WHAT WILL THEY BELIEVE?

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August 23, 2015 Providence

WHAT WILL THEY BELIEVE? Romans 10:5-21 INTRODUCTION: During the long political season leading up to presidential elections, I have found that people believe what they want to believe. The candidates who say what we like, we tend to believe. Those who make statements contrary to what we like, we are suspicious of what they say. Avid Democrats and avid Republicans question the integrity and veracity of the opposition and are much more willing to give members of their party the benefit of the doubt. In a world of social media frenzies and instantaneous postings of sound bites, we cannot be sure that what makes its way to our ears is accurate and unbiased. I have been misled often in the past few years by news reports of wrong-deeds or wrong-beliefs that turned out to be incorrect, but for many the damage was too widespread and the seeds of distrust too great. Eventually, you believe what you want to believe based on the level of confidence you have in the source of your information. Everybody’s going to believe something! Paul has been burdened by the faulty beliefs of his kinsmen, the Jewish people, who have largely rejected any belief that Jesus is the Messiah. What they have chosen to believe falls far short of the credibility found in Christ and Paul continues to make his point—their unbelief cannot be blamed on any failure in God’s historic promises to Israel, and to all who will believe in His name. In this chapter, Paul appeals to the Roman believers—as to us—to understand that salvation is necessary for every human being. And the only way to be saved from our sin is to put our trust in Christ alone, a faith that comes from hearing the word of Christ, the gospel! THESIS: Although there will always be those who choose not to believe the gospel, may we as witnesses of Christ never leave them without the opportunity—may they hear the word of Christ through us! So people will believe something…why not make sure that they have accurate and reliable information by making the truth of the gospel and the power of the gospel available to them?

◆ THEY WILL EITHER BELIEVE… I. THAT GOD DEFINES THE END AND THE MEANS, OR THEY DO --Does God give us the right to define the end toward which our lives are to be focused and the means by which we may achieve our own satisfaction and fulfillment in life? A. “THE END” WE HAVE IN MIND Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes 1. Personal Agendas --Too often the “end” we have in mind for our spiritual lives has a decidedly self-centered focus. --We want to… a. b. c. d. e.

Be happy and at peace Be successful and prosperous Be assured that no condemnation awaits us Be open-minded and generously loving Be accepted and belong

--None of those things is wrong…not at all! But everyone of them is motivated by what we want, not what God says is most important to want—that is Jesus Christ Himself. --Jesus told us to seek Him and His kingdom before anything else (Matt 6:33). --Paul told us that knowing Jesus is the highest value in all of life (Phil 3:8).

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2. Christ Himself --What does the text mean when it says that Christ is the “end of the law?” --Charles Hodge in his commentary on Romans rightly points out that there are 3 legitimate possible meanings, each with its own implications: a. Jesus is the “end” toward which the law and all of Scripture is pointing—everything in God’s Word leads to Him. b. Jesus is the “end” of the law because it is perfectly and finally fulfilled in Him—nothing else needs to be said. c. Jesus is the “end” of the era of the law because in dying, rising from the dead and ascending into heaven He has now initiated a new era, the Christian Era. --All three of these things are true and so in every way, Christ is the end of the law and so our hope and our focus and our lives rest entirely on Him as He is revealed in His Word. B. “THE MEANS” WE ADVOCATE --By what “means” are we to pursue that “end,” or how are we to gain that which is the highest and best life has in store? --All of Romans 9-11 speaks to the right and wrong ways, the right and wrong means people pursue what they consider a righteous life, a life pleasing to God. --Unfortunately, those who advocate ways to pursue a righteous life apart from God’s way in Christ will never find Him or the life He created them to live. --James Montgomery Boice points out that this passage refers to three kinds of religious experience, the first two contrary to God’s perfect provision in Christ, the last one reaffirms once again God’s plan of salvation: 1) Religion of Works – depending on Law and Legalism 2) Religion of Signs – depending on seeing the miraculous 3) Religion of Faith – trusting in Christ alone 1. Religion of Works and Signs: The Means We Want to Control --Throughout this section, Paul laments the fact his kinsmen, the Jews, had rejected God’s means for living a righteous life and had substituted their own means—means of controlling their pursuit on their own terms. a. Righteousness based on the Law Rom 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them --Those who think that by keeping the Law they will be safe from God’s judgment against sin either have an overestimation of their ability to be perfect, or they have reworked the Law on their own terms to match what they think they can do! --In either case, they are deceiving themselves because they cannot even keep the lowered standards of righteousness they have substituted for God’s perfect standard. James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. --The bottom line is simple—no one can live a life of perfect obedience to the law: Romans 3:20a …For by works of the Law no human being will be justified in His sight

