Rom. 10:12-21, “The Old
Testament Scriptures Predicted That The Jews Would
Reject Their Messiah Because Of Their Hard Hearts”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 1-11 of chapter 10.
1.1.1. We observed
the fact that Paul reiterated how that he had a great burden that his Jewish
brethren would come to know the Lord.
1.1.2. Then, Paul
began to explain how that the Jews were presently being rejected by God as He
is now working primarily through the agency of the church.
1.1.3. Paul began
to explain where the Jews had gone wrong causing them to be rejected by God,
and we noticed that they were holding on to what the Lord had done with calling
them in the past and that not understanding the righteousness of God they were
seeking to establish their own righteousness before God based upon their
works. In doing so they were not
submitting themselves to the righteousness of
God. Salvation is received only by
having faith in Christ and the righteousness of Christ thereby being imputed to
you.
1.1.4. We saw that
the Jews didn’t want to admit that they were sinners in need of a Savior and
that the Law of Moses had only been intended to be a temporary implement in
God’s plan that was to be used to bring them to a knowledge of Himself. The Jews however saw the Law as an end in
itself for they thought it provided a stairway for them to ascend up to
God. They considered themselves the
righteous and everyone else sinful.
1.1.5. The Jews
also did not want to admit that they were sinners because the definition of a
sinner to a Jew was, “a Gentile.”
They saw the Gentiles as defiled and corrupted and could not consider
the fact that God was calling Gentiles into His kingdom by faith in Jesus
Christ, and rejecting them, the nation whom He had called unto Himself.
1.1.6. Chapter 12
will deal with God’s future restoration of
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to finish up chapter
10, looking at verses 12-21.
1.2.1. In this
study, we will see that Paul explains that a Jew and a Gentile now come into
His kingdom in the exact same way for there is no distinction between them, no
two different plans of salvation by which a person becomes one of God’s people.
1.2.2. Paul will
explain in this study that in order for a person to come to salvation that he
has to have the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead
preached to him, and, in order for that to happen people have to be sent out as
preachers and declare God’s word to people.
1.2.3. Paul will
explain in this study how that in this new era and covenant that the Lord has
established that a person does not become one of God’s people by working but
rather by believing, and that this belief is based upon God’s word. It is God’s word that produces faith. We will look at how that God’s word works in
us.
1.2.4. We will look
at hindrances in people’s lives from having the word of God produce the effect that
He desires, that of producing faith. The
Jews were hardened to the Lord and blinded to His word, as we can see from
Jesus words to the Pharisees in John 5:39, “39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them
you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.”
1.2.5. We will see
that the Old Testament scriptures foretold that the Jews would reject their
Messiah and also that the Lord would call the Gentiles to salvation in these
last days.
2. VS
10:12-13 - “12 For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding
in riches for all who call upon Him; 13 for “Whoever will call upon the name of
the Lord will be saved.”” - Paul tells us that there is no distinction
between Jew and Greek for whoever will call upon the Name of the Lord shall be
saved
2.1.
In this verse, Paul finally arrives at the main point
that he had been building up to make. As
we have seen, in chapters 9-11 of Romans, Paul is dealing with many objections
and questions that Jews would have concerning Christianity. In this verse, Paul finally reveals that “a
Jew is to come to salvation in the exact same way as a Gentile, through faith
in Christ.”
2.2.
In fact, Paul says that from God’s perspective, there
is ‘no distinction’ between any of the peoples on the earth, for this is
what is included in the term Jew and Greek.
In Paul’s writings, he would sometimes use the term ‘Greek’ to
mean Gentile. Therefore, he includes all
people on the earth when he uses the phrase ‘Jew and Greek.’
2.3.
Paul writes that ‘the same Lord is Lord of all,’
indicating that the Jews do not have a different God or Lord than the Gentiles
have.
2.4.
Further, in this age God has opened up salvation to
anyone who shall ‘call upon Him,’ which means to come to Him for
salvation in the way in which he just defined in verses 9 and 10 of this
chapter.
2.5.
