INTRODUCTION

 We have been exploring Romans for some time now and it is important to understand what Paul's argument is and why we are spending so much time on it.

 First then the letter. Essentially this letter has two main parts. The first looks at the gospel and explains it in as full a way as Paul was able. The second part which grows out of the gospel is how we are to change. What are the issues about the life choices and life style of a Christian.

 The key verse is Romans 1:17-18 and this is explained in detail in the following chapters as we have seen.

 The Key concept is the righteousness of God. Righteousness is more than just ‘doing right’ it is about having a relationship with God.  Our gospel is all about how God has made it possible for failing humans to be restored into a full relationship with their creator , as we have read here it is received by faith because it is given freely by grace. The outline of this part of the book shows how Paul develops this, as we have seen.

 We have now come to a section where Paul explores the relationship to the righteousness of God between Jews, who are the heirs of the Promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As God’s chosen people they were the natural recipients of God’s grace in this wonderful gospel but it was not exclusively for them, nor was it automatic for them, as we shall see it is the same for Jew and gentile, salvation has to be received as a gift from God by faith

 

 So why do we study Romans? For the same reason we study the Bible in general. First and foremost because it is revelation.This book is not just a collection of ancient writings, it is God-breathed and as such is his revelation of himself to us. So if we are interested in understanding God,  this book is the one and only text because it is unique as revelation. Thirdly, we read it not to be well-educated but that is might transform our lives. There is life changing power in Jesus and as we read this under the influence of the Holy Spirit it will change the way that we think and act and as a result we will become more Christ-like and a clearer advert for the gospel.

 

 We pick up from where Andy left off last week.

Read Romans 9:30-10:21

It’s good stuff isn’t it? And there is no where near enough time to explore it all. Paul has 6 main things to say at this point:

9:30-10:4 Zeal is not enough The Jews pursued righteousness and had zeal but that was not enough, the gentiles received without pursuing it.   

 10:5-8 The gospel comes to you rather than you go and find the gospel

 Then in  10:9-10 Paul explains what happens when you become a Christian. 

 10:11-13 the guarantees are set out to remind us that this is not a possibility it is certainty.

  10:14-15 Words are necessary. It is the way that people find out about the message of salvation.

  But in 10:16-21 Hearing is not  enough. We have to accept the good news or we reject it as did the Jewish nation in spite of knowing so much about God.

ZEAL

Each of those could make a good sermon. In fact one of John Wesley’s great sermon’s is on the subject of  Zeal not being enough. He called it “The almost Christian” read it if you dare! The point is that passion and zeal and enthusiasm are not what saves you. Being a church and being more charismatic than the next person does not make you a Christian or a better one. Our local churches have a great deal of enthusiasm for the traditions of the church, but they cannot bring peace with God of themselves. What we have done is to build a righteousness of our own. Attend these services, do these actions and you will be a Christian, part of our church. But any church that replaces Christ as the way the truth and the life is just like the Jews. And Paul says my heart’s desire and pray to God for the Israelites is that they might be saved. So that should be our attitude to the churches that replace Christ with tradition. We do not rail against them, we seek that they turn to the Jesus and receive him by faith.

THE WORD OF TRUTH RECEIVED

In verse 5-8 Paul is referring to a passage in Deuteronomy which he quotes bits of to make his point.

  READ Deuteronomy 30:11-14. What is remarkable is that this was written probably around 200 years before Mohammed the Prophet of Islam claimed to ride to Jerusalem and ascend to heaven from the rock on the temple mount and receive the Koran. Or Josiah Smith who was given a special pair of glasses to read and translate the book of Mormon.  The Bible claims that the word of God comes to you rather than we have to go to it. Jesus comes from heaven, and the good news is spread by word of mouth. You got it from friends or family or a school teacher or a Sunday Club leader or , occasionally from a church Pastor.

So what happens when you become a Christian?

⁹That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

 

That is it. No circumcision, no ritual of any kind. You confess Jesus as Lord and believe he rose from the dead.

 Keen Hebrew scholars will notice the chiastic form here. Mouth- Heart followed by Heart- Mouth. That suggests it is part of Paul’s thought pattern. This is the message he eats, drinks and sleeps. It is triggered by him thinking about “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," And for all the complexity of this great gospel which we have been reading over the last year our response is simple and two fold. It involves the mouth and the heart. It is about acknowledging Jesus as Lord and believing that Easter and life is about a living Jesus.  Now the idea that you actually have to formulate the words and say them seems to be rather strange. Can’t I just believe in my heart? No! The oath of allegiance to Jesus is as necessary to being a Christian as the oath of allegiance to the Queen is for becoming a British Citizen. It is the natural progression - what your heart believes, your mouth speaks. The absence of confession, ultimately denies the belief of the heart. To whom are we to speak? Why first and foremost to God. It is to him we confess. And actually speaking out loud to God is not so strange either. It first is our way of communicating with another person and secondly it makes us sort out our thoughts and clarify our thinking. So speaking out loud is as much part of our confession as the silent prayer of faith. But at the heart of this is that we speak to God, not a priest or another Christian but to God.

