{"id":10000,"date":"2021-10-03T10:02:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T14:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?post_type=message&p=10000"},"modified":"2021-10-14T10:04:41","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T14:04:41","slug":"gods-salvation-through-faith-in-christ-alone","status":"publish","type":"message","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/message\/gods-salvation-through-faith-in-christ-alone","title":{"rendered":"God’s Salvation through Faith in Christ Alone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Below is an automated transcript of this message:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Good <\/i><\/span> morning, church! We’re continuing our series entitled, \u201cRighteousness Revealed,\u201d as we go, verse by verse, through the book of Romans. We are in Romans, chapter 10, starting today. Our theme for this series comes from chapter one of Romans, verse 16-17 that says this, \u201cFor I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed\u2026\u201d That has been our theme. As we continue, we’ll be, today, in chapter 10, verses 1-13, in a message we’ve entitled, \u201cGod’s Salvation Through Faith In Christ Alone.\u201d

\nComing off of chapter nine, we’ve spent the last two Sundays talking about God’s sovereignty and how He’s the king of the universe. He has the right to choose whom He will. And so, we’ve been looking at salvation through the lens from heaven’s perspective.

\nIn the next chapter, chapter 10, we’re going to be <\/i><\/span> looking at salvation from the lens of our perspective, from a human perspective. Chapter nine is emphasizing God’s sovereignty and chapter 10 is emphasizing man’s responsibility or man’s response. I think it’s perfectly appropriate that Paul has put these two chapters right beside each other because the scripture teaches both and not either or.

\nThis is a beautiful way for us to continue today, as we talk about responding to Christ. Now, I wonder today if you have responded to Christ’s plan of salvation, to God’s plan of salvation because many of us are trying different ways to obtain righteousness. The Jews, during Paul’s day, had their own way of obtaining righteousness. They thought, Listen, if we can just be good enough and we can keep the law. We are God’s people, so God will accept us. They thought they could do it by law keeping. I believe that it wasn’t just the Jews of Paul’s day. I believe it’s it’s a lot of Americans today.

\nIf we were to go around <\/i><\/span> Wilson County and knock on doors or stop people over at Walmart and ask them, What would you do if you stood before a holy God and He asked you, \u2018Why should I let you into My heaven?\u2019 What would you say? What most people will say (I don’t have to guess because I’ve been a pastor for 30 years) is, Well, I’ve tried to be good and I’m hoping that God is going to let me in because I’ve done my best to be a good person. They confuse Christianity with good works or being good; or, somehow, being religious. The truth is, our goodness falls short. This is how many people believe that they can access heaven; that, somehow, they can climb the ladder by their own efforts. Others think, Well, it’s because I’m religious, it’s because I go to a synagogue, a mosque or a church. But you can go and stand in the garage and that doesn’t make you an automobile. You can sit <\/i><\/span> in a church but that doesn’t make you a Christian. Religion won’t please God either.

\nThe thing that’s true here, that we’re going to discover in chapter 10, is that God has a plan for salvation. It’s through faith in Christ alone. We will be talking about this today. Even that statement seems to cause us problems because we have to swallow our pride and say, There’s nothing I can do. I need a Savior. I need someone to help me.

\nIn chapter 10 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explained why Israel had failed to receive God’s salvation because they had sought to establish a righteousness of their own through keeping the law rather than placing their faith in Christ alone. I believe today, that we can see why God’s salvation is only available through Christ alone, through faith in Christ alone. We’ll look at the text today. I think we’ll see three reasons why this is so.

\nLet’s look at chapter 10, we’ll start at verse one. Romans 10:1-13 (ESV) 1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer <\/i><\/span> to God for them is that they may be saved. (Let me pause for a second. The \u201cthems\u201d in these first couple of verses refer to Israel from the previous chapter.) 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, \u201cDo not say in your heart, \u2018Who will ascend into heaven?\u2019\u201d (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 \u201cor \u2018Who will descend into the abyss?\u2019\u201d (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? \u201cThe word is near you, in <\/i><\/span> your mouth and in your heart\u201d (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, \u201cEveryone who believes in him will not be put to shame.\u201d 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. 13 For \u201ceveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.\u201d This is God\u2019s Word. Amen.

\nWe’re looking for three reasons why God’s salvation is through faith in Christ alone. Here’s the first reason:

\n1. Because Christ alone has accomplished it.

