The Book of Romans: From Faith to Faith (1:16-20)

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We see this phrase from faith to faith.

Look it with me in verse 16, where we ended our time last week in the first chapter.

It says this, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

For it is the power of God unto salvation, condition to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The gospel saves the lost, and this is something that I hope is clear and obvious to everyone in the room.

But the gospel does not stop at being important just for the person who needs to be saved.

The gospel saves the sinner and justifies them to heaven, but it also is to be preached so that we can be established and we can be mature in Christ.

And this is what we ultimately saw in Romans chapter 1 is that Paul's desire was to write, to write to Rome and see them in person that he might establish them in sound doctrine.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

It's so important, that is, to be established, settled, stable, anchored.

Understanding not just what you believe, but why you believe it.

Why you believe it.

See, most Christians, if you ask them what they believe, they can probably tell you.

If I asked you right now, what do you believe about the Son, Jesus Christ?

What do you believe about the Trinity?

Like, is that is that real?

Is that sound doctrine?

What do you believe about salvation or baptism?

You could probably articulate what you believe.

But then if I pressed farther, or I'll just say for the majority of Christians in the world who take on the name, if I pressed them and I said, why do you hold those beliefs to be true?

And if you believe the Bible, where is that truth found in the scripture?

Most would struggle to answer confidently.

If somebody did answer confidently, it would be likely that it wasn't sound, or at least put together in a cohesive way.

Now, if everyone in the room says I can answer every area of theology with soundness and precision, hey, pull me off the stage right now and uh teach me because there are so many areas of Christian doctrine that are deep and difficult and need study, and that's why God calls us to it.

And so this is why Paul ultimately is calling on the Romans to consider this idea establishment, maturity, making sure that they understand it's not enough to be saved, but they need to grow in their maturity in Christ, that they're not unstable or confused.

Because as a Christian, and if you can hear the point extended, a local church, not just you as an individual, but us as a body, we are called to bear fruit.

And if you think about Christ's relationship to his church as that of a husband and a bride, with our collective intimacy with Christ, we ought to bear fruit.

Just as a husband and wife and their intimacy bear children, in the church, we ought to see spiritual fruit reproduced as the church is intimate with Christ.

And that requires maturity.

It's weird for it would be really weird and actually impossible for babies to bear fruit.

And so there's a spiritual process whereby the Christian gets saved, born again, and then is grown up into the Lord, so that in their abiding with Christ, they can bear fruit and much fruit that the Father might be glorified.

John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

Okay, so just like a tree, fruit isn't produced without time, without watering, and without maturity.

And that's why Paul's Paul prayed this prayer over the Colossian believers to mature them in their understanding of the gospel.

Look at with me, Colossians chapter 2 on the screen and verses 6 and 7.

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

He says, As ye have therefore received Christ the Lord, so walk ye in him.

Okay, how did you receive Jesus Christ the Lord?

Well, I received Jesus by faith, understanding that I had nothing to offer God to be in right relationship with him.

Paul's saying, Receive the same grace that you need for your Christian life, and walk in him, verse 7, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

And we, early on in our study in the book of Romans, looked at this word establish versus established.

Sorry, the language is particular and hard to say clearly.

We see the word established with an E in Romans 1.

In Romans 16, he goes to write to them and says, You need to be established.

In other words, the ongoing work of bringing stability for the believer.

That's why in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 23, he initially, before the prayer, articulated this to the Colossian church.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

He says, continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.

It wasn't enough for them just to be saved.

They also needed to be rooted and grounded.

And so Paul prays for them, just as he prayed in a similar manner to the for the Christians in Ephesus, Ephesians chapter 3, and verses 17 through 19.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

This was Paul's prayer for those believers.

He says that Christ may dwell in your hearts, hearts by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

And I know I've probably said this a lot in the pulpit, but I think it's just super significant, especially as it relates to the Christian worldview, and that is that we can know things that pass knowledge.

Epistemologically speaking, or like philosophically speaking, there's a category of philosophy that is all about how we know what we know.

How are we even able to have confidence that we have knowledge?

Well, the Bible says there's a particular body of knowledge that isn't associated with knowledge in terms of logic and reasoning, scientific materialism.

And that is a body of information or knowledge that we can have that's accessed by faith.

And we get that.

