Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Righteousness Is a Five-Letter Word, Part 2
Transcript
- 0:08Speaker 1: Have you ever walked past a park bench with a
- 0:10Speaker 1: wet paint sign on it and wanted to run your
- 0:13Speaker 1: finger across it? Well, today on Insight for Living, Chuck
- 0:17Speaker 1: Swindoll exposes the uncomfortable fact we're all rule breakers at heart.
- 0:22Speaker 1: Whether it's pushing the speed limit or flirting with boundaries,
- 0:25Speaker 1: something inside us whispers, you can't tell me what to do.
- 0:29Speaker 1: Sinfulness saturates the human condition. Yet here's the scandalous truth.
- 0:34Speaker 1: God knows exactly who we are and loves us anyway.
- 0:39Speaker 1: Teaching from Romans chapter 4, Chuck titled today's message, Righteousness
- 0:43Speaker 1: is a Five-Letter Word.
- 0:52Speaker 2: The Lord Jesus Christ came to live and to die.
- 0:56Speaker 2: And when he died, he paid the complete penalty for
- 0:59Speaker 2: the sins that you and I have committed. Past, present,
- 1:03Speaker 2: and future, paid for them all. Paid them in full.
- 1:08Speaker 2: So that a holy God would be satisfied that there
- 1:12Speaker 2: had been a payment for sin. It is only just
- 1:14Speaker 2: that that happened. And now the Lord God says to us,
- 1:19Speaker 2: I offer you salvation. Christ having paid the penalty, I
- 1:25Speaker 2: offer you the gift of salvation. Believe it. Accept it.
- 1:30Speaker 2: Just like Abram trusted me. You trust me for this. Now,
- 1:36Speaker 2: as if that isn't enough, Paul goes further. He's been
- 1:39Speaker 2: known to do that too. So he goes back to
- 1:42Speaker 2: something else that's familiar, and that's something altogether different from
- 1:45Speaker 2: Abram standing under the stars. This illustration is an illustration
- 1:49Speaker 2: of a paycheck. Verse 4 says, He goes into that one.
- 1:54Speaker 2: Now to the one who works, his wage is not
- 1:57Speaker 2: credited as a favor, but as what is due. By
- 2:01Speaker 2: the way, credited means credited to his account. It's a
- 2:05Speaker 2: financial term for adding to the ledger when nothing is there.
- 2:09Speaker 2: Bankrupt and now it's credited to your account. Now in
- 2:13Speaker 2: this case, we've got a person who has a job.
- 2:16Speaker 2: At the end of the pay period, he picks up
- 2:18Speaker 2: his check or she picks up her check. And the
- 2:20Speaker 2: employer has a responsibility to pay you your wage. You
- 2:25Speaker 2: take that wage and you have it now as your
- 2:29Speaker 2: own because you earned it. I've never seen anyone at
- 2:33Speaker 2: payday say, thank you. Thank you for the gift. How
- 2:40Speaker 2: gracious of you as my boss to just give me
- 2:44Speaker 2: a check. Don't do that. Say thanks. And then you
- 2:50Speaker 2: sign your name, you endorse it, and you deposit it. Why?
- 2:53Speaker 2: Because you earned it. Now, hopefully you're not as arrogant
- 2:56Speaker 2: as I've just illustrated, but you know what I mean.
- 2:59Speaker 2: You've earned that. That's your pay. There's no gift in it. But,
- 3:04Speaker 2: verse 5, to the one who does not work. Isn't
- 3:08Speaker 2: this great? Paul is so logical. To the one who works,
- 3:11Speaker 2: that's verse 4, but to the one who does not work,
- 3:15Speaker 2: that's verse 5, but does what? Believes in him who
- 3:20Speaker 2: justifies the ungodly. His faith is credited as righteousness. Blessed
- 3:29Speaker 2: is the man whose sin the Lord will not take
- 3:33Speaker 2: into account. That's wonderful news. As far as one can imagine,
- 3:39Speaker 2: the sin is removed so that I'm no longer separated
- 3:43Speaker 2: from God by my sinfulness. I'm now connected to God
- 3:46Speaker 2: by faith. And I have the righteousness of Christ to boot.
- 3:53Speaker 2: That's a magnificent thought. But it isn't enough for Paul.
