Whoever Believes Will Be Saved
First B Jackson
2016-08-21

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Well, welcome. Would you stand with us and we'll all join together in song. Gonna sing, come thou fount of every blessing, I think. Scott, you wanna jump up here? Alright.

It's not on yet. Come thou fount of every blessing tune my heart to sing thy grace streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise teach me some melodious sonic sung by flaming tongues above. Praise his I'm fixed upon it. Name of God's redeeming love. Hitherto thy love has blessed me thou hast brought me to this place and I know thy hand will lead me safely home by thy good grace Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God he to rescue rescue me from danger bought me with his precious blood oh the grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be let thy goodness like a fetter find my wandering heart to thee prone to wander lord I feel it Amen.

And then those words, aren't they something? Now, that's kinda old fashioned words there.

Well, they skipped a lot of the old fashioned words and put new words up there but I was reading off the wall this time so I sang with you. Interposed. He interposed his precious blood. Yes, he bought me with but he interposed. That's great.

It's a good song. Anyway, glorify thy name. Hymn number nine. Name in all the earth glorify thy name glorify thy name glorify thy name in all the Amen.

Y'all can have a seat. Have a few announcements this morning. One of em is that there is nursery care available for children from zero to five downstairs. There's also a new nursing room down there and if you are able and willing, would you consider seeing Bailey Morley? Do y'all know Bailey?

Most of y'all know Bailey. You know Blake? Mister White Pants sits at the back during the first service. Yeah. His new bride, Bailey, is in charge of the nursery.

She's nursery coordinator right now and she always fills in if the person doesn't show up and there have been a lot of people not showing up and so, we're trying to get more help, bigger pool, trying to get folks that will come in and take care of the nursery. It's a blessing. It's fun. If you're willing and able, would you talk to Bailey Morley or one of the church staff and we'll get you connected with her if you're able to volunteer for nursery duty. Monday nights at First B, let us grow together.

That's mister White Pants trying to be funny right there. He made the slide. He's this little garden out here in the back. We've got Monday nights at first B is meal, music, and a message. Every Monday night, starts at 06:00.

It's in the fellowship hall down there. Carl is preaching through kind of section by section. He's preaching through Luke. Yeah, thank you very much. He's up to Luke four this week.

So, Jesus's first sermon if I'm not mistaken. So, that's Monday nights at first B. Old Bills, do you all know what Old Bills is? There are a lot of you from here that do know that some of the folks that are from Oklahoma or or other parts don't really know what this is maybe. Old Bills is a local way of amplifying your gifts to charitable organizations.

So, for the Good Samaritan Mission or for Turning Point Pregnancy Resource Center, if you want to give to them and amplify your donation, you can give through the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole and specify that gift for those organizations. We also are one of the recipients of Old Bills Fun Run monies and that is for our local benevolence ministry. So, if we, if somebody comes along and needs a tank of gas or needs a hotel room for the night, they are destitute and cannot, in that situation, help themselves. We have the ability to say yes through our local benevolence fund. And Old Bills helps with that, because if somebody donates through Community Foundation and Old Bills, if you give $1 to them, by the time it reaches our fund, it's usually $1.7 or $1.5 or $2 sometimes depending on how the matching gifts go that year.

So, if you would, remember that. You can give through whole bills to get help to people in need. We can say yes. If you do that. Awana starts back up on September 12.

So, September 12 is the after school gets cranked up and started again and Awana will get going. We could use some volunteers for Awana too. We've got lots of kids coming. It's a growing program, growing kids, growing people and we could use some volunteers for that but just be praying for Awana that hearts and minds would be challenged and changed. September 15 is the beginning.

This is that time where announcements get long, folks. When we start the fall programs are starting up. So Solid Rock starts on September 15, and we'll just resume our normal schedule for Thursday night middle school meetings and Friday morning breakfast start then too, Renzi? Yep. So the sixteenth, right?

So, fifteenth is a Thursday and then the sixteenth, you'll have the high school breakfast for Solid Rock Student Ministry and for everything else. Actually, there's one more. The ladies precept ministry is starting on September 1 and so that's 09:00 in the morning on Thursday morning and they're going through the concept of covenant in the Bible this time around. So, that's that. Anything else?

Hugs, high fives, and handshakes. Would you get up and greet one another? And we'll bring you back together with a song.

