NOTE:
This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.
ENGAGE
While I was in high school I worked at the Lucky Wishbone that my dad managed. Over time, my dad gave me more responsibilities there and eventually I often opened or closed for him, which required things like counting the money and making entries in the books. But even with those extra responsibilities I was making less money than some of the other employees there who weren’t responsible for those tasks. And at the time I was often upset about that. I thought that I deserved more for what I was contributing to the restaurant and to my dad.
It wasn’t until much later in life that I gained a better appreciation for that time in my life and realized that all that time I thought I was doing something for my dad that deserved some kind of reward, my dad was actually doing something much more important and valuable for me. He was helping me to develop a great work ethic and also some skills and abilities that would serve me well throughout my life.
Unfortunately, I sometimes fail to consider the things that I learned from my dad when it comes to my relationship with God. And so if I’m not careful, I’ll start thinking of all the things I’m doing for God and even begin to think that God somehow owes me for that. But then when I read passages like the ones we’ve been studying for the last couple months in Romans 8 and 9, I realize that God doesn’t owe me a thing and that in fact He is doing far more in my life than I could ever deserve.
TENSION
Perhaps I’m the only one here this morning who struggles with that, but my guess is that because we are self-centered humans, that is a tendency that we all have to combat in our lives from time to time. And fortunately for us, the apostle Paul is going to give us some very practical help with that as we continue our study of the book of Romans.
TRUTH
The main theme in Romans 8 and so far in Romans 9 has been the sovereignty of God in the process of salvation. In that section of His letter, Paul has been focused on the idea that God, in His perfect wisdom, gets to choose those to whom He will show mercy and those he will harden. He alone decides who will be a vessel of mercy and who will be a vessel of wrath.
And while Paul has touched on man’s responsibility in that section, he hasn’t really focused on it. But now as we get to the end of chapter 9 and the beginning of chapter 10, Paul is going to address that idea in much more detail
[Read Romans 9:30-10:4]
As we’ve done with most of our recent messages, I’ll begin with the main theme and then we’ll develop that further.
Remember that Paul is still dealing here with the question that was raised at the end of Chapter 8:
If most of the Jews are rejecting Jesus as the Messiah and most of the church consists of Gentiles, then has God’s purpose for the Jews been defeated?
Up to this point, Paul’s argument has been that God’s purpose for the Jews has not been defeated because all along God only intended to save a remnant of the Jews that He would choose and that is exactly what has happed.
But now, Paul is making another argument for why the Jews have largely not responded to Jesus as the Messiah. And here he is focusing on the responsibility that the Jews themselves bore for that.
Paul’s argument here centers around Jesus and what man chooses to do with Him. In verses 32 and 33, Paul quotes from Isaiah to show that every person will do one of two things with Jesus: They will either find Him to be a rock of offense and stumble over Him or they will believe in Him and stand firm on Him and do as we sang earlier and build their lives with Him as the foundation.
Paul quotes from two different passages in Isaiah in verse 33 and he puts them together in a way that reveals both of these possible ways to respond to Jesus.
therefore thus says the Lord GOD,
“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
(Isaiah 28:16 ESV)
And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
(Isaiah 8:14 ESV)
Using part of the verse in Isaiah 28, he reveals that those who chose to believe in the cornerstone, Jesus, will not be put to shame. He combines that with the part of the verse from Isaiah 8 that reveals that the same one who is the cornerstone to some is also a stone of offense and a stumbling block to others.
The obvious implication here is that to the Gentiles who have chosen to respond in faith, Jesus is their cornerstone. And, as Paul points out in verse 4, for them their belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior ended the futile quest for righteousness that still continued for those Jews who were trying to save themselves by their efforts to obey the law.
And for the Jews who still continued to pursue a righteousness that was obtained by trying to follow the law, Jesus was merely a rock of offense and a stumbling block.
So what causes Jesus to be a rock of offense and a stumbling block to some and a cornerstone and firm foundation to others? Paul contends that it is largely a result of how each group attempts to approach God. So let’s see if we can’t summarize the elements which characterize each approach:
What causes people to stumble over Jesus?
1. Pride
The Jews had demonstrated their pride in a number of ways:
• As a people, they viewed themselves as superior to the Gentiles. They had forgotten that God had chosen them as a people to be a blessing to the entire world. They believed that God was somehow obligated to bless them because of their heritage.
The same thing occurs today when people just assume that God will accept them because of what church they go to or because they grew up in a Christian family, or even because they are an American.
• They viewed salvation as something to be achieved rather than a gift to be received. They thought that their efforts to obey the law had earned favor with God, even though they had obviously done that imperfectly.
That is a view that is obviously quite common today. If you were to ask almost anyone in any culture why they should go to heaven, most people would respond something like this: “Because I try to be a moral person and keep God’s commandments.” “Because I try to do good to others.” “Because I’m basically a good person and I’ve done more good things than bad.” According to some recent surveys done here in the United States, even a large percentage of people who call themselves Christians believe that their good works contribute to their salvation or are required to get to heaven.
