Catching Righteousness
Isaiah 51:1-8
June 2, 2024
This morning, as we examine the first 8 verses of Isaiah 51
We are going to talk a little about the pursuit of righteousness,
And more than just pursuing it, we are going to talk about catching it.
It certainly makes sense that a man should pursue righteousness.
If he has any understanding at all in regard to who God is,
Then pursuing righteousness makes perfect sense.
Leviticus 11:44-45 “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. ‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”
Even Jesus:
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
And certainly the apostles followed suit:
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3a “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”
None of that is new to you,
Indeed we have quoted those verses many times over.
You understand that it is sin that has separated man from God,
And man has a tremendous need to have his sin forgiven
And to be returned to a righteous state before God.
And THE QUESTION before us THIS MORNING is this:
Supposing a man realizes that he is lacking righteousness, how would he go about obtaining it?
As you know we are in a segment of Scripture
That deals primarily with Israel.
• We have said repeatedly that this prophetic segment addresses even our day as though Christ is now preaching directly to Israel through the prophet Isaiah.
So the best understanding of the text here is when you see initially
Christ preaching to Israel.
When we talk about pursuing righteousness,
We have no doubt that Israel did this.
• They fasted and prayed and gave.
• They set aside the Sabbath.
• They gave endless and countless sacrifices.
• They observed says and weeks and months and years.
• They participated in feasts and festivals and fasts.
• They had the Law
• They had religious traditions
They were pursuing the righteousness which God required.
You even see that about them here in verse 1, “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness…”
And it is important for us to ask:
HOW DID THEY PURSUE IT?
ANSWER: through the Law.
You even see a reference to that here in verse 7, “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law;”
BUT IT DIDN’T WORK.
We saw the same thing in Paul in Romans 7.
• He agreed that the Law was good.
• He said he had joyfully concurred with the Law of God in the inner man.
• And yet he was still lost and could not obtain the holiness he sought.
The Jews took the Law and sought to conform their lives to it
And will their way into the righteousness which God demanded.
They pursued righteousness, but they never obtained it.
Romans 9:30-33 “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
And there is a definite reason for this.
Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
Paul gave testimony of his own futile quest in Romans 7:
Romans 7:7-11 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”
And when Paul saw his fellow Jews potentially falling into the same trap he confronted them to their face:
Galatians 2:15-16 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”
The reality is that no man is saved by works of the Law.
No man can keep God’s Law flawlessly enough to warrant salvation
Or to obtain the holiness which God demands.
So Israel rejected Christ and His gospel in order that
They might work for and earn what He came to freely give.
And “they stumbled over the stumbling stone.”
As a result, THEIR CURRENT CONDITION is a difficult one.
• We find them broken off, divorced, and sold into bondage.
• Strangers inhabit their land.
• Their salvation appears impossible.
• Sadly even many evangelicals take this approach and replace Israel.
BUT CHRIST IS CALLING.
(Isaiah 50-66 is all about Christ calling her)
And we see one of those calls here in the first 8 verses of Isaiah 51.
Salvation is just as possible for Israel as it ever was,
But it is only available in the same way that it ever has been.
So you who pursue righteousness, do you want to know how to catch it?
3 points this morning:
#1 THE PICTURE
Isaiah 51:1-2
The target of the conversation becomes apparent.
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD:”
There could be a temptation to see these as the redeemed,
• But Isaiah has had no problem referring to the righteous as righteous, not just those who pursue righteousness.
I prefer to see them as those in Romans 9 who pursued righteousness, but who pursued it through the Law and as though it were by works.
AND THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE
The offer on the table in these first 8 verses is
That this group might actually obtain the righteousness they seek.
In verses 4-8 it is this very righteousness that is talked about and offered.
• (5) “My righteousness is near…”
• (6) “My righteousness will not wane.”
• (8) “My righteousness will be forever,”
There is a call here for these people who pursue righteousness
To pursue it in a better way than they previously have.
Verse 1 here bears that out.
For the counsel which comes from the Lord here is clear.
“Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug.”
