Israel’s wrong way
10
📚Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. 2 📚✭For I testify concerning them that they have a zeal for God. But it is not according to knowledge. 3 📚For they are ignorant of God’s righteousness, and go about to establish their own righteousness, and so have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 📚For Christ is the end of the law✭ for righteousness to everyone who believes.5 📚For Moses describes the righteousness which is by the Law like this: “The man who does those things will live by them”. 6 📚✭But the righteousness which is by faith speaks in this manner: Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above). 7 📚Or, Who will descend into the Abyss✭? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8 📚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: 9 📚✭That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 📚For with the heart man believes for obtaining righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made for salvation. 11 📚For the Scripture says: “Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame”. 12 📚For there is no difference✭ between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich toward all who call out to him. 13 📚✭For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
14 📚✭How, then, will they call out to him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 📚✭And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
16 📚✭✭But not all of them have obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says: “Lord, who has believed our report?”
17 📚✭So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of God. 18 📚✭But I say, Have they not heard? Yes indeed:
Their voice went into all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
19 📚✭✭But I say, Did Israel not know? First, Moses says,
I will make you jealous by
those who are not a nation,
and I will make you angry by a foolish nation.
20 📚✭But Isaiah is very bold and says,
I was found by those who did not seek me;
I was revealed to those who did not ask for me.
21 📚But to Israel he says,
All day long I have stretched out my hands
to a disobedient and contradicting people.