\nChrist alone has accomplished our salvation. No one else has done it. Christ has done it. He alone has accomplished it. I would remind you, as I said earlier, chapter nine emphasized God’s sovereignty, His freedom to choose whom He <\/i><\/span> would.

\nBut then, as we look at chapter 10, I want you to take note that, throughout, is sprinkled with the phrase \u201deveryone,\u201d \u201call who will.\u201d It’s completely full of man’s responsibility to respond. And so, there’s this tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. Chapter 10 is emphasizing, I believe, man’s free will to respond.

\nNotice how Paul begins chapter 10; it’s very similar to the way he began chapter nine. He goes back to how he feels towards the Jews. Remember, Paul is Jewish; he’s brokenhearted. Chapter nine says that he’s brokenhearted, he’s in anguish and great sorrow. Now, here in chapter 10, he says, \u201cmy heart’s desire and my prayer is for them (Israel) that they would be saved.\u201d

\nI want to take a time out right here for just a second. What’s your heart’s desire? Do you know someone who is far from God today? Someone who’s not a believer? Someone who has not said <\/i><\/span> \u201cyes\u201d to Jesus? Is it your heart’s desire for them to know Jesus? And then, having that attitude, do you not only care, but do you pray for them? Do you talk to God about it?

\nThe apostle Paul does. He’s talking to God and saying, \u201cI pray that my people, Israel, would be saved.\u201d That’s how he’s praying. And then, he says, 2 \u201cFor I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.\u201d That word, \u201czeal,\u201d in the Greek, could be translated as \u201cheat.\u201d They’re on fire for God. If you met a Jewish person from Israel during his day, that’s all they talked about. They were on fire for God, but he says, as soon as they’ve got zeal, but not according to knowledge, they’re all fired up, but they’re basing it on something that’s not going to be sufficient without knowledge. He says, \u201cbut not according to knowledge.\u201d You <\/i><\/span> can have a lot of zeal and be fired up about something, but emotion has to have a truth underneath it or it won’t get you anywhere. There has to be a truth. And so, it’s not according to knowledge. He says that they’re fired up; he relates to this because he knows what it feels like to be on fire for something because he used to be that way. He used to be that way.

\nIn Acts chapter 22, speaking of himself, he says, Acts 22:3 (NIV) \u201cI am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.\u201d This was him giving his testimony before the Jews. He went on to say, Listen, I was so fired up and zealous for God, I graduated from Jewish Harvard under Gamaliel. I was way ahead of the other Jews of my age. I carried letters to other cities to imprison Christians, to imprison followers of <\/i><\/span> the way. He was so zealous that he became not just a fanatic, but a terrorist, making sure Christians were getting killed. This is why he described himself as one of the least of all believers because his former life was Paul the persecutor, killing christians. He says, I know what it feels like to be zealous.

\nYou can be zealous for something and, yet, be zealous for something that’s not true. This is what he’s saying. He’s brokenhearted for them because he knows they are zealous. Maybe, you’ve met someone who’s zealous for their belief system and you think, Wow, that’s kind of convicting. They seem more zealous than I am. When I was a freshman at Radford University, I was assigned a roommate. The roommate that was supposed to go to school with me backed out. And so, they gave me an assigned roommate. His name was Merrigan. He <\/i><\/span> was from Iran. The first morning, I heard something. At about five am, I heard a chanting sound. My roommate was sitting on the floor, on a rug, praying a memorized prayer. He was of the Baha’i faith. I don’t know if you’ve heard of that faith; he believed in one called Baha’u’llah. Here I am; I’m 18 years old. I don’t know what I’m doing here. What’s going on? It challenged me because I wasn’t getting up at five am to pray. Maybe, you will encounter a Muslim or someone from another faith and think, Surely their zeal counts for something.

\nBut Paul says that emotions are not enough. There has to be a foundational truth for this to sit on before it has saving power. There’s a truth missing and they are ignorant of it. They don’t know it. He says, 3 \u201cFor, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.\u201d So <\/i><\/span> this word, \u201cignorant,\u201d in the Greek, is where we get the word \u201cagnostic,\u201d which means without knowledge or being ignorant of the righteousness of God.

