If you like to follow along,
if you want to, let's go to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10,
I'm gonna begin reading the first four verses. Romans 10 and verse one. Brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they
might be saved. For I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being
ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Now, I'm going to continue. Last week, I spoke on the Lord
our righteousness. And that's what I'm gonna continue
on with from this passage of scripture, if I can. Before I get too carried away,
I do want to say this. Please understand, please understand,
there is no, absolutely no salvation without the Lord our righteousness. Absolutely none. The Lord our
righteousness, as I said last week, is the righteous branch
that was raised up unto David. You understand, the righteous
branch didn't come out of David. He was raised unto David. Now
he was in the lineage of David, but he didn't come out of David.
He came from heaven. The righteous branch and the
Lord our righteousness are the same person, Jesus Christ. And he is the one with whom we
have to do. Because the Father has put everything
And I mean everything in his hands. Everything. And here, what I want to look
at, Paul tells us what we must do with the Lord, our righteousness. And it's that hated word, submit. That's what it is. That's where
we're headed. But he starts in verse one, brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved. For I bear them record, they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Now Paul's not
saying they're dumb. He's not saying they don't know
things. He's saying they don't know the right thing. Actually,
they don't know the right one. That's their problem. Look at
this. just right before this in chapter
nine. And verse three. Well, verse
one, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. My conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost that I have great heaviness
and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according
to the flesh. You know, I wish I could say
that and mean it. I can't. I'll admit it, folks,
I'm too selfish. I could wish that I could wish
that I was a curse, but I don't know that I can. And I mean,
I do have a heart's desire and pray to God for my brothers and
sisters, my friends, some companions, after the flesh, as Paul said,
that they might be saved. But I don't know that I could
wish myself a curse. But then when he goes on, Paul
writing, who are Israelites, telling who these people are,
my brethren, according to the flesh, my kinsmen, who are Israelites,
to whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory, and the covenants,
and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises. Whose are the fathers, and of
whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all,
God bless forever, amen. Not as though the word of God
hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel, which are
of. Israel You understand they had
all these things They were given in a physical sense the adoption
the glory the covenants the giving of the law the service of God
and the promises and They weren't saved They weren't saved How
can this be they were they were given all these things physically
and They had the temple in the wilderness, the tabernacle in
the wilderness, and Solomon's temple. And then the temple that
was rebuilt after the captivity. They had all of this, and yet
they weren't saved. Paul had continual heaviness
of heart because of these people. Because here's the thing, and
this is the thing most people don't quite get. One of them,
the physical, is never enough. The physical is never enough.
You understand, Paul was talking about that woman with the issue
of blood. And she touched me. The physical thing wasn't a problem.
It was a problem for her, yes. And for us, it's an illustration
of what, for 12 years, this woman was what? Continually unclean. That's our problem. That's these
Jews' problem, even though they had all these other things. The
physical is never enough. What's he go on to say? That
is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the
children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for
the seed. The children of the promise are
counted for the seed, and the seed is Christ Jesus. But these
religious, I'm gonna tell you something, folks. Paul says it
here, and it's no different in our day, they have a zeal of
God. And they're not saved. That's
what Paul was talking about here. They have a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge. The children of the flesh, of
the physical, don't necessarily profit. because they may have
a zeal of God, but it's not according to knowledge. Because here it
is, their zeal of God is different for different people. You understand? You can have a zeal of God in
doctrine and want to be so precise and so dot every I and cross
every T and put every period and semicolon where they're supposed
to be, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. but
if your focus is not on the Christ of the doctrine, the doctrine
can damn you. You can get so fascinated by
the logic and the beauty, and I'm serious, it is a glorious
thing to see this book put together point by point by point, and
building and building through the Old Testament to the revelation
of Christ in the New, and it can absorb some people to where
that becomes their life's work, and Christ is not their life's
work. They can have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge,
and may know far more than I will ever know about this book. A zeal of God can be because,
can be because, stop me if you've heard this before, self-righteousness. You understand, there are a lot
of people out there who think they're better than a lot of
other people. And this is the whole thing. What they don't
realize, that's just one maggot bragging on another maggot. Or
bragging over another maggot. One worm bragging upon itself
over other worms. And I'm telling you, they have
a zeal. You understand? They're going to church every
Sunday. Rain, shine, snow, sleep, hail, whatever. It's like the
mailman. Nothing's going to make them
stop. But you understand? The physical is never enough. And it can be emotion. They may
get real happy when they go to church. Matter of fact, that's
why they go to that church is because they feel real happy
there. Got nothing to do with how Christ is preached or if
Christ is preached. You know? Some people, they go
for entertainment. They have a zeal of God for entertainment.
