THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE

ROMANS 10:8-13

FCF: There is a human tendency to put ourselves above others with reference to salvation.

Proposition: Since God relates to all men in the same way and we are all sinners, we all have the same possibility of being saved.

Objective: Evangelistic.

Introduction:

God is both the Judge and the Savior of all men.

When we stand before God as judge, there will be no difference. “For there is no respect of persons with God.” (2:11) God will not base His judgment on our religious affiliation or racial background. Being Jewish or Gentile will make no difference on that day. Being circumcised or not being circumcised will not make a difference on that day. Being male or female will not matter to the Judge. The only thing that will matter on that day is how much of the truth of God did we know, and what did we do with it. We will be judged based on the amount of light that we have received. We will be judged on the basis of what we have done with that light.

God’s judgment is truly and fully without respect of persons. Your national heritage and religious affiliation will make no difference. On that day all of the outward trappings of this world will be stripped away, and we will stand before God just a human being, one created in His image and after His likeness. Nothing else will matter that day!

But Paul uses the “no difference” expression in two different passages in this letter. In the first he indicates that there is no difference in our need of salvation; in the second he indicates that there is no difference in the way of salvation. As understood in the Roman letter Salvation is a work of God by which He forgives us of our sin and prepares us to spend eternity with Him. The epistle makes clear that we all need this work and that God alone can do this work. Understanding these two things, and accepting them as true, could make an eternal difference in your life.

  1. There is No Difference in our Need of Salvation.

The first “no difference” statement comes as a summarizing statement related to our sinfulness—“For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This is a leveling statement that puts Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, European and American, black and white, Romanian, Hungarian and gypsy on the same level before God.

The statement summarizes the diagnosis of the Apostle. He takes the inspired and insightful statements of the Old Testament and exposes the hopeless and desperate situation—unless God acts to save us we are eternally condemned. Let’s walk through the passage that becomes the basis for this conclusion. Actually the Apostle like a prosecuting attorney makes a charge, sets forth his proof from the scriptures, and then draws his conclusion.

  1. The charge (v. 9).

The apostolic charge is that both Jews and Gentiles demonstrate the same inclination toward sin. When you listen to their conversation, and observe their deeds, their sinfulness will become obvious. To be “under sin” is a terrible situation. Since we are under the control of sinful inclinations within, we are obviously also under the condemnation of sin.

  1. The proof (v. 10-17)

The case against us is clearly stated in a series of quotations from the Old Testament.

  1. None righteous (v. 10)

By this we are to understand that there is not a human being who consistently and effectively does the right thing in every situation. If you will evaluate the deeds that we do and listen to the words that we speak, we obviously come short of God’s standard of perfect righteousness. Not all of our deeds are full of love, and not all of our words express love.

  1. None that understands.

None of us understand or comprehend God. There is a condemning ignorance of God and of the things of God in all of us. Even though we were made by Him and live in the world that He also made, and even though we are dependent on Him for every breath that we breathe, we are still in the dark about Him. And truthfully the human family has little interest in knowing about God. The human family is content to live on in the darkness that the spiritual ignorance imposes upon us.

  1. No One Seeks God (v. 11)

This is not the conclusion reached by some pollster, or some researcher. This is the analysis of the One who know all things. He has watched and observed the humans as they live upon the earth, and His finding is that not one of the humans naturally seeks after Him. None! Any time you find a human who has an inclination to seek after God, it is because God has been seeking after her. No one seeks the Father unless he is drawn—so stated the Lord Jesus.

  1. All turned aside (v. 12a)

God has revealed to the human family the right way to live. He has put a witness to right and wrong in the bosom of every human—it is called a conscience. But the report of the Eternal Observer is that every human being who has lived has turned aside from the right path. They have intentionally chosen to say things and do things that they knew in their heart were wrong.

  1. All are Unprofitable (v. 12b)

This may be the most revealing statement in the whole list. The evaluation of the Creator who knows all things is that we have become worthless. We have become like vegetables in the market place that have spoiled, and have become not fit for sale.

I worked in a supermarket during of my teen years. Most of my time there I worked in the produce section of the larger market. During my time of employment there we developed a potato shortage in the country—and that was a serious situation. We depended on potatoes and beans. They were usually cheap and they were available.

During that shortage I was assigned by the manager the task of sorting some potatoes he had been able to buy. Part of the potatoes were rotten, unusable, and I was supposed to sort out the good ones from the bad ones. Have you ever smelled a rotten potato? It is terrible! They have a lot of water in them and when they spoil this water smells terrible. As I would pick up a bad potato, the terrible juice would get on my hands, drip down my arms, and drip on my pants.

The potatoes that I sorted out as bad were worthless. There was no market for them. If the beloved apostle who wrote this letter had visited in that storeroom that morning, this is the very word he would have used to describe the potatoes. God uses that word to describe us. In our sin we have become worthless. While the world may speak kindly of us, our Creator has a different opinion—and He is the final judge in all matters.

  1. None do good (v. 12).

Interestingly this one is emphasized—“no, not one”. By God’s standard not one of us does good. You may protest, but the word of the Lord stands. For a thing to be perfectly good it has to be done for the right reason—for the glory of the Creator God. It must also be done in the right manner—as a loving act. I have become painfully aware that many things I do have more of self in it than I want to admit. It can be all about me in the end. It will not pass God’s goodness test—it may pass yours, but not His.

  1. Consider what comes out our mouths (v. 13-14).
  2. Consider our tendency toward violence (v. 15-16)
  3. Consider the tendency toward broken relationships (v. 17)
  4. Consider the absence of the fear of the Lord (v. 18)
  1. The verdict (v. 19, 22)

The whole world stands guilty before Holy God. The situation is so hopeless that there is nothing that we can ever do in our own strength or by our own efforts to make ourselves right before God. We are in desperate need of a Savior. At this point there is absolutely no difference. We are all in need of mercy and grace.

