Romans 10 – Page 2 – Ministry of Grace Church

Category: Romans 10

Romans 10:11 – Unashamed Christians

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Will

For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

Truth to Learn

There is no shame in being called a Christian, and there is no shame in sharing the glorious news of salvation through faith.

Behind the Words

The word translated “Scripture” is graphē, which is the noun form of graphō, properly meaning “to engrave” but by interpretation it means “to write.” Graphē, then refers to that which has been written. It was common practice among the people of the first century to refer to Holy Scripture with this word.

“Put to shame” is from the Greek word kataischunō, which is made up of kata, used as a negative intensifier and aischunō, meaning “to be ashamed of oneself.” Thus we see that this word means “to put to shame” or “to humiliate.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous two verses Paul stated one of the most blessed truths that mankind has ever heard, namely that a heartfelt belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and a verbal confession that He is Lord results in a person receiving the righteousness of God and the promise of salvation from the penalty of his or her sins.

Paul now quotes a portion of a passage from Isaiah 28:16 which says,

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I lay a foundation stone in Zion — a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.”

You will notice, however, that the ending of this verse in Isaiah is different from what Paul says in Romans. That is because Paul, as is normally his practice, is quoting from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of what we call the Old Testament. And, in reality, the two are saying the same thing, for what Isaiah means by “whoever believes will not act hastily” is that he will not make haste to run away from the sufferings he meets with in the way of his duty. That is, he will not be ashamed of his religion even though he and it are despised by others.

One of the things that Paul is doing by quoting this verse from Isaiah is demonstrating to the Jewish Christians in Rome that there really is no difference between how the Jews are saved and how Christians are saved. We will say more about this in the next verse.

Paul’s point in the current verse is that anyone who truly believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and confesses him as Lord will never be ashamed to declare Jesus Christ as Lord. As we said in the previous verse, anyone who is truly saved wants to confess it to others and, as a result, wants to tell others how to be saved.

Application

Have you confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? If so, you should be unashamed, even eager, to share the gospel message with those around you.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 10:10 – Heart and Mouth Connection

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Will

For with the heart a person believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth is confession unto salvation.

Truth to Learn

True belief and confession go hand in hand.

Meaning Explained

According to this verse and the previous one, the things required for salvation are belief and confession. It’s as simple as that, and yet not so simple, for I fear that there are many who have professed to be saved who really aren’t. They may claim to be Christians, they may even believe themselves to be Christians, but they really aren’t. Let’s see why.

Paul says here that “with the heart a person believes unto righteousness.” In the previous verse he told us what it is we must believe: “that God has raised Him (Jesus) from the dead.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the proof that He is more than mere man. It is proof that He is God in the flesh. Implied in the belief in His resurrection is the belief that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins and mine, for the sins of all of mankind. Also implied is the recognition that we are sinners and in need of salvation. Why is all this true? Because if He was resurrected from the dead, then He is God and everything that He said is true and, therefore, everything that is written in the Bible is true.

What does Paul mean by believing with the heart? This means more than mere head knowledge. It implies more than an act of understanding. It takes in the consent of the will, an inward, hearty, sincere, and strong consent.

Notice that I said consent of the will. This believing requires submission of our will to His. If we truly believe that Jesus is God, then we must recognize that we are the creatures whom He created and He is far above us in power, intellect, holiness, majesty, and glory. We are His subjects, not the other way around. We are here to do His will. He is not here to do ours. If we have not subjected our will to His, then we don’t really believe that He is God.

When we believe, according to what Paul told us in the earlier portion of this letter, God freely grants to us the righteousness of Christ. That is, in God’s record book we are recorded as being forever without sin!

But the second half of this verse says that “with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Does this mean that if you believe with your heart but don’t confess with your mouth, you won’t be saved? Let’s think about this. If one truly believes with the heart, then a verbal confession is the natural outcome. When we first get saved we want to tell others, especially other Christians. None of us who has any kind of exciting news ever wants to keep it to ourselves. We want to tell others! This is the case when we get saved, we want to confess it to someone; we want to tell others that we have been born again.

Application

As I said earlier, I fear that there are many who know about Jesus, who know the fact that he died on a cross. They may have even “asked Jesus into their heart” but have never submitted to the Lordship of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, the Judge of all mankind. To these, I fear, God will one day say, “Depart from me you worker of iniquity. I never knew you.” That will be a tragedy!

How about you? Are you submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 10:9 – Resurrected Lord

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Will

that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Truth to Learn

Christ must be both your Master and your risen Savior.