93, hymn number four ninety three, glory to his name. Down at the cross where my savior died, down where for cleansing from sin I cry there to my heart was the blood of glory to his to this fountain so rich and sweet cast thy poor soul at the savior's name glory to his name there to my heart was the blood of blood glory to

Y'all his sound good. Y'all like these songs. Sounds like you believe em. That's great. That's good.

Higher ground.

I'm pressing on the upward way new heights I'm bringing everyday still praying I'm onward bound lord as plant my feet on higher ground lord lift me up and let me stand by faith on heaven's table land a or faith has called the joyful sound the song of saints on higher lord lift me up and let me stand by faith on heaven's table land a higher plane than I have found lord plant my feet on higher ground than I have found lord let my feet on higher Amen.

Nice. That came to you while you're walking Snow King this weekend. Yes. Y'all can have a seat. I'm gonna ask the frontline team to come forward.

Would you pray with me? Lord God, I pray that you would plant our feet on higher ground. Lord, that we are in the midst of the already and the not yet. Your kingdom has already come but not yet. Lord Jesus, would you plant our feet on on higher ground?

Would you, with all these mountains around us, your word says that though the mountains may crumble and may fall into the sea, your word will endure forever. So, lord, would you plant that word so deeply in our hearts? Would you write it on our hearts and would you allow us to walk out the righteousness that is from you? God, we thank you and by faith, we accept you For who you say that you are, God. We thank you that every good and perfect gift is from above.

God, we know that in order to live in this world the way that it is, we need resources and you provide those resources. Lord, we want to make sure that others have. So, we give back a portion of what you've given to us, acknowledging that you are the giver and that we wanna be like you. God, would you use this to advance your good gospel, The word of Christ, salvation that's available for all who call on the name of the Lord, for everyone who believes. Lord, would you advance that gospel to the ends of the earth?

Starting right here and to the ends of the earth. In Jesus name, we ask your blessing and your multiplication on what we are about to give. Amen.

I'm thankful that I'm here again, and I love to sing. I do a lot of mistakes with the language. I do a lot of mistakes with the voice, but I'm thankful that I have the privilege to sing for my savior. Amen. This is a beautiful song.

It's not a sad song. It's a beautiful, hope song. I'm kind of home sea, for a country to which I've never been before. No sad goodbyes will there be spoken for time on matter anymore And someday I'll stand where my shall be I'm looking now across the river where my fate will end inside. There's just a few more days to labor Then I will thank my heavenly flag.

Buglery, I'm I see the lights. I hear the singing. A brand new song of joy divine. My soul rejoice just in knowing that soon these pleasures will be mine. I will sing that verse again because it's so good.

I I I was trying to picture the the person that was reading the song, and I could see the joy in his heart thinking about this beautiful place, heaven. I see the lights. I hear the singing. A brand new song of joy divine. My soul rejoice just in knowing that soon these pleasures will be mine Amen.

Thank you. Wow. Thank you, Flooring. I have been for the past couple weeks. We're in the middle of a study.

For those of you who are visiting this week, we're kinda in the middle of a study but we're getting to the point of the study today. Now, a couple weeks ago, I shared with you something kind of a seminary term. It's what Bible students and Bible scholars look for. They're called chiasmus, a chiastic construction or chiasmus And I say that they have a, b, c, d, and then it goes c, b, a. So it's a little bit of a mirror image with the main point that the the writer or the communicator is trying to express being the center point.

Now, in this case, the center point is this, whoever believes will be saved. That's the center point of it. It is our color coded it even. The colors pop a little better on this one than that one but if you look at this, the yellow section we covered last week, it was heavily on, is it God's fault that Israel in particular but everyone in general is lost. So, the first week we started with this introduction and this conclusion.

So, the introduction was Paul's empathetic and sorrow that he would that they be saved and he would give anything that he could but he knew he couldn't give it, okay? He would be a curse if it would help but it won't help. So, that's his empathetic beginning to chapter nine and then his conclusion at the end of chapter 11 is praising and rejoicing for the unsearchable riches of God's knowledge and his wisdom. Now, last week, we covered just the yellow section. It was quite a long patch of scripture from verse six to verse 29 which answers this question, is it God's fault that they are lost?

And the answer is no. God has not failed Israel. We went over it a lot of different ways, covered 24 verses, and God was showing his sovereignty. Paul was demonstrating actually God's sovereignty over the situation. Today, we're going to cover this section.

The the green, the orange, and the green there and we're going to cover that part where we're asking the question, well, then, if God is sovereign and he has not failed Israel, then, is it Israel's fault? Is it Israel's fault? Is it people's fault? And we'll let that answer. Now, here's the fine print.