  1. There is No Difference in the Way of Salvation.

Thanks be to God that Paul did not stop with the analysis of our condition. He added a summarizing word about the Divine solution. It raises hope in the heart of guilty sinners.

  1. The Source of Salvation is the same for all.

Salvation is a work of God. “For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.” The statement is clear—it is the “same Lord” who does the work of salvation. He is rich enough in Himself to bestow salvation upon everyone who believes in Him.

This excludes the church as the source of salvation. The role of the church in salvation is simply and only the proclamation of the Gospel. “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach).” The church cannot save—it can only share with you the Gospel of salvation.

This excludes man—you cannot save yourself. The very idea in the word “saved” excluded human effort. The word means to deliver, to rescue, and to heal. You are the one in need—not the hero who rescues someone. You are the patient, not the doctor. Is this not an encouraging truth—your salvation is in the hands of One who is more than able to save.

  1. The Availability of Salvation is the same for all.

There are two words used by the apostle that give emphasis to this. “All” is such a word. It is an inclusive word. All! “The same Lord is rich to all who call upon him.”

“Whosoever” is another word. “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.” “For whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Do you grasp the breadth of that word?

Dr. Harry Ironside told of an old Scotsman who did not understand this word. He had heard only the strict reformed proclamation of the faith that gave emphasis to the elect. He was never sure as to whether he was one of the elect or not.

One morning as he worked in the field, a piece of paper came flying across the field. He picked it up, and to his surprise it was a page from the Bible. It was a copy of the third chapter of John. He was not able to read very well, but he made a valiant attempt. When he came to the 16th verse, he stumbled over it. He did not understand this word “whosoever” that came right in the middle of the verse.

A school boy came across the field on his way to school. The old man stopped him, and asked him if he could read. The boy assured him that he could, and took the piece of paper from the old man. He read through the 16th verse as fast as he could, to impress the old man. The old man stopped him and asked about the word “whosoever”. What does that word mean? The boy smiled at the ignorance of the old man and said, “Why sir, that means you, me, or any other body!”

About the time the boy heard the school bell, and hurried off, leaving the old man with the page in his hand. He read it again, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that ‘you, me, or any other body’ believeth in Him, should not perish but have eternal life.” The old man embraced the words to his heart and rejoiced in them. He could be saved! It was available to everyone, including him!

  1. The Response for Salvation is the same for all.

So salvation is the work of the Lord, is there nothing for me to do? There is!

  1. You must receive the word of the Gospel into your heart.

The word gets into your heart through your eyes and through your ears. The apostle reminds us how near the word is to each of us. “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” How did it get there? It gets into your heart as your hear this word of truth preached, or as you read the words of the Gospel for yourself. Instead of resisting or rejecting this word, you must open your heart to it. You must begin to listen to it.

  1. You must call upon the Lord for salvation.

Then you must act upon what you have heard. You believe what you have heard, and then you call upon the Lord. This call is made through prayer as you believingly ask the Lord to save you.

Jesus told about a person who realized the truth that we discussed earlier. He understood that he was a sinner deserving eternal condemnation. He went to the temple with a heavy heart. He bowed his head, and beat upon his chest to express the need that he felt. From the depth of his heart he prayed, “God, be merciful to me the sinner.” The gracious God of salvation heard him, and granted to him mercy and salvation on the spot. He went home that day justified! The same thing could happen to you tonight. This could be the night of your salvation if you would only call upon the Lord!!

  1. You must confess Jesus as Lord before men.

Another way of expressing this is, “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. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Let me ask you, “Do you believe in your heart that Christ died for your sins? Do you believe that God raised Him from the dead? Do you believe that He is able to save you? Do you believe that He is willing to save you? Are you willing to confess Him before others? Are you willing to declare to the world that Jesus is your only hope of eternal life?” If you answered these questions in the affirmative, then salvation is near. It is as near as a prayer.

Salvation came to my heart while I was still a child. I became aware that I too was among the lost, the sinners. I was not different from everyone else at the point.

I went to my mother with my sense of lostness, and she read this passage to me. That night as I knelt by my mother’s bed, I opened my heart to the word of the Gospel, and called upon the Lord for salvation. The process of His saving work in me began that night. It is still going on, but He will surely finish what He has begun.

I want to urge to open your heart to the Gospel and to call upon the name of the Lord. You can leave this house of worship tonight with the salvation of the Lord in your heart.

(Alternate Conclusion)

John Wesley told about disturbing dream he had. He dreamed that an angel took him to Hell and let him look into the awful place. He asked the angel, “Sir, do you have any Catholics here?” The angel quickly answered, “O sure, we have Catholics here?” Then Wesley asked, “Do you have any Methodist down here?” The angel replied again, “Yes sir, there are a Methodist here?” Then the preacher asked, “Sir, Do you have any Baptist down here?” Again the same distressing answer, “Yes, there are Baptists here.” The angel let him know that members from all religious groups could be found there.

But then the angel took him to heaven. And again Wesley questioned the angel, “Sir, are there Catholics here?” The angel surprised him by saying, “No there are no Catholics here?” Then he wanted to know, “Are there any Methodist here?” But the same answer, “No, we do not have any Methodist.” “Are there any Baptist here?” the preacher asked. “No, there are no Baptist here?”

Exasperated by what he had learned, Wesley demanded of the angel, “Then who is here?” The angel quietly replied, “Only those who have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. Only those who have trusted in Jesus alone for salvation!”

There is no difference!

All need to be saved!

There is only one Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Will you trust Him as your Savior?