Behind the Words

“Confess” is translated from the Greek word homologeo, which is a compound word made up of homos, meaning “together, or the same” and a form of logos, meaning “something said.” Actually it is more accurately the thoughts or ideas behind what is said. Hence, homologeo means “to agree with, or to have the same thoughts as someone else.”

The word “Lord” is the Greek word kurios, which means “one who is supreme in authority.”

“Saved” is from the Greek verb sōdzō, meaning “to save or to deliver and protect from harm.” It is expressed here in the future tense. In other words, it does not mean “you are saved” but “you will be saved.”

Meaning Explained

This verse and the next comprise another of the pinnacles of the book of Romans. This may, in fact, be the highest of the peaks. Paul proclaims here how the righteousness of faith is obtained. Remember, Paul has told us that all of us are sinners.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)

And that the result of sin is death, that is, separation from God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Now, Paul tells us that the way to gain the righteousness of God, that is, the way to be saved from the death that sin has caused, is to confess and believe. We are told that we must agree with God that Jesus is our Lord.

Putting this all together we see that Paul is telling us that we need to agree with God that Jesus is the supreme authority over us. This means that He is our Lord, which requires submission on our part. We also need to believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead, which is proof that He is the sinless Son of God, and that His death was sufficient payment for our sins. If we do these things, Paul says that we will be saved.

If we do not do both of these things, that is if we do not submit to Jesus’ supreme authority or if we don’t believe that He is risen from the dead, then we will not be saved. All those people who believe that Jesus was a good man, perhaps even a prophet but who is now dead, will not be saved. Those who believe that Jesus was raised from the dead but have not submitted to His lordship over their lives will not be saved.

Application

Have you confessed that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Master? Do you believe that God has raised Him from the dead? Those may be the two most important questions you will ever answer!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 10:8 – Proclaiming the Word of Faith

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Will

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:

Truth to Learn

The gospel proclamation centers on faith, not works.

Behind the Words

“Word” is translated from the Greek word rhēma, which refers to “an utterance.” By implication it refers to a topic of discussion. In this case it is the topic of righteousness which is the result of faith.

The verb translated “preach” is kērussō, meaning “to proclaim or herald as a public crier would do.” It refers to loudly or forcefully proclaiming a truth. In this case it is the truth that righteousness comes by faith.

Meaning Explained

In the previous two verses Paul told us, by slightly modifying a quotation from Deuteronomy 30, that the righteousness of faith is not a difficult thing. What he said, in effect, is that it is not like ascending into heaven to bring Christ and His righteousness down or like descending into the deep (the abyss) to bring Christ up from the dead. After all, these things are impossible for anyone except God Himself. But the righteousness of faith is not impossible. It is, in fact, very possible and very near at hand. It was, in fact, a topic of conversation among the Jews.

He says so as he continues with his quotation from Deuteronomy 30:14, the end of which says:

But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

The meaning is that the doctrine was already so familiar, and so well understood, that it was actually in their mouth, that is, their language, their common conversation. Paul is saying that the righteousness of faith, which comes by the Word of Faith (the gospel), is something that the Jews had been talking about and learning about ever since Moses delivered the Law. In fact, this righteousness of faith has been spoken of among the Jews ever since Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. This righteousness comes from believing in the Messiah. The problem with most of the Jews, however, is that they were so hung-up on obeying the Law that they totally missed the Messiah. They were trying to obtain the righteousness of works instead of the righteousness of faith.

The Word of Faith which Paul is proclaiming is that the Messiah (the Christ) has come and has paid the price of salvation by fulfilling the Law and then offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He is the Paschal Lamb that the Jews commemorated every year. This Paschal Lamb is the Jewish Messiah; He is the Christ, the anointed Son of God. All we have to do is to believe this gospel (good news) and openly declare that we believe. That’s how we obtain this righteousness of faith, and in the next verse Paul will state this very plainly and succinctly.

Application

Do you talk about the topic of salvation through belief in the Gospel? Do you openly proclaim this truth? Or do you proclaim that righteousness comes by obedience to rules and ordinances of the church? The difference is between preaching faith which produces life and preaching obedience which produces death.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 10:7 – Risen Christ

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Will

or, "Who will descend into the abyss?" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

Truth to Learn

Jesus Christ is God and He is risen from the dead!