Paul quotes again from the Old Testament for the sake
of the Jews, as he quotes Joel 2:32, “Whoever will call upon the name of the
Lord will be saved.’ This Old
Testament verse relates to the period of the Messiah in which the prophets
foretold that salvation would be opened up to everyone on the face of the
earth.
3. VS
10:14 - “14 How then shall
they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe
in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” - Paul asks the rhetorical question of how
shall a person believe in the Lord if someone does not go and preach the gospel
to him?
3.1.
In this verse, Paul gives the impetus for all missionary
involvement for the church. In order for
people to come to salvation, the church must aggressively go out and preach the
gospel to the non-believers in this world.
That is the church’s Great Commission as given by Jesus in Matt.
28:18-20, “18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
3.2.
In order for the lost to become saved, they have to
believe the gospel message, and in order for them to hear the gospel message,
someone must go and preach the gospel to them.
3.3.
We Christians must take the calling of Christ in the
Great Commission to be our own personal calling to go out and preach the gospel
to everyone we can. The following poem
is an encouragement for us to make feet for our prayers for the lost to be
saved:
POEM OF A LOST MAN:
A friend to me you were indeed --
A friend who helped me when in need.
My faith in you was strong and sure
We had such trust as should endure,
No spats between us ever rose
Our friends alike, also our foes.
What sadness, then, my friend, to find
That after all, you weren't so kind.
The day my life on earth did end
I found you weren't a faithful friend...
For all those years we spent on earth,
You never talked of Second Birth,
You never spoke of my lost soul
And of the Christ Who'd make me whole.
I plead today from hell's cruel fire
And tell you now my last desire,
You cannot do a thing for me,
No words today my bonds will free.
But do not err, my friend, again,
Do all you can for souls of men,
Plead with them now quite earnestly
Lest they be cast in hell with me.
4. VS
10:15 - “15 And how shall they
preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet
of those who bring glad tidings of good things!”” -
Paul tells us that a person must be sent out to preach and that the feet
of those who preach the gospel are beautiful
4.1.
The first sentence in this verse seems to belong to
the previous verse, since it is the next logical question in a sequence. In this sentence, Paul is indicating that the
church needs to send missionaries out to preach the gospel, otherwise the lost
of this world will not be able to believe the gospel message in order to be
saved.
4.2.
In this verse, Paul reveals something that in God’s perspective
of things, He considers to be ‘beautiful’ : ‘the feet of those who bring glad tidings
of good things’. This phrase means
the feet of those who preach ‘the gospel.’
4.3.
A person’s feet are often one of the things least
attractive about him/her, perhaps that which a person is most embarrassed
about. Perhaps the tradition of foot
washing in the church began because
people wore sandals and noticed each other’s feet and thought that they would
to do something to clean people’s stinky old feet up. The Lord though says that the feet of the
person who preaches the gospel are beautiful to Him.
4.4.
If you want the Lord to think of your feet as being
beautiful, start preaching the gospel to your friends. You don’t have to stand on a street corner or
be obnoxious, and you don’t have to sound like Billy Graham, all you have to do
to be effective as an evangelist is to go and in the power of the Holy Spirit
solemnly testify to people you come in contact with the truth from scripture
which you have come to believe. It is
God’s responsibility to produce fruit from our sharing of our faith.
4.4.1. Likewise,
each of us can share our testimony with others, explaining how it was that we
came to have salvation through Christ.
4.5.
The definition of the word ‘gospel’ is “good
news.” We Christians have been
entrusted with the “good news,” or as Paul calls it ‘glad tidings of
good things.’
4.6.
The word “evangelizzo,”
from which we get our word, “evangelism,” is used twice in this verse,
and, in this translation the word is translated as ‘glad tidings.’ The KJV uses the phrase ‘preach the gospel’
and bring ‘glad tidings’ in this verse in order to perhaps give a more
accurate accounting for the use of the word in the verse.
4.7.
