The Absence Of Righteousness

"Condemnation"

Our text:

Romans Chapter 9:1-33

Eternal life is the free gift of God. We do not work to earn it and do not have to work to keep it.

We are saved by grace, we live by grace, and we are secured by the "grace" of God!

You can search the entire Bible and you will not ever find a place where God has failed.

God never fails in what he does!

God always delivers what he promises!

So, It is not up to us to keep ourselves saved; it is up to God!  We are in His Mighty hands.

We are then filled with the spirit of Jesus. This is the same Holy Spirit that is always there to make intercession for us and The Holy Spirit is always with us to "convict" us when we fail.

Every day that we begin, God is working out his plan in our lives so that all things work together for our good.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, [to them who are the called according to his purpose].

This is the valuable lesson that we learned from last week in Romans chapter 8.

What we will see this week is that Paul will take some time to teach the church to understand God’s relationship with Israel.

What we should notice is that Paul has not done this until he has taught the truth of eternal salvation to the Church, The Body of Christ. (Romans Chapter 1-8)

We should also believe that none of these words are just for Israel but they are also for the church to learn. Paul was writing this Epistle to saved people.

Paul wrote this letter to believers but we need to understand as the Church, the Body of Christ, that God is not through with Israel.

Not as a nation, nor as a people!

We see many things about Paul but some of these things are:

1.) Paul was considered a traitor to this Jewish nation.

2.) Paul spent most all his time witnessing to Gentiles.

3.) Paul taught "all" God’s creation, of the freedom from the law Moses. (God only has one message of salvation, this is not the message taught in Judaism which is a message of works )

4.) Paul caused trouble in every synagogue he preached with this message.

5.) But, Paul never stop loving his nation and his people.

Reaching out to his nation was a personal thing to Paul.

We should make reaching out not only to Israel but to all that are lost a personal thing to us that are saved.

We should learn that each one of us has an obligation to reach out to our own nation beginning with our own family and then all that God allows to cross our path.

Paul taught us in chapter 8 that all believers were secure in Christ Jesus. The question that always arises about the Jews is, "how will they be secured"?

We know that the nation of Israel were a chosen people in the work of the Lord.

We know that to some it may appear that God has abandoned this people.

We know that to some it may appear that God has failed to keep his promises to Israel.

If these things are true and God is not faithful to the Jew how can we know for sure that God will be faithful church?

Israel is the only nation in the world that has a complete history.

1.) The Bible tells us about their past, when they first became a nation.

2.) We live with them in the present, when they are again recognized as a nation, since May 14, 1948.

3.) The Bible tells us about the future of this nation during the Millennial Kingdom.

4.) This cannot be said of any other nation on this earth!

We will see in this chapter, God’s righteousness, God’s justice, and God’s grace applied to Israel.

*****Our Text:

Rom 9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Rom 9:4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

It has only been a few weeks where we read how Moses loved this nation of Israel.

Exo 32:32  Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Exo 32:33  And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

Moses was willing to take all the blame of Israel on himself just so this nation could survive.

But! God will not allow us to die for the sin of another. We can answer only for ourselves in salvation.

What we see here is that Paul also had the same love for his nation as he had for the church.

It amazes me that in America it seems Americans do not love our nation as we should. Sometimes it seems that not many missionaries to stay want at home in America. We sometimes get so caught up in our day by day lives and forget this nation of freedom in which we live.

We still live in the greatest nation in this world!

And, we know that God deals with the sinners on an individual basis.

The Apostle Paul list eight ways that God dealt with Israel as a nation.

*****1.) This nation was adopted by God.

Exo 4:22  And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

This nation was chosen as God’s own possession.

Deu 7:6  For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

This nation has seen more of God’s wrath than any other nation.

Amo 3:2  You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

This is still God’s chosen nation. This is absolutely and eternally true!

The Church is God’s chosen people, BUT Israel is still God’s chosen Nation!

These facts have not changed!!!!!!!

Isa 66:22  For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.

If we do not stand with the nation of Israel there will be no blessings from God. It seems more and more that our own leaders are trying to abandon Israel and this is a serious mistake.

*****2.) We know that Israelites were the first to see the glory of God.

It was Israel that was told to build a sanctuary for God.

Exo 25:8  And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

God has not asked any other nation to do this!

*****3.) We know that it was Israel that received God’s covenants.

With Abraham:

Gen 15:18  In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram

Gen 22:18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

With David:

2Sa 7:13  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

Gabriel told the Virgin Mary:

Luk 1:32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Luk 1:33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

And there will be a new covenant:

Heb 8:8  For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

There is still some prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled:

Eze 36:24  For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25  Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

*****4.) It is Israel that God gave the law, the moral laws we live by now:

Rom 3:1  What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
Rom 3:2  Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

*****5.)  It was Israel that was taught how to serve Jehovah God:

They were taught the religious ordinances for Tabernacle worship and Temple worship.

These things were for Israel and not for the church.

These things may even resume during the age of the millennial kingdom.

BUT, Paul denounced these things for church worship:

They have no part in the church, the Body of Christ!

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, [how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?]
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

*****6.) Israel was given certain promises that will still be fulfilled:

God’s salvation promises were given to Abraham.

God’s kingdom promises were given to David.

