person

just constantly

reminding me

consistently

what God

has done

for me

in Christ

so we

uphold

the law

we live

righteous

living

because

what he

has done

for us

it's a struggle

though isn't it

Paul speaks to that

in Romans

Romans 7:15

chapter 7

verse 15

he says

for I do not

do what I want

but I do the

very thing

I hate

and then in

verse 24

he says

wretched man

that I am

who will deliver

me from this

body of death

thanks be to

God

through Jesus

Christ

our Lord

and what

he's actually

talking about

in this case

was a Roman

punishment

when

somebody committed

murder

one of the ways

they could be

punished

was that the

person they

murdered

would actually

be tied

onto them

fastened

onto their

back

this is

fascinating

because that

person is going

to begin

to decay

no one's going

to want to be

around them

and what's going

to begin

happening to

their flesh

is going to

rot right

along with

it

that's what

Paul's talking

about

here

a little

culture for

you that

helps you

understand

what is it

that he's

saying

he looks

at his

own

flesh

the desires

of his

flesh

that way

as a

wretched

decaying

thing

rotting

away

on his

back

incredible

who will

deliver me

from this

body of

death

Jesus

Christ

our

Lord

so do

you find

in your

life

that you

are advancing

in your

love for

God

and his

statutes

and the

things he's

concerned about

or your

love for the

world

the lens

you ought to

hold up

constantly

how am I

doing today

versus

yesterday

have I

advanced in

holiness this

year

versus last

year

which way

am I

waning

do you

love God's

people

do you

love the

lost

do you

love sharing

the gospel

or do you

love the

things of

this world

do you

care more

for your

clothing

and your

car

and your

TV

shows

entertainment

comfort

do you

care more

about

test your

faith

by that

simple

example

of this

we come

together

on Sunday

mornings

to meet

with the

church

which is

precious

to Christ

understand

that this

is his

bride

and all

over the

place this

morning

people are

meeting

together

to learn

about God

to be

motivated

to Christian

living

to encourage

one another

support one

another

this is

special

time

many of

us

don't

prepare for

it at

all

it's

another

thing

we

do

what

do

you

do

on

Saturday

evening

what

are you

up to

preparing

yourself

for Sunday

morning

not many

of us

are about

that

business

do we

look

forward

to the

things

of God

to what

he's going

to do

with his

people

on Sunday

morning

enough

that we

prep

ourselves

for it

young

people

how late

do you

stay up

on Saturday

night

Saturday

night

another

party

night

for you

playing

video

games

got your

halo

going

until

3 o'clock

in the

morning

some

of you

walk in

here

looking

miserable

we

ought to

prep

ourselves

for this

we

love

the

things

of

God

we

ought

to

be

excited

about

Sunday

morning

we

ought

to

come

expecting

that

God

is

going

to

speak

to

us

because

he

does

that

the

proclamation

of his

word

is the

primary

way

in which

God

speaks

to

his

people

did

you

know

that

we

get

awfully

wrapped

up

in this

personal

relationship

with

Jesus

Christ

bit

which

we

all

have

right

go to

many

churches

this

morning

and

there

is

no

light

in

the

room

right

because

they

want

you

to

have

your

personal

relationship

with

Jesus

Christ

if

you

can

see

or

hear

the

person

next

to

you

you

you're

not

worshiping

God

saved

a

people

on

the

cross

which

includes

persons

but

a

people

we

ought

to

come

prepared

for

this

morning

that's

just

one

example

one

that's

been

burning

in me

for

a

while

so

we

see

then

in

this

text

some

tests

of

genuine

faith

excludes

boasting

liberates

us

from the

burden

of

the

law

promotes

ethnic

harmony

and

missions

to the

ends

of

the

earth

and

it

changes

our

hearts

and

I

say

thanks be to

God

through

Christ

Jesus

our

Lord

as we

fail in

these

things

and strive

to do

better

all praise

belongs to

him

when we

pull it

off

let's

pray

God