God's Way of Making Us Right with Himself

So we'll be starting at Romans 9 verse 30 and we'll be reading through to chapter 10 verse 13.

Romans 9:30

What shall we say then?

That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith,

! But that Israel, who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness, did not succeed in reaching that law.

Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.

They have stumbled over the stumbling stone.

As it is written, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence,

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own,

they did not submit to God's righteousness.

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

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law,

that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.

But the righteousness based on faith says,

do not say in your heart, who will ascend into heaven, 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 that we proclaim.

For with the heart one believes and is justified,

and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

For the scripture says,

Well, good morning everyone.

Will you pray with me as we come to God's word?

Now, Father, we always need your spirit to illuminate our minds

so that we understand your word,

and to believe, to break through any hardness,

any remaining hardness in our hearts, to believe it.

I pray, Lord, that as we all sit under your word together now,

that our hearts will be singing all the more

that we can stand before you in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Well, the gospel, the label gospel, literally means good news.

But I can forget sometimes that the cross of Jesus is also offensive.

I think when we get together each week and we just enjoy praising Jesus together,

I forget that it's offensive.

I want to do a little thought experiment to get us going this morning

of two men who appear before God for judgment.

Now, one man, he never goes to church.

He's arrogant.

He's just difficult.

He's difficult to get on with.

He was a drunk.

He did harm to his wife and children.

Now, in his old age, he's playing bowls,

and this Don McMurray guy comes up

and interrupts his lovely afternoon

and shares the message of Jesus with him.

He believes with tears.

He dies that night,

appears before God,

and God says,

Innocent.

Righteous.

Come.

Come.

Come into paradise.

Now, another man grows up in the church,

strictly observes Sundays as a Sabbath.

He's decent.

He's hardworking.

He's respected in the community, in church.

He even rises to church leadership.

He's generous, giving to charity.

He dies the same night,

and he sees the other bloke go before him

and sees God's welcome and delight of him

and goes,

Oh, well, I'll be a shoo-in then.

And to his horror,

he hears the words,

Depart from me.

I never knew you.

Now, if you're not offended by that,

I'm not sure we're hearing it properly.

The cross of Jesus offends our deep intuition

that there is good people and bad people.

That intuition is deep.

Our passage today is saying

there's two eternal destinies

at the end of our life.

We see in chapter 10, verse 10,

it's being saved or justified

before that heavenly court,

God saying,

innocent, righteous, saved.

Or, verse 11,

put to shame.

We're each on our way to salvation or shame.

C.S. Lewis, he captures this

much better than I can.

In the end,

that face of God,

which is the delight or terror of the universe,

must be turned upon each one of us,

either with one expression

or with the other,

either conferring glory,

inexpressible,

or inflicting shame

that can never be cured.

It is written,

we shall stand before him,

shall appear,

shall be inspected.

The promise of glory

is the promise almost incredible

and only possible

by the work of Christ

that some of us,

that any of us who really chooses,

shall actually survive that examination,

shall find approval,

shall please God.

Chapters 9 to 11 of Romans,

we're looking at,

the Israelites in Paul's time,

despite all their privileges,

they're still under the wrath of God.

How can that be?

So far in Romans,

we've looked at it from heaven's perspective,

from God's all-powerful,

unconditional mercy.

Chapter 9, verse 16,

so then it depends not on human will

or exertion,

but on God who has mercy.

From heaven's perspective,

all people are under sin.

None of us have lived up

to the knowledge of God that we know.

Some, God hands over

to our sinful desires.

Others, he freely chooses to have mercy.

This belief in God's sovereign mercy,

it's why we can sing,

I have no idea

why you chose me,

but I praise your sovereign mercy.

As Martin rightly urged us,

it shouldn't lead to callous,

Calvinism.

Paul is in anguish here.

Again, we see that in chapter 10, verse 1.

My heart's desire and prayer to God for them

is that they may be saved.

His belief in sovereign mercy

is in anguish,

and he's not sitting on his hands,

he's praying.

It's his belief in that sovereign mercy

that urges him to pray.

I think it actually gives us confidence

to share the gospel.

What else is going to break through

the hardness of unbelief?

God's sovereign mercy can.

So we've looked at it

from God's, heaven's perspective.

But I think in this passage,

Paul is going from earth's perspective.

Human responsibility.

Scripture always affirms 100%

God's sovereignty

and human responsibility, 100%.

How those two fit together.

You tell me afterwards.

I think we'll find out in heaven maybe.

But it's always both.