- 3:58Speaker 2: So let's dig deeper. You have got to see how
- 4:01Speaker 2: he approaches this with the right of circumcision. If you're Jewish,
- 4:06Speaker 2: it's a part of life. In fact, the rabbi performs
- 4:10Speaker 2: the circumcision. And not only is it talked about, it
- 4:15Speaker 2: is considered one of the rights of righteousness. You must
- 4:20Speaker 2: be circumcised. It's part of becoming like the Lord. You're
- 4:27Speaker 2: to follow him as he is required. So Paul says, wait, wait, wait, okay.
- 4:32Speaker 2: In light of that, being Jewish, Paul says, let's stay
- 4:35Speaker 2: with Abraham for a moment. He believed God and it
- 4:39Speaker 2: was credited to him for righteousness. Now, Was he circumcised
- 4:44Speaker 2: at the time he believed God? Was that a part
- 4:47Speaker 2: of his salvation? Or was it after the fact? Let's
- 4:52Speaker 2: check that out. Now look at verse 9 through those eyes.
- 4:56Speaker 2: Is this blessing then, the blessing of being justified by faith,
- 5:02Speaker 2: is this blessing then on the circumcised or on the
- 5:06Speaker 2: uncircumcised also? What's he getting at? Is this salvation just
- 5:09Speaker 2: for the Jew? Or would it include the Gentiles? Is
- 5:13Speaker 2: it an offer just for God's chosen people or would
- 5:17Speaker 2: it include those of us who are not Jewish? For
- 5:21Speaker 2: we say faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. How
- 5:26Speaker 2: then was it credited? Let's dig deeper here. Let me ask,
- 5:31Speaker 2: was it while he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised,
- 5:36Speaker 2: but while uncircumcised. That's the answer to his question. He's saying,
- 5:40Speaker 2: before you go check, I want to tell you, Abram
- 5:42Speaker 2: was justified Before he was circumcised not after so circumcision
- 5:47Speaker 2: was not a part of it. It was a follow-up.
- 5:50Speaker 2: It was years afterwards In fact, let's go back and
- 5:54Speaker 2: look let me show you go back to Genesis chapter 16, okay,
- 5:59Speaker 2: then we'll get into 17 Chapter 16 verse I think
- 6:00Speaker 2: it's 16 Yes Abram was 86 years old when Hagar
- 6:16Speaker 2: bore Ishmael to him. Remember the discussion out under the stars?
- 6:21Speaker 2: You're going to have descendants like the stars. Here's a start. Okay,
- 6:25Speaker 2: we've got Abram now at 86. Look at the next verse. Unfortunately,
- 6:29Speaker 2: there's a chapter break, but ignore that. Now we read
- 6:33Speaker 2: in verse 1, when Abram was 99 years old. Okay,
- 6:39Speaker 2: do the math. We suddenly have jumped a bunch of years,
- 6:44Speaker 2: over a dozen years, to get into chapter 17 that
- 6:48Speaker 2: the Lord appears to Abram and talks to him again.
- 6:52Speaker 2: I'll save time by telling you he describes to him
- 6:54Speaker 2: in this chapter the importance of bearing the mark of righteousness.
- 6:59Speaker 2: I want people to know that you are my people.
- 7:03Speaker 2: And so I'm going to establish the right, R-I-T-E, the
- 7:06Speaker 2: right of circumcision. Brand new thing to Abram. He's 99
- 7:12Speaker 2: years old. His son is 13 years old. Look at
- 7:20Speaker 2: verse 24. 17, 24. Now Abraham was 99 years old
- 7:25Speaker 2: when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
- 7:29Speaker 2: And Ishmael, his son, was 13 years old when he was.
- 7:33Speaker 2: The same, very same day Abraham was circumcised, Ishmael, his son, circumcised.