\nThere’s two kinds of righteousness: the righteousness of God and the righteousness of humanity. The righteousness of God is best displayed by looking at the person of Jesus. The righteousness of humanity is best demonstrated by just looking around or looking inside. We say, I’m as good as the next person. Or we say, I’m better than her. Our righteousness is about comparison to each other. We are hoping and praying that God grades on a curve, but He doesn’t. God is high and holy. His righteousness is so far removed from ours that the only inkling that we can get of it is revealed in the law and revealed, which is the written word or revealed in the incarnate word, which is the living word , <\/i><\/span> Jesus. That’s where we see it and so we all fall short.

\nPaul says that they’re not aware of it. He says, they are seeking to establish their own righteousness. They did not submit to God’s righteousness. What was their attempt at law keeping? Was it self effort, or being religious? They thought that was going to be good enough. It’s not just the Jews he’s speaking to; he’s trying to address this to the Jews that live in the city of Rome as he’s writing this letter to the Romans, but he’s writing it to us today. They thought that because they were born Jewish, they were God’s chosen people. They thought it was a birthright. They didn’t realize it was a rebirth, right? You have to be born again in Jesus. They should have known because the whole Old Testament pointed to it. But they had willful ignorance. It was revealed to Paul and Paul is revealing it to them, but they chose not to know it . <\/i><\/span> They chose to be agnostic.

\nDo you know? There’s a new category in religious survey responses today. It’s the fastest growing category among the millennials and gen z. It’s the N.O.N.E.S. Not the catholic ladies; not \u201cnuns.\u201d It is called N.O. N. E.S. No faith, no religion. Agnostic. Maybe even worse than agnostic is being apathetic about it. Apathy, I would say, is one of the true marks of the generation today. Just willfully agnostic about it because they don’t have any feelings about it.

\nWhat is the righteousness of God? It’s that displayed in Jesus. And so, we see in verse four, a surprising conclusion in this segment. Verse 4 \u201c For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.\u201d All of this points to Christ; this was all preparing us for Christ , <\/i><\/span> but now this is not the way of salvation, Christ is the way of salvation, for Christ is the end. The Greek word for \u201cend\u201d is \u201ctelos nomos;\u201d it\u2019s where we get the word, \u201ctelescope,\u201d where you can see something way over there, from right over here and all the way back here.

\nJesus is the dot at the end of the sentence of the law. He’s the conclusion of it. He’s the fulfillment of it. If you’re claiming to be a law keeper, then you would also know that you can’t keep it because none of us are able. But, Jesus was able.

\nHere’s our problem. Isaiah describes it. Isaiah is in the Old Testament. Isaiah is part of that law. Isaiah 64:6 says, \u201cAll of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.\u201d Our most righteous acts are polluted like <\/i><\/span> filthy rags before a Holy God. Sometimes I’ll ask someone, What makes you think you’re good enough? They’ll say, Well, I’ve never killed anyone. Like that’s the standard answer, right? You know what Jesus said about murder. It’s in a passage in the bible that’s called \u201cThe Sermon on the Mount.\u201d He said, \u201cYou’ve heard it said thou shalt not kill. But I say, if you’ve called your brother Racca, (which is Aramaic for empty head,) you’ve committed murder in your heart. You’ve heard it said, \u201cThou shall not commit adultery. But I say if a man has looked after a woman with lust in his heart, he has committed adultery.\u201d What we find, if we look at the attitude that proceeds the action, is that all of us have broken all Ten <\/i><\/span> Commandments and then some. We’ve all fallen short. Our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we have thought that was the way. But here, he’s saying, Christ is the way. He’s the end of the law for righteousness to everyone. He spent a whole chapter, chapter nine, saying it was God’s election, God’s choice. God’s sovereignty. Now, he begins Chapter 10 by saying, No, it’s your response. Everyone is able to He uses the word, \u201cbeliefs,\u201d here, which means to trust in, to make a commitment to. Faith, in the Greek, is a noun. Faith is a noun and believe is a verb, but in the Greek, it’s the same word. Faith is in the same form, whether it’s a noun or a verb. So to \u201cfaith\u201d in Jesus, to believe in Jesus, is the way of <\/i><\/span> righteousness. God’s eternal purpose has always been this.

\nIt says in Ephesians 3:11-12 (NET) 11 \u201cThis was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access to God by way of Christ\u2019s faithfulness.\u201d Jesus is the only one Who took the test of life and made an A+ with extra credit. He kept the whole law perfectly in our place. And then, on the cross, He took my grade, he took my F- and offered me His A+. He’s the one Who paid for it all. He’s the only one who accomplished it. He offers that in my place and in your place. To receive the righteousness of God is to receive the righteousness of Christ, accredited to you by believing in Him.

