Lesson 22 – Romans Chapter 9:25 – 10:10
We left off last time seeing the full weight of God’s sovereignty in the beginning of chapter 9. You can always question God, but if you do, do it with admiration and respect. God has a plan and purpose for the whole world, and nothing will thwart His plans and purposes… not even satan. And yes, God does have a plan and purpose for Israel.
Rom. 9:25-26
“As He says also in Hosea, ( ho-say-eh’)
“I will call those who were not my people, ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
“And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not my people,’ there they shall be called sons of the living God.”
Paul is referring here to the Gentiles, the Church of Christ. We have been called to God. God sovereignly chooses us… what a blessing that is. He has called us just like He called Israel in the past.
Rom. 9:27
“Isaiah cries out concerning Israel…
“Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved;”
This is a prophecy from Isaiah telling us that there will be a small group of Jews, the “remnant,” that will be saved, they will hear the gospel, accept it, and become part of the Church. We see this even today, we know them as Messianic Jews, those who believe that Jesus is the true Messiah.
II Kings 19:31
“For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of the LORD will perform this.”
This is speaking of the time of the regathering of the Jewish people into their land in the time of the coming Messiah. It seems God always has had His eyes on the remnant of Israel.
Although they number as great as the sands of the sea, only a small number will be saved from punishment. This is a sobering thought, especially since the Jews have such a wonderful heritage. However, God calls each one of us by name, and He has chosen us to be his children, we saw this in chapter 8. It is a matter of the heart and not a matter of belonging to a bloodline. God calls and invites us… so we must respond in faith.
Rom. 9:28
For the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.”
Paul is quoting from Isa. 10:23, when God used the Babylonians to judge Israel for her unbelief and unfaithfulness, His justice was thorough and quick.
Only a few, the remnant, managed to escape. God will take for Himself, only a small part of Israel from unbelief and condemnation.
Rom. 9:29
“And just as Isaiah foretold,
“Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity, we would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah.”
“If the LORD of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of our children, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.” (NLT)
Lord of the Sabaoth is translated “Lord of Hosts” and refers to God’s all-encompassing lordship of the universe, of everything He has created. The word posterity translates sperma, which literally means “seed,” but it can also refer to the descendants of the seed or sperm. The Jews of Isaiah’s day and even more so the Jews of Christ’s day, faced terrible judgment for their unbelief.
They not only killed many of God’s prophets, but even killed God’s very own Son, their Messiah and Savior. And since that day, all Jews who reject Jesus continue to face the same terrible judgment.
Rom. 9:30
“What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith;”
“What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place.” (NLT)
Simply said, we Gentiles, who were not God’s people, but by His grace He presented His gospel message to us, and we received His gift of salvation through faith.
Eph. 2:8
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”
Rom. 9:31-33
“But Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written,
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
The Gentiles were not pursuing righteousness, but the Jews were, except that they were trying to do it by keeping the law. Remember the law does not save…
Gal. 3:24
“Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.” (NLT)
When presented with the opportunity to enter into God’s kingdom through the Messiah, the Jews wanted salvation by their own hands, they wanted to work their way into heaven, instead of putting their faith in Jesus.
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,”
To the Jews, Jesus became a stumbling stone for them, but for the believer, Jesus is the Cornerstone.
Psalm 118:22
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.”
The Jews thought that the Gentiles had to come up to Israel’s level to be saved, when in reality the Jews had to go down to the Gentiles level to be saved.
The lesson here is, we need to decide what kind of righteousness we are looking for, are we depending on our good works and character to be saved or are we looking to Jesus for our salvation.
“And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
Paul uses this again in chapter 10. Since you’ve given your life to Jesus, have you ever been disappointed? Now I don’t mean disappointed because of the obstacles you’ve had to face in life, what I mean is, have you ever been disappointed in the fact that Jesus has forgiven all your sins and you will spend all eternity in heaven with Him? I think the only regret you’ll have when you reach the end of your course in this life is that you could’ve done more for Christ.
