An exhortation to worship, Romans 12:1,2

Last week I went through the entire chapter 11 in one sermon.  Something I normally don’t attempt to do.  Today I am only going to be looking at two verses.  Oddly enough, the sermon length should be exactly the same.

I think that the two verses we are looking at today are some of the most important in Romans. They serve as the culmination of Paul’s entire epistle and his argument up to this point.  Up through chapter 11 he has examined and explained the theology of our salvation; particularly the grace and mercies of God in producing and procuring salvation for those who are unable to achieve it on their own merits.  And now in the opening verses of chapter 12 he transitions to the results of our salvation; in other words, the practical applications of our salvation. 

Salvation is not just theoretical.  But it is also practical. It is not only spiritual, but it is also physical.  It is not just intellectual, but it is transformational.  What Paul introduces in these next passages is an exposition of the admonition found in Phil.2:2, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”  How our salvation is worked out in us and through us is now the focus of Paul’s epistle.   Paul has given us his exposition in chapters 1-11, and now comes his exhortation in chapters 12-16.  

True salvation includes both doctrine and application.  As James said, “faith without works is dead.”  Saving faith will produce righteousness living.  Righteousness imputed will generate righteousness produced. To use theological terms, justification produces sanctification.

So there is an urgency in Paul’s admonition, that our faith be not merely cerebral, or intellectual, or even just spiritual, but practical, physically manifested through our bodies.  He says I urge you.  Or I exhort you.  It is with the strongest sense of urgency to take action.  Faith without works is dead.  We have a living faith that must be worked out.  It is a faith that puts love to work, a love for God, a love for others that must not be just in word, but in deed.  

I urge you brethren. Notice that Paul is speaking to fellow Christians here.  This is not an exhortation to become saved, it is an exhortation to those who are saved. Brethren is a term of affection used for the church.  So the following is not an exhortation on the method of salvation, but the effect of salvation on those who are saved.

I urge you brethren by the mercies of God. On the basis of the mercies of God which he has been explaining for the last 11 chapters in regards to our salvation.  Particularly the sovereign mercies of his salvation which He poured out upon the undeserving, His patience towards those that were running from Him, His love in seeking us and choosing us to be His own, and His grace to a people that are by nature in rebellion against Him.  

Because of these tremendous mercies of God which have resulted in such a great salvation, Paul says, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice to God which is your spiritual service of worship. By bodies, Paul of course is referring to the fleshly body, but not only the body. John Calvin said that “by bodies he means not only our skin and bones but the totality of which we are composed.”  In other words, he is referring to our full being.  Our bodies are the house in which also dwell our soul and spirit.  So we offer to God our spiritual house.

Those of you who own a home at the beach might be able to imagine a situation in which you offer your house to some relatives to use for their vacation. You give them the keys to the house.  And consequently they have full access to all the rooms in the house to use for their pleasure.  Or perhaps you parents have at some point given the keys to the car to your teenager.  He then has full use of your car.  He gets to use it and drive it where he wills.

Those are poor metaphors of what Paul is getting at here.  Offer to God your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. I’ll give you another option though, and one that I think is true yet does not negate the other.  And that is to use the translation which says “present your bodies.”  I like present.   When I was a little kid in grade school, the teacher would call the roll at the beginning of class in the morning.  And we were supposed to answer in a loud voice “present.” In other words, I am here.  I am presenting myself to instruction.  

I’’m not a military man but I think it even has military implications. To present yourself to your company, to your commander for duty.  I think we are to present ourselves to God.  I think we can even go so far as to say we present ourselves to the church.  This is our spiritual service of worship.  Is that not what we claim to do on Sunday mornings, is to present ourselves to worship God? Is that not a means of our sanctification, that we regularly, faithfully present ourselves in body to the church?  We have recently had to explore the possibilities of virtual church because of the government restrictions on worship due to the virus epidemic.  And I for one found out how inadequate such a worship is without being physically present together.  

Hebrews 10:24 instructs us to  “let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging [one another;] and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  I think that is at least part of what Paul is getting at here.  Spiritual worship must be physical.  Present your bodies.  Church is an assembly of bodies assembled together to worship the Lord and receive instruction from the Lord and to love and encourage one another.  It’s important that if we are to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, then we must worship Him in body, in communion with one another with Christ in the midst of us.  According to Ephesians 4:12 the church is Christ’s body on earth and we must present ourselves to that body for the work of service.

Now this exhortation is not strictly limited to corporate worship within the confines of the church by any means but the worship service is the first fruits of our labor.  So I believe to present our bodies to God starts with worship in assembly on the first day of the week and then we carry out the ministry of Christ in our lives as we go on throughout the week.

“I urge you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”  A living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God… A living sacrifice.  That’s a paradoxical statement.  Sacrifices were slain. God wants us alive, our lives to be offered to Him for His use, His purposes.

In the old covenantal system, sacrifices were offered for worship and as an atonement for sin.  But in the new covenant we recognize that Jesus is the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin, and by trusting in HIs sacrifice we have atonement once for all.

