TRANSCRIPT God Is Opening His Arms To Us; Let Us Obey (Romans 10:5-21) A Sermon By Elise Beatrice - Thursday 17 July 2025 Holy Father, God Almighty, may Your will be done in the name of Your Son, Jesus, my God. I pray that You take over, Lord, that You let Your Holy Spirit guide us. Your will be done, my glorious Saviour, Jesus Christ. Thank You that Your grace is sufficient for us, and Your power is made perfect in our weakness. Let Your power, please, Lord, be made perfect in all our weaknesses. In Your holy Name, Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen. Romans 10:5-21, 5 For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 6 But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). 7 And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” 8 In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jews and Gentiles are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” 16 But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. 18 But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have: “The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.”19 But I ask, did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God said, “I will rouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles.” 20 And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, “I was found by people who were not looking for Me. I showed myself to those who were not asking for Me.” 21 But regarding Israel, God said, “All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.” Yes, this is a powerful passage. Many have misunderstood this passage a lot. Because of the misunderstanding of many about this passage, some believe that everything in the past should not be respected today: some believe that everything in the Old Testament Bible should not be followed today. In fact, some people label the Old Testament as being Archaic when it is not. Of course, if somebody wants to believe that they don't have to follow anything in the Old Testament, they will have to quote the Bible Verse like this one to back up their case, but it is not the case. The Apostle here is not telling us not to obey the Lord; he is not telling us not to obey the Law of God. "5 For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands..." Among those commands, some are the ceremonial laws. Please note that even some ceremonial laws have a deep spiritual meaning, and if we fail to understand them, we might actually fail to listen to the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who saves us. Every word spoken by the Lord God about a physical matter, if it is ordained by the Lord, and also applies to us today, following it means obeying the Lord. And obedience to the Lord God shows our love for Him, and the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, commands us to love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our minds. Because if the Lord God has decreed those laws, it means they meant something to Him, and are good for us. Since they meant something to Him, they still do today, if they are about His Son Jesus and the salvation of humankind. And it will be so until the Lord Jesus comes again. Also, every word spoken by God, directly or through His prophets, that has a spiritual meaning pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ must be obeyed, because failing to do so means disobeying the Lord. Often, when some don't understand the meaning of the Lord's words, they may be quick to dismiss them, concluding that they are old-fashioned and do not apply to them. But the Lord has taught me so much beauty, deep meaning coming from beneath His words, in the Old and New Testaments. He has left me speechless, and even some of the Lord's instructions that might appear to be just tradition turn out to be richly filled with deep spiritual meanings, pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, our only salvation. And if we approach the Lord's instructions with prejudice or wrong assumptions, we miss out on those divine riches. And if we miss out on those divine riches that nourish our souls and set us free from lies and darkness, we might also miss out on our Eternal Salvation. What if that very instruction of the Lord you are dismissing or labelling as archaic, old-fashioned, is precisely that one that will lead you to the Lord Jesus Christ as never before, if you seek to understand its meaning? Some Ceremonial laws, the things that have nothing to do with sin, but with their way of living, their culture, might not apply to many. However, the Law of God, His Commandments against sin, against immorality, against evil; hatred for good, rebellion, idolatry and more, and His prophecies, all of which point to Christ, will always stand and apply to all people in the world, in all generations. The Word of God cannot be replaced. The Ten Commandments of God must always be obeyed, because their deep meaning reveals what we can't do without. Even His Commandment number four, which is 'to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy,' goes deeper than that. It's not really about going to church on Saturday, but about the deep spiritual meaning behind it. So, for this reason, the Ten Commandments of God must be respected and every Law that God has decreed as ‘the prescription for sin.’ So, when we sin, what do we need as the prescription for that sin? God will judge everyone by His moral Law, whether it is decreed in the Old or New Testament. So, the Lord did not abolish the Law. However, He rebukes people for prioritising the ceremonial laws like handwashing while dismissing one of the most important commandments like “Children, “Honor your father and mother…” What is declared by God as important, as moral and righteous, will never change because all those God’s Laws are prescriptions for evil, and evil was there even before the world began, through satan, and he came and deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden, and that was because of disobedience. And every Commandment of God teaches us obedience, what we should do and what we should not do. It's about love, and love will never be erased because God is Love, and everything that opposes Love is against Love. So, God's Ten Commandments are about love. So if people love justice, if they love morality, if they love what is just, if they love Father God Almighty and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and if they love their