And here in uh Ephesians chapter 3, Paul is saying that the only way you can know the love of Christ is if you bridge that intellectual gap between your logic and reasoning by faith to understand the love of Christ.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

And his prayer for the Ephesians is ultimately that they would understand something that didn't make sense to them.

And his prayer for them is to have faith.

This is why he would go on in the very next chapter in Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 14 through 15 and say that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love may grow up just as a tree, or a building, or a body, and all things, which is the head, even Christ.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

James also articulates similar ideas in James chapter one and verses five through eight.

He says, If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given to him.

Verse six.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.

For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.

For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.

A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Again, this is why Paul is writing to the Romans.

He's saying, I want to see you established, I want to see you rooted, I want to see you settled, I want to see you unmovable, unshakable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

Isn't that what he wrote to Corinth as well?

It's almost as if we see this type of language in every single conversation the apostle is having with Christians.

Hey, I want you to have some stability in your life.

I want you to have some roots that you might bear fruit, and not be constantly tossed around by every idea that comes passing through your mind.

Ones that you create, the imaginations that rise up in you, but also the ones the world gives you and those other ministers of unrighteousness.

Peter also chimes in in the Word of God by praying this way, in 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 10.

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, that is, mature, establish, strengthen, settle you.

We need the grace of God to do this.

And the best place you can find grace as a believer in Jesus Christ is the cross and the resurrection.

It's already been offered.

The sufficient grace is there for you because Jesus Christ has died and paid for your sin, washing you clean, but also in his death, burial, and resurrection, he's completely changed your condition before God that you might now actually offer something pleasing to the Lord.

And we're going to get into this doctrine in the book of Romans, understanding more about our identity in Jesus.

And so once again, it's almost as if God is trying to teach us that he wants to bring clarity and wisdom to us liberally, freely, without reservation, if we're willing by faith to believe him, not instability and fogginess.

Okay, so as the Word of God says, I believe in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, and the context of spiritual gifts, God is not the author of confusion.

1 Corinthians 14 · chapter mention

God's desiring to bring clarity in our lives.

And he does this by ultimately, day by day, moment by moment, maturing us into the perfect man Jesus Christ, as we're willing to yield our intellect and our reasoning and our logic, and we're we're willing to take that body of information and bridge the gap into some other body of knowledge to help us understand the love of Christ.

And it is there that the love and the truth of God sets us free.

And so I have a question for you this morning, all of you.

For myself, it's the one I was asking.

Do I feel established as a Christian?

Or are there still areas of my life or certain maybe it's doctrines, or or maybe it's l like Christian obedience, like areas of my life that I still need to yield or surrender to God?

Or there are areas where I'm constantly tossed back and forth like a child.

I'm I'm walking like my son.

It's quite cute when he's walking and holding my finger, and I love it.

But it's also a really good illustration of a need to grow and and learn how to strengthen himself, not only in his muscles, but also his actual ability to walk, like learning what it means to fall down and get back up.

Do you feel established?

Are you planted?

Are you rooted, settled, fixed, grounded, mature, whatever word you might feel in there?

Do you feel like your life is always in in some way or another being pushed to and fro, being tossed by every wind of idea or doctrine that comes in?

If I can, I want you, while you're pondering those questions, to consider a challenge and a word of encouragement to you out of Mark chapter 4 and verses 37 through 40.

Mark 4 · chapter mention

This is a familiar story in the Gospels, but I I want you to read it in light of us comparing Scripture with Scripture and considering what the wind is a type of.

In Mark chapter 4 and verse 37, it begins this way it says, And there arose a great storm of wind and of waves, and beat into the ship, so that it was full.

Mark 4 · chapter mention

Now he, Jesus, was in the hender part of the ship, asleep on a pillow.

Just chillin.

He's doing fine.

He's not worried about these winds.

And they awake him and say unto him, Master, carest not that we perish.

And he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace, be still.

And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

And he said unto them, Why are you so fearful?

How is it that ye have no faith?

Now, in the reading of this text, if you consider Ephesians chapter 4, James chapter 1, you can at least find a devotional point here regarding the type of trial that the disciples were going through on this ship.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention James 1 · chapter mention

It is that of doctrinal confusion.

Some idea that came into their life or their world that caused them to feel like everything was falling apart.

And what was the response that got the storm calmed?

Not them tilling, not them trying to get the water out of the ship on their own, not them trying to stabilize their own life, but going to the hinder part of the ship and awaking the Lord.

