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Romans Lesson 13 · Bible Study with Pastor Brian an NLCC Teacher

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, welcome to Life in the Word, our verse-by-verse study of God's Word.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is Pastor Brian, and I'm glad you joined us today as we continue in our study in the book of Romans.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: We're in Romans chapter 10 today.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: So salvation is the issue in Romans chapters 9 through 11.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: And Romans 9 last week talked about sovereign election.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: We saw this in chapter 9, verse 15, where God says, For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it is God who decides to show mercy.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: We can neither choose it nor work for it.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Election is not based on any good works, faith, or merit that God foresaw in any individual, purely on grace.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: So now in chapter 10, we're going to talk about the human responsibility when it comes to our salvation in Jesus Christ.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: There is an element to that, a human element in this process.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: We have to either accept it or reject it.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a part of our God-given gift of free will.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And we humans like being absolved of responsibility for the most part, I think.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Will Rogers once remarked that there are two errors in American history, the passing of the buffalo and the passing of the buck.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it's very natural to place the responsibility on others.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And here in this chapter 10, God places responsibility for Israel's lostness for their rejection of Christ on Israel itself.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: God rejected Israel because Israel rejected the gospel.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: They rejected Christ, so they couldn't put the blame on anybody else but themselves.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And at least five times in this chapter, the responsibility of the Jews is implicitly emphasized, concluding with the plea of verse 21.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: But regarding Israel, God said, All day long I opened my arms to them.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: But they were disobedient and rebellious.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So as we examine chapter 10, we want to see what the Jews, God's privileged people, need to know if they're going to find salvation.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: However, this truth is also for us because we too are immensely privileged people, and the call of salvation is all around us.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: So as Paul launches into this letter, he again lets his readers know where his heart is.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: So look at verse 1 of Romans chapter 10.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I believe this is one of the biggest sins of God's people today is our lack of concern for people who don't know Christ as Lord and Savior.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it doesn't seem like right.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: If we have the heart of faith, we should have a heart for other people.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that shows what we really believe, doesn't it?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Paul addresses this here in verse 1, and the context of this verse is very important.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: As if you were here last week, you know Paul spent a lot of time in Romans 9 talking about how he was troubled for the salvation of his Jewish brothers and sisters.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: And remember this.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: His Jewish friends and family once thought of Paul as a hero, but now he's their enemy.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: They begin to hate Paul.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: They imprisoned him several times, they whipped him, they beat him, they stoned him, they made numerous false accusations against him.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: They were trying to destroy every church plant Paul Paul made.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yet Paul cares for the people of Israel.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: He wants them to know Christ.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they hated him, but Paul loved them.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: So how is it possible that we could be like that?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: How can we have all these enemies attacking and all Paul went through from them?
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And we all have enemies, I think.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: People are different, people we just don't care like, where they look different, speak different.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: We just don't want anything to do with them, right?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: How can we be the kind of people that need to share the gospel with them?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And notice, Paul opens with these words, dear brothers and sisters.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: So he's speaking to Christians, to people who already know Jesus as Lord and Savior in the church at Rome, which consisted of Jewish believers and Gentile believers.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And again, Paul was a rebel against God when he first started out.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: He was a devout Jew like his friends are, but he was worse.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: He persecuted and killed Christians, but his eyes were open when he saw Jesus Christ in Acts chapter 9.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what he wants for his fellow Jews.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: So now he wants these Jews to come to the loving foundation and the forgiveness of Christ as well.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how we should all feel also about others.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, when you become part of God's family, you want others to join in that family as well, right?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you do.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And when you truly come to know Christ as your Savior, then like Paul, your heart's desire is for others to know him as well.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: During World War II, when Cory Tinboom and her sister Betsy were in a concentration camp for hiding Jews, Betsy got very sick and she would end up dying in that camp.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: But while she was sick, Corey and Betsy would often go to the infirmary to get help for Betsy, which to Corey was a smelly, depressing place.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: She hated to go there.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: But Betsy told her she loved to go there.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: She said, This is such an important place, Corey.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Some of these people are at the very threshold of heaven.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now Betsy was not afraid to die.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: She knew Jesus as her Savior, and because she did, she wanted other people to know him too.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: And she knew that that infirmary, depressing and smelly as it was, was the best place to be able to tell other women about Jesus Christ.