Book of Romans - Ch. 2, Vs. 25-Ch. 3, Vs. 20 (08/08/1999) | NOTE: Afternoon Service

Talking about, you don't hear much preaching on hellfire and damnation. So this afternoon I'm going to preach a little while to you on hellfire and damnation. Now that that's out of the way, come to Romans 2 .25.

For circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law. But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore, if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

And shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee? Who by the letter and circumcision does transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly. Neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh.

Circumcision of the Heart and True Worship

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly. And circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. He is not a child of God just because he acts like it.

After all his acting like it is only according to your idea of a Christian. In John 4 .24 we find these words, God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. So Russell, from this fact we learn, you cannot worship God with your hands, or your feet, or your knees, or your beautiful buildings.

You cannot worship God with your fine clothes, with your many programs, with your singing, with your music. You cannot worship God even with your obedience, or your money. He must be worshiped in spirit.

This is an inside job, to worship him in spirit. Now there are things that assist in worship, but with those we have to be very, very careful, and not get to where we call that worship. Coming now to chapter 3, we'll see for a little bit here what he has for us.

He opens with a question. He says, what advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? What profit is it to keep the law? Well, the Bible, the law, is a guide for our faith. Steve, it's an assurance of our hope, and it's a rule of our conduct.

In the second verse, very much, much, every way, chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. What is oracle? Great. All right. The writings of God, the holy word of God was given to the Jew.

Announcement, orally spoken. For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? Not at all. In John 5 and 10, he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.

He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave his son. It's very, very important in that verse. And I caution you to do this, or ask you to do this.

In your study, first of all, slow down. You're trying to read too much. You're trying to cover too much. The next thing is look at the little words. We tend to look at the big words. And hopefully those we do not understand, we look up.

But the little words, Steve, we think we know what they mean. But lots of times we don't. In John 5 and 10, he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. The little word in, in himself.

Not through himself, but in himself. God does not work through us. He works in us. There's a vast difference. You have a window glass. The sun shines through it. The glass really has no purpose except to keep the weather out, perhaps.

If he worked through us, we would have no responsibility at all. So, Russell, he works in us. Very important, the little word in. Four. He answers the question and says, God forbid, yea, let God be true.

But every man a liar, as it is written, that thou mightest be justified in thy sins, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. The faith of God. Is it moved by man? That's the question. Is the faith of God moved by man?

No. It remains absolutely, eternally steadfast. Remember, God doesn't change on any account, any place, any time. Everyone who does not believe will be damned. But please understand that believing is given to those that he reveals himself to.

Those that were his before the creation. Verse five. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God. Strange statement. What shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? He says, I speak as a man.

Human Unrighteousness, God's Righteousness, and the Ordained Fall

Now, let's look at this. If our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God. Well, I think we would all agree that we're not very righteous in and of ourselves. We're rather unrighteous, aren't we, Greg?

So that unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God. Now, Greg, what does commend mean? All right. It points out the good qualities of something that's coming. So our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God.

How in the world can that be, Russell? In other words, our sin proves the love of God. How could that be? Debbie? Jeannie? Okay. Can you have a sheet of paper with only one side? Fred? That's right. That's right.

Yet our sin proves the love of God to us. Don't have to prove anything to him. Fred, you have a piece of paper there someplace. Would you show me a piece of paper that just has one side? It's just as impossible to have love without hate.

You cannot hate without love, and you cannot love without hate. God's wrath proves his righteousness. Our sin proves his righteousness. It proves the love of God for all of the reasons that you all have said.

But if we did not sin, we'd never know the love of God. Oxymoron and belief, but it's true. Verse 6, God forbid, for then how shall God judge the world? I want to talk a little bit this afternoon about this judgment.

Everything as far as man has been able to determine from what God has told us has been ordained before there was ever anything in existence except God. And since God, Greg, does not sit down and make decisions like man, it has just always been.

