10:1 Brothers, my heart's desire and my prayer to God is for Israel, that
they may be saved.
10:2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God,
but not according to knowledge.
10:3 For being ignorant of God's righteousness,
and seeking to establish their own righteousness,
they didn't subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
Righteousness by Faith
10:4 For Christ is the fulfillment{or, completion, or end} of the law
for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Description of the Word of Faith
10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness of the law,
"The one who does them will live by them." (Lev 18:5)
10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith says this,
"Don't say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'(Deut
30:12) (that is, to bring Christ down);
10:7 or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (Deut 30:13) (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)"
10:8 But what does it say?
"The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart;"
(Deut 30:14) that is, the word of faith, which we preach:
Proclamation of the Word of Faith
10:9 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.
10:10 For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
10:11 For the Scripture says,
"Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed." (Is 28:16)
10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him.
10:13 For,
"Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."
(Joel 2:32)
10:14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?
How will they believe in him whom they have not heard?
How will they hear without a preacher?
10:15 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, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" (Is 52:7)
10:16 But they didn't all listen to the glad news.
For Isaiah says,"Lord, who has believed our report?" (Is
53:1)
10:17 So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
(Luke
8:11)
10:18 But I say, didn't they hear? Yes, most assuredly,
"Their sound went out into all the earth, Their words to the ends of the world." (Ps 19:4)
10:19 But I ask, didn't Israel know? First Moses says,
"I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no
nation, With a nation void of understanding I will make you angry."
(Deut 32:21)
10:20 Isaiah is very bold, and says,
"I was found by those who didn't seek me. I was revealed to those who didn't ask for me." (Is 65:1)
10:21 But as to Israel he says,
"All day long I stretched out my hands to a disobedient
and contrary people." (Is 65:2)
Discussion Questions
vs 1 Are Jews automatically saved, just because they are Jews?
vs 2 What knowledge is he referring to?
vs 3 What does it mean to submit to God's righteousness?
vs 4-8 How does Paul contrast the righteousness which is of the law
with the righteousness which is of faith in this section?
vs 9-13 Does this mean that you can just ritualistically chant "Jesus
is Lord" and you are automatically save? (Consider the implications
of vs 14) What if people declare "Jesus is Lord", but deny it by their lifestyle?
vs 14-17 What role does the Bible have in developing your faith?
What does it mean by "faith comes from hearing the message"?
Have you had any personal experience with this?
Have you heard of any misconceptions as to how to develop faith in
people?
vs 18-21 Has everyone heard the gospel? If not, then what is this verse
talking about? (Consider the context of Psalm 19:4)
Comments
Israel's Rejection
"Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it
is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth." Pr
19:2
Paul had experienced the danger of this himself. For before becoming
a Christian, he had zealously persecuted Christians, not understanding
or even seriously listening to their message. There are people confident
of their own righteousness and so don't accept the knowledge of the gospel.
Description of the Word of Faith
Interesting that he says that "Christ is the end of the Law", yet his quotes
actually come from the law. The questions come from the Law of Moses (Deut
30:12-14). From the context of Deut 30:11"For
this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee,
neither is it far off." It is apparent that these questions
have to do with the difficulty of obtaining righteousness. But which righteousness?
That of the Law or that of Faith? For the reasoning in Deut 30:11-14 is
that the Law should be easy to keep. But in fact it turned out not to be
the case. What it seems to mean in context is "If it weren't for your
innate sinfulness, what I am commanding you today is not too difficult
for you or beyond your reach." And if you read the Law, you find that
that in fact the commands were not all that difficult. Nonetheless, Israel
failed to keep them. Why?
Paul is proposing that these verses are really referring to the righteousness
which is of faith. Obtaining the righteousness which is of faith is a very
easy thing.
"Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down)
What he means is "Don't presume that you must live perfectly to
obtain this righteousness"
This brings Christ down by denying his holiness which is imputed to
the believer and by denying his resurrection and ascension into heaven.
Eph 2:6 "And hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"
7 "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
What he means is "Don't presume that you can gain this righteousness
by paying for your own sin"
Ps 49:7-9 "None of them can by any
means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption
of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) That he should still
live for ever, and not see corruption." (What does this imply
about Christ?)
This brings Christ up from the dead in that it devalues his death.
This is the problem with the righteousness which is of the law.
To be right with God we must live in a continual state of perfect holiness.
If we fail, there is no penalty great enough for us to redeem ourselves.
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,"
Compare with the promise concerning the New Covenant:
Jer 31:33 "But this shall be the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the
LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;
and will be their God, and they shall be my people." declares the LORD.
"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts."
And it is not only the obtaining of the righteousness which is of faith
that is an easy thing, but also practicing the righteousness of faith is
also easy, as John notes in
"For this is the love of God, that we keep
his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever
is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh
the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he
that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" 1John 5:3-5
God's commands are not burdensome to those who have been born of God. Rather
such become natural to them, having become new creatures in Christ (2Cor
5:17).
Proclamation of the Word of Faith
Obtaining the righteousness of faith require one
to hear the message of the gospel and react to it correctly.
"Jesus is Lord" is an essential part of the message that is often
left out in modern evangelicalism. We proclaim that God sent his son to
die for you so as to pay for your sins. And that if you believe that fact,
you have eternal life. But the concept of "Jesus is Lord" is often left
for people to infer for themselves. But the Bible makes this point quite
clear. That those who believe in Jesus as Savior, must also accept Him
as Lord. Which simply means that they must be willing to submit themselves
in obedience to his commands.
1John 2:3,4 "And hereby we do know
that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him,
and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."I
know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is
not in him."
Furthermore, if a person truly believes, then there should be outworkings
(or "fruits") of such evident in their life. Evangelism is
such an outworking of faith. Telling others your belief is a natural outworking
of true belief. Trying to hide your "faith" from others indicates that
you may not actually believe what you think you believe.
vs 17 "faith comes from hearing the message" This is not to say
that faith automatically comes to everyone who hears the message. For there
are many who have heard the message, but don't believe. But as a person
cooperates with the Holy Spirit as they hear the message of the gospel,
faith will result.
And not just with respect to the gospel message, but even with respect
to inferring God's existence and attributes from observations of nature.
Which I think is what Ps 19:4 was referring to. People don't naturally
seek God, but God takes the initiative to draw us to Himself. (John 12:32)
Let us cooperate with Him while we have opportunity.