confesses and is saved for the scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all bestowing his riches on all who call on him for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved let me pray for us Lord we thank you for this your word we thank you for the truth of your word and we pray that the truth of your word would change us and grow us now in these next few moments as we meditate upon your word in Christ's name amen you may be seated the way to get ahead in our world throughout most of the world is to be born into the right family to be born with the right genetics to be born with the right social status to be born into the right caste in a caste system or another way to get ahead in the world predominantly in the west and predominantly in the U.S. if you work really hard and take advantage of the opportunities that come wonder way you can get somewhere you can make yourself be somebody well those things may be true in the world when it comes to money and other opportunities and investments but that is not the way of the economy of God it's not how it is in the kingdom of God but isn't that how we think about spiritual things often we think if you're born into the church if you're born into the religion if you're born into the faith well then then it must be yours or God's laid out a bunch of laws and rules and you just got to work really hard at it and then God will bring you into salvation he'll bring you into his heaven and he'll bless you in the way that you want to be blessed the original readers of Paul's letter to the church in Rome thought these very same things those of Jewish descent believed that they were born into the right family they were born into the right ethnicity and if they worked really hard at doing the law they would be saved and Paul confronts them and us here in Romans chapter 10 picking up again in verse 8 Paul writes but what does it say Paul's referring to Deuteronomy chapter 30 which Aaron read for us earlier in this service but what does it say the word is near you in your mouth and in your heart that is a word of faith not the law but a faith that we proclaim the word is near you it's accessible now as many of you noticed over the past month I have had this I tore my Achilles about a month ago I'm trying to even it up with this side right now but in that time I've been on crutches and I've been on a scooter and I've been thinking a lot about accessibility how one or two steps getting into a place are really hard for me some of you think about that all the time and here here what Paul is saying is faith this word is accessible to you it's accessible to you if you have a mouth that confesses if you have a heart the seat of who you are the who-ness of who you are that's what he means when he says heart this faith is accessible to you and not only that but as he reminds us in Ephesians chapter 2 this faith is a gift from God it is accessible to you it's not beyond us it's not far off as William Hendrickson says in his commentary instead of requiring superhuman exertion salvation is obtained simply by confessing with the lips and having faith in the heart John Stott writes something similar there is no need whatever for us to scale the heights or plumb the depths in search of Christ for he has already come died and risen and so is accessible to us faith in Christ is accessible it continues on in verse 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved so this faith is accessible to us but it is exclusive it is exclusive the exclusivity is Jesus is Lord that must be our confession and that confession must match our mouths and our heart this isn't merely about lip service and saying something you think God wants to hear because that's hypocrisy it's not about believing something but never actually saying something because that's well that's worthless the confession of your mouth and the state of your heart must be the same in saying Jesus is Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead but it is a scandalous thing in our world to believe and be saved because how do you get ahead in the world? you're born into the right family you're born into the right place or you work really hard for it and then you get there and so it's scandalous we want this to say in our heart of hearts apart from Christ we want it to say do and be saved not believe and be saved and so it's offensive to simply believe it's a stumbling block for us this is the appeal of legalism this is the appeal of every other religion every other philosophical system on the face of the earth says do and you'll get ahead do and it'll be better for you and we get tangible things to do in those religions or just bring food to the ancestors just bow three times in this direction at this certain time pray this specific prayer and then maybe you'll be a little bit better with God that's what legalism says that's what other religions say and in our sinful hearts apart from the work of God's Holy Spirit we love that way we want to do we want to do more and why why is that well I think first it's because we don't want to admit that we are as sinful as we are as far from God as we are as rebellious against God as we are enemies of God is what scripture calls us and what Paul calls us earlier in the book of Romans we want to believe that we have some good works and those good works should be counted like double or triple we want them to seem bigger and better in God's eyes so that they'll cancel out the sins like on the scale of things I'm really more of a good person than a bad person most everyone would say that that's the answer people give who don't know Jesus who say why would God let you into heaven why would God want to have a relationship with you why they would say because I think my good outweighs my bad so that's the first reason the second reason is we like legalism we like earning our own way we like doing because we want to add a little bit of our works to the mix we want to have a little skin