Coffee Shop Chapel

August 25

Romans 9:30-32, “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works ...”

Righteousness is a key word in our text. It is found time and again in the Book of Romans. It receives extensive treatment starting with our text on through Romans 10:6. Just what does the word mean. My word processing thesaurus says it is a noun and means “adhering to moral principles.” My word processing dictionary defines righteous as an adjective meaning “morally right or justifiable.” In our text, Boice says “it is the equivalent of salvation or, to be more precise, justification, which is the same word as righteousness in Greek.” Verses 30 and 31 tell us that the Gentiles were not seeking salvation, yet they found it, while the Jews, who were seeking salvation, did not find it.

Boice tells us that “righteousness is the proper word to use, because it more fully describes the kind of salvation being sought.” We are reminded that salvation is a broad term, and there can be many kinds of salvation. Paul use of righteousness in our text refers to the righteous requirements of the law of God, and that has to do with a right standing before Him. Verse 30 tells us that the Gentiles were not seeking this right standing before God, particularly by any serious attempts to fulfill God’s law, but somehow the Gentiles found this right standing anyhow. The question is, how did they do that?

Paul tells us in Romans 1 that not only did the Gentiles not seek the righteousness of God by obedience to the law of God, but they had actually rejected God and were in the process of running away from Him and His law as fast as they possibly could. This put them on the slippery slope of sinning in greater and greater ways until they could not longer tell the difference between right and wrong, in fact they had changed the “Truth of God into a lie” (Romans 1:25).

Surprisingly, the Gentiles who were not looking for righteousness, found it anyway. How? Because that righteousness is in Christ, and they found it in Christ, because they believed on Him as their Savior. ? People who were not looking for righteousness found it anyway! The reason, it is entirely the seeking grace of God.

In the KJV, you will find the word “attained” in both verse 30 and verse 31. In the Greek, these two words are not the same. “Attained” in verse 30 means to take eagerly, seize or possess. “Attained” in verse 31 means to have arrived at or attain. Boice writes, [of the KJV translation of both words as attained] that it “is unfortunate, because it suggests that the two situations are alike in nature and differ only in that one was successful and the other was not.”

The difference in the two words is the difference between English words obtained and attained. The Gentiles obtained righteousness because it was given to them by God, much as a parent gives a child an inheritance. The Jews tried to attain righteousness, and were unsuccessful, because they were trying to work for the righteousness, which is an impossible thing to do according to God’s Word.

Boice closes this section on Gentile Salvation: By Grace Alone, by writing, “There is a big difference between inheriting a million dollars and earning it. So ... what this verse (verse 30) tells us is that the Gentiles, who did not set out to earn their righteousness, nevertheless inherited it or, as the NIV says, ‘obtained’ it as a free gift.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

August 26

Romans 9:30-32, “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works ...”

The Apostle Paul has introduced us to a very surprising situation: the Gentiles who had not sought salvation were finding it, and the only solution to the mystery is God’s grace. Today we are going to look at the Jews, who were trying to earn their salvation, but did not attain it. This is perhaps an even greater mystery.

The Jews pursued a law of righteousness. Paul described the Jews in Romans 2:17-18, “Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law.” The Jews relied on the law, they knew the will of God, and they had chosen what was superior because of that knowledge. Paul continued his description in verses 19-20, “And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.” Many of these Jews labored faithfully, as the Apostle Paul had when he was a Pharisee, to keep the law in all of its “minute particulars,” thinking that labor would bring them salvation.

Keeping the law is an impossible task. The thing that the Jews had not taken into account was their own sinful natures, and these sinful natures make it impossible to keep the law of God perfectly. The same sinful natures also keep the Gentiles from keeping the law perfectly, “had they possessed the law and tried to keep it.” (Boice)

The Jews thought they were closer to salvation than the Gentiles, because they had God’s law and were trying to keep it. Their problem, they failed to see that they could not keep the law. Actually their problem was more than simple failure, their problem was refusal to see and accept their sinful state, and to see the law for what God intended it to be, a “...schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24).

