The Pursuit of Righteousness – Part 2

Just profound truth, if you would,
let’s continue to enjoy the profoundness of the truth that is communicated
to us in God’s Word, specifically in Romans. We find ourselves
this morning beginning chapter 10. And just briefly glancing over
our shoulder, we are in that great section chapters 9 through
11, which focus on the sovereignty of God, which enjoy a. A treatment of a subject that
many consider untouchable that Paul delves right in and begins
to indeed savor this truth of the sovereignty of God, the sovereignty
specifically of God’s mercy. But in a sense, it happens at
the expense of Israel. That’s the essentially the sub
subject matter in Romans chapter nine. He’s focusing on the nation
of Israel. And why of all people would they
have rejected Christ? Why so few Jews had come to faith
in Christ? Perhaps it was that God was being
unfair. Will Paul deals with that immediately
and essentially what he does in Chapter 9 is vindicate God’s
integrity and we have seen that God is sovereign in his mercy
and if God wants to reach down into a pool of sinners and draw
out some to himself. That is God’s prerogative. And
we saw that even as that line in that song just. said once
your enemy now seated at your table several weeks ago at our
home fellowship. We talked about the concept of
mercy and we were still wrestling with it as some kind of an academic
ethereal subject. But as we began to grasp the
significance of God’s mercy we realized that God reaches to
where we are at the lowest of lows the deepest part of hell
and he puts us to the highest possible place there in heaven
with him forever. That’s the nature of mercy. Well
Paul turns the corner as it were. He has concluded that section
focused on God’s sovereign mercy but Paul continues in this great
subject, considering the sovereignty of God, beginning to look at
the whole concept of righteousness. And how is it that righteousness
is achieved, if at all? How is it that righteousness,
that which we need so desperately, if we will stand before God,
how is it that we come to own this righteousness? We began
to see last Lord’s Day that Israel had tried a method. And the method
that Israel had employed stood in stark contrast to that of
the Gentiles. It stood in stark contrast in
a number of different points. In the first place, the Gentiles
sought to gain righteousness merely by believing in God’s
promise. The Jews on the other hand sought
to achieve God’s righteousness by living up to his law. There
was another stark contrast. The Jews were miserable failures
at achieving that standard of righteousness. While meanwhile
the Gentiles almost inexplicably began to enjoy the righteousness
of God. Pick up with me if you would.
Back in verse 30, it’s important that we set that as the tone
as we glide into chapter 10. And of course, all the way up
through verse 13. Paul writes, What should we say,
then the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness attained
righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith. But Israel,
pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? because they did not pursue
it in faith, but as though it were by works, they stumbled
over the stumbling stone just as it is written, behold, I lay
in Zion, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. And he
who believes in him will not be disappointed. Brethren, my
heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their
salvation. For I bear them witness that
they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.
For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their
own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
who believes. For Moses writes that the man
who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live
by that righteousness. But the righteousness based on
faith speaks thus do not say in your 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. That is the word of faith which
we are preaching. That if you confess with your
mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart
man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says whoever
believes in him, will not be disappointed. For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord is Lord of
all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him. For whoever
will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” There’s
no break. There’s no hard and fast division
here between the end of chapter 9 Verse 33 and here the beginning
of Chapter 10. Paul merely seizes upon that
thought. Those thoughts uttered that the
Gentiles were literally flourishing in God’s grace while seemingly
the Jews had completely missed it. Paul. Is pierced with that thought
Paul is overwhelmed and concerned with the status of His nation,
his countrymen, people, Jews. Paul had issued forth some significant
and strong statements regarding their status. That God, in a
very real sense, seemed to have been passing them by. Giving
them over. What Paul does here is to begin
to expand this theme that he’s begun and show that God wasn’t
just being mean or unfair to Israel. God wasn’t being unkind
to them in some capricious manner. Israel had brought this on themselves. They were fully culpable. Paul will issue a fervent appeal
on their behalf, on the behalf of a wayward nation. And he’ll
back that up with four reasons for that prayer as it begins
to unfold before us this morning. If you would look at verse 1,
where Paul issues this fervent prayer on behalf of this wayward
nation, his nation, the nation of Israel. In verse 1, Paul says,
Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is
for their salvation. Now, we have seen that Israel
had gone from privilege to peril. They had been given all of those
incredible privileges as mapped out in Romans 9, 1 through 5. And yet they had fallen. They
had fallen so far. And their peril was real. They
really were in line for judgment if it’s not for God’s grace.
