No Big Heads Allowed

It's 131, if you're using a red-coloured Bible, 1131, and Ralph is going to read.

He gives a reference.

So, Romans chapter 3, and reading from verse 27 to chapter 4, and verse 12.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law?

No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

since there is only one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

Do we then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all. Rather, we uphold the law.

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?

If in fact Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.

What does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.

However, to the man who does not work, but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.

Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.

Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?

We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.

Under what circumstances was it credited?

Was it after he was circumcised, or before?

It was not after, but before.

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith, while he was still uncircumcised.

So then, he is the father of all who believe, but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

And he is also the father of all who believe, and he is also the father of the circumcised, who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Thanks very much, Ralph.

Well, please follow with me as we look at this passage from Romans chapter 3, 27 through from 4, verse 12.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

As we don't have PowerPoint, you won't see any headings, but on the back of the new sheet, there is place for you to take notes.

There is also a big A4 sheet, which does have the outline of the talk on it, which, I don't know, Rob has some.

If anybody would like that to follow, you can just put your hand up and pass it along.

But they are there for you if you want.

And I do welcome any questions at all over our studies in Romans.

We don't cover everything in detail, and we try to give the big picture, the big ideas.

So if there's ever any questions or anything you want to discuss afterwards, please feel free to do that.

Well, let's pray together and ask for God's help.

Our Father, we thank you again for your grace to us, and we recognize that having your word in a language that we can understand and hear is a part of your grace.

That you speak to us in our language.

You speak to us in our ways.

So that we may understand you, the creator and the savior of the world.

And we ask that right now, by your spirit, you would speak into our hearts, into our lives.

Change us.

Make us more like you.

Help us to understand how we should respond to you.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So when was the last time you ever wrote a letter of thanks to your boss for your paycheck?

Or sent a card to say, thank you so much for your generous gift?

Now that would be absolutely daft, wouldn't it?

Nobody sends cards for something that you have earned.

Unless, of course, you're looking for promotion.

You don't say thank you because you deserve it.

You've worked hard for it.

You earned it.

In fact, if you didn't get your wage at the end of the week or the end of the month, you'd be straight into their office.

You would be demanding it.

It's your right.

Your employer is obliged to pay you.

Now hold that thought in your mind and let me introduce you to Fred.

Fred never bothered with church.

His parents went, but he never saw the point.

He always found that it interrupted his sport and his socializing.

The one Bible that he got from school, from the visiting Gideons, he used to balance his desk.

In adult life, God and the Bible were of little use and relevance to him.

Fred has a good friend called Bob.

Bob was the local vicar's son.

He went to church all the time, not because he was forced to, but because he thought it was a good thing to do.

He got so involved in church life, he became the youth leader, and later on he became an elder, having studied theology.

Poor Fred was now struggling with a broken marriage, and he was hitting the bottle quite hard.

Bob, however, had a great family, and he was a well-respected man in the community.

Now here's the question.

Tell me, which one deserves God's forgiveness?

Who has earned God's acceptance?

Fred or Bob?

Which one does God owe?

Well, if you're not sure what the answer is, look at verse 4 of chapter 4.

Now when a person works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.

They've earned it.

They deserve it.

However, to the person who does not work, that means who doesn't try to earn their salvation,

but trusts God, who justifies the wicked, that's to put them right with God,

their faith is credited as righteousness.

And here is the unique promise of the gospel.

When it comes to God's salvation and forgiveness, it's not about what we have done,

but it's all about faith in what Christ has done.

It's not about our work, but Christ's work.

Wages from an employer are always earned.

You deserve it because of your hard work.

You receive your paycheck because of your performance.

Salvation from God is never earned.

It's always undeserved.

The grace that we receive from God is because of Christ's perfect performance for us.

So if we don't earn salvation, how do we receive it?

Well, have a look at verse 27 of chapter 3.

Where then is boasting?

Are there any big heads in this room?

Is there anybody here this morning who thinks that they deserve God's forgiveness?

Anybody here that think that because they've gone to church all their life,

they've read their Bibles, they've never had an affair,

that they've somehow have earned God's favor?

Verse 27.

Where is the boasting?

It's excluded.

There are no room.

There's no room for big heads in here.

Why?

Well, look at what it says.

On what principle?

On that of observing the law because of something you've done?

No.

But on that of faith.

For we maintain that a person is justified, put right with God,

by faith,

apart from observing the law,

apart from doing anything.

