Romans Chapter 10 Part One

Romans 10:1-4

Having stated the fact of Israel’s stumbling in the preceding verses, Paul now explained the reason for that stumbling. But first, in words reminiscent of the opening verses of Rom_9:1-33, the apostle expressed his deep personal spiritual burden for the salvation of the people of Israel. Perhaps with his own experience in mind (cf. Act_26:11; Gal_1:13-14; Php_3:4-6) Paul affirmed, For I can testify (pres. tense, “I testify, bear witness”) about them (Jewish People) that they are zealous for God. We have been saying over and over in these lessons how important it was to Paul that the Jewish people would accept Jesus as their Savior. God actually called Paul to the Gentiles, but he could not help but desire his own people to come to Jesus Christ. We see that the Lord Jesus desired them to be saved as well as Paul, but they would not.
We see in Luke 13:34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen [doth gather] her brood under [her] wings, and ye would not!"
Paul’s calling as an apostle to the Gentiles did not diminish his continual entreaties to God for Israel to be saved, or his own evangelistic efforts toward Jews.
Israel was called “the God-intoxicated people.” Paul had to acknowledge, however, that their zeal is not based on (lit., “according to”) knowledge (epignōsin, “intensive, full knowledge”). The Jews obviously had knowledge of God but not full knowledge. Otherwise they would not have stumbled over Christ by seeking to gain righteousness on the basis of works. It is so strange to me that the people who were supposed to know the Word of God the best did not truly understand what that Word was saying, and they rejected their promised Messiah. The Scripture above says that it was for lack of knowledge. Perhaps, it was for lack of understanding what they were reading.
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."
The Jews indeed had “zeal of God” which was demonstrated by their legalistic conformity to the law and their fierce opposition to Judaism’s opponents.
Paul continued his explanation of Israel’s failure and their misguided zeal. Since they did not know (the participle agnoountes means “being ignorant,” here in the sense of not understanding) the righteousness that comes from God. “Ignorant of God’s righteousness” means they were ignorant both of God’s inherent righteousness revealed in the law and the rest of the Old Testament (which should have shown the Jew their own unrighteousness), and of the righteousness which comes from Him on the basis of faith.
We see from the following Scriptures, the self righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and how it displeased God.
Luke 18:9-14 "And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:" "Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican." "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men [are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican." "I fast twice in the week I give tithes of all that I possess."  "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
God loves the humble in heart that are looking to Jesus Christ for their righteousness.
“Their own righteousness” means their beliefs where based on their conformity to God’s law which was often the less demanding standards of their own traditions.
The NIV implies that the people of Israel did not understand the God-provided righteousness expounded in this letter to the Christians in Rome (cf. Rom_1:17). That may be true, even though they should have known from their own Scriptures (cf. Gen_15:6; Psa_32:1-2). But here preferably the righteousness in view is the righteousness God requires for people to be accepted by Him, which is God’s own infinite righteousness. The Jews did not really understand God’s own infinite righteousness, which is why they were continuing to seek to establish their own (cf. Isa_64:6). Little wonder then that they did not submit to (“place themselves under”) God’s righteousness, that is, the righteousness God provides through Christ by faith. The Greek in Rom_10:4 includes the coordinating particle gar, “for” (not trans. in the NIV). It introduces a statement that is crucial to Paul’s explanation of Israel’s stumbling — Christ is the end of the Law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. The word translated “end” (telos) stands in the emphatic first position in the Greek sentence. It means that Christ is the designed end (termination) or Purpose-Goal of the Law (cf. Gal_3:24), the Object to which the Law pointed. “For Christ is the end of the law” – although the Greek word translated “end” can mean either “fulfillment” or “termination,” this is not a reference to Christ’s having perfectly fulfilled the law through His teaching or through His sinless life.
Instead, as the second half of the verse shows, Paul means that belief in Christ as Lord and Savior ends the sinner’s futile quest for righteousness through his imperfect attempts to save himself by efforts to obey the law.
Matt. 5:17-18 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” ”For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

The Law did not and could not of itself provide righteousness before God for individuals (cf. Rom_3:20; Rom_7:7). But Christ fulfilled the Law (Mat_5:17-18) by keeping it perfectly during His sinless life (cf. Joh_8:46) and then gave His life in payment for the penalty of sin and the broken Law (cf. Eph_2:15; Col_2:13-14). The Law then pointed to Him as the Source of the God-provided righteousness it could not supply (Gal_3:24). A godly Jew who trusted Yahweh and followed the Levitical system, including the sin offering and the trespass offering, would most likely be inclined to respond to Christ by faith and would receive God’s righteousness (i.e., be justified; Act_13:39; Rom_3:24; Rom_4:3, Rom_4:5). He then could meet the requirements of the Law by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom_8:4). Conversely, a Jew who sought by works to establish his own righteousness would not recognize Christ as “the end of the Law” and would stumble over Him. 

