Now, if you'll turn back with
me to Romans chapter 10, I'm going to talk to you a little
while about calling on the name of the Lord and what that means. Now, at the heart of what I labor
to preach to you is obedience. obedience. All through the books
you find those who have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
that I delivered unto you. Obey, obey, obey. At the end
of these declarations here in Romans chapter 10, he puts up
this word, but. See it there? Where is it? Verse
16. But they had not all obeyed the gospel. At the heart of this
thing of believing God, walking with God, the gospel preached,
the gospel received, the gospel rejoiced in, is submission and
obedience. That's the heart of it. Take
that out and you've got nothing left. You've just got theories.
You just have theories. Now, I remember Brother Mahan
one time. And these things are great mysteries. They're great mysteries. I look
at them and think on them and think about how to present them
to you and think about trying to break these things down. You
know, I'm in my study for maybe 40, 50 hours a week. I've got
time. to think on these things. I'm
around the house where I can think on them. If I need to,
I can go look at them again and think on these things. But I've
got about five minutes from the time I stand up here to preach
to get you from where you are to where I am. And that's difficult. And these subjects, these subjects
are profound. They're great mysteries. And I remember Brother Mahan
dealing with I Corinthians 1.30. Of God are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. And the name of his message was
of God, of God. And I remember him standing there
that Sunday morning, and this was his introduction. He said,
I feel like a man. who stands before the great Atlantic
Ocean, and a crew of men bring up a rowboat and hand him a paddle
and tells him to cross it. Or like a man standing before
Mount Everest and looking straight up, and a bunch of fellas comes
and hands him a pair of tennis shoes and tells him to climb
it. Or he said, perhaps like the
man who, for the first time, looked through a microscope and
saw an atom. And somebody said, split it.
These things are profound. I don't have an A, B, C, 1, 2,
3 explanation for these things. I know that the commands of the
gospel are basically simple. We're to believe. We're to repent. Those things. But what moves
you to those things are profound. They're profound. I know this
whole religious generation has these things wrapped up in decisions. But the decisions without being
moved of God, without the right motivation, without the right
end in view is of no consequence. I mean, it's just no good. It's
not going to accomplish anything. We have to be moved of God. It's of such a nature that even
those with a little knowledge, and I'm one of them with just
a little knowledge, you realize how unworthy man is to stand
and preach these things and declare these things before men. You know, Job, he thought he
knew some things, and God had separated him and called him
out as an example. And we look at Job, and great
was his faith. before God. But Job kind of went
over the deep end with his friends. He got angry at them. He got
upset with them. And he started talking down to
them and telling them things and entering into a wrong spirit. And God told him, He said, Now
you gird up your lungs like a man. I'm going to ask you some questions
and you give me the answers. You read about it over in Job
38 through the end of that chapter. God shoots about 300 questions
at him, and Job just covered his mouth. He said, I'm never
going to say another word. That's what happens when you
realize not only the profoundness and divinity involved in these
things that I'm telling you this morning. But I realize man's
inability to perceive these things and his nature is totally resistant
to them. It doesn't want any part of them.
It doesn't want any part of them. It takes an act of God both to
declare these things and to hear them. And that's basically what
Paul tells us here in Romans chapter 10. That's what he tells
us. God, omnipotent God, who is everywhere
present, fills the universe. David said, where shall I go
from His Spirit? Where can I flee from His presence? If I take the wings of the morning
and fly to the uttermost parts of the sea, behold, He's there.
He's there. Where can you go and escape God?
And yet this infinite God who's everywhere present in the entire
universe appears in fullness in a man. That's pretty profound,
ain't it? Walks and talks, preaches. God, omnipotent God, who rules
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
none can stay His hand or even question His ways, condescends
to be a servant accountable to His own law. Profound. God, eternal God, who
is from everlasting to everlasting, born of a woman. lived as a servant,
died on a cross, raised from the dead, ascended back into
glory. There's a man in glory. Regeneration,
anybody here got a handle on that? Anybody here feel sufficient
to stand up and lecture on regeneration? Our Lord, the master theologian
himself, the eternal word of God, stood and he said, this
regeneration is like the wind. It blows where it listeth, goes
where it wants to go. Nothing's going to resist it.
