The Tragedy of Zeal Without Knowledge

Transcript

GR 1453
12/05/10
The Tragedy of Zeal Without Knowledge
Romans 10:1-8
Gil Rugh


We're in Romans 10. As we keep reminding ourselves, Romans 9-11 are about the nation Israel. With the unfolding of the gospel message and some details on the content of the gospel and how God is working to bring His righteousness to sinful people, the question looms, what about Israel? And so chapters 9-11 are about the nation Israel and how the nation Israel fits into the eternal plan of God and the present outworking of that plan in the providing of salvation that is being basically realized by Gentiles. What has happened to Israel?

Each of these chapters opens up talking about the nation Israel. Back up to chapter 9 verse 1. Paul says,” I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.” The tremendous burden Paul has for the Jews and their lostness. Oh that they could come to the salvation in Christ, I would pay any price if that would happen, if that were possible. We come to chapter 10 verse 1. “Brethren, my heart's desire, my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.” Again that burden for their salvation, we'll be talking about in the opening verses of chapter 10 in a moment. Come to chapter 11. “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be. For I, too, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.”

So, chapters 9-11 focus our attention intensely on the nation Israel and God's purpose for them in this present day of Gentile salvation. And also the ultimate realization of the full fulfillment of all the promises God has given to them throughout Old Testament history.

As you come back to Romans 10, we noted at the end of chapter 9, beginning with verse 30, you have a theme that is going to move right into chapter 10. Verse 30 asks the question, “what shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith, but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law.” That's the issue. And the issue has to do with the righteousness of God and the necessity of faith on the part of man. And we noted the word righteousness is used three times in these closing verses of chapter 9—twice in verse 30 and once in verse 31. And then it is used repeatedly in the first part of chapter 10. Look at verse 3, the word righteousness is used twice. God's righteousness, and the end of the verse, the righteousness of God. Verse 4 uses the word righteousness once; verse 5 uses the word righteousness twice; verse 6 uses the word righteousness once; verse 10 uses the word righteousness. So this is about the righteousness of God and how the righteousness of God is credited to the account of a man.
And so at the end of chapter 9 we had the emphasis on faith. Verse 30, you have the word faith; in verse 32, they did not pursue it by faith; verse 33, he who believes. Believes is the same basic word as we have translated faith. You have the noun and the verb, but he who believes, he who has faith. You come down into chapter 10, that same emphasis on having faith, on believing. Verse 4, everyone who believes; verse 6, it is based on faith; verse 8, the word of faith; verse 9, believe in your heart; verse 10, a person believes; verse 11, whoever believes; verse 14, they have not believed; verse 16, who has believed; verse 17, so faith. You see the overwhelming emphasis in this section is on righteousness and on faith.

The Jews were pursuing righteousness but they weren't acquiring righteousness from God because they didn't have faith. The Gentiles weren't pursuing righteousness but they came to believe in the revelation God gave and they were receiving righteousness. So that's the whole issue. How does a person become righteous in the presence of a holy God. It's not by works, it's by faith. The Jews missed it and it is a serious, serious loss. Nothing has changed. The average religious person today is working to be saved. They miss what Paul was belaboring to make clear in this section of the book of Romans. You can't be saved by your works, by going to church, by being baptized, by partaking of the sacraments, by giving money, by serving. You can't be saved by your works. If the Jews couldn't be saved by their works, how in the world are you going to be saved? They were trying to keep the Mosaic Law. God gave the Mosaic Law. But they failed to appreciate they could never be saved by trying to keep the Mosaic Law. So that's what Paul is driving home.

Chapter 10 is important, I don't know if I should use the word balance, but to put things in perspective you need to be sure to read chapter 10 after you've read chapter 9 because chapter 9 was about the absolute, total sovereignty of God. He places His love on whom He will, He hates whom He will. He has compassion on the one He wants to have compassion on, He withholds compassion, He hardens those whom He will. And now you come to chapter 10 and you know what it's all about? Our responsibility. And it brings a balance. Chapter 9 tells you why anyone is saved, by the gracious intervention of God in His choosing, chapter 10 tells you why people are lost—they refuse to believe.