It's a type of prayer.

Have you ever been left in a place of confusion thinking, how do I make sense of this new idea that's coming to my world?

I don't know what to do with it.

It's really messed me up.

I mean, just this week I heard of a leader who stepped out of a church because all of a sudden, after about a decade, they decided that the thing that they, you know, the doctrine they saw, you know, bear a lot of fruit in the ministry is wrong and that God's not in it.

It's like, how does that happen?

It happens when a man isn't willing to boldly and zealously pursue the Lord in the hinder part of the ship and wake him up.

Lord.

And they obviously have some issues that they're working through.

Their issue is that they thought because they were in this storm, God didn't care about them.

And as you can see in Jesus' response, he deeply cared about them and immediately answered their prayer when they waked him or awoke him.

And they they express their burden.

They cry out, Master, I know you're in control.

Do you not care for us that we perish?

Now in the Christian life, you know that God doesn't want you to perish.

Why?

Because God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

You can know without a doubt that God loves you, he's for you, that that he wants you successful, that he wants to bring you peace.

Why?

Because he's already proved it to you.

And he's told you in his word that he does not want you to perish.

He deeply cares for you, so cast your care upon him, for he careth for you.

The wind ceased.

There was a great calm.

And in the encouragement of the strength of the Lord to bring this peace and calm in this particular storm, there's a I think it was probably said with a great deal of grace.

But there is a rebuke, right?

He says this, how is it that ye have no faith?

No faith.

I wonder how many times in my life I've been, I've been in these.

Like this is not to, I promise you, this is not to anyone in the room.

This passage has been true in my life so many times.

And I've been left like, just feel like I'm spinning.

And the reason for it is I just never took these things to the Lord in prayer and asked him to give me really a change of heart.

To believe him and to bridge that gap between my intellectual ideas and the love of Christ.

You may be thinking to yourself, now, what encouragement is that?

Me acknowledging I have no faith.

And that will lead us into our message this morning in Romans chapter 1, I promise.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Okay, I get it.

Jesus calms the storm and the wind of my life.

Yes, no doubt.

But now rhetorically, I think, how is it an encouragement that in my unbelief God would still be good?

And that is that our unbelief does not make God unfaithful, to forget, to perform that which he's promised in our life.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 24, it says this Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

Do what?

What will God do for me?

Well, the verse right before told you.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 23.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly.

And that he would do this until the day the Lord returns.

Body, soul, and spirit.

God's in the work of sanctifying us completely.

And he is going to be faithful to do that work.

And so, even though there are times in my life, and there are times maybe in your life where you're faithless and you can't see that what God has said is true, praise the Lord.

God is faithful when we aren't.

In Romans chapter 3, I'm hopping ahead here a little bit in the apologetic that Paul gives to the Romans, but in Romans chapter 3 and verse 3, he asks this rhetorical question for what if some did not believe?

Romans 3 · chapter mention Romans 3 · chapter mention

Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

God forbid.

I'll explain this particular verse in its context and why Paul is writing this to the Romans and Romans 3 here in a few weeks, but the devotional point is still true.

Man's unfaithfulness does not make God unfaithful.

Praise the Lord.

I'm so grateful for that because there have been many times in my life I've been utterly faithless.

And I hate that.

And I've had the prayer of like, Lord, I believe you, but help thou mine unbelief.

I want to believe you for more.

I know that you saved me.

Like I believe that you're the creator of the universe.

You loved my soul and you died for me.

You rose again, I believe it.

But man, I'm struggling, Lord, to believe that you're still pursuing me now.

Speak to me.

Where are you, Lord?

And uh the promise is that God is faithful even in those times where we doubt him most.

It doesn't, and it ought not give us liberty to continue in doubt, but it should motivate us to draw close to him, knowing that he cares for us even when we're rebels at heart.

Look at with me in Romans chapter one.

Let's just read our text this morning, from seventeen through twenty, and consider two things that God reveals to man.

Romans chapter one and verses seventeen through twenty, it says, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.

As it is written, the just shall live by faith.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

Because that when they may be known of God, I'm sorry, verse 19, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them, for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

And so again, look at verse 17.

It says, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith.

Now, it is a very interesting verse, and actually one that's pretty difficult to make sense of.

Like, what the heck does faith to faith mean?