Today we might say,
• “Remember where you came from”
• “Remember your roots”
They are seeking righteousness that they have yet to obtain
The Lord reveals to them that the answer to their dilemma
Has already been solved and can actually be found in their history.
(2) “Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; When he was but one I called him, then I blessed him and multiplied him.”
And now we understand the advice.
• You want righteousness, and specifically the blessing that comes with it.
• And you want to know how to obtain it.
• Well look to your elder.
• Look to your father Abraham.
AND THIS IS OBVIOUS TO US.
In Genesis 14, Abram’s nephew Lot had been attacked and kidnapped.
• Abram took his men and went and rescued Lot.
• When he returned with all the spoil the king of Sodom offered for Abram to keep the money if he would give up the people.
• But at that moment Abram instead chose not to keep anything, but to put all his trust in the promises which God had made to him.
It was a pivotal moment in Abram’s life.
• It was the first time we find Abram forsake instant gratification for the sake of the blessing which God was promising.
In response to that decision, the LORD spoke to Abram.
Genesis 15:1-6 “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
Abraham was declared righteous before God.
There is a distinction here that is very important for us to grasp.
We talked about this back in our 500 years of Reformation study.
This was one of the fundamental differences and issues
That the Reformers had with the Roman Catholic Church.
BOTH the Catholic Church and the Reformers believed that a man must righteous to be saved.
• Neither would deny that.
• Both understood the necessity of justification.
But their views of justification were drastically different.
Rome taught what is called a: ANALYTICAL JUSTIFICATION
That is to say it is a justification that is proved under analysis.
• So if a man must be righteous to enter the kingdom of heaven,
• Rome taught that God would examine that man; analyze him,
• And if that man was righteous then he would be granted access in to heaven.
If he was not righteous then he would be sent to purgatory,
Which was a place of purging until he was righteous.
The Reformers taught a: SYNTHETIC JUSTIFICATION
You understand “synthetic” as something being added to the original.
Many of you use synthetic oil in your car.
• The Reformers believed that the righteousness which justifies man before God
• Is not a righteousness that can be found in the man,
• But rather righteousness that must be added to that man from God.
Luther called it “an alien righteousness”
Which is not his own, but that which is given to him.
WHICH DID ABRAHAM RECEIVE?
Not analytical, but synthetic
• He did not immediately become righteous.
• He had righteousness imputed to him.
• He was credited with righteousness before God.
Studying Abram’s life bears this out,
• For in the very next chapter (Genesis 16) you have Abram committing the most notable sin of his life when he goes in to Hagar to conceive Ishmael.
Abraham’s righteousness was not analytical, it was synthetic.
It was not his own, God gave it to him.
AND THIS IS THE EXAMPLE
• That is lifted up to the audience here of chapter 51
• Who has been seeking to obtain righteousness on their own.
• You need the righteousness God will give you, not the one you must earn.
BUT THERE IS MORE
Than just the justifying faith of Abraham that is mentioned here.
It is also of great importance to the Lord to make known to this audience
That through the justification of Abraham
God delivered him from what was an impossible predicament.
The Lord here makes sure to point out that this Abraham was “but one”.
The Lord makes sure to point out that Sarah “gave birth to you in pain;”
What is the point here?
Namely that this was the most unlikely couple to receive the blessing of God on the face of the planet.
I like how the writer of Hebrews put it about him.
Hebrews 11:12 “Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.”
Romans 4:19 “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;”
And yet, God took this old barren couple who had no natural hope or ability to conceive a child and God made them the parents of a multitude.
He took a hopeless situation and blessed it to an unmeasurable extent.
NOT BECAUSE Abram did some work.
NOT BECAUSE Sarah was actually righteous.
God credited righteousness to them and then blessed them as a result.
SO WHAT IS THE POINT?
• That no matter how far gone you are…
• No matter how bleak or hopeless the moment…
• God can save and God can bless.
This is just another thing that sets God’s salvation apart
From every other would-be salvation in the world.
GOD’S SALVATION ACTUALLY SAVES.
When you try to save yourself through your own good works
It always ends up in failure, disillusionment, and judgment.
But when God saves, He actually saves.
