THREE THINGS THAT WON’T SAVE YOU
ROMANS 2:12-29
· Paul will name names tonight. Beginning in verse 17 he directly confronts the Jews. Three things about them that we can apply to our own lives. The Jews relied on three different things in assuming we might be saved.
1) Paul is going to attack some of these soft answers that people use to convince themselves that they are saved.
· The Law increases your privilege but it also makes you more accountable. More is expected of you. Listen to Paul’s description of the Jew and how they saw themselves.
(17) But if you bear the name Jew and rely upon the Law and boast in God, (18) and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, (19) and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, (20) a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,….
Imagine having family ere looms which had been considered quite valuable. Treasured for a lifetime. Parents die and you have someone come in to assess the value. ‘They are very beautiful but the problem is they are costume jewelry’. They do not hold the value that you assume they do.
JEWS thought that certain things had a value they didn’t. THE NAME THEY HAD – THE BOOK THEY STUDIED – THE RITUAL THEY OBEDIED.
· Don’t get discouraged with the message or Romans thru the early chapters. They have a purpose of demonstrating lostness. When we get to chapter 5 we will see the wonderful message of ‘while we we yet sinner Christ died for us’. But before we are ready to hear that we must understand that we are without Christ.
On one of our 5th Wednesday Films we will be watching a film called ‘The Ten Cannon of The Law’. It demonstrates how communicating the Law is necessary to receiving salvation.
The Law shows us how we fall short and need Jesus to save us. TUTOR…SCHOOLMASTER to lead of Christ.
WITNESS: Jesus loves you and wants to be your Savior….why do I need a Savior? What is wrong with me…. I am a pretty good person, better than most, better than a lot of people who call themselves Christians….doesn’t make any sense to me. BLIND TO THEIR SINFULNESS.
· Look at verses 12-14 to give a sense of where sinfulness develops from.
(12) For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;
1. Two different individuals are described by Paul:
a) Those who sinned without knowledge of the Law
b) Those who sinned with knowledge of the law
Those who sin every day of their life and have never heard that the Bible says, Thou shalt not….’ And also others who may not sin as much but have heard.
PERISH: is not the word for annialation but has the meaning of being ‘ruined’. Same word used by Judas when Perfume was poured out, ‘why this waste?’ Means to not fulfill it’s intended purpose. God has a purpose that lost mankind that is never reached with the gospel never fulfills. Attacks Calvinistic ideology….
2. One Single Hope for all people: (13) for it is not the hearers of the Law who
are just before God, but the DOERS of the Law will be justified.
a. HEARERS – idea of those whose business is hearing. Jews come in and hear the law read, for many their Christian experience consists of just hearing: Sunday School, Church Service, Bible Conference….their business is hearing.
b. Man who memorized whole sermon on the mount: CT STUDD
Verse 14-15 demonstrate that just because a person does not have the actual
Word of God in their hands they are still guilty of sinning against God’s Law. God
puts it within all of us.
(14) For when the Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these not having the Law, are a law to themselves, (15) in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, THEIR CONSCIENCE bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SPECIAL with burning knife used to determine lying. African Tribe: when stealing occurred/line men of tribe up/ask if did it/yes or no/stick tongue out/hot knife and placed on tongue/if saliva the knife removed without problem/no salive-stick and burn into tongue.
Instinctively know right and wrong to a certain level
Eccl 3:11 God has set eternity in their hearts.
AGUSTUS MARWEY-Lived in villiage involved in tribal wars, never put stitch on body till 14, resented strangers invited to house, made pig of self, sat and glared until invited to table, put outside house until guest ate, incorrigable, whole village ‘what is the matter with the son of Mawey, loved mom dearly but found self doing terrible things, threw stick at her legs and hit child, villiage meted punishment, held down while bowl of hot pepper soup down my nose, nearly choked and for hours my nose burned(new one, cambells),
I would go off into forest and pound head against tree saying what is wrong with me, I should kill myself, I hated being the white sheep of the family,
one day at about 12 a boy returned from coast, none had seen ocean so we listened, told how some people met in house on Sunday and sang and stayed a long time, curious what do your do for so long a time, praying to God, the God who created everything, He heard their prayers, never heard of such a thing, excited, I wanted to pray, met with boy on Sunday, outside village to pray, he said no, by myself, hut cousin building and with no one around I tried to pray, talk to as if father, exciting experience, wanted to know more but no one knew anything, 2 years kept praying hoping someday someone would come along to tell me about Him.
The Gov built road for automobiles(new) 2 weeks a mth for next 2 yrs building road, went back to stay with cousin in Sador, there was a house where people met to pray to God Who created the world.