in the game we desperately want to do something for us to feel better about us and for us to have a little something a little leverage over God so that in a pinch we can really make him come through in the way that we want him to come through for us we want our own righteousness so we can hold our own righteousness against God's righteousness and make him do things for us that's true in my own heart in the sinful state of my own heart I imagine it's true for many of us here but as Calvin justly commented the first step in obtaining the righteousness of God is to renounce our own righteousness there is no unrighteous no not one and so this confession with our mouths this belief in our hearts that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead makes a difference right faith in the right thing makes all the difference right faith expressed and believed is the core of salvation now on a sentimental level we want to believe that niceness really counts for something that people get might get saved by their nice works our neighbor our co-worker who doesn't know Jesus who is a super nice person we kind of want to make the argument why can't they be saved simply because of their niceness but every other way to salvation is simply self-righteousness every other way besides confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead is simply self-righteousness the person who thinks that their righteousness their niceness their kindness their religion is the way to salvation may be super sweet but they are self-righteous it isn't just about believing something hard enough it's about believing the right thing John Stott says sincerity is not enough for we may be sincerely mistaken you must believe that Jesus is Lord that God raised him from the dead the historic death and resurrection of Jesus that we've been focusing on the past few weeks is really true we believe it we put our whole heart into it and the resurrection means just as much to our salvation as the death of Christ Jesus conquering death and hell and the grave means just as much as him taking our sin upon himself and Jesus is Lord that means that our faith must be in Jesus as God because that is what is being said here he isn't merely like God he isn't a projection of God or an illustration of God he is God that's what we must confess and believe the Lord saying Jesus is Lord means that he is Lord over all he is sovereign as Hebrews chapter 1 says he upholds the universe by the word of his power so where are we not believing this brothers and sisters you may say something like Jesus may be Lord but I don't think he can save my marriage Jesus may be Lord but he can't deliver me from my addiction to porn or gambling or shopping or gossip Jesus may be Lord but he can't sort out all the messed up stuff in my own family Jesus may be Lord but he's never dealt with someone like me I'm probably too far gone and too messed up and too sinful for him to actually save because he couldn't possibly save me we may say Jesus is my Lord but I'm not sure he can change me if we confess with our mouths believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead the assurance in this exclusivity is you will be saved you will be it is a definite fact as sure as Jesus' tomb is empty you will be saved now along the way in this sinful and broken world we as saints grow in our knowledge of this we grow in maturity in this but you will be saved that is the end of it and Paul wants us to really get this so he loops back around in verse 10 he does something that is often done in Hebrew poetry he repeats the same same idea in a slightly different way in verse 10 he says for with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved again doubling down on this idea of exclusivity of faith belief or faith is putting your whole weight into something in this case it means fully trusting in Christ with your life so I want to come back around to it again in a little bit different way are you doing that sure some of us have done this very thing we've confessed with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believed in our hearts that God raised him from the dead however we still hold back from full trust we still rely on our own strengths we still trust in other things this past month I've had to learn how to use crutches it looks easy when you're not using them it's harder when you actually do have to use them you have to have to trust them you got to put your whole weight on them otherwise they don't work the way that they're supposed to and this is the kind of trust or faith or belief that we are called to I believed in my that my crutches would do what they were supposed to do and I acted on that belief I believe that there are laws that govern driving and we act on that belief we believe that the creator of the universe is the one true God and we act on that belief and we believe that in Christ our sins have been forgiven and we act according to that belief and so when we come with questions like can I trust God with my singleness can I trust him with my marriage can I trust God with my children or my grandchildren or my hopes for children can I trust God with my grades or my classes can I trust God with my friendships can I trust God with my work and my co-workers we feel a certain tension in that we want to assert our will in those situations we want to make things happen we want to make other people like us or do what we think is best now we're good Christians here we don't want to be God all the time we just want to be God some of the time we want to say God would you just let me step in for just this minute so I can get some stuff done and then we go to the flip side of that well I'm not supposed to do that so I guess I'm just kind of supposed to float along through life and not do anything and hope that God drops something in my lap at some point for me to do brothers and sisters we are called the action but that action flows from belief in Jesus as Lord from this