How a Believer Calls

Would you be willing to trade your eternal salvation and your reconciliation with God if it would mean that another, or a whole race of people would receive this salvation?  For whom would you be willing to make that exchange?  I can honestly say that my list would be pretty short . . . if I can even call it a list.

For the Apostle Paul, his list included the entirety of his people—the Israelites.  The entire focus of Romans 9-11 is the salvation of the Israeli people.  So Paul begins the 10^th chapter of Romans by reiterating this ambition.  Note the pronouns . . .

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation!” (Romans 10:1)

You can hear Paul’s passion.  I often wonder if Paul regrets not trying harder to reach the people gathered in the synagogues.  When he walked away from the Jews in Corinth on his second missionary journey, did he give up out of frustration?  I wonder if he ever questioned the haste with which he walked away.

But notice how Paul describes the Jewish people and their complex relationship with their God . . .

“I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” (Romans 10:2)

Paul describes the Jewish people as having zeal for God.  How does Paul know this?  Remember, Paul was one of them, you might even think of him as the one-time leader of the zealots of Judaism.  He was persecuting the early church, chasing down its leaders.  Why?  He did it in his zeal for God, but did Paul know God?  The Greek word for “knowledge” in this text is “epignosis”.  In the Greek, you would describe a surface level of knowledge as “gnosis”, but to describe an intimate knowledge of something, you would use the word “epignosis”.  Let me explain . . .

Most people have a surface knowledge (“gnosis”) of Deion Sanders.  People know him as a football player, they know him as a personality, and they have seen him on television.  Their knowledge of Deion is not personal, it is informational, and many people are (or were) zealous for Deion based on this knowledge.  

While I was a student trainer at Florida State University, I had the opportunity to get to know Deion on a personal level.  He would sit in the training room and tell stories before practice . . . He was one of the funniest players on the team.  From time-to-time, I would tape his wrists for games or practice (he only trusted his million dollar ankles to the head trainer).  How would you describe my knowledge of Deion?  You would use the word “epignosis” because my knowledge was personal.

For the Jews, their interaction with God was limited, at best.  The priests had turned from relationship to rules.  The words of the prophets had fallen silent.  They were so distant from their God that they killed the Messiah.  They were zealous for their God, but not according to any intimate knowledge of their God.  And Paul knew it because he was one of them.

Paul continues with his critique . . .

“Because they disregarded the righteousness from God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness.” (Romans 10:3)

How could Paul say that the Israelites were disregarding God?  The Greek word “agnoeo” literally means “to ignore” or to have “no mind”.  Paul was writing that the Jewish people were paying “no mind” to the righteousness that had come from God—the righteousness that was imputed to us through the atoning work of Jesus at Calvary 20 years earlier in Jerusalem.

But they did not simply disregard the righteousness purchased at Calvary, they then deceived themselves into thinking that they could establish their own righteousness by strict adherence to the Mosaic Law.  Paul described this as establishing “their own righteousness.”  The Jewish people, led by the priests and the scribes, decided that the righteousness of Jesus was a lie, and they set in place another means of achieving righteousness—the standard God demands.  What they were missing was that their God was holy, perfect, and absolutely incapable of co-existing with any form of imperfection.  They thought legalism and animal sacrifice would suffice, but they were wrong, they missed the only real offer of righteousness, and for this Paul is devastated . . . he knows the consequence of their failure to submit to the true righteousness through Jesus Christ.

“For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:4)

With this sentence, Paul declares that every legalistic effort of the Jewish people was an absolute waste of time.  It was superfluous, at best, and, at worst, it was a deception that blinded them to what they desperately needed to receive in Christ.  What we can see in the Greek is that Paul employs the word “telos” for the word “end” in our translation.  This word means “to perfect” or “to complete” something.  Remember the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount . . .

“Do not assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)

The implication was that Jesus came to fill up something that was deficient.  The priests would fill up the requirement of the Law on the Day of Atonement for a moment when they sprinkled the mercy seat seven times, but the next sin began the emptying process all over again, requiring the priests to start all over again.  When Christ died at Calvary, however, His last words were not, “See you next year,” they were . . .