Strong’s Greek Dictionary has the following definition
for this Greek word translated as ‘glad tidings’ :
1)
to bring good news, to announce glad tidings
1a) used in the OT of any kind of good news
1a1)
of the joyful tidings of God’s kindness, in particular, of the Messianic
blessings
1b)
in the NT used especially of the glad tidings of the coming kingdom of
God, and of the salvation to be obtained in it through Christ, and of what
relates to this salvation
1c)
glad tidings are brought to one, one has glad tidings proclaimed to him
1d) to proclaim glad tidings
1d1)
instruct (men) concerning the things that pertain to Christian salvation
5. VS
10:16 - “16 However, they did
not all heed the glad tidings; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our
report?”” – Paul tells us that Isaiah prophesied his day when not everyone would
believe the gospel message
5.1.
In these verses, Paul quotes from Isaiah 53:1 in order
to demonstrate to and reason with the Jews about the fact that their own Old Testament
scriptures foretold that not all of their people would be saved, but many would
reject their Messiah.
5.2.
In John 12:36-41, the apostle John quotes from this
same section of scripture in Isaiah in explaining why the Jews did not believe
in Jesus even after seeing the many miraculous works which He performed, “36 “While
you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of
light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He
departed and hid Himself from them. 37
But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not
believing in Him; 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled,
which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of
the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah
said again, 40 “He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart; lest
they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and
I heal them.” 41 These things Isaiah
said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.”
6. VS
10:17 - “17 So faith comes
from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” -
Paul tells us that faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of
God
6.1.
We have discussed previously that the apostle Paul in
chapters 9–11 of this book is intent on describing for the Jew how that he is
to come to salvation. He first explained
in chapter 9 how that the Jews had originally been chosen of God to be His
people. In chapter 11 he will explain
how that it will come about that the nation will be restored to the Lord as the
prophesy from Zechariah is fulfilled during the seven year tribulation period
of the book of Revelation when they will realize that Jesus was sent to them to
be their Messiah and, “they will look on Him whom they have pierced and
mourn.” In chapter 10, Paul is
trying to explain to us how that the Jews are presently rejected by God but
also how that they may come to salvation.
We saw already how that earlier in the chapter that Paul had written
that there is no distinction as to how a person is to come to salvation for “whosoever
calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
6.2.
Since salvation comes about not by working but rather
by believing, as faith in Christ is reckoned to a person as righteousness, Paul
tells us here that this saving faith that brings salvation comes by the hearing
of the word of God.
6.3.
Note here that saving faith does not come about by any
kind of a mysterious or strange inexplicable kind of means. It is only by the hearing of God’s word that
saving faith is produced in people’s hearts bringing salvation. Right at the beginning of this book we saw in
Romans 1:16 that Paul stated
that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
6.4.
God has given us the five senses of taste, feeling,
smelling, hearing, and seeing, and it is through the very elemental means
of hearing God’s word that a person comes to salvation. This does not mean that saving faith cannot
come by reading God’s word, the point here is that it is the receiving of the
word of God by someone that brings salvation.
John 20:30-31 shows that
saving faith comes through the written word of God, “30 Therefore
many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which
are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing
you may have life in His name.”
6.5.
It is not enough to merely have the physical equipment
of the five senses in order for us to have God’s word bring us to have saving
faith, and this point is brought out in the book of Revelation where Jesus
Christ repeated calls out for the one who has ears to hear, just as Revelation 2:1 records, "He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches. A person must apply himself to what He hears
of God’s word to receive faith from it.
6.6.
The word
of God is like the seed from which a plant will grow. Inside of it in the DNA of a seed is the
formula for everything that the plant needs for its germination and
growth. The seed just needs to be placed
in a proper environment containing heat, light, water, and oxygen and the plant
will grow from that seed. In the same
way, the word of God contains all that is needed for a person to receive and
grow in his faith, provided he gives the word of God a proper environment in
which it can grow.
6.7.
Jesus’ Parable Of The Sower
taught the lesson of the four responses to God’s word. Only one of the soils bore lasting fruit,
that was the good soil. Another soil
symbolized the person who believes for a while but then temptations cause him
to abandon his faith. A third soil
symbolized the person who believes for a while but persecution causes him to
abandon his faith. The fourth soil, the
one by the wayside had its seed quickly stolen away by the enemy. This seed symbolized people who have heard
God’s word but never come to have saving faith and this occurs I believe
because they do not have an advantageous environment for the word of God and as
a result they do not come to saving faith, and, this unfortunate result occurs
for a variety of reasons, including :
6.7.1. Some in the
church have believed and taught that faith comes about because of your heritage
and being born of Christian parents.
