Romans 10

So often I hear verses 1-3 as a separate snippet in one conversation and 9-10 as another and then 11-17 as another, separate snippet. It is refreshing to read this altogether and in the greater context of the whole book. 
==Romans 10:1-3==
1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. 2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 
Paul has not left his primary aim of differentiating Christianity from Judaism, especially for those Christians who are Gentiles (as those at Rome primarily were). He also continues his three chapter arc (9-11) concerning his sorrow over his own people and their last hope before destruction. Paul wants all physical Israel, all of his people, to be saved. Remember in the last chapter that this desire is so strong that he would be willing to suffer eternal separation from God if it would save them. His reflection on those he shares physical kinship with acknowledges their great zeal for God, but also that the zeal they have has no basis in knowledge. This is true of such a number of people to day that it staggers the mind to contemplate.
The Jews, and Paul knows this from personal experience having been one of those he is about to speak of, did not know God's righteousness. They did not get the point of that which God revealed to them through Moses and the prophets. Since they did not know, they tried to save themselves through self-righteousness. This is the Pharisaism we see throughout the gospel accounts. Rabbinical traditions like Korban. Jesus stated this same point as recorded by Matthew in 15:9 and Mark 7:7. They nullified God's power to save by implementing their own plan thinking to know better than God how salvation should be accomplished. It is not through the works of the Law of Moses, or self-righteous works that we are saved, but through works of obedient faith, such as both Paul and James and every NT writer and even every OT writer taught. 
==Romans 10:4-5==
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. 5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 
Paul brings this point back over and over again. Christ is the end (meaning the end point, the purpose, the fulfillment) of the Law of Moses. He is the end for righteousness to everyone that believes. This means that in Christ, the Jewish system is fulfilled. It was there "to bring in righteousness" (Dan. 9:24). According to the Law of Moses, to be righteous one must do all that the law says, live perfectly according to that law. Christ did this and fulfilled that law, something no other physical descendant of Abraham, or Jacob, or the twelve tribes ever did. 
==Romans 10:6-7==
6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 
In contrast to the righteousness by the Law of Moses, the righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus does not determine things in mere physical terms. It does not call for Christ to be brought down to be an earthly king as the Jews wanted in their Messiah. It does not call for Christ to be resurrected again and again. He was resurrected once and for all time, the firstborn of the dead, the firstborn in the Resurrection. Read Psalm 89. Look at verse 27. Romans 6:9; 8:29; Col. 1:18. 
==Romans 10:8==
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 
What the righteousness which is of faith (in contrast to that which is of the Law of Moses) says is that the word is already with them. (A reference to the truth of John 1:1-2 where Jesus is the Word) He does not need to be brought down nor resurrected again to be with the Christians. He is there. His gospel that Paul and the other Christians preach is in their hearts, on the tips of their tongues at all times. Then Paul goes into the specifics of what that message is: 
==Romans 10:9==
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 
Confession of Jesus as Lord, faith in their hearts that God has raised Christ from the dead (an iteration of verse 7) ends in salvation. (For those who hold to faith only, keep reading to get the full context.) 
==Romans 10:10==
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
 Paul here expounds upon this by setting up a series of logical steps working backward from his primary statement in verse 9. Note that with the heart a human believes unto righteousness. This echoes what Paul has already said in chapter 6 verse 17-18, that we must 'obey from the heart' that pattern (which is NT immersion). If we do not believe, we cannot obey. Yet here Paul states that belief is unto righteousness. If I am going to something, it means I'm on the journey but have not arrived yet. Belief in and of itself is part of the journey to salvation, but not sufficient to save.
Confession of that belief is the next logical step. Note yet again that it is made unto salvation, showing that it comes before salvation. 
==Romans 10:11==
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 
This comes from a number of Psalms, but 25:2-3 are familiar to us. "O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause." Note the last half of verse 3 here and relate it back to the beginning of the chapter. The phrase "without cause" is the Hebrew word reyqam, and means "vainly", which brings us right back to Matthew 15:9. 
Isn't the completeness of the Bible as a single, organic whole awe-mazing! 
==Romans 10:12==
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 
Continuing this reference to his people from the above eleven verses (cause he's never left that topic), Paul points out why the distinction between righteousness by the Law of Moses and righteousness by faith (the law of Christ) is necessary. There is no difference between Jew and Greek (Gentile - the Hellenized world). Those who believe that the Jews still hold some special place in God's heart today must ignore or twist this scripture. 
