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Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea, God's Word alone, our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ. Back to the Bible for the way of life.

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Welcome to the Spirit of Bible Study. We are so thankful for this and every opportunity that we have to share in a consideration of God's Word. And we, we hope that the time that you spend with us is profitable, is valuable. But most of all, we hope that our efforts honor and glorify the God that made us, that has saved us, that has called us to be a part of his family in Christ. And we are thankful for opportunities to spend just a little while in a consideration of the will that he has revealed to us. Our study today is going to come from Romans chapter 10. And so if you have a Bible or an app or something close at hand to be able to pull that up, that would be great as we go through this text and consider what Romans chapter 10 has to say. Of course there are previous episodes in our consideration of the Book of Romans and you can find those on YouTube or you can find them on our podcast website backtothebiblepodcast.com and you can find all of the previous episodes in our study of the Book of Romans and catch up to where we are Basically, what we have contended is that the Book of Romans is primarily addressed to Gentiles. That doesn't mean there weren't Jews in the audience, and that doesn't mean there weren't Jewish people who could benefit from what's being said here. But ultimately we have made the case that the Book of Romans was written to Gentile Christians who either had or were in danger of being influenced by Judaizing teachers who would try to come and impose certain aspects of the law on them in order to make them part of the Jewish community in order for them to have right standing with God. What Paul says in Romans chapters one through three is that certainly the the Gentile world stood in condemnation. Romans 1:18 and following demonstrates that the Gentile world, having rejected God in exchange for idolatry and sexual immorality and all sorts of other things, had been handed over by God and were in a position worthy of death. In Chapter two, it seems to me that Paul is considering a person who thought that the solution to his moral problems was adopting Judaism. But what happens is he's just become a hypocrite. And the circumcision that he had never went heart deep, but it was also never intended for Gentiles. Even the Jew who was only circumcised on the outside didn't stand in any better position. In Romans chapter 3 it shows that even Israel, God's chosen people, stood condemned of sin. And so we come to 3:21, 26, which seems to be a good section for a summary of what Paul is doing in those first few chapters where he says that even though all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that God has demonstrated his righteousness, he has demonstrated his faithfulness in Jesus, who gave himself to be the propitiation, the meeting place of God's mercy and his sacrifice, and that through Jesus and his faithfulness, and by us putting our faithfulness in him, God can be just, while also being the justifier of those who have faith, who have given their allegiance to Jesus. Chapter four uses Abraham as a model. And chapters five, six, seven and eight talk about the great blessing that we have. Because we have come into Christ by faith, we have hope of future Life. Romans chapter 5 says we can follow Jesus through his death and his resurrection and walk in newness of life and and also have hope of eternal life. Chapter six says chapter seven shows that if we were to take a Gentile and try to impose the law on them, then they would be enslaved, but in a different way, with the desire to do what's right, but the failure that kept reappearing over and over. And in chapter eight we see that because of Jesus, we can stand in him with no condemnation, with God's Spirit dwelling in us, we can have the hope of redemption when this world is redeemed from its present distress. We have the Spirit's intercession for us. We have adoption as children into God's family. We have God's grand plan to call us, to justify us, to glorify us ultimately. And we have this hope that if God is forced, then nothing can stand against us. That on the other side of all of the trials that we face, we can be more than conquerors. Now all of that is available in Christ, and Paul is encouraging them all along not to allow the Judaizing teachers to impose on them. But perhaps a major question is raised. If this is the case, then what is the place of the Jews in God's plan? Where does Israel fit in? Now Paul is going to describe that in some detailed terms in chapters nine through 11, perhaps in more detail than he does anywhere else in Scripture. But in chapters nine through 11, Paul says first of all that not all Israel is Israel. That is not just the genetic code is what's necessary in order to what to define what Israel is. And he shows through chapter nine that God has always chosen what is defined by Israel and that that term can become narrower and narrower. And at the end of chapter nine, he shows that he had taken Israel and though they were not a people, had made them a people, and now has shown that it would be a remnant that would be included in God's saved people. He had chosen to use them as a nation, but that did not mean that they had to be part of the remnant that would be