Now there's a lot of ideas surrounding this, but I want to give you a biblical argument and you can study this out and make a case for yourself in the Word of God.

Galatians chapter 3 and verse 11 says, But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident the just shall live by faith.

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

Okay, so there are the phrases again.

God's giving us a little bit more content, or another book in the Bible teaching us about these same ideas.

The righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith.

Okay.

Moreover, my understanding at this point in this text is that from faith to faith is describing the change of economy from God from mankind being under the law to now being under grace.

And so just stick with me for a moment.

I want you to see what the scripture says.

Romans chapter 6 and verse 14.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

It says, For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Okay?

In other words, in the Old Testament, God was in a covenant with Israel under the law.

For at least the majority of it.

I get it.

Prior to the giving of the law, they wouldn't have been under the law.

Even though the word law is used prior to the giving of the Mosaic Law.

And while there was grace shown by God in various times, like in Genesis chapter 6, and Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, or God extends his mercy or grace even through the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, amongst many other examples, grace was not the primary framework that was actually dictating the covenant that God made with Israel.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

Does that make sense?

The way in which God was in relationship with Israel was not solely or primarily based on his grace.

It was based on an agreement regarding the law.

And it was conditional.

Obey me and get blessing.

Don't obey me and get cursed.

And that's outlined in a number of places.

Leviticus 26 comes to mind.

God says, in series of, you know, uh a foreknowledge of what's going to happen in Israel, he says, if you obey me, blessing will come, but if not, judgment will fall upon you.

And oh, by the way, I'll be merciful to you and extend to you once more an opportunity to repent.

And if you choose to obey me, I will bless you.

But if you don't, uh, you will also have these consequences.

And there are like five stages of Israel's history outlined in Leviticus 26, where God says, if you continue to disobey, this is what you're going to get.

Not blessing, but curses.

Well, that's interesting because in the New Testament, in Ephesians 1 and verse 4, it says that we've been given all blessings in Christ Jesus.

Okay, so what is it?

From faith to faith, from the law, to now, an opportunity for men and women to be just or righteous or justified apart from the law, solely based on the grace of God.

And so, in the Old Testament, a man or woman was found just or righteous because while they were receiving God's grace, they were putting their faith in the conditional clauses of the law.

And God was willing to extend them grace as they were willing to believe what God said.

So if they agreed with the law and began to go through the sacrificial system, God would give them blessing.

I hope you can see that.

A just person in the Old Testament is somebody by faith who's willing to agree with God concerning the conditional clauses of the law.

On the contrary, today our justification is not based on our faith and the righteousness of the law, but rather the righteousness of Jesus Christ and his faithfulness towards us.

These things are important.

Pay attention closely, okay?

Philippians chapter 3 and verse 9.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

God's preserved some words and some phrases and some doctrines that are very important.

Philippians chapter 3 and verse 9, it says this.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law.

I think that's obvious to all of us, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

The faith of Christ.

Furthermore, this is why Paul, when referencing the book of Habakkuk and Romans chapter 1, changes the language from the just shall live by his faith to the just shall live by faith.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Look at Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 4.

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 4 says, Behold, his soul, which is lifted up, is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 1 and verse 17 says, Therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

In other words, in the book of Habakkuk, it's written, the just shall live by his faith.

No?

Paul says in Romans chapter 1, the just shall live by faith.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Whose faith?

Well, Philippians chapter 3 just told us it was the faith of Christ.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

And it is the faithfulness of Christ to live a righteous life fulfilling the law that allows us to now have the righteousness of God revealed.

At one time, the law of God in the Old Testament was revealing the righteousness of God.

And the law was condemning men because all it could do was show a standard.

But then, but but now, therein, look at the verse.

Romans chapter 1 and verse 17.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

For therein.

Well, where?

The gospel of Christ.

Therein is the righteousness of God revealed.

Where?

Verse 16, Romans chapter 1 and verse 16.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

The righteousness of God is revealed now in the person of Christ and in the gospel of Christ.

Where the law couldn't produce any righteousness in you, it only could show you what was righteous now.

From faith to faith, God is making a new offer.

That through the faithfulness of Christ you can see righteousness and have it produced in you if you're in him.

Okay, it continues.

Galatians chapter 2 and verse 16.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

It's not just a couple verses.

Look at verse 16.

Paul writes this to the Church of Galatia who were misunderstanding the nature of the gospel and what it was to accomplish for the Christian.

