Whoever Believes Will Be Saved

In one paragraph

This message was the third part of a study working through Romans 9 through 11. Pastor Carl used Romans 10 to address the question of whether Israel's lostness is their own fault, placing that question inside a larger chiastic structure with the center point being that whoever believes will be saved. Paul opens his argument in Romans 9:30 with an observation that should have startled his original...

Read together

1. Romans 9:30-33 Gentiles attained righteousness by faith while Israel stumbled over the stumbling stone
2. Isaiah 8:14 one of two Isaiah pearls combined: a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense laid in Zion
3. Isaiah 28:16 second Isaiah pearl combined with 8:14: he who believes in him will not be disappointed
4. 1 Peter 2:6-8 Peter's own string of pearls using the same Isaiah cornerstone text
5. Romans 10:1-4 Paul's heart's desire for Israel's salvation and Christ as the telos, the culmination of the law
6. Philippians 3:8-9 Paul counting all his Pharisaic righteousness as rubbish, wanting only the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ
7. Leviticus 18:5 Moses writes that a man shall live by the righteousness based on law if he does it, the conditional old covenant
8. Romans 10:5 Moses writes that the man who practices law-based righteousness shall live by it
9. Romans 10:6-8 the righteousness based on faith speaks from Deuteronomy: the word is near you, in your mouth and heart
10. Deuteronomy 30:12-15 the longer passage Paul condenses, about not needing to ascend to heaven or cross the sea to find the word
11. Romans 10:9-10 confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart God raised him, and you will be saved
12. Romans 10:11-15 whoever believes will not be disappointed, whoever calls on the Lord will be saved, and how will they hear without someone proclaiming
13. Psalm 19 their voice has gone out into all the earth, no language where it cannot be understood
14. Romans 10:19-21 Moses says God will make Israel jealous by a nation without understanding; Isaiah says God was found by those who did not seek him, and stretched out his hands to a disobedient people
15. 2 Kings 5:1-15 Naaman's leprosy healed by the simple command to wash seven times in the Jordan, illustrating that the gospel is simple and requires only acceptance
16. Hebrews 13:20-21 benediction: the God of peace who brought Jesus from the dead equip you with everything good to do his will

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl described two young men who heard the same gospel presentation but responded very differently. One listed things he needed to do better, and the other simply said 'I'll take that.' What does that difference reveal about how we tend to approach our relationship with God?
2. Paul says Israel had a zeal for God but not in accordance with knowledge. What does it look like when zeal runs ahead of knowledge, and where have you seen that play out, in yourself or around you?
3. Pastor Carl described Christ as the telos, the culmination or end goal, of the law. What does it mean to you personally that the law was always pointing somewhere, and that somewhere is Jesus?
4. The sermon worked through Romans 10 to show that faith, confession, proclamation and being sent are all linked together. Which part of that chain feels most natural to you, and which part feels hardest?
5. Naaman had the resources, the status and the willingness to do something great to be healed, but he was asked to do something simple and it made him angry. Where in your own life have you found the simplicity of the gospel harder to accept than a more demanding requirement might have been?