You see, salvation is received by faith in what Jesus has done,

not by works we have done.

And it's important for us to understand how faith operates.

There's two things here.

The first is this.

Faith is not an intellectual exercise.

It's a trusting exercise.

I'm sure we all watched the news

as we saw the Chilean miners brought to the surface.

There was this metal capsule

that was lowered down through a shaft

which was no more than two feet,

half a mile down, two feet wide.

And it would bring the miners safely to the surface.

Now, every single one of those miners believed

that if you stepped into the capsule

and closed the door,

the laws of engineering would begin to operate

and they would be hoisted to the surface

and they would be rescued.

They knew, they believed,

that's what would happen.

But unless they actually stepped into it,

they would never be rescued.

Because believing in something intellectually

is not having faith in something personally.

Belief will always leave you on the outside.

Knowledge will just leave you on the outside.

Faith is the opposite.

Faith means you will actually entrust yourself.

And in the miners' case,

it's entrusting themselves to the capsule.

They step in, close the door,

in faith,

that it will bring them to the surface.

Belief won't save you.

Faith does.

Now, in the same way,

we are entrusting ourselves

to the perfect work of Christ on the cross.

I don't just believe he died for my sin.

Lots of people can believe

in the person of Jesus,

that he was here on earth 2,000 years ago,

that he died.

Lots of people believe that.

But we have to have faith

in his death

for my sin.

To have faith is to step into Christ,

closing the door on everything else,

and saying that he is sufficient,

completely sufficient,

to justify us,

to put us right with God.

So that's the first thing.

Faith is not an intellectual exercise.

It's a trusting exercise.

And second,

faith is not just an exchange with God,

but a channel to God.

I'm sure some of you here

have Tesco club cards.

Do you?

Tesco club cards?

Tesco club cards.

Every time you go shopping,

you cash in your little card,

and you get some extra points.

And after so many weeks

of building up your points,

you can cash them in,

and then you can get your shopping for free.

But it's not really free, is it?

They tell you it's free.

The advertisement says,

here's your points,

get your Tesco shopping for free.

But in reality,

you've actually paid for all of those points

in previous weeks.

And then you bring in your card,

and you exchange them

for a bag of spuds,

or whatever else is in your trolley.

Now in the same way,

we can think that we have to cash in

our faith to God.

I will only find salvation

if I have enough faith built up,

if I have enough faith points in my life.

But faith is never measured like that.

You can't measure it in terms of quantity.

It's not an exchange that we do with God.

Like saying to God,

well, here's my faith.

I've been working really hard.

I've built up my faith.

And I'm giving you my faith.

Now in return,

you give me your salvation.

That's works.

No, faith is a channel to God.

through which we receive

the free gift of salvation.

So no one here this morning can say,

I have more faith than you.

Or the reason why I'm a Christian

and you're not

is because I have more faith points than you.

You see, there's no big heads allowed.

And if there are any big heads,

the door is over there.

You can leave.

Faith is simply trusting

in what Jesus has done.

His work,

his performance,

his ability,

and not mine.

Faith is a channel.

It is the means by which salvation

flows freely to us.

And this is how it is

for everyone,

regardless of your race or culture.

Look at verse 29.

The question is being asked,

who is this for?

Is God the God of Jews only?

Just of religious people?

Is he not the God of Gentiles too,

the people who are not religious?

Yes, of Gentiles too,

since there is only one God.

Who will justify the circumcised,

the religious people by faith?

And the uncircumcised,

the non-religious people,

through the same faith?

You see,

you might be the most committed person

in church.

You might never have even bothered

with church.

You might think yourself very moral.

You may be struggling this morning

because you're so conscious

of all the things you've messed up

with this week.

But it doesn't matter

whether you're a Fred

with a broken,

messed up life,

or a Bob

who is the moral pillar

in the community.

There's just one God

and he operates

with all of us

in exactly the same way.

The only way we receive

our salvation

is by faith,

not works.

So there's no room

for big heads

in here.

You can leave.

Well,

if salvation

is not received

by,

if salvation

is received

by faith,

we're still asking

the question,

what is it

that I actually

have to do?

Surely I have to do

something.

Well,

the answer is no,

you don't have to do anything.

Look at chapter 4,

verse 1.

What then shall we say

that Abraham,

our forefather,

discovered in this matter?

Now Abraham

was considered

the father,

the hero

of the Jewish people.