- 7:39Speaker 2: If that's not good enough, All of those in his household,
- 7:43Speaker 2: born in the house, were circumcised with him. Abraham said,
- 7:47Speaker 2: I'm going to take this seriously. I have been a
- 7:51Speaker 2: friend of God all these years. And if God says
- 7:54Speaker 2: that's necessary as a part of obedience, then I will
- 7:57Speaker 2: follow through. It has nothing to do with his being
- 7:59Speaker 2: declared righteous. That was taken care of in chapter 15. Now,
- 8:04Speaker 2: Romans chapter 4. Some of you are getting it. Some
- 8:08Speaker 2: of you are saying, what time is it? Look down
- 8:11Speaker 2: at chapter 4, verse 11. In fact, as it gets
- 8:15Speaker 2: to the subject of circumcised, verse 11, he received the
- 8:19Speaker 2: sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the
- 8:23Speaker 2: faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might
- 8:28Speaker 2: be the father of all who believe without being circumcised
- 8:32Speaker 2: that righteousness might be credited to all of them. See
- 8:36Speaker 2: the word seal? Think of your diploma. Most of us
- 8:40Speaker 2: have at least one, okay? Some of you have a bunch.
- 8:43Speaker 2: You look closely at every diploma that's a valid diploma.
- 8:47Speaker 2: There's not only the diploma itself with your name on
- 8:50Speaker 2: it and all of the high-powered words that relate to
- 8:54Speaker 2: that degree or diploma. There's also a seal with a date. Now,
- 9:00Speaker 2: a piece of paper with just a seal is of
- 9:03Speaker 2: no use. A diploma with no seal is invalid. But
- 9:09Speaker 2: when you put them together, the seal follows the earning
- 9:15Speaker 2: of the degree. It's after the fact. You come to
- 9:20Speaker 2: the end of the course, you have earned your degree,
- 9:23Speaker 2: you now receive the degree with the seal of the school,
- 9:27Speaker 2: the signature of the presidents and others, and it's dated
- 9:31Speaker 2: and it's valid. Baptism follows the act of salvation, the
- 9:36Speaker 2: experience of salvation, the faith of salvation, and it is
- 9:41Speaker 2: not unlike baptism. We are baptized not to be saved,
- 9:46Speaker 2: but as a mark that we are a follower of Christ.
- 9:50Speaker 2: The same thought here in the word seal. It is
- 9:53Speaker 2: a seal of the right. It is a mark. It
- 9:56Speaker 2: is a statement of the righteousness of the faith, which
- 9:59Speaker 2: has been credited. to him. Verse 12, he goes further,
- 10:03Speaker 2: the father of circumcision to those who not only are
- 10:06Speaker 2: of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps
- 10:09Speaker 2: of the faith of our father Abraham, which he had
- 10:12Speaker 2: while uncircumcised. He says it yet again. He is driving
- 10:16Speaker 2: the point home. Why?
- 10:17Speaker 1: Why?
- 10:18Speaker 2: Because truth to be learned is to be learned from
- 10:20Speaker 2: truth already known. Abraham, Abraham's circumcision, every reader, Jewish reader
- 10:26Speaker 2: that was knowledgeable of the truth would understand that. He
- 10:29Speaker 2: would just have one more hang-up. What about the law?
- 10:33Speaker 2: I've been taught all my life that it's the law
- 10:36Speaker 2: that I'm to keep. Next verse. While recovering these grounds,
- 10:41Speaker 2: Paul says, let me go one step further. For the
- 10:43Speaker 2: promise to Abraham... or to his descendants, that he would
- 10:47Speaker 2: be heir of the world was not through the law,
- 10:52Speaker 2: but through the righteousness of faith. Righteousness is really a
- 10:55Speaker 2: five-letter word. It is a faith matter, and it does
- 10:59Speaker 2: not come from the law. Then why have we had
- 11:02Speaker 2: the law preserved? What is it about the law that
- 11:07Speaker 2: is so helpful? Look at verse 15. The law brings
- 11:11Speaker 2: about wrath. But where there is no law, there is
- 11:17Speaker 2: no violation. So let's go back. Let's go back to
- 11:24Speaker 2: truth already known. When we were lost, when we were
- 11:29Speaker 2: without Christ, we lived a life pleasing ourselves, self-centered, self-occupied, self-fulfilled,
- 11:38Speaker 2: all of it was about ourselves. In that situation, we
- 11:42Speaker 2: were distant from God, And we lived our life in
- 11:45Speaker 2: what was called a life of depravity. Until we came
- 11:49Speaker 2: to Christ and the light came. But the law helped
- 11:53Speaker 2: us realize how sinful we are. It's thou shalt not
- 12:00Speaker 2: and thou shalt and thou shalt not and thou shalt.
- 12:02Speaker 2: All said to us, this is a requirement. This is written.