Behind the Words

The word translated “abyss” is the Greek word abussos, from which we get our English word, abyss. It is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of buthos, which refers to “the bottom or depth of something.” Hence, this word properly means “something that is so deep as to be perceived as bottomless.” In the New Testament this word is used to refer to the depth of the oceans, but it is also used to refer to the bottomless pit in Hades where spirit beings (like fallen angels) are incarcerated. This word is only used two times outside of the book of Revelation, here and Luke 8:31.

“Bring up” is from the verb anagō, which is made up of ana, meaning “up, again, or away” and agō, meaning “to lead or to bring.”

Meaning Explained

This part of Paul’s reference to the Old Testament is not identical to what is contained in Deuteronomy (either in the Hebrew version or the Septuagint), but the sense of it is the same. Moses referred to going to the region beyond the sea. In the time when Moses made this statement, sea travel was very difficult, and to travel to the region beyond the sea was a task of nearly infinite proportion. Also, the ancients believed that the ocean was bottomless. Moses was telling the Israelites that the commandment (that which could bring righteousness) was not far away from them, and it did not require a huge effort to obtain it. He was referring to faith, not a task to be done.

What Paul is saying about the righteousness of faith is essentially the same thing; it is not far away and it does not require huge effort to obtain it. However, since sea travel in Paul’s day was far easier than in Moses’ day, a direct quotation of Moses would not carry the impact that it did in Moses’ day. Instead, Paul uses the concept of descending into the abyss. Since Paul is talking about bringing Christ up from the dead in this verse, he obviously is referring to Hades. Note that Paul is NOT saying that someone has to go down and bring Christ up from the dead because He has already risen. In fact, only God could accomplish this. Paul’s statement is that we don’t have to do this impossible thing in order to obtain faith. As in the previous verse, the monumental task of bringing Christ up again from the dead could not produce righteousness. In fact, it’s just the other way around, only the righteousness of God in Christ could raise Him from the dead.

It is interesting to note that the two primary attacks against our faith are in regard to these two aspects of Christ. Attackers say that He is not God (He did not come down from heaven) and He is not alive today (He has not been raised from the dead). We can’t prove these two facts, we can only accept them by faith, the faith which produces righteousness.

Application

Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He is 100% God and He is 100% man. As such, he completely satisfied God’s law of righteousness and then voluntarily gave his life for us, proving His righteousness by rising from the dead. Amen!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 10:6 – Righteousness Speaks

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Will

But the righteousness of faith says this, "Do not say in your heart, who will go up into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down)

Truth to Learn

Even the greatest of works does not produce righteousness.

Behind the Words

“The righteousness of faith” is from hē ek pisteōs dikaiosunē, which literally means “the out of faith righteousness.” It refers to the true righteousness, that which can only come by faith, and Paul uses a personification of that faith here to let it speak for itself.

The expression “say in your heart” is a Hebraism (a Hebrew expression) which means “to think or say to oneself.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verses Paul talked about the Jews who have a zeal for God but who try to obtain the righteousness of God by keeping the Law. He then quoted a passage from Leviticus 18:5 which says, You shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he will live by them: I am the LORD.

Now, since Paul is contrasting the righteousness which comes from obeying the Law with the righteousness which is a result of faith, he makes a statement about the righteousness of faith. This is roughly taken from the book of Deuteronomy.

For this command which I am commanding you today is not too wonderful for you, nor is it far off. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who will go up into heaven for us and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it that we may do it?” And is it not beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, that we may do it?” For the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)

In this passage from Deuteronomy, Moses has just warned the Israelites what will happen to them if they turn from Jehovah and serve other gods. He then tells them that if they turn back to Jehovah, even while they are in the land of their captivity, He will once again bless them. The message Moses is giving is not one of “obedience produces life and disobedience produces death,” it is a message of “faithfulness produces life, leading to works of obedience and unfaithfulness produces death (spiritual), leading to works of disobedience.” As Moses continues in Deuteronomy 30:15, he says: See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. He does not say “goodness and life” because goodness does not produce life, he says “life and good” because only spiritual life produces good.

The Israelites were confused. They thought that obedience could produce righteousness. Moses, on the other hand taught that faith produces righteousness. In today’s verse, what the righteousness of faith is telling us is that works, even works as great as ascending into heaven to bring Christ’s righteousness down to us, don’t produce righteousness.

Application

The Apostle Paul tends to hammer on a subject from every possible angle until there is absolutely no wiggle room for the critics to argue against him. That’s what he has been doing with regard to righteousness. We cannot earn it; we can only receive it by faith.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 10:5 – Earned or Received?

