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7.30.23 Romans 9:30-10:4 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  well romans chapter 9 and verse 30 if you're able to stand in honor of god's word allow me to read our text romans 9 30 through chapter 10 and verse 4 the word of god says what shall we say then that gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it that is a righteousness that is by faith but that israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law why because they did not pursue it by faith but as if it were based on works they've stumbled
• 0:30
  And Lord,
• 1:01
  We open your word in anticipation of what your spirit will do through its preaching. Lord Jesus, you are our strength, our shelter, and the rock of our salvation. And it's in your name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, church. Well, two Sundays ago, we discussed the importance of getting our questions answered. We were warned in chapter 9 about the danger of soul-festering objections.
• 1:27
  We said that it is natural to question. I would even argue that it's good to question. I would say that God welcomes our questions. He challenges us to hit Him with our best shot. He confronts our objections head on. We concluded that God is just because He is the standard for justice and that when we question the sovereign will of God, we are really just putting on display our own ignorance. We are forced to admit that we don't actually know as much as we claim. God is not the one who makes wicked men wicked.
• 1:56
  His hardening does not, therefore, change the spiritual condition of dead humanity. When God chooses to save some by breathing spiritual life into them, He is granting them a blessing which none of them deserve. And on the flip side, when He destines the rest to wrath, He is sentencing them to the fate that they chose for themselves. We determine that we are not born spiritually neutral.
• 2:21
  The Lord, as our manufacturer, reserves the right to determine our use. And if you were here two Sundays ago, you may remember this illustration that He, in His sovereign will, has chosen some for noble use, like porcelain dolls. And He has chosen some for ignoble use, like what? Porcelain toilets, right? Well, who gets to determine the use of each? The manufacturer does. And God, as our manufacturer, determines.
• 2:49
  our use allow me to introduce this morning's text by asking a question does anything in life not make sense of course it does there are all kinds of things that make absolutely no sense i'm completely baffled by salmon migration i see it every year on discovery channel those salmon who are born in those rivers and then go out to the pacific ocean and they swim around for 10 years
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  thousands of miles and then work their way back to the same exact riverbed that where they respond how does that work how i don't know celestial navigation there's another one how is it that ancient mariners found their way to new shores using only the store stars and then found their way home especially considering i can't find the nearest coffee shop without my cell phone how
• 3:42
  Maybe it's something like Bernoulli's principle. How do airplanes stay airborne? Thrust and lift and all of those things. I'll tell you another one that makes no sense to me at all. Hallie flew to Dallas last week to go wedding dress shopping with Grace, our future daughter-in-law. TSA confiscated Hallie's shampoo because of shampoo's clear ties to terrorism, no doubt. Behind Hallie in line was a woman holding a rabbit.
• 4:13
  An actual rabbit, not a stuffed animal, not a stuffed rabbit, an actual rabbit. And it was one of those big ones, like a two-hander, not a small one.
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  She's standing in the TSA line holding this rabbit as they're taking Hallie's shampoo away. This woman's holding a rabbit. And of course, Hallie wondered what they would say as she got nearer. The TSA employee asked, ma'am, is that a rabbit? Yes, she replied, but it's okay. I'll keep it in my purse. She opened up her purse, dropped it in the bag and closed it. And the guy said, come on through. Like, wait, what? On the flight, excuse me, on the flight home.
• 4:50
  Hallie was struck by the number of dogs that were on the airplane. Four, she counted, at least four. She asked one of the flight attendants about it. Just asking a hypothetical question, she said, my son is horribly allergic to dogs, which is true. He was not on that flight, but then she asked him, what if he were on this flight? He is, I mean, really allergic. Can't be in a house with dogs, can't be around dogs, can't touch dogs. She said, I counted four dogs on my way to my seat.
• 5:17
  What if he were on this flight and she said, I'm pretty sure the flight attendant was joking when he replied with, well, we would simply ask your son to get off the plane. Now, I believe this represents an error in our thinking. This is errant doctrine. These types of thinking errors are probably innocent. They pose no existential threat to our souls. But are there more sinister errors which the scriptures warn against? Of course there are. Is there anything more dangerous to your soul?
• 5:51
  than an error in doctrine, which leads to an error in your theology. Let me ask that again. Is there anything more dangerous to your soul than errant doctrine, which leads to errant theology, which warps your view of God and yourself? I would pose that there is not. There are many theological errors being espoused today, both inside and outside of churches.
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  But perhaps the greatest and most dangerous doctrinal error which is prolific in our culture is the belief that sincerity alone is adequate for salvation. Isn't it just enough to be sincere?