confession and this belief and so our action which is often seeking to wrestle control from God is not that at all it's not to impose our will on him or our circumstances no the action comes from belief and faith in God and according to his rules according to his way according to his law I love it that Paul writes for with the heart one believes and is justified this message is accessible it's exclusive and there are great benefits of faith in Christ and justification by faith in Christ is one of those great benefits we are declared not guilty before the perfect holy God of the universe the gavel of God's judgment has come down the penalty for sin was laid upon Jesus Christ our penalty for sin was laid upon him and at that declaration that you are not guilty in that declaration we are declared not guilty in the name of Jesus we are justified we are saved and this is true for all who believe we just sang justice smiles and asks no more coming before the God of the universe who created the sun moon and stars and spoke things into existence we would rightly be terrified and justification means that his justice has smiled and asks no more what a great gift that is what a great gift that is so here's a thought for application talk about confessing with our mouths that Jesus is Lord with your mouth that confesses that what else are you using your mouth to do it's convicting to think about how does your confessing Jesus Lord mouth speak to your friends to your neighbors to your co-workers to your children to your husband to your wife if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord brothers and sisters let's pray that our confessing mouths would speak kindly and graciously fruitfully and beneficially to all those in our lives it's convicting thought this faith is accessible it is exclusive but it is available here in verse 11 for the scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame everyone who believes in him now this is not a contrast with the doctrine of the election of God God chooses his people and everyone who believes is part of the people whom he chooses we cannot choose him outside of his work in us he chooses us first righteousness can come through perfect obedience in the law of God the problem is we cannot perfectly obey the law of God but God's solution is that Jesus did perfectly obey the law on our behalf and then he died and took the penalty of breaking the law on our behalf and then he rose again from the dead conquering sin and death and hell and he intercedes on our behalf therefore through Jesus' perfect obedience to the law all who believe in him are saved it's accessible it is exclusive but it is available as we were talking in staff meeting about this passage somebody brought up other religions and one of the accusations other religions and people all over the world and maybe your neighbors give is that Christianity has so many rules there's so much dogma around Christianity and I would push back and say compared to what compared to what the religion of Wiccan takes a lot of work takes a lot of work to believe in Islam takes a lot of work to be a Taoist takes a lot of work to be a Hindu there's so many rules involved in every other religion and life philosophy and the scriptures say everyone who believes will be saved that's what the scriptures say everyone who believes will be saved I love the benefits that Paul lines out here I love it that scripture says this everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame brothers and sisters if you struggle with shame like I do I hope you hear this as a good word this morning God doesn't just barely let us into heaven we get in by the skin of our teeth or the hair of our chinny chin chins God welcomes us into heaven because we are clothed in Christ we will not be put to shame there isn't this moment where we come before the presence of the almighty God and we confess the name of Jesus and then God says well let's just wait a moment and let's run through all the bad stuff you've done because you really got to know no you will not be put to shame what are we being saved from we are being saved from the wrath of God saved from the guilt of sin and the wrath of God that rightly comes because of our sin God doesn't save us by sentiment he saves us by a real act a real verifiable act Christ on the cross Christ on the cross Christ resurrected as Galatians 5 21 says for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God because Christ took our shame we will not be put to shame and that is good news for all of us who struggle with shame he continues with the availability of faith in Christ and he says for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all bestowing his riches on all who call on him it is for Jew and Greek as John Stott says of course there is a fundamental distinction between those who seek righteousness by the law and those who seek it by faith there there are not two roads to salvation one for Jews and one for everyone else that wasn't true in Paul's day it's still not true in our day salvation is not a birthright for the Jews nor works righteousness for Israel it is by faith for all there is no current modern day building of a new temple or establishing a new kingdom of Israel that will bring salvation for the Jewish people to God's righteousness not only because they did not recognize God's righteousness when it arrived but also because they were too narrowly focused on seeking a righteousness that comes in connection with their obedience to the law salvation and faith in Christ is available it's available to us the same salvation is the same salvation for all who believe faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose again conquering sin and death and hell and then again the benefits the benefits of this faith the riches of God God bestows his riches on all who call on him that's tremendous we've talked about how God upholds all things by the word of his power how he spoke the sun and the