saved. And he will demonstrate that in chapter 10. So we began chapter 10 last time, and as we come to it again, I think we need to read those first four verses together. This is Romans, chapter 10, beginning at verse one. Paul says, Brothers, my heart's desire and, and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For he says, not knowing about the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. We made the point in our last program that what Paul is saying here is that Jewish people had missed the righteousness of God because they had missed where the law was always pointing. They had missed that Jesus was the end of the law for righteousness and Jesus was the goal of the law. That is the point of verse four. But the Jews tried to establish their own righteousness by observing the Torah, but they had missed that God had revealed his righteousness, his covenant faithfulness apart from the Torah in Jesus. Now, his critique here is certainly not their law keeping. Before, though, I think we would see that for many, many Jews, their law keeping was shortchanged, it was limited, it was very circumscribed. That is that their commitment to the law very often was a commitment to a few things, as we see with the Pharisees, or maybe it was misdirected in some way. But the law was a law of righteousness. And there were people who we could say were faithful in keeping the law. I think generally we look at Zacharias and Elizabeth, John the Baptist parents who are described as righteous and blameless with regards to the law. I love how when Paul is telling the story of his conversion, he talks about Ananias, the man who baptized him. And as a man who was devout or devoted according to the law. The issue here is not that Jewish people had been keeping the law. And I don't even think that the Issue is that Jewish people continued to observe certain aspects of the law. It was all right for them to continue to circumcise their sons. As far as I can tell, they could still keep the Sabbath if they wanted. Maybe they could even avoid certain meats if they wanted. It would be difficult to give up something you had been doing your whole life, I imagine. But imposing that on the Gentiles was a problem. And they had done something that was even worse, that they had missed. They had missed Jesus. They had missed the goal of the law, the very object of all of God's intentions in the Torah. They had rejected him. There's a book called to the so called Jewish that's written by Rodriguez and Thiessen. I have referenced Rodriguez's books about reading Romans and this book I think is helpful. Of course there would be lots of things from Rodriguez and Thiessen that I would disagree with. And yet they're very helpful in certain aspects on the book of Romans. And I think they helped me on this passage. This is a quote from their book on Romans, chapter 10. And he says, this is a subtle point, but an important one. It is not that Israel failed to recognize the righteousness of God because they were already in a bad habit of boasting in the law while flouting it, or of wielding the law as a cudgel to keep Gentiles away. Rather, just to the extent that they did not recognize the righteousness of God, that is, just to the extent that they did not trust the Messiah, they established an alternative righteousness. The law of Moses is of course a law of righteousness. So by simply carrying on with that law as if the eschatological righteousness of God had not appeared in the nature of the case, Israel established a righteousness of their own. Israel established a righteousness of their own. That is, they were trying to maintain their right standing with God as they understood it from before. But when Jesus arrived, they missed it and were trying to establish a righteousness of their own. Now beginning in verses 5 and following Paul is going to show over and over that God had constantly been reaching out to his people, but overall they had rejected it. Now he's going to say this is beginning in chapter five. And I think it would be good for us to read all the way down through about verse 13, Romans 10, verse 5. For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law. The man who does these things shall live by them. But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way. Do not say in your heart, who will Go up into heaven, that is to bring Christ down. Or who will go into the abyss, that is to bring Christ up from the dead. 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. That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. For the Scripture says whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. But the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Now, this chapter is full of references from the Old Testament Scripture to show that God had constantly been reaching out to his people, but ultimately they refused him. He had put the Torah within reach, but they missed it. In Romans chapter 10 and verse 5, we see Leviticus 18, verse 5 quoted, in which God had called them to be his special people, says whoever does these things will live by them. In chapter 10, verses 6, most of verse 6, he's quoting from Deuteronomy 30, especially where he's saying that he made His Word available to them right there in their presence. And we see that throughout this chapter. But then he put Jesus within their reach. He put the Gospel in and its benefits within their reach. Now, the message about the faithfulness of Christ demands confession of and faithfulness to the Lord Jesus. Only by calling upon the name of the Lord, depending on him for salvation, can Jews and Gentiles, by the way, experience salvation and justification. Now that is who the remnant is going to be. They are those who have given their allegiance to the risen King. Now God's plan certainly has room for Jews. It has room for all people who give their faith. Look at what he says. Verse 11 quoting from the book of Isaiah, chapter 28. And verse 16 he says, Whoever believes upon him will not be put to shame. And verse 12, there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on him. Verse 13 for whoever, quoting from Joel, chapter 2. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Now, can I say something here? And I hate to have to take away from the, the line of thinking here, but it's really important because if you ever talk to somebody about the conditions for salvation, they will say Romans 10, 9, 10 just says confess and believe, and that's it. It doesn't say anything else. And I know that there are times where people have pushed back and said, yes, but what about all of these passages with regards to baptism? And somebody will say, well, Romans 10, 9, 10. All it says is believe and confess, and that's good enough for me. Or are you saying God's word's wrong because it just says believe and confess? Come on. Now, let's see the point in verses 9 and 10. The absence of baptism does not negate its necessity any more than the absence of repentance denies its necessity. The focus of Romans 10 is not on what we might think are the steps or all of the conditions of. Of salvation, but they're on the object of faithfulness and confession. I think it's clear to see that Paul obviously assumes that repentance and baptism are essential elements of faithfulness to Christ. If you don't see that, read chapter six, especially the first half. Again. Notice that the key element here is calling on the name of the Lord. That is depending on him for salvation. Now, I know that that includes baptism. Calling on the name of the Lord. He's not just saying, call out the name of the Lord or cry out the name of the Lord. He is saying, call upon his name, his authority, his power, his saving grace. Now, how do we do that? Remember In Acts chapter 2, Peter quotes there in Acts chapter 2 from Joel as well, and says, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Then he tells the story of Jesus. And in verse 36, he says, Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that this Jesus whom you have crucified, God has made him Lord and Christ. And they cry out, men and brethren, what must we do? Now if you go back to verse 21 in that chapter, you. You can say, well, he already told you what to do. He told you to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. But they say, men and brethren, what must we do to be saved? And you remember what Peter's answer was? Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Do you see that? He said, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And when they asked what they needed to do, he called them to repentance and baptism. Now, what's interesting is when you see Acts 22:16, and this is Paul's retelling of his own conversion experience. He goes into the city of Damascus. He's already had the experience on the road, goes into the city of Damascus. Ananias comes and talks to him and says, why are you tearing, Saul? Saul, why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins. Calling on the name of the Lord. So let's not think that calling on the name of the Lord doesn't include baptism. But the fundamental thing here is believing that God raised Jesus from the dead and confessing him as Lord. Notice this is not just what so often is described as the sinner's prayer. Asking Jesus into your heart as your personal savior. No, this is giving your allegiance to Jesus as master and king. You believe that God raised him from the dead. You are giving your allegiance to him as the Lord. Everything he says goes. That is the fundamental condition for salvation. That is the thing that makes someone a part of the remnant. That is what brings someone into Christ, is that giving allegiance to Jesus. And, and certainly we need to emphasize the place that baptism plays. Not because that's some Church of Christ tradition that we're passing down or because it's something that we've made up, but it's because it's what the Bible says over and over is the place where our faith and God's working meet. Now back to this text. Who is going to be saved? Perhaps we could ask, who is Israel? It is those who are faithful to Christ. Now, has God been faithful? Yes, absolutely. Yes. Israel will be saved. I'm looking over at chapter 11 and verse 26. And in the text there he Romans 11, verse 26. And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion. He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. All Israel will be saved. We're not talking about all Israel in a national sense or in a genetic sense, or in a biological sense. We're talking about all Israel in a God defined sense. And when we think of Israel that way, then what we see is that all of them are going to be saved. Not one bit of the remnant is going to be left behind. Now look at verse 14. This is perhaps a response to what Paul has just said, that all Israel will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent just as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news of good things. However they didn't all heed the good news? For Isaiah