He shall never have cause to repent his confidence in reposing such a trust in the Lord Jesus. Far from denying or obscuring what they boasted of, he goes beyond them "Who are Israelites," says he, "to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all God blessed for ever." Or to proclaim to them the truth. Christ holds it out to you: take it freely, and be rich for ever. You say, "Who shall descend into the deep?" It is an appeal to them to see that their zeal is misplaced. He did not say, "Do and thou shalt live, and yet there is another way." This same term occurs again in verses 14 and 15. Because they were sons of Abraham. God, therefore, having not the least hindrance to the manifestation of what He can be and is in merciful intervention on behalf of the worst of sinners, manifests it is His righteousness "by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (ver. Accordingly he tells them now what reason he had to speak thus strongly, not of the more advanced truths, but of the good news. There is no mystery or obscurity about it. He has put the two things together, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Many times people say, "Oh, I wish I had more faith," and I think that oftentimes we almost insult God by our lack of faith.I have heard people pray, "Oh, Lord, help me to believe. Now, was it not extreme folly in the Jews to adhere so closely to this way of justification and salvation, which was in itself so hard, and by the corruption of nature now become impossible, when there was a new and a living way opened? How are they to hear without someone to proclaim the good news to them? Is there no call, no mercy, of God for any besides? Thus the introduction opened with Christ's person, and closes with God's righteousness. There. One night he collared some young people to ask them questions about the Bible. The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): a. Christ is the end of the law: Jesus is the end of the law for those who believe. It is true God gave them that law for which they were so zealous; but they might have known that, by the appearance of the promised Messiah, an end was put to it. For He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man can come to the Father but by me" ( John 14:6 ). What he meant was: "Christ is the end of legalism." It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may bear it, and do it? I was found by those who did not seek Me; "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." It is not in any degree settled as to itself by His blood. a. It must be further observed, that lest the minds of men, being led away by crafts, should wander from the way of salvation, the limits of the word are prescribed to them, within which they are to keep themselves: for it is the same as though he had bidden them to be satisfied with the word only, and reminded them, that in this mirror those secrets of heaven are to be seen, which would otherwise by their brightness dazzle their eyes, and would also stun their ears and overpower the mind itself. (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) Even the saints there would have been all the better for the gospel. And they are broadening the gate so that you breathe, "Oh, God loves you," you will be saved because you are breathing. It is not so alone; but in His death, unto which I am baptized, I am dead to sin. He takes their own books, and proves from one of them (Deuteronomy) that in the ruin of Israel the resource is not going into the depths, nor going up to heaven. The word is nigh thee - This is still a use of the language of Moses. for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. See an instance of this pride in the Pharisee, Luke 18:10; Luke 18:11. There is a preaching which blasts the sinner with tempestuously angry words; but always Paul speaks the truth in love. Now as to the test of death. The law has not come to an end in the sense of no longer reflecting Gods standard or no longer showing us our need for a Savior. Would that the Lord would give us hearts to remember, as well as eyes to see, according to His own grace! We need 2 cookies to store this setting. It is with that objection Paul deals; and, as he deals with it in its various forms, on each occasion he clinches his answer with a text from scripture. The word of Christ is what brought us out of the world and that to which we were converted. And that word is the message of faith which we proclaim. This last relation was the direct subject of the prophetic testimony, and Jesus had come accordingly. (9-13) How Gods righteousness is gained by faith. Paul's answer is: "Israel's disbelief was only to be expected, for, long ago, Isaiah was moved to say in despair: 'Lord, who has believed what we have heard?'" Thus, how can your father have the forgiveness of sins which is essential for fellowship with God?" As this was now made known to all, as the apostles preached it everywhere, it could be said to be nigh them; there was no need of searching other lands for it, or regarding it as a hidden mystery, for it was plain and manifest to all. Let the cross pass. What were the principles of it? It is God who now makes known a righteousness to man, instead of looking for any from man. It would not have been righteous in any sense to have remitted the sins, until they were actually borne by One who could and did suffer for them. But then again he intimates that the nature of the gospel is involved in the publishing of the glad tidings. He begins with the great epoch of the dispensations of God (that is, the ages since the flood). 