1Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. 2For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
In the first verses of chapter 9, Paul spoke of the great sorrow and continual pain of heart that he felt because of the failure of his fellow Israelites to receive Jesus as the Christ. Now, at the beginning of chapter 10, he says that the desire of his heart and his prayer to God for Israel is for salvation. He says on their behalf that they do have zeal for God but laments that their zeal lacks spiritual understanding. In verse 3 he states the issue and their error. The issue is how to have righteousness. The error of Paul’s fellow Jews is that, because they had not known by experience the righteousness that God gives, they were trying to establish their own righteousness. As a result, they had not “submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
There is a lesson for us in that statement. In his own testimony in Philippians 3, Paul said, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.” He said that he wanted to “be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3:7-9). Thus, in order to be saved, Paul had to set aside his own righteousness and by faith receive righteousness from God. To do that requires submission.
Verse 4 is the summary statement of this truth: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” The word “end” in this verse means “goal” (it is used this way also in I Timothy 1:5). It was God’s intent that the Law bring people to Christ. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul wrote, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24). God uses the Law to show people that they can’t establish their own righteousness. He uses the Law to show people that they need a Savior. When a person believes in Christ as Savior, he or she is counted righteous by God. Many people in the world have religious zeal, but zeal without an understanding of our need for Christ does not bring salvation.
5For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 6But 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:) 7or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8But 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; 9that 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. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Now Paul uses two Old Testament passages to contrast the two righteousnesses that he spoke of in verse 3. When the Jews sought to establish their own righteousness, that was a righteousness based on the Law. The righteousness from God is “the righteousness which is of faith.”
The principle of righteousness based on the Law is stated succinctly in Leviticus 18:5, where God said, “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them.” The Law is an inflexible standard. A person can be counted righteous on the basis of the Law only if that person keeps the whole Law perfectly.
Verses 6-8, in which Paul will describe the righteousness which is by faith, contain reference to the words of Deuteronomy 30:11-14:
“For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.”
Paul’s reference to this passage uses the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament, in which “abyss” is used instead of “sea” in verse 13.
This quote from Deuteronomy 30 refers to the Law. God told the people that the Law was “near to them.” These verses from Deuteronomy say three times, “that we may hear it, and do it,” “that we may hear it, and do it,” and “that thou mayest do it.” Yet, Paul omits those words all three times when he refers to the passage. Also, Paul applies this principle of nearness not to the Law, but to the message of the Gospel of Christ. Paul uses the pattern of the words in Deuteronomy 30 to say that the truth about Christ is near: Christ has entered our world from heaven; Christ has been raised from the dead.
Then, in verses 9 and 10, Paul twice states the Deuteronomy reference to the mouth and the heart. But in verse 9, the order is mouth and then heart; in verse 10, the order is heart and then mouth. Why does Paul apply the Deuteronomy passage to Christ rather than to the Law, why does he say the same thing twice in verses 9 and 10, and why does he reverse the mouth-heart order in verse 10?
It will help us to remember what Paul’s thesis is: “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (verse 4). The Covenant of Law was replaced by the New Covenant. Under the Covenant of Law, the people of God were to keep the Law in their mouths in order that it might go to their hearts. The Old Covenant order was mouth-to-heart. In speaking of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, God said to Moses, “And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD's law may be in thy mouth...” (Exodus 13:9). God told Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein...” (Joshua 1:8).
But when God promised the New Covenant, He said, “As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever” (Isaiah 59:21). God promised that His people would not have to struggle to keep His word in their mouths anymore. His word would be in their mouths forever because He would write it in their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33-34). The New Covenant order would be heart-to-mouth.
It is that new order that Paul is emphasizing in verses 9-10 of Romans 10. Paul is not adding confession as another condition for salvation. He is adapting the Deuteronomy 30 passage to the changes brought by the New Covenant. When a person believes in Christ, that person receives righteousness from God. When their faith comes out their mouth, it shows that God’s word is in their hearts. Confession is sure for every believer because, as Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34).
Paul will comment further about faith and confession in the coming verses.
11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
In verse 11, Paul returns to his words at the end of the previous chapter, a quote from Isaiah 28:16. The fact that verse 11 begins with the word “for” shows that it is a summary statement. The fact that “whosoever believeth on him” is given as a sufficient condition for salvation stands as proof that Paul did not intend that confession be understood as a separate condition.
Verses 11-13 seem to parallel Paul’s words about belief and confession. Verse 11 is about the heart. Verses 12-13 are about the mouth. In verse 12, Paul first restates the truth in 3:22: “there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.” Looking at 3:23 and 10:12 together, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” and “the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” In verse 13, Paul quotes Joel 2:32, which speaks of the time of the return of Christ.