- 12:05Speaker 2: This is required of you. Do it. And we couldn't
- 12:08Speaker 2: do it. The violation told us in our hearts we
- 12:14Speaker 2: are doing wrong. It served its purpose. It's like a
- 12:17Speaker 2: tutor that brought us to the cross. Illustrations needed. When
- 12:24Speaker 2: I was a kid, I threw a paper route in Houston,
- 12:27Speaker 2: and my paper happened to be the Houston Press, which
- 12:30Speaker 2: was delivered in the afternoon. I don't think any longer
- 12:33Speaker 2: they have the press, but back then it was a
- 12:36Speaker 2: fairly well-read paper that came in the afternoon, and I'd
- 12:40Speaker 2: pack those papers all rolled up in the canvas bags
- 12:42Speaker 2: on my bicycle, and I would ride through the neighborhood,
- 12:46Speaker 2: and I would throw those papers. I knew that route
- 12:49Speaker 2: virtually by heart, but by the time I finished, I
- 12:51Speaker 2: had 136 on my route. By the time I finished
- 12:54Speaker 2: that last paper, I was hustling to get home, and
- 12:58Speaker 2: I got to this lot, which was across the street
- 13:00Speaker 2: from my home, owned by Mr. Roberts.
- 13:03Speaker 1: Mr.
- 13:03Speaker 2: And Ms. Roberts bought their home on this lot, but
- 13:06Speaker 2: they also bought this part of the lot, and they
- 13:09Speaker 2: didn't build anything on it. They just grew grass and
- 13:13Speaker 2: beautiful flowers and other things. Well, when you come home
- 13:16Speaker 2: on the sidewalk, that's a long way to go, to
- 13:20Speaker 2: go around that lot every time, especially since we live
- 13:24Speaker 2: right here across the street from it. So I just
- 13:26Speaker 2: cut across the lawn, just grass. I didn't You know,
- 13:31Speaker 2: ride over dogs or tear up flowers. In fact, I
- 13:35Speaker 2: had my own little path after a while. My own
- 13:38Speaker 2: little bike path right along here. And every once in
- 13:42Speaker 2: a while I'd think, I wonder what Mr. Roberts thinks
- 13:45Speaker 2: about this. And I'd pass it off. He's a great neighbor.
- 13:49Speaker 2: He loves our family. He's fine. Until one day, out
- 13:54Speaker 2: there on my path is a little sign. Which, what
- 13:58Speaker 2: did it say? Keep Off the grass. And I thought,
- 14:03Speaker 2: that means for everybody but paper boys. You know, he's
- 14:08Speaker 2: not going to keep me off his grass. I mean,
- 14:10Speaker 2: we're friends. Me and my dad are good buddies. And
- 14:12Speaker 2: so I kept coming. And about two days later, handwritten,
- 14:16Speaker 2: kind of tacky, but in large print, this means you.
- 14:20Speaker 2: And I'm thinking, not me. No, I knew it meant me.
- 14:31Speaker 2: And I kept doing it. You know, I wish I
- 14:34Speaker 2: could say, and so I stopped. You know, I have
- 14:38Speaker 2: to tell you, it made me want to do it
- 14:41Speaker 2: more than ever. It is my path. I started this.
- 14:49Speaker 2: Just grass. Then he talked to my father, and I
- 14:54Speaker 2: stopped doing it. I just changed my mind in a
- 14:58Speaker 2: number of ways. I'll give you a better one than that.
- 15:04Speaker 2: Years ago, when I was growing up in Houston, down
- 15:06Speaker 2: at Galveston, they built the first high-rise hotel that I
- 15:09Speaker 2: can remember. I think it's a Galvez. It might have
- 15:12Speaker 2: been the flagship hotel. I forget which one, but it
- 15:15Speaker 2: was multi-story, like 14 stories above the Gulf, right there.
- 15:20Speaker 2: I mean, when you go up and you stayed in
- 15:22Speaker 2: one of those upper areas, I'm told we never were there,
- 15:26Speaker 2: but I was told that it was really lush, you know,
- 15:29Speaker 2: and there was a balcony. Well, People would go up
- 15:34Speaker 2: and stay there, and then they would get their rod
- 15:37Speaker 2: and reel. Had big sinkers on their line. It would
- 15:44Speaker 2: go all the way down. And then they'd catch redfish
- 15:47Speaker 2: and flounder and trout and all kinds of stuff from
- 15:50Speaker 2: the Gulf. The only problem was there was a dining
- 15:53Speaker 2: room at water level that had big plate glass windows.