 

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” Right now, here. If you have never actually put your faith in Jesus and thereby received his salvation, you can do it now, here because the word is on your mouth and in your heart you can respond from the heart and using your mouth. You do not need a form of words, what God is listening for is words which express what your heart believes.

 So when I have put this prayer up before, it is not a mantra or form of words that makes you a Christian, it is simply a guideline.

Dear Father God,

Thank you that you made me and want me to be a member of your family and follow you.

I am really sorry for all the wrong things that I have thought, and said and done.

Thank you that Jesus died on the cross so that I could be forgiven and be welcomed into your family.

Please forgive me now.

I will need your help to live as a follower of Jesus, so please come and live in me by your Holy Spirit.

I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, you special Son.

Amen.

 

 

Here is another prayer guideline we have used in the past .

Lord Jesus Christ,

I am sorry for the things that I have done in my life that displease you and are wrong.

Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.

I accept your gift of salvation and I accept your rule in my life.

Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me forever.

Thank you, Jesus

Amen.

 

 

Here in Romans  the prayer of faith is “Jesus is Lord” Simply handing over your life to Jesus to rule in your heart. Salvation is a received gift. Your response to ‘giving back the life we owe’ for his rule to decide how you live, what you say, how you respond to others.

I want to stop here and reflect on these three words. Those of you who are Christians, at some point in the past you declared to God “Jesus is Lord” so are you living it now? Is Jesus the one whose will is priority business for you? Did you say in any way to him this Morning Good morning master, what do you want me to do today? How do you want me to express the new life you have given me? We have examined ourselves as we came to the table, but I ask again, Can you say today, Jesus is Lord or are we still at war in the inner man as we read in Romans 7?

PAUSE

 

But it is not just what we say, it is what is happening in our hearts that matters. We do not distinguish here between thinking and emotions. But this is more than intellectual assent. A Hindu told me on Thursday that she believed that “Jesus is risen”! What she meant I did not find out. She left, as far as I know, a Hindu. She did not say that “Jesus is Lord” But when we believe with our hearts our whole thought/emotion processes are moved. Our response as we have seen is to say “Jesus is Lord” Our resurrection message is so key to our life. Goad has raised Jesus from the dead. Death is no longer the end, life is no longer just 70 to 80 years, eternity is no longer a dream, enter into the resurrection life because as we believe in the living Jesus we are justified, our sins are wiped away, he has taken the punishment for them and we are free.

And we are saved. This is the theme of this book as we saw in chapter 1

 the gospel… is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:

You’d better believe it!

THE GUARENTEE

 What follows is a reminder that this is guaranteed by God .

¹¹As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

He quotes two Old Testament promises, which he uses to sandwich a comment about the Jew/Gentile distinction or lack of it. First he emphasizes Jesus is Lord of all Jew or Gentile, Secondly he tells us that Jesus as Lord richly blesses all who call on Him. We may be ashamed of our sin but never should we be ashamed of our gospel!

 

THE WORD OF TRUTH GIVEN

 Which brings us and Paul to the most obvious next point

“How can they hear this ‘word of faith’?

 ¹⁴How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

 

It is important to realize that Paul is not talking just in some metaphoric sense. He actually means that the way people believe is that someone tells them the good news! Preaching has a bad name in this country as it is associated with sermons like this one in church. But is more about proclaiming the gospel on street corners, in private houses, in the train or in the pub. Wherever there are people who will listen. Unless the people of South Ruislip hear this gospel, they will never be saved, they will go to hell. They may, and many do, hear and reject it but they cannot believe until they have heard. And you can’t be effective in telling until you are sent.  So putting the sequence in time order we get:

  a calling from God. Everyone of us has that calling It is to the disciples Jesus  said Go into all the world and tell the good news.. But we also need to be daily seeking his calling as speak the word of faith. That is part of the declaration  “Jesus is Lord”

there is a going. Paul is thinking of the hours spent foot-slogging, maybe riding, sometimes sailing throughout the Eastern end of the Mediterranean  to tell the good news. For you is making the effort to met people and serve them in love so that the word of truth is understood in both speech and action.  You are called to cry minute by minute “Jesus is Lord”  and live such lives that beautify the good news.  But we are also called to say something. There has to be a telling of the Good News. People may be impressed by your love but until they hear from you that your life is a response to the love of God in Christ Jesus they will never know the Good News. I think we need to rehearse and drill ourselves in sharing our testimony so that on the day we are called to tell, we talk the truth in Christ.

 Finally Paul notes that even when we tell the Good News we will not always get a positive response. Israel is the example of a people that knew the truth but rejected it.

 As we have seen the heart of our response to God is to say “Jesus is Lord” That is what our life is. Jesus is the life.  Zeal is not enough we need to know Jesus to know the truth

 Hearing is not enough we need to accept him and receive the salvation he offers. Jesus is the way.
Where have I heard that before?

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