Couldn’t wait for Sunday, waiting for bell all Saturday night, sat in back and listened to man tell about God for first time in life, more wonderful than imagined, God loved and sent His son named Jesus to take away my sins. Did He know how terrible I was, did He know what others in my village knew. I KNEW IT WAS ALL TRUE.
Prepared heart. I gave my heart to God that morning. That man became the most significant man in the nation of Lyberia in our day in the founding and building of churches.
THREE THINGS THAT CAN BE FALSE HOPES FOR YOU
1. A CERTAIN LABEL: (17) If you bear the name Jew…
a. You may bear the name Christian, maybe even Baptist. They thought just
being a Jew automatically got you into heaven.
b. ‘Abraham sits beside the gates of hell and does not permit any wicked Israelite
to go through’
c. Some were called Hebrews because of the language(not all could speak),
others Israelites connecting them to the Land, but the BIGGEST
CATEGORY was the Jews.
1) People today who call themselves Jews and probably have not been in a
synagogue since childhood. No connection to God at all. Heritage thing
2) Many in churches today are there because it is a heritage thing. Never
has become a real life changing event but just routine.
d. If anybody would have asked me as a young man if I was a Christian I would
have said, ‘Sure I am’.
and rely upon the Law and boast in God.
a. Same idea as ‘resting against the wall’. Casual resting without any real
effort at all. I know certain things about God, understand certain things
about Jesus, know the Bible teaches certain things. I can answer almost
every Bible trivia question but there is no real dynamic change in my life.
2. A SET OF FACTS YOU KNOW: (19) and are confident that you yourself
are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of
the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of
knowledge and of the truth,
a. MIKE as TEENAGER at MANNFORD: Knew all the answers, person to ask if
had a question, could not be farther from God today.
b. We would be amazed at how much knowledge the average Pharisee would
have had. They would have put any of us to shame. Jesus said to them, ‘You
search the Scriptures…..you should be finding Me there…but blinded by their
pride’.
c. Just because you have a knowledge of the Bible does not mean that you have a
relationship with Jesus Christ. People with lots of knowledge who have learned
many facts and ideas and some have done this with the Bible.
d. SARCASM of who they think they are: GUIDE – A LIGHT – CORRECTOR –
TEACHER
1) LYNNE’S CHARISMATIC HAIRCUT JOKE
2) DO YOU SERMON: Verse 21-23
(24) For the Name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you
Their behavior was obvious to all the lost people. The only person that was fooled was themselves.
One of the biggest deterents to my brother being won to Christ is the TELEVANGELIST: There is something so obviously wrong there with all the greed and odd behavior which they seem to never notice about themselves.
NEW GAME: Monopolylike called ‘The Pearly Gates’ Idea is to become an evangelist and make it to the promise land without bankrupting your ministry. Pitfalls include a TOWER OF PRAYER and NOTELL MOTELS. Characters are JIM & TAMMY FAKER, JESSICA CON, ORAL ROBBERS & JIMMY SWINDLER.
Where did they get this idea? Real life events. Say they are God’s people and yet cause the name of God to be dishonored.
Boast of a certain knowledge but their lives demonstrate the worst of what being lost is all about
3. A CERTAIN ACT OR WORK: (25) For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. (26) So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? (27) And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not JUDGE YOU(wow) who having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? (28) For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. (29) But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
1. Jews believed that circumcision made the different in being saved or not. One of
my best friends in Hannibal was a fellow pastor that I played sports with and
went to conferences together but he was of the belief that baptism was part of
the salvation experience. Modern equivalent of Circumcision.
a. You can be saved and not baptized: Disobedient believer but still…
b. Christian community is filled with this type of sacramental behavior.
1) INFANT BAPTISM idea
c. Signs do not save us
1) Baptism – Lord’s Supper – Church Attendance – Tithing –
2) Dependence upon an act or work
My Wedding Ring is only meaningful if backed up by commitment and relationship. Anybody can put on a wedding ring.
Circumcision was only as meaningful as far as it had effected the inner man. Religious activities we engage are only as meaningful as far as they reflect an inner relationship with Jesus Christ.
AMAZING STATEMENT OF VERSES 28- 29: (28) For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. (29) But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
1. The thought of a person being born into a Jewish family and yet not be a Jew. Not
in the sense of being of the people of God.
WALTER MARTIN: “Screwtape writes again’ nephew named wormword in training to serve Satan. Uncle writes to tell how to handle so world will stay lost. GOAL was CHURCHIANITY. The enemies church. Everything is similar to real deal but God’s Spirit is conspictuously absent. Arrange to make him a devout, methodist, baptist, anglican, presbyrerian, or whatever, he must come to accept the church as a type of religious social club where people congregate, in a word wormwood, help him to become more religious but for hells sake not more Christian.