“It is finished” (John 19:30)

This is what is meant by the Greek word “telos” . . . completed . . . finished . . . perfected.  There is nothing left to be completed, and there is nothing left to be done in the future.  Christ’s was an eternal completion of the righteous requirement of the Law, completely satisfying the just demands of a holy God.   And how does one engage this completed righteousness?  Simply believe!

So what emerges are two theoretical paths to righteousness.  The Jews are doggedly holding to the Law of Moses, while the new Christian faith looks to the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.  To illustrate the paths, Paul reaches back into the Old Testament. 

To illustrate the difficulty of the path of righteousness through adherence to the Law, he quotes a passage from Leviticus 18:5 . . .

“Keep My statutes and ordinance; a person will live if he does them.  I am the LORD.”

The difficulty of this path to righteousness, and thereby eternal life, is that there is no room for error.  If life is dependent upon keeping the statutes, then how many failures are you allowed?  How many transgressions of the law can you commit before you are called a lawbreaker?  If God is holy, then how many sins can He allow into His presence?  This path is only for the perfect.

On the other hand, there is a path of righteousness through faith alone, it is the path for all of us failures: the ones who have fallen short of God’s just expectation of obedience in all things.  Paul quotes several verses from Deuteronomy 30, the point of them being that righteousness may be foreign to imperfect humans, but it will one day be well within our reach.  He argues that righteousness will not be impossible to gain, instead, Moses, with a prophetic eye toward the righteousness of Christ, argues that righteousness will be in your mouth and in your heart . . .

“But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it.” (Deuteronomy 30:14)

Paul seems to be drawn to the beauty of this passage because he uses it to develop the “message of faith” that he shares with all the churches.  It becomes his standard invitation, his basic prescription for those who would dare to turn to Jesus Christ.  Watch how Paul plays off the “in your mouth and in your heart” inference of the text to prescribe the righteousness that comes by faith . . .

“This is the message of faith that we proclaim: if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord.’ And believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:10)

First, with your “mouth” you make a confession that “Jesus is Lord”.  While this may seem easy to us, this would be a dangerous thing to a Roman Christian.  Each year, a government official would bring around a container of incense and require that each citizen of Rome take a pinch of incense, throw it on an incense altar and proclaim that “Caesar is Lord!”  So what happens when you proclaim, “Jesus is Lord!”?

To further understand this standard, you need to understand what Paul would have meant by “confess”.  Paul, along with other writers in the Scriptures, utilized the Greek word “homologeo” to speak of “confess”.  We have taken that word and made it into an action of “admitting” something . . . simply admitting guilt.  This word, however, is not about admitting, but about agreeing.  The word is broken down into the word “homo” which means “same” and “logos” which means “word”.  Therefore, to confess means to speak the same word.  Let me illustrate . . .

Suppose a child ate a cookie before dinner without permission, and the parents told the child that they had been caught, and that taking the cookie was wrong.  Would there be a difference between the child simply admitting to his disobedience, and the child agreeing with his parent that his disobedience was wrong?  For us to admit that we have sinned is not the same as agreeing with God that the sin was wrong.  For God to be “faithful and just to forgive our sins” if we simply admit to them, means that God does not require repentance for forgiveness, just our declaration that we sinned.

So the church in Rome was challenged by Paul to stand firm and speak in agreement with Almighty God that His Son, Jesus the Christ, is the one true Lord—not Caesar, not any mythological figure, not any ancestor.  For the Romans, this would be a radical departure from their culture . . . and it could easily get them killed.

Second, Paul asked of all the churches in his “message of faith” that each of them believe in their “hearts” that God powerfully raised Jesus from the dead.  But what would this prove?  I think we have lost something in our familiarity with the story of Jesus.  For us, the resurrection of Jesus is old news, it is no more intriguing than turning water to wine or healing a blind man.  We have lost the awe of the truly miraculous, supernatural nature of raising a man from the dead.  To believe that your God could do this was to believe in the superiority of your God to any other.  It was to, once and for all, declare the sheer greatness of your God.