Because here, I can be entertained and still be holy. I don't know, I mean, I've heard
Jim McLarity talk about them churches in Nashville. They have
stage shows in church. And you know what they don't
have? The gospel. Why? Because it's not according
to knowledge. It's a great zeal. They put a
lot of effort into it. But one thing they don't put
into it is the knowledge of God. It's what Paul's talking about
here. Because here he says it, for. Here's what I'm talking
about, for. They being ignorant. But not just ignorant in general.
ignorant in something specific. You understand? He's not saying
these people are stupid. He's not saying they're not smart.
He's not saying they're not clever. He's not saying they're not charming.
No, they're ignorant. Just one little thing. To them, one insignificant little
thing. But for us, this is the whole
ball of wax right here. for they being ignorant of God's
righteousness. You understand, and I said it
last week, and this is where I'm going with this, what I'm
continuing on from last week, you being ignorant of God's righteousness
is being ignorant of Jesus Christ. Because he is God's righteousness. He is the Lord, our righteousness. And see, this is what Paul's
talking about. You can have all the zeal you
want, And you can have more than I can stomach, more than I can
take. Oh, because I'm gonna tell you
something, zealous people get on my nerves after a while. But
I'm gonna tell you something, zealousness is not gonna be any
good at all. Zealousness, dedication is not
enough. You need the Lord our righteousness. That's who they were ignorant
of. That's who they were. They don't understand God. That's what Paul's saying about
these Jews to whom had all the advantages. Had the writings
of the prophets. Had the books of Moses. The major
prophets and the minor prophets. That's the way some people think
of them. No, they're the prophets of God. They're the prophets
of Christ. They prophesied his coming the
whole way through. They had all that. By the time
Paul's writing this, Christ has already come, lived, died, was
resurrected, and ascended. They had that too. They had the
word of the apostle Paul, and Peter, and Stephen before he
was stoned. But I'm gonna tell you something,
I can preach as much as I ever could. I mean, I could preach
every day. I could proclaim with what the
tongues of men and angels, Paul said, but listen here, if you're
ignorant of God's righteousness, you're not gonna hear. I can't make people hear and
understand the Lord our righteousness. They don't understand God. They
don't know the righteous God, the holy God, the one who will
not accept any imperfection in anyone. God, the holy, righteous, heavenly
Lord of glory demands, demands perfection. He demands perfection
and holiness. He demands perfection and righteousness.
He demands perfect obedience. What's that mean? These ones
who are going about, these ones who are zealous for God without
any knowledge, they don't understand a just God. And you know how
I can tell they don't understand a just God? Being ignorant. They're trying to help that just
God be a savior. That's what they're trying to
do. They're trying to help God be a savior. How? By going about, and I remember
the first time I heard this preached, Walter, years ago on a tape from
Henry Mann, back in the 80s. And he said, they're going about,
going about, going about. And he said it three times, I
remember that. And I always thought, I'm gonna say that one day. That's
right. They're going about, going about,
going about. What's it mean? They're going
about everything except the Lord, our righteousness. They're going
about all kinds of things. They're not going to Him. Because
I wonder, just think about it someday. I wonder how many people
actually think they keep the Ten Commandments. You know? I wonder how many people think
that doing the best they can with what they have is good enough
for God. Way too many as I figure the
answer. I wonder how many think speaking in tongue satisfies
a holy God. I wonder how many people think
going to church and not drinking and not stealing and not committing
adultery and not cussing too much can be your own righteousness. Because here it is. If you are going about to establish
your own righteousness, I'm sorry, that's the definition of being
ignorant of the righteousness of God. That's what it is, period. Because if you're going about
to establish your own righteousness, you are ignorant of the righteousness
of God. Oh my. Because I wonder how many
think they can establish their own righteousness. Way too many. Way too many. Here's the other thing. Said
the physical's not enough. Said zeal is not enough guess
what else ain't enough Religion is never enough Religion is not
enough the righteousness of religion is not enough not even in the
Old Testament Walter Not even in the Old Testament The sacrifices
and offering in the Old Testament as glorious and beautiful pictures
of Christ that they are Never took away one sin It's in the
Old Testament. Jeremiah, he's the Lord our righteousness. That's who you have to know.