The main thrust of chapter 9 is clear; Israel’s rejection of Jesus does not deny the faithfulness of God. Romans 9 doesn’t contradict Romans 8. God is still faithful, righteous, just, and gracious with us, and we can depend on Him to fulfill all of His plans and purposes, as well as keeping all of His promises.
ROMANS CHAPTER 10
Rom. 10:1
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.”
Verse 1 is pretty straight forward… Paul is revealing his true feelings once again. Just like we saw in the beginning of chapter 9, where he was willing to give up his salvation if it meant that fellow kinsmen would be saved.
As believers in Jesus, we should also have the same desires in our hearts, and with that, our prayers should include salvation requests for our family and friends.
Rom. 10:2
“For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.”
Paul is saying that his people have a misdirected zeal. Zeal is a good thing if it’s applied in the right way. The Jews were totally focused on the law and all the outward demands of their religion. Paul could relate because he shared this very same zeal before his conversion.
Phil. 3:6
“I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.” (NLT)
One of the most commendable qualities of Paul was his zeal. That zeal was present before he became a Christian, and in fact, it was partly responsible for his destructive work as a persecutor of the Church. Paul admits this in…
Galatians 1:14
“And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.”
Paul learned the difference between good zeal and bad zeal.
I Cor. 14:12
“So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.”
Here, Paul is talking about believers wanting spiritual gifts, they were zealous for them, and Paul’s point is, “put that zealousness to work for the Lord.” Being zealous in working for God is a good thing, but the Jews were wasting their energy in keeping the law… which nobody can do. So, Paul says they had the zeal but… but not in accordance with knowledge.
Rom. 10:3
“For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”
The righteousness mentioned here is the righteousness that comes by trusting in Jesus for your salvation. The Jews were trying to find righteousness through their performance, and we all know that you can’t work your way into heaven.
The Jews were sincere in their efforts, but sadly, they were sincerely wrong. This is one reason why it’s so important for believers to be diligent in studying the Bible, this way you become more and more knowledgeable in the things of God, and less apt to go in the wrong direction.
Taking a little closer look at this verse it says; they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
I think we can say here that the Jews were thinking very highly of themselves, and that they could become righteous through their own efforts.
John MacArthur; “The Jews were not much different than most people of any day, including our own. Because men think God is less holy than He is and that they are more holy than they are, they believe they can achieve acceptance with Him. They measure both God and themselves by human standards of right and wrong and are deceived in both regards.”
So, again, if we’re studying God’s Word, we’re going to know of God’s great holiness and our incredible smallness.
Rom. 10:4
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Is the end – (tel’-os) that by which a thing is finished, it’s close. Which can mean “fulfillment,” that is, that Jesus fulfilled the law.
It can also mean “goal,” this is to say that Jesus was the object of the law, meaning that the law was to lead a person to Christ. The law showed us that we simply can’t keep it… pointing out to us that we’re sinners in need of a Savior.
The end of the law for righteousness… the law served its purpose… to everyone who believes.
Acts 4:12
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Remember that the law can never give righteousness, it only leads a person to Jesus, and He is the One who makes us righteous.
Gal. 3:24
“Therefore the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”
Gal. 4:5
“So that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
Just because God offered His gift of salvation to the Gentiles, doesn’t mean that He was turning His back on Israel. Romans 1:16 this points out…
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Rom. 10:5
“For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.”
If you want to keep the law, you must live in the law. In other words, you must keep working.
Heb. 10:11
“Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;”
Under the law the work was never done, the priests had to do sacrifices over and over again, that is why you never see a chair within the Holy of Holies… the high priest could not sit down because his work was never done. Compare that to Jesus, who sits at the Fathers right hand… because His work was done.
God’s work of redemption at the cross was the final job that needed to be done, and Jesus did just that, and on the cross Jesus said “It’s finished.” For anyone to demand that their work, their feeble efforts be counted as righteousness, will only lead to death.