7). As your next door neighbor's house is not hard to get at, so neither is salvation by the gospel. d. Glad tidings of good things: Obviously, the salvation Isaiah prophesied about could not be salvation through works or the law. we know how this was in Israel, how it might be, and has been, in Christendom. If you wish to be saved by the law you must do its commands and you shall live. All Israel shall be saved. The meaning is, that the doctrine was already so familiar, and so well understood, that it was actually in their mouth, that is, their language, their common conversation. Jesus in the garden prayed, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me." It is here that you will find a great failure of Christendom as to this. What did they say to Ishmaelites as joint-heirs? God is revealing a righteousness of His own in the gospel. He would not therefore have them ignorant how they had lain on his heart for a visit (ver. Nothing shows better the Jewish attitude than the three classes into which they divided mankind. This might seem an exaggeration: the gospel had not been carried throughout all the earth, not even to all the lands that were known to the inhabitants of the Graeco-Roman world. He was God over all blessed for ever, as well as their Messiah. Several general exhortations proper for all Christians, Rom. He heard a poor woman sing somewhere, He remembered the words, and what was better, he felt their sense; and he kept on humming them to himself till God's good Spirit engraved them on his heart. Have done with every other confidence. No, my dear friend, do not say that even in your thought. Was he not himself, says Paul, a proof to the contrary? It is not even enough to believe in him, as being the Son of God, and the anointed of the Lord; but we must believe on him The faith that saves is not believing certain truths, nor even believing that Jesus is a Savior; but it is resting on him, depending on him, lying with all your weight on Christ as the foundation of your hope. There would not be a moment of your life in which you could be at peace, for there would always be the fear that in some unguarded instant you would transgress, and lose all. It may be helpful to read Deuteronomy 30:10. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. Both Jew and Greek were quick to give some credit to national or ethnic origin, as if being saved were a matter of being born into the right family. Now it is the positive power of God in raising up from the dead Him that was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justifying. It is not a soul's overcoming its difficulties, but a sinner's submission to the righteousness of God. The way of salvation is now both plain and easy. "Ah, well," says one, "I know I must undergo a singular experience-either I must be carried right away to heaven with delirious delight, or be plunged into the waves of hell in frightful despair." who would defraud God of that which He delights in the blessedness of bringing in deliverance by that One man, of whom Adam was the image? Being Pure, blazing, glorious Godhead, "Light of lights, very God of very God," on a sudden they found him in a stable hanging on a woman's breast. Wednesday, March 1st, 2023 Now, Paul declares, or rather the gospel speaking for itself declares, this word of life by faith in the risen Christ to be near us, that is, to be accessible to us. God's righteousness was now manifested as to the past sins He had not brought into judgment through His forbearance, and yet more conspicuously in the present time, when He displayed His justice in justifying the believer. Nevertheless the apostle does not expressly mention heaven here. $9.99 + $8.50 shipping. For Christ is the end of the whole system of law. It was about eating pork. But God has established the way through Jesus Christ. God was not satisfied alone. "No, I am not." The problem is that none is able to keep the law perfectly. If you get out on the extreme and, unfortunately, some people do. It is not God seeking, or man bringing righteousness. "For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. They are generally gentlemen in good health, with regular incomes and sweet tempers, and so they soon reach their imaginary sinlessness vain creatures that they are; but you never get any of that among the poor, suffering, tried people of God. But what it does it say -- --continuing the quotation from Deuteronomy 30:14. To say You can be right before God if you work hard enough is not a gospel of peace, and that message does not bring glad tidings of good things. There are several texts from which it may be gathered that believers shall not be put to