6.7.1.1. Charles H.
Spurgeon once preached about this saying, “ In certain churches, birthright
membership is thought to be a proper practice, and the child of a Christian is
thought to be a Christian. In some other churches, though the theory would not
be stated in so many words, yet it is practically accepted, and children of
pious parents are regarded as scarcely needing conversion. The text is
forgotten which saith that the heirs of salvation are
born, “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God.”
The typical covenant secured outward privileges to the children born after the
flesh, but under the covenant of grace the blessing is secured to the spiritual
and not to the natural seed. “He who was of the bondwoman was born
after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.” (Galatians
4:23).”
6.7.1.2. Regardless
of what parents a person is conceived from he/she must hear God’s word at some
point in time and put his/her faith in that word in order to be saved.
6.7.2. Some
churches teach and believe that faith and all other graces are received through
the sacraments of the church.
6.7.2.1. The problem
with sacramentalism is primarily the fact that there
is the belief in those who administer them that faith and grace are received
through the receiving of the sacrament regardless of the condition of the
person’s heart. It is the mere external
physical performance of some rite or ritual that brings faith and grace.
6.7.2.2. In many
places in the New Testament Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for thinking that
external observances would make them righteous when their hearts were filled
with all that displeases God.
6.7.2.3. Charles
Spurgeon preached the following about the church that believes in and depends
upon sacraments, “Faith is not a mystery juggled into us by the postures, genuflexions, and mumblings of priests. We have heard a great deal about sacramental
efficacy, but I think a man must have extraordinary hardihood who would say
that either baptism, or the so-called Eucharist, are the sure creators of faith;
yet see I not what saving service these forms can render to unbelieving men if
they leave them in an unbelieving condition, and, consequently, in a state of
condemnation. Seeing that without faith it is impossible to please God, the
grace supposed to be conveyed by the mere participation in sacraments is of
small value, it cannot give the cardinal requisite for acceptance before God.
Faith cannot be washed into us by immersion, nor sprinkled upon us in
christening; it is not to be poured into us from a chalice, nor generated in us
by a consecrated piece of bread. There is no magic about it; it comes by
hearing the word of God, and by that way only.”
6.7.2.4. It is not a
holy incantation, sprinkling, or hand motion performed over a person but rather
a hearing of the word of God that brings about saving faith.
6.7.3. Some people
are waiting for a particular type of experience that they have heard other
believers tell about and that they suppose must accompany salvation, and thus
they will not believe after hearing God’s word.
6.7.3.1. People can
sometimes stumble after hearing the story of how someone else came to salvation
and though they have God’s word shared with them they won’t choose to believe
upon Christ and thus have salvation because they believe that doing so must be
accompanied by a heavenly vision, a powerful dream, a miraculous happening, an
overpowering emotional experience, the outpouring of a spiritual gift, etc.,
etc.
6.7.3.2. We must act
in faith upon God’s word when we hear it and not wait for some kind of an
experience before we shall do so. James
1:22 tells us of the futility of merely being a hearer of God’s word and not a
doer also, “22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not
merely hearers who delude themselves.”
6.7.4. Some people
hear the word of God but the one who has shared it with them has tried to
spruce up the presentation too much and God’s word is obscured.
6.7.4.1. Paul
mentions here nothing of the eloquence or persuasive nature of the one who
preaches the gospel, but that it is merely the word of God itself which brings
saving faith.
6.7.4.2. We should
never underestimate the power of God’s word.
We should never worry about polishing or prettying it up or trying to
sound complicated like we are an atomic physicist explaining some theorem when
we share it. Simplicity is better
because God’s word can be obscured by us if we try to do these types of things
to share God’s word.