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  We live in a time when sincerity is considered our greatest virtue. And what a prophet Shakespeare turned out to be when 400 years ago, he said, this above all, to thine own self be true. Do you remember having to read Hamlet in high school? This above all, to thine own self be true. What a prophet he turned out to be. That is the motto of our country today, is it not?
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  Be true to you, and it doesn't matter what else is true. The self has become king, chief. Above all other virtues is sincerity. It was Longfellow who said that sincerity is just what I think. In other words, whatever I believe about myself and my own existence must be true. It does not matter what you believe as long as you are sincere about it.
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  Social norms and industry, education, finances, morals, even the truth itself must bow the knee to the feelings of individuals. If one person is offended, then even the truth, though glaringly obvious, must be set aside for the sake of that person's felt needs. But don't sound doctrine and right thinking and biblical theology matter? Doesn't sound doctrine matter? Can one be sincere and yet wrong at the same time?
• 8:01
  Can you be sincerely wrong? Yes. Ephesians chapter 6 describes the armor of God as the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. It's interesting, isn't it, that the author implies that salvation takes place first and foremost where? In the mind. Salvation takes place in the mind.
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  Which is why you've got to wear the helmet of salvation. Protect your mind against false doctrine. Now, if that is true, we must be on guard against any doctrine which opposes the true gospel. Because if that false doctrine is believed, it could shipwreck those who believe it. The book of Titus describes a qualified elder as being a man who holds firm to the trustworthy word.
• 8:54
  as taught so that he that elder may be able to give instruction and sound doctrine he will teach the truth and also rebuke those who contradict it there should be elders over every church he says who are teaching the truth and then rooting out false doctrine and contradicting it listen to how charles hodge words it he says error is often a greater obstacle to the salvation of men than carelessness or vice now that is a
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  big statement error he says false doctrine errant thinking is often a greater obstacle to the salvation of men than carelessness or vice in other words the greatest threat to your soul is not your sin it's your errant thinking because sinners can be saved right but people who have a false theology cannot sound doctrine he says matters
• 9:50
  Christ said that publicans and harlots would enter the kingdom of God before the Pharisees. Publicans were tax collectors, extorting their own brothers, right? Getting the Roman taxes and then keeping the rest, skimming off the top. They were hated in Israeli society. And harlots are prostitutes. He says prostitutes will get in before the religious people. Why? Because they would approach the Lord with humility. The Pharisees would stand there bragging about their own righteousness. And if the prostitutes would come,
• 10:21
  on their knees washing his feet with their hair and such in like manner the thoughtless and sensual gentiles were more susceptible of impression from the gospel were more frequently converted to christ than the jews who were wedded to erroneous views of the plan of salvation when jesus came when the savior came to save who was it that lined up to receive him was it his own people for the most part no there were some who believed and praised god for them
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  But for the most part, his own people rejected him. It was the Gentiles who lined up and saying, why did this happen? It was because they were willing to believe the truth. Now, last Sunday, we addressed some objections to the sovereignty of God. Today, we look at the danger of false doctrine. And having proven through the prophet Hosea, that was chapter 9 and verses 25 and 26, that God was always free to call Gentiles as well as Jews into his kingdom.
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  Having predicted through the prophet Isaiah, that was verse 29 in chapter 9, that the majority of the Jews would be rejected due to their calloused unbelief. The author continues his defense by drawing one of the natural inferences from such arguments. First, that the Gentiles have attained righteousness by faith. And second, that the Jews have attempted righteousness.
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  but failed and notice verse 30. he says what shall we say then that gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it that is a righteousness that is by faith but that israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching the law reaching salvation what an un
• 12:11
  likely scenario the gentiles who from outward appearances could not have been further from god believed and were made righteous right all the while the jews whose very business was religion utterly failed why the answer is in verse 32 why he asks because they did not pursue it by faith but as if it were based on works
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  You remember back to chapter one of our study, if you go back to last September, nine, 10 months ago, I gave an introduction to the book of Romans, which included a description, definition of righteousness. We said that righteousness is the right action of God, right? That God is righteous because everything he does is right.
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  His actions, his thoughts, his words are always right. His will is always right. His decrees are always right, and he is therefore righteous. But also the gracious gift of God to men, whereby all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are brought into right relationship with God. In other words, there are two types of righteousness discussed in Romans. The first is the righteousness which God possesses.
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  This is true righteousness manifested in his actions. Everything he does is right. His actions, his words, his decrees are always right. He therefore possesses righteousness. But it says there is also a righteousness which is a gift of God to men. This is a righteousness which God offers to us through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. A righteousness which we do not possess.
