From Law To Grace: Why Faith Saves

What if the distance you feel from God isn’t meant to be climbed but confessed? We walk through Paul’s sweeping argument in Romans to show why the law reveals our need, the cross meets it, and the Word draws near to transform hearts from the inside out. Along the way, we trace Israel’s story through Hosea and Isaiah, the promise of a remnant, and the shock of grace that gathers people who once stood far off. This isn’t cold theology. It’s the map of mercy that explains why “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” is the most inclusive, life-altering sentence you’ll ever hear.

We tackle the difference between trying to build our own righteousness and receiving Christ’s righteousness by faith. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, ends the treadmill of religious striving and invites us into rest that fuels mission. We talk candidly about stumbling over Jesus, why shame lifts when we believe, and how “no condemnation” becomes more than a verse when the Spirit makes the Word alive in you. If you have ever wondered whether you’re doing enough, this conversation insists that Jesus already did enough—and that changes everything about how you live, love, and speak.

Then we turn to witness. “How will they hear without a preacher?” isn’t just for pastors; it’s for all of us. We explore what beautiful feet look like in real life, how faith comes by hearing Scripture, and why God uses both Israel’s history and our own stories to draw people home. We pray for softened hearts across families, communities, and nations, and we challenge each other to trade “bless my efforts” for “work through me.” If this resonates, share it with someone who needs hope, subscribe for more verse-by-verse journeys through Romans, and leave a review to help others find the message.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

We don't have resurrection power. The Lord has the resurrection power. But what does it say? The word is near you and in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith which we preach. If you've come to faith in Jesus Christ, it's in you. And you want to continue to grow in it, be changed by it. The word of God, the living, active word of God, changes us from the inside out, and it uses us to declare the good news to others.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

