In the sermon titled 'The Preciousness of Righteousness by Faith,' Scott Brown emphasizes the distinction between righteousness attained by faith and righteousness sought through works. Using Romans 9:30-33 as the foundation, he explains that Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained it through faith, while Israel, who pursued the law, did not because they relied on works. Brown underscores the importance of saving faith, which is a gift from God, contrasting it with various works-based religions. He uses historical references, such as George Whitefield's last sermon, to illustrate the futility of trying to reach salvation through works alone. The sermon also explores the dangers of outward religion without true faith, highlighting the necessity of a genuine relationship with Christ. Additionally, Brown reflects on the testimonies of young church members who found faith through the ministry of the Word, and discusses the concept of faith as both a gift and a means to salvation. He concludes by examining the reasons why some stumble over Christ, who is described as both a stumbling stone and a cornerstone, urging listeners to embrace faith over works.

Well, it really is a blessing to be home after being gone for two weeks in New Zealand. I think most of you know we, Deborah and I, were there doing conferences on the North Island and the South Island. And we were invited, It was one of the thrilling things about this is that they were invited by a group of pastors in our network Who really stood against the lockdowns was some of the most severe lockdowns in the world in New Zealand and it was the family integrated churches in that country that really that resisted and they prevailed in so many ways but these were just courageous men who are leading these churches and we were able to do conferences on both the north and the south island and preach in their churches but this is my favorite place to be. I'm so glad to be back. Well open your Bibles to Romans chapter 9 find verse 30 Romans 9 verse 30 and we'll read three verses.

This is the inerrant all-sufficient sweeter than honey word of God. What shall we say then That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith. But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.

For they stumbled at that stumbling stone, as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on him will not be put to shame. The grass withers, The flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Let's pray. Oh Lord, I pray that you would take these words and melt them into our innermost being. That you would shepherd your flock.

That you would teach us the ways of your salvation and that you would teach us in the ways in which we should go. Amen. Go ahead and be seated. Well these these verses in Romans 9, these four verses, are summarizing the entire chapter. And so he's summarizing the principles of the gospel that he's been speaking about, particularly regarding faith and works.

And it's an important section because one of the great responsibilities of pastors is to help their congregations understand whether they have saving faith or not. It perhaps is the greatest responsibility of church pastors. So in this final summary of Romans 9, Paul shifts out of the subject of the sovereignty of God in salvation from verses 6 to verse 29. That's what he's been deliberating on and then he turns now to the responsibility of man to believe and To assert that there really are only two kinds of people in the world those who seek righteousness that is by faith or those who seek it by their works. And of course the big question that's called out in this passage is do you know what saving faith is and and do you have it.

So that's what I hope to spend our time on here this morning. You can see the outline four verses and four divisions. First of all, what the Gentiles did not pursue but they found. And then what Israel pursued but did not find and then the reason they did not find it and then the result of it all the way of salvation. Now this structure here really fits into what you've probably heard before that there are really only two religions in the world.

The first religion is nothing in my hand I bring. This is a faith based religion. The other religion is something in my hand I bring to justify myself. That's work works based and other religions of the world, the Mormons, the Hindus, the Muslims, the Spiritists, they are all involved in works based righteousness and it's Christianity that presents this idea that there are two religions and in this case here, the preciousness of faith, the preciousness of faith in Jesus Christ and at the same time, the grave danger of outward religion without saving faith. And that's the subject that's here.

You know, it was around a decade ago, my son David and I and my son-in-law Taylor Santles, we went on a tour. We were going through the the footsteps of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards and we we were visiting the grave of Jonathan Edwards and his family and we went to different places that Whitefield preached. And we finally ended up in Newburyport, Massachusetts, where Whitefield was buried. And it was a remarkable scene. Whitefield, the greatest evangelist on American soil, maybe in the world during his time, was buried there right under the pulpit in the church in New Berryport, Massachusetts.

