The text this morning is from Paul's Letter to the Romans, the 10th chapter:
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
Paul says there are two kinds of righteousness. Just a little bit before our reading today, he lays out one kind, perhaps the one we’re most familiar with, the one we think we can do. He says that there is a righteousness that comes from obedience to the Law of God.
Now, this righteousness is interesting, mostly because, as we all know, obedience to the Law is impossible for mankind to accomplish because we are sinners. We aren’t sinners because we sin, we sin because we’re sinners. Let’s say that another way: we were conceived in sin, even in our mothers’ wombs, and sin has infected us in such a way that every thought, word, and deed we think, say, or do is, by its nature, sinful. Sadly, there is no perfect, righteous deed that any sinner can do.
It’s not because we don’t want to; surely, we who are gathered here in this place today want to do good to our neighbor as we have been converted to faith in Christ. Of course we want to do good, be good. And of course, you do good things, but think about them. When was the last time you did something so totally selfless that you took no pride in it, no joy it, no congratulations for it? And how many times, when you do something, even in secret, do you quietly wish someone, anyone knew about it so they could draw attention to it?
I mean, we are sinful through and through. But, Paul tells us that the Law does indeed imply that we would be righteous if we did the Law. It’s true. If we loved God with all of our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths, and we loved our neighbors as ourselves, and we did these perfectly, never sinning, then we would obey the Law. And what is the reward for that obedience? Life. Eternal life.
But the problem, Paul says, is that though there are people who really do want to be good and do good, even those who are zealous for God, they really are just ignorant of the righteousness of God Himself, the righteousness He wants you to have. And because they’re ignorant of God’s righteousness, seeking to establish their own righteousness by obedience to the Law, they lose God’s righteousness and are condemned in their sin.
Let’s not be part of that group, hey? Let’s not seek after obedience to the Law for its own sake. If we do that, there’s no guarantee you’ll be saved. I hope that’s not a problem for you, because Paul talks of another kind of righteousness, a righteousness based on faith in Christ. This righteousness doesn’t seek after blind obedience to the Law, but it looks to the righteousness of Christ, who is the end of the Law, the goal of the Law, so that in Him all might be saved.
Let’s break it down. You could try to obey the Law on your own, and there are plenty of people who try to do this. You’ve heard them. “I’m a good person.” “I’m doing okay on my own.” “I don’t need some god up in the heavens to tell me what to do, I’m going to be good to my fellow man on my own.” “Your God is oppressive to women, to gays, to minorities, to refugees, and that’s not the kind of God I want.” “Any God who allows suffering isn’t really a good God.” You know these people, right? They try to be good by their own standard, and, through that, only serve to condemn themselves because God’s standard of righteousness is so much higher than anything they could achieve.
Can you imagine a rat saying they want to be a giraffe? The giraffe, so tall and lifted up is above any other beast of the fields. But the rat says, meh, I’ve seen better, or, I can do that, or worse, I’m totally a giraffe. This is the sinner, looking at God’s Law, and saying, I’ve seen better, or, I can do that, or worse, I’m totally righteous. It’s insane. There’s such a difference between what we do as people and what God expects from us, it’s like comparing a New York City subway rat to a giraffe.
That’s the first kind of righteousness, which is no righteousness at all. But, God’s Law is there, and it says do this, but you can’t, don’t do this, but you will. It says, by its demands on you, that you’re a sinner and it runs screaming to God, accusing you all the way like a child who tattles on her brother.
But the second kind of righteousness, righteousness based on faith, says, it doesn’t matter. What the Law demands of you doesn’t matter for your righteousness, because you have the righteousness that God grants to you by grace through faith.
You see, the second kind of righteousness is given to you by Jesus’ holy declaration on the cross, “It is finished.” There, He declares you, a sinner, to actually be righteous, even though we know we’re not. There, He gives to you all the benefit of obedience to the Law, even though you never did it. And there, He gives to you life, eternal life, that you might be with Him forever.
