Now let's turn to Romans 10. And Paul begins with this salutation,
Brethren. Brethren. Paul writes to believers. He's addressing these remarks
to believers. As most of the epistles are addressed
to believers. About the only part of scripture
that an unbeliever can claim is judgment and condemnation. All the promises of God are in
Christ. And a man who does not have Christ
has no promises. So Paul writes to believers,
calls them brethren. That's a wonderful term, isn't
it, brethren? Family members. This is family
fair. Over in Thessalonians, he called
them brethren, beloved of God, chosen of God from the beginning. Brethren. And he says here in
the next line, my heart's desire, the desire of my heart and my
prayer to God for Israel, is that they might be saved. My heart's desire, my prayer
to God, for whom? For Israel. Now, he's not speaking
here of these brethren. We're called Israel. We're spiritual
Israel. But Paul's talking here about
his kinfolks. He's talking about his... He
said, I was born a Hebrew of Hebrews of the tribe of Benjamin. And his heart's desire and prayer
to God for these kinfolks and friends, Jews, descendants of
Abraham, is that they might, he didn't say get saved. I hear
that all the time. I got saved. I hope you'll get
saved. That's not what he wanted. He
wanted them to be saved. He wanted them to be called of
God. To be taught of God. To be raised
from the dead. To be born again. To be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. That's right. Salvation is a
state of being. Being conformed to God. Being
transformed from the translated from the kingdom of darkness
to the kingdom of God's dear Son. I want these people to be
saved. He could have probably gotten
some kind of decision out of them, but he wanted God to do
something for them. I want them to be saved. You
know, Paul had a great burden for his friends and his kinfolks. Back over there in chapter 9,
he says something It's really difficult for me to enter into. I know what he's saying and won't
have a doubt about what he's saying. And I know some fellas
have tried to deal with this and maybe change the impact of
it, but let's just let Paul say what he said. Chapter 9, verse
1 through 3. I say the truth in Christ. I
lie not. My conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Ghost. He's calling on some pretty strong
testimony, witnesses. That I have great heaviness and
continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were accursed, were separated from Christ. for my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the flesh, my kinfolks, who are Israelites. That's just
what he said, isn't that what he said? That's intercession. That is strong pleading and intercession. Actually, Moses said something
like that. Let me show you over here in
Exodus 32. Exodus 32, I'm not even going
to try to paraphrase what Paul said. Let's just leave it like
it is. That's what he said. I could wish that myself was
separated from Christ if it would mean the salvation of my brethren. Now, I know that's difficult
for us to handle, but isn't that what our Lord endured for our
salvation? He was separated from the Father.
His soul an offering for sin. Listen to Moses in Exodus 32 and verse 31. And Moses returned unto the Lord
and he said, Oh, this people, this people have sinned a great
sin and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, If thou wilt forgive
their sin, pause. And if not, blot me, I pray thee,
out of thy book which thou hast written." That's intercession,
isn't it? Lord, they sinned a great sin.
And if you will, forgive their sin. But if you don't, if you
won't, then just blot me out of your book. Listen to what
the Lord said. Moses, verse 33, the Lord said
unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him, not you, him
will I blot out of My book. Well, verse 2, go back to the
text. Verse 2 says, I bear them record. This is a true record. This is
a true witness. That these people are not atheists.
These Israelites, these kinfolks of Paul, your kinfolks, my kinfolks,
they're not atheists. They're not people who say there
is no God. They believe there's a God. They're not atheists, they're
very religious. Paul says here that they have
a zeal of God. An enthusiasm. A working enthusiasm. A working zeal. These religious
Jews, they were Sabbath keepers. They were tithers. They were
people who kept the holy days and the feasts and the ceremonies.
They were people who came to Jerusalem for the Passover. They had a zeal for God. And many of them were very sincere.
