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.10:2-3 On the whole, the Jews were not atheists, or careless sinners (Rom 2:17-20). Paul saw their zeal and was moved with compassion for them. He could well remember his own religious zeal which had not been based on spiritual knowledge and understanding, and which had led him astray (Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-2; 22:3-4; 26:9-11; Phil 3:6). They were zealous in religion but lost. Zeal for God does not mean that those who have it know the God about whom they are zealous, or that they are pleasing to Him.
The Jews, like people in general, did not understand that God gives righteousness as a gift to those who believe Him (Rom 3:24; 4:4-5, 13), and supposed they had to earn it by their religious works. They had not learned the truth God had revealed to them in their own Scriptures. And so they would not submit to God’s way of righteousness – faith in Christ. They did what all men do by nature, if they have any religion at all – they tried to establish their own righteousness, to justify themselves, to earn salvation by their own efforts.⚜
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:
10:6-8 Deut 30:12-14. Was it right for Paul to apply the words of Moses (about 1400 B.C.) to the gospel of Christ? Of course it was right. God’s Spirit enabled Paul to see the true spiritual meaning of the words of Moses.⚜
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.
10:9-10 This is the “word of faith” Paul preached (v 8). Christ has already come down from heaven and God has already brought Christ up from the dead (Rom 1:3-4; 4:24-25; 8:32, 34). Now if people want to receive the gift of God’s righteousness, all that remains for them to do is to turn from sin and self-effort and believe in Christ. Observe that a belief in the physical resurrection of the Lord Jesus is essential to salvation. See Rom 4:24-25; 1 Cor 15:1-8. It is a basic fact of the gospel. See the emphasis on this in the book of Acts – Acts 1:3; 2:24. If we do not believe this fact we show we do not believe the record God has caused to be written concerning His Son. To believe in Christ is to believe in Him risen from the dead.
Also the belief that Jesus is Lord is necessary. See John 8:24; Acts 2:36; 1 Cor 8:6; 12:3; Eph 4:5. Jesus is not a Lord, only one among many. He is the only divine Lord there is. Paul means that Jesus is the one who has absolute authority, the Master and Owner of all, the incarnation of the Lord (Jehovah) of the Old Testament (v 13; Luke 2:11; John 8:24, 58 Notes at Ex 3:14-15).
Confession that Jesus is Lord is not a work of merit that causes God to have mercy on us and save us. It is not something else added to faith which men must do to be saved. It is evidence that faith is real. Faith working in the heart will cause the mouth to speak and confess Christ. See also Matt 10:32-33. We must always be doubtful about the faith of those who are ashamed or afraid to confess Christ. Faith without confession is defective, confession without faith is useless.
For a believer heartily to say “Jesus is Lord” surely indicates that believer’s willingness to receive Jesus as the Lord of his life and obey Him (see Rom 14:9; Matt 7:21; John 3:36; Acts 5:32; Heb 5:9; 1 John 2:3-4). See the note at Acts 22:10. How could a believer even dream of saying or thinking “Jesus is Lord, but not my Lord. He may tell others what to do, but not me”? One of the things of which people need to repent when they come to Christ is the sin of trying to be the master of their own life and refusing the Lordship of Christ.
Verse 10 brings to a close much of Paul’s teaching in Romans on righteousness. By the inspiration of God’s Spirit he has shown the following things:
God is absolutely, perfectly righteous
They are ignorant of God’s way of giving righteousness (v 2)
Because they are ignorant of God’s way they try to establish their own righteousness (v 3)
The only way to be righteous before God is to have Christ’s righteousness (Rom 3:22-26)
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.
10:13 Here Paul is quoting Joel 2:32 where the word translated LORD is Jehovah in Hebrew. Paul is here speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ (v 9). To call on the name of the Lord is to call on Jehovah. This is one more indication that Jesus is the incarnation of Jehovah. See other references to this at Luke 2:11. In this context calling on His name is the same as believing in Him (v 14). See in this verse how God’s offer of mercy and salvation is open to all. Note on salvation at Rom 1:16.⚜
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?
10:14 Paul has concluded his presentation of the gospel which saves people and makes them righteous. It is good news indeed, but what good is good news if people do not hear it and believe it? So he emphasizes the necessity of preaching the good news, and of God’s sending His servants to do so. See also Acts 1:8; John 20:21; Luke 24:46-47; Mark 16:15; Matt 28:18-20.⚜
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!”
10:15 Isa 52:7. Those feet may be rough, cracked, bruised, and ugly from the many weary miles they have gone preaching the good news. But in God’s eyes they are the most beautiful feet on earth because they are going on the most wonderful and important work.⚜
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.
10:17 Verse 14. See how faith comes to people.⚜
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.
10:18 Can God excuse the sin of the Jews because they did not hear the gospel? Not at all. They did hear it. Ps 19:4 speaks of the witness of creation. Paul’s meaning seems to be that in the years between the death and resurrection of Christ and the time he was writing this letter the gospel had gone forth to the Jews everywhere, as the witness of creation did. See Acts 1:8; 2:36; 13:14-16; 17:1-2, 10; 18:5; 19:8.⚜
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.
10:19 Deut 32:21. The contrast is between a “foolish” nation (Gentiles) with the Jews who at least had some understanding.⚜
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.
10:19-21 Can God ignore the sin of the Jews in rejecting the gospel because they did not understand it? Not at all. Paul quotes three verses from the Old Testament to show that they understood far more than the Gentiles who received the gospel.⚜
10:16-21 Here Paul shows clearly that Israel’s rejection of Christ and God’s rejection of them was their own fault. They could not blame their rejection on some secret decrees of God.⚜
10:20-21 Isa 65:1-2. The Gentiles did not even have enough understanding to seek the true God. Israel did have, yet did not find God. And the cause of this was Israel’s stubborn disobedience. The picture here is of God standing before the people holding out loving hands, offering them great things, patient, compassionate, longing for their salvation. Compare Matt 23:37; Jud 2:10-19; Hos 11:8. Can we think that such a God will predestinate people to hell before they are born, because He is sovereign and can do so if He wants to?⚜