• 14:02
  and that we cannot attain on our own. It can only be given to us, imputed to us through the work of God. And this is what we call being saved, salvation. We are Christians because God has declared over us righteousness. Now, the book of Romans details with precision why it is that sinners cannot enter the kingdom of God. And so let me ask you, sinners, why is it that sinners cannot inherit the kingdom of God?
• 14:30
  Because we're sinners, because we sin. Sin is a big problem, amen? And yet, are you not on your way to God? Are you not on your way? Have you not inherited the kingdom of God? Well, how is it that you can inherit the kingdom of God even though you're a sinner? Because God has given you the righteousness that he possesses, which we cannot attain. He's just given it to you. He has declared righteousness over you. And so raise your hand if you would, if you are in Christ and therefore righteous.
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  Oh, can I get a witness? These are all the people in the room who are saved, right? Again, raise your hand. In Christ and therefore righteous. Now keep your hand raised if you always act righteous. You say, well, how does that work? You just said you're righteous and then you just said you don't act righteous. Here's how it works. I am righteous even though I don't act righteous because God has declared righteousness.
• 15:36
  over me through the work of Jesus Christ on my behalf. He's declared it over me. He has given me the righteousness that he alone possesses because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Amen? This is what we call being justified. We are made right with God because of that legal declaration. Now look back at verse 32. Why?
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  Why didn't the Jews, who were so intent on living righteous lives, attain the righteousness which they so desperately desired and which we so easily acquired? Let me ask you, friends, how hard was it to become saved? It was easy. A simple prayer of faith. That's all it is. It's just saying, yes, Lord, I receive it.
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  Yes, Lord, like the publicans and the prostitutes before me. I receive it. I'll take it. Thank you. It's a free gift. How hard was it? It was easy. So why didn't the Jews who were scrambling after it so hard, why didn't they get it?
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  Through all of their effort and through all of that work, even though I did nothing and just received it as a gift, verse 32 says, because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. The Jews would not submit to God's proposed method of attaining that righteousness. That is, by faith. Instead, they persisted in trusting their own imperfect works. They said no to the gift and said, you know what, I'll just, I'll earn it on my own.
• 17:19
  works which would never appease the law, which they claim to follow. Now this is the essence of legalism. Legalism is the rejection of God's method of salvation by grace through faith, and then substituting that method with anything else. And I think that legalism is often misdefined or underdefined. So follow me for just a moment. When we think of legalism, we often think of like a puritanical...
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  heavy-handed, ultra-conservative, law-abiding, you've got to do this and this and this and this and this, this long list of things that we've got to do in order to be saved, things to participate in and things to avoid, these long lists of rules. And that is indeed legalism, but that's not the only version of legalism. Legalism is substituting any other method of salvation.
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  other than the one prescribed by god salvation by grace through faith any other method you can go hard on the rules and you can also go easy on the rules and still be a legalist the person on the other side who says you don't have to do anything and everybody's just going to be saved is still substituting their own method of salvation
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  It's their own list of rules. These are the laws according to me and is therefore a legalist. So the Puritan on the one side and the hippie on the other side, the free-flowing, free-spirited soul on the other side who doesn't believe anything, they're both legalists because they are substituting salvation by grace through faith with a law of their own making. Does that make sense?
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  Now, oftentimes, legalism is projected upon others. It will be communicated dogmatically that unless certain things are avoided, other things participated in, one cannot be saved. So, bow when we say bow. That's legalism. Stand when we say stand. Clap when we say clap. You've got to applaud at the right times or you are not accepted.
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  That's the essence of legalism. But that is not what the Bible describes. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1. Oh, I missed one there. One more. There it is. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1 says this very simply. It is for freedom that Christ set us free.
• 19:52
  It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Well, you say, well, freedom from what? It's freedom from legalism. Freedom from trying to attain righteousness on our own. And notice again what it says in verse 32. It says at the end, they have stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written, behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. And whoever believes in him will not be put.
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  to shame now the author here combines two statements from the prophet isaiah he very intentionally takes verses which were in reference to god and applies them to jesus the point of these two verses is to communicate that some will trip over jesus they will stumble over the stumbling stone some will bow before jesus they will believe in him and will not be put to shame some will trip some will bow but either way
• 20:42
  everyone ends up on their knees i've spoken before about what i believe to be the wildest church in the world is the church of the holy sepulcher in jerusalem which if you come to israel next year with me you will see i'll take you there we will spend several days there in fact the word sepulcher is just a fancy word for tomb when you approach the church from the outside
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  It's kind of a crazy-looking church from the inside and the outside. There are two big silver domes. You can see the big gray domes there. That is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The front of the church, the front entrance, is relatively nondescript. It was built directly over the spot where Jesus was crucified and then buried. When you enter, your senses are going to be hit with odd colors, noises, and smells. I've affectionately dubbed the church the Church of the Smells and Bells.
