Two people can do the exact same thing for entirely different reasons. For example, imagine seeing two different women doing housework: doing the laundry, vacuuming the carpet, picking up the toys. Just by looking at them, it appears that they’re exactly the same. But one is a stay at home mom, who’s committed herself to keeping her house out of love and devotion for her family. The other woman is a paid housekeeper, who’s simply performing the service she was paid by her service to do. Both women are doing the same things, but the motivation behind what they’re doing is entirely different. There’s a world of difference between a stay at home mom and a housekeeper.
It’s possible for two people to do the same thing for entirely different reasons. That principle is true in the realm spirituality as well. Although spirituality is a very private matter, how we express our spirituality is something other people see. For instance, two people might read the Bible for entirely different reasons, yet by looking at them from the outside they look the same. It reminds me of a story about the actor W. C. Fields, when someone saw him reading a Bible. Some said, "Mr. Fields, I didn’t know you read the Bible." He smiled, and clenching his cigar between his teeth he said, "Just looking for loopholes." Two people might go to church, volunteer in community service, or give their money to an ministry organization for entirely different reasons.
Since we can’t see a person’s faith, we tend to identify a person’s faith by the things they do. So we identify Christians by certain behaviors they engage in, because that’s what we can see. Christians generally read and study the Bible, go to church for worship, spend time each day praying, give a tenth of their income to ministry, volunteer in ministry, and so forth. So we tend to identify Christians as people who do these things. There’s nothing wrong with expressing our spirituality in action.In fact, the Bible questions the genuineness of a faith that doesn’t express itself in action.
But it’s easy for an outsider to look at what we do, and to conclude that being a Christian means doing certain things. This person might think, "I look at John and he’s a Christian. He goes to church, he reads his Bible, he prays, he gives money to church. So if I want to be a Christian, then I should go to church, buy a Bible and read it, learn how to pray and give too." This person might conclude that being a Christian means doing certain things. Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth.
We’ve been in a series through the New Testament book of Romans called "Good News for Our Times." In this series we’ve been in chapters 9-11 of Romans, as we explore "The Good News About God’s Faithfulness." Today we’re going to look at the danger of confusing doing with believing.
Five hundred years ago, a Christian named Martin Luther realized that he’d confused doing with believing. When he made that discovery, it changed his life and sparked the Protestant Reformation. The terms Luther used were "law" and "gospel" to express the difference between doing and believing. For Luther, "law" refers to anything God commands us to do, which includes the ten commandments, the golden rule, Jesus’ sermon on the mount, and so forth. "Gospel" was Luther’s way of describing what God promises to do for us, as a free gift of grace. In Luther’s thought, law is the equivalent of doing, and gospel is the equivalent of believing. Luther had been a really religious guy, yet he realized that for all his doing, he had no peace until he understood the difference between doing and believing.
Today we’re going to see what happens when we emphasize doing and what happens when we emphasize believing in our spiritual lives.
1. When We Emphasize Doing (Romans 10:1-7)
First we’re going to look at what happens when we emphasize doing. What happens when we view the Christian faith as a collection of rules we try to keep as best as we can? What happens when we define a follower of Jesus Christ as a person who goes to church, gives a tenth of her income to ministry, reads the Bible, prays, and volunteers for ministry? Let’s look at vv. 1-4 together.
Paul’s still reflecting on the dilemma of how the Jewish people could not believe in Jesus as their Messiah. If Jesus fulfills God’s promises to the nation of Israel, then why do the majority of Jewish people reject Jesus as the Messiah? This dilemma deeply troubled Paul, because he viewed his own belief in Jesus as the natural expression of his Jewishness. Throughout chapters 9-11 of Romans this dilemma is always in the background. Here we find that Paul passionately prays for his Jewish countrymen to come to faith in Jesus.
Paul respects their zeal for God. The word "zeal" here means "deep devotion to something" (Louw and Nida 25.46). A hallmark of first century Judaism was its passionate devotion to God, a zeal that sometimes cost the Jewish people their lives. In fact, one subgroup within Israel even called themselves the "zealots." The "zealots" were a paramilitary terrorist group that wanted to liberate Israel from Roman rule. A zealot named Judas the Galilean had led an armed revolt against the Romans about ten years before Jesus started his public ministry. Just a few decades after Paul writes this letter, the zealots will strike again, again mobilizing the Jewish people to rebel against Rome. This would lead the Romans to destroy the Jewish temple and Jerusalem, and ultimately lead to the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world. Paul knows Israel’s problem isn’t a lack of zeal.