So we are not saved by the sacrifice of our life, but the sacrifice of Christ’s life on our behalf.  But our response to His sacrifice is to offer our own life in gratitude as a sacrifice to God to be used for His purposes.  

The hermeneutical principle of first mention is a principle by which we can determine the proper interpretation of a word by looking at the first time a word is used in scripture.  And if you look at the word “worship” you will find that the first mention is in the passage in Genesis when Abraham takes Isaac his son to be offered as a sacrifice on the mountain.  Abraham knows that God has asked him to sacrifice his son on the altar.  And yet when Abraham speaks to his servants who traveled with him, I want you to notice how he speaks of it. 

Genesis 22:5 “Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.’" Notice how Abraham, as he is taking his son to the mountain to slay him before the Lord, refers to this sacrifice as worship.  Worshipping God requires a sacrifice.  David said on one occasion, I will not offer to God that which cost me nothing.   Sacrifice has a cost.

Paul says the sacrifice we are to offer is our life.  A living sacrifice. He is speaking of the new life that comes as a result of our salvation.  A sacrifice of our will for His will. A sacrifice of our priorities for His priorities.  Listen, that kind of life requires a sacrifice. It is a living sacrifice born out of gratitude for the sacrificial death that Christ died on our behalf.

Notice how Paul further describes this sacrificial life; holy and acceptable or well pleasing to God. Holiness is the product of the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit.  It is being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ in our attitudes, in our words and in our deeds.  Holiness is being consecrated for service to God.  Our bodies, our vessel is set apart for service to God.  No longer consumed by temporal things, by material things, by earthly things, but consecrated as holy to the Lord, to be used for the things of God.

And to holiness Paul adds, acceptable or well pleasing. Not just accepted by God, but living in such a way that  we are acceptable to God.  Doing things which are pleasing to God. To be well pleasing is to consider how we may please the Lord.  And that is simply to obey His word, to follow His instructions.  It would be the same response that we would hope a child would respond to his parents, to please them, to follow their teaching and instruction.  The apostle John said of the church he was writing to in 3Jo 1:4  “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”  To walk in the truth sums up I think perfectly how we may be well pleasing to the Lord by our lives.

So then Paul urges us, by the mercies of God, to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship.  Some translations substitute reasonable service of worship.  And it is certainly reasonable or logical that we should worship God for His many mercies toward us.

But I think the better translation is spiritual service of worship. Jesus said that God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.  So worship must be spiritual. You must be reborn in your spirit and you life must be in accordance with the truth of God. So worship must be service.  It is rendering to God the things that are God’s, your life, your resources, your all.  It must be sacrificial. It costs something.  It means putting God first and sacrificing your priorities for God’s priorities.

And in the context of corporate worship as the church, that means at the very least setting aside Sunday as a day when we worship the Lord with His church, in body, presenting ourselves to the Lord and to one another.  Worship is not just clapping your hands watching a band onstage.  Worship is bowing your will to the Lord and listening to His word, being holy as He is holy, consecrating yourself in service to God, doing  the things which are pleasing to Him in obedience to HIs commands  out of a spirit of gratitude and thankfulness to Him. 

Now in vs 2, we see that Paul not only urges us to  sacrificial worship, but he also shows us how to achieve holiness and acceptableness. To do that he shows us first what should be shunned, and secondly, what should be done if we are to worship as we ought. First let’s look at what must be shunned; “And do not be conformed to this world.” Another way of saying that is stop allowing yourselves to be fashioned after the pattern of this world.  

In Rom 8:29 Paul said, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to become] conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.” So sanctification is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.  Thus contrarily, we can not be conformed to the world.  Jesus said “You cannot serve God and mammon.” And James 4:4 says, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

1Cor. 15:33 which we studied last Wednesday night in our Bible study says, “Bad company corrupts good morals.”  You hang around the world, you are going to have a lot of the world rub off on you.  Unless we are on guard, we are in danger of falling prey to the pattern of this world.

I remember the dress patterns that my mother used to buy to make my sister’s clothes.  They grew up in the 60’s and 70’s when not a lot of dresses were being worn, but my mother wanted her daughters to wear proper dresses.  So she would buy these patterns and cut out fabric to sew together to make dresses for them. A pattern then produces the same thing, again and again. And Satan has so designed this world as to press people into the pattern or mold of this world, so that they become conformed to this world.  They look like the world, they dress like the world, they act like the world.  I know that sounds old fashioned and out of touch. But the fact is that bad company corrupts good morals.  If you hang out in a bar long enough, sooner or later you’re going to drink, and if you drink long enough, sooner of later you’re going to get drunk.  And that’s simply the principle of conformity.

Contrarily, we become like Christ by hanging out with Christ.  By being in communion with HIs body, the church.  Or we become like the world by hanging out with the world.  It’s that simple.  Stay out of church for any length of time and you will soon find yourself immersed so deep in the world that the things of God no longer have an interest to you. When you immerse yourself in the culture of the world’s movies, television shows, music, entertainment and media,  you will soon find yourself  disinterested in the things of God.

