Title: Romans 10
By: Todd Bevins
Intro
I was thinking about things. I was thinking about what—when it comes to salvation, I guess I was thinking about the cross. I had to go to Patriot, Ohio today. I was just driving. I was thinking about things; Easter, the Cross, a lot of different things. I was thinking, when it comes to salvation; what part do we play in salvation? Really? About like your response, nothing! We have nothing to do with salvation. When it comes to salvation the sister mentioned it a second ago; our only responsibility is just to accept it. That’s it! As far as, having any part in it; there is none.
However, it leads me on to think about how I have been around places. I am not going to say that I have never been guilty myself, maybe in my younger Christian days, being unaware, sometimes I think people do things because they think they have to do it, to have God’s favor on their life. That is not necessarily the case. I do believe we would do things and live a godly Christian life because we are saved. We don’t do that to be saved. So, we know that. We know there are things we will do, and there are things we will get involved in that will ultimately bring glory to God, but we are not doing that to earn God’s favor or His approval. We are doing that because we love Him. He lives in our heart. It is to glorify Him and nothing else. If it is for any other reason, it is not of God.
Paul is writing and there are struggles among those to whom he is writing. There is a question about looking between law and grace and so forth. There is a lot of struggles there. For you and I, it is not a problem because we live in a day of dispensation of grace. We know that we are saved by grace through faith. We know that. For these folks, a lot of them have been taught and reared up during these times that they were taught the law. As they studied these things and they were taught these things. They knew that there were certain things they needed to do and sacrifices that needed to be made. Therefore, they are going through a transition time because now Christ has come. He has died. Praise God, He’s alive and well! Paul is going on preaching and proclaiming and letting them know that it is no longer by the law—you can never by the law be saved—that Christ came and fulfilled the law. It is not law plus Christ equals righteousness. No. It is Christ equals righteousness. That’s it! It is that and that alone.
Romans 10:1
I like when he comes out in the first of chapter ten. Paul speaks very clearly and says:
1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
As I ponder today, as I thought today; I have never been more liberated in my life than when I come to Christ and as I grow in Him, I have never been more free in my entire life than when I come to Christ.
I was pondering on this the other night. I was thinking about—the Bible teaches us that we are a slave to Christ. Aren’t we? We are a slave unto Him. When you think about a slave; you think about somebody under another’s control or authority. That is true. However, for us; we do that with delight. In other words, I am saying; He has ownership over my life. I belong to Him. I am a slave unto Christ. Whatever, He asks of me; I willingly want to do that very thing that He asks of me. Therefore, it is a great honor. It is liberating to say I am a slave unto Christ. He is my Lord. He is my all in all.
Paul is saying, for those folks, the nation of Israel; Paul is saying as a whole, my heart’s desire is…My concern for you is this…The thing I want more than anything else is that you be saved. Then you would know what real living is all about.
I never knew what life was all about. I thought in my younger days, I was having a blast. I thought I was having great fun. To an extent I was. However, there are times I look back and when my mind looks back to those days; it turns my stomach. It absolutely will bring me to a place that I think; thank God, I am no longer in that lifestyle.
How is that possible? It is because Christ set us free. If He has set us free then we are free indeed. That is what Paul desires. For someone to live a life that they are still going after, and still striving and think they have to do this and that… I am going to tell you this. They need to either A: be saved, be born again, or B: they need to grow in their relationship with the Lord and Praise God, be liberated from these things. I am saved today; I am going to heaven today, not by anything I have done or will ever do. It is by Christ and Christ alone.
Romans 10:2
2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
It reads like this in the NLT.
2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.
They are on a mission here. I see what they are doing and all these things. He is saying—it goes back to just clarify what I already said. If they are not doing it because Christ lives in their heart and bring glory to God. It is the wrong type of zeal. They are going the wrong direction here. Paul says this:
Notice what he says.
Romans 10:3
3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with Himself; the NLT puts it. Basically, Paul is saying here, when he says they are ignorant of God’s righteousness; they don’t understand God’s way of how a man is to be right with Him. They are going about thinking it’s a way they are doing their own thing and going their own way. He says: Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the Law. They think, yeah, sure, I believe Christ. Absolutely! However, I am not going to let go of the Law which tells me I have to do this or that… Paul says, that is not the case.
