Righteousness by Faith
A Sermon on Romans 10:5-8
Originally preached Oct. 11, 1963
Scripture
5For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 6But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down …
Sermon Description
How far away is the truth? What quest or journey must be traversed in order to find God? Is there some kind of special act one must perform in order to make their way to God? Many people teach that God is so far away that the gap is unspeakably difficult to cross. Others teach that one must cross the gap to God by their own efforts. Whether it is Roman Catholicism, the mystical way, or Protestant intellectualism, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones finds the answer to such false systems in the apostle Paul’s words in Romans 10:5–8. The apostle invokes the great preacher of the law – Moses – in order to show that God has revealed Himself perfectly clearly. There is no need to ascend to heaven or descend into the deep. God, through Christ, has revealed Himself fully in the gospel and the gospel way is not about human efforts. It is not about their assent or justification by works. Salvation is about justification by faith alone in Christ Jesus alone. In this sermon on Romans 10:5–8 titled “Righteousness by Faith,” listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones applies Paul’s gospel message to contemporary ears and encourages with the grace-filled message of our savior.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is dealing with Romans 10:5-10 in this sermon.
- Paul is explaining the contrast between righteousness through faith and righteousness through the law.
- Righteousness through the law is impossible to attain because no one can perfectly keep the law. The law only brings knowledge of sin.
- Righteousness through faith says that one does not need to ascend into heaven or descend into the depths to find Christ. The word is near, in one's mouth and heart.
- One does not need to make Christ come down from heaven or bring him up from the dead. He has already come down and been raised.
- The gospel message is simple to understand. One does not need great intellect to understand it.
- The way of salvation is not meant to be a difficult quest or journey. The truth is readily available.
- Mysticism and Catholicism deny this message by making salvation a complicated process attained through human effort.
- Salvation is attained through simple faith in Christ, not through human effort or understanding. The common people heard Jesus gladly.
- Paul was distressed that the Jews rejected this simple message of salvation through faith alone, instead clinging to salvation through the law.
- We must be careful not to deny this message by implying salvation requires great understanding or is complicated to attain. It is a simple gift received through faith.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.