Last week I talked about how the devil makes sin like a lure we may use to go fishing.  He makes it so attractive looking that we don’t notice that there is a hook hidden underneath. And that’s the devil’s strategy for our lives.  To get us so enamored by the world that we waste our days chasing after the mighty dollar or fame or power, whatever things that this world sees as desirable. Ephesians 2 talks of that being a strategy of the devil to get us to walk according to the course of this world, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind by which he is able to take us captive.

This allure of the world is kind of like travelers in a desert who see in the distance a shimmering oasis. They eagerly quicken their steps in hope as they imagine in their minds how great it will be to sit under the palm trees and drink some refreshing water.  But when they arrive they discover that it was all a mirage, and what they thought they saw was only an illusion that faded away. The devil’s strategy is to use the allure of the world to waste our lives in pursuit of things that do not satisfy. 1John 2:17 warns us that “the world and it’s desires are fading away, but the person who does the will of God lives forever.”   Whatever treasures we hope to lay up for ourselves here on earth will not endure. Only what is done for Christ will last.

So the things are things of the world are to be shunned, then what is to be done? “But be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”   What is needed is not following the fashion and trends of the world, but a transformation, an inner change, a renewing of the mind, or the heart. The idea in the original language is to continue to be transformed.  It’s a day to day experience.  It’s continually being transformed.  The first church which started at Pentecost is reported in Acts 2 as “Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart.”

Furthermore, we are not told to transform ourselves, to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. But to be transformed.  To allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, transforming our minds.  Sanctification is progressive.  It’s a continual process until we get to heaven.

So how are we transformed by the renewing of our mind?  I believe it is in the reading and study of the word of God.  As we read and study the scriptures, the word changes our mind so that God’s thoughts become our thoughts.  We start thinking like He thinks.  Once again, I think that is accomplished at least to some extent by meeting together as a church and listening to the reading of scripture and the preaching of God’s word.

Psalm 19:7-8 speaking of the effect of the scriptures on the mind says, “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

And 2Tim. 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;  so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”  Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, renews our mind, from being conformed to the world to be transformed in the image of Jesus Christ.  As we study His word, our minds are renewed and as our minds are renewed, our lives are transformed. As a man thinks in his heart so is he.

So scripture renews us and transforms us and equips us to do the works of God.  And what is it that God wants us to be and to do?  The answer Paul gives in vs 2 is “that which is good, and acceptable and perfect.”  Notice the parallel in this statement from vs 2 with that in vs 1, “a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

So here is how we offer that sacrifice that is a holy and acceptable service of worship.  We become holy by renewing our mind through the reading and teaching of His word.  We learn what is acceptable service through the reading and teaching of the word.  And then there is the word perfect.  In most cases, I find that a better translation would be complete.  So we learn how to complete our sacrificial service of worship to God through the reading and teaching of His word. 

This is how Paul says we are to know what God’s will is, and how we will be able to do His will. If we shun the things of the world and cleave to the things of the Lord, then we will offer to God a holy and acceptable sacrifice of our lives that will be well pleasing to Him and in accordance with His will. I pray that you know the mercies of the Lord in regards to salvation, and that in gratitude you will  consecrate your life to Him.  There is no greater success in life than to walk in fellowship with the Lord and to do His will and be found pleasing to Him.

Romans 12:1-2  “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Song; the wonderful cross

God’s grace in salvation, Romans 11:1-36

The previous chapter ended with the verse which says, in Rom 10:21 “But as for Israel [God] says, "ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.”   And we determined last week that verse emphasizes the patience and mercy of God, in waiting for and calling to a rebellious people that are always resisting His call.  It emphasizes that even though Israel as a nation rebelled against God,  He is pursuing them even to this day.  Yet this rebellion raises the question which Paul asked in vs 1, “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He?”  It’s a question that expects a negative answer, and so Paul answers emphatically, “May it never be!”  The Israelites may have rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah, but God has not rejected Israel.

And Paul gives evidence of that by saying on the basis of his own salvation that God has not rejected His people wholesale.  He is a Jew, in fact, a Jew of Jews, of the tribe of Benjamin and yet he became saved on the road to Damascus by the grace of God.  So there remains a remnant in every generation that God will save.

Salvation has always been on an individual basis.  The just shall live by faith.  Not the nation, not the country, not even a generation, but individuals.  God made promises and a covenant with Abraham that from Isaac His seed will be called.  But from Isaac came Jacob and Esau.  And Jacob He loved and Esau He hated.  So right from the beginning, it was evident that God called individuals to salvation, and did not grant entire nations or peoples salvation.

