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Romans 38: The Gospel Stone (10:5-13)

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

If Christ is the stone, then the message of Christ is the message stone. People confess with their mouth and are saved, and people stumble over the words of grace and are lost forever. Preaching the stone is therefore a preaching of a gospel stone, and not a gospel cushion or pillow. The stone, when it is good news, is a stone. The stone, when it offends, is a stone.

The Text

“For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law . . .” (Rom. 10:5-13).

Summary of the Text

Remember that we have two different responses to the one stone. For the one with faith, it is a cornerstone. For the unbeliever, it is a stone of stumbling and offense. The gospel stone works the same way. Moses describes one kind of man, the man who wants to go about to establish his own righteousness. He says, the man who does these things shall live by them (v. 5). This is a quotation from Lev. 18:5. Interestingly, this is part of the preamble to a list of sexual prohibitions. But Moses also is the voice of the other kind of righteousness, the righteousness that is “of faith.” It says (v. 6), quoting Deuteronomy 30:12, that men should not pretend that Christ is way up in Heaven, needing to be fetched. Don’t pretend there was no Incarnation. And it also says that men should not pretend that Christ is beneath the sea (v. 7; Dt. 30:13), as though there was no resurrection. No, Moses told the Israelites that the word was near them, in their hearts, and in their mouths (v. 8; Dt. 30:14). So what was in their mouths and hearts? The Torah—that is, Paul says the word of faith that he is preaching (v. 8). Christ is the end of the law, remember (v. 4)? The summary is this: if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord (v. 9), and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (v. 9), you will be saved. For men believe unto righteousness, and they confess unto salvation (v. 10). This is true because everyone who believes on the Stone (Is. 28:16) will never be put to shame. This is the cornerstone; who may build upon it? There is no difference between Jew or Gentile here (v. 12). The Lord is rich to all who call upon Him. How do we know? Joel promises that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (v. 13; Joel 2:32). Who have we just confessed as Lord? Jesus. Who is Joel talking about? Yahweh. Jesus is Yahweh, Jesus is Jehovah.

Righteousness of the Law

In Leviticus 18, Moses tells the people first that they are not to do what is customary in Egypt, where they came from (18:3), or in Canaan, where they are going (v. 4). They must obey the law of God (18:4), and the man who obeys them will live by them (v. 5). What follows is a prohibition of multiple forms of incest (vv. 6-18), sex during a woman’s period (v. 19), adultery (v. 20), child sacrifice (v. 21), homosexuality (v. 22), or bestiality (v. 23).

Now if we have learned the gospel rightly, the man who sees Christ in this part of the Torah is living by faith. The man who sees rules is not. Flipped around, the man with faith sees Christ. The man in unbelief sees rules. The man of faith sees a sexual stone to build on. The man of unbelief is crushed by the sexual stone, crushed by his lust. How so?

How Easy, How Hard

At first glance, this list of rules looks pretty easy. A fairly low bar, right? Avoid sex with your sister, your aunt, and with barnyard animals. Going to Heaven is a cakewalk, right? Not so fast.

First, note that these things were customary in Egypt and in Canaan. The underlying command here is not to “not have sex with,” but “not to imitate.” Judging from how easily modern Christian imitate the unbelieving culture around us, we ought not to pat ourselves on the back too readily. Second, if you are not looking to Christ, then you have no choice but to reflect the image of that which is not Christ. And not Christ eventually looks like this list of perversions, whether or not it is studying the Torah, a scriptural devotional, or looking at hard-R raunch. Third, this is because the law (pursued as not Christ) is law that provokes and stirs up sin (Rom. 3:20; 5:20), and the sexual element is never far away (Rom. 7: 7). One of the things we are not to covet is our neighbor’s wife, also mentioned here in this list (Lev. 18:20). This means that traditional values without Christ are nothing less than a perversion generator. And open immorality is no better. There is no salvation anywhere apart from Jesus.

Speaking of Jesus…

Jesus Christ is everywhere. He is in Heaven, and He came down from Heaven. He is beneath the sea, and He rose up from Sheol, just as Jonah did. He is pervasive throughout the Torah, for those who have the eyes of faith to see. He is in the gospel declared and preached, for those who respond in faith. For those without faith, He is God AWOL and all that is left are the dry bones and dusty rags of moralism.

Jesus Is Truly Lord

The confession of verse 9 is glorious—if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord (of your mouth), and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, out of the graveyard of your heart, then you shall be saved. If the Spirit has been teaching us, we should see that fulfilling what this verse is talking about is not like touching second base as you run by. Christ is found in every word of v. 9—do you believe? Christ is found in every sexual prohibition of Leviticus 18—do you believe? And Jesus is Lord is just another phrase that Jesus can be missing from, if it is found in the mouth of a man with no faith.

