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.