Romans 10:4
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Paul says, right here is where it stops. It stops at Christ. The Law—Christ came and fulfilled every jot and tittle of the Law. He fulfilled the Law; everything God ever demanded, anything God ever required. He is writing to them and saying, listen, think about this. The One who came, suffered, bled and died; He fulfilled everything God ever required. There is no more need for the Law at all. The Law was only—you know this. I know you have been well-taught over the years. You already know, but I am going to say it anyways. Just hang in there. The Law is only a schoolmaster. The Law was only a way to point people to Christ, to the One that was going to come, to the One that would fulfill and be that perfect sacrificial Lamb that God required. He was the One that was going to come and fulfill it. They only pointed man that they had told them, you need a Savior. You cannot get right with God on your own. That is all the Law was to do. Christ came and fulfilled that, yet they still wanted to cling to that. Why is that?
In my own personal thoughts and my way of thinking it is this. For mankind it is almost as if in everything they think they have to have something to do with it. They have to have something to do. Whatever is done, they have to have a part in it. Listen. Salvation is the one thing that we can’t have any part in other than accepting it. He has fulfilled it. He has done it all. Christ came. He paid it all. He did it all. There is nothing, I don’t care how many services you attend. Praise God for that. We must do that. As we read the scriptures, if we don’t…if we don’t want to attend church services then something is a little off in our relationship with God. The scriptures say:
Hebrews 10:25
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
So, we should have a desire within our heart to be in the house of God. That is not the message or the thought, but you get it for free anyway.
The point of the thought is this. Christ, as we come here, we come to worship Him. We come to praise Him. However, no matter what, even though I may come here every service that does not make me right with God. I may do all kinds of things, and just because I may have been in the ministry for twenty-some years; that does not make me right with God. Nor, does it mean I have God’s favor on my life. That is not what brings that. That is not what causes that. Anybody that is a child of God, that is allowing God to live and reign in their hearts and knows Him, and He has set them free, has God’s favor on their life. God is blessing their life. It does not mean their life is perfect. It does not mean that their life is going the way that they would like to see it go. I do know, if they are where need to be with God, they are satisfied in everything that God is doing. They are pleased with the direction that life is going.
The point of the matter is this. Nothing I do makes me right with God. I cannot have my hands in any of it. I have to trust Him completely and fully. When I do that, I am not only a slave; I am a FREE slave. I am set free. I am liberated. He says: Who is that for? To everyone that believeth. Believeth what? To everyone—you and I would say—that puts faith in Jesus Christ. To everyone that says without question, hesitation, reservation, doubt; Christ is Lord of my life. One that believes that by faith, trusts Him with their entire heart. Paul says, Praise God. Do you know what I could say? They are right with God.
I will pause to add this little footnote. It is good to lay your head on your pillow at night when the storms are howling or whatever may be going on and say Praise God, I know I am right with God. I have never slept better in my life than knowing that if I don’t wake up down here, I am just going to wake up over there.
It goes on and he says this.
Romans 10:5
5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
You have heard said before; let me ask you this. If you break one, just one of the Ten Commandments—many laws as we look back in the Old Testament—but if we just broke one of the Ten Commandments, are we not guilty as if we broke them all? You break one then we are disobedient before God and immediately we need a Savior. Therefore, nobody could keep it, nobody could fulfill it, nobody could do that. He says:
Romans 10:5
5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
As Moses told you and described that to you, the righteousness of the law and what must be done. He is basically saying that you know and I know you are guilty, therefore, you can’t follow that and be right with God. He goes on and says this.
Romans 10:6 & 7
6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Do you know what faith says? Genuine true faith does not say, I need to see Him to believe. I need to lay my eyes on Him to believe and if I can see Him then I will believe. Real faith does not do that. Real faith allows the Holy Spirit of God, the authority and the power of God that comes from the Word of God to pierce their heart, and as it pierces their heart, they can say without seeing Him, without touching Him, without audibly hearing Him or being near Him physically; they can say without question or doubt; He is alive and well. He is alive and well. He is real.
Paul is saying, real faith doesn’t need to see. Don’t need to go to heaven to get Him. Don’t need to bring Him down. Don’t need to do any of that. Real faces—Praise God—He’s alive. When one accepts Him by real faith in genuine faith, in true faith; then they are free and free indeed. That is all that Paul is really wanting for them to get. He wants them to understand that knowing Christ and accepting Christ, and living for Christ sets them free. He says, “Don’t you want to be right with God? Absolutely! You want to be right with God. Paul is saying, here is the way we do that.
Romans 10:8
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
By just simply declaring that Christ is Lord, believing in one’s heart and mind and trusting the Lord; you can be saved. In fact, it says this. The message is very close at hand. It is on your lips. It is in your heart. That message is the very message about faith which we preach.
Paul is saying, listen, you have heard it taught. You have heard it spoken. You have heard me teach on it. I like in one place he writes to some of his readers; you have seen me live it. What you have seen, what you have heard out of me, you saw; do. Praise God, the God of peace will be with you. Paul lived it. Paul preached it. Paul said you heard it. You heard it with your ears. He is going to tell them here in just a moment to confess it with your mouth. Believe it in your heart. It is right there. Just accept Him and believe Him.