That is always who you have to know. It always has been. I thought about, I was listening
to those tapes of Earl on the burnt offering. And he said something and I haven't
had a chance to check it, but I kind of still trust him. He
was talking about the burnt offering and the sin offering. He says,
you know, and I didn't check this. I will, but I haven't checked
it yet. The word burnt offering, the word burnt, is different
when it says you burn up the sin offering too. But that word
burnt in the description of the sin offering is a totally different
word than the word burnt in burnt offering. Because a burnt offering,
it actually, when it talks about burning, but it's a reference
to incense. Incense. What does it say about
the burnt offering? It's an offering holy to God,
everything, and it's a sweet savor under his nostrils. You
understand? That burnt, and they did it twice
a day. Once in the morning, once in the evening. Now it doesn't
particularly say this, but I have this in my head, and I'll give
it my opinion. It was the first sacrifice in the morning, and
it was the last sacrifice of the evening. You know why? because all the other sacrifices
were in his life, in Christ. Anyhow, but even the great wondrous
thing that they were, when you knew they were pointing to the
Messiah who would come, those sacrifices never took away one
sin. Religion is not enough. And here's the thing. Those Old Testament sacrifices
never gave the righteousness of God. You understand, it never
was. It never was. The sacrifices
and burnt offerings are our righteousness. It's not. And there's no modern
religious ceremony, sacrament, ordinance, whatever No religious
thing that will give you the righteousness of God. No way. But what's it mean here? When
he says, they being ignorant of righteousness, God's righteousness,
and going about to establish their own righteousness, I have
problems saying that. Here it is. Have not submitted. themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Now who is, I'm gonna spoil it right now, who is the righteousness
of God? And who have these people not
submitted themselves to? That's the answer right there,
Jesus Christ. You understand? He is the Lord
our righteousness. and the Lord our righteousness
is the one whom they have not submitted themselves. Excuse
me. You understand, Paul didn't say
this like it was a bad thing. He said it's like it's a condemnation.
But it's because it is. If you have not submitted yourself
unto the Lord our righteousness, if you have not submitted yourselves
unto the righteousness of God, you don't know God. That woman
with the issue of blood, what did she do? She touched the hem
of his garment, she was healed. Guess what? She was no longer
unclean. But he turned around and spoke
to her, like he said, Paul, and guess what? She fell on her knees
before him. She submitted herself to the
righteousness of God, and he said, thy faith has saved thee.
Go, it's healed thee, you're healed. What? You are no longer
unclean, you've got my righteousness. There is no salvation without
submission to the righteousness of God, who is Jesus Christ.
Absolutely none, because there's no salvation without a knowing
and an acknowledging of the absolute superiority of Jesus Christ. And I said it that way to be
personally offensive to some people. You understand? I could say, you have to know
him as Lord. Know him as Lord, yes. But that
is absolutely acknowledging his superiority over you. Over me. You understand? Submitting to
him means that he's better than you. And he is. This is the part that we hate. This is the part that'll get
people's back up. I bow to no man. I'm not asking you to bow
to a man. I'm telling you to bow to God.
I'm telling you to bow to Jesus Christ. Now, he's in the form
of a man, but he's God. And not only God, he is capital
L, capital O, capital R, capital D. He is the Lord, our righteousness. And you understand, to submit
to him means to admit that he's better than you. Matter of fact,
he's better than all of us put together. And to submit to him
means that I will believe what he says. I will believe what
he has said. I may not be able to do it, but
I still believe it. Oh, thank God for those times
when he works in me both to will and, this is the beauty, to will
and to do of his good pleasure. You understand, that's the only
time I can know of, but I don't know when it is half the time.
That's the only time that I could know of that I do something good,
period. It's not of me. Because I know,
oh, there's a new man, yes, but I know in my flesh still dwells
no good thing. And I got this battle in between
me, you know? And it's not like a little devil
on one shoulder and a little angel on the other. No, it's
not like that at all. It's me all the way through.
It's me. Help thou my unbelief. Because
I've still got unbelief. Even though he's given me faith
and I believe him. And he is the Lord, my righteousness. Submit to the righteousness of
God is to admit that I have no righteousness of my own. And
I'm not going about trying to establish it. Thank God. I was before, even though I didn't
know it. You know, I thought I was a pretty good fella. And
I thought pretty good fellas got to go to heaven. That's about
how much theology I knew at that time. We've reached the depths
of my knowledge. Seriously, I was outside of religion. And somehow, right here, I ended
up in front of a church. You know that God moves in mysterious
ways, has wonders to perform? You know? I don't know how I
ended up here. I just know what I am. Well,
I do know how. He did it. And I keep telling myself all
things work together for good to them that love God. To them
that are called according to his purpose. I have no righteousness of my
own. And I'm gonna tell you that.
