Psalm 71 verse 16, I will go
in the strength of the Lord God. I will make mention of Thy righteousness,
even of Thine only. Let's seek the Lord's blessing.
Father, we ask that You would please bless the messages this
morning, that You would raise up Christ, that He would be evidently
set forth, crucified among us. Father, we just want to see Christ. Lord, please direct our thoughts
towards Him. Father, we ask that You would
give us grace to look to Him alone for all our salvation. Please bless the messages preached
this weekend in New Jersey. Please bring our pastor back
safe and sound. In Jesus' name, Amen. Romans
10. This past summer, I was on the
campus of Moorhead State quite a bit, taking some summer classes. And for about a whole month,
there were a bunch of events for high school students, showcasing
the campus and whatnot. And one of those days, as I was
on my way to the library, there were a bunch of booths set up
outside. And as I got closer, I noticed
they were all religious. They were all the religious groups
advertising themselves. And one that stuck out to me
was called the Secular Student Association. And there was a
girl standing there wearing a shirt that said, as if to oppose all
the other groups, it said, Good without God. Good without God. she was making mention of her
own righteousness. And at the same time was the
unwitting spokesperson for what we all believe about ourselves
by nature. Either that we're endowed with
some inherent goodness or that we can get good, that we have
the potential to be good. And in Romans 10, This is what to a degree that
Paul is addressing. He speaks of those who go about
establishing their own righteousness. He speaks of those who believe
themselves accepted before the Father on the grounds of their
own works of the law of the same individuals he says in verse
1. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel
is that they might be saved. In Romans 9, verse 2, he says
that, I have a 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. Now, Paul isn't
speaking of some idol-worshipping, heathen Gentiles. He's speaking of his own flesh
and blood, the Israelites. We all have unbelieving family
members who are either religious or irreligious. And Paul's family
were all religious. They were very secure in their
religion, which the scripture calls the Jews' religion. And
I doubt that before the Lord showed Paul any grace that he
ever had so much of a thought as to his own salvation needing
to be saved or that of any Israelite. He said, I was circumcised the
eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew
of the Hebrews. If there was ever a Hebrew, it
was him. concerning the, as touching the
law of Pharisee concerning Zeal persecuting the church. That
was what he was most proud of. persecuting the church, 25 as
touching the righteousness which is by the law blameless. 26 In
his mind he was blameless, but what things were gained to me,
those I counted lost for Christ. 27 This was his prayer to God
and heart's desire for Israel, 28 that the Lord would strip
them of, and that they would count but loss all the religious,
earthly, fleshly things that they were trusting in, and that
they would count Christ as everything. Paul goes on to say, but not according to knowledge.
They had a zeal of God, and that was about it. There is often
a fervor that accompanies a devout commitment to religious things,
and the Jews were zealous of many things. They compassed land
and sea to make one proselyte. They were very zealous of their
traditions. They said, why do your disciples
transgress the traditions of our elders? They were zealous
of Moses. They told that blind man in John
9, you are Christ's disciple, but we're Moses' disciple. They
were zealous for the law. The law commanded that they stone
that woman caught in the very act, and that was one law it
seemed they couldn't wait to keep. They wanted to stone her,
and they were certainly zealous for the Scriptures. They had
every single word memorized. They were intimately familiar
with every story, and yet they didn't know what any of it meant.
They couldn't see that thin red line that stretched from Genesis
to Malachi, revealing Christ in every passage. They were zealous,
but not according to knowledge. And what was this knowledge that
they lacked?" Turn with me to Philippians 3, just quoted here
a minute ago. Philippians 3, verse 8. and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." Paul
told the Corinthians, I didn't come to you with excellency of
speech or wisdom for I determined not to know anything among you
save Christ and Him crucified. He wanted to be known only for
knowing Christ and Him crucified. And John tells us that we have
an unction or an anointing from the Holy One and we know all
things. If you know Christ, you know
everything and there is no knowledge you lack. You see it's This isn't
a worldly knowledge that's acquired through diligent study. This
is a knowledge revealed. Who do you say that I am? Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Blessed are you,
Peter, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. You
didn't learn this from man, but my Father, which is in heaven.
This was the knowledge that the Jews were missing. To know Christ
is to know what He has done in redeeming His people. It's to
know His death completely put away the sins of all His people. It's to know Him as Redeemer
and Savior. And it's to gladly confess Him
as King. Paul here says, He is my Lord. And that's what every believer
confesses. But the Israelites did not want
that man to reign over them. They thought they were rich,
increased with goods, had need of nothing, and they didn't know
that they were wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
They didn't know that they were missing the one thing needful.
