The Gospel Announced: The Gospel is for everyone

Our reading starts at page 1136 of the Church Bible and it's Romans chapter 9 verse 30 and

Romans 9:30

I'm reading straight through to chapter 10 verse 13. So that's page 1136.

What then shall we say that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have obtained it,

a righteousness that is by faith? But Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the

stumbling stone, as it is written, See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock

that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Brothers, my heart's

desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them

that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge, since they did not know the

righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own. They did not submit to God's

righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law. The man who does these things will

live by them. But the righteousness that is by 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 deep? That is, to bring Christ up from the

dead. But what does it say? The word is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart. That is,

the word of faith we are proclaiming. That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord,

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your

heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

As the scripture says, anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference

between Jew and Gentile. The same Lord is Lord of all, and richly blesses all who call on him.

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

Thanks very much, Trish. So keep your Bibles open, have a pen at hand, and you can take notes as we

go along.

Again, if you would like a summary of Romans chapter 9 to 11, then you can look that up on the church

Romans 9 · chapter mention

website. On one of the recent posts, you will see that there's a couple of articles there which gives

a summary, and that might just help you to remember all that it's about. So you can look that up on the

church website. Let's pray then and ask for God's help.

Father, we thank you for the privilege

of having your word.

Lord, we thank you, too, that you have given to us your Holy Spirit, who is the ultimate teacher,

the one who not only gives us understanding in our minds, but applies it to our hearts, the one who

changes us, and the one who helps us to see who Jesus is and what he has done. And so we pray now for his help.

May your power be at work amongst us individually.

Would you be at work in our families?

And will you be at work within this church family?

Would you be pleased to do your work so that it brings honour and glory to you?

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

Well, when the madness and the busyness of the day is over, and you're lying awake in bed,

what do you dream of for your life?

What do you most long for and want?

A peaceful and easier life?

A better job and a bigger home?

Or what about your children?

What is your desire for your children?

What above all else do you want them to have?

A good education?

A stable job?

A happy life?

Or what about those who are closest to you?

Your friends?

What's your longing for them?

What do you see as the most important thing for them in their life?

An end to an illness, maybe?

Or them finding a partner?

Well, if we are followers of the Lord Jesus, there should be one main desire.

Look at chapter 10, verse 1.

Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites, for those who are closest to me, my people,

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

The one thing that keeps me awake at night, the one thing that consumes my thinking by day and shapes my prayers,

is that those who I know and love would become Christians.

My dream and my desire is that they are saved.

You see, for us to experience God's salvation means to be free from all of our guilt and shame,

to be forgiven of all of our sin, past, present and future,

to be welcomed in and treasured as one of God's own children,

and to be given the promise of life in his new creation for all eternity.

Not to be saved means to face God's just and fair judgment,

to be shut out from God's presence,

to be cut off from all that is good and beautiful.

It will be hell itself for all eternity.

And so the one controlling desire is that our friends and our family are saved.

And here's the good news.

There's a wonderful promise in chapter 10 verse 13.

Do you see it there?

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Not some people, not a privileged few, not a special select group,

but look at verse 10 or verse 13.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

You see, whatever our dreams and desires are,

God's heart is that everyone would hear the good news

and experience the salvation that he has to offer.

So there's this wonderful invitation,

but it comes with three conditions,

and we're going to look at them each one.

An open invitation, but three conditions.

Here's the first one.

There is only one way to receive salvation.

Only one way to receive salvation.

Now this comes in two parts.

There's the first part.

We receive it by faith and not works.

Look at verse 30.

Chapter 9, verse 30.

Having been talking about the salvation,

he says in verse 30,

What then shall we say?

That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness

have obtained it,

a righteousness that is by faith.

But Israel who pursued a law of righteousness

has not attained it.

You see, in these couple of verses here,

we're introduced to two kinds of people.

Look at verse 30.

We've got the Gentiles.

They were not very religious people.

They weren't the kind of people who read their Bibles.

They weren't interested in going to church.

And then in verse 31,

we've got the religious people,

the people of Israel.

They're the kind of people you meet day to day

who are wanting to go to church.

They're the people who pray and read

and they're interested in religious things.

But the surprise here between these two groups of people

is the kind of person

who actually receives righteousness.

And righteousness here is right standing with God.

It's salvation.

And here's the surprise in these two verses.

The religious person who works for salvation

doesn't receive it.

Verse 32.

