Saturday, September 1, 2012

The End of the Law 120902

Romans 10:1-4. Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

In chapter nine the Apostle Paul begins by saying that he had a great sorrow and unceasing anguish in his heart about the condition of his people with relation to salvation. As we begin chapter ten he repeats himself. His heart's desire is that they may be saved. It is one of the greatest tragedies in history that the people of Israel, as a nation, rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and continues to do so. By human standards Israel had many advantages. Earlier, Paul had pointed out that they had the oracles of God — the written word of God. Not only did they have God's word but they studied it. They memorized it and wrote commentaries to explain it. And as Paul says here, they had a zeal for God! But their zeal was not enough!

It is a lot of fun to be around joyously zealous people. However, it can be pretty difficult to be around a zealous person who is not joyful. Zeal can be mistaken and may even be dangerous. The zealots of this world are very hard to deal with. Throughout history zealots have caused division in churches, and countries, and have led crusades in the name of Christ. A lot of shame has come upon the Christian church because of zealots. At the same time, people with no zeal are equally embarrassing. The problem Paul is addressing here is the problem of…

Zeal without knowledge.

Paul had had zeal. Read with me Philippians 3:4-6, …‍though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ‍circumcised on the eighth day, ‍of the people of Israel, ‍of the tribe of Benjamin, ‍a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, ‍a Pharisee; ‍as to zeal, ‍a persecutor of the church; ‍as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yes, Paul had zeal! He was proud of his Jewish heritage. He was an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Hebrew through and through. Concerning the law, he was a Pharisee. Pharisees were very serious about living a life of obedience to the law of Israel. Concerning legal righteousness, Paul was blameless. But his zeal made him a great danger to the emerging church of Jesus Christ. His testimony, in Jerusalem, was, "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women," (Acts 22:4) Yes, Paul had zeal, plenty of it, and some to spare. What Paul did not know was that all the while he was persecuting the church God was preparing him to be a tool for expanding the church. He had zeal…

But, he came to knowledge. Read with me Acts 9:1-9, But Saul, ‍still ‍breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to ‍the high priest and asked him for letters ‍to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ‍the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ‍me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, ‍whom you are persecuting. But ‍rise and enter the city, and you will be told ‍what you are to do.” ‍The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, ‍hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, ‍he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Remember, before Paul's conversion his given name was Saul. In all his zeal, he went to the high priest to get arrest warrants for men, or women, in Damascus who were followers of the Way. However, God had other plans for this zealous young Jew! Suddenly a light from heaven, literally, shone down on him and those with him. He was blinded by the light. Just as he had been spiritually blind before, he was now physically blind. Apparently he saw in the light a person whom he did not recognize. It is likely that Saul of Tarsus had never seen Jesus of Nazareth. But now he had seen the risen Lord. Jesus confronted him with his guilt, not just against individuals, but guilt against Jesus himself. "Whom you are persecuting" were the words that must have driven it home to him. He was not persecuting some sect of people. He was persecuting the risen Lord Jesus. Now he was blind and forced by his condition, to think about what just happened to him. During that thinking time, I believe he became a Christian! At least, he was very open to the short message given to him by Ananias in Damascus.

It was easy for Paul, in later years, to recognize the problem his people had because he had the same problem with regard to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He knew now that they could not respond because…

They were blinded. Read with me 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, And even ‍if our gospel is veiled, ‍it is veiled only to ‍those who are perishing. In their case ‍the god of this world ‍has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ‍the light of ‍the gospel of the glory of Christ, ‍who is the image of God,

The God of this world, Satan, had blinded the Jews by their lack of exact knowledge of the gospel, and of the righteousness of God.

Today, billions of people seem to be in the same condition. Blind to the gospel, not physically, but in their minds. Do you have someone you have witnessed to and had no results? Or, had negative results where they have turned you away? Your prayer should be, "Lord, open their eyes, their spiritual eyes, so they can see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." Until they see with their spiritual eyes their minds will be resistant to the good news of Jesus Christ. Yes, all over our community people have a veil over their spiritual eyes put there by Satan himself. As a result they are…

Ignorant of the righteousness of God. This ignorance causes them to…

Try to establish their own righteousness. Read with me what Jesus had to say in, Luke 18:9-14, He also told this parable to some ‍who trusted ‍in themselves that they were righteous, ‍and treated others with contempt: “Two men ‍went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, ‍standing by himself, prayed‍ ‍thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‍I fast twice a week; ‍I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, ‍standing far off, ‍would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but ‍beat his breast, saying, ‘God, ‍be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For ‍everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus told this story as a perfect illustration of the self-righteousness of religious people. The Pharisee in the story was grateful to God that he could view himself as "a good man". Note that Jesus said that this parable was about some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt. Self-righteousness always results in contempt for other people!

The tax collector in the story, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by his guilt. He would not come near the Pharisee and he would not even lift his eyes to heaven. He could only cry out for God's mercy since he recognized that he was a sinner.

Jesus said that the tax collector was the one who went down to his house justified before God and not the Pharisee.

The Jews, that Paul was dealing with in Rome, had this same self-righteous problem. They could see themselves as "good" but they could not see that their goodness was not acceptable in God's eyes. They should have known, from their own Scriptures, that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in the presence of God. "Good" by the world's standards is nothing in the face of God. The problem of the self-righteous person is…

They can't see God's righteousness. Let us see what Jesus had to say in Matthew 21:28-32, “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him....”