So we come to chapter 10 and it opens up, ”Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.” You know one thing that should never happen is that no portion of the word of God, including a portion like Romans 9 which is so strong on the sovereignty of God, on God's work of election, should never dull us and soften or diminish our passion for the salvation of the lost. Paul has just unfolded the sovereignty of God and the salvation of man, and in the salvation of Israel. And then he starts chapter 10 as we have it, brethren, my hearts' desire, the desire of my heart. This is not just some superficial passing comment, “Yeah, I'd like them to be saved.” My heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. Sometimes we study chapter 9 and people come away saying, “Why should I even pray for someone? If God chose them, they'll get saved; if He didn't choose them, they won't get saved.” The Apostle Paul writes that tremendous chapter exalting the sovereignty of God and moves right in to say, my prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation. Well if God chose them, they'll get saved; if He didn't, they won't. Right? That's not the way Paul handled it. His desire of his heart is that Israel would be saved. You know what he filled his prayer life with? Prayers to God for the salvation of Israel. There is this tension here that can't be resolved—the absolute sovereignty of God and the complete responsibility of man. And I can live with that. I'm not responsible to solve all of God's problems, if I can say that with respect. In other words I am only responsible to deal with what He has revealed and submit myself to it. If God has not revealed the complete solution to how His sovereignty and my responsibility completely harmonize, that's not my problem. That's His. He has revealed to me what I need to know. He is completely sovereign, I believe that; I am completely responsible, I believe that. Aren't you going to resolve it? I can't. That not surprising, I'm not God. He has chosen not to reveal some things to me. I understand enough to know that chapter 9 makes clear that anyone who is saved, is saved as a result of God's grace and God's mercy and God's selective choice. And chapter 10 makes clear, anybody who is lost is lost because of their refusal to believe.

So that's great. We get caught up and we end up making a choice. I'm either going to decide for the sovereignty of God or I'm going to decide for the responsibility of man. Well, which side are you on, Gil? I'm on both sides, I believe them both. And that's where we're going in Romans 10.

“So brethren, my heart's desire, my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.” And of course Paul is praying according to the will of God. We are to pray according to God's will. And God had revealed His will throughout Old Testament history for the salvation of Israel. So he is praying according to the will of God. His desire is not just national salvation now, because he brings it down to an individual's faith here. Just like we saw in chapter 9, individual choice on God's part; a choice of individuals. Here we see the faith of individuals. My heart's desire, my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

Now you'll note the next verses begin with the little preposition “for.” Verse 2, for; verse 3, for; verse 4, for; verse 5, for. You are going to now explain it and build the explanation here of how God is working. “For I testify about them, that they have a zeal for God but not in accordance with knowledge.” I want the balance to be clear. As we started in Romans, chapters 1-3, basically, about the sin of man and our guilt. And no one has any excuse. We've demonstrated in the opening chapters of Romans and up through this point we are sinners by birth, we are sinners by choice. But that never makes Paul calloused toward the tremendous loss, the terrible condition of those apart from Christ. And the passion he has for their salvation. Israel is lost and it's their own fault. But that doesn't make Paul calloused toward them, indifferent to their lostness. I have a heart's desire for their salvation, I pray for their salvation.

“For I testify about them, that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” Israel's problem wasn't a lack of zeal, they weren't disinterested in God. They had a zeal for God that Gentiles didn't have. I mean, they were pouring their life into trying to keep the Law and they had added innumerable additional requirements to the Mosaic commandments. Why? Just to be sure that we keep them. And they were zealous, devoting themselves to try to keep the Law. Paul was like that.

