Faith Is the Key

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This is a sermon based on Romans 9:30-10:13. It is part of a series of messages on the Epistle to the Romans.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:

In our last sermon, we talked about the fact that God's righteousness is revealed through His sovereign choices. (9:1-11:36) The first part of that division was 9:1-29 where we noticed that “Israel’s history illustrates God’s sovereign choices.” For example, God had sovereignly chosen Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God had sovereignly used Pharaoh for His service.

Before we get into today’s message, I want to share this story with you.

When Christian A. Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.

"Excuse me," Governor Herter said, "do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?"
"Sorry," the woman told him. "I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person."
"But I'm starved," the governor said.
"Sorry," the woman said again. "Only one to a customer."
Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around.
"Do you know who I am?" he said. "I am the governor of this state."
"Do you know who I am?" the woman said. "I'm the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister." http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/a/authority.htm

This story illustrates the fact that the “person-in-charge” has the privilege of deciding who gets what!

I share this story because I think our scripture lesson for today illustrates the same principle. God is sovereign and He has complete authority over all the world and over all nations and over all people. He has the right or we might say He has the privilege of deciding “who gets what.”

Obviously, God isn’t like humans who sometimes abuse power and authority and commit grievous injustices against innocent people. He is perfectly good and righteous in all His actions. Yet, we must recognize the fact that He is not bound to behave or respond in ways that meet our approval. His “ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts.”

As I studied this next portion of scripture in Romans, I was struck by the fact that, in spite of the irrevocable standing Israel thought they had with God, when they failed to live up to His standard of faith mixed with righteousness, then God exercised His privileges of sovereignty and chose to extend His grace to people who would respond to Him in faith and obedience.

B.  Israel’s rejection illustrates God’s sovereign privileges. (9:30-10:21)

Not only does God choose to use certain individuals and nations for His divine purposes, but if and when those people exercise their free will to resist God’s plan, then God exercises His privileges of sovereignty by moving on to others who will obey Him and follow His will. Because He is sovereign, He has the privilege of choosing others to carry out His divine purposes on earth when those who were originally chosen defy His will and refuse to obey.

However, in this section Paul seems to be expanding the principle of election to include the fact that when we’re talking about individual salvation, God elects all those who believe the gospel.

i.  God connects righteousness with faith. (9:30-10:13)

Here in the last 4 verses of chapter nine and the first 13 verses of chapter ten, the Apostle makes a connection between faith and true righteousness. He starts off by describing why the Gentiles were able to attain righteousness, while the Jews were not. Then he laments over the spiritual condition of his own nation.

a.  Gentiles exercised faith but not Israel. (9:30-33)

“followed not…” – did not run/pursue after it, but they have attained it, because they believed the message that was delivered to them. They exercised faith in the message they heard.

The Jews on the other hand, did not get what they sought because they sought to acquire it through performance of works rather than through faith. Their specific barrier to faith apparently was Jesus Christ. He became a stumbling block to them as prophesied.

“stumbled” – same word from which we get the word scandal. Cross rather than throne/crown; but also the cross is the starting point for realizing He paid a debt we could never repay with works.

The same Jesus that was a source of stumbling for some became the source of hope for others.

(Reasoner) “The same sun which melts the wax, hardens the clay.”

b.  Paul laments Israel’s lack of faith. (10:1-4)

Again, as in chapter 9, Paul stresses his prayer and desire for his own countrymen. He sincerely wants them to be saved and acquire the righteousness of God that was originally intended for them to have.

“zeal…knowledge” – same condition Paul describes of himself in 1 Timothy 1:13. Word for “knowledge” means “full knowledge.” They knew the truth and they had knowledge, but they didn’t grasp all of the truth.

“have not submitted…” – Paul says the Jews never fully grasped the true righteousness of God and endeavored to achieve it by their own version of it, which was focused only on performance or works. (Especially true even after the exile when they finally got the message about idolatry, but still didn’t understand the importance of faith, so the focus was only on legalistic performance of the law.)

“Christ is the end…” – The intended goal of the law is not to provide acceptance with God and achievement of righteousness, but to bring people to recognize their need of Christ, i.e. the righteousness of God.

The key is “everyone that believeth.”

c.  Righteousness by faith is expounded. (5-13)

In the next 9 verses Paul goes on to explain what true righteousness by faith is all about.

1.  Faith eliminates the distance to God. (5-8)

Paul quotes from Moses (v.5) to let Jews know that he is not proclaiming something contrary to the OT. He is basically saying that the just (those who are proclaimed righteous) must live by God’s standards.

(Reasoner quoting Dunn) Moses did not say, and Paul does not understand him to say, that keeping the law was a means of earning or gaining life. Rather the law prescribes the life which is to be lived by the covenant people. (This is the same point that is emphasized by Dr. John Oswalt, Called to Be Holy.)

“who shall ascend… descend” – This is a quote from Deut. 30 and was originally spoken regarding the law. Moses was trying to convince the Israelites that it wasn’t hard to find out what God expected. The commandments were brought to them by God, they didn’t have to go searching for God’s will.

Here, Paul applies the same principle to faith. Salvation is not something that we have to go out in desperate searches for, but it is near us; in our mouth and in our heart. God isn’t hiding from us and is not far removed from us. He is right here beside us and is offering His salvation if we will accept His truth and believe it in our hearts.

2.  Faith restores the relationship with God. (9-11)

When confession and believing are united, salvation is received and the seeking heart is satisfied.

“not be ashamed” – will not go away disappointed.

(Reasoner) [James] Denney said it was a mistake to separate the two clauses [confessing with the mouth and believing with the heart] and look for an independent meaning in each. A believing heart and a confessing mouth are not two things, but two sides of the same thing. 

“confess… Lord Jesus” – same the same thing, agree with; and commitment to it. Jesus is Lord.

“raised from the dead” – confidence in the resurrection of Christ is an essential ingredient of faith.

3.  Faith erases human distinctions (12-13)

“The ground is level at the foot of the cross.”

Paul is evidently trying to show that the Jew is no better than the Gentile, but neither is the Gentile any better than the Jew. God loves everyone and is extravagantly rich in grace and mercy to everyone, WHOSOEVER calls on the name of the Lord.

(Wesleyan Bible Commentary)  The gift is available to all—that is, all who respond to the call of God with a call of their own….

Conclusion:

The Bible has many accounts of people who “called on the name of the Lord” and the Lord responded to their cry and brought deliverance.

See Psalm 107 for an elaborate example.

107:4-9 Those wondering in the wilderness cried to the Lord and He became their Guide to lead them in the right way.

(10-16) Those bound in prison cried to the Lord and He brought them out and broke their bands and delivered them.

 (17-22) Those who were sick and afflicted cried to the Lord and He healed them and delivered them from destruction.

(23-30) Those who are adrift in the stormy sea cried to the Lord and He calmed the storm and brought them to the safe haven.

All these are poetic descriptions of all kinds of people in all kinds of trouble, but when they cried to the Lord He rescued them and gave them deliverance. The greatest deliverance God can give to any of us is the deliverance from wanting our own way and helping us to yield to His grace and His will for us.

If you are in any kind of trouble, you can call on the Lord and He will respond to you. He may not deliver you from all your circumstances, but He will either deliver you out of them or He will deliver you through them.

If you do not know that you're saved and in the right relationship with God, if you will call on the Lord in humility and surrender to His love and grace, He will save you.