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The first portion of these verses, chapter 10:1-11, is called, the pre-eminence of justification by faith, rather than works. Paul's sole purpose in this chapter 10 is to persuade the Jews to believe in Christ. He begins by stating his hearts desire that they might be saved. Paul teaches us something about prayer here. Though these Jews sought to kill him, though they had already crucified his Lord, though they had beaten him and threw him out of most of the towns in Asia Minor, despite all of this, he prayed for them, and he prayed with sincerity and with his heart. Matthew Henry says that the prayers of the heart reach the Thrown Room of God while cold prayers go unheard.
Notice Paul even speaks up for them as to their enthusiasm, "I bare witness to the fact that they have a zeal for God, but it is un-enlightened." Many people have a strong commitment to this church but not to God and the Gospel. This mis-guided dedication comes from being ignorant of what God wants from them.
Why? First, because they have not committed themselves to God. Pride in our works often gets in the way. They never consider that they have a need of God's righteousness but expect to be justified by their works. They completely mis-understood the words of the Prophets and the purpose of the Law. Paul says that the design of the Law was to lead people to Christ. It was to show them how impossible it was for man to save himself and thus point him to the promised Messiah.
Christ came to fulfill the Law and complete it. The Law was not destroyed by the coming of Christ, it was made obtainable, to everyone that believes. Even Moses realized that if anyone were to obtain righteousness thru the Law, they would have to obtain perfection. Wasn't it foolish of the Jews to think that they ever could obtain perfection and thus purchase righteousness for themselves.
Verses 7 and 8 of Chapter 10, seem, at first reading, to be difficult. But they are simply saying that the way to justification and salvation is simple and it has no deep theology or puzzles to confuse us.
First, let us look at verse 7. "Do not say (ask) who will go up to Heaven and get the answer to the way to salvation." It is true that Christ is in Heaven and certainly there we could find the answer, but, less we forget, His Word and His Interpreter are here on earth. We do not need to go into Heaven to get the answer to that question, His word is simple and complete and with the aid of the Holy Spirit (the Interpreter) we can find the truth.
Paul says the Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart. What you need to know is made known to you. Everything that needs to be done, is done. The words of faith have been and are being preached to you. i.e. "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." You can't make it much simpler than that.
Confess that you believe... there is no "intellectual" approach to salvation. Led
of the Spirit, we simply believe with our heart not our mind. "For man believes
with his heart and is justified." Thus justification by faith lays the foundation
for salvation. "For who-so-ever believes on Him, shall not be ashamed
(disappointed)." Rest assured that this plan of salvation originated by God and
described here by Paul, will accomplish that for which it was sent.
Universality of Christ
["Click here for Romans 10:12-21"]
Verses 12 thru 21 of Chapter 10 describes the universality of Christ. In Him, there is neither Jew nor Gentile. In these verses Paul gets away from the terms Jew and Gentile and stresses the fact that God no longer looks at us in those terms. For thousands of years, God was God only of the Jew and those of other nations that became proselytes. Now He is God to all who believe on His Son.
Lets stop for a moment and remind ourselves that this portion of Romans is teaching the Doctrine of Predestination. For some reason, we usually think that this doctrine came into being with the coming of Christ, but not so. All through the Old Testament, God was being selective in His calling, choosing one nation, one brother, etc. above all the rest. Now, with the coming of Christ, men and women of all nations stand equally lost and in need of a Savior, before God. So the doctrine of election continues but now it is available to all people. Now He bestows His Grace upon all that CALL UPON HIS NAME.
To understand this and see how the doctrine of election or the exercise of God's prerogative is still the way of salvation, we must look at the progression of events necessary for a person to be able to CALL UPON HIS NAME.
First, it is necessary for them to hear the Gospel, for they cannot call upon Him whom they have not heard, therefore, "someone must be sent". Someone to teach, someone to preach, someone that knows the Gospel well enough to explain God's plan of salvation. Today, there a many sources of this information. The radio, the TV, the Bible, a friend, a spouse, anyone can witness to a lost soul. God uses these mediums, it is His prerogative to choose, empower and qualify them for His work. So first, God provides a way for them to hear the Gospel.
Secondly, we must then be able to hear, understand and believe. Now most people can hear, but understanding is something that comes from the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. It is a Gift. Without this gift, there is no understanding nor belief. This is where the Doctrine of Election comes in. This is where God's prerogative comes in. With the gift of understanding, comes the knowledge that we are sinners and in need of a Savior, and the ability to believe, IF WE CHOOSE.
Thirdly, we must now make a choice. This is where "free will" comes in. Paul says that they that call upon the Lord, shall be saved. Therefore there is something that we must do. We now know of our lost condition, we now know how to be saved. The choice is ours. The Lord, at this point, has done the calling, He has given You, through the Power of the Holy Spirit, the ability now to call upon Him.
Lastly, we must proclaim our faith or go away, grieving the Holy Spirit, for He has brought you to conviction and now it is up to you to proclaim your faith in Jesus Christ and claim for yourself, the salvation that God offers. Paul at this point, is distressed for he believes that many have been called through his ministry, but some refuse to believe. He asks the same question as Isaiah, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" Certainly not all the Jews, certainly not all the Gentiles, for the greater part of both remain in unbelief.
In a prophetic way, David spoke of the eventual condition of mankind relative to the Gospel, "There voice has gone out to all the earth and their words to the ends of the world." The means that God uses to spread the Gospel will soon have accomplished that.
As to the condition of the Jew today, Moses and Isaiah foretold of it. Moses said, "I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation, with a fool or an un-enlightened nation, I will make you angry." Who was Moses talking about? The Gentile. Isaiah spoke these words from the Lord, "I have been found by those who didn't seek me". "I have revealed myself to those who did not ask for me." Again, the Gentiles. Certainly we can see the calling of God in these words and the doctrine of election proclaimed, electing even those who did not ask.
Then Paul ends this section on the Jews Responsibility by showing how patient God had been with the Jews. "All day long, I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people." The stretching out of the hands is a gesture of friendship. Christ was crucified with his hands stretched out. We offer friendship and seek acceptance when we stretch out our hand to another person.
All day long, God stretched out His hands to the Jews. He waited patiently for thousands of years but they were a disobedient and contrary people. Many times God forgave them and sought their obedience. He revealed Himself in His wondrous works and thru His Prophets, but they were continually disobedient and continued to do what was evil in His sight.
So this was Paul's understanding of the position of the Jews as the result of their not responding to God in faith and obedience. Paul continues to explain the condition of the Jews and the Gentiles in the next chapter.
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