This second kind of righteousness is good, not because it excuses us from obeying the Law (we should always strive to be obedient to the Law of God), it is good because when the Law stands in front of you and condemns you, when it tells you to be holy when you know you’re not, the righteousness that comes from Christ’s mouth says, “This child of God is mine, and she has my righteousness, my holy works, the thoughts, words, and deeds of God Himself. You may not condemn her any longer.”
Have you ever been so scared of something that you shrink back or run away? Maybe a bully is taunting you on the playground. Maybe a light goes out when you’re walking in an alley. Maybe you hear a strange noise in the house when you know everyone is fast asleep. This is the true goal of the Law, to scare us so badly that it forces us to retreat into the arms of Christ. The Law forces us to look to Christ for our comfort. And when that happens, the righteousness of Christ is in our mouths and in our hearts, so that by everything we do and say and think, we are relying on Christ.
This is the gift given to you in your Baptism; this is the gift given to you in the Supper. The Lord gives you faith that you might believe, and He strengthens that faith so that you might cling to your Lord, even while you go out into the world attempting to be holy in His name. There is no distinction among us; none of us are better or more holy than another, but all are called “child” by the same Lord of all of us, and He gives to us all good things in His name.
That’s what we do here. We call upon His name in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, and even as we do, He bestows His riches upon us, His righteousness, His forgiveness. It’s not a quid pro quo thing. It’s not a you scratch my back, I scratch yours thing. It’s a God is really, really good and He gives you absolutely everything you need in this place to be declared righteous so that you might be His thing.
And when we gather to do this thing, when we remember our Baptisms, when we confess our sins, when we are forgiven, when we receive His body and blood into our bodies, we know that we will never be put to shame. No matter what we do in this life, or don’t do, no matter what Law we break, when we are in Christ, when we are in the faith given to us by Christ, we know that it is not our righteousness that grants us access into heaven, but Christ’s.
That’s really what not being put to shame is all about. When the Last Day comes, the Day of God’s judgment, all will stand before the Lord and give an accounting for their works. The people of the first righteousness will say what? “Look, God, at all my good deeds. I fed the hungry, helped the poor, visited the sick, loved my wife and kids, gave money to charities. I went to church like a good boy should, and I did everything I could to be right. Please let me in.” But, that’s not enough, is it? Does that get you into heaven? No, because the first kind of righteousness, done by a sinful man lacks holiness. It’s never perfect.
But, when the Last Day comes, and God’s asks you to give an account of your life, you should say, “I am a sinner, and truly deserve nothing good. Yet, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, I am counted righteous by faith. His works are mine, as He has promised. I am your child, and, by faith, you promised me eternal life.” That’s an answer, not deserving of heaven, but yet one that by faith opens the doors to eternal life. Jesus is the door, and only by Christ do we have life. You will have life.
And there’s no shame there, either. Did you hear that? There’s no shame in being a sinner, for Christ came to save only sinners. When a sinner pleads the blood of Christ, they receive the blood of Christ and all the gifts that come in it. When a sinner depends on Jesus with their mouth and with their heart, that is to say, by faith, then there is no shame. There is no recounting of deeds that condemn you; there will only be there a recounting of the holiness of Christ declared over you in your Baptism.
So, which is your answer? Really look inside yourself today. Do you want to get to eternal life, salvation, by your works? You are free to do it. And I would say good luck. But, we know what the result is of that answer. It’s not life; it’s eternal death. Or, is your answer Christ? If it is, then there is life in abundance, for all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
That’s what we do here. We call upon the name of God that we indeed shall be saved. We look to the crucified and risen Lord of Glory, Jesus Christ, and cry out for salvation. We cry our, “Hosanna!” Save us now! Save us please! And so He does. Our Lord is good and gracious to save all who call upon Him, for those who call upon Him are those who believe in Him, those who have faith, those to whom He has come, for in His hands He brings the gift of everlasting life. This is you. Call upon the Lord, and you have called upon the Lord. You are saved and will never put to shame. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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