And it's really quite dramatic. You have this large pulpit coming way out of the ground, maybe maybe 10 feet out of the ground where Whitefield preached. But under the pulpit there was a door that led down below into an underground sepulcher where Whitefield was buried. And you go into this low ceiling sepulcher and there's a curved part of the sepulcher with his coffin inside, light shining on and on the top of his coffin was a casting of his Bible and on top of his Bible was a casting of his skull there in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It was quite a remarkable thing but he preached his last sermon there on that site.

And his sermon was about the insufficiency of works for salvation. Now, you know, Whitfield would often preach several times a day, often beginning at five o'clock in the morning and ending and this was a day like that. He arrived in Newbury Port and he wanted to sleep. He was feeling terrible. He wanted to go straight to bed but when he arrived he found that there was a crowd that had built a wooden platform and They wanted him to go up on the platform and preach again at the end of the day He was 55 years old and he was worn out probably preaching 18, 000 sermons to 10 million people.

Just a remarkable energy. And he you know he was confronted of course with his lifestyle but he said I would rather wear out than rust out. I'm not confident that's the best philosophy. But he arrives and there's this large crowd with this platform and they're begging him to preach And he preached until it got dark and he had a candle that was lighting the platform and then it finally blew out. He bid the crowd good night.

He went into his bed chamber and he died there of an asthma attack. And in his last sermon there was an eyewitness and he reported that he was speaking of the insufficiency of works. And he cried out, Works, works, a man get to heaven by works? I would soon as think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand. That was his message, and I think that's really the message of this passage as well.

Romans 9.30 makes it clear that the sand of human righteousness cannot save the soul. But faith in the solid rock of Jesus Christ, the stone that the builders rejected. So this passage is really about the sufficiency of true faith and the insufficiency of works. And you know I just have to tell you as I was working through this passage all week I couldn't I couldn't get the many of the young people out of my mind in this church who were recently converted and baptized. And I just thought of how wonderful it is to have faith, especially as a child, and that God had given them faith to believe in.

You know, when we heard their testimonies, one of the striking and really most encouraging things that we heard is that many of them were converted under the preaching of the Word in this church and there were specific passages that just fell on them or or something that their parents read to them in their homes, you know, in family worship, and God gave them the gift of faith. And I was reading the Baptist Confession, chapter 14, on faith, on saving faith. And what happened to them is described right there. And I thought I would just yank out a couple of phrases because it really described what happened to so many of those young people. Here's the first paragraph.

The grace of faith by which the elect are enabled to believe so that their souls are saved is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts. Faith is ordinarily produced by the ministry of the Word. And then it goes on, by this faith Christians believe to be true everything revealed in the Word. In other words, the heart changes and you believe, you embrace Christ, you don't stumble over Him. And they perceive that the word is more excellent than every other writing and everything else in the world, that it displays the glory of God and his attributes and the excellent of, excellency of Christ.

Well, it goes on, but this is the matter that's before us here. And so after the Apostle Paul has been running hard in describing the sovereignty of God in salvation, look at verse 30. He says this, what shall we say then? And what shall we say? He's continuing this logical progression of the things that he's already written about the sovereignty of God in salvation.

And so now he's going to detail two things. First of all, why people are saved. Well that's what he spoke of in the sovereignty of God. Why are people saved? Because God elects sinners.

He changes their hearts. He draws them in. That's how people are saved. That's the doctrine of election. And then he shifts here in these verses in verses 30 to 33 to man's responsibility.

And he's telling people, he's telling us why people are lost and that is they they do not have faith John Murray he describes this interchange this way The emphasis upon the sovereign will of God in the preceding verses does not eliminate human responsibility nor is the one incompatible with another. And John MacArthur he says it like this, those two truths cannot fully be harmonized by reason, only accepted by faith. And so you have here in chapter 9 both a very strong and powerful declaration of the doctrine of election and at the same time man's responsibility to receive Jesus Christ, to embrace Christ by faith. So those are the two things that you have here and This is Paul's pattern all the way through. What shall we say then?