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: And as believers, our heart's desire should also be that others we know come to salvation in Christ.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: We may not feel like you want to share, or you may not feel like you're very good at sharing with others, but your heart should desire it.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, don't you desire in your heart for people you know to be saved?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Friends, family members, neighbors?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a believer in Christ, I hope you do.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And in that light, some of us here maybe need to rethink our attitude about where we are.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe like Corey Tinboom, you've been thinking your workplace or your school or your neighborhood or whatever is not what you'd like it to be.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe like the camp infirmary, it's depressing or smelly or worse.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: But maybe you need to see, like Betsy did, that God has you there for a reason.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: To be able to share with other people who are there the Jesus that you know.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: I had a friend many years ago, a pastor, who pastored in a church for 40 years, and he led several people to Christ.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then after 40 years, he retired to Sun Lakes.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I ran into him a few years after he'd done that.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: He went there to golf and relax and enjoy life, I guess.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: But everybody became at the at the at the Sun Lakes started to find out Jim was a former pastor.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And he started getting phone calls all throughout the day and through the night from people whose loved one or wife or spouse was in the hospital.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: They were on their last dying breath.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they would call him, say, Would you come up and talk to my friend or my neighbor or my spouse?
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: They need to talk to you about Jesus.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: So he did that.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: And when I saw him a few years later, we talked about that.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, You know, I've led more people to the Lord in my retirement far more than I did in 40 years of ministry when I was working.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Jim thought he was there to retire, but God had him there to be a light in the darkness, to share the gospel with the lost and dying.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: God has us where we're at for the same reasons.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: We should be surrounded by people we know who need Christ, and we should be sharing that with them.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: So Paul adds another piece to his desire in verse 1 when he says, The longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now there are four different words for the word prayer in the New Testament.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Each word emphasized a different aspect of prayer.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: The Bible word used here is diases, which means specifically to pray for a need in someone's life.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: And there is one need our loved ones, friends, neighbors need that is greater than any other, and that is their need for Christ, their need for salvation.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to be praying for them, but we must also tell them.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to talk a lot more about that a little later.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: So let's move on with verse 2.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: I know what enthusiasm they have for God, referring to the Jews, but it is a misdirected, misdirected zeal.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean the Jews had a kind of zeal for God.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: For example, when they tithed, they tithed down to the smallest herb.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: They fasted, they tried to keep the Sabbath and all the extra rules that had been added.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: They would travel days to reach Jerusalem for the feast.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: They put a great deal of effort into following their religious beliefs.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, Paul, who was Saul himself, was zealous.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Earlier in his life, he truly believed persecuting the Christians was the right thing to do.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: So why is zeal without knowledge problematic to Paul?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, why is it misdirected?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, verse 3 answers that.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: So before we go on, I wanted to define legalism, because that's what we're really talking about.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Legalism in the Bible is the erroneous belief that salvation is earned through human effort, specifically by keeping rigid rules or moral codes rather than through grace alone.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: See, the difference between them and us, those all other religions that are working their way to God, they're trying to get to God who's on the top of this mountain.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's where they place him.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: And they've got their little ladders, every religion going up and they're doing good works, and then they fail, and then they do words.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: They keep trying to get up that ladder and keep having to step back down.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: But the difference between us is in Christianity, God came down to us.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: He came to pay the price for our sins so that we could be made right with God.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: We could be justified.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: We could be forgiven of our sins and restored to God.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Legalism involves focusing on outward performance rather than heart transformation that comes when we put our faith in Christ.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: So why did God give the Jews hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of laws to follow?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, to show them they were sinners who could never keep those rules, those laws.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: They needed a better way to be made right in God's sight.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: They needed a savior, which their Old Testament scriptures constantly pointed to.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: So why did they reject the Messiah?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because in their minds, Jesus did not match up to be the Savior they were looking for.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted a savior riding on a white stallion with swords in his hands who could come and wipe out their Roman oppressors.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: They were focused on their temporary problems and not eternity.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And because of this, they missed out and rejected Jesus.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: So let me know this.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: How would you explain the importance of faith and salvation to someone struggling with legalism?