We know and we believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead and he resurrected other people from the dead. That is the basis of Christianity. Our faith in God is our belief that he died and rose from the dead. In today's message, Pastor Carl will shed light on the verse about how Christians have resurrection power too. As a follower of Christ, you have accepted the Holy Spirit and He now lives in you. By his power, not your own, you can raise people from the dead. By his power and his will. And now here's Pastor Carl.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Maybe God used your life as an example to other people, I don't want to go that way. God might have used you to bring somebody else to faith, and you weren't even trying. You're just trying to, you were just living your life and being an example of what it is to be a sinner and seeing some of the things that you do and saying, I don't want any of that, and cause people to run to Jesus. And that's some of what Paul is saying here. He's saying that the Jews have not come to faith yet. And that it's not necessarily God's will, because it's God's will that all would be saved. But God has used that hiccup along the road in order to bring the Gentiles in and to bring a lot of Jews in. The church was born with Jewish believers. And then when the Gentiles started coming in, they didn't know what to do with it until they started to understand the bigger picture of grace and the gospel and how God is working in and through it. Verse 26. As he also said in Hosea, I will call them my people who are not my people, and her beloved who is not beloved. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people. There shall be called sons of the living God. You know, we had this idea that the Jews were God's chosen people, and the rest of the world were just condemned. They were made to fan the flames of hell. That's what the Jewish people believed. That's what the leadership believed. And yet, that's not the heart of God, is it? And because of that, God had made a way where there was no way. For those that weren't part of God's chosen, now they are part of God's chosen. Are you following? Hosea is the story of a man who was told to marry a prostitute as a symbol to Israel about their relationship with God. You know, you're the wife of God, and yet you're running off to all these other idols and false gods and all these other things, and you're ignoring me. You're making an idol out of the law that you can't even fulfill. When it's God's heart to have a bride that loves him, that is devoted to him, that is cleansed by him and prepared by him. And that bride is made up of Gentiles and Jews. Like I said, there's so much here. I can't hit it all, but I'm just trying to get this idea. He has a heart for the Jews, the Jewish nation, that they would come to faith in the Lord. Verse 27. Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel, though as the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. For he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth. This prophecy was given by Isaiah before the northern kingdom would be taken over by Assyria. And they would be taken over by Assyria because God would use them to joy to judge Israel, because Israel had been playing the harlot and going their own way. And when that judgment came, it came swiftly. And the same sort of thing here. Because the Jews have rejected God, judgment would come swiftly. And in 70 AD, the Jews would be scattered to the ends of the earth. And some would believe that that would be forever. He has rejected Israel completely. And yet I don't see that in the Word. I see that the Lord brings Israel back together and he will save Israel. And Paul talks about that as well. In 1948, something amazing happened. Israel was made a nation again. A tiny group of people that should have no evidence of ever existing because they've been dispersed to the ends of the world for 2,000 years, have all of a sudden come back together again. And yet, even though that happened, today Israel is not a Christian nation. Israel has not come to faith in the Lord. In fact, they're a very secular group of folks, which would cause some to say, well, this is just a phenomenon. That's not really anything biblical. That's just this group of people that came together again that's called Israel. No, it's because God is still working and Israel will come to faith. Are you following with me? And even though it might be a remnant, individuals of Israel have come to faith. They started the church again. Remember? Are you following this? Lots of thoughts that that Paul gives us here. But this verse here, he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth. That's an idea of the judgment comes quickly. And yes, judgment came upon Israel when Assyria took over. Judgment came upon Israel in 70 AD. But judgment came upon the world in the person of Jesus Christ when he came and he died on the cross. And Daniel talks about Messiah being cut off. The same sort of deal. The Lord came to minister to us, and he was only here for a short time. He was here for 33 years. His ministry was just three years. It only took three years. And then he completed the work of righteousness on the cross. His work, his ministry was seems to be cut short, but it was perfect. It was perfect timing to bring all these things together. This is what it's all about. And Isaiah said before, unless the Lord of the Sabbath had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and we would have been like Gomorrah. We were destined for judgment from God. But the Lord of the Sabbath, who is who? Jesus. He declares himself the Lord of the Sabbath. In him we find our rest. In him we find our peace. In him we find our acceptance, right? We no longer have to work to try to please God because he's done it for us. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. And he is the seed of the woman that would have the victory over the serpent. He did it on the cross. Bringing it back to the cross. It's always about the cross. And we we get caught up in all this other minutiae. But it's about the cross. It's about us that have accepted the gospel, to grow in the gospel, and to accept our call to declare the gospel, that others might come and be changed by it as well. 30. What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith? But Israel pursuing the law of righteousness has not attained to the law of righteousness? And there's not a question mark after that. It's a period. It's a statement. This is what we should say. The Gentiles didn't have the law. They weren't pursuing the law. They weren't trying to be good enough. But they realized they had fallen short of the glory of God. They realized that they were sinners and they realized that they needed a savior. They realized who Jesus was, they accepted Jesus, and they were changed. The Jews were given the law that reflects the righteousness of God. They understood how important that was. They honored the name of God and they honored the things of God, and yet they drifted off and worshipped other gods and went their own ways and never fulfilled the law and never really knew the Lord. Yes, it's true. Why? Verse 32, because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. Again, they were trying to please God in their own strength, in their own doing, but they fell short. They never grasped hold of God by faith, accepting the acceptance that He has for us. Because He's made a way. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. They tripped up over Jesus. They wanted to kill him instead of accept him. Which was part of the plan anyway. He needed to be sacrificed for our sins. As it is written also in Isaiah, behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. Our sin is shameful, it separates us from God. But when we believe in that stumbling stone, instead of stumbling over it and getting crushed, we're changed by the stone. And when we accept him, there is no shame. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who believe in Christ Jesus and walk according to the Spirit. And that brings us to chapter 10. Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. Let's put aside all these things about law and this and that. They need Jesus, just like we need Jesus. And it's my heart that they come to see Jesus for who he is. For I bear witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. They are the most religious people that have ever existed on this world. But they never really knew God. They knew about God, they knew the righteous requirement of God, they honored the name of God, but they did not know God. Verse 3, for they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. They wanted to establish their own righteousness. They wanted to show how good they were. When even in their word, even in the Bible that they've been given the scriptures, the holy scriptures, it shows that we're all born into sin because of Adam and Eve. So you can't build your own righteousness. But in Christ, it's the end or the fulfillment of the law. Because Jesus fulfilled the law as a man representing us that applies to us when we believe. And if Jesus lives in me, the righteousness of God lives in me. And now I don't have to try to fulfill the law because I have in him. Paul's heart is Israel needs to get it. Our friends and family need to get it. Our nation needs to get it. Are you praying for repentance in our nation? We need it. Terribly. Verse 5, for Moses writes about the righteousness which is about the law. The man who does these things shall live by them. In other words, if you are going to make yourself right by fulfilling the law, you need to fulfill every jot and tittle of the law. If you're going to put your confidence in the law, you're going to have to live by every single part of the law. If you break any part of the law, you've broken it all. And what does grace tell us? You have broken the law. The law is holy. It is the righteous requirement of God, and it shows us that we don't, we're unable to keep it. But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way: Do not say in your heart, who will ascend to heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above. Bless our work. Bless bless our mess, Lord. Bless the things that we've done. Bless our efforts, Lord. Do you pray that way sometimes? I think about that theologically, and it's like it's bless our efforts. No, work in through us. Empower us, Lord. Help us to co-labor with you to accomplish your purposes. Don't just bless what we're trying to put together to build our way up to God because we know that it's far from your righteousness. Or who will descend into the abyss that is to bring Christ up from the dead, as if we have some power over God. We don't have resurrection power. The Lord has the resurrection power. But what does it say? The word is near you and in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith which we preach. If you've come to faith in Jesus Christ, it's in you, and you want to continue to grow in it, be changed by it. The word of God, the living, active word of God, changes us from the inside out, and it uses us to declare the good news to others so that the Jews can be saved. And this is the word that is in your mouth that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. How are you saved? You believe and you confess. You confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you believe in your heart. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, you're made right with God when you believe it by faith. When you grab that gift of God that He's given you, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Is it real? Have you been changed? If it has, it changes what comes out of your mouth. It changes what you do. It gives you a heart for others to declare, hey, there's good news. All have fallen short of the glory of God. You're all condemned, you're all heading to hell. That's good news. No, that's not the good news. The good news is, but God in his grace has sent his son in our place to die on the cross to take our sins so that we could be alive with him forever. Do you want to accept Jesus? May the Lord give us that vision, that heart, that excitement, that desperation, that time is running out. We need to declare this message. For the scripture says, whoever believes on him will not be put to shame, will be glorified, not put down, because the Lord took the wrath of God upon himself on our behalf. Verse 12, for there's no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is over all, is rich to all who call upon him. Call upon the name of the Lord, whoever you are, whatever your background. He's rich in mercy, he's rich in forgiveness, he's rich in power to change you from the inside out. For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Have you called upon the name of the Lord? Have you been changed? And if you have, what about the others? Like my heart for the Jewish people, Paul says. Verse 14, how then shall they call upon him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent, as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things. I don't know why, but we get embarrassed to share the good news of Jesus. We don't want to offend anybody. But it's the most beautiful thing you can do to a heart that's ready to receive the truth, to be set free from the sin of the bondage of sin that they're in, this captivity, this prison, this death sentence. And it's not just this preacher sitting up front. I'm called to be a preacher, a teacher of God's word. But as a Christian, as a believer in Jesus Christ, we are all called to preach the good news of the gospel. Not in the same way, but we're all called to be salt and light and to go out there and to share the good news with the world that needs to hear it. Verse 16. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? It's not up to us to make sure people get saved. Look, this is the truth of the gospel, and you better believe it. It's our job to share our testimony, to share the good news of the gospel. Let the word accomplish its purpose in hearts, but it's up to the people who hear to accept it or reject it. So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We have to declare the truth of the word, otherwise, there's no power in this Jesus fella dying for us. What does that mean? It comes from the truth of the word. And the word tells us we have all fallen short of the glory of God. And Jesus has come to set us free. But I say, have they heard? Yes, indeed. The sound has gone out to all the world, and there are words to the ends of the world. Now Jesus said, The gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth, and then I will return. And there's an aspect of this, the gospel has gone out. People have heard, but there's also another aspect of the gospel has gone out, but not everybody has heard. There are still people to connect with. There are still people that need to hear the good news. There are still people that will respond positively to the gospel if somebody comes and brings it. But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says, I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation. I will move you to anger by a foolish nation. But Isaiah is very bold and says, I was found by those who did not seek me. I was made manifest to those who do not ask me. But to Israel he says, All day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people. Look at the history of Israel. In the times of judges, in the times of kings, all through the Old Testament. They go into cycles where they believed God and there was great blessing, and they walked in that blessing and they forgot God. They started worshiping other gods and then they got into trouble. And then they cried out to God, God heard and was merciful, which is a picture of our lives too, isn't it? Do you go on in your week and you realize you've forgotten God and you've gone in your own way and you started following other idols? And do you come to that point of repentance and then he restores you back into relationship with him? And because Israel has done that, Israel was an example to the rest of the world. Part of their example was to show the righteousness of God, but the other part of their example was a negative example. You see what Israel does? God was in their midst and they still rejected him. They still went their own way. That's the human heart. We don't seek after God, we go our own way. And yet we learn from Israel. We learn by the example of Sodom and Gomorrah. We looked at that a couple of verses ago. If it wasn't for God's grace, we would be like Sodom and Gomorrah. If it wasn't for the seed of the Messiah that would come, the Lord of the Sabbath that would come and bring us rest, we would be like Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed. They were made an example for us to realize the judgment of God is real. But the Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some would count slackness. He is bringing judgment, but he's long-suffering, not willing that any would perish, but all that would come to the knowledge of God. But at some point he realizes that hearts have been hardened so hard that they're not going to change. So he's going to harden them like he hardened Pharaoh's heart, and then judgment will come. All these thoughts, all these ideas, all this theology that Paul is bringing to us comes down to the fact that, you know, we learn from each other, but ultimately we learn that we need the Lord. And the Lord has made a way where there was no way, and he changes us from the inside out. Lord, thank you for this study this morning. Lots to consider. Paul was a very deep thinker, and he gives us so many different angles to consider. And he has a heart for the lost, especially his people, his family. And Lord, we have a heart for our family and friends and our nation as well that desperately needs you. Lord, would you work in our midst? Would you bring people to repentance? Would you open up their eyes? Would you open up their ears to have the ears of faith, to hear the word of God that is powerful, to change souls? And would you use us to do it? And Lord, that implies that we would be right with you, that we would be walking in faith and not in our flesh. Lord, continue to help us to daily deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and to follow after you. To walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. We thank you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.

unknown 24:03

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

That's Pastor Carl of the Mountain Cross. He's simply going through the book of Romans, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. There's just something about having the full counsel of God's Word, and that's our aim. To read and go through the full counsel of what God wants to teach us. Imagine the Apostle Paul writing this letter and sharing the good news, the gospel, to the nations beyond. He was giving a thorough explanation of the fact that before Jesus, we were trapped in a state of sin that was oppressive and limiting. Even following the laws of the Old Testament wasn't going to do us any good, as far as needing to be rescued. But through Jesus' mercy and grace, every single person has the opportunity to be brought into the fold, the family of God. Isn't that an incredible thing to think about? We are adopted by God and brought into his family. If you're not sure what some of this means, or if you'd like to learn more about being adopted by God, you can go to themountaincross.com where you can get a clearer understanding of what it all means for you personally. We have a tab at the top called How to Know God. Click on that and go from there. Once more, that website is themountaincross.com. We're so glad you've taken the time to listen to what Pastor Carl had to share in today's study of Romans. There's so much more to grow in as we study the Word. So come on up to the mountain with us again tomorrow as we seek to learn more from the Lord through His Word. Come on Up is sponsored by the Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.