Romans 10:5-8

 God’s Gracious Offer

In presenting God’s gracious offer of salvation in Christ and the provision of righteousness by faith, Paul first stated the contrast of the by-works approach to achieving righteousness. He wrote, Moses describes (lit., “writes”) the righteousness that is by the Law. Then Paul quoted Lev_18:5, The man who does these things will live by them. Leviticus 18:5 "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I [am] the LORD."
There were literally hundreds of the Levitical laws that had to be kept to be righteous in the law. There was absolutely no way that a person could even keep up with them, much less keep them. Jesus came and fulfilled them for us that we might live by the grace of God.
To hope for a righteousness based on obedience to the law requires perfect conformity in every detail, which is an utter impossibility.
 In verses 6-9 Paul skillfully weaves together quotations from Deuteronomy 9:4 and 30:10-14, which speak of God’s initiative in grace and man’s humble obedience to it. He then applies this truth to the gospel of Christ.

If a Jew were to receive righteousness by keeping the demands of the Law, that would be human achievement; it would not be from God. However, a Jew would need to keep the entire Law perfectly all his life — an impossible task (Jas_2:10). But then Paul also quoted Moses in support of his righteousness-by-faith position centered in Christ as “the end of the Law” and the means by which righteousness is available for everyone who believes. It does not seem appropriate that Paul was merely borrowing Moses’ words and applying them to something foreign in Moses’ thought. This suggests, then, that righteousness… by faith is not a new concept, but had been proclaimed to Israel by Moses.

The material Paul quoted in Rom_10:6-8 is taken somewhat freely from Deu_30:12-14 with clauses quoted here and there. The material in Deuteronomy was part of Moses’ charge to the generation of Israel about to enter the land of Canaan. This exhortation was the conclusion of Moses’ prophetic description of God’s dealing with Israel. Blessing was promised for faith and obedience, and chastisement would result from rejection and disobedience. If Israel forsook God, Moses said, she would face worldwide dispersion and affliction. When the people then finally do turn to God in faith, He will restore them to blessing, prosperity, and prominence among the nations (Deu_30:1-10). The point of Moses’ exhortation (Deu_30:11) is that the generation to whom he was speaking had the message (it was very near you and in your mouth, Deu_30:14) and could respond by faith (in your heart, Deu_30:14) and walk with God in obedience. Since the Israelites in Moses’ day had the message, they did not need to ask that it be brought down from heaven or that someone “cross the sea to get it” (Deu_30:13). Instead, the word (Moses’ instructions) was “near” them (Deu_30:14).

In effect, Paul indicated that the same truth applied to his generation, with the added fact that Christ had come in the flesh (Joh_1:14) and had been resurrected. Therefore there was no need for anyone to ask to bring Christ down (in His Incarnation) or to bring Christ up from the dead; He had already come and had been resurrected. Paul speaks of the righteousness based on faith as if it were a person and puts in its mouth a quotation from Deut. His point is that the righteousness of faith does not require some impossible odyssey through the universe to find Christ.

Deut. 9:4 “Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.”

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 "For this commandment which I command thee this day, it [is] not hidden from thee, neither [is] it far off.""It [is] not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it” “Neither [is] it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?" "But the word [is] very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it."
The message of righteousness by faith in Paul’s day was “near” his readers (available to them) and this was “the word” (rhēma, “saying”) of faith he was proclaiming (rhēma, “the spoken word” is also used in Eph_5:26; Eph_6:17; 1Pe_1:25). “The word is nigh thee” is quoted from Deut 30:14 which was quoted in the previous scripture. The journey of verses 6 and 7 is unnecessary because God has clearly revealed the way of salvation: it is by faith. The Word of faith is the message of faith and that is the way to God.
Matthew 10:32-33 "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven." "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
We can clearly see the importance of the things we say from all of this. Faith, we know is believing in things we cannot see. If you can see something, it takes no faith to believe. Jesus Himself said, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.
John 20:29 "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed."

Thus the gospel, “the word of faith,” is available and accessible.