neighbour, they should follow the Ten Commandments without fuss, which are the Lord Jesus' Two Commandments. So, Christ has never spoken against His Father's Commandments. He has never said to disregard the Ten Commandments; He has never said to put the Old Testament on the shelf and label it Archaic. And the Apostle is not saying not to respect God's Law. But Christ came, and so, we listen to Christ because God said, "Listen to my Son." And Christ said, "Come to Me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your soul, for my yoke is easy and burden is light." So, we have to follow every single Law that is a prescription for sin because that is a way of living that is pleasing to God and keeps us out of darkness. Father God sent us His Son, Jesus, and commanded all of us to listen to Him. So, if we are listening to the Lord Jesus Christ and obeying His Commandments, He gives us His Holy Spirit, who, then, from within us, reveals the hidden meaning beneath God's words in the Old Testament just as in the New Testament. The Lord said in John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." This includes every word and everything He has ever spoken directly or through His prophets, in the Old and in the New Testament, because everything points to Him, and although He is the New Covenant, even the words He or His Father has ever spoken are still valid today and will always be. Some believers today, who rebel against the Lord's ways and claim that the Old Testament is archaic, quote Romans 10:5-10 in this way, "Moses writes that the Law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands... But the Apostle of Christ, Paul, says that 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." They actually claim that the Apostle said that we don't have to follow the Lord's moral Law in the Old Testament. And because of this, many Christians have labelled the Old Testament as Archaic. Please note that you have misunderstood the Apostle of Christ, Paul. This is not what he meant because the whole passage shows how God feels about disobedient and rebellious believers in the past and also today. Beneath every verse of the Scriptures lies a deep meaning, and we must always seek to let the Lord Jesus reveal it to us. Also, the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 5: 17-19, 17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s Law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven." So, the Old Testament is not archaic, it is not old-fashioned, nor are the words of the Lord, even those He spoke in the very beginning. God has spoken, and His words remain forever. It still stands that if you kill someone, you're going against God's Law, and if you die, as a murderer, in your sins, with no repentance, you will go to hell. Nowadays, in this generation, it still stands that if you disrespect the commandment number six, "Thou shalt not murder," and kill people, and you die in your sins, you will go to hell; it still stands; that is because what God considered as sin back then is still a sin now. What God sees as sin and has decreed a commandment to fight that sin, so that we can use His words as prescriptions for sin, is still sin today, and the only solution to that sin is obedience to God. And if we don't obey God, we're still living like those who are rebelling against God, and the punishment will still happen. I see that when people choose to disregard the moral Commandments, it is just an excuse for them to do their own way, which is evil. Just because someone disregards God's moral commandments doesn't mean that their disregard erases them from life; they are still there, have been since the beginning, in all generations, are there now, and will be until Christ Himself comes again and will judge everyone by this Book, the Old Testament and the New Testament. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." The Lord Jesus said in John 12:48, "There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day." Christ is the Word of God, and when He is speaking these words, He is speaking in accordance with His Father's will. His words are His Father's words, and His Father's words are His words. And He's in charge of that, because Father God has given Him all authority; All authorities in Heaven and on Earth have been given to Him. So, we should listen to Christ, as Father God commanded us all to listen to His Son, instead of looking for an excuse to escape from the words of God and say, 'The Old Testament is archaic." Many people want to avoid obedience to God, and they want a shortcut; they want to believe that Christ died for them on the Cross, and that they don't have to do anything, but that is a wrong belief that they don't have to do anything. For this reason, they live in sin, they disobey God, they disregard what God said in the Holy Bible. They want to obtain salvation, but they don't want to do anything that the Lord says. Christ died for us, but He's not just giving that salvation to everybody, because if that were the case, He would be giving that salvation even to those who don't believe; to all the idolaters who don't even repent of their sins. He would be giving that salvation to all humans, and if that were the case, indeed, there would not be hell, and everyone would go to Heaven. But it is not the case. The Bible teaches in Ephesians 2:8-9 that God saved us by His grace when we believed. And we can’t take credit for this because it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. This is true because when our Lord Jesus died on the Cross for us, it was not because of what we have done, for we have only sinned against Him, but it was because of His love for us, His grace and mercy. But now, after He died for us and saved us from our sins when we believed in Him, we cannot then return to darkness and serve satan all over again. Once He saves us, if we don’t remain in His love and faithful to His teachings, the devil catches us again. Obedience to the Lord keeps us in His love and in His light, and Him in us. Because He said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, obey My Commandments. So, let’s not take the Lord Jesus’ grace, His love and mercy for granted. We should not forget that no one will obtain salvation through rebellion and disobedience to God's words. If we disobey the One who takes us to Heaven, how then will we get there? Do we know the way to Heaven