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b. Righteousness depending on Signs and Miracles --Paul introduces a couple of insights about another alternative people like to put in place of simple faith in the name of Jesus Christ. --He says that those who have the kind of righteousness that pleases God will never say… • Who will ascend into heaven (to bring Jesus down)? • Who will descend into the abyss (to bring Jesus up)? --What is Paul talking about? [cf. Deuteronomy 30:12-14] --There have always been people who are not content with the fact that Jesus Christ has already done both but demand that He perform on command, that He act upon their whims, and prove Himself through supernatural actions! Note: There is no need for additional revelation, even an extra word from heaven. In Luke 16:31 Jesus said to the rich man, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” Nor is there any justification for any more ‘attesting miracles,’ such as those demanded by the multitudes in Luke 11:16…and in John 6:30, “What then do You do for a sign that we may see and believe you?” --In other words, they demand that He give them additional revelation and sensationalistic miracles than His Word and His life, death and resurrection…or else, they believe that they have every right to reject Him. ILLUS. On my way back from a mission trip, I was seated across the aisle from a man I suspected was also returning from a time of ministry. As we spoke, he told me that his ministry was in “power evangelism,” meaning that they depended on signs and miracles to confirm that the Lord was at work. I knew it was coming so I was not surprised when he kind of sneered and asked me, “So what kind of miracles did you see?” When I told him that the greatest miracle I saw was people coming to know Jesus Christ as Savior. I suppose he would have been more impressed if I had said that I saw dead people come to life…blind people receive their sight…which in fact happened when people put their trust in Christ! But he basically brushed me off as a “non-player” because the signs he depended on were not evident in a simple gospel proclamation. The sensationalism he relied on more than the Word of Christ bothered me…just as this passage says it should! --The truth to which Paul speaks is 3-fold: 1) No one needs additional revelation from prophecies, “words of faith,” or people who claim “God told me” in ways that go beyond Scripture. 2) No one needs to do anything to bring Jesus here (ascending or descending or going on pilgrimage) because He already came, sent by His Father. 3) No one should expect any more miracles to convince them than those Jesus has already done in His life, death, resurrection and ascension! --No one needs anything but to look full into the face of Jesus Christ and see in Him the complete revelation and redemption as He reveals the Father and redeems sinners as no one and nothing else ever could! --Christ is the end of the law…Christ is the end of all needed revelation…Christ is the end of every demand for the miraculous…Christ alone is all we need! 2. The Religions of Faith: The Means He Provides --So if it not by works of the Law…not by extra-biblical revelation and extra-biblical miraculous proofs, how does one come to the kind of faith that produces the perfect righteousness of God in our lives?