Someone in our small group

used the quarterwoodism saying

they're two sides of the one coin.

Paul is flipping the coin over here.

We're now looking at human responsibility.

What has Israel done or not done

that means they're still lost.

They're on their way to shame.

So verses 30 to 31 of chapter 9,

I think is what my opening thought experiment

with the two men was trying to capture.

Gentiles, so non-Jewish people,

they did not pursue righteousness,

a righteous life.

Israel did pursue righteousness

by keeping the law.

They're trying to keep the law.

And Gentiles are righteous.

They've got it.

Israel failed to keep the law

and they're lost.

Throughout this whole section,

there's a comparison of two ways

to try and be righteous.

We see there in verse 32.

They did not pursue it by faith,

but as if it was based on works,

on doing.

Righteousness is the ability

to stand before God fully seen

and confident.

He accepts you.

He loves you.

You're right with him.

It's like two friends

who've had a falling out

and they say,

are we right?

Are we good?

And God's like,

yes, we're good.

It's that standing with him.

We're good.

Now, there's two ways

of trying to get that.

Not that to work.

Please hear me correctly.

There's not two roads to get there,

but there's two...

Paul's comparing two ways

people try and get there.

There's a false way

based on the works that you do

and there's a true way,

God's way,

based on faith

and what God has done.

And there is a world of difference.

It's the difference between

boasting to God,

look what I've done,

or boasting in God,

what you have done.

And Paul quotes the law.

Okay,

you're trying to be righteous

by keeping the law.

Are you listening

to what the law says?

He quotes

from the Old Testament

and throughout this passage,

he just kind of,

it's like a medley of a song.

He just jams

all these quotations together.

We don't have time,

I don't have time

to go into all of them,

but he's just,

he's jamming

all these quotations together

going,

are you listening to the law?

Because God's always said,

it's by faith.

And I'm going to lay a stone,

I'm going to do something,

I'm going to lay a stone,

I'm going to lay a foundation stone,

the Lord Jesus.

And some who are trying

to be good and do good,

they're going to stumble

over him and fall.

Others,

that's going to be the foundation.

And then,

chapter 10,

verse 2 to 4,

Paul further explains

why trying to be righteous

by doing,

by works,

is not the correct way.

Verse 2,

speaking of the Israelites,

I bear them witness

that they have a zeal for God,

but not according to knowledge.

I think it's common

to hear outside the church

that if people were just sincere

in their religion,

surely whatever God is up there

will be okay with that.

They're sincere,

they're trying.

Surely being sincere is enough,

but no, it's not.

It's not enough.

In all spheres of life,

we all know that.

Just to be enthusiastic

isn't enough.

You've got to actually know

what's right.

I think Paul's life

is a testimony

to what he's saying here.

His own conversion.

He knew the Old Testament

back to front.

It's not head knowledge.

That wasn't his problem.

He probably knew

the Old Testament

better than any of us

in this room.

It wasn't head knowledge.

That's not the problem.

He believed in Yahweh,

the God of the Bible,

not pagan gods.

He was so passionate for God,

he went house to house

putting Christians in prison.

The first Christian martyr,

Stephen,

he's approving of his death.

He's that passionate

for God and temple and law.

But how devastating

it was for him

when the Lord Jesus

revealed his glory

and said,

why are you persecuting me?

Paul was like this

high-speed train,

very zealous

for God,

heading in the complete

opposite direction.

Sincerity is not enough.

It's even dangerous

if you're headed

in the wrong direction.

Someone today

can have grown up

in the church,

even right now,

assume they've heard this

a thousand times.

They think they know it.

They're involved.

They're committed.

Some people even

go to the mission field.

If you're headed

in the wrong direction

without knowledge,

it's dangerous.

Verse 3 and 4

explain what they should have known.

Verse 3,

for being ignorant

of the righteousness

of God.

We're going to have to

come back to that phrase.

Righteousness of God

and seeking to establish

their own.

They did not submit

to God's righteousness.

So there's a contrast here.

God's or yours.

He's already talked about

the righteousness of God

in chapter 3.

But if we think about

what a Jew

would have already

known about

righteousness,

righteousness of God

here can't mean

God's character.

God's character

is righteous.

A Jew knows that.

A Jew is very aware

that God is right

in all he does.

He is good.

So it's not

God's character here.

Is it the righteous

demands that God requires?

Jews know that.

They've got the law.

They've got the Ten

Commandments.

They know the righteous

demands that God requires.

What goodness looks like.

The righteousness of God,

it is at the heart

of the Protestant

Reformation.

