Rescued From The Folly Of Self-Salvation Part 1

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

It's clear the Apostle Paul knew nothing of political correctness. He catalogues the depth of human depravity in chapter 3 of the book of Romans, a list many would argue with, but an accurate list nonetheless. Today, seeing our true condition and why we are in such desperate need of the grace of God as revealed in Jesus. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, you're talking about being rescued from the folly of self-salvation. Why do so many people feel they have no need for salvation at all?

Dave, the answer to that question is because they think that they are going to be judged on the curve, so to speak, and they always look at other people and say, I'm better than so-and-so. And so they think to themselves they're going to get to heaven based on their good works. Like a man on a plane told me, I plan to stand before God on the basis of my own record.

I told him that his own record is going to reveal a lot of sin, a lot of self-deception, and I hope that he understood the need for God's grace and God's intervention. You know, these messages on salvation are so critical in a confused world. Let me ask, would you like to have these messages so that you can listen to them again and again? We're making them available as a resource.

For a gift of any amount, they can be yours. Here's what you do. Go to RTWOffer.com.

That's RTWOffer.com, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Ask for the series of messages entitled, Rescued, What God Did to Save Us. My topic today is the folly of self-salvation. We as human beings are very interesting creatures, aren't we? On the one hand, potential for great good. On the other hand, potential for unimaginable evil. All existing in human nature, all existing at times in the very same heart. I recall watching the news, and there was a time when I saw news about a tremendously ugly assault of a woman.

I'll just let you fill in the details. And then after the commercial, they came back with a story about a woman who was using her own band, spending her own money to feed the poor. And I thought, what an interesting commentary on human nature. And those seeds of great wickedness and the seeds of goodness lie in the human heart. But today we're going to examine the human heart from God's perspective, and we're not going to like what we see. But Martin Luther said that it is not possible, he said, for us to ascend into heaven until we have first descended and descended into hell.

So we're going to look at human nature in all of its ugliness. And as we look at this, some of you are going to argue with what the Bible has to say. And when you argue with what the Bible has to say, it only shows you don't really understand yourself and you don't understand grace. There are many people who believe that grace is wonderful and we're glad for it, but they have no idea why it is so amazing. Now when I preach, I frequently emphasize that I want you to hear the entire message, and that's always the case. But today especially, if you're listening on the radio and there's another segment of the message, be sure to listen next time because to simply look at the human heart itself can be very depressing.

But I'm doing it so that we might understand grace, the amazing grace of God, and that's why I'm going to end by a very brief exposition of grace. Now in order for you to understand the human heart, you must realize that as individuals, we are not like individual stalks of corn. It's much better for us to see ourselves as part of a tree, and the root of the tree is corrupt thanks to Adam and Eve. And because of Adam and Eve and their sin, they can be thought of as the acorn that is in the ground. And from now on, everything that grows is going to be cursed.

Oh, your branch might be much straighter than that of someone else, to be sure. But at the end of the day, we're all part of a very corrupt, perverse tree. And in order for us to understand that, I do invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3. And we're going to begin looking at verse 9, and we're going to go through this catalog of human nature.

There was a man in Scotland who was walking through a park, and he had a leather satchel, and some of the young people there thought that he had a camera in it. Actually, he had a New Testament in it. So they said to him, would you take our picture? He said, I already have. And then he read this passage of scripture to them.

This is like a window into the human heart, and it's not a pretty picture. But it'll help us to understand grace. Now in verse 9, Paul says, what then? Chapter 3 of Romans.

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all, for we have already charged that all both Jews and Greeks are under sin.

What an expression. Of course, we are sinners, but we are also under sin. That can mean under sin's dominion, under sin's judgment, but also just the stress and the weight of sin.

Some of you understand that very well. Right now, you are, in your own spirit and your own mind, struggling with this weight of sin. The imagery is that of John Bunyan, Bunyan in the Pilgrim's Progress.

And by the way, this is immortalized on his tomb in London that Rebecca and I saw a few years ago. He visualizes Pilgrim with a very heavy burden of sin, and this pilgrim on the way to the heavenly city is burdened down and can bear it no more. And then he comes to the foot of the cross, and the burden is rolled off at the foot of the cross, and it rolls into the tomb of Christ. And now Christian is able to stand up and to stand erect because the weight of sin has been taken from him.

That's the imagery. We are all under sin. Now what Paul does is he quotes many verses from the Old Testament, and I think he gives something like a 16-point indictment of human nature.

We're going to comment on some of them very briefly. And when we are through, you're going to want to catch your breath and say, am I really that bad? And the Apostle Paul would say, yes, and a whole lot more.

