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The Apostle Paul's Epistle
to the Romans |
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Chapter
10
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1Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to
God for them is for their salvation.
At the end of chapter nine, Paul established
that Israel as whole did not attain
righteousness because they pursued the Torah by
works rather than by faith. To put it another
way, they pursued the life of righteousness as
something to maintain through keeping the
commandments of the Torah rather than trusting
in God's grace alone and obeying the Torah
purely out of a heart of obedience. To this Paul
clarified that though that was the current state
of the people of Israel (and is today), he did
not see this as being a lost cause. Actually,
rather than being a lost cause, the salvation of
Israel on a national scale was still among the
promises of God and it was Paul's heartfelt
desire to see it realized in his day. Sadly, the
historic Christian church's position on Israel
as nation was that they were abandoned by God.
It was wrongly assumed that since the majority
of Israel rejected the Messiah, they forfeited
their position as God's covenant people. The
teachings of Paul, however, clearly contradict
this, showing that the current spiritual state
of the people of Israel is temporary and well
within the plan of God. In fact, as we'll see in
chapter eleven, the rejection of the Messiah
allowed the gospel to be heard and accepted by
the Gentiles, with a view to the ultimate
salvation of Israel as a nation.
2For I testify about them that they have a
zeal for God, but not in accordance with
knowledge. 3For not knowing about God's
righteousness and seeking to establish their
own, they did not subject themselves to the
righteousness of God.
Paul again testified, indicating that what he
was saying was something he truly believed and
could prove, if necessary. As a life-long
Pharisee, Paul knew from the inside-out that
among the religious of his day there was a
genuine zeal for God. If Paul were alive today,
he would see the same genuine zeal among those
of Orthodox Judaism. Indeed, religious Jewish
people from each generation had and have a real
desire to love God and keep His commandments.
Unlike every other religion in the world,
Orthodox Judaism is not endeavouring to follow a
false-god; Orthodox Judaism is truly in
possession of God's revelation (the Tanakh) and
are endeavouring to live out the life of faith
similar to the life the Master Yeshua Himself
lived (a Torah-obedient life). Therefore, their
fault is not in their zeal or their desire to
please God but instead lies in the fact that in
their pursuit of God, they are going about it in
a way that God never intended. Similar to our
day where the majority of Christians have the
Bible but cannot see that validity and authority
of the Torah, Jewish people indeed have God's
truth and are even living out the commandments
of the Torah but they have missed what the Torah
actually teaches in regards to how God counts
people righteous. In this way, religious Jewish
people have failed in two specific areas and
they both go hand-in-hand: they have missed how
God declares people righteous and they have
formulated an incorrect theology on how God
declares people righteous. As already stated,
the phrase "righteousness of God" refers to the
method in which God declares people righteous.
Therefore, in establishing an errant theology on
salvation, they have not subjected themselves to
the righteousness of God. Rather than placing
their complete trust in God and relying purely
in Him for their salvation, they have formulated
a legal system that one must keep lest being cut
off from the people. This in no way diminishes
the fact that the Torah is a real constitution
and there are obviously legal aspects that must
be intricately enforced. Having said that, to be
declared righteous and to obtain a share in the
World to Come is not a matter of legality but is
instead a matter of God's grace alone, based on
the work of the Messiah.
4For Messiah is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believes.
To clarify exactly what Israel as a nation
missed in regards to the righteousness of God,
Paul explained that the Messiah is the goal of
the Torah. The Greek word "telos," here
translated as "end," comes from the root word "tello"
which means "to set out for a definite point or
goal." In this way, unlike what modern
commentators have concluded, Paul did not teach
that the Messiah cancelled or brought an end to
the Torah but rather He Himself is the end or
point towards which the Torah aims. To assume
that Paul was contrasting God's previous way of
salvation through Torah keeping with a new way
of salvation through faith in the Messiah is to
completely miss what Paul had already taught;
namely, that salvation has always been by grace
through faith in the Messiah. God never declared
people righteous through Torah-keeping,
therefore there is no way for Messiah to put an
end to something that never existed. Instead,
Paul simply stated a fact; the Messiah Himself
is the end-point or goal at which the Torah
aims; a goal which results in righteousness for
those who believe. All throughout the Torah we
see God promising a coming saviour (cf.
Genesis
3:15, 12:3, Deuteronomy 18:15).
Furthermore, the sacrificial system clearly
illustrated God's way of forgiving sins and
alluded to the coming sacrifice of that saviour.
Not only that, as we've already studied, the
Torah functions to show us how much we fall
short and are in need of such a saviour. In this
way, the Torah is certainly not just a set of
rules and regulations but instead, as Paul put
it in Galatians 3:24, acts as a pedagogue
to lead us to the Messiah. It was and is
incumbent upon each child of God to obey the
Torah with the Messiah and His atoning sacrifice
well in view; Torah observance with anything
else in view does not result in righteousness.
In the case of the Jewish people, if the
commandments of the Torah are seen as simply
identity markers, regulations to keep in order
to maintain a Jewish identity, that Jewish
person will sadly stand before God and not be
counted righteous. Thankfully, in each
generation, there have been a remnant among the
people of God who have indeed kept the Torah
through faith and relied on the Messiah, the
goal of the Torah, for their salvation. This
individual reality will one day be a national
reality for all of Israel.
5For Moses writes that the man who practices
the righteousness which is based on law shall
live by that righteousness.