Come back to Acts 22. Paul is giving his testimony before the Jews after he has been seized in the temple in chapter 21. And he addresses them as brethren and fathers because they are fellow Jews. “Hear my defense which I now offer to you,” verse 1. “And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became more quiet.” They realized, this is a Jew here who is comfortable in Judaism. He knows our language. Verse 3, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Silicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers.” Note this, “being zealous for God, just as you all are today.” I mean, Paul says I was just like you, I was zealous for God. Now it is misdirected, it was in ignorance. But why was Paul doing what he was doing before his conversion, persecuting Christians and so on? Because he was jealous for God, to protect God's holiness and righteousness from defilement, and to protect the teaching of Judaism from corruption. I was zealous for God just like you are.

Come over to Galatians 1:13, giving his testimony here. “For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure. I tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries, among my countrymen.” He was a rising star in Judaism. “Being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.” That's what Paul is talking about, a zeal for God.

Come back to Romans 9:31. Paul refers to the fact that Israel is pursuing a law of righteousness, another word that denotes their pursuit, zeal. They are zealously going after righteousness. Why are they trying to keep the Law? The Gentiles are indulging in all the pleasures of the flesh, the Jews are trying to keep the Law. Why? It was to be righteous before God. You know that has not changed. People are like that today. It's a great starting point in talking to people about the gospel. Are you a religious person? Maybe you know something about them. I notice you go to church regularly, you go to synagogue regularly. I worked for bosses who were both Jewish and Roman Catholic in the east and I would talk to them about this. You are a very religious person, religion must be important to you. Oh yes, it is. You do many things beyond what is normal. And it leads right into the gospel. Do you know that God says that going through these things can't save you? And so on. This is what the Jews were doing. Sad that people are making the same mistake today.

They have a zeal for God but not in accordance with knowledge. They didn't understand God's plan of salvation. They didn't grasp that it's not by my works. It is by faith. We're going through a move today, even in the evangelical church, where we are going back and admiring the monks and the mystics of centuries ago who so deprived themselves. You understand that is not a way of salvation. Martin Luther had to come to understand that as he climbed the stairs on his knees. You can't work your way to heaven. You can't earn or merit God's righteousness. They don't have knowledge. They have zeal but they don't have knowledge. That is a formula for disaster. We have people blowing themselves up today. Why? They are zealous for their god and they think by these acts of sacrifice they will be immediately transported to heaven. They have zeal. You can't deny their zeal. They will die for their conviction. So we ought to be careful. Well, they are zealous. God will honor their zeal. He will respect their zeal. But Paul's point is zeal without knowledge is the road to hell. It's the road to destruction. That's the tragedy here.

For, verse 3, he's going to explain their zeal but their lack of knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness, they are ignorant of God's righteousness, God's way of salvation.” Come back to Romans 1. We started the book of Romans and he unfolded the gospel. Remember this is the theme of the whole letter. Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” We're going to come to that same emphasis on everyone who believes, in a moment in chapter 10. “For in it, the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written.” And then he quotes from the Old Testament scriptures, the prophet Habakkuk. “The righteous man shall live by faith.” Salvation is by faith, not by works.

That's what we come to in chapter 10, “not knowing about God's righteousness.” They are ignorant of the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel. The righteousness of God is provided through faith in Him, His death and resurrection. They don't know about that, they don't understand it. They may have heard some talk about it, but they have no understanding of it, “not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own.” So being ignorant of the fact that God has provided righteousness by grace through faith in Christ, they are going about trying to establish their own righteousness. That's what the Jews were doing by keeping the Law. Like people are doing today—they go to church, they partake of the sacraments, they go to confession, they do this, they do that. Why? I want to be acceptable before God, I want God to accept me, I don't want Him to condemn me. I want him to say, you are a righteous man.