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Romans 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim) a. Introduced by the Word Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. --Hearing the word of Christ opens the ears, eyes and hearts of the hearer to the truth of God’s mercy and grace—and as the Spirit awakens us, faith to believe comes as God calls us to place our trust in Him. --Gospel proclamation without the word of Christ, without any announcement of eternal truth, cannot properly be called the “gospel of Jesus Christ.” --Faith comes from hearing the word of Christ and begins in our hearts when the truth becomes known to us. b. Confessed with the Mouth Romans 10:9-10 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart 10 that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved… --Here is a question we all must answer: Can someone be a secret disciple of Jesus Christ? --Here and elsewhere in Scripture, open confession of faith is one of the marks of a true disciple…do you agree? --If not, consider this… “Either the secrecy kills the discipleship, or the discipleship kills the secrecy.” (Boice) --Genuine transformation which gives evidence of the faith that comes from hearing the Word of Christ results in open confession of that faith and an acknowledgement before others of the new life within all because of Jesus. Note: Believers’ baptism affords just such an opportunity to confess Him openly and gladly, identifying Him as Savior and yourself as a grateful recipient of His grace and gift of eternal life. If you have not been baptized…if you have not publicly confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Savior, may I ask why not? This instruction from Paul simply explains what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ—believe in your heart, confess with your mouth. That is what results in justification by faith and salvation by believing in His name! c. Believed in the Heart --From that seat of our lives, the heart, one believes sincerely…fully…undividedly…by the indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit! --Therefore, you must believe in your heart this Jesus is Lord, that God raised Him from the dead! ◆ THEY WILL EITHER BELIEVE… I. THAT GOD DEFINES THE END AND THE MEANS, OR THEY DO

OR II. BELIEVE BECAUSE SOMEONE TOLD THEM, OR NOT BELIEVE BECAUSE THEY NEVER GOT A CHANCE

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--In a world of rampant unbelief and rejection of God and all He stands for, the great miracle is that sinful men and women have indeed believed and been justified by faith all through the ages! --Every year we celebrate because new life begins in one person after another! ILLUS. On campus this week, 15 students at NCSU repented and believed at a CRU meeting! This afternoon nearly 40 people from PBC will be baptized confessing with their mouths what they have believed with their hearts. In the coming year, hundreds more will hear the gospel—faith will come by hearing and hearing from the word of Christ for people you know who will hear your voice speak the life-giving words of the gospel! A. WHOEVER BELIEVES… --No matter what your background is, no matter your religious tradition or lack thereof, God promises that whoever believes will be saved from sin and death and be made righteous and alive in Christ! Romans 10:13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 1. Will never be disappointed or ashamed 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame 2. Will abound in riches without any show of partiality 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 3. Will do so after hearing the Word of Christ Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. B. WHOEVER DOES NOT BELIEVE… --Over 7 billion people inhabit this world today and the overwhelming majority do not believe and have no faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and to enter into the fullness of His righteousness. Why? 1. May never even have heard Romans 10:14-15 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to 15 believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! 2. May have heard but remained obstinate and the Word did not connect with faith Romans 10:16, 21 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he 21 has heard from us?” … But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” --How sad it is that we live in a land saturated with gospel opportunities and find that so many have either… • remained contrary and obstinate in their unbelief and rejection of God’s unique provision in Christ; or • never understood grace and continue to persist in religious attitudes that depend on their own efforts instead of faith in Christ Hebrews 4:2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. CONCLUSION: Who do believe about what to believe? Paul assures us that we can believe the word of Christ and be saved from the sin that separates us from God. He is faithful and true and by believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths that He is Savior and Lord, we are confident of eternal life in His name.

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What to do… 1. Never add anything to the message you live and preach in a way that elevates human effort or puts undue emphasis on signs and miracles in order to call others to believe. 2. Make sure you have confessed with your mouth what you have believed in your heart—for it is by grace you have been saved through faith…then you can be sure of your salvation. 3. Accept your role in “preaching the gospel,” as you speak it yourself and help send others to do the same. THESIS: Although there will always be those who choose not to believe the gospel, may we as witnesses of Christ never leave them without the opportunity—may they hear the word of Christ through us!

February 9, 2014 Providence Baptist Church © David Horner, 2015 Sermon outlines are copyrighted in the event of future publication. They may be used for preaching and teaching purposes but may not be published or sold.