Nothing's going to stop it. Goes where it wants to go. And
you can't tell where it comes from or where it's going next,
but you can see the effects of it. These things are profound. No
man of himself is able, let alone worthy, to set these things in
their proper light before men. And no man is able to receive
these words and understand these words apart from an intervention
of God. And that's why we call the gospel
we preach the gospel of God's sovereign grace. Sovereign grace. What's required of the fallen,
ignorant, blind son of Adam is an intervention of God. And that's
what Paul's telling these folks. They're zealous. He said, I don't
have a problem with that. They're zealous. They're going
about. They're giving their living, giving their time, giving their
minds, giving their energy. They're doing all these things,
but they're doing it ignorantly. They're doing it all for naught. because they are doing it trying
to obtain a righteousness, trying to obtain a righteousness. Natural
religion, apart from God's intervening grace, labors in an ignorant
zeal, attempting to produce what God alone can and has already
produced, God's righteousness, God's righteousness. He said,
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believes. That man seeks no further. He's
found what he was looking for. He doesn't seek any further than
that. He does not inquire anywhere else. He does not look to the
law. He does not look to himself.
He doesn't look to ceremonies and customs of his day. He doesn't
look to religious traditions. He's found He's found that righteousness
of God because God revealed it to him. And he sees it in its
glory. He sees it in its finished state. He sees it in its perfection
in Christ. Unflawed. Unflawed. He sees that righteous obedience
of Christ, the end, the consummation of the law for righteousness.
And he trusts in Christ alone. as His covering. God requires
of us righteousness. Don't you ever forget. God demands
it of you. He demands it of you. The question
is, is He satisfied with what you can produce? Will God be satisfied with the
best you can do? Will an infinitely holy, righteous
God Will He be satisfied with the best you can do? Are you
going to rest your soul on that? Or will you rest all together?
There's no in-between. There's no gray area here. Are you going to rest what God
demands 100% completely on that righteous obedience of Christ?
You're going to do one or the other. The righteousness of faith, Paul
said, does not look within itself for a reason to bring Christ
down. That's what he's talking about
here in these verses I read to you. Look down here at verse 6. The
righteousness which is of the law speaketh on this wise. Say
not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven, that is,
to bring Christ down. What he's talking about here
is the idea that if we do something, If we pray enough, repent enough, turn enough, straighten
up our life enough, turn over enough new leaves, be dedicated
enough, then we'll draw the presence of Christ. God will send His
favor down to us. In other words, he's talking
here about this nation of Israel. And they believed that if they
could straighten it, they saw the judgment of God, they were
captives to the to Rome. Now, what's going to bring God's
favor down? What's going to get them out
of this mess they're in? They're going to have to straighten up
and walk and talk and pray and do this and do that, and then
God's going to send Christ down? He said, faith don't talk that
way. It realizes the reason we're
in this mess is because of what we are. It's because of what we are.
If we could do better, I'm assuming that we would. But we don't. We don't. The righteousness of faith doesn't
look within itself for a reason to bring Christ down, something
to motivate God, cause God to come to you, move Him to compassion
for you. Nor does it look within itself
for a reason for God to raise Him up from the dead. Now here's
what he's saying in that. You cannot add to what Christ
has done. to make it effectual before God.
All of your praying and doing and walking and seeking and all
of those things, do not add a thing to what Christ accomplished.
It doesn't add one jot, not one tittle to it. Everything He accomplished,
He accomplished 100% on His own. No help from you. No help from
me. And he doesn't need any help
for that to be accepted of God. God raised him from the dead
before I was ever born. Had nothing to do with it. 100% by the grace of God. He
sinned him. He humbled himself as a servant.
He obeyed that law. He went to the cross. He died.
He was buried. And God rose him from the dead.