\nNow, \u201cdo it yourself\u201d projects are all the rage these days, especially since Covid. If you can get lumber, it is triple or quadruple the price. It still seems to <\/i><\/span> be catching up. People are learning that with \u201cDo it yourself\u201d projects, you can go on youtube and accomplish almost anything yourself . But some things are best left to experts.

\nEarlier this year, in January, I had my left knee replaced and then in June, my right knee replaced. I did a lot of research. I went on Youtube and watched surgeries being done. I checked around to see how they did it and I noticed that the tools that the orthopedic surgeon uses are not really that different from the ones that a construction guy uses. They use screwdrivers, drills and hammers. There’s a pretty good description of how they do it on Youtube, but may I say to you, it never once crossed my mind to do it myself; nor did it cross my mind to ask any of you to show up and do it for free. No,I was looking for someone who had done it before; an<\/i><\/span> expert, a professional. In fact, I was hoping I could get somebody that had done a couple of hundred of them before and didn’t want him to learn on me because he’d already accomplished it.

\nMay I say to you, this Jesus is the only one who has accomplished your salvation for you. He’s the only one who is able to give you righteousness. The first reason that Jesus is the only way to be saved is because He accomplished it. That’s the truth; that’s what matters. Put your faith into that; into Him. The person of Jesus; He’s accomplished it. As we move from this first reason, I would say to you, this destroys our self sufficiency. It eliminates and brutally destroys and pulls down our pride. We, as humans, have a default for self effort, especially as Americans, right? You know, we’re the \u201cpull up your bootstraps\u201d people, we\u2019re independent, we don’t need anybody else.

\nThe gospel comes to you and says, No; you’re desperately lost and nothing you <\/i><\/span> can do will help you except for one and that’s Jesus, to receive Him and to know Him. The other thought I would go back and circle back to, is in verse one. If you’re a believer today and you’ve received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, do you care about lost people? Do you have a desire for that, for them to know Jesus, and, having that attitude, is it followed by prayer? Are you praying for people to come to Jesus? So that’s our first reason. It’s because Christ alone has accomplished it. Here’s the second:

\n2. Because Christ alone has made it available to us.

\nWe’ve covered the first four verses. Now, let’s take on verses 5 to 8. In verses 5 to 8, Paul uses the Torah, which is Hebrew for law. He goes back to Moses, the giver of the law, and he begins to make a case. Remember, he’s trying to win the Jews primarily here in this segment of the letter, but he’s also talking to us. He’s <\/i><\/span> making the case all the way back there that the word is near. You don’t have to do anything to get it. It’s right here; it’s already been revealed. He starts quoting from Leviticus 18:5, which says that the law displays righteousness, but doesn\u2019t empower us to live it. Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandment shall live by them. He begins by quoting Leviticus, saying that if you can do all of the commandments, you’ll live. He keeps quoting Moses in verse six.

\nHe quotes from Deuteronomy 30:12-14. In that section, Moses gave his last words before the Jews went into the Promised Land. Moses sinned against God and God said, I’m not going to let you go into the Promised Land. I will let you look at it, but you don\u2019t get <\/i><\/span> to go in. Moses goes up on Mount Nebo.

\nMount Nebo is in modern day Jordan. If you go to the country of Jordan and you go up on Mount Nebo, there’s a church up there and there’s a beautiful overlook where you can see all over the Promised Land, all over Israel. Moses , in chapter 30 of Deuteronomy, is giving his last words to Israel. He says that if you do all that, the law says you’ll be blessed, but if you break the law you’ll be cursed. When you break it, you’re going to remember to come back to the Lord. He’s like letting them know the law; it’s a heavy burden. The word is near. You don’t have to climb up to heaven to get it, nor do you have to go over across the sea to get it or down <\/i><\/span> into the abyss. It\u2019s right here.