other than our Lord Jesus Christ? Let's respect God here; Let's respect His words. If you accept that He died for you, then accept His words; let Him guide you with His instructions in the Holy Bible, with His Commandments. We cannot get anywhere safe in this life without the Lord's instructions. So yes. God was against disobedience since the beginning, and should we think that today, since Christ died on the Cross, that He is welcoming disobedience? No. It is written here in verse 11, "As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” Yes, that is the truth. However, we have to make sure that trust is indeed a genuine trust. You trust God with everything; you trust God as Your Saviour; You trust Him that He is everything good. Make sure that trust is complete because if you trust Him to do things for you, but you are not doing your part by obeying Him, that trust is empty. You're trusting God to do something for you, but you won't let Him instruct you, you won't let Him take you where He wants to take you, you won't listen to Him and seek what He wants you to do? Then that is not really trust; you're just trusting because you expect something from Him. He's commanding us to obey Him. Are you giving Him that obedience? Verse 13 says, For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” That is indeed the case if you are calling on the name of the Lord with a genuine heart and to remain with Him and in His love. However, if you are calling on the Lord but then you won't let go of your sins against Him, the Lord will still say on the Last Day, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you evildoers," as in Matthew 7:23. Let's be wise with this: suppose you're just calling on the name of the Lord every day, but you are not listening to Him; indeed, how is that relationship going to be? It is easy for us to call on someone; it is easy for us to call, "Please, Lord, help me!" It is easy for anyone to do that. It is easy for us to call on others to help us. But are we willing to listen to what they will say to us? Are we ready to welcome that help? Suppose you have ten years to live on this earth, and you have been calling upon the Lord all those ten years of your life, but when the Lord is reaching out to want to grab your hand, and you're not giving Him your hand, do you really think that God is going to force you to save you? You can call upon the Lord - of course, it is easy to call on the Lord, but it is not easy for many people to then do what God will tell them to do. If you've fallen into the pit and you called, "God, please, help me!" And God sent someone to help you; in order to get you out of that pit, you will need to listen to some instructions. But if the person who comes to get you out of the pit is telling you to hold on to the rope, but you're not taking the rope, of course, you remain in the pit. You did not really listen to Him. You're calling Him to save you, but then listen to the instructions He gives you so that He can then save you. Many are reading these words superficially. “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Because they misinterpret them, many say, "Oh, we will all be forgiven on the Last Day." Weird things I've heard. It is not the case. It is true that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, and if they're listening to the Lord, they will be saved. When you call on the Lord, also listen to the Lord. You don't really have a relationship with God if you're just calling on Him, but when He tells you what to do, and you don't do it. He is saying in the Scripture, "If You love Me, Obey My Commandments." You call upon the Name of the Lord, yes, you acknowledge that He is Your Lord and Saviour, that He died on the Cross for you, and you believe in Him, and you call upon Him, then He says, "Yes, I'm here, but now, listen to Me. Hold my hand." And you have to hold His hand and not let go. "Walk this way," and you have to walk this way and not let go. "Come this way," and you have to come this way, and not the other way. "Do my will," and you have to do His will, and not your will. "Let go of your ways that are preventing you from getting close to Me." And you have to let go of your ways that prevent you from embracing His ways and from loving His ways. The more you see, the more things you must do. When you see nothing, you do nothing, but when you see more, there are more things you must do for the Lord. You must listen more and more. Obedience never ends, and it is a good thing that it never ends. But disobedience must end. There's a time when you have to stop your rebellion, because if you don't stop, it doesn't matter if you're calling upon the Lord a hundred times; you're still in darkness, and if you die in your sins while in that darkness, you will not be saved. It is written here in verse 15, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Yes, this is the Good News I'm bringing to you. And you're seeing here in Verse 19, “I will rouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles." The Lord is speaking here to His own people, even to us today, the Christians; the Christians of today are considered God's people. Most of the Israelites heard of the Truth of God, the Messiah, but still rebelled. However, there were other people from the outside, the Gentiles, who had heard of the Gospel and had believed it, and for this, God treated them so well. God blessed them. Yes, they were foolish Gentiles, but they believed in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and God took all their sins away and saved them, and this made all God's people who did not listen to Him jealous. And you, God's people, of course, you will be jealous, because you will look at them and see all the beautiful things God has done for them, and say, "But I'm supposed to be God's people." But why didn't God do the same thing for you? Because you chose to rebel against God and refused every beautiful thing He has given you, His forgiveness, His love for you, and most importantly His Son, Jesus Christ, your only Saviour. And we're seeing today that many Christians are rebelling against God. They live as those who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ. And you claim to love Him, but live in a way that brings embarrassment and dirt to the Lord. And you should watch out for that. Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, “I was found by people who were not looking for Me. I showed myself to those who were not asking for Me.” Yes, so the Israelites were God's people; they were looking for God, they were waiting for God, continuously asking for God, they were searching for God, yet when He showed up, they did not listen to Him. However, there were people around them who were not looking for God, but suddenly, when they found out there was a God, they heard of that truth and recognised straight away it was the truth, and they found God, while the one who was looking for God, did not find God, because when God spoke, they did not listen; they did not hear Him. And if you're God's people, and are looking for God, and He speaks to you and you don't listen, then you can't really say that you have Him; you have not found Him. He did not hide Himself from you, but you refused to see and hear. However, those who were not looking for the Lord Jesus, but listened when He introduced Himself to them have found Him, and now have Him. God is real, God is truly who He is. God is amazing. Yes. I was a gentile who welcomed Him and His Son, Jesus, and He adopted me through His Son, Jesus, and has filled my life with His wonders, His miracles, and now He uses me for the sake of many. So, God does not show favouritism; He blesses whoever comes to Him for blessings; He blesses whoever wants Him; He blesses whoever listens to Him. Wherever you are from, you can become God's child, and God will adopt you, and you will be called by His name; you will be called a child of the God of Israel, and that makes you a spiritual Israelite, I mean, an Israelite in a spiritual sense. After all, when an Israelite adopts a child from China, or from Africa, from Spain, from America, doesn't that child call himself by His Name? Of course, that child does if indeed that child considers that One who adopted him as their new Father, as their only Father. Christ is my Everlasting Father. Father God said, "You shall call Him Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counsellor." And this is written in Isaiah 9:6. Yes, and let's close this with this final verse. 21 But regarding Israel, God said, “All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.” So that is what the Lord is speaking about here. He opened His arms to welcome them, but they were never coming. Most Christians do the same today. The Lord opens His arms to them, but they are disobedient and rebellious. Some read Romans 10: 5-10 and say, 'Okay, that means we should not follow the Law of Moses, that means we should not follow any law that is in the Old Testament; that means we should just consider the New Testament.' This is how many people reason. And after they conclude so, they don't even listen to the Lord Jesus nor remain faithful to His teachings, and this brings the Lord to feel the same thing and say the same things all over again, “All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.” God is not pleased with disobedience; He is not pleased with rebellion; He is against rebellion. But He loves obedience to Him, to His righteous ways, and to His will. Since God loves us, we should love Him, and loving God means listening to Him; it means obeying what He says and trusting that He knows best, that He knows everything, and everything that He does is good and right. And when He says to us, "Walk this way," we should walk this way. "Come this way." We should come this way. "Don't go over there." We should not go over there. "Don't associate with those who love evil." You should not associate with those who love evil, whether they're your friends or not. Your friends who love evil, and you are with them, will bring you to love evil, too. It is the ability demons have to suck people in, without them seeing it coming. That is why you may see some people today who are devoted to the Lord and teach right, but after a few years, they're no longer devoted and faithful to the Lord's teachings because they have stopped listening to God and have associated with people who were already in the darkness. When the Lord says, "Love one another..." He does not mean to promote evil and associate with those who are in the darkness. God's Moral Law never changes, for evil is in all generations, and God is against evil. He will always be against evil. So, His Son, Jesus, is coming to clear the earth from that evil. Only then will those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ be free from the evil that demons bring. But at the moment, we can already be in control and not live like robots, with demons at work pressing us like a button to do their evil purpose, and many listen to them for what they want. But anyone can be set free by the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross for us all. So, let's listen to the Lord, for when we're loving people, we are not really loving them for what they give us; we're loving them because it is good, because it is love. So we don't love God for what He gives us. But many go with satan, though he is ugly because of what they want, and when we truly love people, it's not merchandise; we just love them. We should love God above all. And that love, we can only give Him in a way He describes it. So, the Lord Jesus said, "If you love Me, obey My Commandments," and His Commandments are His Father's, too. So, I pray this sermon will bless you. I pray for the Lord's peace upon you who are seeking His peace. But you must let go of everything that takes that peace away, and the Lord will fill you with His peace. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for this sermon, thank You for Your inspiration. Thank You for Your love, Lord, thank You for Your Joy, and Your light and Your peace. You are a great God, Lord. We love You forever; thank You for loving us forever, Lord. Thank You for this Bible, which is filled with such great things, teachings and inspiration; it is filled with healing, Lord, and truth, Lord, and guidance, instructions, Lord. With this Book, we cannot be lost, for this Book points to You. So, thank You so much, God, for helping us love this Book, and for teaching us Your words as You have been teaching me. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit You sent to be with us. So, Lord, we love You, and we thank You. Thank You for everyone You save. In Your holy Name, Lord Jesus, we pray. Thank You, Father God Almighty, for Your Son, Jesus. Amen.