Romans chapter 10 verses 5 through 13, the righteousness of the law versus the righteousness of faith. Verse 5," For Moses describes the righteousness that is of the law, that the man who does those things will live by them. The man who does those things will live by them." What does that statement mean? Here Paul is quoting from Leviticus 18:5. Paul is saying that even if the Jews had kept the law perfectly, it promised them only long days in this present life.
As Solomon says," My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commandments, for they will add to you length of days, years of life, and peace. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to your body and nourishment to your bones." Proverbs chapter 3 verses 1 through 2 and verses 7 through 8." Nowhere does the law promise eternal life to those who keep it." Origen writes," The righteousness of Christ not only gives temporal life, but eternal life, but concerning the righteousness of the law, he did not say that he who fulfills it shall live forever, but only he shall live by it." In contrast, Jesus said," This is eternal life that they should know you, the only true God, and Him
whom you sent, Jesus Christ." John chapter 17:3.
Romans chapter 10 verses 6 and 7," But the righteousness that is of faith speaks in this manner," Do not say in your heart," Who will ascend into heaven?" That is, to bring Christ down from above. Or who will descend into the deep? That is, to bring up Christ again from the dead. Here Paul is quoting from Deuteronomy 30:12. In its original context, that verse is speaking about the Mosaic Law. Theodoret writes," Without any labor on their own part, the Israelites had received the knowledge of what they ought to do.
They neither had to ascend into heaven nor descend into Hades." Paul now applies those same words to Christ, saying that" Christ is easily accessible to all." Chrysostom comments," Paul shows that there is need for vigor and a lofty soul. We need a soul that receives things beyond expectation and does not stumble at appearances." Paul also shows that it requires a wise mind and a magnificent spirit that reaches heavenward. He does not merely write, do not say.
Rather, Paul writes," Do not say in your heart." In other words, do not even think of doubting and saying within yourself, how can all this be? Even though these things are so great and grand, God has made them easily accessible to us. Verse 8," But what does it say? The Word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the Word of Faith, which we preach. What was once said about the law is now said about the gospel. Chrysostom comments," What does the phrase the word is near you?" mean?
It means it is easily accessible. For your salvation is in your mind and in your tongue. You do not need to make a long journey to get saved. Nor do you need to sail over any seas or cross over any mountains. In fact, if you do not wish to cross so much as the threshold of your door, you may be saved even while you sit at home.
For the source of salvation is in your mouth and in your heart." As examples of people who were saved in their own homes, Chrysostom was no doubt thinking of Cornelius and the Philippian jailer, Acts chapter 10 verses 33 through 48, and Acts chapter 16 verses 27 through 34. Romans chapter 10 verses 9 through 11, that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart, man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says," Whoever believes on Him will not be ashamed." Paul is still speaking of the initial stage of salvation, and he shows how easy it is to receive this salvation. In this passage, Paul mentions only faith and confession with the mouth. Little theology is required. We must only believe Jesus is Lord, and that God has raised Him from the dead.
Of course, we must also first repent, which Paul mentions in other places, but not here. Acts chapter 20 verse 21 and Acts 26:20. Today this public confession is typically made at altar calls. However, the practice of altar calls is a recent innovation in church history, dating back no further than the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We read of no such practice in the Book of Acts. Instead, in Acts, people made their public confession at the time of their baptisms.
See, Acts chapter 2 verses 37 through 41, Acts chapter 8 verses 12 through 13, Acts chapter 8 verses 35 through 39, Acts chapter 10 verses 30 through 48, Acts chapter 16 verses 13 through 15, Acts chapter 16 verses 25 through 34, Acts chapter 18 verse 8, and Acts chapter 22 verses 12 through 16. At the same time, Paul is not purporting in these few words to address everything required for our future ultimate salvation. Paul himself makes that clear in other passages in Romans.
For example, as we have already seen at the beginning of his letter, Paul told the Romans," God will render to every man according to his works. Eternal life to those who, by perseverance and doing good, seek for glory, honor, and immortality. But to those who are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be indignation and wrath. Romans chapter 2 verses 6 through 9. Nevertheless, some of the Gnostics taught that godly works are not necessary once we have been saved.
They like to quote the subject verse," If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." They imagine that those words of Paul negate the need for godly living. In response to these heretics, Origen wrote the following: Origen explains," Because of what Paul says, some imagine the following: A person may lack the honors of good works, and he may make no effort to perfect the virtues.
Nevertheless, because he has believed, he will not perish, but will be saved." To be sure, they say he will not enjoy the full glory of blessedness in heaven, but he will still have salvation. However, this passage should be understood in this manner instead. Paul is speaking of someone who truly confesses the Lord Jesus with his mouth and who truly believes in his heart. Such a person confesses that he submits himself to all that is of Christ, to His kingdom of wisdom, righteousness, and truth.
He confesses that Mammon is no longer his master, Matthew 6:24. He repudiates greed, unrighteousness, immodesty, and falsehood. For after he has confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, he confesses he will serve none of these things. Otherwise, what will it profit me to know and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead if he has not been resurrected within me personally?
Accordingly, if I do not walk in the knowledge of the new life, and if I do not avoid the old habits of sin, Christ has not yet risen from the dead within me. Verse 12," For there is no difference between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord is over all and is rich to all who call upon Him." Once again, Paul shows that his main reason for mentioning the things above is to show that Jews and Gentiles stand on equal footing. There is no salvation through the works of the law.