“Not knowing about God's righteousness, seeking to establish their own. They did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” That’s a tremendous statement. Here is the issue. They did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. Subject, a military word, compound word that means to be under the authority of someone. Used in the military because in the military you have a chain of command and people are arranged under the authority of their commanding officer. And what happens here when people “not knowing about God's righteousness seek to establish their own,” they are refusing to subject themselves to God and His plan. We use the military analogy. You have a commanding officer, gives an order. Someone says no, I have a better plan. He is refusing to subject himself to the authority of the one who is over him. You see it is not just a passive, I am innocent, I didn't know. I was being zealous to the best of my knowledge. We've seen in the opening chapters of Romans, there are no excuses. Men are actively suppressing the knowledge of God, they are not innocent human beings. There is no such thing. That's why the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against men as they are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. They are without excuse.

So here, “they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” He is talking about Israel here. This is a problem. Well, I've chosen to keep honoring the Law and God will respect the fact that at least I've chosen to obey that portion of His word and try to be righteous to the best of my ability by keeping the Law. Wrong. That's an act of rebellion. They refuse to subject themselves to the Law of God. We often say, coming to faith in Christ is a humbling process. That's one of the big barriers. I can't carry my pride to the cross. It can't happen. It's a humbling process. I have to see myself as a sinner, unworthy, justly condemned, without excuse. That's humbling. I mean, I've been a good man, I've been a religious man, I've devoted my life to the church, I've done good things, and I realize it is all nothing, as Paul had to come to where he says in Philippians 3, I realized it was all worthless, it had to go on the dung heap. Come to realize as Isaiah says, “all our righteous deeds are like polluted, filthy rags in the sight of God.” That's humbling. It’s hard to be humbled. We think we'll negotiate with God and I'll trust His Son but I don't have to be humble to do that. No, because then you are not submitting yourself to Him and bowing before His authority in trusting Him.

“They did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” This accounts for some of the hostility that comes toward the gospel. People are understanding it correctly. We think they don't understand. They understand. You are telling them they are wrong. All that they have done was to no avail and unless God in grace is softening that heart, there is an overt reaction against it. They did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God, the righteousness that God has provided. Isn't it interesting? We want righteousness from God but we want it on our terms. And the gracious thing of God, He has provided it on His terms at no cost to us. We saw in Romans 3, it's a free gift.

“For, Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Now don't misunderstand. We've been through the book of Romans and to this point Paul has made it clear again and again, the Law never was a way of salvation, never was a way to acquire righteousness before God. So he is not saying Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes. The rest are getting righteousness by the Law. There is no righteousness by the Law.

Come back to Romans 3:20. The conclusion of this opening chapter is demonstrating that all, Jew and Gentile alike, are sinners, under condemnation. Romans 3:20, “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” That word justified is a form of the word righteousness. No man will be declared righteous in His sight. You understand that. No one, no exceptions. No one will ever be declared righteous in the presence of God by trying to keep the Ten Commandments, by trying to keep all 613 commandments of the Law or any other commandments or works. No flesh can be justified by works.

Come over to Galatians, we were in Galatians a few moments ago. Galatians 3:23. Paul is dealing with the same kind of issues in the book of Galatians that he is dealing with in Romans 9-11, particularly where we are in Romans 10. Galatians 3:23, “but before faith came we were kept in custody under the Law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.” So as Jews they lived under the authority of the Law, not as a way of salvation but as God's provision for those who believed in Him as the nation was supposed to, they would manifest their faith by living in obedience to God. And the Law was to be a custodian or a tutor, as we'll see in a moment, to keep them on track and prepare them for the coming of their Messiah.

So verse 24, therefore the Law has become our tutor to Christ. We noted that schoolmaster, that overseer, that slave that was responsible for the care of the child and to see that he got to his place of training and so on. “So that we may be justified by faith, but now that faith has come we are no longer under the tutor.” Now be careful here. Reformed theology is terribly confused on this, teaching that you have to preach the Law before you preach grace. Reformed theologians, covenant theologians constantly emphasize that God's plan is you preach the Law and that shows man he is a sinner. Then you preach grace through faith in Christ and that brings salvation. That's not what Paul is saying here. Not saying that the Law can't be used as all scripture can be used to show man's sin and God's grace, but what he is saying here is for Israel. The Law served a purpose in overseeing Israel's conduct until Christ came. Now with the coming of Christ the Law has completed its purpose. We have come to the end of the Law, it's no longer operative, its’ role has been completed. Now there is clarity of God's work in providing righteousness in Christ by faith.