• He takes an old man with a barren wife and makes a nation out of them.
• He takes slaves in Egypt and gives them a nation of their own.
• He takes exiles in Babylon and sends them home free of charge.
• He saves cripples and demoniacs and lepers and harlots and tax collectors.
SO WHAT ARE WE SAYING?
That even the present condition of Israel
Is not so desperate that God cannot and will not save them.
Is their current condition bad?
Absolutely
• Their land overrun by false religion and Gentile invaders,
• Even Israel herself is given over to sin and unbelief.
The Israeli people are not bastions of morality or godliness,
They are just as sinful as anyone else
On top of that, they continue to reject Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:14-15 “But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;”
IT IS BAD.
But:
2 Corinthians 3:15-16 “But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”
In Romans we read:
Romans 11:8-10 “just as it is written, “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.” And David says, “LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM. “LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.”
IT’S A BAD CONDITION.
But:
Romans 11:23-27 “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”
And that is the message of Christ here.
If you think you are beyond salvation, you aren’t.
God can save anyone!
• But He does NOT save them according to their works,
• He saves them when they follow the lead of Abraham and place their faith in Christ.
That is the Picture here.
#2 THE PROMISE
Isaiah 51:3
Taking the logical next step, Christ now reveals what is in store for Israel
If they will trust in Him like their father Abraham did.
(3) “Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.”
Let’s be honest.
We know about the land of Israel today.
That seems utterly impossible.
That God will “comfort all her waste places”
All the pain and all the suffering and all the hardship
That ravages that entire land day after day after day.
“her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD;”
Israel is 60% desert.
Not garden.
“Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.”
That nation is at the center of all sorts of conflict.
• Those people have been under conflict throughout their history.
• No people have suffered more atrocity through their history than the Jewish people.
Promises like these sound wonderful,
But at the same time they sound impossible.
As impossible as an old man with a barren wife
Becoming the father of a nation.
But these promises are true and they are promised to righteous people.
Take a moment and consider the promises God made to this nation
upon the condition that they obey Him and walk in righteousness.
TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 28:1-14
Is that any different then what is being promised here?
These have always been the blessings of righteousness.
The problem is that through her works Israel failed to achieve that righteousness Her life has been characterized by the curses listed in the rest of the chapter.
But if she will learn from the example of Abraham.
• God will grant her the righteousness she lacks.
• And God will restore to her the promised blessings of righteousness.
The Picture, The Promise
#3 THE PETITION
Isaiah 51:4-8
Here is where the gospel call comes into play.
You see the imperative calls.
• (4) “Pay attention to Me”
• (4) “give ear to Me”
• (7) “Listen to Me”
We have here the Lord now calling to these afflicted people
• People who live under the curse,
• People who have unsuccessfully sought the righteousness which is required to secure their blessing.
And His call is for them to now take a page from Abraham’s book
And trust Him as Abraham did.
Let’s break this down a little further.
1) EXAMINE THE GOSPEL (4-5)
(4-5) “Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly.”
You see two realities at play here.
You see a promised future reality which relates to the promise we saw in verse 3.
(4b) “a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples.”
That is a millennial blessing.
(5b) “My arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands will wait for Me, and for My arm they will wait expectantly.”
Those all speak of a glorious and blessed future
When the arm of the LORD reigns over all the earth.
• That is when the paradise mentioned in verse 3 becomes a reality.
• The world needs Messiah to reign.
• The world needs the arm of the LORD to rule in justice.
But there is also A PAST TENSE ELEMENT found here.
(5) “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,”
This is the message that the Lord is asking Israel to pay attention to.
• You are waiting for the day of My righteousness.
• You are waiting for the King who will rule in justice.
• You are waiting for the Messiah to bring His righteousness to the world.
• You are waiting for the Savior to come and deliver.
CAN YOU NOT SEE IT IS HERE?
CAN YOU NOT SEE IT IS AVAILABLE NOW?
“My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth”
The reason for your plight
Is not because God has yet to make His salvation known,
But rather because you have refused to see it.
You keep seeking a righteousness you can’t reach.
But My righteousness is right there for the taking.
