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ROM 229 - Israel & God's Salvation Rom 9:24-10:4 Our Msg last week was "Israel & God's Sovereignty" & prayerfully we learned some things about God's Sovereigntymaybe the most important of which is The Bible NEVER states - that God Arbitrarily CHOOSESAnyone for Destruction - & never against their own will We ended that difficult message with a very simple statement Sinners prepare themselves for JudgmentGod prepares believers for Glory & we spent a good part of last week's msg on that subject - -so - if you weren't here - pls get a copy But because it was so important to me to make that truth clearwe didn’t really get to finish the text from last week So we're going to do that today We'll go back & wrap up last week's text - & thenwe'll see a great section at the end of CH 9 - into CH 10 A section that explains why the Jews (& those like them)End up STUMBLING over Jesus Christ Let's Pray   We ended last week with the difficult Vs's - 22-23 of Ch 9 Here they are again - Rom 9:22-23 - ESV22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, (Remember - no "He prepared")23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory (Remember - "He has prepared") & we made a big deal about the GK wordtranslated "PREPARED" in the FIRST "Prepared" (in V.22) & we said THAT Gk Word - was in the MIDDLE VOICE, & really should be translated
"PREPARED THEMSELVES" for destruction But then - in Vs.23 it says - regarding Believerswhich HE HAS PREPARED for Glory Which makes these Vs's agreewith how we see the Entire Bible Sinners prepare themselves for JudgmentGod prepares believers for Glory OK - That's all LAST WEEK & THEN - Vs.24 is actually a continuation of this thought - Rom 9:24 - ESV24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?In V.24 - Paul's saying - THAT'S US !! V.23 is about ALL Believersboth from the Jews - AND from the GENTILES God has prepared ALL believers beforehandto make known the riches of His glorythru us - as His Vessels of Mercy - (from V.23)  Now - Beginning in V.25 - Paul is going back to using theGOOD Example / BAD Example approach & he's continuing from our last Msg . . .to implore the Jews to accept;#1) Salvation by faith alone - &#2) Salvation being equally offered to the Gentiles so again - Just like he did with Moses & Pharaoh last weekPaul is going to use a Positive Example - & a Negative example Last week - Paul used Moses as the GOOD example& he was saying - BE LIKE Moses Join God in showing mercy to a people who don’t deserve Mercy
Just like Moses did with you & then He used Pharaoh as the BAD example& he said BEWARE !! - Don’t be like Pharaoh  Don't try to stand in the wayof God bringing salvation to the Gentiles . . . Like Pharaoh tried to stand in the wayof God bringing salvation to you  So today - Paul is going to do basically the same thing again & let's REMEMBER (again) This passage is PRIMARILY about NATIONSit is not Primarily about individuals (tho it applies to each of us) & the CONTEXT is - Paul trying to get the Jews1) to accept God's Salvation thru Faith in Christ2) to accept God's Salvation for the Gentiles - not just Israel so now - Paul is going to use TWO O.T. Propheciesto, again, try to move the Jews off their Rebellion One Prophecy about God's MERCY on a NationOne Prophecy about God's JUDGEMENT on a Nation & BOTH nations happen to be - ISRAEL his FIRST example is in V.25-26  Rom 9:25-26 - ESV    Rom 9:25-26 - ESV25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ”
26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ” Last week Paul used MOSES as an example of Joining Godin His Mercy to a Nation (Israel itself) & Paul's doing the same thing again here This Prophecy - from HoseaWas actually about God Restoring ISRAEL - By His Mercy At a time when Israel definitely DID NOT deserve God's Mercy & yet - Hosea Prophesied - God would call Israel back to Himself& they would once again be His people Which happened - initially - after the Babylonian Captivity & Paul's saying - LOOKdon’t you remember when you WEREN'T God's peoplebecause you had strayed SO FAR from God & yet God had mercy on YOU So WHY shouldn’t God have mercy on the Gentiles They're no worse than you werewhen HOSEA prophesied - that God would give YOU mercy So THAT - is the Positive Example Now Paul is going to give them a very strong NEGATIVE example
which is also about THEMSELVES Rom 9:27-29 - ESV27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,
28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”