Come back to Romans. When Paul says, Christ is the end of the Law, the word end, the Greek word talos, has the same breadth of meaning as our English word end. The end can be the culmination of something, the end can be the goal of something. We have an end zone in football, and we watch it, and that is the end zone. That's where the goal posts are. We use it with the goal you are moving towards, that's the completion of something, when you get to the end of it. You watch a movie, and the old movies especially it says “The End,” in case you didn't know. Well that means it is done, finished.

So here when we talk about Christ is the end of the Law, He is the goal toward which the Law is moving, He's the culmination of it. So Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Righteousness is provided now by faith in Christ. It has always been by faith but the Law served a purpose of keeping those who believed on the track to prepare them for the Messiah. When Israel lost sight of the necessity of faith in the God who gave the Law, they began to focus on keeping the Law as a means of righteousness and they were unprepared for the coming of the Messiah. That's why John the Baptist had to come preaching repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They were totally caught up in their works as they subtly move the focus on faith. And now there is clarity, God's revelation in Christ has been made clear, here is the plan of salvation.

You'll note, it is to everyone who believes. We saw that back in Romans 1:16-17, “the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, Jew first and also Gentile.” There is only one way of salvation, it's by faith in Christ. People think we are narrow as Bible-believing Christians, we are arrogant, we think our way is the only way. That's not so, I think God's way is the only way. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, the life, no man comes to the Father but by Me.” That's narrow. That means the Muslims can't get to heaven by being Muslims, the Hindus can't get to heaven by being Hindus, Protestants can't get to heaven by just being Protestants, nor can Catholics get to heaven by just being Catholics. There is only one way of salvation, it is by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. It comes across to those of other convictions or beliefs or no convictions or beliefs, you're arrogant. No, that's just truth. If I tell you that if you ingest enough arsenic you'll be dead, that's not arrogant, that's just truth. This is God's truth, it is righteousness for everyone who believes. Everyone else refuses to subject himself to the righteousness of God and will be judged and condemned. That's what God says. It is narrow, but it's broad. It's narrow, there is only one way, but it's broad, it's for everyone who believes—Jew and every type of Gentile. It's wonderful and it's for everyone who believes. Some people want to say, that's very narrow. I say, it's very broad. If you have a disease and there is only one cure for your disease, that's narrow. But if that cure is for everyone who will take it, that's broad, isn't it? You know the problem with man? We're back to the end of verse 3, they don't want to subject themselves to the righteousness of God. He's the end of the Law, the culmination of it, the end of it for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Now he's going to show from Old Testament scripture these truths. And that is for the benefit of the Jews but a reminder to the Gentiles. Verses 5-8 bring a series of references to the Old Testament For Moses writes that “the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the Law shall live by that righteousness.” The point is that when you obligate yourself to the Law, you are required to keep the Law. That's what takes place in Leviticus 18:5, from where this reference to what Moses said is taken. It can't be faith plus works, you can't mix the two because the Law requires obedience. It is an obedience system. Faith is a non-obedience system in that sense, a non-works system. It is trusting what God has done. Doesn't mean there is no place for obedience, but it's not obedience that brings you righteousness. It's faith, where under the Law it required works. That's the problem with the Law. God never gave it as a way of salvation. We just read in Romans 3:20, “by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified, declared righteous in His sight.” What was the purpose of the Law? It was not for a way of salvation, a way to become righteous. That's evident because a major part of the Law is the sacrificial system. What is the sacrificial system for? For you who failured to keep the Law. Built into the Law is a recognition you can't keep it, you won't keep it, you are guilty, you need a sacrifice.

So the basic foundation if you are going to try to be righteous by your good works, by your best efforts, by keeping the Ten Commandments, which is a bailout because there are 613 commandments in the Law. People think they are going to be saved by keeping the Ten, which just give you an overall view of the Law.