- 15:59Speaker 2: Very expensive. 360 degrees. around this dining room. And these
- 16:04Speaker 2: sinkers would come swinging down in the wind and it'd
- 16:09Speaker 2: break the windows. And the people around the hotel thought,
- 16:13Speaker 2: what are we going to do? How can we keep
- 16:16Speaker 2: people from fishing? And one of the managers said, I
- 16:20Speaker 2: got an idea. And it worked. He said, let's take
- 16:23Speaker 2: out the sign in every room that says, absolutely no
- 16:27Speaker 2: fishing from the balcony. Nobody ever fished again once the
- 16:33Speaker 2: sign was taken out. Because the sign says, what a
- 16:36Speaker 2: great idea. So they'd take their pole all apart and
- 16:41Speaker 2: stick it under their arm and go in there with
- 16:43Speaker 2: their rod and reel and put it all together. But
- 16:45Speaker 2: the sign, who cares? It's like wet paint. Don't touch.
- 16:49Speaker 2: You've touched every one of those places that's wet paint.
- 16:54Speaker 2: Wet paint. I wonder. Oh, it is wet.
- 16:56Speaker 1: God.
- 16:58Speaker 2: Speed limit 65. Oh, I wouldn't dare go over 65.
- 17:01Speaker 2: There's something exciting about going 70 and then 75. And
- 17:06Speaker 2: the guy's coming around you, so you go, hey, you're
- 17:09Speaker 2: not going to do that to me. Not in this Hummer. Whoa,
- 17:13Speaker 2: you catch him up. But the sign, you know what
- 17:17Speaker 2: it says? It says I'm a violator. That's what it says.
- 17:21Speaker 2: It says down deep inside me, there is something that
- 17:25Speaker 2: says when I read that, I just have to do it.
- 17:30Speaker 2: And the law did that for us. When it revealed
- 17:35Speaker 2: the kind of guy I really am. And then Jesus
- 17:39Speaker 2: talks about how those who were sinful can't have a
- 17:43Speaker 2: relationship with his father. I don't need any convincing. I
- 17:47Speaker 2: don't need Mr. Roberts to tell me I was wrong
- 17:49Speaker 2: to cut across his lawn. I don't need some manager
- 17:53Speaker 2: to tell me not to fish from the balcony. I'm
- 17:56Speaker 2: smart enough to know that sinker's liable to hit the window.
- 17:59Speaker 2: I just don't care. And if he tells me not
- 18:01Speaker 2: to do it, then it's him and me. I'm going
- 18:04Speaker 2: to win. I'm going to show him that great big
- 18:07Speaker 2: fish I caught when I get back. Why? Because I'm
- 18:10Speaker 2: a sinner. And we act like we're not. When I
- 18:16Speaker 2: was in high school, I got voted junior Rotarian of
- 18:21Speaker 2: the month. That was before I rode the motorcycle down Ms.
- 18:26Speaker 2: Strachner's English class, right down the middle of the thing.
- 18:29Speaker 2: And And they took that away from me. They said,
- 18:31Speaker 2: you shouldn't be Rotarian of the Year. Lupe Lopez and
- 18:34Speaker 2: I did that, but after three days of being expelled,
- 18:37Speaker 2: which my folks never knew about, right now, my mother
- 18:41Speaker 2: is hearing about this. I know. And I'm hearing her say,
- 18:45Speaker 2: I'm so disappointed in you. I know. That's what's going on.
- 18:49Speaker 2: I was a Junior Rotarian of the Year. I was
- 18:51Speaker 2: a klutz. But I knew how to fake it. I
- 18:56Speaker 2: knew how to look good. I'm not good. Neither are you.
- 19:02Speaker 2: Quit looking at me like that. And that's why the
- 19:10Speaker 2: offer is so astounding. He would die for people like us.
- 19:15Speaker 2: Who not only would do wrong, but would take delight
- 19:19Speaker 2: in doing it. While we were yet sinning, Christ died.