Here we go. No. The fine print up there is just to show you the overall layout of these three chapters of scripture. That introduction and conclusion is the A part. The b part is chapter nine six through 29 and chapter 11 most of the way through one through 32, I think it is.

And then c is what we're covering today, and d, we're covering today. So, nine, ten, and 11. If you look at it, nine has to do with God's sovereignty, Paul's empathy first but God's sovereignty. Number 10 is man's responsibility. Now, under God's sovereignty, he has given us choice.

He's given us free will and then, chapter 11, we'll get back to God's sovereignty. We're not gonna cover that today but it's basically a mirror image of what we saw last week. The one last week was about their past relationship and next passage down here is basically about their future and our future. So, God's sovereignty, man's responsibility, and God's sovereignty with the center point of it being the D section. So, that's what we're going to today if you're if you're wondering.

That's ahead of ahead of time. That's what it is. Now, Paul is using in this whole section what the rabbis used to call in the intertestamental period. They called it the string of pearls method of argument. So, Paul would take one Old Testament concept and string it to the next, string it to the next, string it to the next, and he, it was called at the time and still today, a string of pearls type of argumentation.

So, he's gonna reason with us using scripture from Isaiah, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and he's gonna be interjecting and interpreting all along the way. Actually, it's kinda the way that I preach. I'm not I'm not real good at three points in a prayer. I don't usually do that very well. I have more of a running commentary style.

So, I will read it off the screen and then interject or hopefully, interpreter put another string or another pearl on the string next to it and he's gonna do that all along the way before closing the argument again with Moses and Isaiah at the end. I've got another pearl at the end. I hope it's a pearl anyway. So, this is the start from Romans nine thirty. It's the response to that longer section on God's sovereignty and it demands a response and whenever Paul is writing and he realizes something demands a response, he often says, what shall we say then?

Where do we go from here? What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness attained righteousness. Even the righteousness which is by faith. So, he's argued in chapter four that three, the end of three and four that righteousness is by faith.

You are justified by your faith and not by your works. They've attained righteousness even the righteousness which is by faith but Israel pursuing a law of righteousness did not arrive at that law. I have had a while back. I had a meeting with a couple of young kids and there are two young kids. One of them is a churchy church kid and one of them was not.

One of them was churchy church guy and one of them had never been involved at all and when I got into this little meeting with them, we're sitting at a table and I'm presenting because I'm gonna present them with what I know. It's a weird meeting in the first place. I'll go ahead and admit that but it was the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts said, hey, would you meet with these guys and do this thing? And I said, yes.

I'd be glad to but you know, I'm a baptist preacher, right? And they said, yes. So, I'm gonna tell em what we say. I'm gonna tell em the gospel. Okay.

Sounds good. Alright. We got two or three meetings like this that are scheduled and one of the kids has grown up in church his whole life and one of em has not. Don't have anything to do with whatsoever and I thought it odd that when I ask after the presentation was over the first week and we get back the second week and I asked him to explain what had gone on the first week. Both of them explained exactly what I said the first week just fine.

No problem. And I said, so, what does this mean then? And the kid who had grown up in church said, well, I've got to read my Bible more. I've got to pray more. I've gotta be nice to my sister.

I've got to and he listed all these things off that were, they are implications of the Bible. They are implications of the gospel and he listed those things off well and then I said and if not, well, then I get punished or I I have a I have a, you know, consequence and I asked the other kid and the other kid goes, yeah, you said that all of us are bad and that Jesus is the only one that was good but God's willing to accept his payment for my bad. I said, yeah, he goes, I'll take that. Really? It's just that simple.

It really is just that simple and he and he and he accepted it and that was it and I was like, how in the world? That's this verse. That's exactly what Paul is saying that when they weren't even looking for it, when they weren't even looking for it, they weren't pursuing righteousness. They weren't trying to please God. They were just living however they wanted to.

They attained that righteousness. The righteousness which is by faith. When they are presented with it. Now, Paul is presenting first in the synagogue everywhere he goes and then after that to the Gentiles and it's amazing that they're accepting it. They weren't even looking for it.

Yep, I'll go with that. You're right. I've seen that. Yes. I'll take it.

But Israel pursuing a law of righteousness did not arrive at that law. They fell short. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith but as though it were by works. I gotta do this.

