Israel’s Present Rejection

22 September 2013 AM – Romans 10:1-21 – Romans – Scott Childs

Introduction: In Matthew 4:19, Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” God does not want anyone to perish in hell, yet He knows that, like fish, men will not receive His salvation without a fisherman to bring them to Christ. Fishing of any kind is a job that takes patience and perseverance.

Transition: God wants all people to receive His salvation and not reject it in unbelief. In this chapter, God gives us five descriptions of the gospel that ought to motivate us to receive His salvation and to become fishers of men.

I. God Describes the Need of the Gospel (Ro 10:1-2)

A.     The need is to be saved

1.      Paul was burdened for Israel because he knew they were not saved. They were sinful and doomed for eternal hell.

2.      This is just as true for us today. People today are just as sinful and doomed for hell as the Jews of Paul’s day.

3.      Whether you were born in a religious home or a non-religious home, you were born a sinner in need of a Saviour and so was I.

B.     The need is for truth

1.      The Jews had a zeal for God. That means they had a religious passion for God. However, passion alone does not save anyone.

2.      Their passion for God was not according to knowledge.

a)      They did not understand God’s way to be saved. All they knew was religion and good deeds.

b)      They did not have a faith relationship with God.

3.      Before anyone can be saved, he must first see his helplessness and need for God’s salvation.

II. God Describes the Way to the Gospel (Ro 10:3-5)

A.     Man’s righteousness is the wrong way

1.      Man’s way is by human effort (3).

2.      Man’s way is by trying to keep the Law (5).

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 16:25

B.     God’s righteousness is the ONLY way to heaven

1.      Because Christ died for man’s sin, He is able to share His perfect righteousness with everyone that believes on Him (4).

2.      Christ’s sinless payment ended or fulfilled the law that man could not perfectly obey (4).

3.      God requires that we must submit to His righteousness (3). His way is the ONLY way to be save and go to heaven.

III. God Describes the Ease of the Gospel (Ro 10:6-13)

A.     Receiving God’s salvation is not hard work (6-7)

1.      We must believe that Jesus was the Christ who came down from heaven to pay for our sin. God’s righteousness, which is by faith, demands that we believe this. Jesus, the Christ or Messiah, already came to this earth for us.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

2.      We must believe that Jesus the Christ already rose again from the dead for our justification. It is a finished fact.

Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Romans 4:25

B.     Receiving God’s salvation is as easy as faith (8-13)

1.      It takes place in the heart, with the mouth, by faith (8). You cannot get nearer to home than that! Paul said, “It is the word of faith, which we preach.”

a)      God said, “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.” You must agree with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. This is not Lordship Salvation. It is believing that Jesus truly is the Lord Christ. He is the ONE and only one who can save from hell.

b)      Believe in your heart that God raised up Jesus from the dead. You must truly believe!

c)      God made salvation as easy as believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth.

2.      God offers salvation to anyone and everyone.

a)      Whosoever believes can be saved (11). Believing faith is the key. No one can be saved without faith that Jesus paid their debt in full on the cross.

b)      Any Jew or Gentile who calls on the Lord for salvation will be saved (12).

(1)    God wants to hear us admit that we are guilty and that we deserve hell.

(2)    He wants to hear us express our faith in Him.

(3)    He wants to hear us ask Him to save us from hell and give us eternal life.

c)      God promises that whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (13). That means anyone and everyone – the moral person, the drunk, the prostitute, the drug addict, the religious person, the good person, the murderer, the thief, the liar – anyone at all who will believe and call.

IV. God Describes the Witness to the Gospel (Ro 10:14-15)

A.     To be saved, sinners need to hear the Gospel

1.      The Gospel must be available

a)      They cannot call on Christ without believing.

b)      They cannot believe on Christ without hearing.

c)      They cannot hear about Christ without a preacher.

d)      A preacher cannot go without being sent.

2.      We who know the Gospel must preach the Gospel.

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 2 Corinthians 4:3

a)      The unpopularity of the Gospel is not a good excuse for silence. Jesus was crucified for providing the Gospel. Most of Jesus’ disciples died as martyrs for preaching the Gospel. History tells us that nearly 50 million Christians died during the dark ages for sharing and defending the Gospel. Multitudes of Christians today are suffering persecution in countries where the Gospel is illegal. No, the Gospel has never been popular.

b)      Ignorance is no excuse. We each own a Bible.

c)      Lazy apathy is a shameful excuse.

d)      Too busy is a dishonest excuse.

B.     God praises those who preach the Gospel

1.      Paul quotes from Isaiah 52:7.

2.      God says that if you carry the Gospel to unbelievers, your feet are beautiful and you bring glad tidings of good things.

3.      You can do it! I can do it! Let’s get active. Pass out tracts. Tell your friends about Christ. Be a witness.

V.  God Describes the Duty Toward the Gospel (Ro 10:17-21)

A.     Man’s duty toward the Gospel is to obey it

1.      Obey it by placing faith in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. “Atoning” means that Jesus paid for our sin by his death and resurrection.

2.      God’s Word, the Bible, explains the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible also gives many examples of God’s trustworthiness. By reading and listening to God’s word, faith will increase.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

B.     People must believe by faith

1.      Many Israelites heard but rejected salvation by faith in Jesus Christ (18, 21).

2.      Many gentiles (Verses 19-20: those who were no people, a foolish nation, those who sought God not nor asked after him) found and believed God’s salvation by faith.

Conclusion: God described for us the need of His salvation, the way to it, the ease of receiving it, and the duty to believe it. Have you received the Gospel by faith? If not, do it today.

God also described the witness that believers must be for Him. We are to be fishers of men. If you have not been regularly fishing for men, it is time you begin. Rescue the perishing. Care for the dying.

Song: Rescue the Perishing – 432