The Word Is Near You

In one paragraph

This message was part of First B's ongoing series through Romans, working through chapters nine through eleven. The pastor focused on the central question of whether Israel's estrangement from God is Israel's own fault, and he landed on a clear answer: yes, because they pursued righteousness through works rather than through faith. That center point opened into the most direct statement of...

Read together

1. Romans 9:30 Beginning of the passage asking whether it is Israel's fault they are estranged from God
2. Romans 9:30-32 Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness attained it by faith; Israel pursuing a law of righteousness did not arrive at it
3. Isaiah 8:14 String of pearls quote: a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense laid in Zion
4. Isaiah 28:16 String of pearls quote interspersed with Isaiah 8:14: he who believes in him will not be disappointed
5. 1 Peter 2:6-8 Peter uses the same string of pearls about the cornerstone and stone of stumbling
6. Romans 10:1 Paul's heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel's salvation
7. Romans 10:2-3 Israel has zeal for God but not in accordance with knowledge; seeking to establish their own righteousness
8. Philippians 3:8-9 Paul counts all things loss to gain Christ, not having a righteousness of his own from the law but from God through faith
9. Romans 10:4 Christ is the end or culmination of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes
10. Leviticus 18:5 Moses writes that the man who practices righteousness based on law shall live by it, used to show the conditional and impossible standard of the old covenant
11. Deuteronomy 30:12-15 The word is not in heaven or beyond the sea but very near you, in your mouth and heart, interpreted by Paul as pointing to the word of faith
12. Romans 10:9-10 Central chiasm point: confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart God raised him, and you will be saved
13. Romans 1 Paul backs up to his previous argument that God's voice has gone out and people rejected the knowledge of God
14. Romans 10:14-15 How will they call, believe, hear, or preach without someone being sent
15. Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news
16. Isaiah 53:1 Lord, who has believed our report, used to show that some will reject the gospel
17. Romans 10:17 Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ
18. Psalm 19 Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world
19. Deuteronomy 32:21 Moses: I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation
20. Isaiah 65:1-2 I was found by those who did not seek me; all day long I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people
21. 2 Kings 5 Story of Naaman's leprosy used as a closing Old Testament pearl illustrating simple belief and public confession bringing cleansing

Talk about it

1. Pastor Chris described two boys hearing the gospel: the church kid who listed things he had to do, and the outsider who simply said 'I'll take that.' What does that contrast reveal about the difference between works-righteousness and faith?
2. Pastor Chris explained the Greek word 'idios' as meaning one's own private, personal righteousness, and said that even sincere Bible reading can become self-righteousness if it is not grounded in God's righteousness. Where do you see that temptation show up in your own life?
3. Pastor Chris described Christ as the 'telos' of the law, its culmination, both the end and the purpose that the law was always pointing toward. How does seeing the law that way change how you read the Old Testament?
4. Paul's string of pearls argument in Romans 10 moves from belief, to confession, to sending, to preaching, to hearing. Pastor Chris said faith comes from hearing, and hearing requires someone to proclaim it. What does that chain of steps mean for how you think about your own role in sharing the gospel?
5. Naaman was told to do a simple thing, wash seven times in the Jordan, and he almost walked away in anger because it was too simple. Pastor Chris connected that to confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart. Is there anything about the simplicity of the gospel that you personally find hard to accept?