They were ignorant of God's kind of righteousness. Here Jesus talks about two sons, one who heard and obeyed and one who heard and did not obey. Jesus used this to show that God was, and is, looking for people who will hear and obey. It is not enough to believe! Belief must change your thinking, your feelings and your actions!

He reminded them of the preaching of John the Baptist. What happened there was that the self-righteous Pharisees did not believe John's teaching with regard to righteousness but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed! Jesus said they would go into the kingdom of God because they believed.

When one believes something the evidence is a change in behavior. If you are inside a building and you hear a fire alarm, or even more urgently, someone shouting, "FIRE!", You have to decide whether you believe it or not. What you believe will determine what you do. If you believe there is a fire you will leave the building. If you do not believe there is a fire you may stay where you are. But whatever you do will be based on what you believe. Because the Pharisees did not believe…

They did not submit to God's righteousness. Turn with me please to, 1 John 3:7-10, Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

The Pharisees of Jesus day, as well as the self-righteous of today, are condemned by the Scriptures. Paul says to the Romans, "they did not submit to God's righteousness." And now we find John, in his old age, saying that what you practice is what you are.

Remember, in the beginning of Romans Paul proclaimed his theme, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The religious leaders of Jesus day did not understand the real purpose of the law. They thought the law was their way to righteousness. I meet people today who say, "Oh, of course, I keep the ten Commandments." I am always tempted to ask them to please quote them for me but I do not believe I was called of God to embarrass people. They do that to themselves without my help. The people who claim to keep the ten Commandments usually do not realize what they say. Why the very first is enough to condemn most people. "You shall have no other gods before me."

Jesus, in the sermon on the Mount, took away the refuge of hiding behind the law. The law says do not commit adultery so Jesus said, “Do you look on a woman to lust after her? Then you commit adultery with her in your heart.”

The law is God's standard for holy living but it is impossible to keep it all. Only Jesus kept the whole law. But he did not come to take away the law as many people seem to think. We must look at Christ and see what Paul is saying to us here in Romans.

Christ.

The end of the law. See what Jesus said., Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I have come to abolish ‍the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ‍to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, ‍until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Here we find, in our Lord's own words, an affirmation of the law of God. The law was not temporary; it is eternal! The law is an expression of how God would have men and women live in this world. Now let us see what Paul had to say in…

Romans 2:13-15, For ‍it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, ‍by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is ‍written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them…

The point of this is pretty clear. Everybody is subject to the law, Jews and Gentiles. The law is God's expression of His holy character and shows what he expects from mankind.

Christ is the end of the law in the sense that he has fulfilled it for those who believe in him. He was born under the law. He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the law of God. And then, he went to the cross to fulfill completely the demands of the law. As Peter would later say, He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Christ carried out the ultimate demands of the law on our behalf. He did not do away with the law. He answered the law and satisfied the law.

In that respect, Christ is the end of the law…

For righteousness. Read with me please, 2 Corinthians 5:19-21, …in Christ God was reconciling‍ the world to himself, ‍not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us ‍the message of reconciliation. Therefore, ‍we are ambassadors for Christ, ‍God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ‍For our sake he made him to be sin ‍who knew no sin, so that in him we might become ‍the righteousness of God.

You see, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The law overwhelms us because we cannot meet its demands. It was intended to be a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. So, God made Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for our sake so that we become the righteousness of God "in Him "

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness…

To everyone who believes. Turn with me to, 1 John 5:13, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

Many people today want to believe, and many seem to teach, that everyone goes to heaven when they die. Nothing could be further from the truth. Christ becomes the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. John, in his first little letter, tells us that he is writing to believers. Not just believers in God but those who believe in the name of the Son of God. And he is writing to encourage them to know, as a matter of fact, that they have eternal life. Earlier, in his gospel, John wrote about this belief. Turn with me to the gospel of…

John 3:15-16, … that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Whoever believes in him may have eternal life. Eternal life is the gift of God to everyone who believes in him. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Not who believes about him but who believes in him. Those who put their faith and trust in him. Folks, most of the people in the world believe some facts about Jesus. The vast majority of Americans believe that Jesus existed. That is not the kind of belief spoken of here. Later, chapter 3, we find these words…

John 3:36, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; ‍whoever does not obey the Son shall not ‍see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

This seems to repeat of John 3:16 but it is an addition to it. Evidence of belief is obedient. Whoever does not obey the son shall not see life. That is pretty powerful! A number of times in John's writings the truth is affirmed that people who love Jesus but also keep his commandments. In other words, they will obey him. Do you believe about him, or do you believe in him? It is a matter of eighteen inches, the distance from the head to the heart. Head belief is inexact knowledge! Heart belief is exact knowledge of who Jesus is. He is the Christ, the son of the living God, and only in his name is salvation available to us. If you have not trusted Christ as Lord and Savior I urge you to do so now. You do not know how much time you have to receive him and believe in his name.

If you are a believer in Christ, the son of God, all that he is and all that he has done for his people is true for you. Your old man is crucified with him! You have died to the law and are under grace. You are forgiven completely. You are justified absolutely! You are reconciled to God in Christ! God is your Father! You are adopted into his family and he has given you a "spirit of adoption". You are well pleasing in his sight and are alive to God. You are risen with Christ in a new realm and right now you are seated with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You are eternally secure, because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! Believing these truths make us able to live them out in our day-to-day lives. Have you received him and believed in his name? If not, I urge you to do so today.

All Scripture verses are from,The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

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