Text- Romans 9:30-10:13
Title- The Essence Of Salvation
Romans 9:30 - 10:13 30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." NAU Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. 6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ’WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ’WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." 8 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART "-- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
I. Salvation is by Faith not works 30-33
II. Salvation by Faith is Found only in Christ- 1-5
III. Salvation by Faith is near- 6-8
IV. Salvation by Faith is simple- 9-10
V. Salvation by Faith is for everyone- 11-13
Over the last year and a half I’ve learned that there are a lot of aspects to being a pastor that they don’t teach you in seminary. Pastoral leadership involves having a wide scope of knowledge.
They don’t teach you roofing or maintenance, although I was fortunate to learn a lot about that stuff by working as a maintenance guy. They didn’t teach me about law, there are a number of legal issues that I’ve come across. Fortunately we have members of the church who are lawyers and have offered sound advice. They just don’t teach much about real estate development in seminary either. And regardless of the size of the church, managing property is a part of the job.
There are a lot of different things that I am learning on the job, but probably the most complicated is web development. We are fortunate to have people in the church who are skilled in this area, but I still like to know how to do stuff. How hard can it be to update a web page or find ways to better use the internet. My mentality is always, if someone else can figure it out, than so can I.
So I called a meeting together with different people who know stuff about web design and computer stuff and asked lots of questions. They explained things using words that I thought I know, like “contribute” and “dreamweaver” and “cookie”. But I have absolutely no idea what they are saying. It was like they were speaking a different language. So I mostly just smiled and nodded.
At that point I employed another important tool of pastoral leadership- delegation. I asked, can you do it? Ron Ottman and others have been very helpful in keeping things running. He has also been very helpful in helping me understand how things work.
Sometimes I feel like our study in Romans is a lot like learning how to do web design. I know that this book of the Bible is a deep one. The stuff that we are working through is some of the most complex theological ideas in the entire Bible.
Paul uses big theological words like propitiation and justification and reconciliation to explain salvation. Paul gives us a detailed history lesson and uses examples like Abraham and Adam & Eve and Jacob & Esau. Paul also dives in deep into the mystery of God’s sovereignty and God’s holy character.
Paul wrestles with the relationship between the OT and the NT. For the last few weeks we have seen how Paul explains that salvation is open to all people, not jus the Jews. He defends God’s right to bless the whole world.
This is real meat and potatoes stuff. This isn’t five keys to being a better you, this is real theology. There have been whole books written about this stuff. There have been whole libraries of books written about this stuff. It is deep.
But the beauty of this book is that it not only contains some of the deepest theological concepts, it also contains some of the simplest explanations of those concepts. It is a book for the most advanced theologian and a book for the person who knows nothing of God.
Today we are going to see the essence of salvation. In the passage we will study this morning Paul breaks everything down to the absolute basic components. Everything Paul has been teaching, this whole book up to this point can all be summarized in one single word- faith. I know your probably saying, “Why didn’t he just say that in the first place and save us all a lot of time?” That wouldn’t have been any fun.
Let’s look at our passage for today. I’m going to start in Romans 9:30 and finish at 10:13…
For those of you who might not have been here the past couple of weeks. In chapters 9-11 Paul is specifically addressing Israel. He is dealing with the question that the Jewish people had as to why God would bless the gentiles and reject the chosen people. Paul has been defending God’s right to bless and save the gentiles. That’s very good news for us because we are all gentiles.
At the end of chapter 9 here Paul explains that salvation is by faith, not by works. Look again at 30-33…
Why did the gentiles receive salvation? Because they simple believed in Jesus Christ. They were saved because they trusted God for everything. They were saved because they realized that they needed a savior. They pursued a righteousness that is by faith, not by works.
Without a doubt, in our society today there is a widespread belief that if you are a good person and do mostly good things that you will earn you place in heaven. There are even theological systems and whole religions that teach that your standing before God is all about what you do for Him. Even the concept of penance is built on this idea.
Now Paul has already established that salvation isn’t about works. He has already stated in more complicated ways that birthright or good works don’t earn you any standing with God. What Paul is saying here is that the gentiles were able to find true salvation because they simply relied on faith in Jesus Christ.