says, lord, who has believed our report? So faith comes through hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, have they never heard? On the contrary, they have. Their voice has gone out into all the earth. And their words to the ends of the world. But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says, I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding, I will anger you. And Isaiah is very bold and says, I was found by those who did not seek me. I became manifest to those who did not ask for me. But as for Israel, he says, all day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people. Now perhaps the question is, yes, but how will they know if someone hasn't told them? Well, there is a need for people to be sent to just do that. Paul says, how beautiful are the feet of the ones who carry good news. That's exactly right. But Paul says God has been telling them all along they did know. They did have the word preached to them. He says, Isaiah said, who has believed our report? That's Isaiah 53. He knew that there were going to be people who would hear and not believe even when it's been told. Not everyone was going to believe the report. Now, many had faith, and that faith could only come through the hearing of God's word. That is how faith is stirred up through the preaching and hearing of God's message. But it wasn't that the Jews hadn't heard. The message had been spread. But so far they hadn't responded appropriately. But it could be. And here Paul is citing Deuteronomy 32 and verse 1, that by the nations coming in, the Jews could be moved to jealousy and then respond appropriately. In fact, the nations had responded appropriately. So Israel had no excuse. Now look at this picture here at the end of chapter 10. As for Israel, he says, all day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people. What kind of world exists in which God could stretch out his hands like this and have a disobedient and obstinate people? It is a world that God has made, where our wills matter with regards to salvation. That he's stretching out his arms to Israel, longing for people to be a part of his people. And they are disobedient and they are obstinate. Now let's come to Romans chapter 11. And why don't we read Romans chapter 11, verses 1 through 10? I say, then has God rejected his people. May it never be. For I too am an Israelite, a seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left and they are seeking my life. But what does the divine response say to him? I have left for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal in this way. Then at the present time, a remnant according to God's gracious choice has also come to be. But if it is by grace, it is no longer of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained. But the chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened. Just as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day. And David says, let their table become a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a retribution to them. Let their eyes be darkened to see not and bend their backs forever. What Paul is doing here is he is saying, don't think that God doesn't want anything from Israel. Don't think that he doesn't want anyone from Israel. God has not rejected Israel without any possibility. In fact, he says, I'm an Israelite. I'm a seed of Abraham. I am a part of Benjamin. And so what happens is, is Paul is saying God did not reject the people that were always intended to be a part of his people. That is quoting and referencing the Elijah situation. Remember, Elijah thought he was the only one serving the Lord. And the Lord says to Elijah, I have 7,000 people that have not bowed the knee to Baal. Basically what he's saying there is. It's always been the case that God had a people. Even when his people were wicked and had rejected him, he still had a remnant within it. And so that was the case here. There were going to be people in Israel who would believe, but there were going to be a lot of people hardened by the message. They had rejected God's word and they were dull and they were blinded and they could not see and they could not hear. And that was now the result that they were experiencing. But notice, he says here, if it's by grace, it's no longer of works. I think he's making the same point he's made throughout the letter, that this is not about meeting some conditions without seeing where it was always pointing. This is about seeing and embracing the faithfulness of God demonstrated in Christ. If it was as simple as the external measures, then so be it. But that's not what this is about. This is about seeing God's righteousness, His covenant faithfulness demonstrated in the faithfulness of Jesus and giving faithfulness to Him. Well, that's about where we're going to have to leave off for today. Thankful for your kind attention and hope that the time that you've spent with us has been profitable. Next time, Lord willing, we're going to look at the rest of Romans chapter 11 and and I think that the rest of Romans 11 is such a helpful way of summarizing what Paul has said in chapters nine through 11. If you have opportunity, you might read it ahead. And then in chapters 12 and following, we're going to see what it looks like when God's mercy is at work and a person who's given their allegiance to Jesus looks like. What does it look like to live in response to the call of the mercy of God? Thank you for your kind attention. Until next time, we bid you a pleasant good day.