God's Righteousness (Romans #15) - Bible Baptist Church

God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ.

Text: Romans 10

Israel’s failure to accept God’s righteousness (vss 1-4)

The fact that Jesus Christ is the end of the law for righteousness is a way of saying Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism. To revert back to the law of Moses, or to the old covenant, or even to add Moses to Jesus or return to recognizing racial lines like Jew and Gentile in regards to justification are all a slap in the face of Jesus Christ.
Replacement of the Jews by the church isn’t Paul’s point either. God’s people, the church of God, existed long before Israel was even a nation. The household of faith goes clear back to Abel according to Hebrews 11.
So the nation of Israel didn’t replace anybody and isn’t replaced by anybody. It’s a nation that brought forth the Messiah. It’s the nation that was given the words of God as a nation. And Paul is explaining why the nation as a whole failed of the grace of God. Because of the blessings they received as a nation, they lost sight of God’s righteousness and promoted their own self-righteousness.

Living in the law
- The law never justified anyone. Paul never viewed the law as a means of eternal life or peace with God. Never means past, present, or future.
- The law was carnal. It’s temporary. It ends at death no matter who you are (til death do us part). It’s made for transgressors. And it was meant to bring the nation of Israel to Christ.
- The righteousness of that system is good, but that system doesn’t offer eternal life. Even if you kept the law to the letter, that law doesn’t get you eternal life (Galatians 3:21).
The righteousness of God is righteousness that comes by faith. Even as Moses said it in Deuteronomy 30:6,10-14. He said the nation should keep these commandments AND love the LORD their God and trust Him.
Once again, a relationship to God is spiritual by faith, not physical.
The righteousness of God is Jesus Christ (vss 11-13)
- God manifest in the flesh
- The Word became flesh
- He is the expression of God the Father

Preaching feet in Isaiah 52 and Nahum 1
Jews didn’t believe in Isaiah’s day and they aren’t believing in Jesus day in Isaiah 53
Going all the way back to Moses again, this was the warning to the nation not to become self-righteous in Deuteronomy 32:21.
This is the parable of vineyard in Matthew 21:33-46 (Mark 12:1-12)
- This other nation is a spiritual priesthood that Paul would call the “church of God” in 1 Corinthians 10:32, and the household of God. It’s a household that goes all the way back to Abel. It exists before, during, and after the law and the old covenant. The cornerstone and foundation of this house is the LORD Jesus Christ. He is also the mediator of the new covenant in his blood. It’s an agreement that the Father offers that you must individually agree to in order to participate in the inheritance.
- Found of them that sought me not is what Isaiah 65:1-2 prophesied of.