But their zeal isn’t based on an accurate knowledge of God. Despite their zeal, the Jewish people of Paul’s generation were ignorant about how God’s righteousness really comes to people. Their problem was not that they didn’t know that God was righteous. Every Jew knew that God was a righteous God. But they didn’t know how a person could come into a right relationship with this righteous God.
This ignorance led them to attempt to establish their own self-righteousness before God. A right relationship with God was believed to be a result of doing things. In the case of Israel, the emphasis was on doing Jewish things, things like obeying the dietary laws, keeping the Sabbath, celebrating the Jewish festivals, and so forth. If they did enough Jewish things, this was thought to establish their own integrity before God, so they could come to God on their own merits. They viewed doing things the way a boy scout views merit badges. To use Luther’s terminology, they were relying on law instead of gospel to stand before God.
But God’s saving righteousness--the kind of righteousness that makes a man or woman right with God--is something that God gives to people irrespective of merit. Israel’s refusal to believe in Jesus was a refusal to submit their lives to God’s righteousness. So long as we’re focused on doing, we can’t learn about believing. Law blinds us to gospel.
Because the focus of Israel’s "doing" was on doing God’s law, Paul tells us that Christ is the end of the law. The "law" here is the Jewish law of Moses, which is composed of the ten commandments and then the hundreds of specific applications of the ten commandments we find in the Jewish Bible.
Yet what exactly does it mean to say Christ is the end of the law of Moses? Bible scholars have debated this verse for centuries. The Greek word here is the word telos, which is where we get our word telescope. Paul is saying that Christ is the telos of the law of Moses. Now telos can have two basic meanings: either termination or goal or fulfillment. If Paul is saying Jesus is the termination of the law, then he means that the law of Moses has come to an end through Jesus (Schreiner 545). So although we still learn about God’s character from the Old Testament law of Moses, this law is no longer binding on God’s people. But if Paul’s saying Jesus it the goal or the fulfillment of the law of Moses, then he means to say that the law points to Jesus, and that although Jesus has come, the law is still in force and binding on us (Cranfield 2:519).
Now the clue to the meaning of telos here is found back in chapter 9. Back in vv. 30-33 of chapter 9 Paul used the word picture of a foot race to describe how the Jewish people stumbled on the track and the non-Jewish people who had faith in Jesus crossed the finish line. This word telos was sometimes used to describe the finish line in a race, so if he’s still thinking about that word picture, then Christ is the finish line of the law of Moses (Moo). Now the finish line in a race is both the termination of the race--the race is over once the finish line is crossed--but it’s also the goal of the race. So I think telos here refers to both termination and goal, that Jesus terminates the law of Moses by inaugurating a new law (what the New Testament calls the law of Christ) and Jesus is the goal or fulfillment of the Old Testament law of Moses.
So here we find out what happens when we emphasize doing in our spiritual life. Our devotion to God lacks substance.
When we focus on doing, our spirituality is zealous without knowledge. And when this happens, we tend to get excited and zealous about the strangest things. Lacking substance, we fill the void with things we do, whether it’s a certain way of studying the Bible or a certain prayer technique we’ve learned. Some people fill the void with religious traditions, political action, certain kinds of music, or virtually any other kind of activity. People who are zealous without knowledge are capable of doing horrible evil in the name of God. Just think about the Christians involved in the Salem Witch trials, the Christians who went along with Hilter, and so forth, and in every case you’ll find zeal without knowledge.
When we emphasize doing over believing our devotion lacks substance because it’s empty and void.
Paul follows this with a litany of quotations from the Old Testament in vv. 5-7. By quoting these verses from the Jewish Bible, Paul contrasts a relationship with God based on doing with a relationship with God based on believing. The first quote comes from Leviticus 18:5. Moses seems to be saying here that if you’re going to look at the law as a way to earn eternal life, then you have to obey the whole law. Now God never gave his law for that purpose, but if you’re going to use the law that way, you’d better make sure you obey all of it. Remember that when God gave his law to the people of Israel, they already had a relationship with God. Remember back to the giving of the ten commandments, God said, "I am the Lord your God who redeemed you." Only after he saved them did he then give them something to do, his law. Believing came first, then the doing. But by Paul’s generation the nation of Israel had reversed the order, putting doing first and believing second.