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I've had to do this several times.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And to do so, we need to emphasize that grace, not rules, will save you.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Rules can never save you.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: You need to shift the focus from self, earning God's favor, to resting in his completed work through Christ on the cross, who paid the price for our sins.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: We need to explain that salvation comes by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by keeping rules perfectly, which no one can do.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 2.8.9 says God saved you by his grace when you believe, and you can't take credit for this.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: It is a gift from God.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Galatians 2.16.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: There is no peace with God when stuck in legalism.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's like trying to walk through a brick wall while Jesus has been holding the door open for you the whole time.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: The law was given as a tutor to lead the Jewish nation to Christ.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: God never intended that the Jews would be saved through perfect obedience to the law because he knew they couldn't.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: But rather that by their failure to do so, to live up to it, they would be driven to grace.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: They would realize it's impossible that they needed another way.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: In Galatians 3.24, Paul states this truth explicitly.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: So then the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: The frustration and futility of falling short of the law's demands were meant to open them up to God's grace and imputed righteousness.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: The righteousness that He bestows apart from works on the basis of faith.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: However, instead of turning to God in repentance, the Jews sought to establish their own righteousness.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: They saw the law as a way to lift themselves up to God.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 4.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: And as a result, who believe in Him, all who believe in Him are made right with God.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: So is Jesus the end of the law?
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And there are three explanations for what Paul meant by Christ being the end of the law.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: In Jesus, the law was terminated.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of seeking justification through the law, we received justification by faith and use the law to guide our obedience to God.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: In Jesus, the law was replaced.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: The law literally pointed to Christ.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: The law was only the teacher until Christ came.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now we follow his lead.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: And lastly, in Jesus the law was completely fulfilled.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Christ was the law in human form.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: He and he alone met every criteria of the law, completing it and surpassing it.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: This made Christ the perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And in Matthew chapter 5, verse 17 through 20, Jesus says, Don't misunderstand why I have come.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: So what was the purpose of the law?
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: To reveal we are sinners who can't keep the law, therefore we need a savior who can save us from God's wrath.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: The law points to Jesus, the only one who could fulfill the law and achieve its purpose.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the heaven of the in the kingdom of heaven.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: But anyone who obeys God's law and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew 5, 19.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: So some of the people in the crowd when Jesus is speaking were experts at telling others what to do, but they missed the central point of God's law.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus made it clear that obeying God's law means more than just explaining it.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: Studying God's law and telling others to obey it is much easier, isn't it, than putting it into practice?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus is asking all of us, how are you doing at obeying God yourself?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: And the next verse, Matthew 5.20, then says, but I warn you, unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of law, religious law, and the Pharisees, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: How can we have a better righteousness than the Pharisees who were exacting and scrupulous in their attempts to follow the law?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the Pharisees' weakness was that they were content to obey the law outwardly without allowing God to change their hearts or attitudes.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: They look good on the outside, but they were far from the kingdom of heaven on the inside.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: God is concerned about our hearts as well as our deeds, because our hearts show where our real allegiance lies.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Our righteousness must be God-centered, not self-centered.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: It must be based on reverence for God, not approval from people, and it must go beyond keeping the law to living by the principles behind the law.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: We must be just as concerned about our attitudes that people don't see, as well as our actions that are seen by everyone.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Verse 5.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: For Moses writes that the law's way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all its commands.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: So in order to be saved by the law, a person would have to have a perfect life, keeping all 600 plus laws and rules and not sinning once, which, as we know, is impossible for any man or woman to do.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: And some of those laws were crazy.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, several years ago when I was a youth pastor, I had a young man, one of my brighter students, a smart Alc, if you'd say, he came up to me one day and wanted to know what the material of my shirt was made of.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: I told him it was made of polyester and cotton.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And this young man then let me know that I was disobedient to Leviticus 19, which forbid wearing a garment made of two kinds of materials.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: That was one of the laws the Jews had.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: There were other crazy laws like that that revealed just how impossible it was for them to keep them all.