- 19:27Speaker 2: Is there any reason it's called grace? Absolutely. It's what
- 19:32Speaker 2: God does for us which we don't deserve, can never
- 19:35Speaker 2: earn or repay. It's his favor. Will you get it
- 19:40Speaker 2: straight in your mind? Will you understand it? Will you
- 19:42Speaker 2: revel in it? This dear lady that left our service
- 19:45Speaker 2: still just kind of shaking her head is still trying
- 19:47Speaker 2: to believe that salvation could be a gift and she
- 19:49Speaker 2: could not lose it. She's still trying to tell herself
- 19:52Speaker 2: because her religion has told her all of her life,
- 19:55Speaker 2: you've got to keep doing it. So I said to
- 19:57Speaker 2: her before she left, just tell me when you've done
- 19:59Speaker 2: enough that you've earned it. Come see me. She said,
- 20:04Speaker 2: all my life I can't do enough. I said, I mean,
- 20:08Speaker 2: that's it. That's why it makes sense. You know what
- 20:12Speaker 2: I can do? I can take a gift. And I
- 20:15Speaker 2: can praise my God for the gift. And I can
- 20:17Speaker 2: live my life for his glory. Now that I'm empowered
- 20:20Speaker 2: to do it, though I won't always do that. Sometime
- 20:23Speaker 2: I'll presume on his grace. But still grace. And he
- 20:27Speaker 2: never wipes me out. Because he's a gracious God. Oh,
- 20:31Speaker 2: if I go too far and too long, he'll discipline me.
- 20:35Speaker 2: He'll deal with me like my daddy dealt with me
- 20:37Speaker 2: and help me not cut a corner. Over Mr. Roberts' lawn.
- 20:43Speaker 2: Back in the 19th century, Horatio Bonar put it like this.
- 20:46Speaker 2: Not what these hands have done can save this guilty soul.
- 20:51Speaker 2: Not what this toiling flesh has borne can make my
- 20:53Speaker 2: spirit whole. Not what I feel or do can give
- 20:57Speaker 2: me peace with God. Not all my prayers and sighs
- 21:02Speaker 2: and tears can bear my awful load. Thy work alone,
- 21:07Speaker 2: O Christ, can ease this weight of sin. Thy blood alone,
- 21:10Speaker 2: O Lamb of God, can give me peace within. Thy
- 21:13Speaker 2: grace alone, O God, to me can pardon speak. Thy
- 21:17Speaker 2: power alone, O Son of God, can this sore bondage break.
- 21:23Speaker 2: I bless the Christ of God. I rest on love divine.
- 21:27Speaker 2: And with unfaltering lip and heart, I call this Savior.
- 21:35Speaker 2: I want us all to sit before the Lord for
- 21:38Speaker 2: a few moments. Just bow your head. I know that
- 21:42Speaker 2: my words reach into ears that are hearing something for
- 21:46Speaker 2: the first time. Most of you, it's familiar information. But
- 21:52Speaker 2: for some, it's brand new truth. That Christ would pay
- 21:56Speaker 2: the penalty that I should have paid. I should have died.
- 22:01Speaker 2: I deserve hell and so do you. Christ took the
- 22:06Speaker 2: hell that I deserved and paid that price in full
- 22:11Speaker 2: so that without my having to work my way in, God,
- 22:15Speaker 2: in grace, could invite me into his family. If you've
- 22:21Speaker 2: never met the Savior, what in the world are you
- 22:24Speaker 2: waiting for? This is the moment. You will be declared
- 22:30Speaker 2: righteous the moment you believe. We don't need to sing
- 22:34Speaker 2: to you. We don't need to ask you to demonstrate
- 22:36Speaker 2: what you're doing in front of everybody else. We don't
- 22:38Speaker 2: need to have you sacrifice or promise to come to
- 22:41Speaker 2: church for a year or to give up your sins
- 22:43Speaker 2: or somehow clean up your life. You couldn't do that
- 22:46Speaker 2: if you tried. Remember, you're sinful, but you can believe it.