He says, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law.

For by the faith of Jesus Christ.

Whose?

Christ.

Even we believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ.

Okay, so just because Christ was faithful and had faith, and that that faith is the thing that reveals the righteousness of God and saves you, it doesn't mean you don't have a responsibility to believe.

It means just that you're not believing the law to produce righteousness.

You're believing Christ and Christ's sacrifice for you as the fulfillment of the law so that you're not bound to it anymore.

That's what actually the verse, I think verse 15 says in Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

If not, it's like verse 19.

Look it with me, though, as the passage continues.

It says, By the faith of Jesus Christ, even we believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

I pray that in the bottom of your soul and in your your knower, you know that there is nothing you can offer God in your good works or deeds that could ever satisfy his righteousness.

We we all fall short of the glory of God.

That's the conclusion of the matter Paul's trying to lead the Romans to in Romans chapter 1 through 3.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Look at verse 20 now of Galatians 2.

It says, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I.

But Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live, I live in the flesh.

I'm sorry, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by my faithfulness to God.

No, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The just shall live by faith.

See, in the Old Testament, a person is just by their faith, his faith, Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 4.

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

But in the New Testament, we have moved from faith to faith, and a person is justified, yes, by faith, but not his.

It's by Christ.

And that's what we do.

We yield ourselves, and in faith we believe that it is the faithfulness of Christ that allows us to, here's the key word, live.

Live.

The law can't justify.

See, all of these words have really significant meaning.

Um, to live doesn't mean just to uh enter into everlasting life with God or be justified unto eternal life.

To live means to have a life that's actually alive unto God today.

And that's what we'll look at in Romans 6 here eventually.

But but God actually wants to produce righteousness in us today, that we might fulfill the law.

To live.

To live isn't something we're hoping for in a future context.

It's something we get to participate in now if we yield to the faithfulness of Christ on our behalf as the fulfillment of the law.

This is why Galatians chapter 2 and verse 21 says, I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

If I'm going to be righteous before God today, it cannot be next to anything that I'm doing.

My righteousness cannot come from my good deeds because the flesh is weak and can't produce it, and so I need somebody in my place to accomplish it.

Okay, so so once again, it is the faithfulness of Christ that allows us to be righteous and justified, or just in him.

And there is Romans chapter 1 and verse 17, that key phrase, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

The therein is calling us back to the gospel of Christ, the life that Jesus lived, the life where he was sinless, was tempted in all ways and at all points as we are, yet without sin.

The righteousness of God revealed in the person of Christ.

And so that's what we believe upon.

Romans verse 16 of chapter 1.

For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it, the gospel of Christ, is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

It's not my faith that gives me power, it is the actual life Jesus lived that gives me a real opportunity to now be right with the Father.

Jesus lived a perfect life, fulfilled the law, and now in him we are freed from the law.

Look at Romans chapter 10 and verses 4 through 5.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

This is Paul writing ultimately to his brethren.

This is those that are Israelites in the flesh, who have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge.

In verse 4, he writes to them and says, For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.

The end of the law.

You're not under the law, but under grace.

God has a whole new economy whereby he's trying to deal with you or transmit his grace towards you.

Like the great transfer.

How did grace get transferred to an Old Testament saint?

Their faith in agreement with God's word.

Well, what was God's word?

The conditions of the law.

Today we're offered salvation the same way, by faith.

By the grace of God through faith.

Well, what's our the object of our faith in?

The faithfulness of Christ.

From faith to faith.

This means that once again the object of faith changes.

Salvation is always by grace through faith, all through the scriptures.

Always by grace through faith.

Just lock that in.

Okay, but the object changes.

You can't believe upon the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ if Jesus Christ has not died, buried, and risen again.

And so Old Testament saints were justified unto eternal life by agreeing with God.

Okay, so from the righteousness revealed to the law to now the righteousness revealed in Christ.

The law of God, note, is righteous, holy, just, and pure, according to Romans chapter 7.

Romans 7 · chapter mention

It is righteous.

It is just powerless to produce righteousness.

You hear the point?

There's nothing wrong with the law.

The law's not a bad thing.

It's actually a really good thing, Paul says.

The law is wonderful.

Don't throw away the law.

The law just has a purpose.

It's a mirror.

It's showing you the perfect man, Jesus Christ, and his righteousness, and showing you that you fall short of that standard and that you're guilty before God.