Why not?

Because they pursued it not by faith,

but as if it were by works.

You see, some people think that you earn your way

into God's favour.

People think that you build up lots of points

and therefore you deserve God's acceptance.

Look at me.

Look at what I did this week.

In other words, you're working for it.

But the surprise is,

it's completely the opposite.

Verse 30 again.

The Gentiles,

these are the people who aren't very religious,

who weren't pursuing righteousness,

who weren't working for their salvation.

They have got it.

They have received this righteousness

because it is by faith.

So, we receive it by faith,

not works.

And here's the second part to it.

By faith,

not works,

in Christ,

and not ourselves.

You see,

faith must be placed somewhere.

And it's placed in a person,

Jesus Christ,

and what he has done.

So, verse 32.

Let's read from there again.

They pursued it,

not by faith,

but as if it were by works.

They stumbled over the stumbling stone.

What's the stumbling stone?

Well, let's read on.

As it is written,

See, I lay in Zion

a stone that causes men to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall,

and the one who trusts in him.

So, the rock is a person.

So, the one who trusts in this person

will never be put to shame.

You see,

God had promised

that he was going to set up

a stone,

excuse me,

a rock.

Not a physical rock,

but a king,

a person

who was going to come

and save

and rule,

and that rock

is

Jesus Christ.

Now, the person

who has faith

in themselves

rather than in Jesus,

then the rock

becomes

an obstacle.

Look at verse 33 again.

It's a stone

that causes people

to stumble.

It's a rock

that makes people

fall.

Why?

Well, because they're trying

to get salvation

on their own.

And so,

when they are confronted

with Jesus

who says,

I am the only way

to salvation,

he becomes an obstacle

to get rid of.

He's something

that's in the way

that we don't want

and so people

want to kill him

and get rid of him.

But the person

who does have faith

in Jesus,

then this rock,

as we heard earlier,

becomes the foundation

for your life.

It becomes the place

to stand on

and a shelter

to hide in.

Look at the end

of verse 33.

The one who trusts

in him,

who trusts

in this rock,

Jesus Christ,

will never

be put to shame.

So our faith

is placed somewhere.

It's placed

in a person,

in Jesus,

a place

to stand on,

a shelter

to hide in.

And here's why.

Here's why

we must have

our faith

in Jesus.

Look at verse 4.

chapter 10

verse 4.

It tells us there

that this rock,

Jesus,

is the end

of the law

so that there

may be righteousness

or salvation

for everyone

who believes.

Now look at that

little phrase there,

Christ is the end

of the law.

This is what it means.

Two things.

First,

Jesus becomes

the law keeper

for us.

He obeyed it

and He never

broke it.

He lived it

and He never

failed it.

And He did it,

He obeyed it

for you

and for me.

And so in response,

our faith is in

the obedience

of Jesus

who kept the law

for us.

We fail in the law,

but He obeyed it

perfectly.

So my faith

is in His

perfect performance

and not mine.

So Jesus,

do you see,

He becomes

the rock

on which we stand.

We stand on

His perfect

obedience

for you

and for me.

But the second

part to this

is,

Jesus also

became

a lawbreaker

for us.

Now by that I mean,

I don't mean that He

went and broke

the law,

but that He was

treated

as a lawbreaker

for us.

He took

our disobedience

on Himself

and He was

punished

as if He

failed

and disobeyed.

But it was

always in

our place.

So our faith

is in Jesus'

death

for you

and for me.

Our faith

is in Him

who took

the blame

for me

for all my

failures

for not

keeping the law

and doing

what is right.

So Jesus

becomes the rock

in which we

shelter,

in which we

hide.

He is the rock

in which we

stand.

the rock

in which we

shelter.

Our faith

is in a person,

in Christ

who has

completed

and done it

all for you

and for me.

So there's

only one way

to receive

salvation.

We receive it

by faith,

not works,

in Christ

and not

ourselves.

Here's the

second condition.

It's an open

invitation,

but

there is

only one

place

to find

salvation.

There's only

one place

to find

salvation.

Again,

this comes

in two

parts.

We find

it first

not on

our own.

We can't

find it

on our

own.

Chapter

10,

verse 5.

Moses

describes

in this

way the

righteousness

that is

by the

law,

or the

way in

which

salvation

comes

by the

law.

The man

who does

these

things

will

live

by

them.

Now,

in some

ways,

this is

just a

summary of

all that

he's just

said,

that some

people trying

to find

salvation

on their

own.

