THE ISSUE: ATTEMPTS TO DETERMINE OUR OWN WAY OF SALVATION.

There is an issue in Romans 4 that we need to understand.  Paul has just preached the Gospel and in Romans 3 v 28 he insists that “a man is justified (counted righteous) by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”  The way of salvation is NOT by deeds of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ because His work – His righteousness, His death and resurrection - saves us!
Then Paul asks a question and answers a question, Romans 3 v 29, “Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles?”  What is Paul really getting at? At first, he seems to be fighting Jewish exclusivism, the idea of a national God; that God is exclusively the God of the Jews and not the God of the Gentiles also.

 How did Jews come to think like that?  Their isolation and sufferings tempted them to put a nationalistic spin on the promises of God.  God promised Abraham, “I will be God to you (your God) and you shall be My people.”  It was not that they so loved God, that they wanted God for themselves!  They loved themselves and wanted the blessings of God’s salvation exclusively for themselves! It was self-interest!
So they were attempting to determine their own way of salvation.

Paul himself confirms that we are on the right track!  In Romans 4 v 9 he asks his question in a different way: “Does this blessedness (justification as sons of God) come upon the Circumcised only (Jews), or upon the Uncircumcised also, (Gentiles)?”  It now looks as though they want to be saved by circumcision!  That would be an automatic, mechanical way of salvation which would apply to all Jews and only to Jews and exclude all others.
The Jews worked hard at devising their own ways of salvation. If God is the God of Jews only, to be saved you must be born a Jew! That is salvation by birth!  Or to guarantee salvation, you need to be one of God’s chosen people! That’s salvation by covenant status!  So to be saved you must belong to God’s covenant people.  That is salvation by membership of the community of God’s people.  Add to that, salvation by circumcision!
All these are alternate ways of salvation. They are man-invented ways to heaven; and they are mechanical and automatic ways for all Jews to be saved and to bar all others from glory.

Doesn’t it all sound rather familiar? Many so-called Christians claim to be saved by birth and parentage; or by status and name as Christians; or by the sacraments, especially by baptism; or simply by belonging to the church!  
 The latest scholarship claims that Romans has been misunderstood and Justification by Faith has been misconstrued.  The NPP movement, (New Perspective on Paul), claims that justification is not our legal standing before God but is our membership of the community of His people! So Church membership saves!  OK?  Never!
Tell me, Who determines the way of salvation? Do we decide how we want God to save us? Do we tell God how we will be saved? Or is salvation the gift of God and He decides how we may approach near to Him?

 Today people may not claim salvation exclusively for themselves, but they do try to determine the way of salvation for themselves!  They claim admission to heaven on their own terms!  They don’t want to know God’s terms for entry into His kingdom! They refuse to listen to God’s way of salvation!
As sinners, we all like to determine right and wrong for ourselves. So also we like to lay down the terms of our own salvation! So we invent our own way to heaven and the more mechanical and automatic the better.
But it is God’s heaven, not ours! God alone determines the way of salvation. So let us stop and open our eyes to what we are doing! Stop trying to control God and determine your way of salvation!


IS THE PROMISE OF GOD EXCLUSIVE TO THE HEBREWS?

It’s time to clear up what God meant by His promise: “I shall be your God and you shall be My people.”  Did God mean to become the God of the Jews exclusively?
 Not at all! God also promised to Abraham, “In you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”  So, from the start, God intended to bless the Gentiles by means of the Hebrews /Jews. It was a matter of ORDER. The Gospel was preached first to the Jews and then to Gentiles! The blessing of God was given first to the Jews that through them it might be passed on to Gentiles!
In effect, God made Abraham His spokesman to the world! God gave Abraham and his Seed a global mission in order that all nations be blessed.  When God sent His Son into the world, Jesus restricted His ministry largely to the Jews.  After His resurrection, Christ sent His Apostles out into all the world to preach the Gospel.
The promise of God did not set up an exclusive relationship for Jews with God!  The promise made the Jews God’s instrument in reaching out to all nations.  It gave Jews a global evangelistic mission.  That mission was not implemented until Jesus sent His Apostles into all the world.
 Friends, do you have in your heart a global mission?  Do you pray that the Gospel go into all the world to save sinners of every nation and every tongue?  Do we even have a heart for the people of Workington on the broad road that leads to destruction? Or have we lost our vision?


ANOTHER WAY OF SALVATION – BY GOOD WORKS.

Look next at Romans 4 v 13: Paul again confronts a man-made way of salvation. This time, as in Rom.328, it is “through the law.”  Many Jews were meticulous in keeping the law of God and achieved high moral standards – outwardly, at least!  Then pride filled their hearts and they thought they were good enough for God!  They thought they could get into heaven by good works!
 Now WORKS is the natural religion of all mankind!  There are two kinds of salvation by works, the secular approach and the religious approach.
 The secular approach tries to earn heaven by good social works – doing acts of kindness; giving to the poor; helping charity, etc.  These things are fine in themselves but they must never be used to claim salvation!
 Religious people use their religious observances to claim acceptance with God! Jews used to attend feasts; offer sacrifices; keep the food laws; pay tithes; keep vows! Nothing wrong with that, unless it is used to claim salvation.

Why is there no salvation by works of the law? Romans 4 v 13, “If those who are of the law are HEIRS (of the promise), FAITH IS MADE VOID and THE PROMISE OF NO EFFECT.” How come? Romans 4 v 15, “Because the law brings about wrath.” Ah, did you pick that up? Wrath!
 Paul is referring back to his 66-verse argument, Romans 1 v 18 – 3 v 20, in which he classified all people as SINNERS UNDER THE WRATH OF ALMIGHTY GOD!  In Rom.1 he charged all Gentiles with sin, arguing that before God they are without excuse!  In Romans 2 he charges all Jews with sin, accusing them of secret sins. He concludes, Romans 3 v 19, “that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.” The law brings wrath! On that basis, Paul preaches the same Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, for there is only one way of salvation!


WILL YOU  HAVE GOD’S WAY OF SALVATION?

Paul’s Gospel offended the Jews because it meant that salvation is not mechanical and is not by law-keeping.  It meant that many Jews would not be saved!  As Paul puts it in Romans 4 v 12, the only Jews who will be saved are “those who walk in the steps of the FAITH which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised!”
Today that Gospel offends all non-Christians because it means that all roads do not lead to God!  More than that!  It means that no road leads to God except the Gospel way, which is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that means that all followers of all other religions, unless they turn to Christ, will be damned.
Today that Gospel offends many so-called Christian people, because it means that Christians who rely on birth and parentage; or on status; or on church membership or on the sacraments will be shut out of heaven!  All who rely on good works, especially religious observances, to gain access to glory, will be cast into the abyss, hell!
So the Gospel offends everyone! And in Britain we may soon be accused of committing a hate crime for preaching such a Gospel. Our Gospel means that all inter-faith services are wrong and offensive to God! Yesterday Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney said that when the Queen visits Australia next, there are plans for an inter-faith service but he will allow no such thing to take place for the sake of the Gospel!  He is right but there will be trouble ahead for him!

Friends, will you have God’s way of salvation, through faith in Jesus Christ, because our sin was transferred to Him and He propitiated the wrath of God against us so that His righteousness might be transferred to us? Or must you INVENT your own man-made way of salvation, which will end in disaster!
 Don’t do what the Jews did, as described in Romans 10 V 3, “They being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”  Let that not be said of you!  Submit to God’s way of salvation or perish under the wrath of God!  Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, for there is no other Name given among men whereby we must be saved!