• They did not understand the seriousness of their sin. Paul writes that the Jews were “ignorant of the righteousness of God”. They didn’t really understand the nature of God and the fact that a God who is 100% holy and righteous can’t ignore or excuse even the smallest sin. They just figured that as long as they did the best they could to follow the law and then made the proper sacrifices to make up for the times they fell short, that was acceptable to God.
This attitude is obviously prevalent in our culture today. In a recent study done by Lifeway Research, 65% of Americans agreed that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature. And three quarters of the people surveyed disagreed with the idea that even the smallest sin deserves God’s wrath.
2. Misplaced zeal
Paul writes that the Jews “have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” That is certainly a description of Paul’s life before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was zealously persecuting Christians, believing that he was doing that in the name of God. But that zeal had been without knowledge and therefore had been misplaced.
The particular word translated “knowledge” in verse 2 of chapter 10 is used only 20 times in the New Testament, mostly in Paul’s letters and most in relationship to knowing God. It is a compound word that describes fullness of knowledge, and in Hebrew thought it carried with it the idea of knowledge that was put into action, not just head knowledge.
The most common way we see this played out in our culture today is seen in this bumper sticker [show Coexist bumper sticker]. This idea that all religions are just different paths to the same God is one that if quite common in our culture today. In fact, in the same survey I mentioned earlier, 64% of all Americans and even 48% of those who identify as evangelical Christians say that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
3. The simplicity of the gospel
While Paul doesn’t mention this specifically here, he certainly implies it. The gospel was a stumbling block for so many Jews because of its simplicity. Every single time I read through the instructions for the sacrifices and offerings in the Old Testament I’m always stunned by how complex they are. And on top of that, the Jewish religious leaders had taken the Old Testament laws and added all kinds of additional laws to further explain how to keep the laws that God had given. So being a Jew in the first century was pretty complicated.
So when Paul comes along and teaches that the only thing required to be right with God is faith in Jesus, that becomes quite a stumbling block to the Jews who assume it has to be a lot more complicated than that.
Although in our culture Christians would generally claim that the gospel message is simple, I’m not sure that we haven’t done the same thing the Jewish religious leaders did and made it much more complicated. Depending on the church, we’ve added our own man-made laws concerning everything from the way people are to dress to where they ought to send their kids to school, to what kind of music they can listen to, to whether they can drink or smoke or chew or go with girls who do. Much of the time, those expectations aren’t in writing, but they are enforced just the same. And I wonder how many times, those man-made rules have become a stumbling block for those who are not yet a disciple of Jesus.
Because of their pride, their misplaced zeal and the simplicity of the gospel, Jesus becomes a stumbling block for many people and they end up missing out on what God wants to do in their lives. But fortunately for others, Jesus is a firm foundation on which they build their lives and those people do get to experience and enjoy what God is doing in their lives. So let’s see…
What allows people to stand firmly upon Jesus?
1. Humility
The Gentiles were not even pursuing God all the time that God was pursuing them. They really didn’t care about a relationship with God. They sinned openly. They worshipped idols. And yet, Paul writes, they attained righteousness by faith.
The verb “attained” in verse 30 means to receive something you weren’t looking for. It would be like if you weren’t expecting me and I dropped by your house after church and offered you a gift and you received that gift. The Gentile world that made up most of the church in both Paul’s day and today was not seeking in any way to live a life that would please God or earn His favor. But when the gift of eternal life was offered to them, many of them were humble enough to receive it.
Unlike the proud Jews, they were willing to admit that they were sinners who were incapable of living life in a way that would earn God’s favor. And they came to understand God’s holiness and the seriousness of their sin – I’ll address that more in a moment.
From personal experience, I can tell you that not everyone reacts to the gospel like that the first time they hear it. I know the first time I heard the gospel, I was certainly too proud to admit that I was a sinner or that I was incapable of reaching God through my own efforts. So I’m really grateful that over time, God softened my heart and brought me to the place where I was willing to acknowledge both of those truths.
2. Knowing God
The Jews certainly knew about God, but not many of them really knew Him with the kind of knowledge that Paul writes about here. They had a lot of head knowledge. Many of them could quote large sections of the Old Testament Scriptures. But instead of seeking God’s heart when it came to applying the Scriptures, they became very legalistic and they had developed their own ideas about what the Messiah should be like. And when Jesus didn’t fit with their ideas, they rejected Him.
The Gentiles, on the other hand, weren’t familiar with the Bible at all, But when the gospel was presented to them, they were willing to respond in faith because they came to understand the righteousness and holiness of God and why they couldn’t possibly earn favor with Him based on anything they could do.
Today, the Bible is still the best resource we have that allows us to know God better. But whether we get heart knowledge or only head knowledge depends to a large degree on how we approach the Bible. One of the things that I’ve learned to do that really helps me in that regard is to pray before I read the Bible and ask God to reveal Himself to me as I read. And I think that is one of those prayers that God delights in answering because He wants us to know Him, not just know about Him.