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  Okay, because it is, I mean, it is just a wild place to be. A perpetual cloud of incense hangs heavy in the air. As you enter and your eyes begin to adjust to the dimly lit rooms, all under one roof, you can touch the stone where Christ's cross stood. You come in the door and up some steps.
• 21:56
  You see there underneath that altar, there's a depiction of Christ on the cross. There is some exposed rock where you can touch. And I don't know that it's the exact spot, but you're talking about within feet, within feet of where the cross stood. You don't imagine it looking that way because it's got this very ornate room kind of built over the top of it. You can descend the staircases down and to the right several floors to the basement where his cross was later discovered by Helena, Emperor Constantine's mother.
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  You can climb on your hands and knees into the tomb where Joseph of Arimathea ended up being buried. You'll remember that Jesus was buried in Joseph's tomb. Joseph was a very wealthy Pharisee of the Sanhedrin. He was also a believer in Jesus. He gave his tomb, brand new family tomb, very expensive to Jesus to be buried in. And he himself was buried somewhere else, very nearby the same garden.
• 22:50
  The place where he was buried is still there. You have to climb kind of on your hands and knees and get back to the place where Joseph was buried. You can sit in the chapel, which is built over the place where Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene. When he appeared, the very first person, the former prostitute Mary, he appears to her. And you can sit in the chapel over that spot. In fact, inside of the chapel, there's still an exposed piece of rock. It's not all floored. You can see the spot where they believe it was.
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  By far the most popular spot inside the church is called the edicule. The edicule is like a building within a building. So when you go into the church, there is this small building through and to your left, very, very crowded all the time. If you wait in the line, which sometimes takes hours, you wait in the line to go inside of the edicule, the edicule you'll find contains two stones. The first is called the angel's stone. It's said to be a portion.
• 23:46
  of the stone which covered the tomb's entrance which the angel rolled away the second and you could continue to move your way inside of the edicule and by far the most famous single spot inside of the church is the slab where christ was laid and so there it is you can go in there you can touch it jesus was laid on the slab wrapped in linen laid to rest now i don't believe that that's probably the exact slab upon which christ was laid but it could very well cover
• 24:16
  The actual slab, which is still underneath, this one was laid over the top of it. And you say, well, what's the point of all of that? The edicule is wildly popular with worshipers and tourists alike. Everyone who goes to Jerusalem wants to go inside the edicule, but not everyone believes the gospel story. And so knowing this,
• 24:42
  The architects who designed this small building intentionally placed a large header stone above the entrance, only about four feet off the ground. It's about this high. If you want to see the burial place of Christ, you must kneel to enter. You're not getting inside the edicule without bowing. Do you see the point? We don't care if you believe or not. We don't care if there's worship in your heart or not. You are going to genuflect and bow the knee.
• 25:13
  This is what the author is saying in verse 33. Whether Christ is considered offensive or precious, every single person who has ever lived will eventually bow the knee. Christ will either be your stumbling stone or your rock of salvation.
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  Philippians chapter 2 and verse 9 words it this way, God has highly exalted Jesus and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. And heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And there could not be a more tragic statement than the one in verse 32 which says they have stumbled.
• 25:58
  over the stumbling stone. Rather than believing in Jesus and not being put to shame, these were forced to their knees, tripping over, being offended by Christ, and were therefore rejected. The author continues the same line of argument when he says in chapter 10 in verse 1, Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. Now the brothers to which he refers here in this chapter are not the brothers in his flesh, the Jews. Rather, they are his brothers in Christ, those believers at the church in Rome.
• 26:29
  As has been stated, Paul loved his Jewish countrymen. He ached in his heart for their salvation. He prayed for them. He accommodated himself to their every need as far as his obedience to the Lord would allow. He even commends in verse 2 their zeal, but recognized that zeal alone was not enough. He says in verse 2, I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. This zeal would be equivalent to our culture's sincerity.
• 26:55
  Their problem was not that they didn't actually believe their own message. They believed it wholeheartedly. The problem was that their message was wrong. And make sure you catch the implication contained in the first verse. Look again at verse 1 and see if you can find what is implied. Verse 1 says, What is the implication? They're not saved. Were they lacking in zeal?