If God doesn’t step in, if God doesn’t move on their behalf,
they are destined for God’s judgment. Paul makes this appeal. He is
referred to his own countrymen as brethren on many occasions.
Here now Paul positions himself within the body of Christ. And
he appeals to them as brethren. He appeals to them because he
knows that there are Jews in their midst. But he also knows
that he is a brother in Christ with those who are in the midst
of the believers there in Rome. And that personal appeal That
passionate appeal points to the depth of the sentiments in his
heart on behalf of this nation. Brethren, my heart’s desire.
We often speak of that. That’s still a phrase that we
use from time to time. Paul points to the depth of his
being. To the emotions. What one referred
to as warm affections. Affectionate goodwill. And that
word Desire usually points to good pleasure not so much desire
that softens it almost to the point of being. Meaningless. Paul had his heart
set on the nation of Israel. Paul was passionate about them. Paul had a benevolent desire
for them. He was compelled to pray for
them. He had a heartfelt longing as
one would put it, to bring those physical descendants of Abraham
to Christ. Paul looked at Israel. He saw the pathetic scene. He saw what they were destined
for, as he outlined in those early verses of chapter 9. Paul
knew, and it was real to him. And Paul prayed. It wasn’t just
enough to have genuine sentiment and it isn’t enough for us. How
many times have you been pierced with the recognition? I mentioned
one a couple of weeks ago that was just an astounding experience.
I said I didn’t know there were that many lost people in Fort
Collins. How many times have you been
pierced with a recognition of the depths of the depravity of
the society in which we live. And I’m talking on a local level.
Because it’s one thing to step back and to see our nation in
moral and spiritual decline. But it’s another to be totally
immersed in it as we are. It’s peaceful out there now.
One of the things that pops up on my computer when I turn it
on is the news. And one of the things I saw was
they had to disperse the crowds last night with tear gas and
rubber bullets. because of the severity of the party that was
turning into a riot right across the street. How many times have
you been pierced? Have you been overwhelmed by
the sentiment of how lost this society is? And to get to that
point, it’s not enough. It’s not enough just to shake
your head. It’s not enough to be disgusted. It’s not enough
to be to To come away with a righteous indignation. That how long will
we be subject to this foolishness in this world? It wasn’t enough
for Paul. And it wasn’t enough just to
have a heart’s desire, a passionate longing for Israel’s salvation. He prayed. He prayed. And how often do we take it that
far? I want to challenge you today
if there’s one lost person you know. That’s all I’m asking for
one lost person. Would you passionately pray for
them this week. Would you begin to kindle in
your heart a concern having observed their lostness. Would you begin
to pray for them that God might intervene in their sin sick lives
that God might introduce them to the Savior. That God might
give you opportunity and he will. This word for prayer. It’s not
an academic word, either. The word for prayer is a passionate
entreaty that stems from an observation of a desperate need. And we just
don’t pray for people like that. We just don’t really consider
the scenario. We don’t really believe that
they’re hell bound. We don’t really believe that
they’re lost. After all, there must be in them
some latent good. That will help them to clear
the hurdle of God’s judgment. It’s not true. This word for
Paul. This word for prayer that Paul
uses was one of a passionate in treaty one that saw the facts
as they were and compelled him to fall on his knees on behalf
of the nation of Israel. And would you note if Israel
was completely rejected as so many of the commentators have
declared if Israel was completely wiped off the map totally reprobated. Why would Paul have prayed for
them. And that’s instructive to us. A lot of times people
you can always tell that people have not really fully wrestled
with the doctrine of election when they begin to write people
off. They must not be in God’s elect. They must not be one of
the chosen ones. You see the humbling thing about
the doctrine of elections. We have no idea God’s heart. We have no idea what God’s mind
is. It’s wrapped up in the mystery of God. It’s wrapped up in the
sovereignty of God. And we have no right to determine
who gets to come to heaven and who doesn’t. Who gets to hear
the gospel and who doesn’t. Who gets prayed for and who doesn’t. We have no right. There are many commentators that
were well pleased to write Israel off. Israel was done. God was
done with them as of 70 A.D. Paul can’t make that determination
and he doesn’t. Paul says, you know what? I see
that they are absolutely imperiled. The peril is real. The situation
is real. The desperation is real. All
the more I must pray for them. As one pastor said, this is clear
proof that Paul didn’t think of their present rejection as
final. God had not written them off. One pastor took note of this.