When I allow my mind to ponder, and actually on the way here; I was thinking about that salvation is not only the greatest thing in this world, but it is the simplest thing in this world. It is so simple that even a child can understand. The simple fact is that all I have to do is believe Him. To go to heaven…I could stand here for a long time and tell you that even just these past few weeks some of the things God has done has just blown my mind and astounded me.
I even made a comment to one of the guys that works with me. He said, the Lord blessed you again. I don’t know why He does that. He cackled and laughed. He said, Na, I understand. He blesses me too. I don’t know why. He has. He has blessed us greatly. He has done wonderful things. As I think about those things, it is not only to have that; but then to think about a home in heaven and in eternity with Him. I think about escaping hell and all that God has done and all that God is going to do in my life. Then I think about how simple He made it. When He came to this world, He was rejected of men, those whom He created. He came unto His own and his own received Him not. I am glad that as many as received Him, to them gave He power to do what? To become the sons of God. Praise God! Therefore, through what He did and the price He paid; this is going to be as simple as it gets. You just have to believe in me. If you believe in me, then no matter where you go, I am going with you. No matter what happens, I will be with you. All the power that heaven can contain will be at your disposal. I will be right there with you. I will fight your battles. I will love you. I will carry you. I will walk you through the storms. I am going to bless your life and when life is over; I am going to bring you home to be with me. All you have to do is believe me. I don’t know of a greater thing that one could do, to believe and accept Christ.
He goes on and says this. So, he begins to explain now what he has mentioned in verse 8, when he mentioned:
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Romans 10:9
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
You confess with your mouth, believe in your heart and you will be saved. We will not gain God’s righteousness by works. We cannot gain and be right with God by works. It will never happen. I don’t care the amount of money that you give. I don’t care the songs that you sing for Him. I don’t care what you do, you can only be right with God by believing in Jesus Christ and that alone. Instead, we gain it by confessing and believing in the personal work of Jesus Christ. Confess with your mouth. It is the idea that we are simply agreeing with. We confess. We agree with what God has said about Jesus. When I confess Him with my mouth, I am simply agreeing what the Word of God says about Christ. This is how hard salvation is. To be able to gain the favor of God; this is how difficult that it is. He says, you just simply confess, and you just agree with what this Word says about Jesus. That is all you have to do. He says, confess it. You just agree with what God has said. It says, it means we recognize that Jesus is God, that He is the Messiah. His work on the cross is the only way of salvation for mankind. We simply agree with God about that. I want you to listen to this closely. I mentioned this a moment ago and said I would cover it again.
I thought this was interesting. One theologian writes whose name was Barkley. You are going to get what he has to say about it. Here it goes. He says confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus. We can never forget all that it meant to say that Jesus Christ is Lord. If a man called Jesus Lord, he was ranking Him with God. He was giving Him the supreme place in his life. He was pledging Him obedience and reverent worship, when he declared Jesus Christ is Lord.
When we say today that He is Lord, from genuine faith in Christ; we are saying He is supreme in my life. He sits on the throne of my heart. Paul is saying all one has to do is simply say, allow the spirit of God, take the Word of God pierce their heart, as they do that. They say praise God, I agree with what God has said about Jesus Christ that He is His Son. He came and died on my behalf and by that He is Lord of my life. They confess with the mouth. They believe in their heart.
Romans 10:10
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So, we find out here that he is saying this. I will say it in these words. There is no way in this world, Christ can live in your heart and you not want to tell someone about it. There is no way that He can be inside of us and we can be right with God—Paul is saying and letting them know…you let go of law, let go of works, let go of doing this and that; just simply believe what God said about His Son. You believe that and you will be free. Do you know what you will want to do? You will want to praise Him, you will want to glorify Him, not only with your words and your actions, but as you go out into the public you won’t be able to contain yourself but to say I love the Lord. He is Lord of my life. He sits on the throne of my heart.
He goes on and tells us this.
Romans 10:11
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
I ask you tonight. Are you ashamed of Him? You are not. Are you? We are not ashamed of Him! He lives in our heart. We know this. He is everything we need. No matter what we face every day of our life. As we get closer to Easter…think about what He paid there on the cross of Calvary, all the benefits that you and I reap from it. Every day of our lives, He made it so simple. The path He had to go, the price He paid, all the suffering He went through; yet, He made it simple for you and I to believe Him. When we believe Him with our heart then He says you are a candidate for heaven. “I am going to be with you no matter what.”
Come and Pray