And He didn't ask you for one thing. You see what he's saying
here? Now, faith don't say, well, I'm
good enough to raise him from the dead. No. No. Faith don't talk that way. And
faith don't look within itself trying to find a reason for God
to send him down and show you mercy in it. It doesn't talk
that way. Faith has no reason in itself
for the giving of God's Son on the cross. nor anything God foresaw
in time that you would do. Faith finds everything that God
requires in the person and work of Christ. And Paul tells him
that this faith is nigh them. It's nigh you, he said. How did
it get to be nigh them? If the princes of this world
didn't know it, if the nations and counselors of this world
didn't know it, if the philosophers of this world that was filled
with worldly wisdom and foolishness didn't know it, how did it get
to be nigh them? It's nigh thee, Paul said. Nigh
thee. Listen to this. What saith this faith, this righteous
faith? The word is nigh thee, even in
thy mouth and in thine heart. That is the word of faith. which we preach. That's how it
got to be, now you. God in His providence crossed
your path with you, presented it to you, gathered you together
in a place, called a man of His own providence, of His own appointment,
and told you the truth, caused you to sit and to hear that truth.
It's nigh thee. It's right in your mouth. It's
so close to you, you can taste it. It's nigh thee. Nigh thee. Even in thy mouth and in thine
heart, that is the word of faith which we preach. Now watch this,
verse 9. that if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, reigning, victorious, mediator, King of
God, King of kings, Lord of lords, given a rule, given God's rule,
given this authority for the salvation of chosen That's what he's talking about.
We don't have lordship of Christ and then over here have salvation.
This lordship was given to him, this appointment of his being
the mediator king, all things being given into his hands. This
lordship was given to him for one purpose, to save. To save. Turn with me over to John chapter
17. What we're talking about here
this morning is how faith perceives the gospel it hears. Some men
hear this gospel and they, well, I wouldn't serve a God like that.
Chooses some, passes some by. My own brother told me one time,
he said, if I believed in election, he said, I wouldn't preach. I
wouldn't bother to preach if I believed in election." And
I said, well, I'll tell you this, if I believed what you believe,
I wouldn't preach because man's dead in trespasses and sins and
you're just wasting your time talking to him. If God didn't
choose some out of this mess to save and determine to intervene
in their lives and send them the gospel and send the Holy
Spirit into their lives to regenerate them and give them faith, and
make them willing, nobody'd come. Nobody'd come. You're wasting
your time. Putting out there on the sign,
20 was saved last week. Got saved. I'll tell you, when
you get saved, when God gets in your heart, when He comes
in and takes up a boat in you, and presses your sin on you,
It makes you to see what you are and who He is. And you'll
cry out. You'll cry out. You'll cry out
of your own condemnation. You'll damn yourself before God. You won't find one reason, not
one reason in yourself, why He ought to show mercy on you. If
you find a reason, it'll be in Christ. Is that so? I'm saying this, when faith hears
this Gospel, hears it in the heart, perceives it in the heart,
faith lays hold of this reigning power of Christ as the goodwill
of God, giving Him to save. God didn't need to become a man
to reign. He can reign from His throne. This lordship, this kingship,
this rule, this sovereign rule given to Christ in this world
is to save. He said, I didn't come to judge. I can do that from where I was
at. I came down here and become a man to save. To save. Listen to how the Lord prays
to His Father here in John 17. Beginning in verse 1, these words
spake Jesus and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father,
the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee. Now listen. As Thou hast given
Him power over all flesh, why did He do it? That He should
give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. That's
why He did it. That's what that power is all
about, John. And he rules over principality. Paul said, as you
have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. You're
complete in Him who is the head of all principalities and power. God hath made Him Lord. God did not have to robe Himself
in human flesh and humble Himself to become a man or submit himself
as a servant to the law, all this suffering and death and
humiliation in order to exercise omnipotence. He was omnipotent,
always has been omnipotent, always will be. This power, this kingship,
this rule given to Christ is to save and to give life. Having been raised from the grave,
he comes and appears to his disciples and he tells them, all power
is given unto me in heaven and earth. Now you go preach. You
go preach. Because this power that's given
unto me is to make your preaching effectual. Effectual. Well, I don't see why in the
world you wouldn't go all the way down to Arkansas, especially
way out there in the country where nobody knows where you
are and you're trying to preach. I'll tell you why I do it, because
all power is given unto Him in heaven and earth. All power. He opens the doors. I just pass
through. He opens the doors. And if this
is the open door, this is where I'm going to preach. And I'm
looking and I'm seeing the evidence of it, the effectual power of
Christ who sits on the throne, changing men's lives, changing
their minds, causing them to be willing in the day of His
power. My soul, I don't stand up here and plead with you. You're
dead in trespasses and sins. I plead with Him before I get
here. And then just declare what He told me to declare and wait
on Him. And He does the work. He does the work. Oh, this rule
is given to Christ to demonstrate the goodness. Now listen to me.