I gotta do this. I gotta do this and I gotta do this and you know what? And because I don't want to do these things, I'm going to put up a hedge around them and not do these things because they lead to those things. You get that? It was not pursued by faith but as though it were by works.

They stumbled over the stumbling stone. I would actually capitalize that S right there because that's about Jesus. The stumbling stone is Jesus Christ. Just as it is written, Old Testament, string of pearls right here. He's got one going.

Behold, I lay in Zion, that's Israel. A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense and he who believes in him, Jesus will not be disappointed. Are you with me? That's the rub. That's the difference.

Jesus is the center point of all human history and all human destiny. He who believes in him will not be disappointed but if you're holding on to your law, he's a stumbling stone for you. A rock of offense. Actually, Paul's two pearls here are from Isaiah eight fourteen in white and twenty eight sixteen and he puts these two pearls. He actually mixes the verses.

You might look at it and go, Paul's misquoting scripture. Paul is under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and he is interpreting scripture. He's taken a longer passage from Isaiah in two different places that say the same thing and he's combining them. Behold, I lay in Zion, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense and he who believes in him, that's Jesus, will not be disappointed. So, Isaiah is pointing forward as the prophet of the Old Testament, right?

Good good prophet Isaiah proclaims the word of God. He proclaims it. The proclamation of the gospel is the job of the prophet. It's the job of the preacher. Now, the prophets of old, we typically think of em as foretelling, telling the future and that's one of their functions.

They do tell of the future but they also tell what God has said. They just proclaim what God has said. So, here we go. He who believes in him. I even wanted to throw in Paul's not the only one who uses the string of pearls.

Peter does it. John does it in a couple of places but Peter has a great one with the same text here. For this is contained in scripture. They call back. This is as sure as can be the mountains may fade.

They may crumble but the word of the Lord endures forever and Peter calls back to Isaiah. Behold, I lay in Zion, a choice stone, a precious corner, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed. This precious value then is for you who believe. It's all about belief but for those who disbelieve the stone which the builders rejected, this became the very cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense for they stumble because they're disobedient to the word and to this doom, they're also appointed. So, the concept is very very similar to what Paul saying in nine and ten right here in first Peter two.

So, we're up to chapter 10 verses one through four and I wanna say, the way that your Bible is arranged nine, ten, and 11, you know, the they're not arbitrary. Those those chapter designations and verse designations. They're not arbitrary, but they're also not inspired either. You can arrange books differently. You can arrange them, into manageable chunks, and I do that every week.

That's part of my job. Well, these guys when they managed to do this, I think what they saw was the beginning of a paragraph in nine that said, oh that I could, I wish that I could be a curse on their sake so that they would accept this good gospel and then in 10, he says, brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is their salvation. The beginning of chapter 11 also is another earnest plea from deep in the heart, empathetic and I think that's why they did nine, ten, and 11 starting the same way but really, nine thirty is where this thought section starts. So, here we are. Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them that is the unbelieving Jews.

Now, he's talking to a church which is mixed Christian, Gentile, and Jewish flavored Christians. They're all together in Rome. Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them, those are the unbelieving Jews, is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God but it is not in accordance with knowledge. Zeal without knowledge.

That's a dangerous combination. Zeal without knowledge. Actually, there are a lot of, proverbs and sayings about this. I found a few. And so, zeal without knowledge is the sister of folly.

That's a famous old English or Irish statesman. Zeal without knowledge is the sister of folly. It's just foolishness. Zeal without knowledge and this is an Irish proverb too. It's a runaway horse.

They've got all the power in the world but no direction. Zeal without knowledge is fanaticism. I immediately thought of all those guys from Syria and in Egypt, the ones that were in their orange jumpsuits, Christians being decapitated in some cases, killed, some hung on crosses because of a zeal without knowledge of God, the real, true God. Zeal without knowledge is fanaticism. Zeal without knowledge is like fire without light.

There's no enlightenment. It's just a big explosion. Boom. It's like expedition to a man in the dark. I don't actually understand that one but it came up so many times on my Google search.

I decided that I would leave it in there. It's like expedition to a man in the dark. You're wandering around and you can't even see what it is you you came to see because it's in the dark. So, in the next two verses are two very interesting and I think important Greek words. One of em is Idios and the other one is Telos.

Idios and Telos. There's one per verse in the next two verses. So, for not knowing about God's righteousness, righteousness, this is he's saying, they have a zeal for God but without knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. Seeking to establish their own.

