Sermon – Romans 10:5-15 – The Word is Near You

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Romans 10:5-15 – The Word is Near You

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

August 7, 2011

Last week we saw how our faithful God continues to honor the covenants he had made with the Jews. This is something we should expect given the faithfulness of God. And even though we should tell Jews the good news of our salvation in Jesus Christ, we should not condemn them if they do not believe. Our relationship with Jews should be as cousins not enemies.

The covenants between God and Jews called for obedience to the law in exchange for blessings from God. So the Jews were to be circumcised, eat kosher foods, obey the ten commandments, follow the code of sexual propriety, and do whatever else God commanded them in scripture. In return God would bless them with children, land, food and of course his presence with them. It was pretty good bargain.

But are we part of those covenants? We are not descended from Abraham. Must we be circumcised? We did not inherit the land. Must we obey the ten commandments? These questions bother us just as they the Roman church in the first century. Paul's response came in Romans 10. But before we look at what Paul said let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Romans 10:5-15 ⁵ Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." ⁶ But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: ⁹ That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ¹¹ As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

The church has always struggled for reasons why we should obey God's law. In the Middle Ages many thought that by obeying the law, God would love you and let you into heaven. The idea was that just as saints led exemplary lives and went to heaven when they died so too should we. By obeying God's law we could build up some credits on our account which could be used to get us into heaven. The Protestant reformers said that this notion was ridiculous. Salvation, our ticket to heaven, came free of charge by the grace of God. Our salvation had nothing to do with anything we did and everything to do with God's free choice. God saves us because God chooses to, not because of anything we have done.

So why bother obeying the law? If our salvation has nothing to do with what we do or not do, then why even try to do what is right? Why go to church? Why obey the 10 commandments? Why care for the poor and needy? If doing these things has nothing to do with our salvation then why do them at all?

Martin Luther said that for Christians the law served two purposes. The first purpose was to convict us of sin. When we hear God's commandments read from the Bible we realize how far we have fallen short. Do we really sacrifice for those in need? Do we really set aside a full sabbath rest each week? Are we always faithful to our spouses never lusting after another? When we hear the law we know how far we fall short. This prompts us to bow our head and confess our sins.

The second purpose of the law, according to Luther, was that by obeying the law society would function better. Who would argue that Pocomoke would be a better place it no one ever lied or stole something, or cheated on his wife or her husband? Society needs the rule of law to order itself. And this law is enforced by the police power of the state. You could be thrown in jail if you do not obey the law. And so even though the threat of punishment can lead to obedience of civil, this is not really a positive reason why a Christians should obey God's law.

Calvin added to this list of Luther's a third use for God's law: training in righteousness. Calvin pointed out that as Christians grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ they will want to do what God tells them to do. God's law is one way for us to know what God wants from us, not as a means of salvation – that is only by the grace of God, but as a teaching tool for those who have been saved leading to progress in piety, good behavior.

We see from this that the law of God has many uses, but we still wonder why we as Christians must obey it. We don't have to obey the law as part of the Jewish covenant with God. We don't have to obey the law as a means of salvation. So why do we have to obey God's law? Paul says, here in the tenth chapter of Romans that Christians have to obey God's law because of something we have all said. There is something each of us, all Christians in fact, have spoken with their lips which obligates us to obey God's law. What could this possibly be?

Every Christian at baptism, or at confirmation if baptized as a infant, must speak with their lips the oldest Christian confession of faith, older than even the Apostles Creed. What each person must confess with their lips to become a Christian is to say that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every person who is a member of Pitts Creek or Beaver Dam church has made this confession. All we require for membership is that you confess with your lips that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your hearts that he was raised from the dead. And if you have done this, you and all people throughout the ages who have made the same confession are assured of God's salvation.

So why would this confession lead us to be obligation to obey God”s laws? The answer is simple. If you speak with your lips that Jesus Christ is Lord, and if you believe in your hearts that he was resurrected from the dead and exalted to the right hand of God, then you must obey him. This is what it means to say that Jesus Christ is your Lord. Jesus is now in control of your lives. So certainly we must obey God's laws.

This is the essence of Paul's theology. We are saved by the grace of God through faith. Our faith is expressed in our confession that Jesus is Lord. The lordship of Jesus Christ now governs our lives. We follow Jesus Christ as disciples by obeying God's law.

So what does the Lord Jesus Christ, the one raised from the dead and exalted at the right hand of God, command us to do? Here are his words from Matthew 28

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So the command that we have received from our Lord Jesus Christ is to spread the good news of the coming kingdom of God to everyone we meet. We are to invite everyone we know to come to church to hear this good news proclaimed. If you have spoken with you lips that Jesus Chirst is Lord and believe in you hearts that Jesus lives and is exalted at the right hand of God then you are obligated to spread the Word of God to everyone in Pocomoke.

If you don't tell others about your faith how will they ever know about God? If you don't invite people to church how will new people know to come here. If you really believe in Jesus show it by encouraging people, who do not already go to church, to come to Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek. This is what it means to be a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul promises that whenever you talk to people about our Lord Jesus Christ the Word of God will be near. So evangelism is not up to you. All you have to do is begin the conversation. And when you do the Holy Spirit will be present communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ. So just talk with people about your faith and your church and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. Amen.

Sermon – Romans 9:1-5 – What About the Jews?

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Romans 9:1-5 – What About the Jews?