Paul says in vs 2 that God has not cast away his people "whom he foreknew.”  So those individuals, that He foreknew, that He elected for salvation, have not been cast away.  He is not necessarily talking about a people or a nation, but individuals.  And the reverse is true as well.  When Paul said that the Gentiles have received the grace of God and the resulting righteousness which Israel rejected (Romans 9:30) does God then mean that all the Gentiles will be saved, or that all the Gentiles were being saved? Of course not.  We know that not all Gentiles are saved.  Far from it.  In fact, it might be argued that only a remnant of the Gentiles are saved out of all the nations of the world.  So if not all Gentiles are going to be saved, then it stands to reason that not every Israelite is going to be saved.

Paul uses the illustration of Elijah pleading with God that he was the only one left when Israel  as a nation was persecuting him,  and had put to death the prophets before him.  And yet God’s answer to him was ““I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.”  So even though the king of Israel was against him, and the nation as a whole was against him, yet God had saved 7000 men out of the nation of Israel even in a time of national apostasy. 

Vs5 “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God's] gracious choice.” In the same way refers to the days of Elijah, when God had reserved 7000 men in a nation of apostates, in the same way at the time of Paul’s writing, God had sovereignly chosen a remnant to be saved.  And this is not just a principle applicable to the Jews only, but it’s applicable to the world at large. It’s a remnant, a small number of people who will be saved.  Remember the words of Jesus who said in the Sermon on the Mount; “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  (Matt. 7:13)  

Paul quoting Isaiah says in Rom 9:27 "THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED.” 

But notice that Paul says in vs 5 that the remnant are saved by God’s gracious choice. They are saved by grace. This is the real point that Paul is trying to make in this whole chapter, that those that are saved are saved by the grace of God.  Grace means God’s unmerited favor.  But on the other hand, Paul has made it clear in chapter 10 that we are saved through faith. Faith means we must believe. Rom 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”  Now how does this work? How does grace save us, and faith save us, both at the same time?  

The answer is that our faith is in what Jesus did. And the work that Jesus did is the grace that is given to us.  So salvation is not by what we do but what Jesus did for us. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and God accepted His substitutionary atonement on our behalf.  He applied our sins to Jesus, and transferred His righteousness to us.  That is God’s unmerited favor towards us.  That is grace; God doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  

Our faith then is simply believing in who Jesus is, and trusting in His righteousness and His sacrifice as our representative and substitute.  Paul says in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”  So grace and faith are combined, bringing about salvation, not trusting in my works, but in Christ’s work on my behalf.

So then we must agree with the statement in vs 6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” Grace and works are diametrically opposed in salvation.  Salvation produces works, but salvation is not gained by works.  There must be a divine transaction that procures our salvation, and Jesus paid that by His death.  Any attempt on my part to obtain my salvation by my works is simply an exercise in pride and self righteousness.  Salvation has always been on the basis of grace.  The Israelites were saved by grace through faith, and the Gentiles have been saved by grace through faith.  We must believe in the work of God’s favor towards us.  In the OT they believed in what Christ would do, in the NT age we believe in what Christ has done, but in both cases it is by grace that we are saved, not by our works.

So what does that mean for Israel?  That’s what Paul asks in vs 7; “What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, "GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY." And David says, "LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.  "LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.”

What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained.  What Israel was seeking is a right standing before God. They were seeking righteousness on their own merits.  They thought that by keeping the law as they interpreted it, they would be accepted by God as righteous.  Back in chapter 9 vs 31, Paul said, “but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at [that] law.  Why? Because [they did] not [pursue it] by faith, but as though [it were] by works.” 

Paul quotes 2 OT passages as illustration of this principle.  The first is from Deut. 29:4, and the second is from Psalm 69:22.  There was a hardening that occurred in Israel, a dullness, a stupor that prevented them from believing the truth.  And he says it was given to them by God. I think that speaks of a judgment that God gives to those who are unbelieving and obstinate in their hearts and the point comes when God gives them over to a reprobate mind.  

Paul spoke of this in the very beginning of his epistle; chapter 1 vs 28 saying, “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.”  They refused to submit to God’s truth, and in trying to establish their own righteousness they actually rebelled against God, so that He gives them over to a depraved mind or better translation, a reprobate mind.  Reprobate mind means a mind that is not approved, it does not function as it ought to. Because they have resisted the Spirit of God, then God takes away that same Spirit which brings understanding, so that they cannot see the truth but believe a lie.

And as such their table becomes a snare and a trap.  The thing they were trusting in, their self righteousness based on their interpretation of the law, becomes the very thing that is their captor, and by which they are enslaved.  It’s ironic how sin works that way. Sin promises freedom, but produces captivity.  Sin promises fun, but it ends in suffering.  Sin promises wisdom but it produces foolishness.  Sin is a trap by which the devil enslaves and then destroys the human soul.  And the first sin was the sin of pride.  It is the mother of all sins.

But this hardening, this rebellion, this sin is the very thing that produces grace which brings about salvation.  One cannot be saved until he first recognizes that he is lost. Because of the sin of Israel, grace was given to the Gentiles.  And if Israel’s sin means the riches of grace were given to the world, how much more will grace be effective for Israel?  

