Title: The Righteousness of Faith (For the Scripture Saith)
Text: Romans 10: 10
Date: January 23, 2011
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
The righteousness of faith is faith in the heart and unconfused, unashamed confession with the mouth that Christ Jesus is All our acceptance with God. All those born of God, given faith to believe on Christ shall come to God no other way FOR THE SCRIPTURE in the prophets that they shall. There is no ambiguity about this. "For the scripture saith" means "It is written". That means that God in power has spoken it and told us that when he brings life and light into his children the believer is not ashamed--no longer ignorant or uncertain about the truth that Christ is All our acceptance with God.
Romans 10:10: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11: For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed
WITH THE HEART (V10)
The natural heart is stone. It is dead. It is the product of Adam. This is not the heart with which the believer believes.
The heart with which man believes is the new heart God creates!
Ezekiel 36:26: A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27: And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
This is the heart with which a man believes God. This is the heart in which God gives faith to believe. NOT THAT WHICH IS BORN THE FIRST TIME.
John 3:6: That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do you find yourself believing God? Do you find yourself delighting in the word of God? The Lord said, when "the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:"
1 Corinthians 2:12: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
WITH THE HEART MAN BELIEVETH (V10)
When God gives faith the new man can do nothing else but believe. He can not sin, that is he can--ONLY BELIEVE CHRIST FOR ALL ACCEPTANCE AND CAN ONLY LOVE OTHERS BORN OF THE SAME SPIRIT.
1 John 3: 9: Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10: In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother…22: And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23: And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
1 John 5:1: Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
WITH THE HEART MAN BELIEVETH UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS (V10)
Faith is not righteousness but faith believeth UNTO righteousness. Christ is our Righteousness. Faith is the gift whereby we are united with Christ who is our Righteousness. Faith renounces any righteousness in self and freely receives the righteousness of Christ alone. Abraham was:
Romans 4: 20:…"strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21: And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
· Fully persuaded God was able to come in human flesh with a sinless perfect holy nature--the Seed of Abraham promised to Abraham
· Fully persuaded "God will provide himself a Lamb"
· Fully persuaded God provided himself as a substitute to die in his place--Abraham went to offer Isaac and saw that ram caught in a thicket who died in Isaac's place
Romans 4: 22: And therefore it {Christ's Righteousness} was imputed to him for righteousness.
AND WITH THE MOUTH CONFESSION IS MADE UNTO SALVATION (V10)
The key here is that believers confess Christ with certainty before others: those who believe in the heart confess with the mouth openly, plainly, with certainty, that Christ is all their Righteousness. Because God has said from the beginning this is what his power will produce in his children:
Romans 10: 11: For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed
The believer is no longer uncertain--not wavering between this opinion and that--certainly not confused that something needs to be done by the believer. The power God reveals Christ in a sinner, creating a new a heart overflowing with faith that Christ is fully able to present me fautless and without blame to God, there is nothing for me to do, and the mouth shall confess this to before men. Not yea and nay, but yea and amen!
CONTEXT
Paul had just said that his countrymen after the flesh had a zeal for God but it was ignorance. It was manifest in the fact that they would not submit to Christ the Righteousness of God. They were willing to do many things but they were not persuaded to do nothing but rest in Christ alone for all. (Read Romans 10: 1-5).
Righteousness by the law is impossible. The law is not of faith (Galatians 3: 10-13). Looking to anything you have done to add to Christ's word, to supplement his work, to get a reward in heaven, to make yourself holy is works. It is law. It is to be under the curse. Anything a sinner does for merit, anything OTHER THAN CHRIST ALONE, is law.
The righteousness of faith is a certain persuasion from the power of God that Christ has come and finished the work, redeemed his people, is risen with God--nothing else to be done at all by the believer.
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH IS BELIEVING CHRIST HAS COME DOWN FROM ABOVE IN THE FLESH!
Romans 10: 6: But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
· Christ has come down from above--
· He is the Son of God who took flesh and blood
· He has fulfilled all the righteousness of the law by his obedience in life,
· He has bore the penalty that was my due in his sufferings unto death
· He has put away my sin and perfected me forever
Those who do not believe the work is finished or mix law with grace for righteousness and holiness are not resting in Christ alone.
1 John 4:2: Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH BELIEVES CHRIST HAS RISEN BECAUSE GOD IS COMPLETELY SATISFIED WITH HIS ONE OFFERING ALONE!
Romans 10: 7: Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Faith believes in the heart and confesses with the mouth--that Christ is risen--raised again because he made satisfaction to God for ME! The grave could not hold him and God yet be just. He did the work God gave him to do so the justice of God demanded Christ be risen and that every sinner for whom he died be risen in him and brought to faith in his blood.
The righteousness of faith is in heart and mouth in distinction from all the outward workings required by those who are yet mixing law with grace. Next, Paul gives us these same two confessions of the righteousness of faith which he just said, now in a positive way:
Romans 10: 8: But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus {The Son of God has come in the flesh, has come and lived and died and purged me of my sin} and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, {that God is satisfied, Christ has perfected forever all them that are sanctified and there is no more offering for sin--Christ is risen because he is triumphant} thou shalt be saved. 10: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11: For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
When God says we shall not be ashamed it is because his power can not fail to make every sinner for whom Christ died to know and rest all their eternal well-being into the hands of Christ.
The Ethiopian Eunich
Acts 8: 36: And as they went on [their] way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, [here is] water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37: And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38: And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.”
The Blind Man Cast Out
John 9: 36:…Dost thou believe on the Son of God?...38: And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
Thief On The Cross
Luke 23: 39: And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40: But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41: And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42: And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43: And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
The believer will not be ashamed FOR IT IS WRITTEN. Listen to Paul provoke Timothy to good works.
2 Timothy 1: 7: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8: Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9: Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10: But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 11: Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12: For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 13: Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 10:10: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12: For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Every sinner in whom God creates a new heart
Whom he gives faith to behold his glory in Christ
Shall believe with the heart and confess him with the mouth!
And each one shall be saved!
Amen!