Jew and Gentile alike are saved through faith in Christ. He is the same Lord over all. As he often does in other places, here Paul uses the term" Greek" to mean" Gentile." He is rich to all who call upon Him. By this expression, Paul means that God is generous to all who call upon Him. He rewards them lavishly by granting them the gift of salvation and by bestowing various eternal rewards.
Ambrosiaster writes," However He is generous only to those who call upon Him, for only they will receive a reward." By contrast, to unbelievers, He is not generous. Because they do not share His goods, they will not receive what they did not believe He was going to give them. Verse 13," For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Here Paul is quoting from Joel chapter 2:32. His emphasis is on the word" whoever," that is, whether Jew or Gentile.
Paul is not implying that all a person needs to do to be saved is merely call on the name of the Lord. After all, Jesus had already declared," Not everyone who says to me,' Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven. But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven, Matthew 7:21. Furthermore, even the pagan Romans called out to God in times of peril. Lactantius writes," We often see that the worshippers of other gods confess and acknowledge the supreme God.
For both in swearing and in expressing a wish, and in giving thanks, they do not name Jupiter or the multitude of gods, but simply God. If they are assailed by a violent tempest or a hailstorm, they call out to God. They implore aid from God. They entreat God to help them. So most pagan Romans called out to God, as did most Jews. However, as Origen explains, not all who have invoked the name of the Lord in just any way can be saved, especially if they have not done works worthy of the name they have invoked.
For the wisdom of God says in Proverbs," It shall be when you call on me, I will not hear." Proverbs chapter 1 verse 28. In fact, in that passage in Proverbs, God goes on to say," They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They wanted none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof," Proverbs chapter 1 verses 28 through 30.
So for persons to be saved by calling on the name of the Lord, they must call on Him in faith and with a contrite heart that is ready to obey. Romans chapter 10 verses 14 through 16. Paul returns to the dialogue with his Jewish opponent. Paul now returns to his dialogue with his fictional Jewish opponent. Chrysostom comments," Here again Paul carries on his discourse in the mode of someone questioning. He convicts the Jews more clearly by framing the whole passage out of objections and answers.
Opponent verse 14 and 15A, but how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without someone to preach? And how will they preach unless they are sent? Here Paul's Jewish opponent presents the following litany of objections to excuse the unbelief of the Jews. One, of course, the Jews have not called upon Christ. How can they be expected to call on someone in whom they do not believe? 2.
Yet it is not their fault that they do not believe. For how can God expect them to believe in someone of whom they have never heard? 3. The reason the Jews have not heard of Christ is that no one was ever sent forth to preach about Him. These are obviously lame excuses.
So Paul similarly dismisses them by quoting the prophecy in Isaiah 52:7, Paul Moa verse 15b," As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things?" In other words, not only have evangelists been sent forth to preach, but long ago, Isaiah prophesied about their coming. These evangelists have not taken it upon themselves to preach. Rather, God commissioned and sent them.
Origen summarizes Paul's argument as follows:" Unless he who sent us was present with us, we, the heralds and preachers of Christ, would be unable to preach, for we would have no power to preach. If you do not want to listen to those who preach to you, then the fault lies with you. It is your fault that you do not believe after hearing, and because you do not believe, you do not call, and because you do not call, you cannot be saved." How beautiful are the feet?
Theodoret comments," Isaiah calls the feet of such messengers, the apostles. Beautiful, Lekti, for they run a good course. Furthermore, those very feet were washed by the hands of the Lord Himself. Origen adds that the feet of all evangelists are beautiful because they are walking in the difficult way that leads to eternal life. Matthew chapter 7:14.
Furthermore, they are running the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1," Of those who preach the gospel of peace, the gospel of Christ is a gospel of peace, because Jesus taught His followers," Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:43. The various evangelists who brought the gospel were men of peace. Justin Martyr was one such evangelist.
He writes," We used to be filled with war, mutual slaughter, and every kind of wickedness." However, now all of us throughout the whole earth have changed our warlike weapons. We have changed our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks. The gospel is called the gospel of peace, also because it explains how men can have peace with God. Romans chapter 5:1.
Theodoret writes," The Lord told His apostles when entering a house, they should say," Peace be to this house," Luke chapter 10:5." For they were proclaiming divine reconciliation and bringing glad tidings of the enjoyment of good things." Opponent verse 16A. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. The opponent is now claiming that there must have been something lacking in these evangelists. Otherwise, the Jews would all be obeying the gospel. However, Paul answers by again quoting Isaiah.
This time he shows that Isaiah had foretold that most would not listen. Paul verse 16," Yet Isaiah said,' Lord, who has believed our report?'" So the Jew's unbelief actually confirms the truth of the gospel. Chrysostom comments," He presses Paul with another objection. If these were really the person sent out on a mission by God, then everyone would have listened to them." However, Paul responds:" Now what offends you, O Jew?
You have been given great and abundant evidence as well as the demonstration of all essential points. Now you argue that everyone did not submit to the gospel. Why this very thing that some do not believe when taken along with the other proofs is evidence that verifies the truth of my statements, for the prophet foretold this very thing. Origen adds," It appears that here Isaiah was prophesying these things in the person of the apostles, to whom the office of preaching had been entrusted.
And when they saw how few would believe from among the people of Israel, they said to God," Lord, who has believed our report?" Importantly, this verse demonstrates the essential link between believing the gospel and obeying it. The opponent says they have not all obeyed the gospel.
Paul answers with Isaiah's words," Who has believed our report?" And Ambrosiaster comments," It is obvious that Christ cannot be believed in if He is not obeyed." Clement of Alexandria adds," He who does not believe God cheats himself out of his own hope, and he who does not do what God has commanded does not believe him."