HAVE YOU SUBMITTED TO GOD’S
RIGHTEOUSNESS?
"For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." Romans 10:2-3
There are many who earnestly desire salvation
and eternal life, who will never be saved. There are many thoughtful and zealous men
and women who very eagerly seek salvation, who will perish under the curse of
God’s holy law. They want to be saved, but they will not bow to God’s way of
salvation. “I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of
God’s righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of
God”.
Mark those words, “submitted themselves”. Many will not be
saved, multitudes will perish forever in hell under the wrath of God because
they will not submit to God’s righteousness, that righteousness established by
God in the Person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
As you read these words, if
you are not yet saved, if you are yet without Christ, if you are yet under the
wrath of God, it is simply because you will not submit to salvation by grace
alone through the imputed righteousness of Christ the sinners’ Substitute. You
may talk about grace, waiting for grace, and praying for grace. You may talk
about wanting to trust Christ. But you only deceive yourself. Your problem is
that you keep trying to do something, find something, feel something, or
experience something, anything of your own that you can bring to God with the
blood and righteousness of Christ for salvation. You are trying to mix merit
and mercy. You want to mix works and grace. You want to be a co-savior with the
Son of God. That will never happen. God will not allow it.
Proud man wants to save himself. You believe you can do it.
You will not submit to salvation by Christ alone. If you would be saved, you
must make your suit before the bar of God as an undeserving, hell-bent sinner,
seeking the unmerited gift of his salvation on the footing of mercy alone! This
is the thing the carnal mind cannot do - it cannot beg for grace. You think
that you can work out a righteousness of your own that God will accept, or at
least you can say, or do, or think, or feel some good things that will
supplement the righteousness and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You will not
be saved by pure grace alone.
In order to be saved, you are going to have to
throw away your filthy rags of self-righteousness. You will have to come to
Christ in your naked guilt, sin, and loathsomeness, or you will never be an
heir of eternal life.
“Nothing in my hands I
bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked come to Thee for
dress, Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.”
The only way for a sinner to obtain
righteousness before God is by submitting himself To The Righteousness of God
in Christ by faith.
Radio Sermon #572
Grace Baptist Church of Danville
2734 Old Stanford Road -
Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S. Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net