Who will touch the eyes of the blind men? Who will speak to the ears of deaf? Who will tell the lame to leap for joy? How will this be done? How will it happen? When Paul tells us that Moses is speaking about the word of faith that he, Paul, is preaching, he is not wrenching words out of context. “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live” (Dt. 30:6). In short, you must be born again.

With this regenerate heart, which alone is capable of believing, what do you see brought down from Heaven? What do you see brought up from the depths of Jonah’s sea? You see the good of the land. “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it” (Dt. 30:15-16). This is the gospel stone. Built upon it, and live.

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Refugees and Apostles

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Introduction

As we seek to live our lives as faithful Christians, informed by the Word of God, we soon discover that it is not a simple process. It is not as though the Spirit gave us a rule book, in outline form, fully indexed. He gave us laws, principles, stories, and parables, strewn across various ages and cultures of men. What are we to do with it all?

The Text

“Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times . . .” (Lev. 19:27-29).

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world . . . ” (1 John 2:15-17).

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe . . .” (Heb. 5:13-14).

Summary of the Texts

These texts before us provide us with a good snapshot of the difficulty. First, consider this. The ancient nation of Israel was told to keep themselves distinct from the pagan nations round about. There were many aspects of this. They were not to eat blood (Acts 15:20), use enchantments (Gal. 5:20), or observe times (Gal. 4:10). They were not to round the corners of their heads (huh?), or trim their beards (what?). They were not to mutilate their flesh, or get tattoos (see?). Because the Lord was their God, they were not to prostitute their daughters (1 Cor. 6:9), which would defile the land. The question is which things in this list should we obey, and why? Christians obey some things on this list, ignore others, and have arguments about a third category.

The apostle John tells us that root of sin is an attitude, that of loving the world. If we are wise, we don’t work from a list of prohibited items to the attitude, but rather we deal with the attitude, knowing that it will necessarily entail a list. He breaks out what this love of the world looks like—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These three things, as it happens, were part of the temptation in the Garden. The forbidden fruit was good for food, delightful to the eyes, and able to make one wise (Gen. 3:6). None of this is of the Father, but is rather of the world. And the problem with the world is that it is transient, while the one who lives out the will of God lives forever.

As these are difficult issues, they should not be sorted out by those who have been Christians for a year. These are not problems to be handed over to the nineteen-year-olds. Those not yet weaned are unskilful in the Word. But those who are mature understand the Word, and through long practice in sorting out these kinds of issues, know how to distinguish good from evil when a judgment call is needed. All Christians know some things, but not all are mature.

Some Practice Exercises

In this current climate, it is not possible for Christians to go more than fifteen yards without encountering some new practice commended, urged, or demanded by the world, and it is necessary to deal with the resultant questions from your teenagers. “Can I, can I, huh? Why not?” You can keep life simple (for a time) by always saying no, for no particular reason, but that is no worldview. What about temporary tattoos? What about getting permanent tattoos? What about reading vampire fiction for teens written by a Mormon? What could possibly be problematic about that? What about metal music that sounds like a troop of cavalry going over a tin bridge? What about those fetching lip rings and tongue studs? As G.K. Chesteron once put it, art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.

Questions to Work Through

Begin by distinguishing the basic question—always an easy one—from the more complicated ones. Is this an expression of love for God and His Word or is it being filed under the category of, “Well, God never said I couldn’t“? This basic question is another form of asking whether you are being worldly or not. There is another question right next to this basic question. Think of all the people you know who are saintly and are at least twenty-five years older than you are. Do you want to ask them their advice on this or not so much? Is it because you already know what they will think and you don’t want to do it? An honest motive check would fix about 90 percent of our problems, and enable us to talk intelligently about the remaining 10 percent.

Once you have resolved to not be worldly, you still can’t go through life saying, “just because.” You should have reasons for what you say and do. Why are tattoos not in the same category as temple locks? Because of the flow of the whole story. Look at all the piercings and cuttings, and what they mean. Even the one required cutting in the Old Testament is replaced with baptism in the New. What is wrong with vampire fiction? The question should be answered by Christians who know the history of European literature, not to mention sexual diseases. The whole thing is a metaphor for immorality and syphilis. So what could be problematic about sweet Christian girls being taught to be drawn to a dangerous lover? Is this a trick question? What is wrong with music that celebrates rebellion? Why do we even have to ask?

Refugees and Apostles

But as we are interacting with the world (which we must do), we have to make a distinction between refugees and apostles. The twin businessees of the church are birth and growth. Evangelism must not exclude discipleship, and discipleship must not be allowed to exclude evangelism. So in this culture, robust evangelism means welcoming refugees from the world. That means, in the current culture, that we should want our churches filling up with tattooed people, those with memorials of who and where they used to be. But this should not be used as cover for receiving apostles of the world. We must not receive them, or give them the time of day.