It is at the heart

of true saving faith.

Martin Luther,

he puzzled over this phrase,

the righteousness of God.

He was a monk.

He had a conscience

before a holy God.

And he knew his prayers.

He knew his confessions

of sin.

He knew his devotion,

his religious devotion

wasn't enough.

And he said,

I hated the righteousness

of God.

That phrase.

I raged with a fierce

and troubled conscience

because he thought

it meant God's

righteous demands.

He could never live up

to it.

Eventually,

he realized

this righteousness

is something God gives.

And he says,

the passive righteousness

with which the merciful God

justifies,

saves us by faith.

And here I felt

that I was altogether

born again

and the very gates

of paradise

opened up before me.

The righteousness of God

is not that he

instantaneously

zaps you

with a righteous character.

If you follow me around

for one hour

after church,

I'll give you

some evidence of that.

But this is

a righteous status

before God.

We're right

with God.

We're good.

We're more than good.

We're family.

It's a status.

So Israel,

being passionate

for God,

were ignorant

of this gift

of being right

with God.

They wanted

to establish

their own

merit,

to stand

before God.

So I don't want

to submit

to what you give.

And it's going

complete opposite

direction

to what

God has done.

Now we'll come

back to verse 4,

but just verse 5

for a second.

What's so wrong

with trying

to establish

your own righteousness

by doing good?

He quotes

Leviticus 19.5

here.

The person

who does

the commandments

shall live

by them.

If you

sincerely

try to

keep the

law of God,

there's nothing

wrong with

the law of God.

It's good.

Nothing wrong

at all.

But it's

too difficult.

Not because

God set the

bar too high,

but because

sin is so

strong.

If you

try and

have a

righteousness

of your

own,

you almost

always have

to do

this.

You've got

to reduce

the law

of God

to external

performance.

When the

law of God

was always

about your

inner

attitudes

of the

heart as

well.

love the

Lord your

God with

all your

heart and

with all

your soul

and all

your mind

and all

your strength.

Paul

illustrates

this back

in chapter

7, one

of the

Ten

Commandments,

do not

covet.

That's an

inner thing.

Do not

desire to

possess something

for yourself

that's not

yours, like

your neighbour's

house, your

neighbour's

wife.

love the

inner desire,

it crushed

him because

as soon as

he took that

law seriously,

if you take

that law

seriously, you

see coveting

in your

mind, I

don't know, I

see it in my

mind and

heart all

the time.

I love that

neighbour's

deck, their

porch, I

want that.

I love that

new car, I

wish that was

mine.

Even

clothing, I'm

covered in

clothing, I

covet people's

soccer skills and

speaking skills and

personality

strengths and

it's

everywhere.

You take the

law of God

seriously, if

you're trying to

establish righteousness

by the law, you've

got to reduce it to

just external.

If you take the

internal seriously,

you'll be

crushed.

sin is too

strong.

No one lives

up to the

law.

Now, coming

back to verse

four, all

Israel should

have been the

first in line

to welcome

Christ with

open arms and

see him and

appreciate him

because Christ

is the end

of the law

for righteousness

to everyone who

believes.

This is God

giving us

righteousness

through what

Christ has

done.

Paul says

back in

chapter 8

verse 3,

for God

has done,

done,

what the

law weakened

by the

flesh, the

sinful flesh,

could not do

by sending

his own

son.

It's a great

phrase, Christ

is the end

of the law.

Now, what

does it

mean,

end?

There's three

main options

and I'm

happy to talk

about it over

morning tea.

End as in

Christ has

brought the

law to a

conclusion,

like some of

you are

wishing this

sermon would

come to a

conclusion.

No, you're

probably not.

But has it

come to a

conclusion?

Christ is the

goal of the

law?

Kind of like

I'm thinking

of like a

medical student.

All their

training, their

goal is to

be a doctor.

That's the

goal.

That's the

purpose of it

all.

The purpose

of the law

was to reach

Christ.

Is it saying

that he's the

goal?

Or is

the end of

the law in

that he did

the whole

law?

He's the

embodiment of

the law.

He's what the

law looks

like.

Now one

thing we have

to rule out

is that Christ

just comes

along and

scrunches up

the law and

goes, oh,

let's just get

rid of that.

He said, I

did not come

to abolish

the law.

I came to

fulfill it.

Not one

tiniest

dot or

stroke of

the pen,

not one

tiniest dot.

I'm not

coming to

abolish it.

I'm coming

to fulfill

it.