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: The law was a shadow of Christ.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: That is, the sacrificial system educated the people so that when the true sacrifice came, the Messiah came, they would be able to understand Christ and his work.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: The law pointed to Christ, the only one who could save us.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: So now Paul quotes Deuteronomy chapter 30, beginning at verse 12, to show the contrast between the righteousness based on faith and the righteousness that comes from the law, verse 6.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: But faith's way of getting right with God says, don't say in your heart, who will go up to heaven to bring Christ down to earth, verse 7, and don't say who will go down to the place of the dead to bring Christ back to life again.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: The righteousness based on faith interprets those Old Testament statements and sees them now fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: No one has to go up to heaven to bring Christ down as though he'd never been incarnated.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Christ himself has already come in the flesh.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: And here the attitude Paul is attacking is the assumption that one's righteousness can contribute or add to God's saving plan.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's not faith alone in Christ alone, it's faith plus works, faith plus self-righteousness.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: And self-righteousness goes looking for God, seeking to find him.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Righteousness by faith begins by submitting to God, allowing him to find us.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now going down to the place of the dead to bring back Christ to life, here refers to the grave or Hades, the place of the dead.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: No one has to go into the grave and bring Christ up from the dead.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Christ has already risen, he's already been resurrected.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus Christ has already provided our salvation through his incarnation coming to earth to die for us, and his resurrection coming back from the dead.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: So Paul's making it very clear.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: God's salvation is right in front of you.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 8.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, it says the message is very close at hand.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: It is on your lips and in your heart.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: And have you ever been asked, how do I become a Christian?
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I haven't.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: I wish somebody would do it and make it very simple, but I've never been asked that.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: And many people think that becoming a Christian is a complicated process, but it's not.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: And verse 8 gives you the beautiful answer that salvation is as close as your own lips and heart.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: All we need to do is to respond to the gospel message and accept God's gift of salvation.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 8b.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that message is the very message about faith that we preach.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the message.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 9.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Salvation requires a belief in two things.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: First, that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Son of God, who became one of us to die for all of us, to pay the price for our sins.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: And second, that after his death, God raised him from the dead.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: He's alive.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: They need to believe in the resurrection along with the whole complex of truth connected with it.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Particularly Jesus' sin-bury death in mankind's place, followed by his resurrection.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: The resurrection revealed that Jesus Christ has power over both life and death.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: He is who he said he is.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: He's the Savior Messiah.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: He has defeated death so that believers need not fear death.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: And because of his resurrection, we too will also be resurrected to new life.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: So if the resurrection contradicts scientific understanding, and it does, how can belief and it be required for salvation?
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it requires faith, right?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Faith.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Faith views it as a divine act by a creator not bound by natural laws, making it an historical and transformative event.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Not just a scientific impossibility with evidence.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: And what was the evidence?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: An empty tomb and eyewitness accounts, and the fact that none of his disciples were.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Have given up their life for a lie.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: That would never happen.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, how important is the resurrection to our Christian faith?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, 1 Corinthians 15, 17, Paul writes, If Christ had not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still guilty of your sins.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: See, Jesus is distinct from all other religious leaders because he's the only Lord to have died and risen from the grave.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: This makes Christianity more than a philosophy of life or a religious option.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's the only way to be saved.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: I hear this all the time from many, many people.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: They say there are many ways to God.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: And the reality is, if you ask them, well, give me some of those ways, they pretty much have no answers.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: How would you answer that to them, though?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus said it himself, I am the way and the truth and the life.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: No one comes to the Father except through me.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: God created only one way.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: There only needed to be one way.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: And thank God he gave us one way.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So in verse 9 it says, declare that Jesus is Lord.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: What does it mean when we call Jesus Lord?
