What Does a Person have to Do to be Saved?
Romans 10:1-10
February 25, 2024
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig
www.biblebc.com
I. Introduction
A. Romans 1-9 has been amazing…
1. Romans has been such a great Book in the Bible so far!
2. So far, the Apostle Paul has written a lot about sin, and God’s righteous wrath against people who break His laws
3. But Paul has also explained more about absolute and complete forgiveness and pardoning, and obtaining perfect righteousness from God
B. But, It is no good just talking about God's forgiveness and justification…
C. If no one knows how to get it
1. It's like talking about a priceless gift being given away and not telling anyone where and how to get it
2. A valuable gift may not be important to you at the moment, but what if you were starving and someone came along and told you about the most marvelous dinner you've ever eaten and a place that you have found such rest and safety, and that you have never felt so loved in your life, and then you walk away from them and they never find out where they could find such a place
3. And yet that is what we are doing every time we gather together as a church and we sing and we praise God, but then, we tell no one about how to be saved and be forgiven like we have been!
D. Paul's Attitude about ALL the Lost
1. Paul Sees people as more than just people
a. He met loads of different kinds of people and nationalities and cultures, all over the Middle east, and southern Europe
b. He saw them ALL as souls
1) Not white, or black, or brown, or green
2) Not beautiful or ugly, skinny or fat
3) Not successful or failures
4) Just SOULS, more than flesh and bones!
5) SOULS! Made in the image of God, made to live forever!
c. As priceless in value (Mark 8:36,37) For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
1) What is the value of all the gold in the world?
2) Of all the lithium, and platinum?
3) Of all the money?
4) And of all the crops, the land, the water, the air?
5) What is the value of all this world put together?
6) Incomprehensible! Inconceivable! Beyond calculating!
d. That they need to be saved!
1) Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
2) 1Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
3) Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
4) Saved from what?
a) FROM sin’s punishment in the next life - the eternal judgment of God
b) And FROM sin’s power over them in THIS life!
e. As worth personal sacrifice to get them saved – like the attitude of a RNLI rescuer, or a Mountain rescue team member, or a member of the Fire Brigade!
f. THAT is the attitude of a soul-winner!
2. So Paul gave everything he had to win people to faith in Christ
a. NOT win people to religions
b. And NOT win them to wealth, or success, or happiness
c. But to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 9:19-22) For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
3. Why? Because only salvation changes everything in someone’s life!
E. So, Paul Now Tells Us How ANYBODY Can Get Saved!
II. Message
A. What is Wrong with Israel? (Romans 10:1-3)
1. Romans 10:1-3 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 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.
2. Paul Starts with Israel’s Spiritual Condition (Romans 10:1)
a. God always starts with Israel
b. The Jewish people are important to God - like they ought to be to us
1) And they were important to the Apostle Paul
2) Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is [NOT WAS], that they might be saved.
3) The Israel that Paul is concerned about are the unbelieving Jews
4) Yes, they are Israelites
5) But they are unbelieving Jews, who have rejected Jesus as their Messiah
6) And yes, they are enemies of the Gospel
7) But none of that matters – because, they are LOST, and without hope
3. They need to be saved (Romans 10:1)
a. Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
b. Not condemned – already condemned!
c. They need to hear about HOW to be saved, and they need to respond in faith!
4. Paul has already proven that there have always been Two Israel’s:
a. #1 The physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are ISRAEL. They may be wicked-living, or… self-righteous zealots
b. #2 And those who believed God like Abraham did - not that they believed “in” God, but that they believed God as their Saviour from their sins
1) Listen to Isaiah 43:3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee…
2) Jew or Gentile, no matter who you were, or where you lived, you had to believe that the God of Israel is the only God there is, and that He is the only Saviour of mankind!