• 27:27
  No. Were they lacking in devotion? No. Were they lacking in sincerity? No. Were they lacking in religiosity? No. These were the most religious people on earth, sincere and devoted, and yet remained unsaved. Why? Because they didn't believe the truth. Their sincerity alone was not enough to save them. Sincerity cannot overpower doctrinal error. Sincerity has got to be combined.
• 27:57
  with truth again one has worded it this way let no man think error in doctrine a slight practical evil don't think that false doctrine is just a small deal no road to perdition has ever been more thronged than that of false doctrine error is a shield over the conscience a bandage over the eyes in other words the road to destruction is broad and it is paved with sincerity
• 28:24
  There is inherent danger to our souls in the form of a sincere heart combined with an errant head. It's interesting to note that the word the apostle uses for knowledge in verse 2 includes a prefix that is not included necessarily in this translation. The Greek word for knowledge, the root, is the word gnosis. G-N-O-S-I-S. You go to the doctor because you feel like something might be wrong. They run some tests. Your doctor comes in and says,
• 28:55
  I have your diagnosis. Your diagnosis. That's where we get the word. I know what's wrong with you, he says. That's a diagnosis. You're talking to your unsaved neighbor. And he just shrugs his shoulders and says, I don't know if there is anything to believe. I am an agonistic. It's the same word, gnosis. He's literally saying, I don't know anything.
• 29:21
  I don't know anything. I don't know if there is anything to know. Paul includes here, before the word gnosis, the prefix epi, epignosis, meaning full or complete. It even carries the connotation that such knowledge leads to appreciation of its object. So he says, the problem is not zeal. The problem is that your knowledge is incomplete. It's not full, and you have no appreciation of its object. It's like he's saying in verse 2, I bear witness.
• 29:52
  that they have a zeal for God, just like our culture does, but their zeal is twisted because their knowledge is lacking and incomplete. And they may be sincere, but such zealous sincerity, when it denies the truth, does not lead to salvation. It leads only to anger, cruelty, and pride. And notice the outcome in verse 3, for being ignorant of the righteousness of God, seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's.
• 30:21
  This was the great mistake of the Jewish people. It is the same great problem which many of our own American countrymen have today. Their problem is not sincerity or zeal or devotion or lack of religion. In fact, you go back to the Jewish people, their entire culture was based around their religion. Their clothing, food, the temple, their work, their marriages, their parenting, all of it revolved around religion. The problem wasn't lack of religion. Their problem and ours is a refusal to submit to what God has said regarding salvation.
• 30:51
  this refusal according to the author reveals an ignorance regarding everything they claim to hold dear and look at how he concludes in verse 4 christ is the end of the law now that is not the abolishment of the law we know that christ was the fulfillment of the law rather this was the destination christ is the destination
• 31:15
  of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. In other words, he's saying, if you had actually been doing what the law said, you would have concluded that Christ is the only way to be saved. The law was acting as a schoolmaster to lead us to him. Many of you know my wife is a homeschool mom. She was a professional teacher before we had kids. When our oldest son Pearson became school-aged, she transitioned to teach him full-time at home.
• 31:43
  I will often say that my wife taught my sons everything they know because she taught them how to read and how to listen. And so for the rest of their lives, everything they will ever learn, she can take credit for. She taught them how to read and how to listen. And as soon as she taught them those two things, she could take credit for everything that would ever come into their brains and lives. She taught them the key.
• 32:11
  to understanding everything else. Does that make sense? The law was meant to be the key to understanding everything else. It wasn't an end in itself the way the Jews thought it was. It was the key to understanding who Christ was. The law was always pointing to Christ. He is our righteousness because he alone offers the salvation which we cannot attain no matter our sincerity. And I know, friends, that some things just don't make sense.
• 32:42
  Sometimes that's okay, but errant thinking can pose a threat to our souls when it leads to errant doctrine, no matter how sincere we are. We can be sincere and wrong at the same time. Sincerity alone is not enough. It must be combined with the truth. Christ, we see, is the end of legalism, the end of our feeble attempts at winning the favor of God through our own merits, if we will humble ourselves.
• 33:09
  and bow the knee, rather than being forced to our knees, he will eagerly offer us the forgiveness, the hope, the joy, and the freedom we seek. Let me pray. God, thank you for your word, which speaks so clearly. And thank you, Lord, that through your word, we have the key, the key to understanding salvation and forgiveness in Christ. Thank you for the righteousness which you possess and the righteousness that you give.
• 33:41
  that you impute to us through his work on our behalf. And God, thank you that we really can have freedom from the law, from any law, even freedom from no law, because all of those things are trying to substitute the true gospel for something that is errant. God, may we be a people who are fixed on the truth. In Jesus' name, amen.