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THOUGHTS ON
ROMANS 10
Rom
10:1-21
CHAPTER 10
At
the outset here, Paul is comparing and contrasting law
based righteousness with faith based righteousness.
That is the context down through the chapter.
* Brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that
they might be saved.
Saved
from what? Saved from relating to God through the
law. Their problem was their zeal for God
based on law.
* 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.
This
description in verse 3 seems to describe exactly where our
belief system has been hung up. It describes where
the majority of the church world is at -
"unsaved" from relating to God through the
law. Submitting oneself to the righteousness of God
can be seen as confessing sin, repenting and in the
process getting saved as we have been taught....OR,
it could be referring to agreeing with God's finished work
that all in the first Adam have NOW been included in the
second Adam. (as Paul taught plainly a few chapters
prior in the same book.)
* For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every
one that believeth.
So
then why do most believers still place their confidence
before God in their own obedience. I believe it is
because they have yet to hear the truth of verse
4. Most teachers I was taught under said we are
still clearly under obligation to the moral law. Believing
is taking your confidence and trust out of a law and
obligation based righteousness, and placing it in Christ's
work on the cross and his resurrection. So by
the definition of this verse, believing is
evidenced when you put an end to trusting in the law for
your righteousness. It seems to me that telling
people they need to believe in order to be redeemed is
another attempt at relating to God through a form of
law. I.e.. You do this and get God to do that.
* For
Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law,
That the man which doeth
those things shall live by
them.
According
to this verse, law based righteousness is about what one does
and how one lives. Sounds like most of what
we have had passed off on us in church as a prescription
for relating to God is of the "righteousness which is
of the law" variety.
* 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:)
* Or,
Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up
Christ again from the dead.)
It
seems to me the point of verses 6 - 8 is that faith
righteousness does not whip up a fresh batch of redemption
every time someone believes. Or, in other
words, redemption does not need to be achieved all
over again.
* But
what saith it? The word (of
completed faith righteousness is) nigh thee, even
in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of
faith, which we preach;
The
"word of faith" which we preach that Paul refers
to is the word of faith righteousness as
contrasted with the word of law based righteousness. (see
verse 4)
* 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.
The
word that one confesses is that Jesus raised us up
together with Him at the same time He was raised up.
Confessing with One's mouth that Jesus is Lord is
to agree with the fact of all men's redemption at the
cross. Contrary to what has been usually taught
regarding this verse, we do not make him Lord through a
commitment of our obedience. God made Jesus
Lord. We experience salvation when we transfer our
trust from the law and place it in the finished work of
the cross.
* For
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Until
the heart believes and the mouth confesses, a person is
still for all intents and purposes still under law and
condemnation experientially. Remember the
context here is getting devout people with a zeal for God saved
from trusting in the law. To say that a man moves
from an unrighteous state to a righteous state before
God at the time of believing is to say that his works
and deeds are partly responsible for his salvation.
My heart stumbles at that one. My heart sees it that
when the heart assimilates the story of the gospel, that
you have been made righteous before God, and believes that
message, then a profound change occurs aligning one's
belief system with a previously established fact. He
has "believed unto righteousness." This is
a true statement of his experience being aligned with
God's view and opinion of him since the cross.
* For
the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not
be ashamed.
And
whoever trusts in the law shall be ashamed.
(Certainly is a true statement in my life.)
* 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. 13 For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
This
applies to whosoever because all have been redeemed and
their acceptance of that fact will trigger a profound
freedom in their heart.
* 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?
Does
believe in him refer to believing in what
your faith coupled with God's grace can achieve. Or
is it referring to trusting in a finished work that you
could not achieve or participate in?
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!
Very
few people have been presented with the concept that God
settled his wrath for sin at the cross. This I
believe is exactly what Isaiah was referring to in his
phrase: the gospel of peace. Telling people of the
latest and improved plan that you can participate in to
obtain righteousness before God by believing falls so
short of the designation: "glad tidings of good
things." Like I mentioned before, the faith
that I achieved with the gospel I heard was that Jesus
would help me to please God and do better, and in turn
escape hell. The good news I heard previously left
me focused on myself. A plan that you must
participate in order to achieve righteousness personally
doesn't fit the definition of news, let alone good news.
* But
they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith,
Lord, who hath believed our report?
It
says who has believed our report. It does not
say who has submitted to our program. Israel
with their eyes on a law based attempt at righteousness
could not believe that they were already righteous (the
report of the gospel) Obedience to the gospel is not
conforming morally to new plan from God based on Jesus
example at the cross, but rather submitting oneself to
God's declaration that men have been made righteous apart
from the law.
* So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God. (the gospel of peace - the
story of Christ's death, burial and resurrection) 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. 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. (KJV)
Let
me wrap up by saying that the above is "as near as I
can tell." It could be wrong. But I think
it does provide a logical framework to at least present
another possible paradigm to compare with the one that we
have held to without question. I am stuck on this
thought that the gospel is truly the story that addresses
man's deepest needs and longings. Man wants to be
righteous. God made him that way. All of his
attempts at it, including the participatory plans of men's
religions, have hopelessly failed and continue to
fail. Our models of compliance based
"faith" still produce death. Thank God for
it, for now we are afforded the opportunity look beyond
ourselves and be truly and gloriously saved.
Marvin |