The second quotation echoes serveral verses from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. The phrase "do not say in your heart" comes from Deuteronomy 9:4. Here God warned the people of Israel against thinking that God had given them the land of Palestine because of their own doing. In Deuteronomy 9:4 God says to Israel, "Do not say in your heart, ’The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’" So this is a warning against the very thing Paul senses in the Jewish people of his own day, that they’re trying to establish their own righteousness before God.
The rest of the verses here are a comment on some verses from Deuteronomy 30. Let me quote the entire section from Deuteronomy:
"Now 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 and get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so you may obey it" (Deu 30:11-14 NIV).
The emphasis in Deuteronomy is that the law of Moses is a gracious gift from God, freely brought down from heaven by God and made accessible to the people of Israel so they can have a relationship with God. Paul’s saying that what was true of the law of Moses, is even more true of Jesus. Just like the people of Israel didn’t do anything to bring God’s law to them, so also we haven’t done anything to bring Jesus Christ down to us. The "bringing Christ down" is a reference to the incarnation, the decision the eternal Son of God made to take on human flesh and enter into our world at Christmas. The "descent into the deep" is applied to bringing Jesus Christ back from the dead, the reality of Easter. Although Paul’s quotation of Deuteronomy here is a bit different from the Hebrew text, his point is clear. Nothing we’ve done brought Christ to the earth, and nothing we’ve done brought Christ from the dead. Both Christmas and Easter were initiated by God himself, not a response to human effort or works.
So in these quotes from the Old Testament we find another consequence of emphasizing doing. Our estimate of ourselves becomes inflated.
Just as the people of Israel began to think God gave them his law because of their own righteousness, we can begin to think God sent Jesus and raised him from the grave because of our righteousness.
It’s been interesting as spring training starts in baseball, how many superstars have become inflated with their own importance. Perhaps most visible has been LA Dodger Gary Sheffield, who according to Baseball Weekly wants to renegotiate his contract so he makes as much money as the other superstars. When Gary agreed to his current contract back when he was with the Florida Marlins it was the most lucrative contract baseball, but now it’s small potatoes compared to people like Alex Rodriguez. His estimate of himself has become inflated, like a big balloon.
The same thing happens in our spiritual lives when we emphasize doing instead of believing. Whenever we rely on doing to build a relationship with God, our estimate of ourselves becomes inflated, like a big balloon.
2. When We Emphasize Believing (Romans 9:8-13)
But what happens when we emphasize believing? To use Luther’s categories, what happens when we don’t rely on law but we rely on gospel? Paul has discerned from Deuteronomy that knowing God has always been about believing rather than doing. Doing has never been the path to a right relationship with God.
Let’s look at how he continues talking about Deuteronomy 30 in vv. 8-9. Deuteronomy 30:14 says, "the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it." The "word" Moses was talking about was the law of Moses, God’s gracious roadmap for how to live once Israel had been saved from their slavery. But here Paul applies the same idea to the good news about Jesus Christ, what he calls "the word of faith."
He uses the "mouth" and "heart" from Deuteronomy 30:14 to explain how belief in the message about Jesus brings us into a relationship with God. With our mouths we confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Now to say Jesus is Lord is much more than saying, "Jesus is a great guy," or, "Jesus is awesome." To call Jesus Lord is to call him our master, the director of our lives. To confess is to openly express our allegiance to Jesus as our master, our director, the captain of our souls.
Then with our hearts we trust in the reality of Easter Sunday, that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Death couldn’t hold this Lord, because his sacrificial death was the means by which God offers forgiveness for sin. Christ broke the chains of death, rising from the dead victoriously, appearing to hundreds of people again and again. A heart felt trust in this reality lies at the core of what it means to be a Christian.
The result of this confession and trust is our salvation. We are brought into a right relationship with God through our public confession in Jesus and our heartfelt trust in his resurrection. This is why at every baptism we ask the person being baptized, "Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord?" and, "Do you believe in your heart that he rose from the grave?"
Here we find the result of emphasizing believing. We embrace the Lordship of Jesus over our lives.