6.7.4.3. The
following story of how a woman in India came to saving faith through God’s word
that I found on a mission board’s web site illustrates how God uses the
simplicity of His word to bring people to salvation through Christ, “One day
a young lady in Calcutta went out to do her shopping and stopped at a small
store to make a purchase. The merchant placed the item of food on the counter
and wrapped it in paper and tied it up with a string. When she arrived home,
she untied the package and some words on the paper leapt off the page at her,
"the kingdom of heaven is near." She didn't understand what it meant
but something was stirred in her heart and she read the remaining scrap of
paper. She immediately determined this was a message from God intended
especially for her. She grabbed the piece of paper and ran all the way back to
the shop. She insisted on purchasing the
torn and tattered book that to the shopkeeper was just a good source of
wrapping paper, but to her it was the living Word of God. She raced home and
devoured this heavenly food and put her faith in Christ. Not many days later, a
pastor being supported by [ this mission board ] came to her door and to his
surprise found a new Christian. She joined one of the local house churches and
today faithfully follows the Lord.”
6.7.4.4. In 1
Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul, the man of great education, writes about how when he came
to Corinth, the very capital in that day for the educated, philosophers, and
thinkers, that he determined how that he would try to keep his preaching and
teaching as simple as possible, “1 And when I came to you,
brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming
to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing
among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you
in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and
my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of
the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the
wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” The word of God is the sword of
the Spirit (Eph. 6:17) and it alone brings about saving faith in a person.
6.7.4.5. The old hymn
declares clearly the fact that our faith is not to rest upon the cleverness or
persuasiveness of men by on the word of God and the blood of Jesus Christ :
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame;
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name;
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.”
6.7.5. Some hear
God’s word but they are not interested in coming to salvation.
6.7.5.1. There are a variety
of reasons why people do not want to come to salvation: they like their sin, they do not want to
humble themselves and admit that they are sinners, they do not want God messing
up their priorities and plans, they want to be independent and do not want to
answer to anyone, etc., etc.
6.7.5.2. The Lord
spoke through the prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 7:11-13 to Israel because even
though He delivered His word to them they refused to listen but hardened their
heart to the Lord, “11 “But they refused to pay attention and
turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. 12 “They
made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the
words which the Lord of hosts had
sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from
the Lord of hosts. 13 “And
just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not
listen,” says the Lord of hosts.” The same sort of thing Jeremiah also recorded
in His book, “Jeremiah 6:10, “10 To
whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear? Behold, their ears are
closed And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in
it.””
6.7.6. Some hear
God’s word but with a lazy and inattentive ear.
6.7.6.1. They will
sort of listen, not pay close attention to what has been said, yet perhaps go
forward in a church or evangelistic service to give their life to the
Lord. However, when they leave the
church or setting where they heard God’s word they will just sort of gradually
go back to living the same life that they had before and never follow through
with serving and living for Christ as a Christian. God’s word was snatched out of their hearts
because they did not take the time and meditate upon it.
6.7.6.2. Jesus
promised that the one who perseveres in seeking and knocking will have the door
opened unto him, and that he who hungers and thirsts after righteousness will
be filled, and thus the person who has just a limited interest in coming to
salvation will never receive the gift of eternal life until he becomes much
more earnest in his desire for it.
Spurgeon preached about this once also, saying, “Faith comes by
hearing when a man does, as it were, give himself up to the word of God, like a
person who is badly wounded and surrenders himself to the surgeon’s hand. Oh,
if I had a gangrened limb and it must be taken off, I think I would pray for
patience enough to say, “O sir, if you can but spare my life cut to the
very bone.” When it is the soul that is concerned I would say to the
preacher, “Sir, do not flatter me, do not tell me that which will
please but delude me; I do not want your flattery, I do not want your fine
words. “Sir, tell me what I am, and where I am in the sight of God, and
how I can be saved; for it will little satisfy me to wake up in hell and
remember that I used to hear a fine orator. I want to be saved in deed and of a
truth.” “Ah,” says one, “but some preachers are
not only bold, but rough in their expression.” Yes, but suppose you
were nearly drowned, and a strong swimmer plunged into the stream and plucked
you out just as you were sinking for the last time, if he dislocated your arm
would you grumble? No, you would say, “The bone can be set at another
time, but my life could not have been restored.” And so with the
preacher, though he be rough, if it be the truth which he speaks, only pray
that it may save your soul, and be content to put up with the man’s infirmity,
if by any means you may attain to salvation by Jesus Christ.”