He said this six times and now he's saying it again here. And so Paul is contrasting faith and works and And then if you look at the outline here, what the Gentiles did not pursue but found. This is an illustration that he's bringing about the experience of the Gentiles. Verse 30, What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained righteousness, even the righteousness of faith.

So the two key words that are here are the words righteousness and faith. Those are the indicators of the particular subject. And he's saying here that the Gentiles were not seeking God, but God was seeking the Gentiles. And It was in the goodness of God in the multitude of the mercies of God that he reaches out to the unbeliever and he calls out to the unbeliever now flip over to Isaiah 65 Isaiah 65 fine verse 1 Because this idea and this language is drawn out of Isaiah 65. And here in Isaiah, The prophet is painting a picture of God, but not just God, but God and those who are sort of in front of him.

That's sort of a picture that's here. And he says in Isaiah 65, I was sought by those who did not ask for me. I was found by those who did not seek me. I said, here I am, Here I am to a nation that was not called by my name I have stretched out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good According to their own thoughts of people who provoke me to anger continually to my face, who sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on altars of brick, who sit among the graves and spend the night in the tombs, who eat swine's flesh and the broth of abominable things is in their vessels So he has this picture of God saying here I am you have these people they've rejected God They hate God They're participating in all kinds of sinful behavior. But God is saying, here I am, here I am.

I'm stretching out my hands to you. And that's the picture that you have here that, you know, fallen people were not seeking Christ. But they were drawn to Christ, even though they were hardened. And it's a picture of people who are dead in trespasses and in sins and they are unable to submit themselves to Jesus Christ and God is calling out here I am here I am stretching out his hands and he's speaking of their spiritual inability and really that what Jesus said no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and so the Father must draw people And what God does is he regenerates the heart. He gives them faith.

He plants faith within their hearts. They did not love God. And then they saw him. Because he had presented himself to them. That's the whole idea.

So this verse is a pinpoint on faith and faith as the means that justifies. He's talking about saving faith. The Apostle Paul spoke to the Ephesian church about when he said in Ephesians 2, 8, For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast and of course Paul has been developing this idea of faith all through in Romans 1 16 he says for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes that word believes that is the word faith for the Jew first and also the Greek for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith and then in chapter 3 he he continues to illuminate the whole idea. He says, therefore we conclude that man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. So this is the Apostle Paul's message that faith is the ground of salvation.

Now there are different ways the Bible speaks about faith. Faith that accelerates sanctification. Faith that strengthens you in time of trouble. Faith like in a wonderful deacon. Faith in a deacon like Stephen like we heard about last week in this church.

Faith as trust, faith as help for obedience, faith and sight, faith that looks at an unseen future, miraculous faith that moves mountains. So there are various kinds of faith that are spoken about in the Bible, but all of them are directly connected to saving faith. And faith is a gift from God. And we find, you know, faith is something that Jesus Christ begins in your heart and then he finishes it. That's why in Hebrews 12 we read that Jesus Christ is the author and he's the finisher of our faith.

That's what happened to these young people who were saved. God was holding out his hands and saying, here I am, here I am. And then they saw him even in their young age and they believed. Now we have to think rightly about saving faith. Saving faith is the vehicle that gets you to salvation, that gets you to Christ.

Faith is the means of salvation. Faith isn't salvation, faith is the means. Faith is the vehicle, faith is the way you get to Christ. Faith is like a car You get from point A to point B. It's like a train.

It's like a skateboard. It's like a bicycle. Faith is the thing that gets you there. It transports you from point A to point B. And saving faith is not a work of righteousness.

Saving faith is a gift of God. It means that God uses faith to enable us to find Jesus Christ. Here's a Bible dictionary explanation of faith. The only channel through which God's blessings may be received and the only means by which life may be made meaningful in relationship to God. And so when you ask yourself, do I have saving faith?