It's his will. Not only has it been ordained, it has already occurred. Everything's finished. That's another reason that nothing can be changed. So come with me now back to the Garden of Eden, if you will.

Are you all there yet? Beautiful place, isn't it? Don't have any 100 degree weather there. Well, the scene that we're looking at is the time in which the Lord was giving instructions to Adam that he may eat of every tree except one.

This proves the freedom of Adam because if he had the fact that he was absolutely free demanded a choice. You're not free unless you have a choice. So Adam had to have a choice proving his freedom. He told Adam, as we all know and remember, you can eat of every tree except this one tree because in the day that you eat of it, you shall die.

Now those are very strong, firm words from the Lord himself. The day, the moment, the second, the split second of which you disobey, you die. Now understand it was not the eating literally of the fruit, whatever it was.

It was the unbelief that occurred. Well, we all know the story to some degree. But I caution you again as you study the scripture to always keep in mind what it is not saying. Look at what is not there as well as what is there.

Because you can learn just almost as much from what is not said as you can from what is said. What was said was, Adam, you shall not eat of this tree. What was not said was, but you shall eat of this tree.

You follow? He did not tell Adam that he was going to eat of the tree. If he had, Adam would have had no responsibility. Now the Lord had ordained that the human race would fall. God is not the author of sin.

But it was in the plans of God that the human race would fall. And how do we know this? Because the scripture says that he was the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. So it did, it was not something that caught God unawares and he had to come up with a remedy, as some people think.

It was in this plan. Now, God is going to judge the world. The question comes, how is it that God can judge the human race when everything is ordained and they have no say so in it whatsoever? That is a legitimate question.

But I want to be sure that everybody here understands today and that you can answer that question. Because if you understand the subject today, you'll be far ahead of most seminary students, even professors.

And it's a very simple, basic truth that is absolutely necessary in your understanding the working of God. Not that we understand, all we know is what he's revealed to us. So, we find then that he did not tell Adam, but you will eat of the tree.

From this we learn, from his point of view, that he ate of the tree. Now, did he eat of it because he had to? It was ordained by God that the human race would fall. From Adam's point of view, did he do it because he had to?

No. Why did he do it? He wanted to. Did you all hear that? Adam did it because he wanted to. He did not know that he was ordained to. He did it because he wanted to. Why are you all here this afternoon?

Wanted to. Did you know it was ordained of God that you be here? If it were not, you wouldn't be here. Anytime you wonder what the work of God is, just look behind you. Because everything that has ever happened has been his will.

And it shall always be that way. We do not know what's ahead, that's why we have to live by faith. So, getting back to this question of his judging, How is it that the Lord can judge a human race that was ordained to do exactly what it did?

It's simply because they did it because they wanted to. Everything, Russell, that you have ever done in your life has been because you wanted to. Now, you go back to your youth, you might want to argue with me about that.

Because if you were like me, there were some things that I didn't want to do, but I did. Because my dad told me I should. Well, the part that I didn't want was the consequences of not doing it. So, really, I did it because I wanted to, in a backhanded way.

But it was because I wanted to. Not willingly, I did it rebelliously. It would have been better for everybody if it had been willingly. So, the simple answer to that awesome question of how can he judge a preordained world was because we do what we want to.

Judas was ordained to do exactly what he did. From Judas' viewpoint, why did he do it? Because he wanted to. Now, that's not so hard, is it? Remember that. It's very important. Everything you do is because you want to.

Now, some of you, Fred may think it's because joy wants him to. But, really, that might be, but Fred wants to also. Well, the very same thing applies to us today now. Now, does the devil make us sin? So, Flip Wilson wasn't right when he said the devil made me do it.

You sin because you want to. And that's how you can be judged. Not so complicated, is it? Ask some student of the seminary sometime that question. All right, let's come down now to verse 7. We've just read, God forbid, for then how shall God judge the world?

For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory, why yet am I also judged a sinner? Now, he's making a dig at these Judaizers. And he says, and aid and not rather as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say, let us do evil that good may come.