In this “message of faith”, Paul draws a distinction between the pursuit of righteousness the Jews and the pursuit of righteousness by the Gentiles.  While one was trying to earn their own through works of the Law, the other was simply believing that there had been One who had earned righteousness for them and had chosen to freely give that righteousness to any who would receive it by faith.

So how does one express this reception?  Paul uses two Old Testament passages to explain this process . . .

“No one who believes on Him will be put to shame.” (Isaiah 28:16, this verse is a contrast of the one who “stumbles” over the coming Christ and the one who believes in the coming Christ—in contrast to stumbling, he is “unshakeable”.)

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Joel 2:32)

First, what I see in these verses is a cognitive assent to the message of Christ—to believe.  There is agreement as to our sin condition, agreement as to the imputation of righteousness, and agreement in our future glory.  To believe in Christ is to have hope restored to the human soul.

So how do we “call” for this salvation?  So often we speak of “salvation” as if it were a simple transfer from one philosophical belief to another.  It is a matter of opinion, of philosophy, and a condition that results from a certain belief system.  How often do we speak of the desperation of the unsaved condition, and marvel at the grace that saved us from eternal destruction?  How do you “call on the name of the Lord” for your salvation from eternal destruction?  How does one who knows he cannot possibly save himself cry out?

When will our calling out begin to match our desperation?

When will our rescue compel utter abandonment to our Savior?

Never allow familiarity with the story to rob you of your profound gratitude for the story . . . it is not a story, it is your story . . . and it is your only hope for salvation.  So cry out in desperation and cry out in hope!  Cry out on bended knees with your hands held high at the awe of your salvation.  Let us cry out in awestruck wonder, for . . .

“For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved!”

Getting to the Super Bowl . . .

How are you going to get to the Super Bowl next year?  I will assume that very few professional football players are reading this note, so I am not talking about any professional aspiration.  I am talking to you football fans.  I am talking to you people who would seriously consider amputation if a ticket was yours for the taking.  How are you going to get into the Super Bowl?

If you have the resources and you are willing to pay thousands of dollars, it will be easy for you.  Tickets were going online for $1,500 for this year’s game and I would assume that they would be available for next year’s game in New Orleans, but that is a mortgage payment for most of us . . . and we need our house more than a ticket to a game played by large 20-year olds and a leather balloon.

For the average person, the NFL has been so kind as to offer up a lottery system for the thousands of tickets that are left over after they give out tickets to all the important people around the league.  The lottery for next year’s game in New Orleans is already open and will be open for you to submit your name through June 1^st of this year.  In October, the names of the lucky few will be drawn and the winners will have the opportunity to purchase two tickets at face value.  After purchasing the tickets, paying for hotel, food, parking, etc.  You will probably get away only having dropped $400-500.  What a deal!?!

So how in the world does this story, taught on Super Bowl Sunday according the providence of God, have to do with the closing passage of Romans 9?  It has everything to do with the day I went to the Super Bowl . . .

To review, the text of Romans 9 is a part of three chapters that Paul devotes to the salvation of his brothers—the Israelites.  He speaks of his desire to trade his salvation for theirs, but he acknowledges that Israel is not hopelessly lost because “the word of God has not failed”.  He speaks of God calling out a remnant of the nation, a line of men who were to be the carriers of God’s promise to Abraham to be a blessing to the nation.  To this Paul assumes that his readers might find God’s electing, without regard to merit, to be unjust, but Paul asserts that God is free just to show mercy to a man or to harden a man.  It is His world, and His just purposes are achieved, who are we to question His means.

Paul concludes by asking two rhetorical questions . . .

“What if God, desiring to display His wrath and make His power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath ready for destruction?  And what if He did this to make known the riches of His glory on objects of mercy that He prepared beforehand for glory—on us, the ones He called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:22-24)

Gentiles?  Who invited them?