They didn't know Christ. They were zealous, but not according
to knowledge." He goes on to say, "...for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, not that any of it matters. I count it
but done anyways, that I may win Christ. Paul was a very accomplished
religious person. And he was possessed of many
religious attributes that I think a lot of people would probably
find admirable. And now he says, they're all
done. I don't care for any of it. My
sole aim is just to win Christ. Back to our text. The Lord had revealed to him
his righteousness. And this was a righteousness
that the Jews were still ignorant of. For they being ignorant,
verse 3, of God's righteousness, 25 and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. 26 When we see men and women
who believe that there are gains to be made to their own righteousness
through their own keeping of the law, we see ignorance. 27
When the law is preached as a means by which to measure our own righteousness,
we see ignorance. And when people use the law as
a tool by which to increase their own righteousness, all you can
call that is ignorance. The law was not given by God
for fallen humans to try to acquire righteousness. It was given as
a way to declare just how unrighteous we really are, to make sin utterly
sinful. And this ignorance of Christ's
righteousness leads people to go about establishing their own
righteousness. And that word established means
to make, to stand. It means believing that your
own righteousness will stand accepted before the Father. And unless the Lord bestows grace
upon a man to make him see that his righteousness is really nothing
but filthy rags, he won't submit and he can't submit to the righteousness
of God. When you are made to see that
Christ's righteousness is the only righteousness there is,
and that His righteousness is the only righteousness that's
accepted before the Father, then you'll ask for that righteousness.
Verse 4, For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. He's the end of the law because
he fulfilled the law. The law was never able to put
sin away, it was never able to bring anyone righteousness. When Christ made full satisfaction
through his death for our breach of the law, He fulfilled, the
law was fulfilled for everyone of God's elect. If anyone thinks
that he can achieve a righteousness through keeping the law, he's
taking upon himself an impossible task. For Moses describes the
righteousness which is of the law. that the man which doeth
those things shall live in them." This used to confuse me a little,
doing the law and living in them, but here it is. If you're going
to do the law, you better be prepared to live it. And that's
not just referring to the outward keeping of it. That's every thought. That's the intent of your heart.
That's every word that proceeds from your mouth. That's a benchmark
that is impossible to reach. Christ was the only man to ever
keep the law. And in Him, so did all His elect. You remember what he told John
the Baptist upon being baptized? He said, thus it becometh us
to fulfill all righteousness. And he wasn't talking just about
himself and John the Baptist. He was talking about all his
elect, every single one of them. Hebrews 7 speaks of Abraham paying
tithes. to Melchizedek and it says that
Levi, while he was in the loins of Abraham, also paid tithes. Levi was Abraham's great-grandson
and far from being born, but when Abraham paid tithes, Levi
was also counted as paying tithes. And what that means for us is
that while in Christ, His fulfilling of righteousness is also counted
as you and me fulfilling righteousness. Verse 6, Moses described the
righteousness of the law, but the righteousness which is of
faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thine heart who shall
ascend into heaven. That is to bring Christ down.
or who shall descend into the deep? That is to bring Christ
up again from the dead. The natural man can't even ask
a good question. He's always wondering, what can
I do to get to heaven? What can I do to make myself
holier? What can I do to get saved? But these questions should never
even be a thought in our heart. The way of righteousness and
of salvation is not far off. We're not told to go into heaven
to ascend to heaven to search for it, Christ already came down
from heaven to reveal Himself as God's righteousness. We're
not told to go down to the deep to find it. Christ already rose
from the dead, having obtained salvation. The righteousness
of faith doesn't ask ignorant questions like, how can I get
to heaven? Or, how can I make the death
of Christ of effect to my soul? Christ already accomplished the
salvation of everybody for whom He died. And faith just believes
that. Look at Romans 9 verse 30. What shall we say then, that
the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, have attained
to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. They didn't
go searching for it. They didn't follow after it,
but it was theirs through faith. When the gospel was preached
to them, they just believed that their only hope of standing righteous
before the Father was through Christ alone. Verse 31, but Israel,
which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained
to the law of righteousness. Wherefore, because they sought
it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for
they stumbled at that stumbling stone. They couldn't see that
Christ had already worked out a righteousness, and so they
stumbled at Him because they were trusting in their own works.