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

July 31, 2011

Last week we read these words in Romans chapter 8:

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing can separate us from God's love is an important principle to remember. God is faithful and will never leave us. God will never forget the promises he has made to us. We have been and will continue to be richly blessed by God. But what about the Jews? Has something separated Jews from their God? Was the Jews' God unfaithful? Did their God leave them? Did God forget all the promises that he made to them? Has God stopped blessing the Jewish people? Will God punish the Jewish people in hell for eternity for their believe that Jesus was not the Messiah, the Christ?

The answer of the church for centuries has been a resounding “Yes!”. We have blamed the Jews for their refusal to believe in Jesus. Because of their unbelief God has ripped up the ancient covenants and promises and started over with the church. God has removed their blessings and given them to us. God will punish them for eternity while we will enjoy the blessings heaven.

This way of thinking has led Christians to force Jews out of their communities, imprison them and even kill them. For the church's historic antisemitism we must confess what we have done and repent. With this in mind we will be looking at Romans 9-11 over the next few weeks. These are some of the texts that Christians have used to condemn the Jews. Let's look at them in a new way. But first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Today, 500,000 Jews live in France. A recent poll indicated that about a quarter wish to leave because of rising antisemitism. 82% say that antisemitism is a major problem in France. 78% say that it is getting worse. 38% say that they have been targets of antisemitic attacks. And 58% say they know someone who has been attacked. (www.jewishfederations.org)

Antisemitism has always been around and continues today. Even Christians are part of the problem. This is true even though we worship the same God and share the Hebrew scriptures, our Old Testament. The Apostle Paul was himself a Jew and suffered the antisemitism of the Roman Empire.

Paul's ministry was to both Jews and non-Jews, Gentiles. With the Gentiles he was hugely successful in bringing them to Christ. But the Jews, his own people, were resistant. Paul agonized over all of this and wrote these words.

Romans 9:1-9 ^NIV Romans 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ-- I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit-- ² I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, ⁴ the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵ Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Paul is agonizing over a difficult problem. His own people, the children of Israel, have mostly ignored the good news of Jesus Christ and failed to recognize him as their messiah, the Christ. Paul doesn't understand this at all. God grace for who believe is such a good thing everyone should accept it, especially the people of God. The fact that so many have rejected Christ is a source of great agony and disappointment for Paul.

What Paul could have done was to condemn the Jews for what they had failed to do. This is the common reaction: to blame Jews for believing in Jesus Christ and placing the blame of their eternal damnation squarely on their shoulders. But this is not what Paul told the church of Rome. Paul saw the relationship between the Jews and their God very differently.

What Paul goes on to say is the God has made repeated promises to Israel. Remember the promise God made to Abram, that his descendants would number more than all the stars in heaven. And when the children of Israel were in Egypt, God promised them freedom and land. God promised that David's heir would always sit on the throne. And God promised a messiah; a promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

God showed his faithfulness to these promises even when the children of Israel turned their back on God. Remember how God freed them from slavery in Egypt and guided them for forty years in the wilderness. Remember how God raised up judges to protect them from their enemies. Remember how God used the Persian King Cyrus to return the children of Israel to their homeland after being exiled in Babylon. Remember how God sent Jesus as their Messiah. God is truly faithful to his people.

But if we now believe that God has ripped up the covenants he made with the children of Israel, what does that tell us about God? Is God really faithful if he turns his back on his own people? If the Jews were plan A and were supplanted by the Church, plan B, can we still say we worship a faithful God? And if God was unfaithful to his chosen people, what makes us think that God will be faithful to us? Will the Church, plan B, be replaced by something else, plan C, and our salvation lost? Paul says a resounding “No!” to all of this because God is faithful. God has always been faithful. God will always remain faithful both to us and to the children of Israel.

And this leads Paul to say something crucially important about God. God is always free to act anyway God chooses, and so God will freely choose to whom he will extend his mercy. This is the theological doctrine of election. Our salvation depends not on what we do, but on the choices God makes to save us.

God has chosen the children of Israel as his people. God has promised to bless them richly. And he has! Paul says. “4b and to them (the Children of Israel) belong the adoption (as the people of God), the glory (of God's presence among them), the covenants (and promises he has given them throughout history), the giving of the law (which has blessed them with good lives), the worship (where his presence is felt and sins forgiven) … 5 to them belong the patriarchs (Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, (Jesus Christ).”

So God is faithful. He has richly blessed the Children of Israel, and will continue to do so. So why do they not believe in Jesus? Paul says 32 “Because they did not strive for it (belief in Jesus) on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works.” The Children of Israel in the first century were more concerned about the form of their religion than about their faith. Temple worship, sacrifice, and holiness were emphasized over faith. And without faith they were unable to believe in Jesus. Gentiles, on the other hand, had no concern for these things and were therefore more likely to develop the faith they needed to believe in Jesus.

This comes to us as both good news and a warning. The good news is that just as God remains faithful to the Jews fulfilling the promises he made to them, so to will God remain faithful to us. Remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God. But the warning is that if we are too focused on worship or buildings or mission or youth programs we may forget to develop our faith, our belief in Jesus Christ.

So what should we do about the Jews? Like Paul, we must continue to tell them the good new that in fulfillment of their scriptures Jesus has come as their Messiah ushering in the Kingdom of God. Like Paul, we must pray for the Jews that they will come to belief and find salvation. But we must also recognize the Jews as the children of God and as the inheritors of God's promises. Amen.