The word for their own there is ideos. It's it's a Greek word. Now, what is ideos sound like? Yeah, sounds like idiot, doesn't it? Idiosyncratic or idiot.

Idios is your own. Actually, let me go to this. Idios is one's own. It's private or it's personal. It is specifically to that person.

So, if someone has an idiosyncratic walk, they do this every once in a while. That's an idiosyncratic walk, okay? Stole that from Money Pipeline. Where that come from? Anyway, it's one zone.

It's private. It's personal. In fact, properly, it is uniquely one's own. It is peculiar to that individual. It is about the self.

It's about the self. It's stronger than the simple possessive pronoun, your own, okay? So, if one were to read the Old Testament and go, okay, it says this and the way that I'm going to institute that is this, that's one's own interpretation and it's one's own action that comes out from that. That is seeking to establish your own righteousness. It's a very emphatic adjective actually.

You can say their own with a simpler form. Do we see this concept anywhere else in Paul? The first one that I thought of about your own righteousness. It's not the same exact word because he's talking about himself. It would be different but think of this great passage in Philippians three where he's talking about everything that he had gained, he counts as lost.

We'll read this. More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my lord. Now, wait a second, he was a righteous Pharisee, right? He was a righteous man. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

He was circumcised at the right time. He did everything he should've done. Studied at the feet of Gamaliel and he had as far as law could offer a very good education and a very good understanding and he practiced it. As far as zeal, he persecuted the church, right? But this says, more than all of that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my lord, for whom I've suffered all, the loss of all things, and count them but scubula, rubbish, so that I may gain Christ and may be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own.

He realizes that within him, ideals, there is no righteousness. It's derived from the law but that which is through faith in Christ. We're talking about righteousness from faith. The righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. He says this all over the New Testament.

I just wanted you to hear that that's the concept we're going through for not knowing about God's righteousness. And seeking to establish their own. They did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Now, the word there for end is Telos.

Now you might think of television. That's root word is right here, telos. You might think of telescope. A scope is something you see through, and the telos is the end which you see. So expanding that telescope out, you see the end from where you are.

Telos is the end on an end or a purpose. It's funny. If you know anything about church history right around the reformation times, Luther and Calvin in their commentaries disagreed about which one of these was. One was an end to the law. It ended it and the other one was purpose.

I'll let you look up who was what, okay? It's both an end and a purpose but I like actually properly. It is the consummation. It is the end goal. It's the purpose such as he is the closure with all of the continuing results.

Does that make sense? Kinda. Culmination. Douglas Moo translates a culmination. I think some versions of the NIV have it.

This is one of em. Christ is the culmination. It was everything that the law was pointing to because like I said, Christ is the center of human history and destiny. Christ is the culmination of the law. So that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Now, Christ lived out his life without sin. Did he break any of the Pharisees laws? He did. Did he break any of God's law? No.

No. Okay. Good. We're on the same page then. Romans ten five says this, for Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.

That's old covenant. Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. Do you get that? He's saying that there is a home in heaven for anyone who can practice that law. That's old covenant.

Now, what's the problem with that? In fact, let me, this is what he's quoting right here. This is Leviticus eighteen five. This is another string, a pearl in that string. So, you shall keep my statutes and my judgments by which if you keep my statutes and my judgments, a man may live.

If he does them, I am the Lord. The old covenant's conditional upon your action. So, shall keep my statutes and my judgments by which a man may live if he does them. I am the Lord. This offer though of life is ultimately doomed.

Why? As Paul has demonstrated from Romans 118 all the way to three twenty, all of us fall short. Now, Jesus didn't and Jesus is alive and he is alive forever because he did live it out. He lived out God's law perfectly. Now, he offers his righteousness to us.

The offer of life is doom though because the standard is perfection. You will keep all of my statutes and all of my judgments and human depravity renders the attainment of that impossible. So, I had a professor in seminary who used to call this a hypothetical offer of life. Hypothetical because no one has achieved it but Jesus did and I kind of stick with he did and he lives. And he's offered that on our account too.

Romans ten five through eight. Says the or six through eight. But the righteousness that's based on faith speaks as follows and this is a quote from Moses in Deuteronomy. Do not say in your heart who will ascend to heaven? That is to bring Christ down or who will descend into the abyss that is to bring the Messiah up.

From the dead. But what does it say? The word, remember John calling Jesus the word? The word is near you. It's in your mouth and it's in your heart.