Boice writes, “Instead of becoming self-righteous, we should become aware of our radical unrighteousness and turn to Christ.” Augustus Toplady clearly saw this truth when he wrote:

“Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone.”

Boice comments, “Many labor and have zeal, perhaps even tears. But none of this is enough. The hymn rightly says that only God can save us, and – if that is the case – salvation must be received on God’s terms, which means through faith in the work of Jesus Christ.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

August 27

Romans 9:30-32, “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works ...”

Verse 32 answers the questions we have been discussing the last few devotionals. The Gentiles, who had not sought righteousness, found it, and the Jews who had sought righteousness, had not found it. Paul now explains the second case. Why did the Jews fail to attain salvation? “Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works ...” The truth is, we all do just as the Jews did, “until God shows us our stubborn errors and turns our hearts and minds to Jesus Christ.” (Boice)

Donald Grey Barnhouse tells the following story, “During the last century, in the worst slum district of London, there was a social worker whose name was Henry Moorehouse. One evening as Moorehouse was walking along the street, he saw a little girl come out of a basement store carrying a pitcher of milk. She was taking it home. When she was a few yards from Moorehouse, she suddenly slipped and fell. Her hands relaxed their grip on the pitcher and it dropped on the sidewalk and broke. The milk ran down into the gutter, and the little girl began to cry as if her heart would break. Moorehouse quickly stepped up to see if she was hurt. He helped her to her feet, saying, ‘Don’t cry, little girl.

“But she kept crying, repeating through her tears, ‘My mommy’ll whip me; my mommy’ll whip me.’

“Moorehouse said, ‘No, little girl, your mother won’t whip you. I’ll see to that. Look, the pitcher isn’t broken in many pieces.’ As he stooped down beside her, picked up the pieces, and began to work as if he were putting the pitcher back together, the little girl stopped crying. She had hope. She came from a family in which pitchers had been mended before. Maybe this stranger could repair the damage. She watched as Moorehouse fitted several of the pieces together until, working too roughly, he knocked it apart again. Once more she began to cry, and Moorehouse had to repeat, ‘Don’t cry, little girl. I promise you that your mother won’t whip you.’

“Again they began the task of restoration, this time getting it all together except for the handle. Moorehouse gave it to the little girl, and she tried to attach it. But, naturally, all she did was knock it down again. This time there was no stopping her tears. She would not even look at the broken pieces lying on the sidewalk.

“Finally Moorehouse picked the little girl up in his arms, carried her down the street to a shop that sold crockery, and bought her a new pitcher. Then, still carrying her, he went back to where the girl had bought the milk and had the new pitcher filled. He asked her where she lived. When he was told, he carried her to the house, set her down on the step, and placed the full pitcher of milk in her hands. Then he opened the door for her. As she stepped in, he asked one more question. ‘Now, do you think your mother will whip you?’

“He was rewarded for his trouble by a bright smile as she said to him, ‘Oh, no sir, ’cause it’s a lot better pitcher ’an we had before.’”

What a wonderful illustration of what we do in trying to earn our salvation, and what God does.

Boice writes, “When Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, it was as if the pitcher of human life and morality fell and was forever broken, while all the goodness it contained began to run out. This is not to say that there is no value at all to the broken pieces. I have seen works of art made from broken pieces of pottery, and archaeologists use pottery shards to date ancient civilizations. In an analogous way, there is some limited value to human character, especially in mere secular affairs. But, as far as establishing a right relationship to God is concerned, human character is as worthless as the broken pitcher.”

When Humpty Dumpty fell, no one could put him back together. God does not even try to put us back together, instead He creates us anew. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

As Henry Moorehouse gave the little girl a new pitcher, so God creates us anew. “And He assures us that He won’t judge us now, because ‘it’s a much better pitcher than we had before.’ In fact, it is a perfect one. It is the very righteousness of God’s Son.”