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Will

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “the man doing these things shall live by them."

Truth to Learn

Eternal life can’t be earned by obedience.

Behind the Words

“Doing” is from the Greek verb poieō, meaning “to make” or “to do.” It is expressed here as an aorist participle, so it can be translated as “having done.”

The word translated “live” is dzaō, meaning “to live” or “to have life.” It is expressed here in the future tense. In other words “he will live” or “he will have life.”

Meaning Explained

Paul is quoting from Leviticus 18:5 which says, You shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he will live by them: I am the LORD. Also in his treatise to the Galatians, who had tried to add works of the Law onto faith, Paul quotes this same passage.

Paul’s point is that the zealous Israelites who went about to establish their own righteousness by keeping all of the Law, were trying to fulfill the command of God who declared that the person who has kept all the commandments of the Law throughout his or her life shall live in them. Notice that this quotation does not declare that the person who has kept the entire Law “is alive,” but “will live in them” (future tense).

The problem is, as Paul told us earlier in this letter, no one can keep the whole Law. Remember back in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And if we look at the Galatians passage, we see that Paul is contrasting faith and works of the Law. In the book of Galatians he says,

So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." And that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "The just shall live by faith." But the law is not of faith, but "The man doing these things shall live in them." (Galatians 3:9-12)

In order to receive future life (that is, eternal life) from the Law one would have to keep the entire Law for their entire life, which is not possible for any man with a sin nature. But since the only man to ever live without a sin nature is Jesus Christ (as Paul explained earlier), it is impossible for any of the rest of us to fulfill the entire Law.

Therefore, no one can attain the righteousness of God by keeping the Law. And no one can get saved by following any methodology of any church, or by going through any kind of classes taught by a church, or of partaking of any sacraments of any church. Salvation (and God’s imputed righteousness) can only come through faith, that is, by believing in the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross as payment for our sins. The perfect, sinless, Lamb of God was slain for us imperfect, sinful, human beings.

Application

We can’t satisfy God’s righteousness by obeying the Law or all the rules of our church. His righteousness is only granted by faith to those of us who know we don’t deserve it.

Thank you, Lord, for the sinless Lamb of God and for the faith to believe in Him!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 10:4 – Condemned or Forgiven?

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Will

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who is believing.

Truth to Learn

Christ completely fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law. We achieve His righteousness by faith in His blood.

Behind the Words

The word translated “end” is the Greek word telos, which means, “the point aimed at as a limit, that is, (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state.” This word telos can also mean “the design or object of something.”

“Everyone” is the translation of the word panti, which means “all, the whole, or everyone.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has just told us that in spite of their zeal for God, the Israelites were ignorant of God’s righteousness and, as a result, tried to establish their own righteousness. The Law and the Prophets prescribed what was required for anyone to satisfy God’s righteousness. In fact, it is much more than just the Ten Commandments. Anyone who has read through the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy quickly becomes aware of all the ceremonial practices that the Jews were required to perform. Included in these was the annual sacrifice of the Pascal Lamb whose blood covered over the sins of the people.

If you compare these practices to what Jesus Christ went through, you will see that He perfectly fulfilled what the Law required of the Pascal Lamb. In fact, the practices prescribed in the Old Testament were an image, a foreshadowing, of what the real Sacrificial Lamb would do for the people. Jesus completely fulfilled the requirements of the Law. Not only did He live without sin but He offered His blood as the payment for all of our sins. Recorded in the book of Matthew we find what Christ Himself said in the Sermon on the Mount;

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)

In the current verse Paul says that Christ is the end of the law, that is, the conclusion or fulfillment. Christ said of Himself that He came to fulfill the Law. Paul now tells us that He did just that. He completed it.

As we pointed out in Behind the Words, telos also means “the design or object of something.” Christ also fulfilled this meaning of the word because He is what the Law had in view as the object when it was first given. So we see that not only was the death of Christ foreseen and foreshadowed by the Law, but His death was the full satisfaction of it in every way.

Application

Paul tells us that the righteousness of God is a reality only for those who believe in the sacrificial death of Jesus as the Lamb of God. He says that this righteousness is applied to everyone who believes God’s promises. No one who believes in Christ will be left out. However, for those who don’t believe in Christ, righteousness cannot be achieved no matter how hard they try and no matter how zealous and sincere they are. They can’t achieve it by works and they are still responsible for their own sins. They will stand before God condemned instead of forgiven!

How will you stand before God?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 10:3 – Completely Submitted

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Will

For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Truth to Learn

Righteousness comes by submitting your will to the will of Almighty God.