But sincerity is not enough. Our Lord said eternal life is
to know God. Not just to believe there is
a God, but to know God. And John wrote this in 1 John
5.20. He said, that the Son of God hath come and given us an
understanding that we may know God. That we may know Him that's
true. And this is the true God. This
is eternal life. How did Paul, how did he know
that these people didn't know God? He says in verse 2, they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. They don't know
God. Now how did Paul know that they didn't know God? He tells us in the next verse. Even though they're religious
and moral and Sabbath keepers and tithers and church goers,
they don't know God. For they, being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and they're going about through this religious
exercises and ceremonies and duties and deeds, they're going
about to establish their own righteousness. And they have
not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. Paul said,
this is the reason I know that they don't know God, and the
reason you and I can know anybody in our day who is ignorant of
God's righteousness in Christ. Anybody in our day, it doesn't
matter whether they're family, friends, or whomever, but if
they are ignorant of God's righteousness, which I'm going to talk about
in a minute, And they have rejected God's righteousness. And they're
going about through their service and duties and ceremonies and
religion and tithing and holy days to keep and to establish
some kind of righteousness. Well, they don't know God. Now, God's righteousness. Now, you take these three things
down here. I'm going to, as plainly as I can make this. What we are
talking about here in this verse is threefold. It's really threefold. Now, first of all, when we talk
about God's righteousness, we're talking about God Almighty Himself,
His essential holiness, His personal essential holiness and righteousness. God is righteous. If you take
one word to describe the true and living God, the God of the
universe, the God of creation, the God of the Bible, the God
and Father of Jesus Christ, the God before whom we stand, what one
word would you say describes God? One word now. It's not love. It's not power. Though He is
love and though He has all power, but that's not the one word.
The one word that describes God, that the chief attribute of God
is holy. God is holy. Now you know that.
This is His holy word. That's what it's called. Not
His loving word, His holy word. The angels are called His holy
angels. His spirit is called His holy
spirit. God says He's in His holy temple. His people are chosen people,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation. The mercy seat was in the holy
of holies. When the priest went before God,
he had on his miter holiness to the Lord. When Isaiah saw
the Lord, he said, the Seraphims were crying, God is love, God
is love. No, sir, they were crying, holy,
holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. He's holy. And if you
want to know His name, it's holy and reverent. That's His name. And the Scripture says that He
dwells The invisible God dwells in a light to which no man can
approach. No man has seen God. No man can
look upon God. Why? Because of His holiness. That's why. He is immaculate,
infinite, unspeakable, indescribable holiness. Holiness. That's God. Or is that clear? I know it is to you. You know
that. Secondly, when we talk about this righteousness, this
holiness, we're talking about the righteousness and holiness
God requires of you and of me. What does the Lord thy God require? Holiness. Perfect, just as perfect
as He is. God cannot receive us into His
presence and into His sight if we have any less holiness than
He has. Turn to Psalm 24 and listen to
this. It's very clear throughout the
Scripture, this is what He requires. This is what He commands. This is what just must be. In Psalm 24, verse 3, who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord? We talk about lifting up our
eyes to the hills. This is the hill we're talking
about. Who's going to ascend into the presence of the Lord?
Who's going to stand in His holy place? David said in Psalm 1, the ungodly
shall not stand. Well, who's going to ascend and
stand? Who's going to ascend into the
hill of the Lord and remain there? I'll tell you who. He that hath
clean hands. Clean hands. He that hath a pure
heart. Pure heart. Who hath not lifted up his soul
to vanity. Who's never coveted. Who's never
wanted anything but the perfect will of God. Who has never sworn
deceitfully. Who's never even exaggerated.
That's immaculate holiness. That's perfect holiness. That
doesn't fit with one person. That's Christ. This is my beloved
Son in whom I'm well pleased. But that's what God requires
of all of us. I hear people say, well, you
know, I expect to go to Him. I'm doing the best I can. That
won't do. We've got to perform the best
that God can. It's not our standard. It's His. His holiness, He's
going to put us to the line and the plummet. His immaculate holiness,
and He requires of us the same righteousness. Let me show you
what our Lord said about that in Matthew 5. I'm trying to make
this as clear as I... I know we preachers are always
preaching about the righteousness of God and the righteousness
and blood of Christ, but I'm going to make this as clear as
it can be made. God's righteousness has to do
with His own personal essential righteousness, and then it has
to do with what He requires. In Matthew 5 verse 20, Christ
speaking to His disciples, He said, this is, except your righteousness shall
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall
in no case enter the kingdom of heaven. The Lord talked about
these scribes and Pharisees who were the very representatives
of religion, the men who wore the broad phylacteries and the
religious uniforms and stood on the street corner and prayed,
gave alms and tithed and fasted and all these things. It's got to exceed that. Well, this is something we can't
produce. Something we don't have in any shape, form or fashion.
