The Way of Jesus - Righteousness by faith - Romans 10:5-21

 

The Way of Salvation – Rom 10:5-13; John 14:6

 

Imagine with me for a moment that someone has offered you a full ride scholarship to college or offered to pay of your mortgage. However, you decide you do not want to receive this generous offer but will pay for it yourself. As long as you make your monthly payments over time you will have accomplished the same objective but on your own merit. However, if you miss one payment, just one payment, you lose everything.

 

This illustration pales in comparison to the reality of God’s offer in Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls and the forgiveness of our sins. You and I can pay for our own college education. We can pay for our own house. But we cannot pay for our own sins. It’s a debt that is too large.

 

Paul says in Romans 10:5, “For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.” Seems simple enough, but we have to remember what he has already taught throughout the book of Romans.

 

Romans 3:20

“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

 

It is in man’s inability to keep they law that he can understand that he is a sinner.

 

Romans 3:23

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

And later, Paul writes in Galatians 3:23–24

“Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.”

 

Paul uses the imagery of a guardian or schoolmaster in reference to the law, that it teaches us that we need a Savior. The purpose of the Law was to point us to our need for God in our lives through faith.

 

But we have this human condition that wants to justify ourselves and earn our salvation. That is why all of the religions of the world, apart from Christianity, teach a works-based salvation. Man wants to earn his own way and naturally thinks that “as long as my good outweighs my bad, then I’ll be ok.” This is simply not true. Paul’s word in Romans 10:5 is a reminder that if you want to claim righteousness by the law then you have to keep the entirety of the law perfectly for the entirety of your life. Only Jesus did that.

 

But that is not the way of Christ. John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

The way of Christ is a righteousness by faith. It is not an expedition into heaven to find a secret message and bring it back. It is not a journey into the worst of humanity to find the meaning of life. It is about knowing Jesus, who is risen from the dead, and is “near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Rom. 10:8).

 

I remember a scene from the Dark Knight, where Bruce Wayne has to go on an impossible journey to find a rare blue flower and then traverse the rugged wilderness to accepted at the gates of the monastery for The League of Shadows. Paul, using Deut. 30, demonstrates that the Way of Jesus is not about elaborate works or pilgrimages. If that were the case, one could boast about finding the flower or climbing the mountain. Then we would find ourselves comparing how long it took and who arrived the fastest.

 

Ephesians 2:8–9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

The Way of Jesus is a righteousness by faith. Romans 10:9-10 give us the most succinct and clear teaching of how salvation works. Belief in the heart and confession with the mouth. These are two sides to the same coin. Genuine, heartfelt belief in Jesus will be demonstrated through an outward expression. The significance of belief in the heart means at total commitment to the lordship and authority of the risen Son of God. It recognizes Jesus is God who came to die in the place of sinners, who conquered death by rising again, and who stands in victory over sin. Confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord is admitting to others that you are identifying with Jesus. It is an outward expression of an inward decision, much like believer’s baptism. Faith begins in the heart, is confessed with through the mouth, and demonstrated through an obedient life.

 

It is important that we understand the order. If we reverse it, obedience leads to confession and then belief, we have fallen into a works-based religion. Faith produces confession, which produces obedience. This is the way of salvation for all people, both Jew and Gentile alike. God is no respecter of persons. Anyone, and everyone, who calls on the Lord will be saved. Which means we have a message that needs to be spread to all people.

 

The Mission of Salvation – Rom 10:14-18; Matt 28:18-20

 

The mission of God is for all people to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. But how will people hear unless we go? Paul askes a series of questions to provoke us into action as ambassadors of God carrying the message of Christ.

 

Matthew 28:18–20

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 

Jesus has sent us, his church, to be witnesses to all people. They need to hear because “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). John Stott encouraged reading these verses in reverse, which inspired me to write it out like this, “when those who are sent preach, they will hear. Having heard, they will believe. Having believed they call on him.” This is the power of the Gospel (Rom. 1:16) that we proclaim. People will be saved by the proclamation of the Good News if we are obedient in sharing it.

 

It is important to be reminded that we do not save anyone. God is the one who saves. We are called to share his message, and he transforms hearts! We do have to be perfect in our presentation or be a professional evangelist. We just need to be faithful witnesses of gospel truth.

 

The first time I had the opportunity to witness someone receive Christ after sharing the gospel, I could not believe that God used me to be his messenger. I was 19 years old and on a mission trip to Trinidad. I was scared to talk to people I did not know and signed up for a work trip. However, the rain kept us off the work site, so my leader said we were going house to house to tell people about Jesus. My anxiety levels spiked, and I was so afraid. However, we broke up in teams and started canvasing the neighborhoods. I chickened out a lot that day and allowed my teammates to take the lead.

 

However, as we approached one house, I heard myself say, “I will take this one.” I couldn’t believe I said it and my teammates were super encouraging. An 83-year-old Hindu lady answered the door. My hands were sweating, my mouth went dry, and I didn’t even know where to begin. Fortunately, we had been studying and marking the Roman’s Road to Salvation, a gospel presentation from a few verses in Romans. I asked her if we could share some verses from the Bible, and she said yes. So I took her to the first verse, Romans 3:23 and had her read it. Then I asked her what she thought it meant. After she answered, I turned to the next verse and asked her the same question. This was how I did it through the whole conversation. When we read Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” I asked her if she wanted to call on the Lord for salvation. She said yes!! So I told her, “well you should pray and tell Jesus what you want to do.” She bowed her head and said a sweet prayer of repentance and belief, and asked Jesus to save her. With tears in her eyes after the prayer, she asked us to come back later and tell her son.