Vs11, “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation [has come] to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!” 

Israel did not fall so as to be removed forever from God’s plan to save them. But in God’s view this is a temporary stumbling, which He uses to bring Gentiles to His kingdom, and which He even uses to make the Jews jealous of the Gentiles, so that eventually the promise of Israel’s salvation might be fulfilled.  God’s grace towards Israel is still working.

And so Paul speaks to the Gentiles in his audience in vs 13 saying, “But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,  if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.”  So even though Paul’s main ministry was to the Gentiles, he wants to use that ministry as a tool to make His countrymen jealous so that they too might come to be saved.

Vs15 “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will [their] acceptance be but life from the dead?  If the first piece [of dough] is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.”  Because of Israel’s rejection the world received the gospel. So then, their acceptance by God means that they will receive life from the dead.  That which was dead spiritually will come back to life by the gracious act of God in bringing them to salvation.

Now notice in vs 16 Paul uses two analogies; one of a lump of dough, and one of the roots of a tree.  In both cases he is referring to the heritage of Israel.  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were set apart by God. The Israelites were descended from them. And so God has set apart all Israel to live for God.  They were to be His people. They had been given every privilege that God could give any nation because of God’s promises to their forefathers. And having been set apart, or appointed unto salvation, God will bring it to pass.

Now the next passage is one that I am going to read to you in total and hope that you can follow Paul’s logic without having to resort to a lot of commentary on my part. I believe it is self explanatory to some degree.  Paul has already introduced the analogy of the root and the branches, and now he is going to take that a step further, and talk about God grafting branches into the tree. The olive tree is a picture of Israel, particularly the roots being the patriarchs, and the trunk the nation that came up from them.

Vs.17 “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,  do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, [remember that] it is not you who supports the root, but the root [supports] you.  You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."  Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;  for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.  Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.  And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural [branches] be grafted into their own olive tree?”

So to the Jews belonged the promises and the covenants of God.  Jesus said in John 4:22, “Salvation is of the Jews.”  The rest of the world is pictured as a wild olive branch which is grafted in to the tree.  This grafting of the wild branch into the cultivated tree is a picture of the grace of God.  Paul warns us in this analogy that we should not be arrogant or prideful then in our position, because it is only by grace we stand.  And if God is able to graft us in, then how much more so will He be able to graft in the natural branches, that is the Jews.  

And in this analogy we also see two aspects of God’s nature; His mercy and His justice.  Paul describes them as the kindness and severity of God.  God’s justice rightly falls on those who continue in unbelief by cutting off those branches, but His kindness towards those who believe by grafting them in.  The gospel depends upon both the mercy and justice of God being fully operational in salvation.  It is a aberration of the gospel to only preach God’s love and mercy and not God’s justice.   If there were no justice of God then there would be no need for the cross. God must satisfy His justice before He is able to show mercy.

Now how the mercy of God works is what Paul calls a mystery.  The mystery is the plan and purpose of God in salvation and how God is working to bring it all to fulfillment.  Paul explains this mystery in vs25 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;  and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."  "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”

Paul is saying that Israel’s hardness is temporary.  Once God has fulfilled His plan of salvation in regards to the rest of the world, then he says all Israel will be saved.  The fulfillment of God’s plan with Israel will result in their believing in Jesus Christ as their Messiah, the Son of God, who came to be their Savior.  Salvation is simply God removing their sins by placing them on Jesus Christ who died in their place.  And then God transfers to those who believe in Him the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

But notice vs 26 says, “and so ALL Israel will be saved.”  How is that possible? The answer is If they do not continue in their unbelief.  Vs 23, “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”  So the principle of individual salvation has not changed, nor has the method of salvation changed.  It is by faith, and faith is an individual decision.  Exactly how many of Israel will be saved in the last days is the common question that arises out of this statement.  But the correct answer is simply that all of the elect will be saved.  All that God has worked the wonders of His grace in that they might believe in Jesus Christ. 

One thing is clear, and that is that the method of salvation will not change.  Salvation is by grace through faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. The same sun that hardens clay softens wax.  And God who hardened Israel in their unbelief, will one day soften Israel in their hearts to believe.  And just as you cannot say that all Gentiles will be saved, neither can you say that every Israelite will be saved.  But what you can bank on is that all who are foreknown and chosen and called of God will be justified, and will be glorified.

The point that needs to be taken from all of this is that as vs 29 says, “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” What God promises He accomplishes.  Whom God predestines, comes to Him. Salvation is of the Lord.  He is sovereign.  But thank God He also merciful.  

Vs30 “For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,  so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.  For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”  That is the principle that we can take away from this; that all are disobedient, both Jews and Gentiles.

Listen, Rom 3:10-12 says "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;  THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;  ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE." All of us are sinners.  All of us are disobedient.  But God even uses our disobedience to bring us to recognize our need of a Savior.  And God uses our disobedience to display His mercy towards us. 