You have no righteousness of your own. None of us do. None of us do. Because in myself,
of myself, I am not right. Remember what Paul said just
a while back here in Romans three? Romans three, verse nine. What then, are we better than
they? No one know wise, for we have
before proved, both Jew and Gentiles, that they are all under sin,
as it is written. There is none, what's that word?
Righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. It's not only that, see
it's not only that we don't understand, look at this. They're all gone
out of the way. That's us. They're all gone out
of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good,
no not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher. Their throat
is an open grave full of rotting death and bitterness. With their
tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asp is under their
lips, whose mouth is full of cursing, and bitterness. I'll tell you something, I've
been in churches where their greetings to you sometimes feel
more like cursing and bitterness than it does to be a greeting.
Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery
are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known.
And here's the root of the problem, Paul says. There is no fear of
God before their eyes. And you want to know why? Because
they're ignorant of God's righteousness. They're ignorant of the righteousness
of God. They're ignorant of Jesus Christ.
And they're going about to establish their own righteousness. And
they have not submitted themselves. You understand? Christ said,
take my yoke upon you. You understand? A yoke oxen is
the illustration. That's about as submissive as
you can get. Because you understand, that
yoke is not like stagecoach horses, where they have reins on their,
that's a block of wood over the neck of the ox. And that ox can't
turn left or right unless he turns that block of wood, or
the other ox helps him, because there's usually two. He says,
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. but you are gonna submit. You're gonna submit. To who? To the Lord our righteousness.
You're gonna submit. And like the man said, it's either
here or hereafter. Because every knee's gonna bow. And every tongue's gonna confess.
And that's Jew, Gentile, bond-free, lost or saved. Elect or rep or
be. Every knee's gonna bow at what?
The name of the Lord, our righteousness. You know his name? Jesus. Jesus. The righteousness of God. The
righteousness, our righteousness is a man. A person. The Lord of glory. I like that, I do. Now, then
I'm just gonna throw this in. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness. You understand that makes a little
more sense now to me. I don't know if it helped you
or not, but it's helped me. He's not the end of the law.
I know a lot of people want him to be. The law hasn't gone anywhere.
You understand? Christ fulfilled the law perfectly,
completely. There's no way that God's gonna
do away with one of his son's accomplishments. And the law reveals our guilt and our, what? Lack of righteousness. So, here it is. Christ, Jesus, is the Lord our
righteousness and the Lord our righteousness is the end of the
law for righteousness. Ain't that glorious is that grace
or what? Ah We're not under the law we're
under grace We're not under sin we're under
grace Because a gracious God has made Jesus Christ to be the
Lord our righteousness Hmm and he is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. That's the only
way you can say you got a part in this, is if you believe it.
Because you understand, if you've submitted to the Lord our righteousness,
if you've submitted to the righteousness of God, you're gonna trust him. You're
gonna believe him. You're gonna wanna hear from
him. You're gonna wanna hear his word, you're gonna wanna
read, you're gonna wanna assemble together. Because faith without works is
dead. Because he is going to work in
you both to will and to do of his good pleasure and it's his
good pleasure that we assemble together. Now it's for our good,
God doesn't need our help. It's for our good to support
each other. Now put this together. With this,
Jesus Christ, the Lord our righteousness, came to save sinners, of whom
I am chief. You understand? The Lord our
righteousness did not come to call the humanly righteous, but
sinners to repentance, to repentance. Because there is a human righteousness. You understand, these guys, there's
a human righteousness. Yes, it's filthy rags. It's all
filthy rags. But there's a human righteousness.
But it's of no value to God. Because we need him who is our
righteousness. Walter and I were talking about
this a little bit on the front porch at his house. The lunch
we had. What is it that the good shepherd
said? You understand? The good shepherd is the Lord
our righteousness. The good shepherd is Jesus. He
said it, I am the good shepherd. What'd he say? Other sheep I
have. And then he says these glorious
words. Them I must bring. Them I must bring. and there's
gonna be one fold and one shepherd. And that's all there ever has
been. That's all there ever will be, is one fold and one shepherd. And guess who that shepherd is?
He is the Lord our righteousness. Submit to him. That's all we
gotta say. Believe him, trust him. Heavenly Father, thank you for
all you've done I Asked that you would bless Walter as he
come to preach Christ to us this morning And I ask that I be able
to hear and others be able to hear your word preached Mmm,
our Lord Jesus Christ Is coming again and we are waiting Thank
you, Lord. In Christ's name we pray, amen.