What do we need to do? All we can do is accept it. Open our hands and take what God is offering us. We do not earn our salvation, we receive it by faith, as it is offered to us by a loving God Who spared not His only Son, so that we might be made the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ.

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

August 28

Romans 9:32-33, “For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

When you study Scripture, do you let Scripture interpret Scripture? When you come across a “problem” passage, do you go to all other passages dealing with the same theme? Understanding Scripture requires a willing heart, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and old-fashioned elbow grease (hard work)! Too often, when we get to a passage that is difficult, we simply turn to an easier passage, and by doing that we miss the multiplied blessings that await us in the difficult passage.

Paul tells us that Israel had not obtained salvation, “because the people as a whole had been offended by Jesus, rather than believing Him or placing their faith in Him.” (Boice) Paul introduces an image to illustrate this concept, that image is of a “stumbling stone,” which is what he calls Jesus.

Paul quotes and combines two passages from Isaiah in today’s text: Isaiah 8:14, “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;” and Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” In his quote, Paul used the first and last part of Isaiah 28:16, but substituted Isaiah 8:14 for what comes between.

Why did Paul take a bit from each of the verses? Was Paul distorting Scripture? Actually Paul was letting one passage interpret another. The context of Isaiah 8:14 leads us to the conclusion that Jehovah (God the Father) is the stone that causes the people to stumble. Isaiah 28:16 makes clear that the stumbling stone is another individual whom God (the Father) is going to lay (set) in Zion, someone other than Himself.

Robert Haldane writes, “The designations of a stone and a rock are given to Jesus Christ, both presenting the idea that the great work of redemption rests solely on Him. He is its author, the foundation on which it rests, the center in which all its lines meet, and the origin from which they proceed. He is to that work what the foundation stone and the rock on which it is erected are to the building, sustaining it and imparting to it form and stability. In another sense, He is a stone of stumbling, occasioning His rejection by those who, not believing in Him are cut off from communion with God.”

What is the significance of Paul’s method of quoting the Isaiah passages? There is a mathematical principle that says that “Things equal to the same thing are equal to each other.” In our text, Paul establishes (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) that Jesus is the Rock in Zion. The Old Testament establishes (also under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) that Jehovah God is the divine Rock upon which His people are to build. Paul is establishing that Jesus and Jehovah are equals, that Jesus is God. By implication, Paul is also saying that because Jesus is the “Stumbling Stone” to the Jews, then so is Jehovah the “Stumbling Stone.” “This was an offense to Israel, in fact, it was the root or foundational offense they found in Paul’s teaching.” (Boice)

“Paul spoke about this in an autobiographical way in 1 Corinthians, saying that the gospel of Jesus and His cross was ‘weakness’ to the Romans, ‘foolishness’ to the Greeks, but a cause of ‘stumbling’ to the Jews.” (Boice)

1 Corinthians 1:22-25, 27-29, “ For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

By way of application, Boice writes that he finds three problems in preaching the gospel today. “... Some people reject Christianity because they consider it a religion for weaklings; they don’t need ‘religion.’ Others reject it because it seems foolish; it doesn’t conform to the ‘wisdom’ of our secular, scientific age. Still others reject it because the idea of a divine Son of God is an offense to them; they do not understand why they cannot ‘save’ themselves.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

August 29

Romans 9:32-33, “For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

For those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, it is beyond comprehension to think that there are those who consider our Savior a stumblingstone and a rock of offense. But lest we forget, all of us were at one time outside of Christ, and we too considered Him a stumbling stone. The Apostle Paul tells us that some reject the gospel because they think it is for weaklings, others reject it because it seems foolish to them, and still others reject it because it does not conform to the wisdom of the age.