- 22:53Speaker 2: Please believe it. If there's any way we can help
- 22:56Speaker 2: you in the process of growing now that you've believed it,
- 22:59Speaker 2: that's why we're here. Or maybe you need help in
- 23:03Speaker 2: just leaning with this kind of faith on the one
- 23:06Speaker 2: who gives you this promise that seems as impossible as
- 23:09Speaker 2: Abram hearing about his sons and daughters being as many
- 23:13Speaker 2: as the stars in the sky. But it's true, and
- 23:18Speaker 2: it's yours to claim. Father, on this cold Sunday afternoon,
- 23:26Speaker 2: we pause to thank you for the warmth of your
- 23:28Speaker 2: relationship with us through Christ. Thank you for never distancing
- 23:32Speaker 2: yourself from us, no matter how fast we've driven, how
- 23:36Speaker 2: far we've run, how often we've disobeyed. Thank you for
- 23:42Speaker 2: your grace that's sufficient beyond what we will ever imagine,
- 23:48Speaker 2: ever be able to earn. So we'll stop trying and
- 23:53Speaker 2: we'll start obeying. We'll just love you and believe you
- 23:57Speaker 2: and leave our salvation at the cross. Pray for those
- 24:02Speaker 2: who've never met your son as their savior, that you
- 24:05Speaker 2: will hold them accountable. Keep them awake at night. Make
- 24:10Speaker 2: them restless within. Stir within them hunger and heart for
- 24:16Speaker 2: spiritual things and bring them to your son, Jesus. It
- 24:21Speaker 2: is in his name we all pray. Everybody said amen.
- 24:26Speaker 1: Amen. Chuck Swindoll titled today's message, Righteousness is a Five-Letter Word.
- 24:40Speaker 1: And that word, of course, is faith. F-A-I-T-H. If you're
- 24:45Speaker 1: ready to learn more about Paul's letter to the Romans,
- 24:48Speaker 1: Insight for Living has assembled an excellent collection of study
- 24:51Speaker 1: tools for this series. The first is from our Searching
- 24:54Speaker 1: the Scriptures Bible Studies series. This is a spiral-bound Bible
- 24:58Speaker 1: study workbook that comes in two volumes, and Volume 1
- 25:01Speaker 1: is available now. The bundle also includes Chuck's entire commentary
- 25:05Speaker 1: on Romans from the Living Insights Commentary Collection. And finally,
- 25:10Speaker 1: it includes audio messages from every single sermon in Chuck's
- 25:13Speaker 1: teaching series on Romans. To check out this special bundle
- 25:17Speaker 1: of resources on Romans, just go to insight.org slash offer,
- 25:22Speaker 1: or call us at 800- 772-8888. But that's not all.
- 25:28Speaker 1: If you're looking for a new book for the fall
- 25:30Speaker 1: and something that fills your mind with soul-satisfying truth, we
- 25:34Speaker 1: highly recommend a brand new book from Chuck Swindoll. It's
- 25:37Speaker 1: called Looking in All the Right Directions. This book, available
- 25:42Speaker 1: only through Insight for Living, features the final five sermons
- 25:45Speaker 1: Chuck delivered last year to the congregation that he shepherded
- 25:49Speaker 1: for more than 25 years. In these emotion-filled messages, Chuck
- 25:53Speaker 1: shares his heart on matters common to all of us,
- 25:56Speaker 1: getting through seasons of unwanted hardship, standing firm for the
- 26:00Speaker 1: truth in a world that rejects the truth, and using
- 26:03Speaker 1: your God-given gifts to bring meaning and purpose to your life.
- 26:07Speaker 1: To purchase a copy of Looking in All the Right
- 26:09Speaker 1: Directions by Chuck Swindoll, call us at 800-772-8888 or go
- 26:12Speaker 1: to insight.org slash offer. Finally, if you'd like to write
- 26:20Speaker 1: to us with comments or questions or to make a
- 26:23Speaker 1: contribution to support Insight for Living, here's our address. It's
- 26:27Speaker 1: Insight for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034.
- 26:35Speaker 1: That's Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034. Your gift
- 26:42Speaker 1: will empower us to provide these programs so men and
- 26:45Speaker 1: women all around the world will hear about God's amazing grace.
- 26:56Speaker 2: I'm Bill Meyer.
- 26:57Speaker 1: Join us when Chuck Swindoll describes The Man Who Hoped
- 27:00Speaker 1: Against Hope, Tuesday on Insight for Living. The preceding message,
- 27:08Speaker 1: Righteousness is a Five-Letter Word, was copyrighted in 2007, 2010,
- 27:11Speaker 1: and 2025, and the sound recording was copyrighted.
- 27:13Speaker 2: In 2025 by Charles R.
- 27:13Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted
- 27:24Speaker 1: material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.