When do we see the crack in the door that will lead to all the Gentiles being invited to faith?  It was Jesus who was amazed by the faith of a Roman centurion whose slave was gravely ill.  There was a woman from Syro-Phoenicia who dared to address Jesus as the “Son of David” and beg Him to heal her daughter. What about the 10^th leper who came back to Jesus?  Was he not a Samaritan?  There was only one person at Calvary who proclaimed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.  The list goes on with the Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah 53 in his carriage, the Roman named Cornelius calling for Peter to come tell him the Gospel, and then the floodgates open as Paul heads out on his first of three missionary journeys.

Was this all part of the plan?  What would have happened if the Jews had embraced the story of Jesus?  Would it have become merely an extension of Judaism, leaving us Gentiles out in the cold?  I thought the promise to Abraham was that he, through his offspring, would be a blessing to all the nations . . .

So how did the Gentiles get the blessing of Christ, namely salvation?

“What should we say?  Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness—namely the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Romans 9:30)

Could it be that simple?  The righteousness of God can be obtained, or taken hold of, by just believing in the message of the Gospel?  Nothing to pursue?  Nothing to achieve?  Just believe?

Paul contrasted the Gentiles attainment with Israel’s failure . . .

“But Israel, pursuing the law for righteousness has not achieved the righteousness of the Law.” (Romans 9:31)

I think it is interesting to note what the Israelites were pursuing.  Paul identifies their pursuit as the Law.  This is why they were so legalistic.  This is why they tithed their mint, dill, and cumin crops.  This is why the demanded men be circumcised.  They actually thought they could pursue the Law well enough that they could earn their way into righteousness.

Paul, however, makes the point that their pursuit failed.  Our translation declares that they have “not achieved” the righteousness, but the Greek word “phthano” implies that they simply never arrived at their destination.  Like a ship that never makes it to its destination, so too, the Israelites would never be able to traverse their way to righteousness.

Why?

“Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works.” (Romans 9:32a)

So back to the Super Bowl . . .

A year after I had graduated from college, I made a trip back to Florida Southern College in lovely Lakeland, Florida.  I was there to take a real estate exam on Monday morning, so I made a weekend of it and went to visit some fraternity brothers who were one year behind me.  When I arrived at the fraternity house on Friday evening, I was greeted by my old friends, and we headed out for some dinner.  Over dinner, one of my friends informed me that his Dad had Super Bowl tickets, and that his Dad had invited him to drive over to Tampa, about an hour away, for the game.  To be honest, I had totally forgotten that the game was going to be in Tampa.

Late on Saturday afternoon, we were all just sitting around in my friends’ room at the fraternity house when the phone rang.  It was my friend’s Dad—the one with the Super Bowl tickets.  My friend’s face lit up and he turned to his roommate and said, “My Dad has an extra ticket to the game.  Do you want to go?”

I sat there green with envy until I heard his roommate reply, “No.  I have homework.” (Which may explain why he is so successful today.)

My friend turned to me and asked, “Bubba, do you want to go?”

Now what, at this moment, do I need to do to go to the Super Bowl?  Unlike the roommate, I need to value going to the game over studying for my real estate exam.  I also need to trust that my friend’s Dad really has an extra ticket.  Last, I need to get in the car and walk into the game.

How much effort have I exerted so far?

I am like the Gentiles.  I never pursued a ticket to the Super Bowl.  I could have worked all year, pulled every string I could find, and I still would not have gotten in to see that game.  I did not, and do not, have it in me to “work” my way into a Super Bowl.  So how did I get in?  How did I get to hear Whitney Houston belt out the national anthem?  How did I get to see Scott Norwood miss a 47-yard field goal to give the Bills their first of four Super Bowl losses?  How did I get to see the New Kids on the Block rock the halftime show?

I just said, “Yes!” . . . got in a car . . . and went to the game.

That, my friends, is the riches of God’s grace!

You just have to say, “Yes!” . . . everything else has been paid in full.