This revelation of the mystery of salvation has such an impact on Paul that he breaks out into a liturgy of praise.  He concludes this great argument about the sovereignty of God and His mercy and grace towards those who were undeserving, by declaring this doxology in the final verses.  

And we too will conclude by proclaiming this doxology starting with vs 33, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!  For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?  Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him [be] the glory forever. Amen.”

God is the author and finisher of our salvation and to Him belongs all the glory for our salvation.  God has extended the invitation to you today, if you will not harden your heart, believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, who died for your sins, who accomplished our redemption, and who lives to be our King, that you might have life in His name.  Trust in Him today and receive forgiveness of your sins, receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ applied to your account, and receive everlasting life.  

Man’s response to salvation, Romans 10:14-21

A couple of weeks ago as we studied chapter 9 we learned about the sovereignty of God in salvation.  That God has the sovereign right to be merciful to whom He will be merciful and to harden those whom He hardens.  It is the doctrine of the election and predestination of God in salvation.  Then in the first section of chapter 10 which we looked at last week Paul shows us the other side of the coin of salvation; that being the responsibility of man.  Man must believe in HIs heart, he must confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus.  And the great summary statement of that side of the coin is found in vs 13, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Now this week we are continuing to look at this matter of salvation, and man’s responsibility joined with God’s sovereignty  in bringing it about.  And Paul is writing to the Romans in the context of his day and age, in which the Israelites had rejected their own Messiah and consequently had forfeited their salvation which had been offered to them.

But I believe the Holy Spirit who inspired Paul’s writing has a bigger audience in mind than just the Israelites.  I think that the application of this last chapter is particularly apropos to our age and our nation as well.  For like the Israelites of old, America has had every advantage from the standpoint of the gospel.  Our nation was founded on the principle of religious freedom.  Our nation is governed on the principles of God’s law. Our nation has seen some of the world’s greatest revivals and given birth to some of the world’s greatest Bible preachers. Our nation has had every advantage, every blessing that God could bestow on a nation in terms of having the gospel presented and the word of God available and being taught that surpasses that of any other nation.  And yet I believe that today we are witnessing in our society a wholesale departure and rejection of the word of God that is unparalleled in history, except in the case of Israel.

So as we go through this text today, I don’t want to just focus on how much Israel has failed to respond to the grace extended to it.  But as much as it is possible, I wish to show how our nation and our culture has committed the same sin of rebellion.

Now the emphasis is in this section is on man’s response to the gospel. The statement immediately preceding this section, vs 13 which says, “whosoever will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved”  should elicit an obvious question.  How do you do that?  How does calling upon the Lord for salvation actually work?  

And Paul answers that question with a series of questions  showing a chain of events, going backwards from the effect to the cause, and from that effect to it’s cause and so forth all the way back to the origin of our salvation.  We read of that chain of salvation in vs 14 and 15. “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?  How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!’”

So Paul begins tracing back the cause of salvation, by starting with the call upon the Lord.  Each person is responsible to call on the name of the Lord to be saved. It’s kind of like receiving an invitation in the mail to an important event and it has on the bottom of the invitation RSVP.  You must respond to the invitation. It’s not enough to just read it, but you have to respond. And in the case of your salvation, there must come a time when you recognize the fact that you are lost, when you recognize your need for a Savior, and you recognize that Jesus is Lord, that He is God in flesh, that He has the authority to save, and is able to save because He is above all power on earth and in heaven and call upon the Lord to save you.

This essential response of calling on the Lord is what Paul describes in vs 9 as confessing with your mouth.  “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  You personally, individually, must confess Jesus as Lord over your life.

Now as indicated in that verse,  behind that call, is another link in the chain, and that is belief. “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?” Belief is faith.  There must be faith in Jesus as Lord in order to make that confession. Jesus as Lord encompasses the belief “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”  That statement is a summary of the gospel found in 1 Corinthians 15:3,4.  We studied that text last Wednesday night in our Bible study in 1 Corinthians.  And what we learned was that was an early creed of the church which was regularly publicly confessed in the church.

As I said last Wednesday evening, saving faith is not just believing that Jesus lived and died 2000 years ago.  Our faith is founded in the facts of history, but it goes beyond what can be seen. Hebrews 11:1 says that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Saving faith is believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He came to earth to pay the penalty for our sin by dying on the cross.  That He was buried, and that He rose again and He ever lives to make intercession for us in Heaven, and that one day He is coming back for His people to live with them in a new heaven and new earth.  His work of salvation is the invisible part of our faith - that He is able to reconcile us to God by virtue of HIs sacrifice of His righteous life on our behalf.  That is what you must believe if you are to call upon Jesus as Lord.

The next link in the chain which must come before belief is the message.  "How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?" A message has to be proclaimed.  The word of Christ, or the gospel of Christ must be heard.  Paul says in vs17, that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” That is the predominate way that God has ordained that men come to a saving knowledge of the truth.  Someone must tell them the gospel.

And, of course, behind the message is a person who proclaims it. And the primary person God has chosen to proclaim the gospel is a preacher.  “How can they hear without a preacher.”

