But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”from above) or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 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): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls (that is, to bring Christ down on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”--Romans 10:6-13
Below are the verses from Deuteronomy 30:10-14 that Paul was quoting. I have included verse 10 for clarity.
10 if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
“For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
These verses in Deuteronomy emphasis heart belief and not just outward compliance. Paul changes the quote from Deuteronomy to refer to the gospel in Romans... "He saw “the commandment” or “the Word” as meaning “Christ, God’s Word.” So, he substituted “Christ” for “the commandment.” I really love this! Paul is saying here that the gospel is not hard...it does not tell us to do what is humanly impossible. Christ has already descended from heaven in the Incarnation. He has already risen from the abyss in the resurrection! He has already done it all. The work is finished and He is near! The gospel is easily attained, easily understood and and can be expressed in conversation! Jesus is known not through the philosophies of men but through a childlike faith.
What do you have to do obtain salvation. It's so simple. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and believe in your heart that He died for your sins at Calvary and that God raised Him from the dead in order that those who believe could live with Him forever. That's it. When a person does this, he is instantly justified. He now has Christ's righteousness imputed to him...he is saved. So simple...believe and confess.
Contrast that to what the Jew had to do and you can understand why they stumbled. They were so used to doing and obeying the law to obtain righteousness that this seemed ludicrous. There was nothing they could do to be justified before God except believe. Many rejected it out of hand. Their pride could not take the blow. Others, however, saw their own inability to keep the law and through that saw God's grace, surrendered and accepted His free gift.
Next, Paul quoting Isaiah 28:16, reminds us that when you do confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, God's word guarantees you will not be put to shame. Matthew 10:32 says, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. Our confession of Him here on earth, leads to His confession of us in heaven. He goes on to say that there is no difference between Jew and Greek and I love what He says next...the same Lord is rich to all who call on Him. How beautiful is that.! "They looked to Him and were radiant and their faces were not ashamed."
Joel 2:32 is the last verse Paul quotes from in this section acknowledging that WHOEVER calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is no difference in salvation...the Jew and the Gentile all need to call on the name of the Lord to be saved!
Romans 10:6-13 present a real challenge to the Jew both now and then. In order to accept the gospel, they needed to believe that God became a man and then rose from the dead. (Incarnation and the Resurrection) They also need to believe that they were just as guilty before God as the Gentiles they condemned. So many of us stumble here The gospel is so simple but it is in direct opposition to our pride and our desire be righteous in our own selves. We look at others through the eyes of our own pride and accomplishment and think that we will be acceptable to God in and of ourselves. We think that because of our good works God has to accept us...that He owes us some how. We forget that God is a debtor to no man...He cannot be controlled. He lays before us two paths...the path of righteousness by acceptance of His Son and His finished work on the cross or the path of destruction...the path we choose when we go our own way.
Warren Wiersbe presents a chart to his readers comparing faith righteousness to works righteousness...It is worth copying here.
Law Righteousness Faith Righteousness
Only for the Jew For “whosoever”
Based on works Comes by faith alone
Self-righteousness God’s righteousness
Cannot save Brings salvation
Obey the Lord Call on the Lord
Leads to pride Glorifies God
Law righteousness was only for the Jew, based on works and led to self-righteousness. It could not save. The Lord needed to be obeyed...instead of glorifying God it led to pride...
Faith righteousness was for whosoever and comes by faith alone. It is God's righteousness imputed to us that brings salvation when we call on Him. This kind of righteousness does not lead to pride because we can do nothing to earn it...we can only accept it as a gift. It glorifies our Father in heaven.
Love
Mom
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