Dads used to tell

their kids stories

about Abraham

at night.

But most importantly,

what Abraham did,

they did.

How Abraham lived,

they must live.

He was their hero,

he was their father.

The way he was,

they've got to follow.

So Paul introduces

their hero,

Abraham,

and he's asking them

questions about,

well, let's see

how he got his salvation.

So in verse 2,

if in fact

Abraham was justified

by works,

he had something

to boast about.

In other words,

God,

I've obeyed you,

so you owe me.

But not before God.

What does the scripture say?

This is a quote

from Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

It says,

Abraham believed God

and it was credited

to him as righteousness.

So there's a very

straightforward question here.

What did Abraham do

to achieve his salvation?

Answer,

absolutely nothing.

There was nothing

he could point to.

There was nothing

that he had actually done.

He simply believed.

He had faith

in what God said

he was going to do.

So our salvation

is achieved

by God's gift of grace,

not our good performance.

It's by grace,

not performance.

Suppose you're going

for your job interview.

You're going to bring along

with you your CV,

aren't you?

Your CV is a record

of your performance.

how well you've done

in college,

the grades

that you've earned,

the position

that you held

in your last job,

the promotion

and so on

and everything

that you've deserved

is all there

on your CV.

Now whether you get

the job or not

depends on how well

you've performed

over the last number

of years

and how well

you're going to perform

in the interview.

So you're only going

to get the job

on your merit.

But with our salvation,

the record of our life,

our CV

is never good enough.

The grades

that we have scored

throughout life,

the points

that we build up,

it counts for nothing.

So in God's grace

he offers us

the free gift

of his performance record.

It's like he gives us

his CV

and he credits us

with his righteousness

and just as it was

for Abraham,

so it is for us.

We achieve salvation

by grace,

not by our performance.

And then he introduced

another character,

King David,

in verse 6.

He was another hero

of the Jewish people,

the greatest king

that there was

for them.

And he's also an example

of how all of this

is true.

Verse 6,

David says the same thing

when he speaks

of the blessedness

of the person

to whom God

credits righteousness

apart from works,

apart from performance.

Blessed are they

whose transgressions

are forgiven,

whose sins

are covered.

Blessed is the man

whose sin

the Lord

will never count

against them.

Now we might call this

the great exchange

and we have to be careful here

that we don't confuse it

with what we said

about earlier

about faith

not being an exchange.

Here we're talking

about exchanging

between what we have

and what Christ has.

And there's two things

here as well.

First,

our faith,

our record,

or by faith rather,

our record

is given to Christ.

And Christ's record

is given to us.

It's like Christ

takes on himself

our CV.

He takes on

our record

of how we have lived.

All our disobedience

has been cashed in

or credited

to Christ.

And then second,

in exchange,

by faith,

we take on

the CV of Christ.

The complete

and perfect record

of Christ's life

is given to us.

All of his obedience

is credited to us.

So there's a complete exchange.

It's my life

for Christ's life.

And this is what

David was celebrating

in verses 7 to 8.

He talks about

those sins

that are covered

and the sins

that the Lord

will never count

against them

because they have

been counted

to Christ.

And his Christ

righteousness

has been counted

to him.

Now that does not

mean that we are

now perfect

in our thoughts,

words and actions.

It doesn't mean

that just because

we have Christ's

righteousness,

that we have

his obedience,

that we love

everybody perfectly

as Christ loved us.

I think we all know

that we're not perfect.

But what it does mean

is that when we have

Christ's record,

we have a new position.

Our position

before God

has changed.

Our status

has been

completely transformed.

That means

we are now

treated by God

as if we are

obedient

like Christ.

we are treasured

by God

as if we are

blameless

like Christ.

Now this has

huge implications

for us today,

right now,

even now as we sit

because maybe

you're feeling

a little bit guilty

and you're feeling

a little bit ashamed

of things that have

been said and done

through the week

and you're wondering

how is God

going to look at me?

How is he going

to treat me?

Well it means

when we do

fail and fall

and when you fail

and fall this week

and you will,

our status

does not change.

Even when we do

disobey and rebel,

our position

before God

doesn't change.

Remember,

we have been given

Christ's perfect record.

All of that

has been credited

to us.

We have his CV.

So we are forever

and always

under his grace.

So when he looks

at you,

when you've messed up,

he sees Christ.

He doesn't see you

in all your mess.