1Cor. 1:21 says, “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not [come to] know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”  From the perspective of the world watching us today, it must seem utter foolishness to come to a church service and listen to someone preaching.  But notice this verse says that you cannot come to know God through the wisdom of the world.  But we come to know God through the preaching of His word.  Lot’s of churches out there claim that you can meet God in their building, that you can experience God in their services and they offer up a variety of things in their services designed  to make you feel something.  But our faith is not founded on emotional experiences, but on the word of God which we are preaching.

And to that end, it’s very important that a pastor has been called of God to do the ministry of preaching. In Jeremiah 23:21 God says, "I did not send [these] prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, Then they would have announced My words to My people, And would have turned them back from their evil way And from the evil of their deeds.”  There are a lot of men out there in pulpits today that are called by a denomination, they are commissioned by men, but it’s not evident that they are called by God.  And the evidence that they are not is that they do not faithfully preach the word of the Lord.  They proclaim philosophy, they teach moralistic stories that play on your emotions.  They tickle your ears by telling you what you want to hear.

Paul gave Timothy instruction to pastors and a warning to the congregation in 2 Timothy 4.  Verse 2 is the verse I have claimed as my commission to the ministry.  And vs 3 and 4 is the warning.  It says in vs 2 “preach the word; be ready in season [and] out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” And then the warning to the congregation in vs3 “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,  and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”  

So it is imperative that the preacher has been commissioned by Jesus Christ and speaks the word of Christ. And behind the preacher is the One who sends him.  “How will they preach unless they are sent?” It is God who sends preachers. The great initiative in the process of redeeming men and women, healing them and restoring them, restoring their lives, is the gracious heart of God that sends men out.  God sends preachers to proclaim the gospel to the lost because it is God’s desire to reconcile men to Himself.

In relation to that call of God upon preachers, Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7 which says ““HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”  My Dad who was a preacher in North Carolina for many years used to really get a kick out of that verse.  He liked to say that according to the Bible he had pretty feet.  I would show you my feet this morning as evidence that I don’t think that is really the point of this verse, but if I did that I would probably lose half of my audience, especially those up front. My feet are not my best feature by a long shot.

When I was a kid, I had exceptionally large feet.  I wear a size 13 and I think my feet grew first.  I remember some smart aleck kid saying to me, “you’re a poet and don’t know it, but your feet show it, they are Longfellows.”  I don’t know why, but my ears and my feet grew faster than the other parts of my body.  I used to be called “Dumbo” when I was in elementary school by my classmates because of my big ears. And my Dad would cut my hair down to the skin on the sides, which made my ears look even bigger.  It’s not wonder that I have all these hangups as an adult, considering all the abuse I took as a child.

But maybe what Isaiah means here is kind of like a backhanded compliment.  The feet are not usually considered the most attractive features of a person.  And in Isaiah’s culture, the feet were always in need of washing, as they wore open sandals and walked dusty, sometimes muddy roads.  But the news that such a traveler brings can be so good, that even the dirty feet of the preacher looks beautiful.  So I think what he is saying is the news is so beautiful, that even the dirty feet that carried the news gets some of the glory.

Now what this chain of events helps us to realize, is that behind the call of the person upon the Lord, is a complex process that was originated and brought to it’s culmination by God.  He is the author and finisher of our salvation.  He foreknows them, He predestines them, He calls them, He justifies them, He sanctifies them and He glorifies them.  From beginning to end, God is sovereign over our salvation.  And yet man is responsible to respond.

And Paul acknowledges that not all respond, as in the case of Israel.  He says in vs 16, “However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?’”There is a natural reaction to the gospel that is one of rejection and rebellion. Perhaps pride gets in the way of accepting the truth.  Before you can receive the good news you must first believe the bad news, that you are lost and condemned and in need of a Savior. But a lot of people get offended by that and consequently disregard the good news.

As vs 16 indicates,  the prophet Isaiah discovered this when he came to the people of Israel at a time in their history when they were surrounded by enemies. They were about to be overrun by the nations around them, they had turned to the idols of the nations about them, degrading practices had come into the national life, and peace and joy had fled from the land. Isaiah the prophet came and preached to this people good news about the Messiah who would be their Savior. And on the basis of the Messiah’s life and death, God would work on their behalf.  But Isaiah says that they would not believe his message. 

Isaiah 53 speaks of this rejection of the truth about Christ. “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?  For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no [stately] form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.  He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.  Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being [fell] upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

That chapter is one of the most explicit prophecies concerning the Messiah’s ministry on earth written 725 years before Jesus was born.  And yet the Israelites for the most part rejected Jesus as the Messiah because He did not fit their expectations of a military and political leader who would make Israel a prominent nation of the world again as it had been under David and Solomon’s reign.

Saving faith requires that we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as He has revealed Himself in His word.  Faith is not believing in our own version of who we want God to be. vs17, “So faith [comes] from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”  We must believe in who He is, and what He has done, and we must believe His word that He has given us.  Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ, accepting it, receiving it, and believing it.  

