Old Testament: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33
Epistle: Romans 10:5-15
I want to focus on the Romans passage again this week
because I think we have yet to deal with one of the central themes of Romans and
I want to make sure we cover it. This might not be the best place to
do that, but it is interesting nonetheless. Romans 10:5-10 is a brief explanation of
2 types of righteousness-- one based on the law and one based on faith. We are
all familiar with this juxtaposition as good Protestants and no doubt know all
the key points from the book of Romans. But, there are still a few things we may
need to review. For starters, it might be helpful to ask what exactly Paul means
when he says "faith." In verse 9 he defines the faith which he and his co-ministers
are preaching. Faith means 1. Confessing with our mouth “Jesus is (as) Lord” (a
very early, if not the earliest, Christian confession of faith) and 2. Believing
in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead. In doing these two things,
we will be saved.
These two things are pretty straight forward and sound pretty easy. All we have to do is believe and confess, nothing has to change in our behavior, and we're good to go, or at least we might think. If we are not careful in Protestant circles, we might leave it at that. Believe and confess and you will be saved. But the message of the Gospel and what Paul is preaching is much more radical and transformative. Remember, in the context here, he is talking about righteousness, or right living. How do we live in light of who God is and what he has done for us? The Old Testament Law answered that question for the Jewish people. Repeatedly in the Old Testament, the Law is explained as being in response to what God had done for Israel in calling, redeeming, and blessing them as a people.
So how do Christians live in response to what God has done? The
answer is that we live lives of righteousness. We may no longer be under the Law as
Israel was, but we are under the Lordship of Christ, which changes everything
about how we live and interact with other people and creation. Earlier in the letter
Paul writes, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (8:2) We are set
free from the Law, to be placed under a new set of standards and ways of living
in Christ. We are free from the bondage of the Law to be placed under a new
bondage of love and grace. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 6:12, “All things are lawful
for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I
will not be mastered by anything.” Just as we are released from one form of
bondage and fear, we are bound again to our brothers and sisters in love
through Christ. Jesus says, however, that his burden is easy and his yoke is light. This
new way of living is not tyrannical and rule based, but is based on the love
we have received in Christ.
This may, in fact, end up looking similar to
the Law Israel kept. In 1 Cor., Paul is dealing with the issue of meat sacrificed
to idols, and declares that he would never eat meat again, if by doing so he
would cause his brother to stumble. (8:13) Certain Christians (maybe converted Jews) were struggling with eating food that had been sacrificed to idols as being the same as worshiping those idols. Even if some in the group knew the idols did not exist and the meat was no different than any other meat, for the sake of their brother, Paul tells them they shouldn't eat it. This type of living is radical and
calls us to a higher living than even the Law because it deals with our
motivation in serving God.
We must also never forget Paul’s words which we
went over a few weeks ago from Romans 6, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue
in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!”
(1-2) God is calling us to faith in Christ, which then compels us to works of righteousness.
Our works do not save us or make us righteous, but our faith makes us do righteous
acts.
There is one more interesting aspect to
this passage, and that is the larger context of the chapters surrounding it. We
tend to read these verses, especially 13-15, in a completely individualistic and
evangelistic way. We must preach the word because if we don’t preach then how
will people hear? And as verse 13 says, “For whoever will call upon the name of
the Lord will be saved.” We must make sure people know who Jesus is. But in the
context of this chapter and those surrounding it, Paul is talking about the
Jews and is saying these things almost sarcastically. These are rhetorical
questions, because the Jews have more messages than anybody. In verse 18 it
says, “But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have.”
Even though they heard, they still failed to believe and follow Jesus, the Messiah.
I don’t actually know what to make of the Israel
element in these chapters. Perhaps that is because I don’t know if I have ever
heard it preached and I have had only heard one part of a lectured on it. Chapters 9-11 of Romans deal with Israel and it seems
like a huge theme in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Maybe we don’t touch on the
Jewish aspect because it doesn’t relate to us and we jump to applications for
our day, but perhaps we are missing something in Romans by not understanding
the arguments Paul is making in this portion of the letter. Maybe some of you
have heard more about this idea in your churches or a book, but I haven't heard very much about it.
Well, where does this leave us? Leaving the
last paragraph aside since it was more of a tangent, it leaves me wondering if
I am trying to earn my salvation through works. Or is my faith producing a life
of righteousness? Am I doing anything out of freedom that is harming my fellow
believers? Perhaps this week give some thought to what true righteousness,
based on faith in Christ, looks like today and how we can trust God to change
us enough to pursue it in faith. And may we continue to grow in Christlikness by
his Spirit.
Grace and Peace.
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