The Value of Faith (Romans 9-10)
February 2, 2020
Who is a good person? What do we mean when we say that and is it enough to be a good person? Many of us have friends and relatives who are good people, but they do not believe in the Lord. Should we take comfort in knowing that they are good by some arbitrary standard that we make up?
Last month we looked at James 2 to see that faith needs to be joined to works. Faith alone is dead. It must be joined to works to have any kind of value. Now I would like for us to look at Romans 9-10. This is the other side of the coin, where Paul says that having works without faith is dead also. He will help us see that, unfortunately, being a good person is not enough. James helps us appreciate the value of works while Paul helps us understand the importance of faith.
Israel of the OT
To begin, let’s see Paul’s attitude toward Israel in Chapter 9.
Romans 9:1--5 (ESV) --- 1 I am speaking the truth in Christ---I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit--- 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Here Paul is in anguish over the rebellion of his own people. He hates to see them reject the truth, and he wishes that he could be cut off from Christ if that would help them obey the gospel. He says that throughout time, Israel has always been blessed by God. They are the chosen people who descended from Abraham. God has given them glory by making a covenant with them and calling them his people. He has set up a system where they can pursue righteousness through the law, find forgiveness for sins, worship God, and receive the promises he has made to them. This nation of people was lifted above everyone else under the rule of David and Solomon to show how God had indeed chosen them.
However, all of that glory was abused by the Israelites. Romans 9 says that it was abused to the point where God lashed out in judgment against his own people to the point where only a remnant remained. He could have destroyed them for their rebellion, but he decided to show a small number of them mercy. Every Jew living in the first century would know that to be true.
Nations of the OT
While all of this was going on with Israel, the nations of the world were wallowing in the mud. Books like Isaiah and Ezekiel go on in detail about how they ridiculed God’s people and spoke out against God because he could not save his people from their mighty hand. Assyria, Babylon, Edom, Moab, Ammon and Egypt are some of the nations that lashed out against the Jews and brought about their destruction. In the first century, it was the Roman Empire. These “Gentile” nations were full of idolatry, sexual immorality, cruelty, and all kinds of evil. They were no better than the Jews.
The Great Reversal
Listen to what Paul has to say about these Gentiles in comparison to the Jews in Romans 9.
Romans 9:30--33 (ESV) --- 30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
These two groups have swapped roles. God now accepts the Gentiles and rejects the Jews. Why are the “unrighteous” accepted and the “righteous” rejected? The Gentiles have faith, and the Jews have a law. The forgiveness of the Gentiles through faith in the work of God in Christ sounds ridiculous to the Jews.
However, Paul wants his readers to understand something that he has laid out in the entire book thus far. God has sent his son to save mankind from their sins because the law was not enough. Israel failed to keep the law, and they always went astray in their hearts. God grabbed a sample of the human population to show us in every possible way that we will fail to be as righteous as we ought to be to have a relationship with God.
The Gentiles are now accepting God with faith, while the Jews are rejecting God as they focus on their own righteousness. They think that they can do the law well enough to deserve the presence of God. This is ridiculous because the law itself shows us that the blood of bulls and goats will not allow every Israelite to enter the holy of holies.
What Is Going On? (10:1-4)
Romans 10:1--3 (ESV) --- 1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
Paul says that he wants Israel to be saved. He wants them to find the forgiveness that Christ offers to everyone. Their current state saddens him because he sees them as mostly good people. They are trying so hard to be pleasing to God by their works. They have created laws to keep them from breaking the commandments of God. They are extremely zealous. But Paul says that is not how they will ever find the righteousness of God. They are seeking to establish their own righteousness instead of submitting to God’s righteousness. This is a critical point in all of this section of Scripture. The law is not bad, but the Jews were looking at their version of keeping the law as though that will make them as righteous as God. They have an extremely high view of themselves and a shallow view of God. When God came down to earth in the form of man, they showed that they weren’t righteous. They murdered God’s anointed instead of exalting him.
The Jews refuse to truly submit to God’s righteousness that is found in the law. That is what we have seen in our study of the Sermon on the Mount. They say don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, give a certificate of divorce, and keep an oath made to the Lord, but they get angry, lust, divorce for every reason, and lie about everything. They are just as wicked and evil as the Gentiles. Verse 4 says, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Christ makes it plain that we are overlooking the laws we fail to keep, and he provides a way for us to be forgiven outside of the law system.
Comparing Two Paths (10:5-9)
In the next section, Paul compares the two paths that Jews could take by going back to the Old Testament. Paul gives them the words of Moses in Leviticus 18, which points to being righteous by keeping the law and Deuteronomy 30, which points to faith in God.