Behind the Words

The word translated “ignorant” is agnoeō, which is a compound word made up of a, indicating “not” and noeō, meaning “to perceive or understand.”

The word translated “establish” is histēmi, meaning “to stand.” By application, it also means “to make something to stand in place” or “to establish something.”

“Submit” is a form of the word hupotassō, which is a compound word made up of hupo or hypo, meaning “under” or “beneath” and tasso, which means “to place in an orderly manner.” It is a military term which means “to place oneself under the authority of someone else.” This word does not imply that someone is forcibly put under the authority of another, rather a voluntary placing of oneself under the command and authority of another.

Meaning Explained

Paul now explains what he meant in the previous verse when he said that his Jewish brothers had a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. He starts off this verse by stating that they were ignorant of God’s righteousness. The Israelites did not understand God’s righteousness or the fact that we cannot attain God’s righteousness because we are spiritually flawed by our sin nature.

He then goes on to say, not only did the Israelites not understand God’s righteousness, they also tried to establish their own form of righteousness based on what the Law told them to do. They firmly, even zealously, believed that by keeping the whole Law they could become as righteous as God Himself.

But, as Paul will tell us in the next few verses, there is only one person who can completely fulfill the Law, and that is Jesus Christ. The reason that Christ was able to keep the whole Law is twofold. First of all, he doesn’t have a sin nature and secondly, because He is God, he cannot sin.

Finally, Paul tells us in this verse that the Israelites could not obtain the righteousness of God because they have not submitted themselves to God’s righteousness. These Israelites who had a great zeal for God were trying to obtain that righteousness by their own means instead of humbling themselves before God and allowing Him to grant His righteousness to them.

There are many professed Christians today who are still trying to earn righteousness when what they need to do is to submit themselves to God. Instead of working hard to obtain righteousness we need to submit to God’s will and receive His righteousness by grace.

Application

Are you still trying to obtain your own righteousness by obeying all the rules and ordinances of your church? Or are you humbled before the hand of Almighty God and completely submitted to His will?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 10:2 – Zeal for God

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Will

For I testify to them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Truth to Learn

Zeal and devotion are good if they are not misplaced.

Behind the Words

Paul starts off this verse with “For I testify to them.” This is translated from the Greek words marturō gar. The Greek word gar is a primary particle which assigns a reason. Hence it is usually translated as “for.” This particular word is always post positive; that is, it always appears after the word to which it applies. The Greek word marturō is the word from which we get our English word martyr. It means “to be a witness.”

“Zeal” is from the Greek word dzēlos, which literally refers to “heat.” Figuratively, it is a reference to the heat of a person’s passion. Thus it is often translated as “zeal.”

The word translated “knowledge” is epiginōskō, which is made up of epi, meaning “on or upon” and ginōskō, which means “to know, to perceive, or to be aware of.” Hence epiginōskō literally means “to know upon.” That is, to perceive and understand based on the facts.

Meaning Explained

Paul is now declaring the reason why he is desirous of seeing all of Israel saved, while at the same time declaring the reason why they aren’t all saved. He tells us, “For I am a witness of the fact that they (his fellow Jews) have a zeal for God.” His witness is driven by the fact that not only was he that way himself, but he has personally known many devout Jews who were earnestly seeking after God and His righteousness.

The problem, according to Paul, is that they have been seeking after the righteousness of God in the wrong way. It hasn’t been “according to knowledge,” he says; that is to say, they haven’t recognized or understood the proper way to attain God’s righteousness because they didn’t understand the proper way.

As part of his calling from God, Paul is declaring the facts of salvation through the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He wants them to have knowledge of their Savior so that they might accept the truth and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul knows that many of his fellow Jews are ignorant of the truth. Because of that ignorance, even though they are very passionate about God and His righteousness, they are going about it all wrong.

Application

There are many who call themselves Christian today who are very passionate about God. But instead of seeking God through faith, they are trying to earn His favor. Some would call them devout, but their devotion is to their church or to living up to some set of standards. Some of them even believe that they can reach a point of sanctification in which they no longer sin. That, however, is a works oriented religion; it is not walking by faith.

Being zealous is a good thing. Being devoted to a good cause or to a church is wonderful. But it’s not the way of salvation. Salvation only comes through faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Only through living by faith can we please the One who is our Heavenly Father. And we can only live by faith if we have knowledge of the truth. That’s why it is so important that we study the Bible!

In God's service, for His glory,