6.7.7. Hearing
God’s word with a prejudiced heart or predetermined motive.
6.7.7.1. This person
may hear God’s word however he has already determined what he will believe or
do when hears it. God’s word is not
allowed to be honestly or objectively evaluated and thus it does not produce
saving faith in the one who heard it.
6.7.7.2. Paul wrote
to Timothy about how that in these last days that people would have itching
ears and want to have teachers that would tell them what they wanted to hear,
however in these days we need to be faithful and persevering in preaching a
saving gospel to them, “2 Timothy 4:1-5, “1 I solemnly charge you
in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and
the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word;
be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with
great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled,
they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside
to myths. 5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the
work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
6.8.
‘Faith’ always has an object. ‘Faith’ is only as valid as the object
that it is placed in. For the
Christian’s ‘saving faith’ by definition is to be based upon what God
has promised from His Word. We have
nothing else in life in which we can know is a revelation from God, and
therefore something which He will back up, apart from His Word. In His word He has given us the promises
which are necessary for one to be able to come and believe in Christ for
salvation. The person who comes to
salvation believes what God’s Word has promised concerning Jesus Christ and the
work that He did for man upon the cross of
6.9.
Likewise in the same way Christians are to also be
built up in their faith, and this is accomplished primarily by their applying themselves
to the teaching of the Word of God.
God’s Word gives to Christians that which they can then place their
faith in, and faith in His Word brings about growth.
6.10.
However, there is much ‘faith’ in the world
that is not Biblical ‘faith.’
Those who practice natural healing do so by ‘faith,’ the
Christian Scientists teach a healing that is by ‘faith.’ However these other types of ‘faith’
which are not based upon God’s Word are metaphysical by nature. They are all based upon the concept of “mind
over matter.” Unfortunately, there
are many in the world today who are in the name of Christ ‘faith’
teachers, who are teaching a ‘faith’ which is not based upon God and His
Word. It is ‘faith’ in ‘faith’
itself, and has no solid Biblical basis, but is also metaphysical. These ‘faith’ teachers are teaching a
destructive heresy and denying much that the scripture says. They teach a “prosperity doctrine”
when the Bible teaches in many many places not to
desire the riches of this world. The
televangelists live extravagant lifestyles, often making millions of dollars,
when the Bible teaches to live a life of moderation. Plus, Paul wrote that the false teachers and
prophets will always tend to have a profit motive. The “faith healers” promise healing
upon demand at all of their events, even though God’s Word makes it clear that
God will not in every circumstance bring a physical healing. There is much of fraud and deceit using
staged healings, etc.
6.11.
However, the Christian is to live his life in Biblical
‘faith’ judging everything in life by God’s Word (1 Thess. 5:21), which
is the only inerrant standard by which he can judge accurately.
6.12.
In Hebrews 11 we read that without faith it is
impossible to please God. Here in Romans we read that Faith comes by hearing
the word of God. That is why we will
always have the teaching and ministry of the Bible as our program at
6.12.1.
How about you?
6.12.2.
Are you hearing the Word of God?
6.12.3.
Are you studying it?
6.12.4.
Are you reading it?
6.12.5.
Regularly,
6.12.6.
Daily?
6.13.
I grew up in a denomination that never taught the word
of God. We had canned prayers and canned
readings from a prayer book but God’s word was never taught, and as a result no
one came to salvation or grew in their Christian walk. As was mentioned, God’s word is that
necessary ingredient to healthy growth just as all living cells, plants, and
animals need certain necessary ingredients in order to grow.
6.14.
In every legitimate revival in history, one of the
main abiding effects was a renewal of the emphasis on the teaching of the Word
of God. Yet, the Bible has been actually
been de-emphasized in many pseudo-revivals we hear about today. In fact, the leaders of the movements of the
last several years have often criticized those who look for support for what is
going on from the Scripture, and that hardly seems consistent with the God who
said that He honored His word above His very Name! [Psalm 138:2].