That's the word of faith which we are preaching. So, Paul is pearl after pearl after pearl building a case and he's using this string from Deuteronomy 30 verses 12 through 15. It's a little longer. He condenses it and he interprets as he goes. It is not in heaven that you should say, who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us to hear it so that we may observe it nor is it beyond the sea or the deep or the abyss as Paul says, that you should say, who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and to make us hear it that we may observe it.

You see how this is focused on doing? Both of those are that we may observe it, we may do it. But the word is very near to you. It's in your mouth and it's in your heart that you may observe it. He's saying even in Deuteronomy, the word Deuteronomy by the way is the second Deuterosis to Namas' law.

The second statement of the law, he's saying that, you know this stuff, people. You recite this stuff. You know how God is good. When you get up in the morning, when you go to bed at night, all day long, you're saying this stuff out loud. The word is very near you.

It's in your mouth. It's in your heart that you may observe it. So, Pauline interjection here. He gives a part of a verse and then he interprets it. He gives another part and interprets it.

He quotes, interprets, and applies and I I seek to do the same thing. That's what I hope to do. So, here we are so far. We have gotten up through the fact that yes, it is works righteousness. Just based on the first green part that we've gotten to.

The other one mirror images it. We'll get to it in a minute but we've answered that question. So, God has not failed Israel but they have failed. It is their fault because they sought it based on their works and not on faith, not taking God at his word, his grace, and his mercy but trying to earn it. Next part is the whoever will believes will be saved.

The so far, they've based that on righteousness. Now, at any point, if you're a workspace kind of person and it hits you that it's the grace of God, at any point, God will save. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord, whoever doesn't stumble, you stumble over that stumbling stone but then, realize, oh, I like this stone. I might have tripped over it for a while but I'm putting my faith in this chief cornerstone. Whoever believes will be saved.

This is a center point section. It is right at the very center of what Paul is expressing in these three chapters. If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is lord, you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. How many of y'all that's a memory verse for you? Yep, me too.

For with the heart, a person believes resulting in righteousness and with the mouth, he confesses resulting in salvation. If you look at this, the chiasmus that we've been studying, very down to the absolute center point is a kiosk at construction and you can see it in these two words right here. If you confess with your mouth, believe in your heart. God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved. For with the heart, a person believes, resulting in righteousness with the mouth, he confesses.

Do you see how that is? The turnaround is, you'll be saved. This is the center point of God's sovereignty. This is what he has decreed man's responsibility is to accept that. As simple as that sound, that's it.

If you look at it, I like the the the visual here. So, the heart, heart is the center most because it always comes down to a heart issue, right? So, the heart is in the center and I love what the Bible says multiple places. Out of the abundance or out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. You're not going to be able to contain this.

If it's in your heart, it's going to come out of your mouth. Whether that be just public profession of your faith or professing it and confessing it so that others might hear and I believe actually since this part right here is if you confess with your mouth Jesus as lord, believe in your heart. That part is definitely about you being ready to stand up and say, I am his. I belong to him. I have no righteousness of my own.

I accept Jesus's. I think the next one and we use confess in both places. It is an out loud thing, a public statement. I think this one is pointing especially because of what comes after. It's pointing towards your proclamation of the gospel.

You not just having said that you believe it and have it in your heart but that you are willing to spread it. Because the next verse says this, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? So, this is people who've been presented with Christ yet they continue in their law based system. How are they going to call on him? Anybody who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Anybody who doesn't stumble over that stumbling stone, will not be disappointed. How then will they call on him and whom they've not believed? And how will they believe in him of whom they've not heard? So, he's talking about the ones who have heard but not believed and he's talking about the ones who have not yet heard and how will anyone, they, who are outside of Christ, hear without somebody proclaiming. So, when it was mouth, heart, heart, mouth proclaiming the proclamation of the gospel, the word of the Lord, the prophet in the Old Testament, the preacher in the current day.

How will they preach unless they're sent? Now, Paul himself had been a ideals, self righteous Pharisee and he had been converted dramatically and then, he began to say, what happened? He tells the story of his conversion three times in Acts that we have recorded and you know, he told it in every synagogue and in every church, in every meeting that he was at, he was ready to tell it. He was proclaiming it, preaching it, and he was sent out. The people of Macedonia funded the trip when he was sitting in Corinth, he was spending money.

The Philippians gave him. He was sent. Alright. Just as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of great things, even the nastiest, nasty. Feet were not something that people like.