Rom. 10:6-7
“But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
“But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” (NLT)
This is Paul’s way of saying, for a person to find Christ doesn’t require someone to go on some kind of magical mystery tour, or to travel throughout the universe. In other words, the person trying to achieve God’s righteousness based on the law, is to completely deny Jesus’ incarnation, His resurrection, and ultimately His deity.
Rom. 10:8
“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 are preaching,”
“In fact, it says the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach:” (NLT)
Verse 8 brings us all the way back to chapter 1… the word is near you.
Rom. 1:19-20
“Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
Another way the Word is near is seen in…
John 16:7-9
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;”
“The Helper” is Paraklētos…
Paraklētos is a Greek word that literally means, “One called alongside.” It functions as a name of the Holy Spirit who comes alongside us in many ways. Sometimes He meets us as a helper, and other times as a friend. We often need His comfort and His advocacy. Here we have a nice picture pointing to… the word is near you.
We have God’s invisible attributes seen in creation, and then we have “The Helper” the Paraklētos, both are ministering to the unbeliever. The problem is, people are all too willing to avoid God and His witness to them. Probably one of the biggest reasons is pride and self-sufficiency. Many of us have been raised to make our mark in this world, that if we work hard we can achieve great things. The other factor is that an unbeliever is also a slave to sin.
At a glance it looks like the deck is stacked against everyone to ever find God, and that’s what satan would have everyone believe.
Matt. 19:26
“And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
It’s impossible for man to save himself, he can go to the finest schools, eat the healthiest foods, exercise diligently, do everything perfect, but the one thing he can never do is keep the law perfectly; therefore, he is still dead in his trespasses.
This can cause the casual observer to say, “There is no hope whatsoever, we’re all doomed.” “But with God all things are possible” and from 2nd Peter… that God’s “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Every one of us was an unbeliever until we decided to listen to the voice of God whisper in our heart, “Come to Me, I will give rest for your soul.”
In your mouth and in your heart
This I believe is a prelude to verses 9 and 10. When God is calling a person to Himself, that person needs to listen to the prompting that is taking place in their heart.
Heb. 3:7
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice,”
Rom. 10:9-10
“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
This is another “Flagship” verse from Paul for us to take in. In verse 8 we saw that God isn’t very far from anyone, and that everyone will be held accountable. There comes a time when our soul is confronted by the witness of God. Some say a person needs to hear the gospel message six or seven times before it sinks in (it doesn’t really matter because everyone is different). The point is, if your heart and soul are wanting to respond to God’s call, verses 9 and 10 show you the way.
That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord…
We can look at the word confess in two different ways. Fist, we confess that Jesus is the One, He is the One and true living God. That Jesus is also the One who has the power of eternal life, and the power to forgive sin.
John 3:15
“So that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”
If a person makes this kind of statement, they are confessing that Jesus is who He says He is and you believe in Him.
The other way to look at the word confess means to be willing to confess your sins, admitting that you’re a sinner.
And believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…
This is where faith comes in. A person has a heartfelt faith that is sincere, wholehearted, unfeigned, meaning genuine in their feeling. We’ve talked about the heart quite a bit. In this text, God’s word is referring to the deepest part of who we are, the very core of our being.
If a person holds on to this truth (that Jesus was raised from the dead, defeating death, sin, and satan) as the object of their faith, they will be saved.
Verse 10 reverses the order of heart and confess.
“For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
This is the chronological order of redemption. First a person believes with the heart and is granted righteousness, second, with their mouth a person confesses and is granted salvation.
Verses 9 and 10 lie at the very crux of salvation, as to whether a person is saved or not. This isn’t for anyone to determine, only God and the person who says they believe know for sure.
When witnessing to a person, this is a very important Scripture to have them read. It pretty much tells a person what it takes for someone to be saved.