There are different ways to talk about it, but I think first the first way is have I been drawn to God? Has God brought me to Jesus Christ and I trust in him? There are different words that are synonymous. Believe, faith, and trust. Those all really say the same thing.

Is that the condition of your heart? John Calvin referred to saving faith as, quote, warm embrace and pious affection. Henry Schuylge defines it as feeling persuasion of spiritual things. Peter von Mastricht, a reception of delight. Jonathan Edwards, love is the main thing in saving faith.

So, faith is the conduit, is the means of salvation. And, you know, how do you know if you've been drawn in? Well first of all you believe. Not just in your head. You don't just believe facts of the gospel.

Even James says even the demons believe and they shudder. So we're not talking about just intellectual ascent. It is an entering in and a complete trust characterized by those words faith, belief, and trust. You rest your hope completely on him. Secondly, it's a desire to do the will of God.

In 1st John, he says that if you love the darkness then you don't know the Lord. But if you love the light then that tells you whether you're a believer or not. You don't love the darkness anymore. First John also says that you love the brethren as a test of faith. We know that we pass out of death into life because we love the brethren.

Whoever does not love abides in death. So There are different ways to assess whether you have saving faith. In James chapter 2, he talks about the fact that faith without works is dead. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

And then he says, Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works you believe that there is one God you do well even the demons believe and tremble but do you want to know oh foolish man that faith without works is dead And so you can find that truth all over the Bible. If you go to Hebrews chapter 11, faith is verified by works. You have this hall of faith. By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death. And all of these things, their faith was verified by their works. And so that's the idea that he's presenting here. That the Gentiles were not seeking God they were lost and they were found and they received the gift of faith and they saw the value of Christ so what the Gentiles did not pursue but found, they found faith. Then what Israel pursued but did not find, that's verse 31, but Israel Pursuing the law of righteousness has not attained to the law of righteousness so Israel Saw themselves as good people Because they kept the law they pursued righteousness.

It's very interesting word that he uses they pursued they literally ran after it. They chased it down. The word speaks of running swiftly or hunting after it. In other words, they had zeal. Later on in the next chapter, they had zeal, but not according to knowledge.

But they sought a righteousness that comes by keeping rules. And what Paul is saying here is that salvation is not obtained by keeping rules. Now there are things that prove and disprove whether one is living by rules or not. Here's a list from John MacArthur. Here's what does not prove or disprove that you're saved.

Morality, intellectual knowledge, church attendance, activity in ministry, conviction of sin, feeling of assurance, or a time of decision. These do not prove that you've been justified by faith. And then he gives nine conditions that prove saving faith. Love for God, repentance from sin, genuine humility, devotion to God's glory, prayer, selfless love, separation from the world, spiritual growth, and obedience. Those are, That's just a list that's connected to various scriptures around the Word of God.

But here's the point. The Jews pursued the impossible. It's impossible to be justified by works. That was the problem. In order to be saved you must look beyond the ethics.

You must look beyond the duties and see the beauty of Jesus Christ. And that's what faith does to you. It changes your heart and draws you to Jesus Christ. The law, it was impossible to be justified by the law because the law pointed to something greater. The law pointed to perfection, literally perfect obedience, which was manifested in the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ because no one has ever been able to keep the law.

James says if you break one point you've broken them all. So, but perfect righteousness is demanded by the law and yet no man can keep the law. And so the law pointed to the perfect life of Jesus Christ. The law of God pointed to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So next week we'll deal with this phrase Christ is the end of the law.

Well what we read in these verses here begins that thinking. But the goal of the law, the end of the law, is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. So The reason they did not find it, why? Verse 32. Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, the works of the law.

So, the people who knew the most about God did not know God, the Jews. They did know the most about God. I was taken by this statement by R.C. Sproul, which explains this. Faith is not believing in God.