The Gospel given to the church is not a promise but it is a "Fact" to be believed!

The Gospel is not preached to the nations "but to each individual"!

We do not have to become Israelites in any sense to enjoy God’s salvation in Jesus Christ!

BUT, All Israelites do have to be saved to become part of the "Body of Christ"!

*****7.) Who are those fathers of Israel?

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Judah who was the tribe of the Royal promise, King Jesus.

Heb 7:14  For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

We also have  Moses, Samuel, and King David that we must include with the prophets of God.

We also know that Abraham is the father of all "believers" in any age!

*****8.) We know that Jesus Christ our Lord was also a Jew from this nation of Israel, and from the tribe of Judah.

Rom 1:3  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
Rom 1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

What we will see in the teaching of Paul is:

a.) God will not be unfaithful in His promises to Israel.

b.) That God’s Own Word had foretold of their rejection and their salvation of Israel but also foretold of the salvation of the Gentile.

c.) That there would be a future blessing to Israel because of God’s mercy.

*****Our Text:

Rom 9:6  Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7  Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

Rom 9:27  Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
Rom 9:29  And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

There should be little doubt that there is a difference between the natural seed of Abraham and the spiritual children of Abraham.

(Rom 2:28)  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

(Rom 2:29)  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.

Abraham actually had two sons, Ishmael by Hagar, and Isaac by Sarah. Since Ishmael was the firstborn he should have been the chosen son but God chose Isaac.

Later Isaac and Rebekah his wife, had two sons Esau and Jacob. Esau was the firstborn and should have been the chosen son but again God chose Jacob. Esau and Jacob had the same mother but Ishmael and Isaac had two different mothers.

What we should see is that God does not base his decisions on physical things!

God will have His way and His purpose in whosoever He chooses whether they be good or whether they be evil!

God had chosen Jacob before the babies were even born. These two boys had not had a chance to do neither good nor evil so God’s choice is  not based on character or conduct.

BUT, These descendents of Abraham failed.

They had had a privileged relationship with God above all other nations.

AND, We know that the Lord Jesus Christ had to confront them on this matter.

Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

It was the faith of Abraham that made him righteous in the eyes of God.

All the children of Abraham would have to have that same faith in Jesus.

Jesus knew that this was not true when he was on this Earth.

Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

There is no such thing as religious privilege in the eyes of God.!

God’s Messiah was prophesied to come through Isaac.

The Lord Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary, came from the promised seed.  

The "born again" child of God then are the true children of promise and are accounted the seed because of Jesus and the work He did on the cross.

BUT, We must never think that God is unrighteous in the way He does things.

God is holy and must punish sin; but God is loving and desires that all sinners be saved.

God’s ultimate purpose is to form his church from both Jews and Gentiles!

But God had prophesied to Israel in the days of Hosea that He would turn from the Jew to the Gentile:

Hos 2:23  And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

This new people would be the children of the living God:

Hos 1:10  Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

Then God said that there will be only a remnant of Israel saved:

Isa 10:21  The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
Isa 10:22  For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
Isa 10:23  For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

It is possible that most of the studies concerning Israel will not happen until the tribulation period and with it’s ending.

In our time we know that there’s only a very few Jews that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

We should never think that God is unjust because some are saved and others are lost. Each individual must make that decision themselves!

Hell was created for Satan and his fallen angels. It was not intended for a place for humans.

But we should also remember if these human that have rejected Our Lord got into Heaven they would be burnt to non-existance.

Our God would only be unjust if He did not keep ALL His promises!

In the days of Moses, God rejected the Gentile nations and chose the nation of Israel so that through the Jew he might save the Gentiles.

This nation of Israel rejected God’s will but they could not defeat God’s purpose!

Israel might object to the fact of the remnant but Paul insists that if God had not intervened with his grace Israel would be like Sodom and Gomorrah.

What we do know is that when this time the church has passed God will continue with his work with Israel.

*****Our Text:

Rom 9:30  What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
Rom 9:31  But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Rom 9:32  Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Rom 9:33  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

The Jews were seeking God’s righteousness but they thought it came by the laws of Moses.

The Gentiles were not seeking God’s righteousness yet they obtained it through "faith" in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Israel was trying to be saved by "works" and not by "faith".

They rejected God’s "grace", and tried to please God through the "laws of Moses".

The Jews in their self-righteousness believed that the Gentiles had to come up to Israel’s level to be Saved.
In Actuality, Israel would have to come down to the level of the heathen Gentile the saved. (Romans 3;23)

They still struggle with this and it has become a major stumbling block to them.

There are many in this world that struggle with the fact that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Isa 28:16  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Psa 118:21  I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
Psa 118:22  The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

There is only One foundation that God chose for all the world, and it is the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is a shame that the the world still struggles at this stumble stone instead of planting their feet on the solid ground.

FOR, God does not save people on the basis of birth or behavior!

People are only saved by the grace of God through faith!

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

This will never change!

God offers his salvation to whosoever will but we must trust Him and receive "by faith" His righteousness which is our guarantee to His Heaven!

Nowhere does God ask us to choose between these two truths!

The word of God and the promises of God work together for our salvation!

Our God is faithful even when we are not!

He will accomplish His purpose!

He will keep all His promises!

Let’s pray!