They try

to achieve

it by

avoiding

Jesus

and depending

on their

own

ability.

So the

man who

does these

things will

live by

them.

He must

keep to

the law

and do

everything

that it

says.

In this

case,

for people,

it is

following the

law that

they must

do

religious

things,

and if

they think

they do

religious

things,

that's

going to

be enough.

For

somebody

else,

their

particular

law

might be

being

tolerant

and being

open to

other

people,

and if

I'm a

very

tolerant

and

loving

kind of

person

of all

people

in

different

ways,

then

that's

going

to get

me

salvation.

But

the

point

is,

we

never

ever

find

salvation

on our

own.

We'll

never

find it

in our

own

particular

systems,

or in

the places

that we

look.

Look at

verse 6.

The

righteousness

that is

by faith,

or the

salvation

that comes

by faith

says,

do not

say in

your heart

who will

ascend

into

heaven,

that is

to try

and bring

Christ

down,

or who

will

descend

into

the

deep,

that is

to bring

Christ

up from

the

dead.

You

see,

he's

saying,

look,

you can

go

searching

to the

highest

heights,

you can

go looking

down to

the deepest

depths,

but you're

not going

to find

it.

Everyone,

as we

said

earlier,

is longing

for salvation.

We're all

in search

of rest

and peace.

We all

long for

something

different in

our lives

and for

the world

to be

better.

And some

people turn

to religion,

some people

turn to

Islam or

Buddhism,

other people

run away

from religion

and they

try to

find it

in atheism

or humanism.

We search

for it

in people,

we look

for it

in all

kinds of

different

places,

but the

point is

we never

ever find

it.

Why?

Because in

all the

places we

search and

in all the

places we

look,

it's always

demanding

something

from us.

It's always

asking of

us something

that we

must do

or something

that we

must achieve

which we

can never

ever live

up to.

So where

do we

find our

salvation

that we

search for?

Well, we

don't find

it on our

own.

We find

it in

God's

word,

the

gospel.

Look at

verse 8.

So what

does it

say?

The

word

is near

you.

It is

in your

mouth and

it is

in your

heart.

That is

the word

of faith,

the word

of the

gospel that

we are

proclaiming.

So the

reason that

they have

the word

of the

gospel in

them,

the word

of faith

in them,

is because

it has

been

proclaimed

to them.

And that's

where we

find

salvation.

We find

salvation in

the word

of faith,

in the

gospel

message.

That's

where we'll

see it.

So we

don't need

to go

searching

because

Jesus has

already come

down from

heaven to

search for

us.

We don't

need to

go looking

because Jesus

lives.

He has

been raised

from the

grave and

he's still

looking for

people.

And that

message of

hope of

Jesus

searching and

looking for

us is

near to

us.

He tells

us in

verse 8

that it's

in the

word of

faith.

It's in

the gospel

and it's

that gospel

word that

will save

us.

Look at

verse 9

of chapter

10.

He says,

look,

we've told

you this

message,

we've

proclaimed

to you,

verse 9,

that if you

confess with

your mouth

Jesus is

Lord and

if you

believe in

your heart

that God

raised him

from the

dead,

you will

be saved.

That's the

message.

This is the

gospel that

has been

proclaimed to

you.

Now, we

must be

clear on

this.

This isn't

some kind

of spiritual

mantra so

that everybody

who rattles

off the

words,

Jesus is

Lord,

at some

particular

meeting or

a camp or

whatever the

place may

be,

that somehow

that's it,

that's the

end of

it,

that I'm

now saved.

No, look

at verse 10.

For it is

with your

heart that

you believe

and are

justified,

and it is

with your

mouth that

you confess

and are

saved.

You see,

what comes

out of

your mouth,

what you

speak and

what you

say,

is an

outward

expression of

what's going

on inside

your life,

inside your

heart.

In other

words, if

you believe

with your

heart,

if you

are trusting

in the

rock,

Jesus

Christ,

the one

whom you

stand on,

the one

that you

take shelter

in,

if you

believe in

him,

and you

express that

with your

mouth,

you will

be saved.

The point

is,

in these

few verses

here,

is that we

must never

ever think

that God

is playing

a game of

hide and

seek with

us,

that he's

kind of

somewhere

out there

and we've

got to go

find him

and search

for him

somewhere.

The opposite

is true.

He is the

one who has

come to

search for

us.