For the gentiles this new concept that we can have a close personal relationship with God was amazing. The idea that all you had to do was place your faith in Him was transforming. That’s why so many of them so quickly accepted the gospel with great joy.
But for the Jewish people, Jesus was a huge problem. He is refereed to here as a stumbling stone or a rock of offence. Salvation by grace through Christ was an idea that offended most Jews.
The reason salvation by grace was so offensive is because they had put all their effort into a salvation by works system. They had spent their whole lives living this very strict life. They had strict dietary rules, strict social rules, and strict rules about what to wear and what to do.
Now Paul was coming along saying that none of that stuff really mattered. It’s like this cartoon…
All that work isn’t what made them right in the sight of God. Obviously they would have been a little offended at that idea. It was almost like the idea of salvation by grace negated their whole idea of salvation.
I believe that for many people this idea of salvation by grace through faith is still a stumbling stone. Many different religious system are still founded on a system of works. Many people still believe that what we do or don’t do contributes directly to our salvation. But any system of belief that adds anything to the work of Christ is flawed.
But as Paul has already established, salvation has never been about works, it’s always been about faith. This is such a simple idea, but still so hard for some to grasp. But this belief is central to the Christian faith.
Salvation is not by works, but salvation by faith is found only in Christ. Look at verses 1-5 with me…
As if this gospel of grace wasn’t enough to offend the Jews, now Paul accuses them of being ignorant. Again in verse 1 here Paul expresses his heartfelt desire for their salvation. He really wants them to know Christ.
In verse 2 he admits that they have a real zeal for God, but not one that is based on truth. This one sentence could easily be applied to many other religious systems of our day. There are a lot of people out there who are very sincere. They are very committed to their own ideas. But it’s simply not grounded on truth.
Unfortunately sincerity isn’t what gets you to heaven. A strong belief doesn’t do you any good unless that belief is grounded in reality. It doesn’t matter how strongly I might believe that I can fly, the reality is that I can’t.
Faith that isn’t grounded in truth is worthless. It is meaningless.
In verse 3 Paul says…3 For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”
The problem with the Jews is that they underestimated God’s righteousness and instead created a righteousness of their own. They invented their own measure of holiness and acceptability. Instead of realizing their complete sinfulness and dependency on God, they became arrogant and self-satisfied with this man-made system of righteousness.
AS Paul has explained before, the OT law was to serve as a tutor. It was to teach humanity that we can’t do it on our own. That’s why Christ is essential. Because only He could bridge the gap for us.
But the Jews wanted to make their own measure of righteousness. This is also a common aspect of modern religion. We are living in an age of designer spirituality. People pick and choose their favorite parts of each belief system and mold them into their own religion. Most of the time Christ ends up lumped together with all the other religious icons or removed from the picture altogether. But those forms of spirituality are missing one important ingredient- truth.
Verse 4 says… 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Christ puts an end to those systems of belief that teach a works salvation. Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Through His righteousness all the requirements of God’s law are met. We can’t do it on our own. But Christ did it for us. What a huge blessing!
The message of verse 5 is simple that if you try and life your life by the letter of the law, you have to be perfect. That simply isn’t possible for you or me., Again this points to our absolute dependence on the work of Christ on our behalf.
So salvation is by faith and not by works, and salvation is only found in faith in Jesus Christ. Next we see that salvation by faith is near. Look at verses 6-8…
I don’t need to dwell here long. You don’t have to ascend into heaven or descend into hell to find Christ. He isn’t hiding. He is near. He is in your mouth and in your heart. Christ is easily accessible.
Honestly this is one of the greatest truths about Christianity. It is the idea that the God of the whole universe. The creator of everything. This perfect, holy, changeless God is near to us. He is right there with us. He loves each one of us and cares for each one of us. God isn’t standing at a distance or far away. He is right here, right now.
Not only is salvation close at hand, it is simple.
I was watching this program on the food channel about cake. I like the food channel and I like cake. When the first cake mixes in a box came out I guess the only ingredient that you had to add was water. But for some reason it was a huge flop. No one would buy it. So they changed the formula so that people had to add an egg and some oil. After that the cake mixes sold like crazy.