Are you ready for the journey? First of all, Paul says in verse 10, there is none righteous, no, not one, no one understands. And we want to argue. And we want to say, look at all the good things that we have done. Look at the good things that human nature has been able to accomplish. But you must remember that Paul is looking at this from God's viewpoint. When judged in relationship with each other, there are righteous, and there are unrighteous.

But when judged by the holy law of God, there is none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understands. In and of themselves, they don't understand. That doesn't mean that humans aren't brilliant.

There are professors in universities today that can give a brilliant exposition of Christianity. And they may even be right in what they say. But yet, they miss the point.

They don't get it. And they don't believe it for themselves. So there's none who understands, really, left to ourselves. And then the Apostle Paul goes on, and we just follow him along this way. No one seeks after God.

Again, you want to argue with Paul. And you want to say that in religion and in history, man is incurably religious. And so people are groping after God all the time. And you're saying there's none that seeks after God? Text says none that seeks after God. The best imagery of human nature is Adam and Eve in the garden. They were not looking for God. They were hiding themselves in the trees of the garden, trying to get away from him.

Now mind you, they did have fig leaves to cover their shame. And all of human religion, as people quote, seek for that which is spiritual, they are really seeking an answer to their guilt. They're seeking some kind of a experience that will give them meaning to life. But certainly in what is called today the new spirituality, none of those people are seeking after God.

No not one. They are seeking for ways to run from God. A holy God to whom they have to give an account? A God who is going to judge their behavior? Are you telling me that they are seeking for him?

They are running from him as fast as they can. But meanwhile they go into various branches of spirituality to try to find meaning and hope and try to somehow manage their sin. Now you say, well I know people who sought God and they're Christians today.

Yes of course. Because what the Bible says is that if we have found Christ, it is that Christ came looking for us. He came to seek and to save that which was lost, the scripture says. It is God who came to Adam and Eve there in the garden and came seeking for them but they were not seeking for him. So far as I know when it comes to sheep, and I've never been a shepherd but I know some people who have been, when it comes to sheep, the sheep never go around saying hey we have to go try to find the shepherd.

The shepherd has to find the sheep. And Jesus said no man can come to me unless the father draw him. So God does seek individuals. That's the message of the gospel. But in and of themselves, nobody seeks after God. And then it says, as if that isn't harsh enough, he says all of us have turned aside. The imagery there is of sheep going astray.

Together they become worthless. No one does good, not even one. And that includes you and it includes me. You know when you look into your heart, and I've been a student of human nature, somehow human nature fascinates me because I know what is in my heart and I suspect it's much like what is in your heart.

When you think of human nature, you must realize that we even as redeemed people, as redeemed people, everything that we do is tainted with self-interest and sin. I've given this illustration of the time when I'm driving along and it's not a busy street, but it is a street kind of out in the country, not too far from the city. And there on the side of the road is a woman who has pulled off and I stop and ask her what the problem is and she says my car is out of gasoline. I should have put some in, but it ran out of gasoline.

So what do I do? I go back to a service station and of course they wouldn't trust me with a can that I could just use and bring back. So I buy a can, a one gallon can, gasoline, I put gasoline in it of course, and then I take it, put it in the trunk and take it to where she is. And there I am half in a ditch with a suit on.

Catch the picture. With a suit on and I am filling her tank or at least putting in one gallon of gasoline into her tank and just like that the thought came to me, I wish all of the people at Moody Church could see me now. Nothing that you and I do is untainted from self-interest and sin. And you know how we as Christians even become pleasing to the Father?

You know how that happens? Jesus takes our imperfect works and makes them pleasing to the Father because we can't even do that on our own. Now when it comes to those who do not know God through Christ, there is none who does good that God can accept. No, not one. We are all part of a tree that has been cursed by God.

Wow. Well, we continue on now and Paul actually uses parts of the human body to show how this sin within us lives out and he begins with the mouth. You'll notice it says in verse 13, their throat is an open grave.

The imagery is not that there was somebody who was buried and they forgot to put the lid on the casket nearly as much as it really is that the person has been buried for a long time and now the lid is being taken off and what you have is a stench coming from the tomb. You say, well, you know, this is exaggerating it a little bit. You know, in polite company there are certain words that you don't use and so people clean up their act, so to speak, but have you ever been in a company where you don't have that social pressure? I remember as a student at university, I marveled first of all at all of the epithets and the uncleanness that came out of students' mouths and then what really surprised me was that it wasn't just among the boys, it was also the young women, some young women, beautiful young women saying very unclean things. Paul says their throat is just like that. Some of you know that.