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: The title Lord, though rarely used in our culture today, carried great weight in Paul's day.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus is Lord, proclaims Jesus as God, Yahweh, and human flesh, sharing God's supreme power and authority.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: He is the promised Messiah, the coming king who will rule the world and judge all people.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's also a political statement, pledging loyalty to Christ over any earthly ruler and demanding a life aligned with his kingdom values.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 10.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: By prayer to God, you confess with your mouth your belief in God and what he has done for you, and belief and confession leads to salvation.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: And the words by believing in your heart reveal that a saving faith is not merely intellectual agreement, but a deep inward trust in Christ at the core of one's very being.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Verse 11.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: As the scriptures tell us, anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: They have the same Lord who gives generously to all who call on him.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: Verse 13, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: This universal offer is grounded in two Old Testament quotations.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Whoever believes need never be shaken, from Isaiah 28, 16, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, from Joel 2.32.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is the way God has always operated.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: We must say with all gentleness and firmness, each man and woman is responsible for his accepting or rejecting and being part of their dest as being part of their destiny.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: To call on the Lord is to trust him for salvation.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: And those who are saved will be richly blessed in this world, although not always materially, as some might hope or expect, and most certainly blessed in the world to come.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: The responsibility that the gospel brings is not only to accept its offer, though, but to afterwards do what?
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's what we've been talking about.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's all believers' responsibility to take the good news to the world.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: And Paul exhorts us to do this with four rhetorical questions.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 14.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him?
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: When I ask people, for years now, I have always asking people if they've ever shared the gospel message, and I'm almost always get the answer in return, well, I live it out for all people to see.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: I live it out.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: That means no, I've never shared the gospel message with anyone verbally.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: So let me ask you this: did you ever hear about the young Christian businessman who was delivering such an amazing PowerPoint presentation at work that the CEO stopped him to inquire, what must I do to be saved?
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you've heard about the suburban Christian dad who manicured his lawn so beautifully that the neighbors flocked to his home saying, We've come here today to declare that we also have become followers of your God.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: So is it enough to live out your faith to spread the gospel?
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: And telling others about Jesus Christ, an effective witness, must include more than being a good example.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: People are not going to become Christians simply by watching us.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, they may become inquisitive and wonder what it is that you have that they might need, what makes you different, but eventually someone will have to explain the content, the what and the how of the gospel.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: They need to hear about how God is our holy creator and judge.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: They need to hear about human sinfulness and the coming judgment.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: They need to hear about Jesus' perfect life and atoning death, and the need to respond to that message in repentance and faith.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, modeling the Christian life is important.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying it's not, it's very important, but someone will need to make the connection between those who favor lifestyle evangelism and confrontational evangelism, or what I mean by declaring the message.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: We must proclaim the gospel message so that people can respond to the good news.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just not the pastor's responsibility.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've been told that too many times.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's not the missionary's responsibility.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's the responsibility of every Christian, every believer to share the gospel.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 15.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: That is why the scriptures say how beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: These words of verse 15 were first spoken in Isaiah chapter 52, verse 7, and those who brought Jerusalem about those who brought Jerusalem the good news that the days of captivity in Babylon were over.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: Those feet were beautiful because they represented the messenger's willingness to be sent with the good news.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Only now the message is not just for Israel, but for the whole world.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: And our heart's desire should be that the lost hear and receive the gospel message.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: We must take God's message of salvation to others so that they can respond to the good news.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, how will your loved ones and neighbors hear it unless someone tells them?
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 16.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: But now everyone wel but excuse me, but not everyone welcomes the good news, for Isaiah the prophet said, Lord, who has believed our message?
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: Many Jews did not accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: They heard it, but refused to believe and submit to it.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: Many in Jesus' day didn't believe his message.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: And this was true in Paul's days, and we can expect the same today.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: Bringing people the good news does not guarantee a welcome to it.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: But having been changed by the message ourselves ought to change the way we see those who have not yet heard.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Understand, we are not responsible for how others respond, but we are expected to take the good news to other people.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: Verse 17.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: So faith comes from hearing, that is hearing the good news about Christ.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: So here Paul sums up the argument thus far.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: One can come to faith only through hearing the gospel, and the specific message that must be heard is the word of Christ.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: That is the good news about Jesus Christ as crucified and risen.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: So let me ask, how can we increase our faith in order to be willing to share the gospel with others?