Personally, I

think all

three are

valid, depending

where you go in

the New

Testament.

He is the

only one who

obeyed.

You want to

know what the

law looks

like?

Look at

Jesus.

He obeyed.

He's the only

righteous one.

I think,

I think,

again, talk

about open

morning tea,

I think Paul

is emphasizing

here that

Christ is the

goal that the

law was always

leading to.

I think we

see that in

the way he

uses Deuteronomy

30 in the

next section.

He quotes

Deuteronomy

30 like,

whoa, where

did you get

that from,

Paul?

We're going

to see that

in a second.

Israel have

not submitted

to the

very purpose

of the

law that

the law

pointed to.

It was

always pointing

to Jesus

and then

they're going

in the

complete opposite

direction.

They should

have seen

that.

Now, this

phrase does

raise what

place does

the law

have for us

Christians

today.

I don't

want to go

fully into

that because

that is a

big question,

but I just

want to say

a few

things.

The law

is good

in knowing

God's

character.

We should

read it

to know

God's

holy

character.

God's

The law

is good

for understanding

what our

sin is

and our

problem.

It's good

in that it

points forward

to the

solution

that Jesus

is the

high priest

we need.

He's the

sacrifice

we need.

He's the

temple we

need.

It points

forward to

understand

Christ,

so we

should read

the law.

It gives

us wisdom

for what

love of

neighbour

looks like,

what justice

looks like.

It instructs

and informs

love.

But it

is not a

code,

it is not

a rule

book that

God is

either blessing

or cursing

us according

to our

obedience.

That has

come to an

end.

That is

not how

we should

read the

law today.

So verses

5 to

10,

Paul shows

that the

law itself

was always

pointing

forward to

Christ.

Verses

6 to

10,

he's saying

righteousness

has always

been by

faith in

what God

does.

He

graciously

brings salvation

near to

us.

Now he

quotes

Deuteronomy

9,

4.

Here's one

of those

medleys.

He jams a

few passages

here together.

The first

one,

do not

say in

your

heart,

which the

full quotation

there is,

it's not

according to

your

righteousness.

Anyone who

read the

law should

have understood

that.

It's never

been about

your

righteousness.

You're

blessed by

God because

of his

promises.

That's what

that quote

is about.

And then he

goes to

Deuteronomy

30.

Now if I

was marking

an essay and

a student

interpreted

Deuteronomy

30 like

this,

there would

be red

pen.

Like,

where did

you get

this from

Paul?

That's a

bit of a

leap,

isn't it?

Now,

we're the

student here,

so what is

Paul teaching

us?

it's a

passage,

it's a

passage about

the law.

He's not

saying if

you read

Deuteronomy

30,

you would

find this

hidden meaning.

I don't

think we

should read

scripture like

that, where

we've got to

find a hidden

meaning.

I don't

think he's

doing that.

I think

what he's

doing is,

and how

much more

argument.

If that was

the case

then, how

much more

now?

If under

the time of

the law,

God graciously

brought salvation

near to

them, how

much more

in the time

of the

gospel has

God brought

salvation near

to us?

I think it's

a how much

more argument.

the original

context is

Moses saying

the word

of God,

what I

must do

for God

to be

pleased,

to be

righteous,

it is

understandable,

it is

accessible.

You don't

need to go

to heaven

to find

God's

will.

It's not

impossible.

God's

brought it

right close.

It's not

in the

abyss.

Again,

something

impossible

that you

have to

go find,

you have

to do

something to

go find

what God

wants.

He's

brought it

right up

to your

heart and

mouth,

to Israel

that is.

He has

graciously

brought his

will close

to Israel's

heart and

mouth.

If they

just received

it with

faith,

with a

heart of

faith,

it was

right there.

Which

exposes the

problem.

The problem

was always

inside,

not receiving

it.

But then

he interprets

it how much

more now.

Now we're

in the age

of the

gospel of

what God

has done.

It's not

commands

anymore,

it's a

message.

It's a

God has

brought

salvation

near.

The

message

Christ

has

come

down

from

heaven.

He has

lived the

life you

should have

lived,

I should

have

lived.

He has

died the

cursed

death,

I should

have died,

and he's

been raised,

he is

Lord.

That

message,

God has

graciously

brought it

to your

heart and

mouth.

It is

so near

to you

than me.

You don't

have to go

to heaven

to find

it,

you don't

have to

do,

it's

right

there.

We

often

fret,

have I

done

enough?

we

fret,

all

those

sins

of my

past

that

pierce

your

conscience,

and a

child can

understand

this,

it is

so close

to each

one of

us,

because

it's a

message.