The goodness and loving rule of God over all creation. Moses
said he saw that burning bush and he approached to it and God
spoke to him. He said, I'm going to turn aside
and see this wonder. That's what you'll do if you
ever see it. You'll turn aside and look at it, marvel at it.
And he came up on that burning bush, and God told him, take
your shoes off. He said, you're on holy ground.
Moses kicked off them sandals and stood before that bush, John,
and God spoke to him. And Moses, in wonder and fascination
with God and worship to God, he stood there and he said, show
me your glory. You know what God told him? He
set him over in that cleft of the rock. And he said, I'm going
to have all my goodness pass before you. Huh? That's God's glory. All my goodness. Oh, I tell you, sinners in hell
are going to see his power. Pharaoh knew something about
his power, but he knew nothing of his goodness. The glory of
God is all wrapped up in his goodness. His justice is good. His righteousness is good. His
providence is good. I'm going to show you my goodness,
he said. I'm going to be merciful to whom
I will be merciful. And all the devils in hell are
not going to stop me. I'm going to be gracious to whom
I will be. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. Nobody's going to stand in my
way. Nobody's going to resist me. Nobody's going to hold back
my hand. I'm going to do this. Do you believe that? Oh, I do. I believe God's going to do what
He said He's going to do. I believe He's able, don't you?
Given to Christ to demonstrate the goodness, the loving rule
of God over His creation. I'm going to cause all my goodness.
The rule of God in Christ is a good and righteous and just
rule. His power and authority is not
exercised to blind men. Man's already blind. He's already
blind. His majesty has not been given
the throne to condemn, but to save. Man's already blind. He's already judged. He's already
condemned. Man's already separated from
God. He's not awaiting trial, he's
awaiting execution. And he's not free, he's bound.
He's bound. He's not out on bail, he's a
prisoner. Christ stood in the church one
Sabbath morning, and they delivered to him the scrolls. And he leafed through them and
laid one down, and finally he came to that scroll of Isaiah.
And he rolled that thing over to a certain passage. Rolled
it over there to that passage. And he stood on that church that
Sabbath day, and he took those scrolls, and he said, The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor. We're all poor. We're poor in nature. We're poor
in what God demands. We don't have it to give. I'm going to preach the gospel
to the poor. He sent me to heal the brokenhearted. Now listen.
Preach deliverance to the captives. You didn't know you were captive,
did you? Bound. Bound by this nature. I tell you, I learn it more every
day. Every day. The recovering of sight to the
blind and the saving of liberty to them that are bruised. Now
watch this. Here's how he sums it all up.
Listen to this. We're talking about the Lordship
of Christ. to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And I tell you that this
authority vested in Christ the Mediator King is an authority
to save and carry out the good will of God. The moment He appeared
on this earth, those angels ran out to the shepherds on the hill.