And we so often

fall into the trap

of thinking

that okay,

I understand this side

that salvation

is achieved by grace

but somehow

my salvation

must be maintained

by performance.

So grace gets me in

but performance

keeps me there.

But that's

completely rubbish.

That's turning

everything upside down.

We can never rely

on our performance.

Our performance

is always flawed

and broken.

We rely fully

and totally

on the perfect record

of Christ

which is forever

credited to us.

It can't be taken

away from us.

No matter how many times

you sin and fail,

it is always there.

So there is no big,

so there's no room

for big heads

because we all

fail miserably

but we are all

covered

by Christ's

righteousness.

So there's nothing

we can do

to achieve salvation.

It's something

that we receive

by faith.

But you say

there must be

something we have

to do.

It can't surely

be just nothing.

There must be

something that

we have to do.

No, there's

absolutely nothing

we can do.

It's by faith.

faith.

But there is a way

that we should

respond.

We're going to look

here in verses 9

down to verse 12.

Now in this section

here we must remember

that the church

that Paul is writing

to is racially

and culturally

mixed.

It was made up

primarily on the

one hand of Jews

who were very moral

and had a very

religious background

and the rest

were made up

of Gentiles.

People who were

very liberal

and they didn't

have a religious

background.

And the religious

Jews were always

falling into the

way of superiority.

They were suffering

with the big head

syndrome.

After all,

God had given

them the special

sign of circumcision.

The mark that

you belong to God.

You are his

special people.

And therefore

they thought they

were better than

everybody else.

And somehow

all the other

people were

second-rate

Christians.

They were the

ones that kind

of sat back

in the corner

of the church.

They weren't

really part

of the true

family.

So this issue

had to be

tackled and this

is what he does

in verse 9.

So he asked

the question,

speaking particularly

to religious

people,

is this

blessedness,

this salvation,

this forgiveness,

is it only for

the circumcised,

for the religious

people,

for the good

moral people?

Or is it also

for the uncircumcised,

the immoral

people?

For we've been

saying that

Abraham's faith

was credited to

him as

righteousness.

So,

Mr.

Jew,

let's have a

look at your

great hero

Abraham.

Let's see again

how he got his

salvation,

verse 10.

Under what

circumstances

was it credited?

Was it after

he was circumcised?

Or before?

Now that's

an important

point.

If it was

after,

they would

all be

saying,

you see,

Abraham did

something,

he obeyed

God,

and because

he obeyed

God,

God owed

him

something.

But look

at the

answer.

It was

not after,

but before.

So it's a

crushing blow

because all of a

sudden they

realise that

their great

hero of the

faith,

Abraham,

who they

thought was

this most

wonderful,

obedient person,

actually became

a Christian

before he ever

did anything

that was

obedience.

In our

terms,

he was never

baptised,

he was never

confirmed,

he never took

communion,

he was in

fact a

Gentile,

verse 11.

He received

the sign of

circumcision,

a seal of the

righteousness that

he had by faith

while he was

still uncircumcised.

Christ.

You see,

if we

understand our

salvation rightly,

it will never

lead to

superiority,

instead it

will lead to

unity.

Nobody will

be going around

thinking,

I'm better than

you.

Now we're

quite a mixed

bunch here,

aren't we?

Some people

here are from

a religious

background,

some people

aren't.

Some of you

here this

morning have

been baptised,

some of you

haven't.

Some of you

are members

of this

church,

and some

of you

aren't.

Some of you

have been

here for

quite a few

years,

some of you

have only

been here

for one

year.

Now the

question I

want to

ask us

all is,

if you're

a Christian,

how did

you receive

your salvation?

What did

you do to

achieve your

salvation?

Well if

we are true

Christians,

the answer

will be

exactly the

same.

There was

nothing that

we could

do to

earn our

salvation,

it was

all by

faith,

faith in

the work

that Jesus

did for

us.

So what

is that

going to

mean for

us as

a church

family?

It will

mean unity,

not superiority.

So nobody

can claim to

be better

than anybody

else.

No one

can feel

that because

I've been

here longer

than you,

I have more

rights than

you.

And nobody

can think,

well because

I'm a

member,

my opinion

is more

important than

anybody else's.

It's back to

verse 27,

where's the

boasting?

Nobody can

boast.

And if you

do think you

are better than

anybody else,

the door is

over there and

you can leave.

And that's

the big issue

that he is

tackling here

as he writes

to this church

in Rome.