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: We all need to be doing this more.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, our faith is built up by knowledge of the truth that comes as we listen to and we diligently study God's Word.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: A few years ago, the largest study that has ever been conducted on the effects of Bible reading in the life of a Christian was completed by an organization called the Institute for Biblical Research.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: They studied around 200,000 people in this study for a long period of time.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: And what they found was that if somebody reads the Bible once a week, honestly, it doesn't make any difference at all in their life, hardly ever.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: They also found if somebody starts reading the Bible two or three days per week, the difference was negligible.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: You could see it, but it wasn't significant.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: What they found is that when somebody reads the Bible four or five times a week, things begin to change.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: Those people are 228% more likely to share their faith, four hundred and seven percent more likely to memorize scripture, fifty-nine percent less likely to use pornography, thirty percent less likely to struggle with loneliness, and fifty percent less likely to experience anxiety.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the big idea.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: When the word and not the world becomes the primary focus of your week, your life will start to change.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to grow in faith, you must, and you want to share your faith with others, you must become more consistent in your reading of God's Word.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: Verse 18.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message?
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: And some might argue that the Jews weren't given enough chances to hear or that the message should have been made clearer, but the reality is they heard it.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: And Paul responds with yes, they have heard the message.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: And he quotes from Psalm 19, 4 in the last part of verse 18.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, they have.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: The message has gone throughout the earth and the words to all the world.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: When Luke ended the book of Acts with Paul in Rome at that time in history, the good news had been preached to the Jews and Gentiles for about 20 years.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: It had spread throughout the Mediterranean areas where the Jews lived, and there may have been some Jews who truly had not heard, but to use that as an excuse for the larger number of Jews who rejected the gospel didn't sit well with Paul.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: Remember what he wrote in Romans 1.18.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: In the end, some may wish that they had heard more, but God will declare that what they heard was enough.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: And in the meantime, those of us who have heard and responded in faith have little excuse for our apathy and passing on the good news to our friends, neighbors, and family.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 19.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: But I asked, did the people of Israel really understand?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God said, I will arouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: I will prove provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: The people of Israel should have understood from the prophecy in Deuteronomy 32, 21, that the Gentiles would come to believe in the Lord.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: It reads, They, the Jews, have aroused my jealousy by worshiping things that are not God.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: They have provoked my anger with their useless idols.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now I will rouse their jealousy through people who are not even a people.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: I will provoke their anger through the foolish Gentiles.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: So why did God make the Jews jealous?
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: The Jews should have known from the Abrahamic covenant that through Abraham's seed all the nations of earth would be blessed, but the Jews hated the Gentiles.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: So God's inclusion of Gentiles who accepted the Messiah after many Jews rejected it was designed to make Israel jealous, ultimately leading to their own reconciliations and salvation, as we'll talk more about in chapter 11.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: So look at verse 20.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, I was found by people who were not looking for me.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: I showed myself to those who were not asking for me.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: So here Paul's quote comes from Isaiah 65:1.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: The Jews considered themselves to be the only people of God, but God said that the time would come when other nations would seek him.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: The Jews who were looking for a Messiah refused to believe in him when he came.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: So God offered this salvation to the Gentiles who didn't know anything about a Messiah.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thus, many Gentiles who knew nothing about Christ found him and believed in him.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because appearances are deceiving and we can't see into people's hearts.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: Beware of judging beforehand who will respond to the good news and who will not.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: Only God knows that.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_00: Our responsibility is to share it.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Verse 21.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: But regarding Israel, God said, All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, from Isaiah 65, 2, we see the disobedience of Israel was judged by God's welcome to the Gentiles, even though that was his plan all along.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: But he will still accept his chosen people if they will only return to him.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: God still holds out his hands.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, how does this chapter shape your understanding of God's desire for all people to be saved?
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, to me, it reveals that God's perfect love is merciful, compassionate, compassionate, and patient.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that God desires all to be saved.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: We must not sit and merely wait for Christ to return.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: We should live with the realization that time is short and that we have important work to do.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: We must participate with God in His deepest desire for the world, that of repentance and faith.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: And for that to happen, we must live as if we believe the Bible is true.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, that's our message for today.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed it.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you take some great application from this, and I hope you start sharing the Word of God with your friends, family, and neighbors.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: They need to hear it.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_00: We hope you'll join us next week.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: Until then, have a blessed week.