That's why washing the feet was such a big deal when Jesus washed his kid's feet. They're saying even the nastiest part of a person, their feet is beautiful. If they're bringing good news. However, they did not all heed that good news. For Isaiah says, lord, who has believed our report?

Isaiah was faithfully proclaiming God's word and people rejected it and he's saying, who at all? Has anyone? Who has believed our report? So, faith though comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. We were at a deaf school for seven years.

Did y'all know that? Tanya and I were missionaries in Mexico to a school for the deaf and faith comes through hearing is a hard thing to do when you're thinking about the deaf. So, we instead of confessing with their mouth, I have seen kids confess with their hands doing signs and I'm terrible. Senas, I almost switched into Spanish because we learned sign language in Mexico. So, I key it up with Spanish.

Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. Do you think that confession with the mouth is necessary for the deaf to be saved? He's saying that communication, confessing, professing is a part of it. Your public profession of your own faith but also your public proclamation of his gospel. It only comes from hearing it.

You can take it in by reading it, sure, but you've gotta have it coming from somewhere. So, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. Christ said, another pearl. I am going to build my church. You will be my witnesses proclaiming and I will build my church but I say to you, surely they have never heard, have they?

Indeed, they have. He goes back to his same argument from Romans one. Yes, their voice, Psalm 19, their voice has gone out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the world. There's no language where his voice cannot be understood. In Psalm 19, it says that, but I say, surely Israel did not know, did they?

Paul says, first, Moses said, I'll make you jealous by that which is not a nation. By a nation without understanding, I will anger you. With those two kids I mentioned at the very beginning, the churchy church kid that's been trying to do things right his whole life and he's been working for that standard his whole life to do things right every time, all the time, all the time, all the time, all the time. Oh, be nice to that sister. And then this other kid just says, yeah, accept that.

I'll take Jesus. That make you mad, wouldn't it? I've been trying to do this my whole life. For all those guys have been trying to live up to the Jewish law their whole life and they're looking and cursing and they see Jesus on that cross with the thief right next to him and the thief says, remember me when you come into your kingdom. It's only righteous act we know of that he made and Jesus said, surely, you'll be with me in paradise.

It's about faith. I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation by a nation without understanding. I will anger you and Isaiah is very bold, Paul says. I was found by those who did not seek me and I became manifest to those who did not ask for me. But as for Israel, he says, all day long, I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.

Wow. Okay. Here we are. God has not failed Israel because whoever believes will be saved. At any moment, you can look to Jesus, call on him.

Has is it God's fault the next week will hit next time I do this, we'll hit this. No, he still hasn't rejected them. Have they utterly fallen so that they may not get up? No. He has not rejected them still because whoever believes in Jesus will be saved.

Amen. I'd like to add one more pearl. It is a complete non sequitur. It doesn't seem to make any sense with the rest of this but it is the story of Naaman's leprosy. I hope that it'll illustrate the point.

The gospel is simple. It's really really simple and it is the way whether you're Calvinistic or Armenianistic or whatever. It still says, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. That's it. So, this last text is second Kings five.

It's from the Old Testament. It's on page 363. If you had one of the red Bibles in the pew in front of you, if you wanna look it up, you're welcome to. I will put it up on the screen and just read it. Now, Naaman was a commander of the army of the king of Aram.

Was he an Israelite? No. Was he a chosen person of God? It depends on how you mean that but no, he was he was an outsider. Now, Naaman was the commander.

So, he's a leader of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and he was highly regarded because through him, the Lord had given victory to Aram. Now, the Lord gave the victory even to the bad guys. Ain't that interesting? He was highly regarded.

He's a leader. He was a valiant soldier but he had leprosy. Nothing's worse than the Old Testament than having leprosy. Now, bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and they had taken captive a young girl from Israel and she served Naaman's wife. So, Naaman, leader, married guy, has servants.

Some of those are captured servants and one of em was a little girl from Israel and she said to her mistress, Naaman's wife, if only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria. Wait a second, that's not even Israel either, right? The prophet was in Samaria which is good. It's an outside thing. I like that.

He don't have to be right in the middle of the temple all the time. If only my master would see the prophet who's in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy, said the little Israelite girl and she said to her mistress, oh that's the same thing, excuse me. Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. So, Naaman went to his master, said, I've heard this and the king, I mean, leprosy, you had to call out that you had it. You know, the king's probably backing away from him as he's coming in the door.

You're a great man, highly regarding everything but you stay over there. Naaman went to his master, told him what the girl from Israel had said, by all means, go. Yeah, go ahead. Whatever. Whatever.