Romans 10:5-13 “For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
It was not that long ago that we examined that very passage
We remember that the righteousness of God and salvation of Christ is not far away.
• It’s not like we have to go up to heaven and convince Christ to come down and pay for our sins.
• It’s not like we have to go into the grave and bring Christ back up from the dead.
No, Christ already descended to the earth
And Christ already resurrected from the grave.
WE DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING, HE DID IT ALL.
Our only requirement is to believe.
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
That is the message here.
Christ is calling Israel to examine the very present gospel they have for so long ignored and rejected.
Examine the gospel.
2) EVALUATE THE GOSPEL (6)
(6) “Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not wane.”
Now that the gospel has again been articulated:
Do you know of any better offer than this?
Do you know of anything else that is so gracious and so permanent?
• Look around you.
• Look at the sky.
• Look at the land.
You think those things are permanent and will last forever.
None of those things are permanent.
“the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants will die in like manner;”
Nothing you see here is permanent.
ESPECIALLY NOT YOUR WORKS.
“But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not wane.”
What you do will not last.
What I have done will never end.
Isaiah 40:7-8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
Does any other salvation promise to be eternal?
Does any other salvation promise to be secure?
We see this even in our own day.
It is no coincidence that people who believe works are required to earn salvation are the same people who believe that salvation can be lost.
Their theology is bad, but their logic is accurate.
• For if salvation does depend on any human work,
• Then they are correct in assessing that it cannot be secure.
But the righteousness which Christ provides
Is not based on your works but His,
And while everything in this earth will pass away,
His righteousness will never fail for all eternity.
That is why salvation is secure and life is eternal.
That is why the promise is guaranteed.
Examine the gospel, Evaluate the gospel
3) EMBRACE THE GOSPEL (7-8)
(7-8) “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings. “For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations.”
And all of a sudden we see the sticking point.
WE SEE THE PROBLEM.
If these people forsake their works and embrace the gospel
They will certainly and immediately become the objects of scorn.
From who?
Everyone who is trying to earn salvation by their works.
Legalists are always enemies of grace.
John 9:22 “His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.”
John 12:42 “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;”
Galatians 4:28-29 “And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.”
That is the threat we see here.
If any of these Jews would forsake their works and place their faith in Christ they would face the reproach of man.
• The Rivals of 50:7-9 would attack them.
• The Reprobates of 50:11 would persecute them.
The writer of Hebrews faced this dilemma.
• If his audience believed in Christ and embraced a righteousness which is imputed by faith
• They would be cut off from the temple and the sacrifices and no longer welcome in the synagogue.
It was a huge cost to pay.
But the writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 13:10-14 “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”
And that is the same call from Christ here.
“Listen to Me…My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations.”
• There may be a cost involved in seeking Me.
• There may be scorn involved in seeking Me.
• But I am the only way you will ever find the righteousness you seek and the blessing that comes with it.
Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not,
But we have seen a parallel here.
It is a parallel to God’s offer to Abraham.
God started off with Abraham by explaining the gospel promise of blessing.
Genesis 15:1 “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”
God then told Abraham to evaluate the reality of that promise by looking at the heavens, just as he did this crowd.
Genesis 15:2-5 “Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
Abraham was then charged to embrace the gospel which God had promised and he did.
Genesis 15:6-7 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. And He said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.”
And here Christ is asking these Jews to learn from their father Abraham.
• He heard the gospel.
• He evaluated the gospel.
• He believed the gospel.
And as a result he achieved the righteousness God promised
And the blessing that came with it.
You have been pursuing righteousness to no avail,
This morning you can catch it.
• You can achieve it through faith in Jesus Christ.
• You can abandon your works-based hope
• You can place all your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
When you believe on Him,
He will give you the righteousness which you can not earn.
And you will be an heir to the promises that come with it.
This is a gospel call from the Lord Jesus Christ
To all who want to be righteous
But who have failed to do it on their own.
THIS MORNING,
It is your opportunity to cry out to Him
And to ask Him to save you and to justify you.
He can and He will.
Romans 10:8-13 “But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