Boice suggests three more causes of offense:

1. A stone is a “lowly” thing. As an illustration, the stone points to Jesus’ humanity and low estate. Most of us like to talk with and get to know important people. We like to be seen with them, and be a part of their cause. If Jesus had come to earth in the splendor of His divine glory, accompanied by thousands of angels, people would have thronged to His side. But He did not come that way. Boice writes, “He came as a helpless baby, born of poor parents in a distant region of the Roman Empire, and during His lifetime He moved among the poorest of the poor and was pleased to be one of them. The only ‘important’ people he ever met were Pilate and Herod, and that was only when He was on trial before them. Jesus seemed to be insignificant.”

Isaiah 53:2-3, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

“A stone that causes men to stumble is not one that is placed in some high position in a cathedral tower. It is one that is neglected, one that is lying inconspicuously on the ground.” (Boice)

2. The gospel must be received by faith. Romans 9:31-32, “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.” Salvation is God’s gift, and it must be received as a gift, or it cannot be received at all. Those who insist on earning their salvation, can never have salvation.

Robert Haldane writes, “A free salvation becomes an offense to men on account of their pride. They cannot bear the idea of being indebted for it to sovereign grace, which implies that in themselves they are guilty and ruined by sin. They desire to do something, were it ever so little, to merit salvation, at least in part.”

3. God saves whom He will. So far we have listed several offenses that plague unbelievers. God’s sovereignty in election plagues believers in addition to unbelievers. As a young Christian, I fought the doctrine of election. But the Word of God (the Bible) rescued me from my error. Again I will quote Robert Haldane on this subject, “There is nothing which more clearly manifests the natural opposition of the mind of man to the ways of God, that the rooted aversion naturally entertained to the obvious view of the doctrine of the sovereignty of God held forth in this ninth chapter of the epistle to the Romans.

“Self-righteous people, as is not be wondered at, hold this doctrine in the utmost abhorrence; and many even of those, who are in some measure taught of God to value [this] great salvation, are reluctant to come to the serious study of this part of His Word. Even when they are not able plausibly to pervert it, and when their consciences will not allow them directly to oppose it, with the Pharisees they say that they do not know what to make of this chapter. But why are they at a loss on this subject? What is the difficulty which they find here? If it be ‘hard to be understood,’ does this arise from anything but the innate aversion of the mind to its humbling truths? Can anything be more palpably obvious than the meaning of the apostle? Is there any chapter in the Bible more plain in its grammatical meaning? It is not in this that they find a difficulty. Their great difficulty is that it is too obvious in its import to be perverted. Their conscience will not allow them to do violence to its language, and their own wisdom will not suffer them to submit to its dictation ..... ought not believers to renounce their own wisdom and look up to God in the spirit of him who said, ‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.’”

There are four great offenses of the gospel: (1) the deity of Jesus Christ; (2) His humanity and humble estate; (3) that the gospel must be received by faith rather than being earned by works; and (4) that salvation is according to God’s sovereign election and calling.

Boice asks, “Why should God create a gospel that is so offensive?” He then answers the question as follows, “This is not the way a modern advertising executive would do it. He would try to make the gospel as attractive as possible. He would try to make it fit ‘felt needs.’ That is the way to get a hearing. That is the way to sell a product. Doesn’t God understand the techniques of good marketing? The answer is that God knows exactly what He is doing. And what He is doing is to humble human pride, which is absolutely necessary if you or I or anybody else is to be saved. It is our pride that has gotten us into trouble in the first place. Pride is the very root of sin. There can be no salvation unless our pride is cut down, torn up by the roots, and cast out, which is what the gospel does. When pride is destroyed, then, and only then, are we ready to believe in Jesus and begin to build upon Him.”

Realizing this, should humble us, drive us to our knees, and cause us to cry out for God’s mercy and grace, both of which we do not deserve, but both of which we need if salvation is to be ours. Ephesian 2:8-9, “ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice

In Christ,
Dan Todd