Look at

11,

verse 11 of

chapter 4.

Halfway down,

verse 11,

we'll pick it up

where it says,

so then,

he is the

father of all.

And it starts

talking about

circumcision,

but we're going

to take the

word circumcision

out and we're

going to put

baptism in to

make it a little

bit more contemporary

for us.

So listen as we

read.

So then,

Abraham is the

father of all

who believe,

but have not

been baptized,

in order that

the righteousness

might be credited

to them.

And he is also

the father of

those who have

been baptized,

who not only

are baptized,

but who also

walk in the

footsteps of the

faith that our

father Abraham

had before he

was baptized.

So,

can we see

that the issue

here, the

important factor

is faith.

It's not about

the external

issues at all.

And quite

frankly, it

doesn't matter

whether you've

been baptized

as an infant

or an adult,

those issues

aren't going

to save you.

It doesn't

matter whether

you've been

confirmed or

taken communion,

those things

aren't going

to save you

one little

bit.

No water

or sprinkling

will do

that.

The big

important issue

is being

pointed out

here,

is that it's

by faith.

And it's

not just the

start with

faith,

but look at

the end of

verse 12,

who walk in

the footsteps

of the faith,

who continue

by faith.

So we start

with faith in

Christ,

and we

continue with

faith in

Christ.

Now, I'm

not saying

that baptism

isn't unimportant,

it is,

but it's most

important that

we understand

the priority.

Faith is

important.

And that's

what makes

Christians one.

That's what

unites us.

That's what

pulls us

together here.

It's not

because we're

all Baptists

that we're

all one.

It's all

because of

our faith in

Christ,

our common

faith in

what Jesus

has done.

Now, all

too often,

believers can

become very

judgmental.

They can

boast in

their good

life,

I'm better

than you.

But in

the church,

there is no

room for

big heads.

There's no

room for

judgmental

attitudes.

There's no

room for

superiority.

There's no

room for

thinking,

I'm better

than you.

Why?

Because we

are all

saved by

the same

faith.

We're all

messed up.

We're all

big, filthy,

dirty, rotten

sinners.

We've got

nothing in

our account

to bring

to God.

By faith,

we receive

from His

account,

and He

fills it

with

righteousness.

Look at

Romans,

Romans 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15.

Romans 15,

Romans 15:5

verse 5.

May the

God who

gives

endurance

and

encouragement

give you

a spirit

of unity

among

yourselves

as you

follow

Christ

Jesus,

so that

with one

heart

and one

mouth

we may

glorify the

God and

Father of

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Accept one

another then,

just as

Christ accepted

you in

order to

bring praise

to God.

Do you

see the

way we

treat each

other?

The way

we love

each other?

The way

we care

for each

other?

The way

we all

recognize

that we're

Christians

because of

what Christ

has done,

and it's

our faith

in Him.

That'll be

to the

praise of

God,

so that

when people

join with

us,

as people

meet with

us,

they will

see the

unity.

They will

see a

unity that

it's not

about labels

or denominations,

they will

see that

they are

united in

their common

faith in

Christ,

and that

alone is

what is

going to

draw people

to God.

Let's

pray together.

Our

Father God,

we want to

thank you for

two things.

we want to

thank you for

our salvation.

We want to

thank you for

all that Jesus

has done for

us on our

behalf,

recognizing that

all that we

have is simply

by that act

of faith,

trusting in

you,

the channel

by which we

receive Christ's

righteousness,

his CV,

his record,

his performance,

his life,

in exchange

of mine.

Thank you for

our salvation.

And we

thank you too

for our

unity.

We thank you

for the family

of this

church.

We thank you

for the

measure of

care and

love and

support.

We thank you

for the way

in which people

pray for one

another.

other.

We thank you

for the way

in which people

help.

We thank you

for the way

in which people

are welcomed

and accepted

into this

community here.

We thank you

that we have

this unity

because of

Christ.

Christ.

And so we

pray and

we ask

that you

would protect

it.

That we

would always

remember

the priority

is our

faith.

And that we

would always

focus on

Christ.

And that we

would be

always an

opening,

welcoming,

caring

people.

and we

pray this

so that

other people

may find

Christ.

That they

will come

to love

him and

to trust

in him

too.

We thank

you for

one another

and we

thank you

for Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going

to sing

together

how deep

the Father's

love for us.

I haven't

got a page

or a

number.