What does it mean to “call upon the name of the Lord” ? The Old Testament contexts of this phrase help us to understand its meaning. For example, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to prove that their god was real. He said, “Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God” (I Kings 18:23-24). Elijah said, “You call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD.”
Thus, the issue in these verses is not the act of “calling;” the issue is the name on which we call. A person who calls on the name of Baal is a worshipper of Baal. A person who calls on the name of Yahweh is a worshipper of Yahweh.
Thus, in Psalm 16:4 David says, “Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.”
Isaiah wrote, “And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted” (Isaiah 12:4). In this verse, calling upon the name of the LORD is associated with worshipping Him and with telling others about His works.
Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you” (John 16:23). The Lord Jesus Christ is our Mediator. Christians pray in the name of Jesus. To pray in the name of Jesus is to call upon the name of the Lord and thus to confess Him.
The confession of verses 9-10 and the calling on the name of the Lord is verses 12-13 are parallel with each other. The God we believe on in our hearts is the One we call on. Confession is not a separate condition for salvation. It is inseparable from belief. Everyone calls on the One they believe in.
But didn’t the Jews who rejected Christ also call on the name of Yahweh? Clearly, Paul would say, “No, they did not.” They had a zeal for God, but it was a zeal without spiritual understanding. When the Jews refused to confess the Lord Jesus, they were refusing to call on the Name that Yahweh the Son was given when He was sent to dwell among us.
14How 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? 15And 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!
Beginning with these verses, the second part of chapter 10 addresses the question of why Israel failed to receive the salvation that God offered. Paul will say in this section that the reason was not ignorance of the Gospel, but rather rejection of it.
The trail to what is necessary for a person to call on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ begins with the need to believe in Him. The need to believe in Him points to the need to hear about Him and thus that there be someone to proclaim the Gospel. The need for someone to proclaim the message points to the need that someone be sent out to do it. Paul takes the trail of necessity no further because it is obvious that God has sent many, including Paul himself, to proclaim the message of the Gospel of Christ. Paul quotes from Isaiah 52:7, which speaks of the proclamation on the mountains of Jerusalem of the good news that Christ has come to reign; this proclamation will take place at Christ’s second coming. Paul does not include the words “upon the mountains” in his quote because he is speaking of the good news of Christ’s work in His first coming. The salvation in Isaiah 52:7 is that of Israel’s deliverance from its enemies. The salvation of which Paul speaks is deliverance from the penalty of sin.
16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
In these verses Paul continues to assert that the reason Israel did not receive the righteousness that God offered was not a lack of opportunity to hear the Gospel but rather a rejection of the message they’d heard. In verse 16, he says that many Jews did not obey the Gospel. Using a quote from Isaiah 53:1, he explains that the Jews heard the Gospel but did not believe it. In Isaiah’s question, the word translated “report” is the same as the word “hearing” that is twice used in the next verse. Thus, Paul emphasizes that hearing the word of God is the precondition to faith. In verse 18, he again presses the point that the Jews did have opportunity to hear the word of God. Thus, they did have opportunity to believe. In the latter part of verse 18, Paul quotes Psalm 19:4. This verse in Psalm 19 speaks not of God’s spoken or written word but of the revelation that God has given through His creative work in the heavens and the earth. Paul is asserting that the message of the Gospel has been made known in Israel to the same extent that God’s revelation by creation has been made known in all the world. Paul’s assertion is correct because the coming of Christ was foretold in Israel by the prophets and was made known to the Jews by Jesus Himself and His disciples.
19But 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. 20But 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. 21But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.
In these final verses of chapter 10, Paul completes his argument that Israel’s lack of response to the Gospel was due not to lack of opportunity but to their own rebellion. He appeals first to the testimony of Moses and then to that of Isaiah.
In Deuteronomy 32:21, Moses repeats the words of the LORD concerning Israel: “They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.” God said that He would respond to Israel’s provocation in kind. As Paul will explain in the next chapter, God is at the present time using the church to make Israel jealous.
Isaiah wrote, “I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts...” (Isaiah 65:1-2). (The interchanging of the two clauses in Paul’s quote as compared with the Hebrew text perhaps emphasizes that the Gentiles would logically have to find the LORD before they would inquire of Him, whereas Isaiah spoke to Israel, who were to have already been His people and should have inquired of Him.) Today God is using the church, which is composed mostly of non-Jews, to proclaim His word in the world. By His grace, Yahweh has been found by Gentiles, who sought Him not. He has made Himself known to Gentiles, who weren’t even asking about Him. Israel, however, even today mostly remains in disobedience and opposition to the Gospel of Christ.
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.