We're just so far from the righteousness of God. It's just beyond expression. Wretched man that I am. That's
the reason Job kept saying, who can bring a clean thing out of
an unclean? How can he be clean as born of
a woman? How can God be just and justify
us? Alright, the third thing. Now
watch this. Is the righteousness, holiness, God has purposed. He's purposed it. Planned it. He's purchased it by Christ. And He's applied it to us by
His Spirit. That's what we're talking about
now in Romans 3. Turn back over there a minute.
Here's that righteousness. Romans 3, that holiness. Either
word you want to use, holiness, Righteousness? Perfection? Romans
3.19, Now we know that what thing soever the law saith, it saith
to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of
the law there shall no flesh be justified holy or righteous
in God's sight. For by the law is the knowledge
of sin. But damn! But now the holiness of God,
without the law, without my obedience to the law, is manifested, being
witnessed by the Old Testament Scriptures. It is even the very
righteousness of God, which He requires. The righteousness of
God, which He requires. which is by faith, by the faith
of Christ Jesus, and it's unto all and upon all that believe. There's no difference. You see
what he's saying there? He's saying that... Well, let's
turn to 2 Corinthians 5 and just read what he's saying. The Lord
Jesus Christ, he says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, God hath made him Christ to be sin for us who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God, the
holiness of God in Him. Now here's what we have. I told
you a while ago, God indescribably holy. I just can't even talk
about God's holiness. I don't know anything about that
kind of holiness. Use the word and exclaim over
it, the holiness of God. And the holiness He requires,
the holiness He's got to have, we've got to have it to be in
His presence, to be accepted of Him. Well, He has actually
provided that for us. The Lord Jesus came down here,
God-man, and He met that law. He met everything God requires
of His people, Christ fulfilled it. Everything God demands of
His people, Christ fulfilled it. Everything God commands of
His people, Christ fulfilled it. Everything. He said, I finished
the work you gave me to do. It's finished. And therefore
now in Christ, all who believe, that's what it says, all who
believe, have that righteousness of God, without which no man
will see the Lord. We are holy. It's not something
we put on over a wicked heart. It is holiness. Every believer
stands right now before God, justified, perfectly, immaculately
holy, with not lacking anything. Now look at the text again, Romans
3. You see that? Now you can keep that, and it
helped you. When we talk about God's righteousness,
we're talking about who He is. We're talking about what He demands
that we can't produce. But we're talking about what
Christ did produce. Which He did effectually work
out for us. You have it in Him. Alright,
verse 4. Now, Christ is the end of the
law. For righteousness to everyone
that believeth. What does that mean? Christ is
the end of the law. Well, first of all, He's the
end of the law as a covenant and a pattern. He's the end of
the Sabbath, the tithe, the ceremony, the high priesthood, all of these
things. He's the end of all those things that were required of
Israel that were pictures of Christ. He taketh away the first. Christ is my Sabbath now. Christ is my Sabbath. Christ
is my royal law of obedience and behavior. Christ is everything.
He's done away with that. Don't reinstitute a Sabbath and
don't reinstitute these duties and holy days and doing without
pork and doing without something else, touch not, taste not, handle
not, so that you'll be approved of God. No sir. He's the end
of that. Isn't that right? Secondly, He's
the end of the terms, do this and live. No, it's believe this. Believe Him and live. It's not
do this at all. What must I do to be saved? Well,
you're going to have to straighten up. And you're going to have
to make a profession. You're going to have to join
the church. You're going to have to be baptized. No, you're going to have to believe
on Christ. That's it. Believe. It's the
end of the do this and live. Thirdly, it's the end of the
curse. We're no longer under the curse.
We no longer have anything to be cursed for. We have no sin. In Christ there is no sin. Christ
has delivered us from the curse of the law being made a cursed
forest. And Christ is the end of the law, that is, He's the
goal of the law. That's what the law was all about.
That's why it was given, to bring you and me to Christ. You see,
that's why it was given. That's why all these things were
given in the Old Testament, the types, the pictures, the sacrifices,
the ceremonies, the holy days, was to shut us up to Christ.
He's the end of the law. Mr. Spurgeon said this, now listen
to this, when a man or a woman in his heart truly believes on
the Lord Jesus Christ, our righteousness, our substitute, our sacrifice,
our sin offering, our redeemer, he actually believes it in him.