A man who practices righteousness based on the Law shall live by that righteousness. That's one way, but you can't make it there, the first three chapters of Romans made that clear. Romans 7 made that clear. Look at verse 6, but the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows. This is what we saw in Romans 1:17, the righteousness of God by faith. This is the stumbling block. Oh, the stubbornness of the human heart refuses to bow in the presence of the living God. It refuses to subject itself.

The righteousness based on faith speaks as follows. Do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down. Now there are really two parts in the Old Testament drawn together here, both from Deuteronomy and for Jews who were saturated with the Old Testament. I remember reading about a man whose daughter was raised in Judaism and by the time this girl was a young women she had memorized the Old Testament in Hebrew. You have to fill your life with the Torah and the scriptures.

Come back to Deuteronomy 9, the Jews would pick this up. We're coming here because I want you to see the context. In Deuteronomy 9, God is preparing Israel for when they go into the land and so Moses is addressing them. And so chapter 9 opened up, “Hear oh Israel, you're going across the Jordan today, you're going to dispossess the nations there” and so on. And “it's the Lord who is going before you and driving out the enemies.” Verse 4, “do no say in your heart.” That's quoted in Romans 10 which is the portion we are reading. This is where that comes from, “do not say in your heart.” Now note where it goes on here. Jews would be familiar when they hear this, just like when someone would say, “for God so loved the world.” In your mind you finish it, “that He gave His only begotten Son.” I could say you are familiar with John 3:16, it says “for God so loved the world“ and go on. Or I could use part of that and say, “for God so loved the world” and add the part of another verse and you would be thinking of the context of it. So Jews here, “do not say in your heart.” Now note the rest of the sentence in Deuteronomy, “when the Lord your God has driven them out before you because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me to possess this land.”

So in the context here when he says, “do not say in your heart,” it is even in that context where that is drawn from, don't think it's because of righteousness through what you have done. Verse 5, “It is not for your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess the land.” Verse 6, “know then it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God has given you this good land to possess. You are a stubborn people. So do not say in your heart.” Paul is going to connect that to another portion of Deuteronomy, but the context of that is a reminder, you can't acquire the righteousness that would bring God's blessing by your works. This is an act of God's grace and kindness.

Come over to Deuteronomy 30 for the rest of what Paul quotes. Verse 11, “for this commandment which I command you this day is not too difficult for you nor is out of reach.” So, you see what he has done, he has picked up that one statement in chapter 9, “do not say in your heart,” and he connects it to what we have here in verse 11. “This commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is out of reach. It is not in heaven that you should say, who will go up to heaven to get it for us and make us hear it that we may observe it, nor is it beyond the sea nor in the depths of the sea that you should say, who should cross the sea for us to get it so we could hear it. But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart that you may observe it. See I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.” You know what the point in Deuteronomy is? You don't have to go searching for what would God have me do? How can I be right with God? If somebody could only get to heaven and bring something down from God or go across the sea and find it for me. You don't have to do that, you have the word from God.

Come back to Romans 10, see how Paul applies this. “The righteousness,” verse 6, “based on faith speaks as follows. Do not say in your heart, who will ascend in to heaven?” And by application now we have a fuller revelation from God, we have the coming of Christ. That would say to bring Christ down. The Jews oughtn't to still be looking for the Messiah to come as though, oh if only the Christ would come. Don't say in your heart, who will ascend into heaven, that would be like saying to bring Christ down. Who will descend into the abyss, the abousos, often used as a translation of the sea. Because we think of the sea and that dark, murky almost bottomless place. It is often used of the sea, used in the New Testament of the pit, place of hell. So who will descend into the abyss, that is to bring Christ up from the dead. The point is God has already acted. His work has been done. It has been made known. What does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” You don't have to search heaven and hell, you don't have to hope that some day God would come from heaven. You don't have to think, if God would bring Him from the grave. It has all been done. And you have it right here, its word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. Think about that where you are sitting, the word you are hearing is God's word of life. That's the revelation from God, just as real as if Jesus Christ would come down from heaven and stand right here. This is the word of salvation, it is near you, it is in your heart, it is in your mouth. I mean, you don't have to go looking for it. Do you believe it? You may be able to quote the verses, in your mouth, you have stored it in your mind. Maybe as a child you were taught it. How many people can quote John 3:16 and have no idea personally of what that really means? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, in order that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.”