\nPaul takes this and applies it to Jesus. The Jew would have understood this, The Jewish hearer of that day would have been okay; he would know what he’s talking about. We can know it too, except now, he changes it up and applies it to Jesus. He said, Don’t say in your heart, you need to do something, like trying to climb up to heaven to get Christ. You don’t have to be a mountain climber or try to build a ladder to heaven, nor do you have to go down into the abyss, which is the place of the dead and dig up Christ to find him because He’s been raised already. This seems a little obscured, a little crazy. But this is what he’s saying. Very simply, the law says, do something to earn. But Paul says, in order to receive righteousness <\/i><\/span> and salvation through Christ, do nothing. Only believe, because He’s already accomplished it. There’s nothing to do. He’s already done it. Put your faith in it. Put your faith in what He’s already accomplished. Put your faith in His sacrifice on the cross, His resurrection from the dead and that He lives today. This is what you’re doing. You’re putting your faith in that which is already accomplished. How far away is it? It\u2019s very near. You don’t have to climb up to heaven. You don’t have to go down to the abyss. It’s right here.

\nAnd then, in verse eight, it says, \u201cBut what does it say? \u201cThe word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.\u201d You’re only a few words away. You’re only a belief away from placing your faith. It’s right here.

\nNow, the book of Revelation <\/i><\/span> says that Christ is walking among the lamp stands. The lampstands represent the churches. I believe, today, that the spirit of Christ is present in this room. I believe now, at this very moment, that He’s knocking on heart\u2019s doors. He’s stirring you as you’re listening to the word of God and your response is only a word away. You are only a heartbeat away from believing. But yet, some of you will refuse because of the hardness of your heart and because of the pride of your heart. You may say that it can’t be that easy, It is easy for you. It was very difficult for Him. He already accomplished it. Your part is to believe it and to receive it. It’s that close.

\nPaul is using this segment to let us know He’s so close. The Word is so close, it’s available to you; it’s available to all of us. It’s available. And this is what he’s teaching here. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (ESV) <\/i><\/span>\u201dBehold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.\u201d

\nWe tend to want to procrastinate on things like this because, if we make a decision to follow Jesus, we rightly understand this might affect the way we live. It is appropriate to understand that because it will; it will affect the way you think, the way you speak and the way you live. And so, we pause and we think, Well, I’d like to be in charge of my own life a little longer. I’d like to willfully remain agnostic about this a little longer. I’ll just leave the issue open. But, now is the time. Now is the moment that He is near. Now is the day of salvation.

\nPaul chose this passage about Moses, as he sent them into the Promised Land. He says, choose this day whom you will serve. Will you choose to follow the way of life for the way of death? The choice is before you. The gospel of Christ is available and since it’s available and <\/i><\/span> it’s so close, you’re accountable. Since it’s available now you’re accountable because you’ve heard it, you’re no longer agnostic. You’ve heard it. Jesus saves. We don’t like that word, \u201csaves.\u201d It makes us feel weird; it makes us feel like a fanatic, just to say saved. It makes us feel like that. We want to be \u201ccool\u201d Christians, right? But the word, \u201csaved,\u201d is in the first verse of Romans 10, in the thirteenth verse and two more times in the middle. \u201cSaved;\u201d safe from what? Safe from death? Eternal death?

\nRomans 6 23, \u201cFor the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. Our Lord saved us from death, so you can know your eternity. You are saved from judgment. Romans 8:1 says, \u201cThere is therefore now no condemnation for those <\/i><\/span> who are in Christ Jesus.\u201d There is no condemnation, no condemnation because He took it on the cross in your place. He was condemned so that you might be justified. Then finally, here’s the third reason:

\n3. Because Christ alone is Lord of all.

\nChrist alone is Lord of all. He is supreme. We are in verses nine through thirteen of our study today. You will see that the word, \u201cLord,\u201d is repeated many times, but, significantly, you’ll see it in verse twelve. Verse twelve says, \u201cFor the same Lord is Lord of all.\u201d And so, we see in verse nine and you’ll hear me say this nearly every Sunday at the end of every sermon. 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. \u201dIf you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.\u201d

\nThe word, \u201cconfess,\u201d in the Greek, is homologe\u014d. It means to say the same <\/i><\/span> thing. \u201cHomo\u201d means the same and \u201cloge\u014d\u201d has to do with word, to say the same word or agree with, to agree with the statement, to agree with it with your mouth because that’s how you speak, right? We speak with our mouths. Jesus is my Lord. This is making a decision to bow at the knee of King Jesus and say, You’re not only Lord of all but you are Lord of me. The attitude of sin is this rebellion against that. As long as you are in rebellion against God, you are in rebellion against Jesus as Lord. Making the decision to say Jesus is Lord is saying, I bend the knee of my will. I say the same thing; I agree that Jesus is Lord of my life.