The Law of Moses was taken out of the way. Paul writes such almost continuously in almost every letter he wrote. All that is left is the faith system Christ set up, the pattern that brings true salvation which the Law of Moses never could. Under that system, physical heritage is meaningless. Christ is Lord of all and rewards those who call upon Him. To call upon Christ means to invoke His authority and we do so by conforming to His will (Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3-5; 17-18). 
==Romans 10:13==
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 
Again, to call upon the name of the Lord is to invoke His authority. We do so by conforming to His death, burial, and resurrection because that is what He taught we must do to be saved. Paul is making the contrast here between not only the works of the law of Moses (righteousness by law-keeping), but the works of self-righteousness (vs. 3 above) as well and works of faith. Note again Acts 22:16 and note specifically who is speaking in the context and who he is speaking about. It is Paul talking about Paul during Paul's conversion. Paul washed away his sins by calling on the name of the Lord. He called upon the name of the Lord by being immersed!
Again, the total unity of scripture astounds me! 
== Romans 10:14 ==
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 
Paul continues his reverse order logical progression by asking a series of questions. How can a person call on (obey) Him if they have not believed in Him. This is a very powerful point. Paul has already stated that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Here he identifies calling on Christ as a logical step after belief. If that is so, how can belief be the final step needed to be saved?! And how can one believe in someone they have never heard about? Faith follows instruction. Instruction requires someone to instruct. In these times a preacher was not so much the guy paid to speak from the pulpit with a suit and tie, but the guy with dusty robes and sandals who walked from town to town spreading the gospel! "Preaching to the church" is not in context here. Preaching to the lost is. 
== Romans 10:15 ==
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 
Paul here reaches the beginning of the logical order. Preachers are those sent into the world as he and Barnabas had been sent by Jerusalem and later Antioch (Acts 13:3). He then quotes Isaiah 52:7, which is in the context of the New Jerusalem, the church. 
==Romans 10:16==
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 
Paul continues to quote Isaiah from the very next chapter (53:1), the chapter that is a long prophecy concerning Christ. The point here is the same as Isaiah's! Most of the Jews would not obey God. They would not believe in the last days and would be destroyed. Paul is essentially presenting Isaiah's case once again, bewailing the spiritual condition and imminent demise of the wicked Jews. 
== Romans 10:17 ==
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 
A good verse when used as it is so often by itself, but so much more powerful here in full context. Paul iterates the point made in verse 14, but ties in 14 through 16 by showing that faith comes from the gospel which was preached throughout the Bible. 
Folks, if you think reading only Matthew through Jude 3 is sufficient, you are drowning in milk and don't understand a hundredth of what you read. Faith. Mature faith comes form the whole word of God. 
==Romans 10:18==
18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. 
This is an interesting passage and one I have used often in isolation to talk about the fulfillment of Jesus' promise that the gospel would be preached all over in Paul's day. Yet there is so much more to this verse. Remember, Paul is talking about the Jews in this context. He quotes Psa. 19:4 and is offering up the point that the Jews are without excuse. "Have they not heard?" Who is 'they' really? It's the Jews, Paul's people by birth. Their voice (the voice of preachers) went into all the earth (that's the Jews, yet again tying the earth as a symbol of the Jews) and into the whole kosmos (to the Gentiles, too). Note the end of Psa. 19:4 and on into verse 5. Sound familiar? It should! John writes similar things in Rev. 21:3, 23 and Jesus spoke often of himself as the bridegroom. Do you see how much more powerful this verse is in the fullness of the context? 
==Romans 10:19-21==
19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. 20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. 21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. 
Paul brings the thoughts from verse 2 back full circle. Did Israel not know? How could they have been ignorant? 
# Moses talked about it. He spoke of a time when the Gentiles would anger the Jews. Moses prophesied about the last days. Guess where? Deut. 32, the song of Moses!
# Isaiah talked about it...alot. (see my blog entries on Isaiah) 
# God has been longsuffering with the Israelite nation, more than with any other nation, more than any mortal man could ever be. He fulfilled the promise to Abraham, offered a way to be saved to all, and the Jews (as a nation, not individuals) rejected that offer. 
Thus, Paul is sorrowful because his eyes had been opened, he knew and understood what they should have known and understood all the way from Moses to Jesus, but could not see because the image of "self", of being a Jew, was in the way. Paul sees the destruction of his beloved kinsmen coming and knows there is nothing he can do to avert God's wrath from them except to keep on preaching the gospel. 
In Truth and Love.Category:Apocalyptic
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