Verse 9

and 10,

these are,

if you want

a memory

verse,

it often

is a memory

verse,

because they're

beautiful

words,

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.

He has

graciously

brought salvation

so near.

The heart,

the inner,

hidden

belief,

and the

lips is just

an expression

of that

belief,

the public

confession,

Jesus is

Lord,

saved.

How good

is that?

In a

group one

night,

there was a

man named

William Holland,

he was with

John Wesley

and Charles

Wesley,

and they're

reading Martin

Luther's

preface to

Galatians,

and Martin

Luther wrote,

what have we

nothing to

do,

no nothing,

only to

accept of

him who

God has

made to

us our

wisdom,

our

righteousness,

our

sanctification,

our

redemption.

William

Holland said,

at those

words that

came over

me such

a power

that I

cannot

well

describe.

My

great

burden

fell off

in an

instant.

My

heart was

so filled

with peace

and love

I burst

into tears.

I almost

thought I

saw my

saviour.

My

companions

perceiving me

so affected

fell on

their knees

and prayed.

And when

I afterwards

went into

the street,

I could

scarcely

feel the

ground I

trot upon.

God has

graciously

brought

salvation

right up

to your

heart and

mouth.

What are

you going

to do

with it?

All he

asks you

to do

is receive.

Have we

nothing to

do?

Nothing.

And so

verses 11

to 13

is just

emphasising,

he's piling

up Old

Testament

quotes.

Anyone,

everyone,

children,

old,

deathbed,

anyone,

any past,

everywhere,

any race,

anyone.

God is

bringing,

through the

gospel message,

God is

bringing

salvation

right up

to your

heart and

mouth.

Anyone

who responds

in faith

declaring

Jesus as

Lord is

righteous in

him,

found in

him,

not having

a righteousness

of their

own,

but found

in him.

That you

can even

be called

sons and

daughters of

the living

God.

God.

There's

false

forms of

Christianity

that add

to this

message.

They say,

okay,

yes,

that's all

well and

good,

but you've

got to

improve in

your character

and doing

and what you

do in

life will

contribute

on that

final day

in judgment.

judgment.

That is

zeal without

knowledge.

That is

heading in

the opposite

direction.

It is

trying to

establish a

righteousness of

your own and

they can never

go to bed at

night knowing

I've done

enough.

Whereas you

can get

wheeled into

that theatre

at hospital

not knowing

you're going

to wake up

after surgery

and you

can be

at

peace.

This

knowledge is

everything

of what

God has

done.

And

because God

has brought

righteousness

right up to

our hearts

and mouth

in the

gospel message,

the main

barrier to

salvation

salvation is

pride.

That's the

main barrier.

John

Stott in

his book

The Cross

of Christ,

he says

this,

this is the

scandal,

the stumbling

block of

the cross

for our

proud hearts

rebel against

it.

We cannot

bear to

acknowledge

either the

seriousness of

our sin

and guilt

or our

utter

indebtedness

to the

cross.

Surely

we say

there must

be something

we can

do or

at least

contribute

in order

to make

amends.

We sing

that song,

Rock of

Ages.

Have you

paused to

consider the

humiliation

we're admitting?

Nothing in

my hand I

bring.

Simply to

you cross I

cling.

Naked

come to you

for dress.

Helpless

look to

you for

grace.

Foul I

to the

fountain

fly.

Wash me

saviour or

I die.

One person

said all

you need

is need.

all you

need is

nothing.

But the

problem is

most people

don't have

that.

Pride is

the barrier.

There is

sweet assurance

here.

Lay your

deadly doing

down,

down at

Jesus'

feet and

stand in

him and

him alone,

gloriously

complete.

well I'm

going to

pray and

if you're

hearing God's

message to

you for the

first time

I'm just

going to

offer you to

pray this in

your mind

after me as

a way to

respond to

that message

but also as

we prepare for

the Lord's

Supper.

May we all

be praying

this afresh.

Let me

pray.

Amen.

God I

desire your

salvation

more than

anything else.

I renounce

any confidence

I have in

myself,

my

religion

or my

doing

to win

that salvation.

in my

heart I

believe you

raised Christ

from the

dead to

be my

saviour.

And

according to

your promise

I come

to you

with

nothing in

my hand,

naked,

helpless,

foul.

And I

call upon

you Lord

Jesus

to save

me,

to clothe

me in

your

righteousness

that I

might

be called

a son,

a daughter

of God.

Amen.