3) Not all Jews believed those things
c. So, Paul prays for unbelieving Israel to be saved! Not to be condemned, or judged, but saved from the same wrath that is coming on the whole world very soon!
d. He is praying for them because they are as lost as pagan head-hunters are!
e. And they have missed the only way to be made righteous
5. They have zeal (Romans 10:2), which is a good thing – passion about GOD, and holiness and righteousness, and worship, and truth
a. Romans 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
b. Where is our zeal? Apathy is killing us. If we were a sports team we would be pathetic full step and if we were the crowd in the stadium, it would be no wonder that our team would be losing match after match
c. Paul is talking about devout Jews obviously – there are Jews who couldn’t care less
d. But Jews who seek God, are zealous of God
e. Paul was a zealous Jew before HE got converted
1) Acts 22:3,4 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
2) Philippians 3:5,6 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
f. Every Friday evening in Israel, every shop was closed at 5, and everyone was home by sunset for 24 hours for every Sabbath. No shopping, no working, just family time, and worship time at the Synagogue.
g. Everyone tithed. Everyone took the words of Scripture literally and seriously!
h. Every baby boy was circumcised. Everybody washed themselves constantly.
i. That is zeal!
6. But they are Ignorant (Romans 10:2) - The problem with Israel was ignorance
a. OUCH! How many of US like to be called “ignorant”?
b. Romans 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
c. They used a lot of energy trying to be good, and be Jewish, and impress God
d. But Paul says so sharply, They were ignorant of how to obtain God's righteousness
e. The Jewish people always wanted to do the right things
f. But they were not prepared to do ALL the things God says to do
1) Like in Matthew 23:23, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
g. They were not wanting to accept and follow the Messiah that God gave them
1) Luke 20:9-16 Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.
2) When God send His Son, you had better accept Him!
3) Because that parable was no idle threat!
7. Instead they seek to establish their own righteousness (Romans 10:3)
a. Romans 10:3 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.
b. They wanted to show that their lives were good enough to be honoured by God
c. That their efforts we're good enough to get them into heaven
d. All religions do this! The Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Roman Catholics, and a whole lot of Baptists
8. But, What a nightmare it will be when every one of them stand before God and discover that they have spent their entire life doing all the wrong things and missing the righteousness of God!
9. (DRAWING of man striving to go up a high mountain, ignoring the instructions that said to just turn and walk quietly across the nearby finish-line!)
B. The End of the Law (Romans 10:4)
1. Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
2. What does that mean?
a. It does not mean the DEATH of the Law of God
b. It means the fulfillment of the expectations of the Law
1) The laws in the Bible are all good, and are actually eternal - they cannot die
2) But they can be fulfilled!
3) Matthew 3:13-17 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
4) Matthew 5:17,18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
5) Every last jot and tittle was accomplished by Jesus when he died! (John 19:30) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
3. Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the law for righteousness [TO OBTAIN IT]
a. Jesus accomplished what the Law demanded – to absolute perfection!
b. He fulfilled all the expectations of righteousness – not just a few of the requirements
c. If Jesus was just a man and not God then He earned heaven and is there alone, because only He was perfect
d. But if He was God in the flesh (and He was), then He can bring anyone to heaven with Him because He fulfilled righteousness for us, instead of for only Himself
e. Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. [READ THAT AGAIN]
f. Question: Should a man or woman be baptized?
1) Yes or No? YES!
2) But if you believe on the Lord Jesus, and then die before you get a chance to get baptized, Jesus fulfilled the work of baptism FOR YOU!
3) Matthew 3:13-15 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
g. Should a man or woman keep the Sabbath?
1) Yes or No? Yes! (kind of a trick question, but follow me in this thought…)
2) But in case you can't keep it perfectly, and in case you don't even know when the Sabbath is, Jesus kept it for you!
h. Should a man be circumcised?
1) Yes or No? Yes!
2) But if you're not, Jesus was circumcised for you, so you are okay if you are not!
i. Jesus KEPT THE WHOLE LAW AND FULFILLED ALL ITS REQUIREMENTS
1) If you forget to tithe, or don’t tithe exactly 10%
2) If you have to miss church
3) If you get angry and say something hurtful and wrong
4) If you rebel against authority
5) If you don’t wash your hands after touching raw mincemeat or raw chicken
6) Jesus did all that and more FOR you!
j. He is the fulfilment of the Law! He did it all FOR us!