When you tell people the gospel, they stumble at Christ because
He disrupts their whole process of salvation, everything they've
ever trusted in, everything they're currently hoping in. The gospel
says our works are done. And Christ is like that rock
that when placed in the gears of the machinery of man's religion,
it comes to a grinding halt and it breaks down the whole system,
breaks down the whole system. And that's what the Lord does
for every one of His people. He stops their religious doings
and makes them to rest in Christ. So what does the righteousness
of faith actually say? We were told what it doesn't
say. Verse 8, But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even
in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of faith which
we preach. When the gospel is preached,
Christ is pleased to draw near and to make Himself known. And
the only place that I expect to find Christ is in the preaching
of the Gospel. When the believer hears the Gospel,
the Word of the Lord is brought near to him. It's in his heart
through believing the message, and it's in his mouth when he
confesses amen to what he just heard. The Word of faith which
we preach 9. That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. What must I do to be saved? asked the Philippian jailer.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved was Paul's
reply. That was a good, simple, concise
answer to a man who had just enough light to know that he
needed to be and he wanted to be saved. Do you gladly confess
the Lord Jesus Christ as all your salvation and believe in
your heart that God was satisfied with his sacrifice? That's what
the resurrection means, that the Father was pleased with what
Christ did on the cross. To merely believe in the historical
event of the resurrection, as important as that is, is really
to miss its significance. The resurrection was the proof
positive that Christ actually redeemed His elect, that He removed
their sins. This is the hope that resides
in the heart of all of God's people. Verse 10, For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made to salvation. The order is important here. I must first have that old stony
heart of unbelief that believes that my righteousness is good
enough. I need that to be taken away before I can be given a
new heart that believes that Christ's righteousness is all
there is. And I must have that new heart
before I'm able to confess Christ as my salvation. I know sometimes
we talk about, you know, so and so having a head knowledge but
not yet a heart knowledge. Well, if it ever makes it down
to their heart, they won't be able to help but confess Christ. For out of the abundance of the
heart, the mouth speaketh. You know, it's a joy and a privilege
that we're able to confess Christ to one another. That's what we
do every time we meet. We confess Christ before God
and we confess Christ to one another. And it is certainly
a work of grace that causes anyone to believe in the heart. And
here is the promise for all who do believe. Verse 11, For the
Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. This is the second time that
Paul says this in 12 verses. He says the same thing in verse
33 of Romans 9. As it's written, Behold, I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense, and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. We usually associate
shame with defeat. But regarding Christ, God said,
He shall not fail. And not only do we have no reason
to be ashamed, we have every reason to be amazed. In every
aspect imaginable, Christ was victorious. He never sinned one
time. He never gave way to temptation. He was never confounded by the
Pharisees. He never broke one single commandment. He proved himself to be a worthy
Savior. He never displeased the Father.
And his crowning achievement was found in that which we might
find most defeating, death. Through His death, He slayed
death for all His elect. He laid His life down for His
friends. He shed His blood to redeem His
sheep. And I have no shame, and rather
all the honor, to call Him my Savior. I am not ashamed of the
gospel, for it is not the offer of God, but it's the power of
God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. I know that the
Lord doesn't save everybody, but He does have the power to
save anybody. For there is no difference between
the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto
all that call upon Him. He is not only an accomplished
Savior, but He's also rich in grace and plenteous in mercy. And why would you not want to
call upon Him? For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. And the only name that
we can call upon is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the only
name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. Turn with me
to Joel 2. Daniel, Hosea and Joel. The last verse, verse 32. And
it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be delivered or saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant
whom the Lord shall call. This is election. And there is
a clear and inseparable link between calling upon the Lord
and being of that remnant whom the Lord shall call. And yet
both Paul and Peter in Acts 2, they both quote this verse and
yet they leave out the latter part. I don't really know why
that is, but while we delight and preaching election. We also
want to tell dead and dying sinners that whosoever will, let him
take of the water of life freely. Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. If it were up
to us, to try to find out whether or not we're elect or we're chosen
before we call upon God. We never would. We never would. And people have used election
as an evil excuse to not call upon God. They've adopted a fatalistic
attitude, just, well, I'm not even going to bother with that.
Well, the one condition for calling upon God is neediness. And I hope that the Lord gives
us all a need for Christ by stripping us of our own self-righteous
dross and making us to look to him alone as all our righteousness
before the throne of the Father.