PENTECOST 10 – August 9, 2020 – Rom. 10:5-17
“A SIMPLE PROPOSITION”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Romans 10. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- We human beings have a tendency to make things more difficult than they are. We also have a tendency to take on problems and issues that are far more difficult than our capabilities. An example of this was Job, from our Old Testament reading, who understandably attempted to discover why he had run into such an avalanche of misfortune. However, there was no way that he could even begin to understand the complexities of God with his own simple mind and understanding.
- An example of people making things more difficult than they are is our various attempts to resolve issues of guilt within ourselves. We assume that it is a matter of making things up to God, paying for our sins, or making deals with God to do better. Sometimes we think that perhaps we can make God “understand” our weaknesses and sins, and simply okay them.
- Our text clears up both of these misunderstandings for us, and assures us that God has made our relationship with Him, and our salvation “A SIMPLE PROPOSITION.” Let’s take a look at what is asserted in our text. First:
I. We Do Not Have To Get Close To God By Means Of Our Intellect Or Understanding
OT Lesson: It is obvious that Job could not possibly know or understand even the relatively simply dynamics of God’s creation. So how could he possibly think that he would be able to understand God’s inner being, or judge how God interacts with human beings?
Text: “Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them But the righteousness based on faith says, ‘Do not say in you heart, Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The Word is near you in your mouth and in your heart (the Word of faith which we proclaim.)”
Statement: Many will not receive the things of God unless they can access them on their own, by their own intellect or understanding. They demand that nature give them the answers, by means of their empiricism and rational mind. Yet there are numerous fundamental aspects of “creation” and “nature” that demonstrate the weakness and frailty of human intellect, things that seem intractably hidden from human understanding. Yet they still expect that they are capable of figuring out the Maker of all these things by their own intellect? They can’t even explain the things He has made!
Application: Thank God that He does not require that we first “know” Him through our own efforts, philosophizing, and speculating. We do not have to ascend up to heaven, or descend into the abyss to know God and His love, and to have His salvation! If it were so, no one could possibly be saved. This would be like ants trying to create a nuclear generator. But rather:
II. God Accomplishes Everything Through His Word – Which Is Always Near To Us
A. His Word Of Love And Salvation – Through Faith In Jesus Christ Is Clear And Straightforward
Text: “The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart [that is, the Word of faith that we proclaim]; because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raise Him from the death, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.’ . . . Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
B. His Word Creates This Very Faith And Trust In Him That Brings Justification And Salvation
Text: “So, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.”
C. And His Word Is Always Close To Us, Sent By God Himself
Text: “How are they to call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent” as it is is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.’”
Statement: The simplicity of the proposition is that God does everything for us. He does not require our intellect. He does not require our skill. He does not require our logic and reasoning. He does not require our works or our holiness! All of these He Himself supplies to us in the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. He is the blood atonement for our sins, and for the sins of the whole world. Simple faith and trust in Him, simple acknowledgment of the truthfulness of God’s Word, brings God’s justification upon us, and brings us into God’s salvation!
And not only so, but it is by this Word that God creates faith in our hearts and minds, new birth, new life of faith and love. We are born again “not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible seed, by the Word of God which lives and abides forever.” We do not have to “decide” or “commit ourselves” to God! He commits Himself to us, and sends His Word to give us faith and trust in Him.
And we do not have to search for His Word, or seek it out like some treasure in the depths of the earth, or in the ocean, or even in space. He sends it to us through “preachers,” preachers of His Word, proclaimers of the word of faith. And this faith brings salvation, for “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame” . . . and “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.”
Application: It is a simple proposition, made very simple by God. He has provided us with forgiveness, life, and salvation, in the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. In His suffering, death, and resurrection, He has brought us life and immortality! He promises, He proclaims, He invites us to faith, and He creates faith within us! And such faith saves us, and preserves us from ever being put to shame!
Conclusion: God bids us not to think like Job, not to indulge our over-confident intellect. It is futile to think that God will be discovered and fully understood by our inquiry and our rationalizing! No, unless He reveals Himself to us, unless He saves us purely by His grace and mercy, unless He brings us to faith, we will never know Him.
But thanks be to God He has made it simple for us. He sends us His preachers and reveals His love and salvation to us. By the power of His Word we have come to faith, and to life and salvation.
So let us embrace His Word and eagerly hear His preachers – who bring the good news of God’s love and salvation to us. It really is just that simple. Thanks and praise be to God, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.