Romans 10:9-13

In these verses Paul stated the content of that message concerning faith. Confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord is mentioned first to conform to the order of the quotation from Deu_30:14 in Rom_10:8. The confession is an acknowledgement that God has been incarnated in Jesus (cf. Rom_10:6), that Jesus Christ is God. Also essential is heart-faith that God raised Him from the dead (cf. Rom_10:7). This verse does not mean a simple acknowledgment that He is God and the Lord of the universe, since even demons acknowledge that to be true.
This is the deep personal conviction, without reservation, that Jesus is that person’s own master or sovereign. This phrase includes repenting from sin, trusting in Jesus for salvation and submitting to Him as Lord.
This is the volitional element of faith.
We studied this in the first chapter which I’ll repeat again here:
Believeth: To trust, rely on, or have faith in. When used of salvation, this word usually occurs in the present tense “is believing” which stresses that faith is not simply a onetime event, but an ongoing condition. True saving faith is supernatural, a gracious gift of God that He produces in the heart and is the only means by which a person can appropriate true righteousness.
Saving faith consists of 3 elements.
1.      Mental: the mind understands the gospel and the truth about Christ
2.      Emotional: one embraces the truthfulness of those facts with sorrow over sin and joy over God’s mercy and grace
3.      Volitional: the sinner submits his will to Christ and trust in Him alone as the only hope of salvation.
Genuine faith always produces authentic obedience.
“God hath raised Him from the dead”: Christ’s resurrection was the supreme validation of His ministry. Belief in it is necessary for salvation because it proved that Christ is who He claimed to be and that the Father had accepted His sacrifice in the place of sinners. Without the resurrection, there is no salvation.
This leaves absolutely no doubt at all what we must do to be saved.
The result is salvation. The true order is given in Rom_10:10 : For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified (lit., “it is believed unto righteousness”), and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (lit., “it is confessed unto salvation”). Confession is made unto salvation: One is not saved by his mouth’s conversation, but rather, the mouth testifies readily of the grace of God in Christ which has been received by faith.
Confession is the Greek word basically means to say the same thing, or to be in agreement with someone. The person, who confesses Jesus as Lord, agrees with the Father’s declaration that Jesus is Savior and Lord. Let me read this scripture from Isaiah and tell me who it is talking about and how it relates to Rom: 10:11:
Isaiah 28:16 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner [stone], a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."
“Haste” means disturbed. The Hebrew word is hurry. The Greek Old Testament interprets this Hebrew very for “hurry” in the sense of “put to shame”, furnishing the basis of the New Testament citations of this verse.
Isaiah 49:23 "And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with [their] face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me."
Of course this speaks of our Cornerstone
I Peter 2:6 "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." If you have really made Jesus the Lord of your life, you want to tell everybody you see. Christians are the bride of Christ. Have you ever seen a new bride that can keep quiet about her groom?
Zion or Sion is a term that most often designates the Land of Israel and its capital, Jerusalem.

Yet these are not two separate steps to salvation. They are chronologically together. Salvation comes through acknowledging to God that Christ is God and believing in Him.

Paul then (Rom_10:11) supported his position by requoting part of Isa_28:16 (cf. Rom_9:33), adding the Greek word translated everyone. “There is no difference”. A parenthetical comment explaining that God can bestow His righteousness on all who believe, Jew or Gentile, because all men, without distinction, fail miserably to live up to the divine standard.
God responds with the gift of provided righteousness to each individual who believes. Then Paul reminded his readers of God’s impartiality, as he did when discussing human sinfulness (Rom_3:22). Just as all who sin will be judged, so all who believe will be saved and richly blessed. This conclusion also is supported by a quotation from Joel_2:32 : Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Paul here quotes Joel 2:32 to further emphasize that salvation is available for people of all nations and races.
This familiar Old Testament expression does not refer to some desperate cry to just any deity but to the one true God as He has revealed Himself, a revelation which now includes recognition of Jesus as Lord and of the One who raised up Jesus from the dead.
As chapter 9 stressed divine sovereignty in salvation, this passage stresses human responsibility. Scripture does not view these two principles as paradoxical or contradictory, but as mutually compatible truths.
“Saved” is speaking of salvation which is the most common biblical expression used to identify the subjective changes in people’s lives, when by faith they have received the benefit of the Christ’s death and resurrection. The term implies deliverance, safety, preservation, healing and soundness. It occurs in three phases. First, the Christian has been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin. Second, the Christian is being saved from the habit and dominion of sin in this life. Finally, when the Lord returns, the Christian will be saved from all the physical results of sin and of God’s curse on the world.

To call on the Lord means to pray in faith for salvation.