He is the

one who's

come and

made himself

known to

us today

through his

word,

the gospel.

This is what

we have right

here in God's

word, in the

Bible.

It has been

made known

to us.

So there's

only one

place to

find salvation.

We find

it not on

our own, but

we find it

in God's

word, the

gospel.

So, the

third

condition, it's

an open

invitation to

all.

And third,

there is only

one way to

experience

salvation.

Look at

verse 11.

As the

scripture says,

anyone who

trusts in

him, in

Christ, will

never be

put to

shame.

So, rather

than think that

salvation is

just for a

select few,

we should

understand that

this is an

offer that

is open to

all.

Verse 13.

Everyone,

who calls

on the

name of

the Lord,

will be

saved.

It is an

offer without

limits.

It is

told out

to the

world.

This is

the generosity

of God.

Now, while

the offer

is open

to anyone,

we must

also understand

that the

way to

experience

this gospel,

this message

of salvation,

is also

the same

for everyone.

Look at

verse 12.

For there

is no

difference

between

Jew and

Gentile.

The same

Lord is

Lord of

all, and

richly

blesses

all who

call on

him.

It

doesn't

matter, he's

saying, what

your background

is.

Whether you

would describe

yourself as a

religious person,

or whether you

would say you

are irreligious.

It doesn't

matter what the

colour of your

skin is, or

the language

that you

speak.

Whether you

were raised

in a

Christian

home, or

whether you

didn't have

that.

Whether you

are rich or

poor, skilled

or unskilled.

Look what it

says in

verse 12.

There is no

difference between

the Jew, the

religious person,

and the Gentile,

the irreligious

person.

There is no

difference.

God makes

no distinction.

He has no

favourites.

no one person

has an

advantage over

another person.

He works

salvation in

each and every

person in

exactly the

same way.

Look at the

second part of

verse 12.

The same

Lord is

Lord of

all and

richly

blesses all

who call

on him.

Salvation

is available

to all.

How?

through his

riches.

The riches

of his

grace.

God doesn't

have one

way of

working with

one particular

people and

another way of

working with

somebody else.

He saves

all of us

in exactly

the same

way by

his

grace.

Now that's

good news

because that

means if

he treats

and he deals

with all of

us in

exactly the

same way

then we're

all on the

same playing

field.

Nobody here

can feel

inferior to

anybody else

and nobody

can be

superior to

anybody else.

We're all on

the same

playing field

and that

means that if

I am a

Christian

then that

means anybody

else can

become a

Christian.

And if

God has

saved you

and you

are trusting

in Jesus

Christ

then that

means he

can save

any of your

friends and

family too.

There's only

one way to

experience

salvation

and that is

through God's

grace which

is open

to all.

Now I want

to finish

with two

things.

If you've

got notes

the little

A5 sheet

they're written

there, they're

not on the

screen but

here they are,

here's the

first thing.

If you are

not yet a

Christian

is there any

reason why

you have not

yet received

salvation?

It's an

offer that

has been

given to

you.

And it

says very

simply

that in

verse 11

that anyone

who trusts

in him

will not

be put to

shame.

There is an

open invitation.

You've heard

it.

What's

stopping you

from trusting

in it?

And the

second

question is

this.

If you are

a Christian

maybe you've

got it into

your mind

that you

think I've

got this

friend or

I've got

this person

in my

family and

they're not

yet a

Christian and

I just

don't think

it's

possible.

Well look

at what

it's saying

here.

Everyone

who calls

on the

name of

the Lord

will be

saved.

And so

chapter 10

verse 1

we can

pray for

that person

trusting them

into God's

care and

trusting him

that he

will do

his work

in their

lives.

So who

is that

person

that you

could be

praying for

that could

become a

Christian?

So two

things.

If you

are not

yet a

Christian

why not?

And if

you are a

Christian

who are

you praying

for that

could become

a Christian?

Let's just

take a

moment to

reflect on

that and

pray through

those things.

let's just

do that

in the

quietness

now.

If you

are a

Christian

then pray

for that

person

right now

who you

know

that they

too

might become

a follower

of Jesus.

And if

you are

not yet

a Christian

why not

ask that

you might

receive

salvation

from

him.

Thank you.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for your generous and open invitation.

We pray for your ongoing saving work in our lives

and within our community.

Father, give us a heart that we would continue to desire and to pray

that those who we know and love

would yet become followers of you.

Amen.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.