He believes the gospel, believes on Christ. That man, that woman,
in that moment, in God's sight, is as though he had never sinned
in all his life. He's as holy and pure, she is,
the moment they believe on Christ. That person is as holy and pure
as if he had never committed one sin of thought, word or deed.
Immaculately, perfectly, eternally. Holy. You see that? That's right. Now, wait a minute. I'll go further
than that, he said. Can you go further than that?
Yeah, I'll go further than that. Now, I see what he's saying.
Listen. That man or woman who believes on Christ is in a better
position than if he had never seen. For if he had never sinned, he
would be depending on his righteousness, which may sin sooner or later. You see what he's saying? But
he who believes and has the righteousness and holiness of God in Christ
can never fall away, can never fail. That soul that on Jesus
hath leaned for repose, I'll never, no never, no never, no
never desert to its foes. That soul though all hell should
endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never, no never
forsake. In Christ The old cloak is taken away,
and we have in Him a perfect righteousness. Is that clear? And Paul says, my kinfolks, my
poor religious kinfolks, in all of their religious organizations, and with their zeal of God, And
their promotions and commotions are going about to establish
some kind of program on which they'll be accepted of God. He
said, they don't know God. They do not know God. If they
knew God, they'd know they couldn't do that. Because they'd know
His holiness, and the holiness He requires, and the holiness
He provides. You see that? Alright, let me
just move quickly here and I'll let you go. Let me show you something
here. Verse 5. Moses describes the
righteousness which is of the law. Tell me, Paul said in Galatians,
you that would be under the law, don't you hear the law? Do you
hear what the law says? What does the law say? Well,
it says we ought to admire it. No, it doesn't either. Well,
we ought to agree with it. No. Well, we ought to do the
best we can to keep it. No, it doesn't. That's not what
God's law says. What does the law say? The man
that doeth these things shall live by them. Doesn't. Doesn't. So I say to all these preachers
who are telling people what to do, they're not telling them
what to do. Because what to do, if you will
be accepted of God, what to do is do exactly what the Lord Jesus
Christ did while He's on this earth, live without sin. Love
God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and hear
God say from heaven, I'm well pleased." Well, that's not the
way, then what is? But the righteousness which is
of faith, verse 6, speaks on this wise. Don't say in your
heart, who shall I send to heaven to bring Christ down? He's already
come. But I'm going to have to plead
and pray and beg. No, He's already come. Don't say in your heart, who's
to descend into the deep to bring Christ up? Well, I've got to
get down and mourn and beg and grieve and find myself on condemned
row and all these things and have this thing all over again
from the grave. No, He's already risen. He's already come and
bled and died. He's already risen and He's enthroned. Well, what is this righteousness
of faith? I'll tell you what it is. It's
in your mouth. The Word is not here. It's the
Word. It's the Gospel. It's what I'm saying right now.
It's the preaching of the Word. It's in your mouth. It's in your heart. It's exactly what you say. You
mean to tell me, yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Rest and cry. That's it. Believe. It's the Word which we preach.
And here it is, if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, He's
who God says He is, and that God raised Him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. That's what salvation is. It's
a gift of God. Now, what is this about God raised
Him from the dead? Well, if God raised Him from
the dead, He must have died. You can't be raised from the
dead unless you die. He must have died, so you believe that.
Well, if He died, the God-man died, He must have died for somebody's
sins. See that? Then if He died under the guilt
of sin and God raised Him, then God must be satisfied with what
He did. That's incorporated in this belief. You see that? Well, I believe
in the resurrection. That's not what He said. If you
believe in the resurrection, if you believe God raised Him
from the dead. And if God raised Him from the
dead, all of this was a transaction between Him and God. He died. And He died for our sins. And
He died separated from God because of our sins. And God accepted
His death and His payment and His purchase and His perfect
righteousness. And God came and raised Him from
the dead. and seated in his right hand. That's God's righteousness. And
I love this, and I hope you'll retain what Mr. Spurgeon said. The person who believes this
gospel is at that moment as if he'd never seen. And actually,
he's in a better position than if he'd never seen. Because if
he'd never seen, he'd be trusting his own righteousness, which
one day would fail him. But having the righteousness
of Christ, he shall not fail.