Romans 10:16-21 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias {Isaiah} saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. 19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. 20 But Esaias {Isaiah} is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. 21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

The Glory Of The Gospel

There is nothing greater than the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! The word “Gospel” is first mentioned in the Bible in:

Matthew 4:23 (KJV) … Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom ..

The word “Gospel” is the Greek euangelion, which means “good tidings or good message”. Some say it means “good news”. Jesus called the Gospel the “Gospel of the Kingdom”. The God Who created all that you see is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:16). To enter His Kingdom (not a democracy, but a Kingdom) you must heed His Gospel. Jesus preached:

Mark 1:15 (KJV) … The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

What does the Gospel teach us, the glorious Good News from God. The Gospel teaches us that The King of Glory left His Throne in Heaven, and came to this earth to become like us. Without sin, the King, the Great Shepherd laid His life down for the sheep, His Kingdom (John 10:15, 17). Our sins, our willfulness, our unrighteousness, our wickedness separated us from God. We were all hopelessly adrift, unfit for the Kingdom of God. The Prophet wrote:

Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) … we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Our sins and sinful desires took us all away from God. Born into this world as sinners, we all need another birth. We must be born again (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:23). We cannot make ourselves right before God. The animal sacrifices, the ceremonial laws, the Mosaic Code set a standard, a yoke that no one could bear (Acts 15:10).

But then came Jesus. Prophesied in the Old Testament, the Messiah came. The Law said “Do this, and live!” (Romans 10:5). The Law became the king to Israel, but as king it’s purpose was to lead us all to understand how badly we need Jesus. The Bible tells us:

Galatians 3:22-26 (KJV) But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 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. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

What is “FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS”? It is to turn to Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are told:

Romans 10:9-13 (KJV) That if thou shalt CONFESS (homologeo, say the same thing about yourself) with THY mouth the LORD Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

To be saved, you must AGREE with God that you are a sinner, lost and desperately need to be saved. We all need Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. We are told that “there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek”. The Jew believed that because they as a nation were “God’s Chosen People” that they needed no salvation. Beloved, “there is no difference”. To prove this to the Jew, the Apostle quotes:

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed

a quotation from Isaiah 28:16 (NASB) “… this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, A precious cornerstone [for] the foundation, firmly placed. The one who believes will not be disturbed”. The promise of the Gospel is that:

whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED

What Causes A Person To Be Cursed?

What causes a person to stay lost, separated from God? To whom is the Kingdom of God shut? We are told:

Romans 10:16 (KJV) But they have not all OBEYED THE GOSPEL. For Esaias {Isaiah} saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

To help the Jew understand the Gospel – as well as us – the Apostle quotes the Prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 53 the Prophet foretells the coming of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. He starts with this statement:

Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

The “ARM OF THE LORD” or the POWER OF GOD is not REVEALED or MANIFESTED to those who do not believe the Gospel.

When the Messiah came, He did not come to rule over an earthly kingdom. When Jesus came, He was born in Bethlehem, of lowly parents. He was raised up in Nazareth, a small town. Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 53:2-3 (KJV) For He {the Messiah} shall grow up before Him {God the Father} as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

The Messiah would not be a movie star. He would not be a beautiful Person. In fact, when He revealed Himself, He would be “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”. The Lord of Glory, God Incarnate, He came to this earth to reveal the heart of God to us. He walked among us, healed and did good. But the main thing Jesus showed us is that we are all – even the Pharisees and Chief Priests – totally lost and undone without the Gospel! The Pharisees attacked Jesus. The Herodians mocked Him, and treated Him as a threat to the Roman throne. The Sadducees despised Jesus because He taught that there was a resurrection coming.

Isaiah went on to prophesy, Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The King of Kings came to this earth, and was rejected by the world He made. He died on a terrible cross on a hill called Calvary. “He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death” (Isaiah 53:9). Jesus died as a sinner, between two other sinners. He died a criminal’s death. Yet it was not a martyrdom, for Jesus said:

John 10:15-18 (AP) .. I LAY MY LIFE DOWN FOR THE SHEEP. Other sheep I have who are not of this fold: them I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd … No man takes my life from Me, but I choose to lay it down …

The Father laid on Jesus the INIQUITY of US ALL! He paid for our sins in full. Jesus Christ is the Key to Heaven, our only Hope.

A person goes to hell, eternal damnation, when they will not obey the Gospel. To obey the Gospel is not just to hear it. You have to hear it. We are told:

Romans 10:17-18 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

Israel heard the Gospel. You can HEAR the Gospel, even from the lips of Jesus as Israel did, and yet just hearing will not save you. You must OBEY. The ARM OF THE LORD is ONLY REVEALED TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE. The Messiah came, and reached out to Israel.

But they did not believe.

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Israel rejected the prophesied Messiah, the Messiah of Isaiah 53

Israel wanted a Messiah that would fix their immediate needs. They wanted a Messiah that would help them overthrow Rome. This happened when Jesus fed the 5000 with two small fish and five little biscuits. They thought, HERE IS THE MESSIAH! Let’s declare Him to be King … and we’ll overthrow Rome! The Bible says:

John 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone.