Faith precipitates obedience. Faith produces action.  Faith is not a static, purely cerebral thing that does not affect your actions. It’s as if I were to knock on your door and announce to you some great news, that you had won a million dollars and all you had to do was to follow me to some location and I would give it to you.  You could say you believe and yet do nothing, but that would reveal that you really didn’t believe me.  But if you really believed me, you would drop everything and follow me. We proclaim the gospel, the good news, the word of Christ, and if you really believe it you would immediately call upon the name of the Lord so that you might be saved.  But unfortunately, a lot of people just hear the message but their hearing is never joined by faith which produces a response.  They don’t mind hearing about the possibility, but it doesn’t move them to respond in faith.

So the next question might be to those people, “Didn’t you hear what I told you?”  Paul rephrases that question and answers it  in vs 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.’”   So Paul is saying that “they”, whoever “they” may be, have heard.  The message has gone out into all the earth.  

Now what exactly is he talking about?  Is he talking about missionaries going to all the four corners of the world?  Was that already a reality in 57AD?  No, I think that the means of the message going out into the world is described for us in Psalm 19, which is what Paul quotes from in vs18.  Let’s look at Psalm 19, which was an inspired song of David,  and see how this is accomplished.

Psalm 19:1-4 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.  Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.  Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world.”

In other words, what Paul is talking about is that there has been a universal proclamation of the gospel through nature. Nature is not a lot of light about God, but the Bible says it is enough light.  In fact, in the first chapter of Romans, vs 19-20 Paul mentions that very thing saying “what might be known about God is plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

The answer to the question "What about those who have never heard about God?" is: "There aren't any people who have never heard about God." Everywhere men and women have been told enough about God to cause them to turn to Him. God has been revealed in creation. There is a universal proclamation that has gone out. And if it is heard, if it is believed and responded to, more light will be given. This is why Hebrews 11, that great faith chapter, gives us the simplest declaration of how men come to God (Verse 6) “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” So God gives all men enough light to believe and then if they believe He will give them more light so that they can come all the way to Him by faith.

There is another stage of the revelation of God. God, in His grace often gives more light even when people refuse the light of nature. No one deserves more light, but God gives it nevertheless. I think the United States of America, above all nations, ought to be grateful for the grace of God that has poured light out upon us when we did not deserve it anymore than anyone else. God has given us much light. But we must remember that more light does not necessarily mean more belief.

Israel had a tremendous, unparalleled exposure to the light.  God sent many, many prophets to preach, to warn, to teach them to turn to the Lord. And yet they continually hardened their heart, and their rebellion culminated with crucifying their Messiah, the Son of God that had been sent to give them the message.  

So Paul asks, “did they not understand the message?”  Vs 19, “But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, "I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION, BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I ANGER YOU."  And Isaiah is very bold and says, "I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.”

Paul says that God used jealousy to make the Israelites to turn back to Him.  God turned to the Gentiles after the Jews rejected and crucified their Messiah.  Israel had understanding, it had knowledge about God.  God had revealed Himself to them in so many ways, through the pillar of fire and smoke that hovered above the nation and led them through the wilderness.  Through the thunder and lighting from Mt. Sinai.  Through the Law which Moses brought down from the mountain.  Through all the miracles and wonders that God performed for the Israelites.  They had more knowledge of God than anyone. And yet they rebelled against Him and rejected Him.

And so God said He would make them jealous by going to the Gentiles who did not have the advantages that they had.  They had none of the advantages of the Jews in regards to the knowledge of God.  But when the gospel was preached to them, they came to the Lord willingly and gratefully.  And we stand here today on the basis of that act of grace by God to offer the gospel to those who were not seeking Him, who did not have any knowledge of God as their heritage in the intimate way that Israel had.

But what is also being said in this verse is that God continues to pursue Israel, His first love. And it shows us much concerning the love of God that He arranges, He plans, He provides for, He calls us, He woos us, and He continues to pursue us until we finally either call upon Him, or we take our rebellion to the grave. 

Notice vs 21, which is a quote from Isa.65:2,  “But concerning Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.’" God continued to pursue Israel, and I believe the scriptures teach that He continues to pursue Israel to this day.  And there is a sense portrayed in chapter 11 vs 26 that one day “all Israel will be saved.”  

But what a beautiful picture though of the love and patience of God towards us who are in rebellion against Him.  All day long He is holding out His arms, welcoming those who would come to Him, calling to them to come to Him, pleading “Come unto Me all you who are weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  

God has been holding out His hands to some of you here today for a long, long time.  He is calling you to come to Him.  But up until now you have wanted to be lord of your own life.  You thought you can do better for yourself than what He has for you.  But even so, He continues to call, He continues to hold out His hands.  Come to Jesus today.  I urge you, come to Jesus.  He alone can save you, He can help you, He can give you life more abundantly, even life everlasting.  Come to Jesus today and call upon the name of the Lord so that you might be saved.