Pastor John Piper’s first sermon to Bethlehem following his sabbatical is now on-line, both in audio and written format.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
The topic he takes on here is of extraordinary importance. I spent a semester wrestling with the issue of justification and God’s grace in a Greek exegesis class on Romans 9-11. I wrote a 12 page paper on Rom. 9:30-10:13. Upshot: the law of God called for perfect obedience, which no sinner could provide. Righteousness was the goal of the law, but it could only be attained apart from the law (Rom. 3:21). Righteousness was never attainable by (sinful) human performance. Abraham was counted righteous by faith in the Old Testament (Rom. 4:3), and this was written for our sakes also, because we are likewise counted righteous when we place faith in the death and resurrection of Christ (Rom. 4:23-24). That is why the parable of the tax collector who is justified (Luke 18:9-14) — rather than the other man — is so riveting.