This. This deed by Paul, this example
by Paul. And he said there would be no
lack of converts to the Christian faith if all who profess to follow
Christ felt for the spiritual welfare of their fellow countrymen,
the deep concern expressed by Paul for his own people. And
as I said, it’s not enough to feel for them. I would ask you
to pray. Pray for at least one. Pray for
those that you come across that manifest a lostness that turns
your stomach. Pray for them. Paul prayed for
this nation of Israel. And I told you that there really
were four prompters, four things that really urged him on in his
prayer for them. The first one essentially answers
the question, why pray for Israel? And what Paul points to here
is because of their uneducated passion. Look at verse two. Paul
says that they’ve got an uneducated passion. Look at he says, for
I dare them witness that they have a zeal for God. But not in accordance with knowledge,
you know, zeal, zeal is one of those words that can be used
just like lust, lust in the Bible can be used in a good way and
a bad way. Zeal can be used in a good way and in a bad way,
and it is here, it’s in a good sense. Paul isn’t criticizing
the fact that Israel had zeal. For Paul, the fact that Israel
had zeal was one of the greatest things about the country. One
of the greatest things about God’s chosen people was that
they were passionate. They were zealous for the things
of God. This word points to a strong,
deep-seated urge, as one described it, to live according to God’s
standard. They had that. And that’s what
made them begin to get creative over the years as they saw that
the standard was so exceedingly high, they had to soften it and
twist it and mute it somehow. It wasn’t because of a lack of
zeal. This zeal, I told you, was a
good thing, you know, this zeal. Christ had this zeal. It’s recorded in John 2.17, the
disciples looked at Christ and they remembered from Psalm 69.9,
zeal for your house will consume me. They’re set of Christ. Zeal
is not a bad thing. As I’ve already pointed out,
it was true of the Jews mentioned in many times observed in the
book of Acts in 21.20. They are all zealous for the
law. They wanted passionately to live
according to God’s law. It was absolutely true of Paul,
especially as a Jew, living his life as a Jew prior to his life
in Christ. Paul says, I was advancing in
Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen being more
extremely zealous. for my ancestral traditions.
You see, he said there were those that were zealous. That really
characterized the entire nation. And then there was him who was
exceedingly, extremely zealous. It’s also true of believers. Should be. It should be. Paul said to the Corinthians,
Behold, what earnestness This very thing, this godly sorrow
has produced in you what vindication of yourselves, what indignation,
what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong. Paul recognized that in the Corinthian
church there was passion, practical passion called zeal. Now, check
yourself. You would have to acknowledge,
as would I, that Israel’s zeal puts much of our own spiritual
effort to shame, doesn’t it? The Jewish nation was zealous
and it wasn’t a bad thing. They were jealous for the law. They wanted to uphold the law
passionately. They wanted to protect and guard
the temple. They wanted to guard the Scriptures. And in that, they were eager
to proselytize all the nations about them. Ultimately, that would issue
forth for Paul a hatred of the Christians, the renegades, because
he was passionate for the things of God, or so he thought. They
had a zeal for God. And it wasn’t just zeal. It was
zeal for God, it was zeal for the living God. This was real
passion. Not, as one said, heathen fanaticism,
not a zeal for for some kind of idol worship. This was true
zeal, zeal for true God, fervent, strenuous, tenacious, concentrated
passion. But it wasn’t in accordance with
knowledge. It wasn’t in accordance with
knowledge, Paul says. They had a lot of heat and no
light. They had a lot of fervency, but
they were aimless in their direction. They had a kind of knowledge.
