Title: Two Types of Righteousness
I. Righteousness Which is of the Law
v5 Here Paul quotes Moses’ words in Lev. 18:5
“You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgements, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.”
Here, Paul stresses that under the Mosaic covenant, obedience was the necessary requirement and response to God’s grace and provision. But never does it suggest that this obedience will win you salvation.
The Jews had become so enamored with the discipline of doing that they neglected the concept of believing, and had weakened their relationship with the Lord.
How does this same pitfall affect us today? Churches, and the Christians that reside in them can become so consumed with the concept of “What.” (What should we do, what should we build, what should we practice, what should we teach…) That they forget the much more important question of why? (Why should we do it, Why should we build, why should we practice, why should we teach…)
God wants a relationship with you, a relationship. Ten years ago I was courting Mary. I did not court Mary by working up a prospectus of my strengths and weaknesses, a pie chart with my earning potential, recommendations from former girlfriends, and a list of the last ten books I’d read.
I courted Mary by talking with her, by calling her on the phone, by buying milkshakes at the old Truck Stop at 3AM, by taking time out of my schedule to show her how important of a priority she was in my life.
If you stand before God today what do you point to as evidence of your relationship with Him? Do you point to your service to the Church? Your attendance record? Your help with the local soup kitchen? Your discipline to listen to right music and avoid the wrong music? These things my be important, but not nearly as important as the time you take to converse with the Lord in prayer, in study, in listening for that still small voice.
II. Righteousness which is by Faith
The second quote Paul offers as evidence is found in Duet. 30:12-14. It can be a bit confusing as Paul has interjected his parenthetical remarks, so I will read the full quote from the O.T. and it will be a bit clearer:
It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it?” But the word is very near you, in you mouth and in your heart that you may do it.
-Duet. 30:12-14
Here it is a lot easier to see what Paul is getting at: The message of salvation is not on in us, it is us! We are his ambassadors and we each carry a testimony of how God changed our lives!
And what is that message: That if you
1. Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
2. Believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead
3. You will be saved.
There are people walking this earth that readily confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus, but I am convinced they do not know him. On their day of judgement He will say to them, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”
I am equally persuaded that there are many who genuinely believe that God raised Christ from the dead, but they are too scared to share this belief with others for fear of rejection, humiliation, persecution, or all three. These people are breaking a pinnacle commandment and are useless for the cause of the Gospel.
Pastor Ben, aren’t you being a bit harsh. No. They are being immature and are ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. If you truly believe you were once lost and doomed for Hell and now are destined for heaven how can you keep silent about such a thing?
Look at verse 10:
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
If you are TRULY saved, you can not help but share that relationship with others. If you are saved and silent about your salvation, I readily question your salvation. This is not a suggestion by Paul, not is it a commandment, it’s an observation of what happens when you are saved.
The very core of your nature is altered, this is something that you cannot hide or deny.