Come over to Hebrews 1, and here you see the revelation from God. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways.” Throughout Old Testament history God revealed Himself over a period of some 1500 years. It was recorded, written down, different men, different writers, different means of revealing Himself—dreams, visions, appearances of angels and so on. There were a variety of ways. “In these last days He has spoken to us in His Son.” That's where Paul has gone. Don't say who would go to heaven, who would come up from the dead. God's final, fullest revelation has taken place, His Son has come from heaven, died on the cross, been buried, been raised from the dead. And if you will believe in Him He will cleanse you, forgive you, make you new. He will justify you, before the throne of Almighty God in the courtroom of God He will declare you righteous, absolved of guilt. You will become His child. It's by faith. Think about what people are going through in different parts of the world as they try to work and do things that they think will please God, and make sacrifices and deprive themselves. To say nothing of the people who are indifferent. And here God has made Himself known. “The Son whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory, the exact representation of His nature. He upholds all things by the word of His power. And when He had made purification of sins He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The work has been done, there is nothing new, there is nothing else, this is it. You can continue to refuse to subject yourself to the righteousness of God, the righteousness He has provided. But, oh, what a terrible choice when you are right here, hearing what God has said.

Turn over to I Peter 1. Peter says in verse 23, “for you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For all flesh is like grass, all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” Oh, if only we could find that eternal word, that would give me eternal life. So when the glory of this life and the flower of this life is gone, life is not gone. This is the word which was preached to you. Think about that. If you believe it you have life, you are credited with the righteousness of God. You, a filthy, vile sinner, guilty before a holy God, can't make yourself better before God. God says you have to be born again. Remember what Jesus said to Nicodemus? You must be born again. We're born again by the living and abiding word of God. The simplicity of it, the beauty of it goes right by and in our hardened hearts we ignore it.

This is God's plan of salvation. This is why Israel is in such a terrible state down to this day. We try to acquire righteousness from God by our own works. Or we are like the people in Romans 1, we are indifferent to it, we have life to live and things to do. But it all comes down to this. You must submit yourself to the righteousness of God. You don't have to submit yourself to me, you don't have to submit yourself to this church. But you do have to submit yourself to the living God. And to do that you must recognize your sin, your guilt and agree with God, I am a sinner. I don't like to admit it, I haven't liked to consider myself that. I don't like to see myself as such a needy person. But I am without hope. God, I am guilty. But you are a God of mercy.

You've heard the message. You've heard the word of God. This is the word which was preached to you. Believe this word and you will be born again. You can't work for it, you can't earn it. If I could tell you, if you join this church, lead a good life, give significant amount of money, you will make it to heaven, that would be a lie. God says, I'm giving it as a free gift. But oh, it is so hard because you have to humble yourself before God, submit yourself to Him and say, “God, I am trusting in no one, in nothing but you and your Son, the One who loved me and died for me.”

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for such a great Savior. Thank you, Lord that our hope is not just in this life but it's an eternal hope. Indeed the glory passes, the flower withers, things fade, but the word of our God endures forever. And Lord when we believe in your eternal word we are given eternal life, forgiveness of sins, cleansing from all defilement, the peace, comfort and joy that comes from belonging to you, the living God. Thank you for such salvation. Thank you for a Savior who indeed came from heaven, suffered and died on the cross, was buried and was raised from the dead. He is alive today and through faith in Him we receive spiritual life. We praise you in Christ's name, amen.