moon and the stars into existence and that God has put his spirit in all who would believe in him put his spirit in all who would believe in him I can't put my spirit in you you can't put your spirit in me we can't have that connection but the God of the universe does that with his people boy what riches is that we have God's spirit in us and we get to walk in his ways he created the world he created all things he puts his spirit into us he gives us his word that we might live rightly in his world recently my family was having a game night and we played a game called Coos Court which was invented by someone in this congregation we know them we play a game called Foros we know who invented that game it's pretty cool to play a game and know that the person who wrote the rules really wrote them you're like yeah I know them they intended the right thing it's really fun to do that all the more so that we know the God of the universe and live according to his ways in his world that he designed that he created the commands of God are a horrible means of salvation a way of salvation that's taking our own righteousness but the commands of God are a wonderful means of blessing and grace in this world and in our lives if we follow them and finally we come to verse 13 this faith in Christ is accessible with mouth and with belief with the gift of faith God has given to us it's exclusive it's in faith in Christ alone and no one else it's available to everyone who would believe and it is assured it is assured Paul wraps up this section and says everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved will be saved this passage cannot be construed to mean that if you just say you believe in Jesus at one time you will be saved no no this is not some stand alone statement that you made maybe back somewhere in the past no this is a faith that is continually being lived out brothers and sisters we do confess Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts but that is a daily thing that's a moment by moment thing this is what the scriptures say it was true in the Old Testament in Joel 2 32 when this passage when Joel speaks this passage everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved it was true at Pentecost when Peter preached it to God's people and it's true for us here today everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved that call implies need and deep need of salvation of the Lord to be Lord of your life that call implies trust that call implies ongoing faith I hate to come back to it again but it's the place that I've been and it's a place of need that I've been with this thing and this whole thing going on I've had to call out for help a lot had to call on friends had to call my wife had to call my kids calling out a lot for help and when I called out for help that call meant I had a need meant I trusted that someone was going to come help me and that when they came they'd be good help everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved so if you are here this morning and you have not yet called on the name of the Lord would you do that it is simple it's accessible confess with your mouth believe in your heart and you will be saved and then take up means of learning about this one whom you've confessed take up your Bible lean on those around you perhaps the one who brought you to church this morning or the one you're sitting next to you your elders deacons here in this church a small group confess and believe lean wholly upon Jesus for salvation and right relationship with God and hope even for all of eternity would you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved from the eternal consequences of your sin you will be saved and you will have hope and brothers and sisters who have made this confession and do have this belief as this is a daily moment by moment practice and discipline let us ask this Holy Spirit this God who has taken up residence in our hearts to convict us of the places where we are not doing this where we are not believing where we are not confessing convict us of sin and grow us in holiness remembering remembering this great promise remembering come back to this basic you will be saved that is good news want me to pray for us Lord we thank you for this your word and we pray that you would bless the preaching of your word we pray for those who have not confessed with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in the hearts that God raised him from the dead we pray for all those who are here this morning we ask that you would cause them to believe grant them the gift of faith cause them to know that they will be saved give them hope hope eternal in Christ Jesus and for those who have marvel at it you have saved even us convict us of sin where we have functionally not believed that you are Lord convict us and call us to submission to you in every aspect of our lives we do pray this in Christ's name amen would you please stand what is our hope in life and death Christ alone Christ alone what is our hope we condemn that our souls to him belong who holds our days within his hands what comes upon at his command what will keep us to the end the love of Christ in nature stand oh sing hallelujah our hope springs eternal oh sing hallelujah now whenever we confess Christ our hope in life and death the truth can calm the troubled soul God is good God is good where is his grace and goodness known in our great redeemer's blood who holds our faith and fears and fears arise who stands above the storm he drives who sends the waves that bring his time unto the shore rock of Christ our oh sing hallelujah our hope springs eternal oh sing hallelujah now whenever we confess Christ our hope will rise to the grave what shall we sing Christ he lives Christ he lives and what reward will heaven bring everlasting life within there we will rise to meet the Lord when sin and death will be destroyed we will be sin and destroyed when Christ desires forever more oh sing hallelujah