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords did not come to this earth to be another political appointee, a replacement for Herod or Caesar. The King of Glory (Psalm 24:8-10) came to bring us into His Kingdom, to save us by Grace.

Whosoever shall CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD shall be saved!

We OBEY THE GOSPEL by receiving Jesus Christ as He is, not as we want Him to be. Israel wanted Jesus to be a Roman Replacement. He is not a Roman Replacement. We today often try and make Jesus to be what we want Him to be. I was listening to a song today called “No Strings Attached”. It is a pretty song written by Kevin Winebarger. The song puts these words in God’s mouth:

Stop with the striving
Just start being
Stop with the reaching
Just start breathing
No need to try to earn affection
Just listen
Child just listen
You have purpose
You have meaning
For I have loved you since the beginning
You’re my beloved
Always been wanted

It doesn’t matter if you ever love Me back
Still I love you
No strings attached

I liked the song up to those last few lines:

It doesn’t matter if you ever love Me back
Still I love you
No strings attached

I don’t believe that’s Biblical. Listen Beloved,

You don’t know God if you don’t love Christ!

The Apostle wrote:

1 Corinthians 16:22-23 (NKJV) If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come! 23 The grace of our LORD Jesus Christ be with you.

If you do not love the Messiah, the LORD Jesus Christ, YOU ARE NOT SAVED. If you do not love God, YOU ARE NOT SAVED. When asked the question, “What is the first and great commandment?”, Jesus answered:

Matthew 22:37 (ESV) You shall LOVE the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind

Later Jesus would tell His followers:

Matthew 10:37 (ESV) Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of me.

That doesn’t sound like the song said, “It doesn’t matter if you ever love Me back, Still I love you. No strings attached.” No, Jesus loves you. But to be saved, you must love Him back. You must surrender your life to Him. You must listen to Him. Where does Grace come from? The Apostle said:

Ephesians 6:24 (ESV) Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

And Jesus said,

John 14:21 (ESV) Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

Oh Beloved, you are “Beloved” because Jesus Christ is God’s Only BELOVED Son. You are BELOVED because you love the BELOVED. And why would we not love Him?

The Apostle wrote, 1 John 4:19 “We LOVE HIM because He FIRST loved us”. Jesus loved us enough to die for us. He loved us enough to redeem us, though we were far from God, dead in trespasses and sins. Once God opened our eyes, and we CONFESSED that we were sinners, we REACHED OUT in surrender to Him Who loves us, to Jesus Christ. Our love for Jesus defines us as Children of God. Pastor John Piper writes:

“Listen: one of the big issues we face over and over again in a multicultural situation, where lots of religions are coming together, is, “Don’t we all worship the same God? And you go through Jesus; I go through another prophet.” Loving Jesus is the test of whether you love God. Here’s what Jesus says. In John 8:42, Jesus looked right into the eyes of the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, and said, “If God were your Father, you would love me.” He’s saying to the most religious, the most God-oriented, Old Testament–saturated people on the planet, “You don’t know him. He’s not your Father.” In fact, he goes so far as to say, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44). … What’s the litmus paper for knowing whether somebody is a lover of God? Answer: Do they love Jesus? Do they embrace Jesus for who he really is — not just some human teacher, not just some prophet alongside other prophets, but as the Son of God?”

To Obey The Gospel Is To Surrender
To Christ’s Love

Christ offered His love to Israel – but they rejected Him. But again, this was according to prophecy. We read again:

Romans 10:19-21 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. 20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. 21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

God knew that Israel would have their Messiah crucified, that they would reject Him. God knows everything.

Isaiah 46:9-10 (NKJV) Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure …

God knew when Messiah came that Israel, a stiff necked and disobedient people, would have Him crucified. The Apostle quotes what God said in:

Deuteronomy 32:21 They have made Me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

Israel’s disobedience did not thwart the love of God, but He fulfilled His Promise to Abraham that in him the whole world would be blessed. The Gentiles – that’s you and I – Jesus reached out to the Gentiles when Israel rejected Him. The Church became the Kingdom of God, because of Israel’s rejection. God’s people became the whosoever will love Jesus, love the LORD Jesus CHRIST, the One and Only Messiah.

In the Old Testament, God always intended to reach out to the Gentiles. Jesus was to be:

Luke 2:32 A LIGHT TO LIGHTEN THE GENTILES, and the glory of Thy people Israel …

God was always going to save Israel, and through Israel save the believing world. When Peter spoke to the Church, he said:

1 Peter 2:10 (ESV) Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

How is one saved? By falling in love with Jesus. By submitting to Him as Lord and Savior. When you stop following yourself, stop trying to re-make God or make a golden calf of Jesus, and surrender to His love, He changes you.

Titus 3:3-7 (NKJV) For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God will one day save Israel. One day, in the midst of GREAT TRIBULATION, a time called “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble”, that nation will repent and cry out to Him. He loves Israel still. When Israel calls out to the Messiah, loving God, surrendering to God, they shall be saved.

What of you? Are you saved?

Not if you don’t love Jesus. If you love YOU more than you love Jesus, you are lost. A golden calf will not save you. Only Jesus. Only Jesus. Oh Beloved, fall in love with Him! Loving Jesus is the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Or suffer eternal damnation. Amen.