29 And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.” (meaning we would've been wiped out) Isaiah was INITIALLY Prophesying aboutAll of Israel being taken away in Captivity by God's Judgment But even then (by God's MERCY) - A Remnant was Saved & God has promised a REMNANT of Israelwill Always be Saved But Paul's point here is - HEY !!DON'T Bring God's Judgment on yourselves - AGAIN YES - God will save a Remnant of Israel - He always willBut - do you really want to go thru God's Judgment AGAIN ? He's saying - DON'T Rebel against God - AGAIN& don’t bring God's Judgment upon yourselves AGAIN   Lst Wk - When Paul used Moses & Pharaoh - He was saying BE LIKE Moses - ANDDON'T BE like Pharaoh Now - he does the same thing with these TWO Prophecies He's saying;BE Like the HOSEA ProphecyDON'T be like the ISAIAH Prophecy Join God in having Mercy on thosewho are NOT currently called God's people (the Gentiles) just like HOSEA Prophesied about YOU & Don’t bring God's judgment on yourselves by your Rebellionso that only a Remnant will be saved just like ISAIAH Prophesied about YOU Paul's following the same logic in these examplesas he did last week So if you didn’t hear last week's msg - you need toso this make a lot more sense  Because now - in Paul's final comparison in Ch 9& He's really going to bring it home  He's been comparing;HOW the Jews SHOULD - & HOW they SHOULD NOTRespond to God's Plan of Salvation & now he's going to make the final GRAND SLAM comparison He's going to talk very straight - about GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS& the ONLY WAY it can come to a person This is the "BULL'S EYE" for Paulbecause the Jews were very serious about their Righteousness They worked very hard for it& they were very sure they had Successfully Earned It AND - they knew FOR SURE - the Gentiles could NEVERearn the Righteousness they had earned They Knew that one thing - FOR SURE !  so Paul is going to close CH 9 - & open CH 10dealing with this HUGE Issue of just HOW - We obtain God's Righteousness Rom 9:30-31 - ESV30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;
31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.  Now Paul's dropping the Bunker-Buster BOMBSHELL !!! You mean to tell me - the GENTILESWho didn’t even WORK to earn their righteousnesshave Received it - BY FAITH ?? But that ISRAEL - who worked themselves to the boneearning their Righteousness thru the lawhas NOT Received it ??? You have got to be kidding me ??  Haven’t you ever said something like that ?On the Job, at Home , maybe even in the Ministry HEY - I have worked myself to DEATHto EARN this POSITION & this guy just walks in & Believes by Faith - & He gets it& so ALL my hard work hasn’t gotten me A THING !!! I think we can imagine How Israel might feel right now HEY - We've been Earning our salvation for hundreds of years & now these Gentile Dogs are just going towaltz in & BELIEVE BY FAITH & THEY are going to receive the Righteousness of God& WE ARE NOT ? THERE'S NO WAY! - It Can’t BE!  But Paul's been trying to convince the Jewsof 2 HUGE points all thru this CH (in fact - thru the entire letter) #1) Salvation is THRU FAITH ALONE#2) Salvation is offered FREELY - to ALL who believe Paul's been teaching THIS TRUTH thru the entire letterbut now he drops it in BOMB-SHELL format & He says;the Gentiles GET God's Righteousness - BY FAITH& the Jews CAN'T Have it - by all their WORKS & so THAT - he figures he better explain himself WHY ? . . . How come all of Israel's efforts to earn salvationdon’t get them ANY Righteousness with God Paul answers that question - in V.32 Rom9:32(A) - ESV32 Why? Because they did not pursue it (righteousness) by faith, but as if it were based on works . . . Israel has not received the righteousness of God - - because they DID NOT pursue it BY FAITHbut as if it were based on WORKS . . . AS IF . . . Now THAT is a straight forward statement of truth !!& it applies TO US - as well as to Israel You think you're going to be OK with God by your works(because you're a pretty good person) . . . Well . . . FORGET ABOUT IT If it didn’t work for ISRAEL - It sure isn’t going to work for US !  And what's worse is When we think we've earned something from God& then we're told - NO, it's only BY FAITH ALONE Then THAT Truth - becomes a STUMBLING BLOCK to us Because we've been SOOO SURE that our effortshave been earning us something with God all along Then this truth - That Righteousness is by FAITH ALONEcan be pretty hard to take & THAT is exactly what was happening to the Jews They were STUMBLING over God's plan of Salvationthru FAITH in Jesus Christ alone  Rom 9:32(all)-33 - ESV    Rom 9:32(all)-33 - ESV32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” This Prophecy was 1st given to Israel in ISA Ch 28750 years before Christ & to Israel - AND TO ALL those who've worked hard to earn their salvationTo ALL those who believe they can earn their RighteousnessTo ALL those - - - Jesus Christ becomes a stumbling stonea rock of offense NOT because of Who