shame. (Spurgeon). Christ is thus the end of the law for righteousness, that is, for justification; but it is only to every one that believeth. Not only was Abraham justified without law, but apart from that great sign of mortification of the flesh. If you want your faith increased, study the Word of God. What He does is to pierce and penetrate the man's conscience. But thus the way is now clear for bringing the Jew into the discussion. And what was all this about? It is simple; indeed, so simple that people try to obscure it in order to understand it. There we find Christian knowledge as to the matter introduced; but still it is the knowledge of one who is not in this state pronouncing on one who is. I have the deep satisfaction of saying that when our dear brethren and sisters fall asleep they reflect honor upon the gospel which we have preached. i. To my mind this word of Moses is conclusive that none of us can possibly live by the works of the law. The practical part follows, wherein we find, 1. This is what made the gospel to be so sweet and precious, and, what is more, absolutely necessary, if he would escape certain and eternal ruin. Yet note, that Paul opens this up into two things. The appeal to their own inspired account of Abraham turned into a proof of the consistency of God's ways in justifying by faith, and hence in justifying the uncircumcised no less than the circumcision. Believe in him as your risen Saviour, declare him to be your Lord, and you will receive from God the righteousness that saves (9-10). I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. Verse 9 seems to be directly connected to Deuteronomy 30:14 (it may be helpful to read this verse a second time). It didnt surprise God or His prophets. This plainly shows that Christ's descent into the deep, or into hades, was no more than his going into the state of the dead, in allusion to Jonah. The word of faith is to be taken for the word of promise, that is, for the gospel itself, because it bears a relation to faith. In our concern to understand what the apostle is saying about righteousness, justification, and the like we ought not to overlook his tremendous concentration on God." (Morris) i. It could not therefore be the source or means of his righteousness. Their problem is not that they have not heard or understood it, but that they have refused to believe it (see v. 16). When we drift away from it, we become confused, and we begin dividing, bickering and fighting among ourselves. First, he quotes Leviticus 18:5 where it says that, if a man meticulously obeys the commandments of the law, he will find life. YOU see by this mourning that our church has been bereaved. The resurrection was an essential of Christian belief. Well, I can't either, but God didn't call me to reconcile it, He just called me to believe it.I tried to reconcile it for years until I was in such mental gymnastics I was worn out. The word for Lord is kurios ( G2962) . Then call upon the Lord, and you shall be saved. in your mouth -- --when you confess Him. Christ is the end of the ceremonial law; he is the period of it, because he is the perfection of it. Both Jew and Greek were quick to give some credit to national or ethnic origin, as if being saved were a matter of being born into the right family. Observe. "Don't scold," said one. Because this information was in the hands of the Hebrews, the Israelites did not need to go beyond the sea (verse 13) or send someone up to heaven (verse 12) to receive information about Gods will. , , The word, that is, the word of faith is nigh thee. Can it cry? Granted that it is so, at once and fully. This also is a most important truth, my brethren, to bear in mind. The apostle applies this according to divine wisdom. He told me how that they now feel that their good works will make them acceptable to God. We know that God is behind everything; and yet, at the same time, we know that we have free will and can accept or reject God's offer. Anyone can express it easily with the mouth and accept it easily with the heart. The "word of faith" is the message of justification by the system of "faith" as opposed to the Law. But Paul's answer is: "Israel may have failed to understand; but the Gentiles did not. He demands perfect and entire obedience, if life is to come of it. Have done with doings, and feelings, and trust yourself with Christ. First, he raises the question, "Has God cast away his people?" It may well be that what we have here is the notes of some address which Paul was in the habit of making to the Jews to convince them of their error. This is the first ground. But what saith it? It is the thing which troubles a renewed conscientious soul above all, because of his surprise at finding the deep evil of the flesh and its mind after having proved the great grace of God in the gift of Christ. "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. The gospel states its message as clearly as the law. In light of what Moses said, Pauls teaching (justification by faith) was not a new concept. To a disobedient and contrary people.. 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