And they said, I bring you great tidings, good tidings of great
joy. Good tidings. Good tidings. Good will. Peace on earth. Good will toward men. And to reconcile you to God,
you must be brought to see that the good will of God accomplished
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have to see it. You
have to be convinced of it. You are not going to bow. We
look at God. I am just trying to imagine because
I have been there. But in that unregenerate state,
and they start talking about the absolute sovereignty of God,
and God requires perfect justice and righteousness, and you see
in God an unfair thing, aren't you? Well, that's not fair. That's
not fair. That's severe. Where's the love
in all that? And then you find out what you
are by nature. Oh, that person of God changes,
don't it? You begin to look back at that
God that you thought was so severe in that election, and you say
in your heart, if God had not chosen me, I'd not chosen Him. Huh? Turns around, don't it? All that anger and hatred. Oh,
Adam back in the garden. He loved that woman God made
for him. He loved her. permissive providence allowed
Satan into his garden. And Satan tempted her and deceived
her. And she fell. And Adam pinned
that whole thing on God and snatched that fruit out of her hand. And
in defiance to God, ate that fruit. He knew what God was going
to do with Eve. He was going to kill her. She
sinned. The soul that sinned shall surely die. He knew that.
You're going to kill her? Kill me too. Eat that fruit in
defiance of God. That's what sin is. Sin sees
in God no reason to bow, no reason to serve Him, except just fear
of hell. Just that old slavish fear that
religion tries to pin on you and make you do. All the way
through the New Testament, all you find for motivation is love,
though, isn't it? I'll tell you what he's going
to do in Christ. He's going to show you the good will of God. Here
you are, an enemy of God. You've done nothing but spit
in His face and go contrary to His will your whole life. And
nobody down here was getting any better. They're just getting
worse and worse and worse. All have sinned. None that seeketh
after God. Ain't that what he says? None
righteous. How God going to convince you?
He's going to send His Son. He's going to send His Son by
His sovereign will and by His sovereign grace, and He's going
to sacrifice Him on a cross. Paul said, God hath called you
with a holy calling, not according to your goodness, not according
to your righteousness, but according to His own purpose and grace
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
You're going to see in this offering of Christ the good will of God. And when you see it as God's
goodness, when you begin to see that God is good in all of His
dealings with men, He's been good more than fair. More than fair. good beyond anything
that you can imagine, then you're going to submit to His will,
aren't you? You're going to say, He knows what's better for me
than I do. He's more gracious than I am. He's more ready to show mercy
than I am to receive it. Why? Because He's good. Now you're
beginning to see something of His goodness. Something of His
goodness. Oh, with the heart, Paul said, man
believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. Christ said, out of the heart
the mouth speaketh. The mouth is going to confess
this lordship. It's going to confess His rule.
It's going to confess themselves in approval of that rule. It's
going to confess these things when the heart is convinced. He said, Out of the heart the
mouth speaketh, by thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12, verse 37. And this obedience that I'm talking
to you about this morning, that's the heart of the Gospel. It's
the heart of the Gospel. And it's the heart of how faith
perceives it. He said, Let this mind be in
us. which was also in Christ Jesus.
Well, what did that mind in Christ Jesus do? Become obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. He stood before God bearing
our sins in full knowledge of what God would do to a sinner. Stood before God and was silent
and said, I commend my spirit. Huh? That's seeing the goodness
of God. That's what that is. You can't
do wrong. You must do right. Into thy hands
I commend my spirit. And that's what you're going
to do. That's what faith's going to
do. Into thy hands. And it's a total commitment.