I guess people thought the just add water mix was too easy and they didn’t trust the quality. There is just something in us as humans that wants to make things harder than they need to be. Just add water was too easy, but adding an egg yourself makes it more like real baking.
Salvation is very simple. Just add faith. Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses and even Catholicism are all very popular because they offer you the chance to add something else to the recipe- good works, penance, strict lifestyle. But the recipe is very, very simple. Look at verses 9-10…
It doesn’t get any easier than that. What is it that a person has to do to be saved? Simply confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Because it is in the heart where true faith resides and it is with the mouth that the public confession of faith in Christ is made.
I want to spend a minute discussing what it means to confess and to believe, but I just wanted to point out the interesting contrast between chapter 10 and chapter 9. For the past few weeks we have been talking all about God’s sovereignty and His divine choosing of the gentiles over the Jews. We’ve been confronted with this stark view of God’s total control over all creation.
But here in verse 10 the language is very different. Paul is talking about our human responsibility in the salvation process. In verse 10 here he talks about the importance of confessing and believing and accepting Christ by faith. Reading chapter 9 all by its self might give you a very skewed view of the salvation process. And only reading chapter 10 will only give you half the picture.
Reading chapters 9 and 10 together gives us the amazing picture of the truth that we discussed last week. God is completely sovereign and in control and humanity has a free will and is accountable for its actions.
Saving faith is such an amazing thing. As we have seen already in this book there is a well of depth and beauty and complexity to our salvation. It is something that we can study forever and never exhaust the topic. Yet it is something so simple that even a young child can understand it. It is something so simple that it is accessible to anyone and everyone. Salvation isn’t reserved for the intellectually elite or the overly pious person. Salvation is attainable to anyone who confesses Jesus as Lord and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the dead.
To confess Jesus as Lord is to openly claim Him as your savior, your king, and your God. It is more than just an affirmation that Jesus is the Lord, but a confession that He is in fact your Lord. This belief is much more than just intellectual acknowledgement about Jesus but it is a commitment to allow Him to rule your life.
Have you confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord? Have you truly allowed Him to be the Lord of your life? Are you willing to hand Him the reigns? Believing in Christ is an active thing, not a passive thing.
Confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is something that we do in a number of different ways. We confess Jesus as Lord in prayer. Many of us probably have had a time in our lives when we were presented with a fork in the road. We had a choice to wither accept Jesus or reject Him and do things our own way. My guess is that if you are here today it is because there was a definitive time in your life when you said to God, “I admit that I’m a sinner, I know that I can’t live up to your perfect standard on my own, I want Jesus Christ to come and rescue me.”
Confessing Jesus as Lord is also done in a public way through baptism. The ceremony of baptism is the public identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is a way of telling the world that you are identified with Him. It is something that has great meaning and importance. If you have never been baptized I would encourage you to consider it.
Confessing Christ also happens as you live your life for Him. We can confess Christ to those around us though our actions, our kindness, our grace, and our love. Live in such a way as to show that Christ is Lord in your life.
This confession that Jesus is Lord springs from a heart that believes that God has raised Him from the dead. Faith in the person and promises of Jesus Christ is central to salvation. Faith in anyone or anything else is empty, worthless faith.
Believing that God raised Him from the dead is the same as believing that Jesus is truly who He says He is. It is a confession that Jesus is God, He has conquered the power of sin and death, and He reigns forever.
Saving faith is such a simple thing to attain. It isn’t far away. It is as close as your heart and as near as your lips.
If you have never done it I would encourage you to do it today. Don’t wait another second. If you truly believe in your heart that Jesus is God then place your faith in Him today. If you need help with that feel free to talk to me or one of the other pastors after the service.
Finally, we see from this passage that salvation is available to everyone. Look at 11-13…
Paul brings the discussion back around to his original point. This passage is all about Paul explaining why God is justified in saving the gentiles. It is because salvation is by faith, not by works. Salvation isn’t reserved for only the Jews, it is for anyone who believes in God. God doesn’t discriminate against anyone.
God is the God of all mankind. He is ready and waiting to richly bless anyone and everyone who calls on His name.
The essence of salvation is faith in Jesus Christ. It is the pivot point for each one of us. Martin Luther said, “God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.” Do you have a saving faith in Jesus Christ?