I'll send the letter to the king of Israel. So, Naaman left. He took with him 10 talents of silver, 6,000 shekels of gold, and 10 sets of clothing. That's pretty great riches for the time. The letter that he took to the king of Israel.

So, this is from the king of Aram to the king of Israel. His letter and it says, with this letter, I'm sending my servant, Naaman, to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy. As soon as the, what would you think? Actually, let me back up. What would you think?

If you got a letter, you're the king, you get a letter from another king and he says, I'm sending the guy with leprosy to you. Will you heal him? No, I'm gonna I'm sending him to you. Go ahead and heal him. It's leprosy.

Nobody can heal leprosy. You know what I mean? As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and he said, am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?

See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me. His first thought was political. Like, I'm in a darn if I do and darn if I don't situation here. He sent a guy to me to do something. There's no possible way that I can do.

He's trying to pick a fight because they're raiders and When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message. Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there's a prophet in Israel. Are you with me? Elisha, man of God, proclaimer of God's word, preacher, prophet.

Why have you torn your robes? He reacts in faith, not in fear. The king kind of reacted in fear. Have the man come to me, he will know that there's a prophet in Israel. So, Naaman went with his horses and his chariots and he stopped at the door of Elisha's house.

And Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, Elisha didn't even go out. He sent a messenger out to it. This is real important guy. And Elisha just sent a messenger to him and the messenger said, go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed. So, Naaman's got a very serious situation.

He has leprosy and now he has received a command just from a messenger faithful proclamation from the prophet. Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed but Naaman went away angry and he said, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord, his God, wave his hand over the spot, and cure me of my leprosy. Are not a banner and far far, The rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel. Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed? So, he turned and he went off in a rage.

He's been presented with what will help him and it made him mad. Naaman's servants, his own servants, went to him and said, my father, I'm sure cowering. My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? He brought along great riches to buy it. If he had told him to climb the highest mountain in the country, surely, they would have set out on an expedition.

If he told him to dig a deep, deep hole down to the abyss, he would have done that too. If he had not told you to do, if he had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more than when he tells you wash and be cleansed? Something so simple. So, he went down and he dipped himself.

It took humility to do that after he made an angry statement, right? So, he went down and he dipped himself in the Jordan seven times as the man of God had told him just as the man of God had told him and his flesh was restored and it became clean like that of a young boy. And then, Naaman and all of his attendants went back to the man of God and he stood before him and said, now I know that there is no god in all the world except in Israel. Amen. This is the simple proclamation of God's word right here.

You've heard it If you confess with your mouth that Jesus as lord and believe in your heart, God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For the heart of person believes resulting in righteousness and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. That's it. Simple as it is. What is required is what you do with that message.

Do you accept it? Do you reject it? Do you need another time? Does God have to mention it again and again and again? Billy Graham's famous for saying, you'll never be any closer than you are right now.

Paul says, today is the day of salvation. Would you stand with me as we close in song? Whatever Florine plays and comes up on this screen, we'll sing. If you'd like to come forward, I know it's not the culture of this place to walk the aisle. I know that because nobody does it ever.

Where I come from, we do an invitation every week and it's very regularly. Somebody comes down. So, the altar is open for prayer. I'm here. I'll stop singing and Renzi will turn off my mic if you wanna talk.

Would you sing, oh how I love Jesus if you do and if you don't, would you let us introduce you to him?

There is a name I long to hear I love to sing its word it sounds like music in mire the sweetest name on it tells me of a savior's love who died to send me free it tells me of his precious blood the sinners perfectly how I love Jesus oh how I love Jesus because he first loved me tells me what my father had in store for everyday and though I tread a darksome path, yield sunshine all the way. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh how I love Jesus because he first loved me it tells of one whose loving heart can feel my deepest woes. Oh, how any sorrow bears a part that none can bear below. Oh, how I love Jesus.

Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus because he first love me

I've got a benediction verse up here for just a second but if you've been trapped and trying to do the right thing and deriving it from scripture. So, it's a righteousness that's based on what you've read or what you see but it's not just overflowing out of a heart changed by Jesus. If you've been trying, trying, trying, trying, trying, trying. I will be praying for you. I know how it goes and I want to pray this for you and leave you all with this blessing.

Now, may the God of peace who brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will. Idios. Don't be idiots, okay? Not a righteousness that's based on what we think we ought to do but one that he shows us. Equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be the glory forever and ever.

Amen. Amen.