 

Every time I am in this passage, I remember that encounter. I remember how God was faithful to his Word by saving that woman that day. I was forever transformed by the reality that God would use me to share his eternal word. It was not eloquent, it was not rehearsed, it was faithful. In my fear, I trusted and was obedient, and God was glorified that day.

 

We cannot rest on the past, we have to keep our eyes on Jesus and keep following him, lest we slip into spiritual apathy and self-reliance.

 

Hearing v Hearing: The Danger of Self-Reliance – Rom 10:18-21

 

Paul concludes this section with a sad reflection on how the Jewish people had the opportunity to hear God’s word, but the rejected it. This reminds me of a parable that Jesus taught about a great banquet.

 

Read Luke 14:16-24

 

In this parable, we see the host offer and invitation to several who found excuses to reject it. The host’s response was not to cancel the banquet, but to invite anyone and everyone that wanted to join, no matter their status. The poor and needy received the invite and came to the feast.

 

The self-reliant, self-righteous ones rejected the invite thinking they had everything they needed. They heard the invitation but were not compelled by it.

 

However, those who heard the invitation and responded received the blessing of being at the banquet. When Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah, God chose to invite the Gentiles into his kingdom through Jesus Christ. They heard the invitation and received Christ through belief and confession. The Church was born.

 

Do not allow your past achievements, your present comforts, or you family history to keep you from hearing the word of Jesus. Listen to him and respond. You will find him faithful and never be ashamed.

The Gift of Grace - Eph 2:1-10

The school year is starting back up already. Some schools are already back in session, several schools start next week, and home school starts back soon. Last week we talked about priorities and making sure we begin with the BIG things and then find we will have time for the fun things too. It’s important that we see God as the most important thing and begin with a quiet time, prayer, and commitment to church in obedience to God’s Word. 

With the beginning of school often comes anxiety and excitement about the next year. Getting back into a routine of class, homework, and extracurriculars. It can be a lot and overwhelming at times. I thought revisiting the important teachings of God’s Amazing Grace would be a helpful encouragement as school begins. 

School is about learning and meriting. You go to class, you study hard, you take quizzes and tests, you write papers, and then you get a grade. Life is a lot like that too. You work a job, put in the hours, learn new disciplines, and receive a paycheck. Our entire understanding of life, work, school, family, sports, band, theater, and so on, is based on earning what we get. It’s our reality. 

Unfortunately, many think this same merit-based system is how we can earn our salvation. If I just do more good than bad, I will be fine, right? That’s what every world religion essentially teaches, except Christianity. The Bible says you cannot earn your way back to God and you can’t pay for your own sins. Paul describes our situation as being “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1-3). What does a corpse do? Nothing. It can’t because its dead. Spiritually, we were born into sin and therefore we were dead and incapable of doing anything good enough to earn salvation. 

The Good News of Jesus Christ is that Salvation is not based on merit! 

Read Ephesians 2:4-10.

Have you ever been given something you do not deserve? Of course, we all have at different times. Depending on the context will determine the impact of that gift. Receiving gifts at Christmas and birthdays are undeserved, but we tend to expect them and feel entitled to them. Receiving and unexpected and generous gift can be overwhelming and impactful. What is something underserved that you received? What was your response?

In Ephesians, we see that God initiates because of his love for us! He made the spiritually dead souls alive. He opened our blind eyes and our deaf ears. He secured our place in heaven with him one day. Not because of anything we have done or earned, but because of his GRACE. Grace is “unmerited favor,” or “unearned love.” It’s an unconditional love freely given by God to those who believe! It’s based on the finished work of Christ. Some have defined it God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. 

We receive the grace of God through faith. What is faith? Faith is not a work, it’s a belief. It is trusting that Jesus is who he says he is, he has done what he said he would do, and he will do what he promises to do. Jesus is the Son of God, who died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again. He offers forgiveness of sins and new life in the power of the Holy Spirit. He promises to return one day, put an end to sin and death, and make all things new as we live with him for eternity. 

By placing your faith in Jesus Christ, you are made alive with him and your new life begins now and lats forever. Salvation is not about what you have done but what Jesus has done. Jesus gets the glory for redeeming us and changing us. We receive the blessings of his finished work and continual work (Phil 1:6). 

But Jesus doesn’t just save us for heaven one day, he has plans for our here-and-now life. Read verse 10 again. God has a purpose, and a plan prepared for you to walk in. As you grow in the love of Christ you will begin walking like Christ and see what God is doing in and through you. As school begins, think of some goals to set to be Christ in your school, in your workplace, in you neighborhood, and in your home.

One more thought about the Amazing Grace of God, some maybe stressing over grades, status, or paychecks, but in Christ you are redeemed, you are secure, and you are chosen by God for a plan. In all the stresses of life, trusting Jesus makes your eternity secure and following Jesus is the way of abundant life (John 10:10). You can rest in his love knowing that he has brought you from death to life and holds your place with him for all of eternity!