You work in environments where just one word after another is an unclean word. So it says they've all turned aside, together they become worthless, their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive, the venom of asps, that is snakes, vipers, is under their lips, always retaliation, always an insistence on making themselves look good and other people look bad, and you'll notice it says their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Again, man without God is like that. Jesus said from within the heart of man come evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, thefts, covetousness, and then he says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

James says you can't have a dirty well and then find within it clean water, likening it onto the human heart. You say well again this is an exaggeration. Years ago I read a book entitled The Day America Told the Truth. Now this was years ago so I might be wrong on some things but if I remember correctly about 50% of the people interviewed said that they lie at least once a day, at least once a day, some multiple times a day. And then I was surprised at the number of people who would do despicable things if you could absolutely guarantee that they would never be found out. And even such things as what they'd be willing to do for 10 million dollars. I think it was about 7% who said that they'd leave their wife and their family for 10 million dollars.

And on and on it goes and you look at that the day America told the truth and you say to yourself wow. Of course there's an interesting philosophical puzzle I wasn't going to comment on but since I have your attention I will. If somebody tells you that he's a liar can you believe him? I mean that's just thrown out there. Paul has an interesting comment in the New Testament. He says all accretions are liars and he said the reason I know that is because accretion told me. I've always been interested in that. Can you believe accretion if he tells you that all accretions are liars? Set that aside folks let's get back to the text all right.

So you'll notice that that is the way it is. I like the prayer that was prayed by Fred Holloman, chaplain of the Senate in Kansas. Wouldn't you love to pray this in the U.S. Congress? Omniscient Father help us to know who's telling the truth. One side tells us one thing the other side just the opposite and if neither side is telling the truth we'd like to know that too. And if each side is telling only half the truth give us the wisdom to put the right halves together. Great prayer, great prayer.

There is none that does good. All right so he talks about our speech and then he says their feet are swift to shed blood. That's verse 15. It means that they very easily resort to violence. They resort to violence and retaliation. Everything has to be retaliated. There can be no injustice and you did this to me and I'll do that to you. Always violence and retaliation. In their paths are ruin and misery the way of shalom the way of peace they have not known.

You know my friend someone described it to me this way. You're standing on a floor because you believe that this is as deep as evil can go and then you discover that under you there's someone knocking. There's still another story beneath you.

The evil of the human heart is absolutely overwhelming and that's why I am so thankful for God's grace and the book of Romans as you've probably heard me say takes us apart piece by piece but then it puts us together showing us the wonder of God's grace. Would you like to have these messages so that you can listen to them again and again? Share them with your friends. Listen to them a second or third time as these truths become a part of who you are. For a gift of any amount these messages can be yours.

Here's what you do. Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. We're making this resource available to you because as you frequently hear us say we want to help you make it all the way to the finish line and even as you connect with us I want to thank you so much for your involvement for your gifts because we view this ministry as your ministry. It's not the ministry of a church or a man or an organization. It is yours.

For a gift of any amount ask for the series of messages entitled Rescued RTWOffer.com or if you prefer call us at 1-888-218-9337. It's time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Sometimes Bible promises don't seem to square with the realities of life. Patty is quite concerned about this and she wrote to say, the promise of scripture is that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. Yet I know several devout Christians who became so depressed that they took their own lives. How can you reconcile this? Patty, I want you to know that that's a question I have thought about often and I wish that I had a real good clear cookie cutter kind of answer.

I don't. But I do have some thoughts that I think will put it in perspective. First of all I need to say that people who do that I believe simply are not using all the resources at their disposal. Even if they are going through a time of depression. Sometimes they are keeping this to themselves rather than going to the body of Christ where there can be some healing, accountability, and corporate prayer. Because I believe that of course a person who commits suicide dies as a failure.

I mean they are putting a period where God only intended that there be a comma. And so because he has not tempted us above that we are able, we need to access all the resources that God gives us. His word, prayer, and the people of God and any other helps that are able to make us get through those difficult patches of life. And so what I would say also though is that I believe that true Christians who commit suicide are in heaven. I mean I have known missionaries who have come back from the mission field depressed, very much discouraged, they have committed suicide even though they have been used of the Lord to win other people to Jesus Christ.

But still that does not justify committing suicide. So what we need to do Patti I think at the end of the day is this is not take for granted the fact that we can face any difficulty, any trial, any temptation simply because we are Christians. We need to avail ourselves of all the scriptural teaching that there is along with the body of Christ and trust him even in the dark.

And because of God's promises I believe that can be done. Thank you Patti and thank you Dr. Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered go to our website at RTWOffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Through the Gospel, God in his grace confers his own righteousness on those who believe in his Son. Next time, why that's truly amazing grace. This is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.