So the law is good.

It's just powerless to produce righteousness.

And the only thing the law ultimately then can do is condemn us before God.

Galatians chapter 3 and verse 10.

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

It says, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.

For it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Man.

You want to live by the law?

Make sure that you obey every single point of the law, otherwise you're guilty of the whole thing.

Guilty of the whole thing?

Yeah, that's what James says in James chapter 2 and verse 10.

James 2 · chapter mention

For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Ouch.

That's what the law does.

That's why God gave it.

So many Christians today think that they're to live the law to be right with God.

Aren't the Ten Commandments a good thing?

A wonderful thing.

They're just there to help you see the righteousness of God.

You're just saying we forfeit them and don't desire to obey the Ten Commandments?

No, you you obey them by the faithfulness of Christ, as you let his grace actually produce the power that is needed for you to accomplish that righteousness.

The law can't do it in and of itself, but the person of Christ and his Holy Spirit that rose Christ from the dead can.

And so God's able to take your mortal body, quicken it, and allow it to serve righteousness, serve a newness of life.

So on the contrary, in contrast to what the law can't do, Christ reveals the righteousness of God, and it is his power that produces that righteousness in us.

This is a wild verse in section of verses.

I want to show you, though, here's some verses in the book of Romans in advance.

Romans chapter 8 and verses 3 through 4.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

It says this for what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh.

God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and sin, and for sin condemns sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.

Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

God is trying to lead the Christian into a life where they are also fulfilling the law.

How are you going to do that?

Well, you know in and of yourself you have no ability to do that, right?

In your flesh dwells no good thing.

In your flesh, you have no functional capacity to produce righteousness.

That's what got you in your sinful state to begin with.

That's why I was condemned before God.

I have nothing to offer him.

My flesh, though I could pretend to be good, there were things that caused me to be guilty at one point of the law and therefore condemned by the whole thing.

Guilty of all of it.

And so we're going to go on a journey in the book of Romans learning about what it means to have our identity changed, to go from not being in the flesh, but in Christ, but more importantly, as we talked about weeks ago, being in Christ and learning to walk after Christ.

Because while in Christ, you can also walk after the flesh.

And the Bible says, God's given you his spirit that you might be in Christ and learn how to walk after him.

You know how you received him, so walk ye in him.

Be rooted in his love.

This doctrine is just repeated over and over again in all the epistles, in just different ways, as we get little insights.

Okay, so the first thing that God reveals to us is his righteousness, and this is a key point that I want you to see this morning, and that is that the righteousness of God has been revealed from faith to faith, and we are all found guilty before God.

All of us.

That is in our natural state, the world, everyone in it, we are all found guilty before God.

And so while the righteousness of God is revealed, so too is his wrath.

Look at Romans chapter 1 and verse 18.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

It says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth and unrighteousness.

Oh, praise the Lord that that's not me.

Isn't that what we think?

All those wicked people.

Paul's point is that's all of us.

We are the ones who are ungodly, and praise be to the Lord.

Romans chapter 5 and verse 8 says that God committed his love toward us, and that while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

He died for us when we were ungodly, not when we were good.

Verse 19, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them.

For God hath showed it unto them, for the invisible things from the fountain uh the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power in Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

John chapter three and verses in verse thirty-six, this is what Jesus said.

He said, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.

So while it sounds like bad news, the answer is actually really sweet.

God says, You don't have to do anything, but if you're willing to acknowledge your unrighteousness before me and believe on the Son for everlasting life, you can have it.

And so here's kind of the second part of this key point that I had on the screen, and that is not just that we are all found guilty, but that we are all without excuse for why we shouldn't be judged by God.

Okay, so we are all condemned before God, but as a human, you don't like that idea.

I don't like that idea in my flesh.

I want to be good for God.

I love God.

Please, Lord, let me live a life pleasing to you.

And so while I know that God is just and he needs to judge sin and that I'm worthy of that judgment, maybe there's still some good things I can do for him.

And I, as a human, begin to create a bunch of escape tactics for why I shouldn't have to be judged by God.

And that's what we're going to be working through here in the next few weeks.

As I close my message this morning, I want to kind of give you a trajectory in Romans chapter 1, 2, and 3.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

What we're seeing here in the initial portion of the book of Romans is Paul trying to get men and women to see that God's wrath is against them and as Jesus said, abides on them.