They had a relative degree of knowledge. They certainly knew
who God was. They knew of His law. They had intellectual knowledge. But it was limited. Severely
limited. And without a clear understanding
of God’s design for redemption, that knowledge degenerated ultimately
and became a perverse thing. They became obstinate in the
pursuit of God on their terms. One pastor wrote religious indifference
is always inexcusable. Just to go through life and meander
through life as if it doesn’t matter. He says it’s always inexcusable. But religious zeal when ill informed
and misdirected may be just as disastrous in its results. Did
you get that? It doesn’t matter how passionately
we believe what we believe. If it’s wrong. It may be just as disastrous
in its results, so false and dangerous is the saying that
it matters little what a man’s belief is if he is only desire. You know what that could be on
a billboard in every corner in America. That is the catchphrase
for our country. Just believe what you believe
passionately. Even if it runs directly contrary
to what God says. Paul says, look, I have to pray
for my countrymen. I’ve got to pray for them because
they’ve got an uneducated passion. But there was another motivating
factor to Paul’s prayer. The second essentially answers
the question, why, Paul, do you say that they lack knowledge?
God’s already outlined that he gave them everything. He gave
them every spiritual privilege under the heavens. Why do you
say they lack knowledge? because of their insubordinate
efforts. Look, if you will, at verse three. And the simple sentence here
is for they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
But there are two participial phrases woven in there for not
knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their
own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
How can it be that the nation of Israel did not know about
the righteousness of God? After all, they had been given
the law which promoted his holiness, that spoke of God in his exclusivity. But this righteousness was of
a different kind. This righteousness was all of
God and every excellency in him. But it was Ultimately, God’s
way of making sinful men righteous before him that Israel just did
not grasp. They did not understand that
the righteousness of God could be gifted over, as it were, and
not achieved. It was God’s acceptance of a
sinner as being righteous because of what Christ had accomplished
that Israel could not wrap their arms around. They didn’t get
it. It’s not that they’d never heard about the concept of righteousness. It’s not that they didn’t know
about what the holiness of God was and demanded of them. It’s
that they didn’t know how to come into a right standing, a
right place with God himself. And as a result, they carved
out their own plan, not knowing about God’s righteousness, seeking
to establish their own. They thought that they could
simply employ the law, live up to the law and arrive at the
standard of God’s law by their own efforts, their own methods.
They thought in their mind that if they purposed, if they endeavored
strongly enough, that they could arrive. As one
said, they did not understand that they could not. establish
their own righteousness by their own efforts. And so they sought
to establish their own plan. Now. A couple of weeks ago. I alluded
to this idea of the Good Samaritan. Right. And I saw a number of
furrowed eyebrows that betrayed doubt about my interpretation
of the parable of the Good Samaritan. And in my first year of seminary,
a man named Howard Hendricks said
a phrase that I’ll never forget. Studying the Bible ruins more
sermons. And I scratched my head for about
a month. And I realized that what he said
is true. Most men come to the text with their idea of what
it means to say. I was sharing with one brother
this week I had no idea what verses six and seven meant. Who
will ascend into heaven who will go down to the depth. Studying the Bible ruins more
sermons. But it also ruins some preconceived
notions. Let me see if I can’t just totally
obliterate your understanding of the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Would you turn there just briefly. Luke chapter 10. Verse 25. You don’t think I notice your
doubtful eyebrows. I saw. Just this, just the expression,
it’s become You know, comfortable and proverbial here at almost
every newscast, right? That a good Samaritan stopped
to help change a tire. And it evokes these warm sentiments
and feelings of doing good. And we almost go about looking
to be the good Samaritan. We want to stop and help. And
there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, there’s a thousand other
scriptures that tell you that that’s the right thing to do.
