"Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."

Romans 10:1-4 (NIV)

"I believe in one God,

the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the Only Begotten Son of God,

born of the Father before all ages.

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;

through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,

and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered death and was buried,

and rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come.

Amen."

- Nicene Creed

Every denomination of Christianity has believed and practiced these scriptural truths.

• Jehovah’s Witnesses claim Jesus is not deity.

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

- John 8:58-59 (NIV)

A finite being cannot pay the infinite penalty our sins deserve. Only an infinite being could pay an infinite penalty.

• Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons strip Jesus of his divine nature and nullify his work of atonement.

The beauty of the Christian gospel is that God substituted Himself! Immanuel: God With Us!

• Jehovah Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

- Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

- Matthew 1:23 (NIV)

• Sincerity does not mean Truth. A person can be sincerely wrong!

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

- 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV)

• Some are not convinced that God has revealed the truth.

"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”"

John 14:6 (NIV)

"I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen."

Romans 9:1-5 (NIV)

Adoption: God sovereignly selected Israel as the family through whom the Messiah would come!

Glory: The Shekinah glory of God dwelled among the people in the temple and tabernacle in the holy of Holies.

Covenants: The promise of redemption and salvation and the restoration of all things lost.

Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob....

Yet, the people of Israel are lost! As a result Paul says: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.”

"Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness."

- Romans 10:1-3 (NIV)

It is possible to be sincere and spend your entire life being religious and still be lost!

Paul makes only two distinctions that are still applicable today:

"Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness."

- Romans 10:3 (NIV)

One: Establish your own righteousness.

Two: Submit to God’s righteousness.

To be declared righteous under the law you actually have to keep it. Completely and perfectly!

As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.”

- Romans 3:10-12 (NIV)

"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin."

- Romans 3:19-20 (NIV)

One: Establish your own righteousness.

Two: Submit to God’s righteousness.

"Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."

- Romans 10:3-4 (NIV)

"God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith."

- Romans 3:25a (NIV)

Our sin alienates us from God and life. Jesus brought us back to God.

"He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."

- Romans 3:25b-26 (NIV)

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”"

- Romans 1:16-17 (NIV)

God’s righteousness saves you. He met the requirements of the law on your behalf.

You get to choose the manner in which you will relate to God: Law vs Grace

"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

- Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV)

• Great white throne: the image of authority.

• Two kinds of books:

One is what might be called "A Book of Merit."

But there is another book. That’s the book of Life.

What lie have you believed? What have you believed, all of your life, sincerely, and you have been wrong?

"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”"

- John 14:6 (NIV)

Make a Decision