And so here are three components of presenting the gospel clearly that Paul's going to actually pattern for us in the first three chapters of the book of Romans.

The first section that we're going to wrap up in Romans chapter 1 outlines for us this idea of wrath consciousness or God's wrath being made known to men.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

So men actually, men and women beginning to process, I'm guilty before God.

Initially, like when I was lost, I didn't know that I was guilty before God.

But when the righteousness of Christ came and I began to learn about the person of Christ, and I began to see the law for what it was, I realized I am guilty.

And as a sinner, what I began to do was make tactics for why I could escape the judgment of God.

And ultimately, what this comes down to is people building worldviews and ways of thinking that make them feel better about the reality of what they know to be true.

And so they twist God's truth that's been manifest in them so that they can try to be relieved.

I know, I know God exists.

I know that I am condemned before him, but surely if I just build this worldview and pretend like he doesn't, or I begin to challenge his righteous character, then he can't judge me.

And what Paul's going to do is I can see right now at least five major escape tactics that people use to try to get out of the judgment of God.

And the conclusion in Romans chapter 3 is this that every mouth may be stopped and all would become guilty before God.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

No more excuses.

And Paul sets all of that up.

It's pretty pretty special.

And what it'll do, I'm hopeful, is give us a strength in our ability to witness to people.

Because when you're sharing the gospel with your family or a friend or on the street.

It's a cold call, it's the door knock, whatever it might be.

You're gonna listen to people give you reasons for why they shouldn't be judged by God or why they aren't deserving of hell.

And I think that the the comments that people make in Romans 1 through 5 will give us a lot of strength to know how to see where somebody's at and actually respond to them and show that the excuse they're making or the escape tactic they're giving or the worldview that they've built is worthless and that it's not sound.

Logically, it's it's not sound uh in in light of history and the truth of God.

And so then uh again, pray praise the Lord, the end of Romans chapter 3, Romans chapter 4, Romans chapter 5, God moves, uh moves us from ultimately seeing our guiltiness before Him uh to the gift of Christ.

Romans 3 · chapter mention Romans 4 · chapter mention Romans 5 · chapter mention

And that's the gospel, right?

The gospel is the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we can't express to people the goodness of God's grace until they see that grace was given for a reason.

We have to, we we say it this way, right?

Have to help people get lost before they can get saved.

You need to get saved from what?

I'm good.

My life's good.

I don't need anything.

That's good that you need that as a Christian to make you know you psychologically feel better or whatever, have community.

I I don't really think I need that.

I got my own path.

And we've gotta we've got to help people see God is real and they're suppressing the truth of God that has been manifest in them, and they've changed the truth of God into a lie to uh alleviate themselves of the guiltiness they have before him, just so that we can do this say, You are guilty, but guess what?

God has actually satisfied that judgment you deserve in himself, in the person of Christ.

And it is those moments when you can actually see somebody humble enough to acknowledge their guiltiness, that the gift of everlasting life presented in the gospel and the person, the righteousness of Jesus revealed as a gift to them is like cold water to a weary soul.

People just love it.

There's only been a few times in my life I've met people who were like prepped and ready.

They knew they were guilty before God, they just didn't know the solution.

And I'm hopeful that as we help people see that they're condemned before God, it'll actually be the thing that gets them excited and willing to receive the gift so openly.

Okay, so today, what does it mean for us?

Whether you are saved or lost, the question this morning is what is the object of your faith?

Do you have no faith, like the disciples on the boat?

What are you trusting in?

Is your faith ultimately in your faith and your faithfulness to God?

Have you been discouraged because you feel like you've been doubting God or you've been in a season where uh you've been unbelieving, or maybe you've lived in sin?

Or are you trusting that your sanctified life under the day of redemption is because of the faithfulness of Christ on your behalf, sanctifying you holy, body, soul, and spirit.

The law, once again, can only show you that you are right uh that you are not righteous, it cannot produce righteousness in you.

But the man Jesus Christ and his spirit can.

And the offer for the Christian is not just to be saved, it's to actually begin seeing the Holy Spirit do an invisible work inside of you so that you and I can fulfill the righteousness of the law in Christ.

Once again, thank you so much for listening in.

We pray that these words were a challenge to you, but also a great encouragement in your walk with God.

May the Lord bless you and lead you further into His will as you're conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

God bless.