And it’s not that the parable of the Good Samaritan tells you
not to. It’s just that that’s not the
point of this parable. If you would. Look at verse 25,
behold, a certain lawyer stood up to put him to the test saying,
teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? See, that is the
law’s mindset. What should I do? What kind of
work should I promote? What kind of work? What kind
of effort should I give in order to earn eternal life? That’s
the law’s mindset. Look at the law’s standard. And
he said to him, what’s written in the law, how does it read
to you? And he answered and said, you shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul. You can almost
hear him. Like I learned in Sunday school,
with all your heart, all your strength, all your mind and love
your neighbor as yourself. There. And he said to me, if you answer
it correctly, do this and you will live. That’s the law standard. That’s all you have to do to
gain eternal life. If you don’t prefer the method
of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, go do it this way. It’s almost
seems easier, doesn’t it? That’s all you have to do. Just
go love God perfectly and go love your neighbor perfectly. What is God’s standard, though?
He said to him, you’ve answered this correctly and you shall
live, but wishing to justify himself. And here’s his first
problem. He said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? And Jesus wants to tell him.
What does the law say is your neighbor? It doesn’t matter who
you consider to be your neighbor. What does the law consider your
neighbor to be or who does the law consider your neighbor to
be? And the answer that Jesus will give in lengthy fashion
is everyone. Every person with a need that’s
ever been born, everyone. Look at Jesus reply, a certain
man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among
robbers and they stripped him and beat him and went off leaving
him half dead. This was a guy in need. This
isn’t just a flat tire. This guy is almost near dead.
And by chance, a certain priest was going down that road, and
when he saw him, he passed by on the other side, on Typara
Eilten. He couldn’t have gone out of
his way any further, you know, fallen off the cliff if he had
gone any further away from this guy. And likewise, the Levite also,
when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other
side, but a certain Samaritan. Who was on a journey, came upon
him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion. He came to him
and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. And he
put him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and he
took care of them. And on the next day, he took
out two denarii and took them to the innkeeper and said, Take
care of him. Whatever more you spend when I return, I will repay
you. And Jesus turns to the lawyer and says, Which of these three
do you think proved to be the neighbor to the man who fell
into the robber’s hands? Oh, what a heartwarming story.
Oh, wait a minute. What Jesus says is. That if we’re
going to live up to the law’s demands. And that’s the law’s
mindset is work. The law’s standard is perfection.
The law’s neighbor is everyone. Every person who has ever been
born, everyone who possibly has a need is my neighbor. Jesus says to him, the one who
showed mercy toward him. And Jesus said, go and do the
same. If you want to live according to the law, you better get busy. The law’s promise is that it’s
absolutely impossible. That was the point that Jesus
was mercifully making to this lawyer. It’s absolutely impossible,
unthinkable for you to think that you could go out and be
a neighbor for one day. much less your entire life. And
that was Israel. Back, if you would, to Romans
10 in verse 3. Not knowing about God’s righteousness,
seeking to establish their own. They actually were trying to
do this. They did not subject themselves
to the righteousness of God. See, this points to something
that Christ had already accomplished. Christ had already accomplished
the payment for sinners. For the sin of sinners in his
death on the cross and all that remained. Of sinners was to take
it in faith, all that remained of the nation of Israel, all
that remained of Gentiles as they came to heard the gospel.
All that remained was to take it in faith. And the Jews would
not do that. This acceptance of this hope
that was set before us as a great and merciful gift of God, the
death of Christ on the cross ultimately is an act of submission,
isn’t it? It’s a giving up of self, it’s a giving up of our
efforts, it’s a giving up of our system and our plan. As one said, the act of disobedience
was their refusal to submit to God’s righteousness, to humble
themselves, to accept it as an undeserved gift. You see, they
wanted to earn it. They desperately wanted to earn
it. And of how many of you is that true? That you will not
take God at his word, you’ve got to somehow pay him back.
You got to somehow earn a little bit of his favor. You got to
make it seem like you deserve some of his goodness. When the gospel ultimately will
humble us completely. It will strip away all of our
pride, it will make us aware completely of our inefficiency.