\nAnd then, Paul connects this; he says, in verse 9, \u201cbecause, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.\u201d Trust completely and believe in your heart. The Jews saw that heart as the seat of the will, the intellect and the emotions with all that you are. We are to believe that Christ lives <\/i><\/span> today and that He was raised now. This is not a passive thing. You might say, Well, this is too easy. It requires that you’ve softened your heart; that God has softened your heart along with you being available to it.

\nIf you’ve said, I give my heart now to Jesus above all others, He’s now ruler, master, boss, king and Lord of your life. Not just part of your life, not just the part that you take to church on Sunday, but every aspect of your life, your workplace, your marriage, your parenting, your dating, your friendships, where you go to school, etc. Every aspect of your life now is coming under the Lordship of Jesus. This is the profession of faith.

\n\u201cIf you say, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,\u201d what does the scripture conclude in verse nine? Maybe you’ll be saved if you go to church and get baptized <\/i><\/span>? Is that what it says? No; it says you will be saved. It’s a done deal. There’s nothing for you to do. There’s everything for you to believe.

\nThe human default is a need to do something, but there’s nothing for you to do but believe. There’s one, His name is Jesus. Believe in Him. He’s already accomplished it. He’s made it available for everyone. You are part of everyone right? You’re someone of everyone. Say, I confess, Lord. No, this is not a magic formula. It’s not just the words; it must come from the heart. It’s about placing your faith in Jesus.

\nVerse ten goes right along with verse nine, because it begins to unpack verse nine for us. In verse ten, it says, \u201cFor with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.\u201d Remember what the heart symbolizes? It symbolizes the seat of the will<\/i><\/span>. It\u2019s the place that says, \u201cI will do something.\u201d

\nI’ve characterized it like this when I made a decision to marry my wife, Robin. I, first, felt emotion. My heart went \u201cpitter patter\u201d when she walked in the room. Intellectually, I began to see that we were compatible, but that didn’t make us married. We weren’t married until on June 2, 1979, both of us stood before God and the church and both said, \u201cI do,\u201d which is an act of the will. It was a tripartite from the heart; a decision that made us married intellectually, emotionally and, as an act of the will from the heart, we said, \u201cI do.\u201d

\nAnd so, Paul says, \u201cfrom the heart, you believe.\u201d It’s all of those together. You say, \u201cI do,\u201d to Jesus. You say, \u201cI do. You’re my Lord. I believe in You.\u201d So, for with the heart, one believes and is justified.

\nWhat does \u201cjustified\u201d mean? Some have <\/i><\/span> described it as \u201cjust as if I never sinned.\u201d It means made righteous, made right with God. So if I believe in Jesus, His righteousness from His account, which is unlimited, is given to my account, which He paid for on the cross. And so now, His righteousness is now accounted for under me. Believing in Him, I’m justified, I’m made righteous. And then, he says in verse ten, he says, \u201cand with the mouth.\u201d Well, that makes sense because you speak with your mouth. WIth the mouth, one confesses and is saved. Have you ever done that? You can do it, you can do it right now. There’s nothing stopping you. The Lord is near; the words are available.

\nAnd then, he goes on, 11 \u201cFor the Scripture says, \u201cEveryone who believes in him will not be put to shame.\u201d He’s quoting Isaiah here again. He quoted him in chapter nine. This is Isaiah 28:16 again, \u201cfor the scripture says everyone who believes.\u201d Paul keeps keeps <\/i><\/span> saying \u201ceveryone\u201d in chapter ten. In chapter nine, he kept saying that God chooses. In chapter 10, he keeps saying \u201ceveryone,\u201d which means we have a say so, too. That’s that tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. How do you solve that? You can\u2019t solve it on this side of heaven, no one on this side of heaven is going to solve it. \u201cEveryone who believes in Him (Who is him? Jesus.) will not be put to shame for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. He’s saying this to the Jews, especially right now. You don’t have a special way through the law. That was never the purpose of the law. The purpose of the law was to show you that you need a Savior. The purpose of the law was to point you to Jesus. That was at the end of the telescope. It always pointed to Jesus. He’s the end of it,. He is the fulfillment of it. There’s only one way. There’s not a special way for Jews and <\/i><\/span> another way for Gentiles. He says that there’s no distinction; all are the same. The Lord is Lord of all; He bestows riches on all who call on Him.