Romans 10:5--9 (ESV) --- 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “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 that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
What does all of this mean? It is essential to look at this from a Jewish standpoint. On the one hand, we have Moses saying that the person who wants to be righteous must do everything by the law. This is a quote from Leviticus 18, written before Israel rebelled and was prohibited from going into the promised land. If someone wants to be righteous before God by the law of God, they have to do everything exactly as the law states. This is something that no man, not even Moses, was able to do. On the other hand, we have Moses encouraging the Israelites that these commands are not too hard for them. Verses 6-8 are not easy to grasp until we understand Deuteronomy 30.
Deuteronomy 30:11--20 (ESV) --- 11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither 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. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. 15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
In this text, Moses is telling Israel that the commands are not too hard for them. They don’t have to go up to heaven to find an explanation of what they need to do. Moses’ written words are enough. Nor do they have to travel some long distance to have someone explain it to them in a certain way so that they can do it. They have the word of God, and all that they need to do is love it and desire to know God through it. All of the verses that follow verse 14 reinforce this idea that if we will love the word of God and pursue God through obeying all of his words, we will find the life that was promised.
Now, look at what Paul says in Romans 10. He uses this phrase, “That is,” to show his commentary. The truth was in the Torah, but Jesus came down from heaven to help us make sense of it. We could understand the righteousness of God and become like Him through the Torah, but Jesus has gone to the other side of the sea (death) to show us that God can resurrect us from death. Now, we have the word of God near us, in our mouth, and our hearts. That is the description of faith. We have faith when we have the word of God in our mouth, and in our hearts, we can find righteousness through forgiveness.
So there are two paths compared in this section. One path desires the righteousness of God with a focus on our ability to keep the law. The other path desires the righteousness of God with an understanding of what God has done for us through Christ and a love for God’s word. The second way is the way of faith. Faith doesn’t look at obedience as an obligation we resent, but as trusting in what God has done and happily submitting to his righteousness.
Salvation or Rebellion (10:9-21)
From this point, Paul wants to reinforce submission to God’s will and God’s willingness to forgive, with hopes that the Jews will accept it.
Romans 10:9--15 (ESV) --- 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Submission
When we look at this text, we might cringe because we want to see the addition of repentance and baptism in this text. But look at the beauty of this text from a Jewish perspective. A Jew has been living his whole life pursuing God’s righteousness and lying to himself about his sins. Now, they must simply submit to Jesus as their Lord and give up on their pride in human accomplishments. Everyone who believes and confesses their faith (the two major steps for Jews) is submitting to God’s will. They must call on the name of the Lord to save them, recognizing that they cannot save themselves.
Forgiveness
This text says that we don’t have to lie anymore. We don’t have to pursue someone else to help us understand God’s will. We don’t have to wonder about whether or not God loves us. We can know without a doubt that God loves and forgives us. Everyone who submits to God’s will can know without a doubt that they will not be put to shame on the judgment day. They can look forward to the riches of God’s grace and be saved from their sins. How beautiful are the feet of those who preach this good news! God wants us to believe in him and trust in his gospel.
Rebellion
But Israel refuses to listen even though they heard, and they understood it. Their pride was in the way.
Romans 10:16--21 (ESV) --- 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. 18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” 19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” 20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” 21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
This last section that we look at condemns Israel for their prideful rebellion. They have decided that they will not listen to the word of God and submit to his will. God is not at fault. He has sent messengers out, and the message is simple enough for the Gentiles to understand it, but Israel refuses to accept what God is offering to them. This is so sad. Verse 21 shows us that God has been trying to reach out to them, but they refuse.
What About Us?
Do we see ourselves in all of this? How many of us have a sense of righteousness that is off? We seek to establish ourselves as righteous like these Jews. Being truly righteous like God is righteous is not so simple. We tend to think of ourselves as more righteous than we are, but Christ shows us that we aren’t nearly righteous enough.
What do we need to do? Verses 8 and 17 are foundational for us, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” and “Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ.” We have to trust in God’s willingness to make up for what we lack and keep digging into the word of God. It is easy for us to get disheartened when we look at our faults, or to love our sin more than we love God. We can easily drift away from the truth and become dull of hearing. But God wants more from us than keeping a few commands.
Ezekiel 36:26--27 (ESV) --- 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Jeremiah 31:33--34 (ESV) --- 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Conclusion
God wants us to open our hearts to the way of truth and righteousness that is beyond anything we have ever experienced in this life. He wants us to submit our will to his will, call on the name of the Lord to be saved, and devote our lives to growing more like him through an honest study of his word.
Christ shows us that our creator more loves us than we ever imagined when we humbly submit to the gospel and obey it. We just have to let go of our pride and exalt God with our hearts. Will we pursue his word and his ways while relying on his grace?