And the foolishness of trying to be self-sufficient. There
was a third prompter to Paul’s prayer, Paul is fervently praying for
this nation of Israel because of their uneducated passion,
because of their insubordinate effort, and because of their
obsolete approach. Look at verse 4. For Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. There
is no more attempting to earn favor with God. There is no more
trying to measure up. He points to the fact that this
as to the reason why this submission to God’s plan was demanded. It’s demanded because Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness. As a means of acquiring some
kind of favor in God’s sight, it’s over. The law is over with
regards to us trying to live up to it according to a standard
in order to earn salvation. It’s over. One said this way has come to
its end in Christ. Everyone who has found peace
and pardon through faith in Jesus Christ has abandoned the old
way of seeking righteousness by works of the law. When Christ
came, the law as a means of obtaining any kind of level of righteousness
was brought to an end. It’s over. But there was a fourth. There’s
a fourth prompter to Paul’s prayer, and we close with this. Paul
was praying for the nation of Israel because of their uneducated
passion, because of their insubordinate effort, because they were pursuing
an obsolete approach. And Paul is praying for them
because of their historic failure. Historic failure. Look at verse
5. Moses writes that the man who
practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by
that righteousness. We’ve already made this point.
He’s got to do it perfectly. It’s got to be a perfect performance. Leviticus 18.5 is what he alludes
to. So shall you keep my statutes,
my judgments by which man may live if he does them. The standard
was perfect. The standard for achieving salvation
by the law was perfect. Live up to the law. Live in perfection. Live in perfect accordance with
the law. And then he says these two Previously
of two statements I had no idea what this meant several weeks
ago when I began to study this passage. I just would always
scratch my head at this one. I don’t know what it means. Look
at verse six the righteousness based on faith speaks this. This
is what God this is what God says about his method of salvation
the righteousness of God. Pardon me, the righteousness
based on faith speaks thus. Do not say in your heart who
will ascend into heaven, that is, to bring Christ down, who
will ascend into the abyss, that is, to bring Christ up from the
dead. Here’s the thought. It’s taken from Deuteronomy 30,
verse 12 and following. Here’s the thought. Paul basically
and he has a very loose citation of these words. It’s not like
Paul literally binds himself to the text at this point. What
he says is. This is the image. Somebody gets
a ladder, a really long, long ladder, it begins to climb and
he climbs his way, works his way to heaven and he begins banging
on the door of the throne of God. As if to inform him, hello,
we need a savior. What are you going to do about
it, God? That’s the first part of it. Who’s going to ascend
into heaven and bang on God’s door and inform him of our need
of a savior? And the second one is even more
absurd. Or who will descend into the abyss? Who is going to go
into the world of the dead and revive Christ as if he’s merely
sleeping, revive him and bring him to life? Because, boy, don’t
we need a savior. It’s meant to be absurd. It’s
meant to. That’s exactly what Paul’s doing
here. We don’t need to do that because God has already done
that. God has already provided a saver who came and took on
human flesh and has suffered the penalty for our sin on the
cross and has been buried and is raised and it’s finished. There is no more effort. There’s
no more needing to look about. It wasn’t true for the nation
of Israel. They didn’t have to recreate
a savior. They didn’t have to knock on heaven’s door. Paul
says it’s finished. Just like Moses. It said there
was no need for anybody to go up to heaven and bring down the
law. Same thing is true today. There’s
no need for anybody to go looking for another savior. God has done
it. And if a person would see himself,
as Spurgeon said, is altogether lost and ruined, covered all
over with the defilement of sin and in no part free from pollution. When he declaims all righteousness
of his own and pleads guilty before the Lord, then he is ready
to be justified by the grace of God. There was no need No
need to go looking for another savior. And no wonder Paul so
passionately prays for him, because their failure was utterly historic.
For all the world to see, they had spurned the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to put their own effort,
their own plan into play. My only question is, what about
you? Let’s pray. Our merciful King, we humble
ourselves before you, thanking you because there was nothing
in us that moved you in our direction. Oh, Lord, on behalf of the Jews,
Paul prayed passionately. Because he saw that they had
spurned Christ himself. And not just a methodology, not
just a plan. They had repudiated the very
Lord Jesus himself. Oh Lord God, that is what we
do when we think that we can employ a better method, a different
method, a method by our own design, a method of works. Lord God,
forgive us. Forgive any in here who seem
to think that they could achieve salvation by their works when
it’s freely offered to them by what Christ has already accomplished. And all we have to do is believe.
It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray.