Romans 10:4-8 (KJV) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. 5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 6 But 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 from above:) 7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach…

There Is A False “Word Of Faith”

For everything that God has, the devil has an imitation, a forgery, a lie. Take, for instance, the phrase above: “The WORD OF FAITH”. There is a Charismatic “Christian” movement called “Word of Faith”. Started by television evangelists Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin, the movement teaches that God promises healing and prosperity to believers. Preachers like Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, and Kenneth Hagin teach that God wants you to be healthy, happy, and have a large bank account. The “Word of Faith” preachers want you to have “your best life now”.

What’s the problem with this? After all, everyone wants to be healthy, happy, and have a big bank account. It also would be great if we could all be famous. It’s in our national constitution that we have “the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (from the Declaration of Independence). Why wouldn’t God want us to have nothing but butterflies, peaches and cream?

The problem with the “Word of Faith” preachers is more than one level deep. I know of a lady who, years ago, was diagnosed with cancer. Her “Word of Faith” preacher told her that “if you believe hard enough, you’ll be healed”. She died of cancer anyway. Her “Church” blamed he faulty faith for her death. She just didn’t “believe hard enough”.

If you start to believe that God’s great plan for you is that you be HEALTHY, WEALTHY, INFLUENTIAL and IMPORTANT, then when you aren’t such then you begin to think that God doesn’t love you.

There have been a fair number of people who bought into the “Word of Faith” movement who got sick, were financially challenged, or never gained a famous name. These people, disillusioned, walked away from Christianity. They thought that God hated them, or else that the faith was just a pipe dream. On the day that I prepared this sermon, my office computer died, and my wife (who has Lupus) called me, out of breath. Our refrigerator died, and our milk is clabbered.

Maybe God hates me?
Maybe my faith just isn’t strong enough?

Hogwash! In Matthew 26:6-13 (also repeated in Mark 14:3-9) an unknown woman anointed Jesus with expensive perfume while He ate with Simon the leper, a resident of Bethany. Some Bible scholars have suggested who the thought this woman was, but the Bible never tells us this woman’s name. Jesus was impressed by her act of faith, and said “where ever this Gospel is preached, what this woman has done shall be told for a memorial of her”. Wonderful Jesus! So WHO is this woman? Bible scholars have guessed it to be Mary Magdalene or Mary of Bethany, but THE TEXT DOESN’T TELL US TWICE. What kind of fame is that?

Or consider Jesus as He watched the Pharisees giving at the Treasury of the Temple one day. The Court of Women had 13 offering receptacles that people could cast their money in as they passed by. The Bible says:

Mark 12:41 (ESV) {Jesus} sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a POOR widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And He called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this POOR widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.

Jesus was impressed with this woman. What was her name? She impressed God, but never got famous. Also, she was POOR. Jesus didn’t run to alleviate her poverty. He was impressed with her, though no one knew her name.

The “Word Of Faith” movement is humanism re-branded, a false Christianity. Jesus said “you will ALWAYS HAVE THE POOR with you” (Matthew 26:11). If you read the Scriptures, you will know that God never promised us WEALTH, HEALTH, or FAME. Do you know what God wants for us? We are told in today’s text.

Romans 10:4-6 (KJV) For Christ is the end of the law for RIGHTEOUSNESS to every one that believeth. 5 For Moses describeth the RIGHTEOUSNESS which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 6 But the RIGHTEOUSNESS which is of faith…

You see the word “RIGHTEOUSNESS” repeated three times in our text. God’s plan for your life is not that you be HAPPY or HEALTHY or WEALTHY. God’s plan for your life is that YOU BE RIGHTEOUS.

What does it mean to be RIGHTEOUS? It means to honor God above yourself. The Word of Faith movement, like the world that it glorifies, teaches that life is about US. That’s not what impressed Jesus. What impressed Jesus was when God was put first.

When Jesus went to eat at Simon the Leper’s home, Simon didn’t treat Jesus like the Son of God. Oh, he fed Jesus, but he did little else. When the unknown woman came in where Jesus was, she denied herself, and honored God by honoring the Messiah. This is why Jesus said that her act would be told every time the Gospel was told.

To be saved, you must glorify God, and deny yourself. To love God supremely whether you are poor, unknown, or even sick.

The same is true of the widow who gave all she had. She did what she did because she loved the Lord with all her heart. That impressed Jesus, that she denied herself. She could have made excuses. “Well, God knows I’m a poor widow lady. If I can’t give Him anything, then He’ll forgive me”. But no, she gave all that she had – and blessed God.

That is righteousness.
To deny self.
To give God your best!

Here Is The True “Word Of Faith”

The only time the phrase “Word of Faith” appears in the Bible is in our text today.

Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach

What God wants to produce in those who believe is not HAPPINESS, HEALTH and WEALTH. What God wants to produce in us is RIGHTEOUSNESS. Not self righteousness. The world has plenty on man made, man pumping up, virtue signaling self-righteousness. No, God wants us to be RIGHTEOUS. What does it mean to be RIGHTEOUS?

Think about the word itself. It begins with RIGHT. That means CORRECT, REAL, the actual truth. Who is RIGHT? “The LORD is righteous” (Exodus 9:27). The LORD, the Creator of all things, sets the standard of RIGHT and wrong. When we follow God RIGHTEOUSLY, God watches over us.

Psalm 1:6 … the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Those who follow God, God watches them. Again,

Psalm 5:12 (KJV) For thou, LORD, wilt BLESS THE RIGHTEOUS; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

God loves the RIGHTEOUS. He loves those who follow Him. But what of those who refuse to follow Him, who wander their own path? The Bible says:

Psalm 7:11 (KJV) God judgeth the RIGHTEOUS, and God is ANGRY WITH THE WICKED every day.

The RIGHTEOUS are those who follow the LORD, who heed His instruction, His RIGHT instruction. God is always RIGHTEOUS, always RIGHT. He is the Great Shepherd, and He watches over His Sheep who follow Him.

Psalm 34:17, 19 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

God delivers those who are righteous. The righteous are those who love and trust God, who follow Him. “The RIGHTEOUS shall be GLAD IN THE LORD, and shall TRUST IN HIM” (Psalm 64:10). “Rejoice in the LORD, you RIGHTEOUS” (Psalm 97:12). “The LORD is RIGHTEOUS: He cuts the cords of the wicked in two” (Psalm 129:4). And I’ll stop with:

Psalm 145:17 (KJV) The LORD is RIGHTEOUS IN ALL HIS WAYS, and HOLY IN ALL HIS WORKS.

God is always RIGHT. We are subject to failure, but God is not. When you follow God, you are RIGHTEOUS because you are following Him Who is RIGHT.

Romans 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

Now we’ve defined that RIGHTEOUS, or BEING RIGHTEOUS, is to follow God. When Israel left Egypt after 430 years of slavery, they FOLLOWED GOD. When God told them to kill a lamb without spot or blemish, and put its blood on the doorway of their homes (Exodus 12:13-28), Israel didn’t argue with God. They did what God said. When God told Israel to follow Him, as a manifest Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Cloud by night (Exodus 13:21), Israel didn’t argue with God. They did what God said. When Israel got to the edge of the Red Sea, and were pursued by the Egyptian Army, Moses told them:

Exodus 14:13-14 (ESV) Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which HE WILL WORK FOR YOU TODAY. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

What did God want Israel to do? FOLLOW HIM. TRUST HIM. HEED HIS DIRECTIVE. God is righteous. He is always right. Do what GOD says. Israel was saved apart from the Law. They had no Law but one – follow God. Honor God. Do what God says. God is always right.

But Israel had a divided loyalty. After they were saved at the Red Sea, the Bible says:

Exodus 14:31 (ESV) Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.

Israel “believed in the LORD”. But they also believed in “His servant Moses”. Now Moses was a fine man, but he isn’t the LORD. He isn’t perfect. Moses was righteous, because he followed the LORD. But Moses wasn’t the LORD. But the people put their faith not solely in the Lord God, but in MOSES. As a result, when Israel got to Marah, where the water was bitter, they grumbled (Exodus 15:22-25). Moses did the right thing. He went to God, and asked, and God told him what to do.

Moses was RIGHTEOUS, following God. Israel grumbled, following their own desires and wants.

God told Israel “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer” (Exodus 15:26).

God said, “Follow Me. I know what’s right. I am righteous. Just follow Me. Do what I say.” But Israel didn’t do that. They grumbled at Moses and Aaron every time something happened that they didn’t like.

– They grumbled because they had no bread – and God gave them bread.

– They grumbled because there was no water at Rephidim – and God gave them water.

– They grumbled and grumbled until the LORD gave them the Law.

Israel couldn’t keep the Law at all. But God never wanted His people to follow the Law. He wanted His people to follow HIM.

The Law said “the man which doeth those things shall live by them”. Since Israel would not follow the LORD, the LORD gave them the Law. The Law required absolute obedience, and was often quite harsh. But God never wanted His Children to follow a Law. God wants us to follow HIM. The Apostle wrote:

Galatians 3:24-25 (KJV) Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The whole purpose of the killing of animals, the feasts and festivals, the dietary restrictions and other such things was to teach us that we cannot save ourselves – that we must DENY OURSELVES and come to God the Son for salvation.

We Cannot Fix Ourselves – We Need Jesus

Romans 10:6-7 But 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 from above:) 7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

We live before God by faith. Neither I nor you can go up to Heaven and bring Christ down again. We are called to believe on Him Who is “our HIGH PRIEST, seated at the right hand of the THRONE OF THE MAJESTY IN THE HEAVENS” (Hebrews 8:1). It is Jesus Who is the Key to Heaven. It is Jesus Who God the Father sent to this earth for us. It is Jesus Christ, the One and Only Messiah, that our Hope is on. He lives, and represents those who have given their lives to Him.

We cannot “descend into the deep, to bring up Christ again from the dead”. Jesus Christ died for our sins on the Cross of Calvary. He paid the penalty of sin in full. The Father “worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:20-23, NKJV).

What is “The WORD OF FAITH that we preach”? We are told:

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt CONFESS with thy mouth THE LORD JESUS, and shalt BELIEVE in thine heart that GOD HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, thou shalt be saved.

WORD STUDY: Let’s break this verse down. To be saved, a person must “CONFESS with thy mouth”. The word rendered “CONFESS” is the Greek homologeō, which means “to say the same thing as another, to agree with another, to concede or admit”.

To “CONFESS” means to openly and publicly say the same thing about yourself, about God, and about Jesus that God Himself says.

Jesus said,

Matthew 10:32 (KJV) Whosoever therefore shall CONFESS {homologeō} Me before men, him will I CONFESS {homologeō} also before My Father which is in heaven.

And again,

Luke 12:8 (KJV) Whosoever shall CONFESS {homologeō} Me before men, him shall the Son of man also CONFESS {homologeō} before the angels of God …

What are you to confess or declare publicly about Jesus?

CONFESS with thy mouth THE LORD JESUS

Openly agree that Jesus is your Savior and your Lord. Publicly state that Jesus is your Shepherd (John 10:10) and your Messiah. The Jews told their followers that if ANYONE “CONFESSED that Jesus was the CHRIST” (John 9:22; 12:42), that that individual would be cast out of Judaism and out of the Temple. It will cost you to follow Jesus.

Jesus is not just your Savior if you have believed in Him, He is also your LORD. You follow Him. You follow His Book.

There were some in the early Church who “PROFESSED {homologeō} that they KNOW GOD, but IN WORKS THEY DENY HIM” (Titus 1:16). God said of these people that they were abominable reprobates. The person who is righteous follows Jesus, and loves the Word of God.

You must also believe in your heart that

GOD HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD

God has not promised you HEALTH and WEALTH and FAME. He has promised you RIGHTEOUSNESS. He has promised, if you come to Him surrendered, that He will walk with you from the day of your salvation into eternity. Beloved, you know that you are saved because the Word of Faith is in your mouth and in your heart. You have agreed with God that you are unable – but that Jesus is able. You have agreed that you need Him desperately.

The day that you called on the Lord Jesus Christ – believing on Him – the Incarnate God became incarnate in your very heart. Because you are changed from the inside out your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees. Because you are changed by God Himself – Who gave Himself for you on Calvary’s Tree – the very righteousness of God is on your life. Oh the joy of being in Christ! It begins by calling on Him. Confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus Christ. Receiving Him as both Lord and Savior. Believing that He died for your sins. But

more than that, believing in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead. He is risen. He is Lord. He is your Lord – if you have given yourself to Him.

May God touch your hearts with His Word.