And whose damnation for these people is just. They raise the question, well, if God's glory is shown by our sin, then the more we sin, the more of his glory will be seen. And Paul says, God forbid such a thought.

Nine, what then? Are we better than they? And not rather as we be slanderously, I repeated that, didn't I? But let us do in no wise for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they're both under sin.

Whether they have the law, whether they don't have the law. Every man is under sin as he's born into this world. In 10 it says, as it is written, meaning that was written before this, there is none righteous, not one.

There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. The statement that we've all heard so many times, there's little good in everybody, is absolutely true, false. There is no little good in anybody.

Now, there may be if you compare it man to man, but not when you compare it with God. There is none that understandeth. Fred, all that we know about God is what he has revealed to us. We cannot go to any library or anything and find out more.

No one could ever be saved unless God does what? Draws him to Christ. The word draw means what? Pull, what? Drag, pull, compel? It literally means to be compelled by a superior, irresistible force. You cannot, the wagon had no control over what the horse was doing to it.

The wagon was being drugged. In John 644 it says this, no man, and that's nearly everybody, can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. Then in Philippians 2 .13, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Russell, that just about eliminates me completely. God works in me, in you, in each one of his people to do exactly that that pleases him. You cannot refuse that which you do not seek. Therefore, when God calls, you will come.

I've heard most of my youth, I've heard people fight against the Holy Spirit. I've seen them, preachers say, grip the back of that pew in front of them until their knuckles turn white, and just refusing to be saved.

It's not true. They may do that, but it wasn't the working of the Holy Spirit. Twelve, they are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Total Depravity, Divine Drawing, and Justification by Faith

Why? Why cannot natural man do something good, Greg? A natural man is in a state of what? Sinfulness. If you have learned any spiritual truth, have all of you here learned at least one thing in your life of spiritual truth?

Anyone has not? Then you all have. That in itself proves you belong to him. He does not reveal himself or anything about himself to the world. He does to his people. So if you've learned a spiritual truth, don't doubt your salvation.

Just make it work. He goes on to say this, Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips. The word open here is a perfect participle.

Now go back to your eighth grade grammar. Perfect participle. Can anyone venture to tell me what that means? What is a perfect verb? What is an imperfect verb? What is an active verb? Passive verb? What is a verb?

The words are coming after something. The perfect participle. Opened. It means a grave that has been opened with the result that it remains open. Perfect. Finished. Cannot be changed. Their mouth was filled with words that stunk like a three-day-old grave that had just been opened.

Whose mouth is full of cursings and bitterness. Their feet are swift to murder, shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. It's what they look for. It's what they think about. And the way of peace have they not known.

Don't think for one moment that the politicians are going to find peace for us. No politician. No one in government. The only way that anybody in this world can find peace is how? In Christ. And that's not peace of this world.

There is no fear of God before their eyes. Steve, that's an awesome, awful statement. To not fear God. 19. Now we know that what things whoever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.

Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. No flesh justified by the deeds of the law. Justification. Let's understand this word and then we'll go home.

What is justification? It is an act of God which is the removing of the guilt and penalty of sin for his chosen by faith. But that's not all. It is the bestowal of a positive righteousness. And this is Jesus Christ.

In whom the believer stands a righteous person before God and before his law for time and eternity. So Russell, it is as though we were righteous from the beginning. Which we were and then Adam did something.

But I want you to understand this is a legal standing. It does not change or affect the character of the person. Justification. The character of the person is later changed by the work of the Holy Spirit in that person's life.

And we call it a progressive sanctification. We are growing more and more like him. See all he's doing in this world is to get us fit to live with him. Preparing us to live with him forever. That's where we'll quit.

One more statement. To hold on to the law. To think that you can be saved by doing something. Makes just as much sense as someone jumping out of an airplane with a bag of cement instead of a parachute.

It won't work. Alright, next time. Whenever that might be. We'll start with Romans 3 .21. Are there any words from anyone? Then let's stand and we'll be dismissed.