It's believing God. Every word of God. Following God. And in the keeping of the law, the Jews could not see Christ. They could not see the face of Christ.

They could not see that Christ was the bread of life. They could not see that Christ was the light of the world. They could not see Him. And so their eyes were blinded. Faith opens the eyes.

Works closes the eyes to the beauty of Jesus Christ. And of course, it's pride that's always the greatest hindrance of salvation. And you know it often happens in churches where unbelievers who are thought to be believers attend church for years and they don't really have saving faith. This is one of the great realities of modern church life. You know it's it was interesting I was reading a book by John Piper called What is Saving Faith?

And he testifies to this idea of so many people who claim saving faith but they don't really have it. He says one of the reasons I'm writing this book is that many people quote receive Christ as a sin-forgiver because they treasure being guilt-free not because they treasure Christ. Many people receive Him as a rescuer from hell because they treasure being pain free. Not because they treasure Christ. Many people receive Him as a healer because they treasure being disease free.

Not because they treasure Christ. They receive Him as a protector, because they treasure being safe, not because they treasure Christ. They receive Him as a prosperity giver, because they treasure being wealthy, not because they treasure Christ. Many claim to receive Christ and to be a Christian, but they do not receive Him as a treasure. And then he says this, this is so striking.

Any of you who've done street preaching know this. I have lived in the same inner city neighborhood for 40 years. It is beset with every kind of breakdown and dysfunction, mental illness, family disintegration, drunkenness, drugs, unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and every level of crime from loitering to homicide. I have spoken to hundreds of people in this neighborhood about Christ And I think I could count on one hand the number of people who have denied Christ They have all quote received him Chronically drunk people have received him drug dealers have received him Prostitutes have received him This kind of receiving of Christ is not a joy that I celebrate, it is a heartache that I bemoan." He's just talking about this painful reality that people use this language, I have received Christ, but in fact they're walking in the works of the law as they think that they are good people. And this does happen in people can attend churches for years.

They got baptized as a child. They keep coming to church, but they don't really love the Word of God, they don't really love the fellowship of the saints, they don't really love the preaching, they don't really love the pastors and the deacons. They're dull to the whole thing and they're afraid of what people will think if they find out that they really are not Christians because yes they did get baptized and they did become members of the church and they keep coming and they keep taking the Lord's Supper and they play by the rules and they continue to save face but they are never changed and yet they know they are not really bad people. They're actually good people. And this is why religious people, church attenders, are often the hardest to reach.

But the first step in righteousness is to reject your idea that you're a good person because you play by the rules and you keep all the laws. And so you often can find that good people will go to hell because of their pride. The Puritan Robert Trail says it like this, If a man trusts to his own righteousness, he rejects Christ. If he trusts to Christ's righteousness, he rejects his own. So that's the point that Paul is making, that they stumbled at that stumbling stone as it is written, behold I lay in Zion a stumbling stone, a rock of offense.

Now what the apostle Paul has done here is he's taken two statements out of the prophet Isaiah and he's put them together in this statement. And in Isaiah 8-14, Isaiah is saying that God is like a sanctuary, he's like a refuge, but he's not like a refuge to everyone. And he says this, he will be a sanctuary but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both houses of Israel as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and many among them shall stumble they shall fall and be broken be snared and taken he's saying if you are such a good person thinking you're justified by works, you will fall and be broken. And then he quotes Isaiah 28 verse 16, therefore thus says the Lord God, behold I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation a tried stone a precious corner stone a sure foundation Whoever believes will not act hastily And then he talks about the protections of those who receive Christ as the stone. He's giving a prophecy of Christ.

So the problems, the problem that the unbeliever has, first, we already saw this, they did not seek it by faith. Second, they stumbled over Christ instead of embracing him. And thirdly, they were offended by Christ. He was a rock of offense. Christ was standing in the way saying, here I am, and they reject him.

And you know, this language of... Thank you.