6.15.
Amazing things can happen when people get back to the
word of God and read, study, preach, and teach it. Let me tell you about what happened in what
is called the Great Outpouring. The focus of the revival was from 1857 to 1859,
but the effects of the revival lasted 40 years!
It began with a small prayer meeting started by a businessman named
Jeremiah Lamphere.
Lamphere wrote a small tract on the importance
of prayer and on the back announced that there would be a lunchtime prayer
meeting in downtown
7. VS
10:18-19 - “18 But I say,
surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; “Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.” 19 But I say, surely Israel did not
know, did they? At the first Moses says, “I will make you jealous by that which
is not a nation, By a nation without understanding will I anger you.”” - Paul tells us that the words of the
evangelists of the gospel have gone out into all of the earth
7.1.
In these verses, Paul recounts for the Jews the fact
that the Jews have had the gospel preached to them, and yet they as a whole (
as a nation ) rejected Christ as being their Messiah. They will have no excuse for rejecting their
Messiah, for the message went out, and the Jews as a whole did not even care to
search out their scriptures in order to see if Christ might found there.
7.2.
Paul quotes Moses in Deut. 32:21 as he writes down
God’s prophetic Word concerning His plan to make the Jews jealous because of
another nation, the Gentiles, “21 ‘They have made Me jealous with what is
not God; They have provoked Me to anger
with their idols. So I will make them
jealous with those who are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,” Because the Jews rejected their Messiah, and
made God jealous by placing other gods over Him, God revealed prophetically to
Moses that the Jews would be made to be jealous because of the salvation that
would be given to the Gentiles through the preaching or the gospel during the
church age.
7.3.
For us as Christians, we need to realize that our calling
involves making the Jews jealous through our preaching and teaching and sharing
our testimonies. So, go and make a Jew
jealous today. Do it by sharing your
faith with them, thanking them for sending us their Messiah, or perhaps tell
them how and where that their scriptures had prophesied the coming of Jesus
Christ. When we share in this way with
Jews they become jealous and they can become jealous enough to eventually hear
God’s word and be saved.
8. VS
10:20 - “20 And Isaiah is very
bold and says,“I was found by those who sought Me
not, I became manifest to those who did
not ask for
8.1.
This time quoting from Isaiah 65:1, Paul writes the
prophetic word again from the Jews own Old Testament about how that God would
bring the Gentiles to salvation during the times of the Messiah.
9. VS
10:21 - “21 But as for
9.1.
This verse is a stern warning for the Jews, as it
reveals the fact that from start to finish it has been the history of the Jews
to be disobedient and obstinate to the Lord.
Judgment is always going to be greatest to the one who has the most
light.
9.2.
This verse, which has a quotation from Isaiah 65:2, is
dealing with the Jew’s objections by indicating the fact that it is no wonder
that the Gentiles have been allowed to come to salvation, for in the first
place the Jews had always been a people were prone to stray away from God and
doing what He wanted them to do. It
should be no surprise to the Jews that they have currently been rejected as
being God’s chosen people, for they have had a history of rebelling against
God.
10.
CONCLUSIONS:
10.1.
Do you who has ears have ears to hear God’s word? If you are a person who does not yet have
saving faith in Christ, then go to where you can hear or read God’s word and
then listen and listen carefully. Meditate upon God’s word and let if have its
way in you. Don’t be lazy or inattentive
but meditate upon God’s word so that you might understand it and receive faith in
Jesus Christ so as to be saved.
10.2.
For the one who claims to be a Christian, God’s word
is designed to be your food and nourish you in your faith. So then, let me ask you a few questions...
10.2.1.
Are you hearing the Word of God?
10.2.2.
Are you studying it?
10.2.3.
Are you reading it?
10.2.4.
Regularly,
10.2.5.
Daily?
10.2.6.
Are you a poster child for spiritual malnutrition or
are you plump from the abundance of God that His word has provided for you?
10.3.
Today, make a commitment to have the Lord consider your
feet beautiful by sharing your faith with the lost who are in your sphere of
influence and contact.