Okay, this is lecture number 22. Of course, on Romans. We're on Romans 10. We're finishing up verse 15. God's method of salvation. God sends a preacher. Number 2, the preacher proclaims the word of Christ. Number 3, the people hear the word of Christ. Number 4, the people believe in Christ. Number 5, people call upon Christ for salvation. Now Paul quoted from Isaiah 52.7 and he said, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good news. And we closed the last lecture by commenting on that, that the feet of the messenger, the way he was jogging, the way he was running to deliver the message to the people, they could tell from the feet alone There was a difference between happy feet and sad feet. They could tell if it was good news or bad news. And so the Jews said, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news or glad tidings of good things. And Paul applies this to preachers of the Word, whether they be missionaries or evangelists. Now Israel's present state is one of disbelief in verses 16 to 21, the remainder of this chapter. This will probably be a short message here. But Israel's... or a short lecture. Israel's present state is one of disbelief. Israel had rejected their Messiah. Look at verse 16. However, they did not all heed the glad tidings. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? Now he's quoting the first verse of Isaiah chapter 53. And in Isaiah 53, the reference there is the fact that the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, would reject Jesus as their Messiah. This was written about 700 years before Christ walked the earth, but Isaiah was able to foretell of this fact that the Jews would reject their Messiah. Isaiah 53, starting at verse 1, Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a tender shoot, And like a root on a parched ground, he had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted, but he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crossed for our iniquities. The chastening of our well-being fell upon him, and by his scourging we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. So Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would come and would suffer for the sins of mankind, especially the sins of Israel, yet Israel would reject their Messiah. By the way, when you get a chance, read the rest of chapter 53. It also has some significant prophecies of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, and how he would be rejected by the Jewish people. Verse 17 of Romans 10. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. So we must hear the Word of Christ in order to believe it. You've got to know the Gospel message before you can accept the Gospel message. Praise God that if a man is drawing near to God, God will send a preacher to get the Gospel message to them. Now verse 18, Paul says that the Jew could not say that they never heard of Christ. They never heard the gospel message. Look at verse 18. But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have. Their voice has gone out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the world. Now this is an interesting passage here. Acts 1.8 Acts 1.8, Jesus is speaking to the apostles right before he ascended into heaven and he says this, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. And so Jesus says the Holy Spirit is going to empower his believers to spread the witness and spread the gospel message throughout the world. So Paul knew of this and he was preaching the gospel message worldwide as many of the other apostles were as well. Now Paul quotes in Romans 10, he quotes from Psalm 19.4 when he says their voice has gone out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the world. So you would think that Psalm 19.4 is talking about the worldwide proclamation of the gospel. But in fact, it is not. Take a look at Psalm 19, verses 1 to 4, which will give us the context. Now, Psalm 19, verse 7, talks about the Word of God. Her son says, the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. So the law of the Lord, there you're talking about special revelation or supernatural revelation, God revealing Himself to mankind through His Word. But that's not the context of the first six verses. We're going to look at the first four verses of Psalm 19. Paul is not talking about, in the first four verses, the gospel message being proclaimed, God's supernatural revelation. Instead, he's talking about natural revelation, God revealing himself to mankind through nature. Look at Psalm 19, verses 1 to 4. The heavens are telling of the glory of God and their expanses declaring the work of his hands. I like it in the NIV is the heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of his hands. God revealing himself to man through nature. Natural revelation. Verse 2. Day to day pours forth speech and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor are there words. Their voice is not heard. I just said day to day pours forth speech. What he's saying is he's using speech in a non-literal sense in verse 2, and then he used it in a literal sense in verse 3. So King David here is saying that there is a message about God's glory that is being proclaimed that the universe is crying out, is speaking forth words about God's glory. They're speaking about proclaiming a message, yet he says literally there are no words to this message, but we all understand what is being said nevertheless. Verse 4, their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterance is to the end of the world. In them he has placed a tent, for the Son. So basically, that verse 4 that Paul is quoting in Romans 10, when he quoted that in verse 18, he said, "...their voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." What Paul is doing when he quotes that, he quotes Psalm 19.4, God's witness through creation, his witness to his glory through creation that has spread throughout the whole world, and now Paul is comparing God's natural revelation to the spread of the gospel, the supernatural revelation. He understood what Jesus said in Matthew 24, in verse 14, Matthew 24 verse 14, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations and then the end shall come. So Paul recognized that just as God's revelation to mankind through nature went out to all men, so too God's revelation of himself through the scriptures, the gospel message that saves, Because, you know, through natural revelation a man can't be saved. It just gives us the lesser lights of creation and conscience. But it can lead to the greater light, the Lord Jesus Christ, and through Jesus a man can be saved by accepting the gospel, accepting Jesus as Savior. But Paul recognized that just as God's natural revelation spread to all mankind, so too the gospel message will be spread to all mankind. But who are the Jews? they were the first to receive the gospel message. The Jew could not say that he had never heard of Christ. The gospel message was being in the process, and still is today, in the process of being spread to all nations, but the first nation that heard was the nation of Israel. The Jew could not say that they never heard of Christ. In verses 19 to 21, the last three verses of Romans chapter 10, Paul states that Israel was forewarned. In verse 19, Paul quotes from Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 21. Look at verse 19, but I say surely Israel But I say surely Israel did not know, did they? At the first Moses says, I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding will I anger you. So Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32.21 which stated, it was a warning to the Jews, they had been forewarned as far back as the time of Moses, that if the Jews rejected the true God, then God would lay them aside from their favored status as his chosen nation. He would temporarily lay them aside and turn to the Gentiles. And then whereas at the time of Moses throughout the history of the Israelites most the Jews made up most of the true family, the family of true believers now it is Gentiles that make up the larger percentage of true believers and most Jews are rejecting the Gospel message so the Israelites were forewarned that if they rejected the true God, God would lay them aside temporarily and turn to the Gentiles now Paul quotes Isaiah 65 verses 1 and 2 In verses 20 and 21 of Romans 10, stating that Israel was forewarned that they would lose their favored status temporarily and the gospel message would go to the Gentiles as they would reject their Messiah. Verses 20 and 21, and Isaiah is very bold and says, I was found by those who sought me not. I became manifest to those who did not ask for me. You see, in verse 20 there, Paul's quoting Isaiah 65, 1, the Gentiles, they weren't even seeking God. They were just trying to do their own thing. They were not seeking God, yet they stumbled across Christ and they accepted Christ. But then Paul quotes Isaiah 65 verse 2, but as for Israel, he says, all the day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people. So the Gentiles weren't seeking God, yet they accepted Christ. The Jews, on the other hand, God continually was stretching out His hand to them. But they rejected and disobeyed Him. They were obstinate. Obstinate means stubborn. They refused to change their view even though they were wrong. They refused to convert. They refused to change their view and accept Jesus as their Messiah and as the Savior of mankind. You see, Paul is stating they have freely, the Jews have freely rejected Christ. They are responsible for their present state. So in the past, Israel had been elected chosen by God to be His chosen nation. Yet, presently, Israel is in a state of rejection, they rejected Christ in a state of disbelief, but it is a state that they are responsible for, they are responsible for their present state. Just as in Matthew 23, in verse 37, Jesus said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. You see, Jesus was willing to save them. God desires that none should perish, but that all would be brought to repentance. And so, whereas Romans 9, Paul's emphasis was on God's sovereignty, here in Romans 10, Paul's emphasis is on human free will. The Jews freely rejected Christ. God wanted to save them. But the Jews freely rejected Christ, and therefore they are responsible for their present state. They were obstinate. They were stubborn. They refused to change their view of Christ. even though they were wrong. And so Paul quoted from Deuteronomy 32.21 where Moses warned that if the Jews rejected the true God, God would lay them aside and turn to the Gentiles. And Paul was saying That's why right now we see the Jews turning their backs on Christ and Gentiles being saved. Then Paul quoted from Isaiah 65, 1 and 2, which stated that the Gentiles, the non-Jews, who were not even seeking God, they accepted Christ. But the Jews, God continually stretches out His hand to them, but they reject and disobey Him. They refuse to change their view of Christ, even though they're wrong. They have freely rejected Christ, and therefore, they are responsible for their present state. In conclusion, righteousness and salvation cannot be earned by works. Paul states that righteousness and salvation only come through faith in Christ. Israel chose to attempt to be right before God through their own works. Israel chose to reject Christ as their Savior and Messiah. That was their choice, and currently that's still their choice. In general, most Jews are not getting saved at this point. The day will come when all Israel will be saved, that's Romans chapter 11, their future reconciliation with God, their future restoration. But each of us must make our own choice. Proverbs 14.12 tells us that there is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death. Any way that a man thinks he could save himself, other than the way of salvation through Christ, will lead to death and destruction. John 14 said, Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Therefore, we must each make our own choice. And it is my prayer that you would trust in Christ alone for salvation. That's the end of this lecture. We closed a little early. Those listening on audio cassettes, you could just The cassette is finished now and you can just pick up lecture number 23 and we'll pick it up with Romans chapter 11.