4. This is what the Jewish people were ignorant of
a. The Jewish people were/are Willingly ignorant of how to obtain righteousness
1) They had closed their own eyes and ears to the word of God and to the Son of God
2) They did not know what you and I know now
b. Most people are ignorant that Jesus fulfilled all the Law’s requirements to be perfect
c. Even some Christians, who are trying to work-out their own salvation, and trying to keep themselves saved!
d. Can you imagine if a doctor today was ignorant of all the advances in science and medical treatment, and was still bloodletting to cure headaches?
e. Yet the majority of people attending churches across this land are ignorant of how to get right with God, and so, they will die in their sins!
f. 1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
g. Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
C. Good Works or Child-Like Faith? (Romans 10:5-10)Let’s Compare…
1. Which is Better? Doing the Works of the Law, or Believing the Words of Faith?
a. Romans 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
b. Romans 10:6 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:)
c. Romans 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
d. Romans 10:8 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;
e. Romans 10:9 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.
f. Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
2. So, which is better?
a. Doing the Works of the Law by YOUR obedience?
b. Or believing the Words of Faith, trusting in CHRIST’S obedience?
3. The righteousness of the law of Moses (Romans 10:5)
a. Romans 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
b. It is righteous and good and holy (Romans 7:12) Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
c. You CAN earn righteousness by keeping all the laws and never breaking them once your entire life (never sinning) – wouldn’t that be great?
d. But the righteousness of the Law is a life of obeying and doing ALL the Levitical laws, the ceremonial laws, all the moral laws, as well as the civil laws of government and justice - 613 laws
e. Moses said that if you're going to keep the law, then you must live all the law
f. Or else you are no longer righteous – you are a law-breaker – a sinner
g. Which is exactly what people discovered when they tried to keep the law – they failed. They sinned!
4. The righteousness of faith in Christ (Romans 10:6-10)
a. Romans 10:6-10 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:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 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; 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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
b. When your faith is trusting in Christ (instead of in yourself), your faith in HIM works and obtains righteousness – LIKE PLUGGING INTO A SOCKET – the power company provides the power, you just plugged into it!
5. How does faith work? How does a sinful person, Jew or Gentile obtain righteousness?
a. It stops trying to replace Jesus Christ! (Romans 10:6,7)
1) Romans 10:6,7 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:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
2) Quit trying to kick Jesus off the throne of God
3) And quit trying to resurrect Jesus yourself
4) Those are exclusive to GOD
5) Yet in the catholic Church, the priest rings a bell and “brings Jesus DOWN into the host wafer!!!
6) so reject self righteousness, and all your works of righteousness – it is called repentance
b. It just believes in what Jesus accomplished for you! (Romans 10:8-10)
1) Romans 10:8-10 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; 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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
2) So, Accept the first fact that you are not born righteous, but a sinner
3) And understand that your problem is not just sin, but self-righteousness
4) Believe He died, and is now alive again, and THE LORD of heaven and earth
c. And then simply accept Christ’s righteousness as a gift to you
1) Believe the words of faith about Jesus Christ
2) Confess with your mouth that you agree with God - no negotiation, no debates
3) Believe in Christ’s substitutionary death and resurrection
4) And that is when you can call on His name to save you
5) And He will! Guaranteed!
6. Perfect Righteousness is the gift of God – it is not earned!
a. God offers all men everywhere the righteousness of the only perfect man whoever lived as a gift, just because God wants to, not because we deserve it or can ever earn it
b. Anyone who rejects Christ is declaring they believe they can throw Jesus down from heaven and can drag him out of the tomb!
c. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
d. Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
III. Next Week (Romans 10:8-13)
A. I’ll show you What Sends a Person to Hell
B. And what will happen when most people stand before God...
C. And I will show you as plain as day, what a person has to do to be saved
IV.Conclusion
A. This may be the hardest news to hear
1. That you have wasted your life trying to do, do, do
2. When God only asks you to believe on His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!
B. But this is also THE greatest news ever to hear!
1. The greatest truth
2. The greatest gift
3. The greatest opportunity you will ever have!
4. You have been offered what every devout Jew, and every devout Catholic, and every devout Mormon, and every devout Jehovah’s Witness has worked all their lives for
C. Will you take it? Will you believe it is true and will work for you?
1. Now is the time to believe it!
2. Talk to God in heaven, and ask! Don’t be ashamed!
3. Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
4. Fill Romans 10:13 with YOUR name!