Maybe some of you have read the little booklet "My Heart, Christ’s Home." It was written by a pastor named Robert Munger. The author describes our lives as being like a house, and when we come to know Jesus Christ, he moves into this house. Dr. Munger describes the various rooms in this house, the living room, the kitchen, the workroom, the hall closet, and so forth. But at the end of the booklet, there’s an exchange that captures the idea of Christ’s Lordship. The person who has invited Jesus into his life, says, "’Jesus, you have been my guest, and I have been trying to play then host. From now on you are going to be the owner and master of the house. I’m going to be the servant!’ Running as fast as I could to the strongbox, I took out the title deed to the house…Then rushing back to him, I eagerly signed it over giving title to him alone for time and eternity. Dropping to my knees, I presented it to him, ’Here it is, all that I am and have forever.’" (My Heart, Christ’s Home 27-28).
That’s what embracing the Lordship of Jesus Christ means. It means trusting Jesus enough to trust our very lives to him. Not just our future life in heaven, but our present life, our circumstances, our decision. We trust our relationships to him, our finances, our time, our career, our families, our goals and dreams. We embrace him as our Master, as the captain of our souls.
But that’s not all; look at vv. 10-13. Still Paul is talking about the continuity between our heart and our mouth when we realizing knowing God is about believing rather than about doing. Trust begins in the heart. Trust is not about our words, but about our hearts. We may say we trust someone with our words, but true trust is an expression of the heart. Trust in Jesus results in our justification, which is simply a theological word for a right relationship with God.
With our mouths we confess. We can’t confess with our hearts because confession by its very nature is a pubic expression of allegiance. Every follower of Jesus Christ will make his or her allegiance to Jesus know in public ways. This is why God commands every Christian to express his or her faith publicly in water baptism. But public confession only starts at baptism, it doesn’t end there.
When our mouth and our heart are aligned, we’re right with God. You see, an emphasis on believing instead of doing means no one has an advantage. All people come to God on the same basis. No one has a special advantage or a head start, because the basis for acceptance before God is the same for everyone. Both Jews and Greeks, religious and non-religious, moral and immoral. Every person who calls on Jesus as Master will be put into a right relationship with God.
Here we find another result of emphasizing believing instead of doing. We have assurance that we are right with God.
You see, if knowing God were based on doing, then we’d never be sure if we’d done enough. But if its based on believing, then once we trust in Jesus Christ, we are filled with assurance that this faith has brought us into a life changing relationship with God.
Only faith results in assurance.
Conclusion
So here’s the question: Are you a "believer" or a "doer"? The Bible is not against doing things for God, but the Bible insists that "doing" things is now what makes a person a Christian. A Christian by definition is someone who believes, someone who’s heart is filled with trust and faith in Jesus as Master. So although Christians do things like go to church, read and study the Bible, give their money to their church, volunteer to help others, and so forth, none of these activities defines what a Christian is.
Have you been doing things, hoping that performance of certain activities will result in a relationship with God? Have you been like a boy scout trying to earn merit badges to garner God’s favor? Are you trying to stand on your own righteousness before God? Or have you realized that knowing God is as close as your own heart and your own mouth. That if you confess Jesus as your Master, trusting him enough to direct your life, and that if you believe in your heart that he died and rose from the grave to pay the penalty for your sins, you can know God today. It’s not about doing, it’s about believing. Only true belief can kindle the kinds of works that please God.
This last week I was having lunch with a member of our church. He told me about a time several years ago when he was floating down a river on an innertube. He hit some rapids, and the innertube flipped over, plunging him into the white water. While under water, his head got wedged underneath a submerged log. He was stuck under about two feet of water, and he thrashed and fought to try to get himself free. Yet the harder he thrashed and fought, the more wedged his head became.Finally he realized that no amount of trying could get him free from his dilemma. So he gave up, he simply surrendered, and as his body relaxed, he came free and rose to the surface.
When he told me that story this week, I thought what a powerful picture of the difference between doing and believing. We’re wedged in the power of sin, caught in a state of alienation and isolation from God. Yet as hard as we try to construct a righteousness of our own to break us free, we’re stuck. No amount of doing can break us free. Then we hear about someone who lived a perfect life, someone who willingly died for our sins, someone who rose from the grave. So we stop trying to construct our own righteousness and we trust in God’s Son Jesus, and as we relax in faith, we are set free from our alienation from God.
Sources
Cranfield, C. E. B. 1979. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (T. & T. Clark).
Schreiner, Thomas. 1998. Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Baker Books).