\nPaul is not giving up on this.12 \u201cFor 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. 13 For \u201ceveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.\u201d What’s the name?

\nPeter, when he stood before the Jewish elders after they had beaten him and imprisoned him for healing a crippled man in the temple, stood before them boldly and said, Acts 4:11-12 (ESV) 11 :This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.\u201d

\nDo you have trouble remembering passwords? I hate passwords. Everybody wants a password now. Do you know what <\/i><\/span> the number one most common password is? It\u2019s PASSWORD. Did you know that heaven has a password. Heaven has a password. Do you know what that password is? If you’re an Arabic speaker it’s \u201cisa al masih,\u201d Jesus the Messiah. If you are a Hebrew speaker, it’s \u201cYahshua,\u201d God’s salvation in Hebrew. If you’re Hispanic, you would say, \u201cJes\u00fas.\u201d If you’re an English speaker like I am, it is \u201cJesus.\u201d Jesus is the password for heaven. There is no other name. He is Lord of all. If you know the Lord, then you’re good. If you don’t know the Lord, then you’ve chosen your own way. Confessing He is Lord of all, we recognize His sovereignty over our personal lives.

\nWill you decide today to recognize that <\/i><\/span> Jesus has accomplished all that is necessary for your salvation? There’s nothing for you to do. There’s only Someone to believe. It’s this close. You can’t say that you’re agnostic about this now. You’ll have to choose not to know because you’ve heard the gospel. Now, if you’ve heard it, you know it’s available now. It’s a choice and everyone has this choice. Here’s what God wants to know, What did you do with Jesus? What did you do with Him? Let’s pray.

\nLord Jesus, I know that You’re here, in Your spirit right now, in our midst. You’re knocking on heart\u2019s doors. You’re disturbing people’s comfort at this moment. There\u2019s a holy moment taking place, where people are deciding whether to follow You or not. Some will leave here and say \u201cno. Their hearts will harden. Every time you say, \u201cno,\u201d it’s another callus on your heart. Some are going to say \u201cyes.\u201d You’re going <\/i><\/span> to say \u201cyes\u201d to Jesus. You can do it right now. Pray with me, Dear Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner. I need a Savior. I believe You died on the cross for my sins and that You were raised from the grave and You live today. Come and live in me. I want You to be the Lord of my life. I want to be a child of God. If you prayed that prayer of faith, believing, He will save you and make you a child of God and live in you. He will take care and keep you. Others are here, and you know Jesus, you’ve been following Him for some time. Would you let that reality so invigorate you and give you such zeal for people that are far from God that you would be like Paul, that you would desire, with a deep desire, to see people come to Jesus. Lord, help us to care, but more than that, teach us to pray for them and to proclaim to them the <\/i><\/span> truth that Jesus saves. In Jesus\u2019 name, we pray. Amen. \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How have you responded to God\u2019s plan for our salvation, for making us right with Him? Many of us are like the Jews of Paul\u2019s day. We believe that we can be good enough to please God. You can knock on most doors in this city and ask people to answer, \u201cIf you died today and stood before a holy God and He asked, \u2018Why should I let you into My heaven?\u2019 What would you say?\u201d Most will answer, \u201cI tried to be a good person.\u201d They think they can climb into heaven by their own self-effort, their own \u201ctrying to be good.\u201d Or they think it\u2019s by be religious: \u201cI go to church\/synagogue\/mosque.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, the Bible teaches that we can only receive God\u2019s salvation through faith in Christ alone. However, even this triggers our flesh. We hate being told there is only one way to do a thing. In chapter 10 of Paul\u2019s letter to the Romans, he explained why Israel had failed to receive God\u2019s salvation because they had sought to establish their own by keeping the law, rather than placing their faith in Christ alone. We can see why God\u2019s salvation can only be received through faith in Christ alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7186,"template":"","tags":[2019],"series":[2676],"scripture-book":[1312],"scripture-chapter":[1343],"speaker":[2007],"class_list":["post-10000","message","type-message","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-exposition","series-righteousness-revealed","scripture-book-romans","scripture-chapter-1343","speaker-gary-combs"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/10000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/message"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/10000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10000"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=10000"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=10000"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=10000"},{"taxonomy":"speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speaker?post=10000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}