What I'm saying to you is this. When you see this, when you see
the goodness of God in Christ, you're going to take everything
you have and lay it down at His feet. You don't know what you're
going to do with it. You don't know what to do with
it. We can't even manage our earthly treasures, let alone
heavenly treasures. You're going to lay it all down
at His feet and say, you know best. Do with it what you will. You're going to commit yourself,
you're going to commit your family, your marriage, your job, your
income. You're going to lay the whole
thing down at His feet. Total commitment. That's what
it is. And that's what the heart does
when it sees Christ. This new birth, absolutely necessary. What did He say it was necessary
to? Do y'all know what the kingdom of God is? John the Baptist came
preaching the kingdom of heaven. Jesus Christ came preaching the
kingdom of God. Do you know what that is, this
kingdom he's talking about? Everywhere else in the New Testament
where that word is used, it's interpreted rule. That's what
he's talking about, this rule of God. When he's talking about
the kingdom of God, he's talking about his rule. His rule. So he's talking about a willing
submission to his root. And he said this new birth is
absolutely necessary to see the rule of God and to enter into
it. Ain't that what he says in John
chapter 3? Absolutely necessary. Except you be born again, you
cannot perceive the kingdom of God, nor can you enter into it. In Hebrews chapter 13, if you
want to turn over there with me for just a second. These things span. It completely
spans this thing of faith. Obedience. Obedience. In Hebrews
chapter 13 verse 7, I want to show you two things here. First of all, here in verse 7,
He said, Remember them which have Look at that. The rule. You see that? Not their rule. The rule. There's only one rule. That's the rule of Christ. He's
the one seated on the throne. But we're to be subject to all
powers because these powers that be are of Him. They're of Him. Children, submit
yourself to your parents. Why? Because that rule is of
God. Wives, be subject to your own husbands. Why? Because this
is of God. Same thing with the local police.
Same thing with the state government. Same thing with the federal government.
All these rules are just rules established under Him. So it
is with pastoral rules. And He said, remember them which
have the rule over you. who have spoken unto you the
Word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their
conversation." That is, what their walk is all about, what
their life is all about. What is their life all about?
Verse 8, Jesus Christ. The same yesterday, today, and
forever. Now if that's what it is, then
you better listen to him. You better listen to him. If
that's what his life... Paul said, for me to live is
Christ. Ain't that what he said? And
folks who heard him listened to him. They considered the end
of his faith. Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday,
today, and forever. God set him on his holy hill
in Zion to save and to give life and glorify his name. And He'll
have all those who defy Him in derision. He'll laugh and mock
their feeble attempts to seize His rule. And then look down
here at verse 17 of that same chapter, Hebrews 13. He says, Obey them that have
dereuled over you, and submit yourselves. Now why on earth
would I submit myself to a man? Why would I do that? He tells
you why. Because they watch for your souls. Why would they watch for your
souls? Because that's what that rule of Christ does. Watches
for your souls. Always has. Always will. Now go back with me to Romans
10 and I'll wind this thing up. Keeping this whole chapter in
its context, here in the Gospel, Faith established in the heart.
The Apostle makes this statement. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the L-O-R-D Lord. You see that? Going to be saved. Going to be saved. When you can
see in Him the authority, the power, and the goodwill of God
to save your soul, you're going to call on Him. Not until. Not until. You might make decisions and
all that kind of mess, but you ain't going to call on His name. You're not going to call on His
name until you're convinced that He's not only willing, but able
to save your soul. Reigning and ruling The potentate
of glory in whose hands the scepter of divinity and divine approval
is held. Just like over there in the Old
Testament when they held out that scepter to Esther. But we've got a problem. How
are we going to call on Him in whom we have not believed? How
are we going to believe on Him in whom we have not heard? How
are we going to hear without a preacher? And how is He going
to preach except He be sent? Three things I know by this chapter
are going to overcome these problems. Christ is the source of all grace. If God shows grace to you, you
are going to do it in Christ. Preaching and hearing is the
means of grace. How are you going to hear without
a preacher? Who is going to convince you
of this loving rule? Who is going to convince you
of these profound things that the princes of this world didn't
know. Who's going to tell you these
things? And obedience is the end of all grace. How do I know
when grace is shown? Because when you hear that word,
you won't hear it in word only. That's what Paul said. He said,
I know your election of God. When my gospel come, it didn't
come in word only. It came in power. and you obeyed. But, he says in verse 16, they
have not all obeyed. That's the word of grace when
the gospel is preached. We're not required to experience
anything. I'm not required to feel anything. I'm not required to... I'm required
to obey as we see it. Obey. Abraham believed God. He believed God. The doing come
after the believing, didn't it? Huh? I'm commanded to obey. Obey. And I tell you, if you
wind up in hell, it's going to be for this reason. You would
not obey the gospel. That's what he says. That's what
he says.