GETTING LIFE RIGHT—Romans 10:1-17
When I say the word “righteousness,” what pops into your head?
Is it an image of a self-righteous person, who delights in being better than everyone else?
Do you get defensive, because you know you’re not perfectly righteous?
Do you have a self-righteous urge to say something about how unrighteous so many people are?
Is your mind flooded by things in the world that are wrong, and you would like to set right?
If you look up the definition of righteousness, you will find something about conforming to moral laws and rules, and being free from guilt or judgment. I think that is a deficient definition of righteousness!
Suppose there is a child who meticulously obeys every rule. Does obeying rules mean he or she is getting life right?
Or a dutiful husband or wife, who is always careful to do what is required, and not to transgress any expectations. If there is not love, and the couple is not growing or thriving, life is slipping away. Is that righteous?
Righteousness is getting life right. It is being right with God, and therefore right with ourselves and others.
The Jewish rabbis defined righteousness as conformity to the law of God, as interpreted by respected rabbis. Paul gave righteousness a deeper meaning, however. In Romans, righteousness has 3 aspects:
-Right STANDING before God, the Judge of all. Being declared “not guilty,” “blameless,” released from shame or penalty for sin.
-Right RELATIONSHIP with God, the Source of life and goodness.
-Right BEHAVIOR: doing what is right in God’s eyes.
How do we get all of that right? HOW DO WE ACHIEVE RIGHTEOUSNESS?
In chapters 9-11 of Romans, Paul focuses on his own people, the Jews, and their pursuit of righteousness. It troubled him greatly that Jews, despite their inclusion among the people of God, were not right with God:
Romans 10:1-3, “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”
Jews were pursuing righteousness in the wrong way. Earlier, in Romans 9:31, Paul said, “…the people of Israel, who pursued THE LAW as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal…”
For Jews, “the law” was more than the Ten Commandments, or even all the commandments of the Old Testament. “The law”—known as the Torah—referred specifically to the first 5 books of the OT, Genesis through Deuteronomy. In the Torah, they found their identity as the chosen people of God, the sacrificial system of the temple to atone for sin, and God’s commandments. The law was then expanded, to include all of the Scriptures, and hundreds of laws and rules taught by respected the rabbis.
Jews who pursued the law as the way of righteousness assumed that by embracing their Jewish identity and heritage, faithfully fulfilling their religious duties, and meticulously obeying the laws and rules defined by the Jewish faith, they would be righteous.
That might seem strange to us, but it is not too different from how some people pursue righteousness today:
Some assume that because they are born into a Christian home, or were raised right, they are righteous.
Some depend upon religious activities, such as worship or service, to make them righteous.
Some try very hard to obey the commandments of God, or at least be good, moral, loving people.
Some are careful to conform to the norms of society, being a good citizen and doing their share.
All good things—but do they make people righteous?
-If righteousness is RIGHT STANDING with God, without guilt or condemnation, can that be achieved by Christian identity, religious activities, or even meticulously obeying rules and trying to do good? Will those things make us right, at the core of who we are?
-If righteousness is a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God, we have to ask: What kind of relationship is based on measuring up to God’s high standards? What happens to the relationship when people fail?
-If righteousness is RIGHT BEHAVIOR, will rules alone guide us to do what is right, even if we could keep them all?
HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE RIGHTEOUSNESS, THEN?
Paul is not opposed to the law revealed in the Torah. Yet the Old Testament law in itself is unable to make people right with God.
What was wrong with the law? The law was fine. In fact, the law was a gift from God to his people, telling them how to love and serve him—how to be righteous. Paul quotes Moses in verse 5: “Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “’The person who does these things will live by them.’”
The law was given to make righteousness accessible to every Israelite. In Deuteronomy 30, Moses says that God comes to his people through the law, and they must follow his commandments. He goes on to tell them it is not rocket science to know what God wants; it is right in front of them, in the law: “What I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”
The law was God’s gift to the Israelites, as a way of knowing his will and being right with him. Only one problem: they couldn’t keep it perfectly. Even if they could keep the law perfectly, God might still seem far away.
We understand the problem. Even if we could obey every command of God, our minds would not comprehend him, and our hearts would fall short of being right with him.
So Paul takes what Moses says in Deuteronomy, and add some comments (verses 6-8): “But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”(that is, to bring Christ down), “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim:”
Paul added his parenthetical interpretation, because he recognized that Jesus accomplished what the law could not accomplish: making righteousness accessible to everyone. Jesus fulfilled the intent of the law.
Paul makes that clear in verse 4, “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”
-Through Christ, we have RIGHT STANDING before the Judge. God, the righteous Judge, forgives and declares that righteousness is fulfilled, as Jesus has taken our sins and removed our guilt. Paul referred to this in Romans 3:25-26, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
-Through Christ, we have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God, our Father. Paul referred to that in Romans 5:1-2, “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
-Through Christ, we gain access to RIGHT BEHAVIOR. Paul referred to that in Romans 8:2-4, “the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death…[We] do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
How does all this happen? How do people receive forgiveness, connect with God, and receive the Holy Spirit? It is not rocket science! We don’t have to find our own way to God. Paul makes it real simple:
Romans 10:8-10, “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart…If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
BELIEVE that Jesus is the way to be right with God. He died to atone for our sin, and he rose from the dead to declare that sin no longer has the power to separate us from God. Our sin is forgiven, and we are right with God.
DECLARE that Jesus is LORD. He is our Master, and we are committed to obey and follow him. From now on, we have a growing relationship with our Lord, through the Holy Spirit, who guides us.
Who has access to righteousness through Christ? Is it only for those who are born into Christian homes, or raised right? Is it only for those are who haven’t messed up their lives too badly—the ones who can “hold it all together”? Is it only for those who are already pretty good people—the ones who fit into the church without any problem?
No, Paul goes on to say in verses 11-13, “ANYONE who believes in Jesus will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile [or the “ins” and the “outs”]—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Everyone. That includes you. If you have been holding back, or trying to get life right without Jesus Christ, there is a better way, and you can accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord today.
Romans 10:8-10, “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart…If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
Everyone. That includes everyone in the world! People you know and love. People you don’t know quite as well, who are searching for a way to get right with God. People you have never seen, but you are praying will find salvation through Christ, as the gospel is shared with people of every culture and race.
Our text today ends with a vision for others, who do not know the good news of how to be right with God:
Romans 10:14-15, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone declaring it to them? And how can anyone declare it unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (note to preacher: I have changed “preaching” in the NIV to “declaring,” which is the root meaning of the Greek word “kerusso.” All Christians can declare the good news, not just preachers.)
That good news is for sharing with all people—all of us, and all we can reach with the gospel.
Romans 10:8-10, “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart…If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