HE is But because of their Stubborn Demand to earn Salvationtheir own way - by EARNING IT But look closely at the end of V.33 Those who demand to EARN their salvationwill stumble over Jesus Christ (v.32) BUT . . . whoever believes in him will not be put to shame & to THAT - we can say - AMEN  Now - CH 10 continues with this same thought- - which is the salvation of Israel & in V.1-2 of Ch 10 - Paul again shows his heart breakingfor Israel to be saved Because they certainly have a ZEAL for God Rom 10:1-2 - ESV1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them (Israel) is that they may be saved.2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (LIT = correct or complete knowledge) Paul wants so bad, for his kinsmen Israel - to be savedbecause they have such a ZEAL for God & really, what was true in Paul's day - is still true today, isn’t it ? The Jewish people - especially the Religious "Practicing Jews"have a very genuine ZEAL for God a ZEAL - that in many caseswould put us Christians to shame & it's both a wonderful - & very sad thing to see It's wonderful because of the Deep Meaning of the O.T. But it's so sad - because, as V.2 says - it isnot according to knowledge - at least Correct Knowledge  & so then - in V.3Paul really, really - Hits the Nail on the Head Rom 10:3 Applies So Perfectlyto Sooo many people that you & I both know Rom 10:3 - ESV3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Right now - these words are PEIRCING - right to the heart of the matter Paul said in V.2 - that Israel has a Real ZEAL -But it's not according to "Correct Knowledge" & then in V.3 he says (Lovingly)that Israel is "IGNORANT" of the righteousness of God The word used here means simply - Unaware they did not know - But then it Becamethey WOULD not know the Righteousness of God the NLT NAILS this thought  Rom 10:3 - NLT    Rom 10:3 - NLT3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. They Don’t UNDERSTAND God's way of righteousness - ANDThey Refuse to ACCEPT God's way of righteousness & not only do they refuse to accept God's Waybut they CLING to their own way of getting right with God & now - Suddenly - Israel becomes a PERFECT PICTUREof So Many people that you & I BOTH KNOW How many people do you knowthat REFUSE to accept God's way of Salvation & instead - they CLING to their OWN WAY of being "Right" with God You know - it's the guy I refer to all the time - - He says;"Me & God, we got our own thing going on . . ." NO YOU DON'T !!! Listen - If ISRAEL doesn’t get to have their "own way"Then you & I certainly don’t get to - Right ? Israel Refused to accept God’s way of RighteousnessAND - they were clinging to their own way of doing things & then the Death Nail comes in V. 3 - Back to the ESV Rom 10:3(B) - ESV   Rom 10:3(B) - ESV3 . . . seeking to establish their own (righteousness), they did not submit to God’s righteousness. THIS is the Death Nail Because there is only ONE Righteousnessthat God can accept He can ONLY accept His OWN Perfect Righteousness & no matter how good we think OUR WAY isIf it is NOT Faith in Jesus Christ . . . Then OUR way - is NOT God's Way & I Promise you - OUR WAY will "Come Up Short"when we try to get God to accept it - on that final day WHY ?? Because God's way is the ONLY WAY& Paul Clearly states it in Rom 10:4 Rom 10:4 - ESV4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. The word "END" here meansThe AIM, The PURPOSE, The FULFILLMENT Please listen carefully    For Everyone Who Believes - Jesus Christ is THE FULFILLMENTof God's Required Law for Righteousness For everyone who demands to have "their own thing" with Godthey will NEVER, NEVER reach God's Righteousness We must PRAY - for all those we know who REALLY think - their efforts to be good peopleare actually going to get them to Heaven There is NO ONE who exerts more effort for God - than the Jews But they are doing it ON THEIR OWN TERMS& they are NOT submitting to God's Righteousness in Jesus Christ & Paul is trying to convince themthey are going to COME UP SHORT      & there are people all around US Who are coming to God ON THEIR OWN TERMS& they will NOT submit to God's Righteousness in Jesus Christ But Guys . . . God is NOT going to ACCEPT the Jews - on THEIR own terms& He is NOT going to ACCEPT US - on OUR own terms We either come to God in the Righteousness of Jesus ChristOr we will face him with NO Righteousness at all again - Rom 10:4 tells us - ESV4 For Christ is the end (fulfillment) of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Please - DON'T FIGHT GODDon't make up your own way of being made right with God Submit to HIS WAY - The way that's clearly laid out in His Word Jesus Christ is the FULFILLMENT of God's Righteousnessfor everyone who BELIEVES So why not just believe - Today Let's Pray