3. The simplicity of the gospel
The same simplicity that was a stumbling block for the Jews was something that made the gospel attractive for the Gentiles. The fact that they didn’t have to keep the law perfectly – an impossible task – was quite a relief for them. And they were still amazed at the grace of God that would take the righteousness of Jesus and credit it to them solely as a result of their faith.
As I mentioned earlier, in our day we have a tendency to make the gospel far more complicated than it needs to be, so we need to make sure that we don’t forget the kind of simplicity that makes the gospel attractive to those who may never have had any desire whatsoever for God.
The Gentiles, unlike the Jews weren’t focused at all on what they could do for God. And as a result, God was able to take their humility and their hunger to know God and do a great work in them and through them.
APPLICATION
I’m pretty sure that everyone here this morning wants Jesus to be the firm foundation on which you can build your life and not someone you stumble over. So let’s close by looking at…
HOW TO BUILD MY LIFE ON THE FOUNDATION OF JESUS
1. Have faith in Jesus, not in myself
When I try to earn favor with God by doing something for God, what I’m essentially doing is saying that I have more faith in me than I have in Jesus. And as long as I do that, I’m not going to be able to build my life on the foundation of Jesus.
This principle applies to both those of you who have never put your faith in Jesus for the first time as well as those of you who have.
If you are here this morning and you have never placed your faith in Jesus alone as the only way to have a relationship with God, then my prayer for you this morning is that you won’t leave here until you’ve done that. What I’m asking you to do this morning is to humble yourself before God and acknowledge His holiness and the fact that there is nothing you can do on your own to be righteous before a God who is 100% holy. I’m asking you to admit that you’re a sinner who needs God’s mercy and grace and to trust in the fact that Jesus paid the penalty for your sin on the cross in order to make you righteous before God.
But even if you’ve already made that decision, you still have to make a choice every day about whether you’re going to focus on what you think you can do for God, or if you’re going to determine where God is already at work and join in the work He is already doing. Are you going to determine what you want to do and then ask God to bless that, or are you going to ask God to show you how He wants you to be a part of what He is already doing?
2. Get to know God
Until I really get to know God, I will be prone to the same problem the Jews had – zeal without knowledge. And the way I get to know God is the same way I get to know anyone else – I spend time with Him.
The primary way I do that is through His Word. But that won’t happen automatically if I just read the Bible every day because that is a task to check off on my to-do list. As I mentioned earlier, I find it really helpful to pray before I read the Bible and ask God to reveal Himself and to help me to know Him more deeply and intimately.
I also get to know God through prayer. But again, if my prayer time is just focused on what I want God to give me, that is not going to help me get to know God. So as I pray, I need to include some time to be quiet and let God speak to me. Now He is probably not going to speak to you in an audible voice. I know He is capable of that, but I’ve sure never experienced that. But I do know that if I take time to listen, God’s Holy Spirit can connect with my human spirit and communicate with me that way.
I also need to spend time with other Christians. I’ve often found that one of the best ways to get to know other people is to hang out with them while they are hanging out with their friends. And I think the same thing is true with God. When we hear how God is working in the lives of others, it helps us to see other aspects of God we might not otherwise see.
3. Keep praying for the unsaved
At first this application may seem to come from left field, but I want you to look at verse 1 of chapter 10 again for a moment. Even though Paul’s fellow Jews are largely rejecting Jesus and even though they appear to be unlikely candidates to ever become disciples of Jesus, he still continues to pray for them.
All of us have people we know who seem so far from God that it’s hard for us to imagine how God could ever choose them. But we need to keep praying for them as long as they are alive here on this earth because no one is so far from God that God cannot draw them to Him.
INSPIRATION
Can you imagine all that God could do right here in our midst if we were constantly building our lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ, not focusing so much on what we could do for God but rather thanking God for what He is doing in our lives right now and joining Him in that work?
[Prayer]
ACTION
This morning one of the things that we talked about was that the Jews had zeal without knowledge. And we discovered that the kind of knowledge that God wants us to have is not just head knowledge, but the kind of knowledge that results in action. So it’s important that we don’t leave here today with just head knowledge about this passage. So right now I want to ask you to consider one thing that you can do this week to put into practice what we’ve learned today.
That might be committing to pray for someone who seems far from God. It might be committing to being more consistent in your time reading the Bible or in prayer. It might be putting your faith in Jesus for the first time. But whatever it is would you take a moment to write it down and then put your bulletin insert in a place you’ll see it this week in order to remind you to do that? And if you would be willing to share that application with someone else so they can hold you accountable, that would even be better.
My personal application:
Discussion Questions for Bible Roundtable
1. Who do you think is harder to reach with the gospel – a religious person who is morally “good” or someone who is far from God? Why? How should our approach differ with each of these types?
2. What are some ways that Christians unknowingly try to “do something for God”? What are some practical ways to avoid that?
3. What are some ways that Christians obscure the simplicity of the gospel? How do we guard against that?
4. What are some ways that Christians can exhibit “zeal without knowledge”? How do we make sure that we don’t damage our witness for Jesus by doing that?