God takes us all where we are, and not from where we should have been. If He only took those who were where they should have been, we would all of us be lost. Evangelism means that nonbelievers will be brought into the church. And they will track things in. So? Didn’t you track things in? Did God kick you to the curb?

 

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Romans 37: The End Of The Law (10:1-4)

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

We have already seen that Christ is the foundation stone and the stumbling stone, depending. For the one who believes, He is the foundation of all. For the one who does not believe in Him, He is the rock of offense.

The Text

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom. 10:1-4).

Summary of the Text

Paul has already said that he could wish himself lost if that would benefit his kinsmen (Rom. 9:3). Here he repeats his heart’s desire and prayer—that they would be saved (v. 1). He can testify on their behalf that they are zealous, and that it is a zeal for God. But it is not in accordance with knowledge—it is a false-hearted zeal (v. 2). Their problem is that they were ignorant of God’s righteousness (v. 3), and they were “going about” to establish their own righteousness (v. 3). As a result they had not submitted to God’s righteousness (v. 3). Paul’s conclusion is that Christ was the end (telos) of the law “for righteousness to” every one who believes (v. 4).

The Whole Point of the Law

When Paul says that Christ is the “end of the law,” he does not mean that Christ is the abolition or limit of the law, as in the phrase the “end of the dock.” He means that Christ was the whole point of the law, as in “what is the chief end of man? The word end here does not mean limit or boundary, but rather it means purpose or point. The law of God was therefore teleological (from telos), and the telos, the one it was driving toward was Jesus Christ. He is the point of the whole Bible. But He is the point of the law as more than just a person or placeholder. He is the end of the law in His righteous obedience. More on this shortly.

Ignorant of God’s Righteousness

Remember the conclusion of chapter nine. There is a trap for sanctimonious saints. There is a pit for the pious there. There is something in the (religious) human heart that wants to be righteous on its own. In our own tradition, in our own teaching and preaching, we must be careful not to leave any room for this tendency whatever.

A recent interpretation of Paul says that the “righteousness of God” refers only to God’s own faithfulness in keeping His own promises. It does not refer, the argument goes, to any righteousness of God that can be imputed to others. This view of God’s righteousness is deficient when held up next to this passage, for four reasons.

First, if the righteousness of God refers to His own righteousness, then the Jews were not ignorant of it. Second, they were “going about” to establish their own righteousness. Instead of what? Instead of the antecedent, the righteousness of God. They wanted their own righteousness instead of the righteousness of another. Third, the righteousness of God was not something they were willing to submit themselves to. This submission, we have just learned, is by faith—and if it is the righteousness of another, it has to be a submission by faith, by definition. And fourth, consider closely the language of v. 4. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. This fourth point requires some more from us.

Grace Everywhere You Look

If Christ is the whole point of the Torah, and if Christ is a stone of stumbling and rock of offense, then it follows that the whole point of the Torah is a stone of stumbling and rock of offense. In Scripture there is grace everywhere you look, and if you don’t want to see it, then you have to do some strange things to the Scriptures.

The language of v. 4 is consistent with the doctrine of imputed righteousness, and is consistent with nothing else. Everyone who believes receives something. What is that? They receive righteousness. We know that it cannot be their own righteousness because, if it were, they would not “receive” it, but would already have it, and we also would not have just been told that those who wanted their own righteousness were stumbling over the rock of offense.

I looked at multiple translations, and they all render it for righteousness to. Paraphrase this, amplify it. “Christ is the whole point of the Torah, His life and work being the complete fulfillment of it, in order that His righteousness might come to every one who believes in Him, instead of continuing to trust in his own righteousness.”

Ignorant Saintlets

What is the kind of thing that would make someone stumble so egregiously over news this good? God in His covenant righteousness sends a righteous Messiah, in order that the people of God might be gathered up and included in His righteousness, and reckoned as complete and perfect in Him. What would make someone kick against this?

The answer is found in our text. Religiosity is the thing that hides the righteousness of God from us. But it does not hide the righteousness of God considered as a goal toward which we might strive—no, it magnifies the righteousness of God that way. And the higher the bar, the better. At least that is what ignorant saintlets think.

God offers us a salvation that is by His grace from first to last. But because the God who offers us grace is also fully and completely righteous, there must be a completion of His holy requirements. This means that we, if we are to be saved at all, must be content with the righteousness of another, imputed to us. And in order to be content with this, we need to be willing to have all our good deeds despised by God. We must be willing for God to put them away with loathing, holding them between His thumb and forefinger. We must be willing for God to laugh at all our pious striving. Beads of sweat have broken out on the forehead as we wrestle with lust, with covetousness, with pride, with anxiety, with sin . . . with everything but our culpable ignorance of what God is like. Poor, ignorant sap. Christ is here. Believe in Him.

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