Paul had made a bold statement in verse 3,
stating that the majority of Israel did not know
or subject themselves to God's righteousness. To
prove his point, he first stated, in verse 4,
that the Messiah Himself was the goal at which
the Torah aimed and that only with that goal in
view could Torah observance result in
righteousness. Furthermore, Paul then quoted
Leviticus 18:5, perhaps a verse that his
opponents often quoted to prove that covenant
membership needed to be maintained through the
keeping of the commandments. Looking at the
context of Leviticus 18, we see that
HaShem addressed Israel through Moses, exhorting
them to keep His statutes and judgments, for
doing so would ensure a long and blessed life in
the Land. It's important for us to realize that
God was speaking to a redeemed nation; these
commandments were given to a people who were
already in covenant relationship with God. If
Paul's main contrast depicted a Jewish person
who believed that Torah observance maintained
their position within God's covenant people as
opposed to a Jewish person who believed that
Torah observance was an expression of their
faith in the Messiah then it's possible that
Paul's quotation of this verse in Leviticus was
to simply show that keeping the commandments is
indeed important but is not the way God counts
people righteous. In other words, this statement
from Leviticus is, of course, true but it was
being misapplied by some.
6But the righteousness based on faith speaks
as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL
ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Messiah
down), 7or 'WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?'
(that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead)."
8But 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,
Paul went on to again quote the Torah, showing
that these verses (cf. Deuteronomy 30:12-14)
speak to the issue of how one becomes a covenant
member not Leviticus 18:5. Unlike what
many commentators have unwittingly concluded,
Paul was not pitting Moses against himself
showing that on the one hand Moses was saying
that salvation was through Torah-keeping in the
Leviticus passage and simple faith on the other
hand in the Deuteronomy passage. In fact, both
statements are true but the Deuteronomy passage
is the place where one must start, speaking to
justification, whereas the Leviticus passage
describes the process of sanctification that
comes subsequently. In Deuteronomy 30, Moses
encouraged the people to take hold of the
commandments of the Torah and obey them, with
his point being that covenant life (that is,
keeping the Torah) was not something they had to
work for but rather was already in their
possession. Covenant membership was already in
their possession because God had chosen them to
be His people and graciously gave them His
revelation. In this exhortation, Paul saw the
same message he was proclaiming, namely, that
covenant membership and participation was
already the possession of those who confessed
Yeshua as Master (see verse 9). We shouldn't
assume that when Paul equated Moses' call to
Torah submission with his call to faith in the
Messiah that Paul was taking the Deuteronomy 30
passage out of context, for the call to faith in
the Messiah is a call to Torah submission. It is
not incumbent upon God's people to ascend into
heaven or descend into the abyss to hear and
observe the Torah nor is it incumbent upon us to
bring the Messiah down from heaven or bring Him
back from the dead. Instead, the Torah and the
goal of the Torah, the Messiah and the salvation
He brings, are graciously given to those of
faith based upon God's choice. Moses' message
was not one of works, as though the Israelites
had to keep a list of requirements in order to
gain or maintain covenant membership. Instead,
Moses' call was one of faith, a call to obey the
Torah because God had already chosen the people
and the subsequent life of obedience was theirs
to express to God in gratitude. Therefore,
amazingly, Moses' call to engage in the Mosaic
covenant by faith is the same message of faith
that Paul was proclaimed through his message of
faith in the Messiah!
9that if you confess with your mouth Yeshua
as Master, and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10for with the heart a person believes,
resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth
he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11For the
Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL
NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
As we unpack these verses, we should
remember, again, that Paul was not taking the
Deuteronomy passage out of context. It would
appear that Paul is further explaining
Deuteronomy 30:14, specifically, the "word" that
is in your mouth and in your heart. The word
that is in your mouth is the confession of
Yeshua as Master. How can this be equated to a
call to obey the Torah, as was clearly Moses'
context? Confessing Yeshua as Master can be
equated to Torah-observance because Yeshua
Himself is the Word made flesh.
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In Jewish literature, a confession refers to
taking an oath and, obviously, requires action.
To confess Yeshua as Master is to obligate
yourself to obey what He said, which is nothing
short of obeying all of the commandments of God
that are applicable to you. Connected to this is
believing in your heart that God raised Him from
the dead. Why is having faith in the
resurrection vital to being saved? Without the
resurrection of the Messiah, there is no
salvation! Therefore, Paul simply reiterated
what he said in verse 4, that Messiah is the
goal at which the Torah aims; Torah observance
should always be done with a focus on the goal
of the Torah, the Messiah and the salvation that
He secured through His death and resurrection.
Again, like the word "confess," the word "heart"
has a deeper meaning within Jewish understanding
because it refers to the place where one makes
decisions. Therefore, to believe in your heart
that God raised Messiah from the dead, is to
live one's life in such a way that attests that
you indeed believe this to be true. In verse 10,
Paul reversed the order, perhaps to show that
confession and belief are wholly connected and
that there isn't an order to them. For Paul,
both belief and confession are completely
necessary to result in righteousness and
salvation. Once again, we should not forget that
"belief" and "confession," along with "faith,"
from a Jewish perspective are all
action-oriented words; one's beliefs, confession
or faith are worthless unless they are evident
in one's actions. Paul again quoted Isaiah
28:16, placing further emphasis on the fact that
whatever one does, especially in regards to
obeying the Torah, there must be a focus on the
Messiah, for He is the one that provides
salvation. In this way, salvation does not come
through Jewish identity but instead through
faith in the Messiah. This, of course, means
that salvation can be given to both Jews and
Gentiles.
12For 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;
13for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
WILL BE SAVED."
Since the Isaiah 28:16 quotation used the
word "whoever," Paul explained that this means
that there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek, at least in regards to salvation. The use
of the word "Greek" should obviously be taken to
refer to all non-Jews, since the Greek speakers
made up the majority of those from the nations
who had turned to the God of Israel through the
Gospel. As he did in 3:29, Paul used the truth
of the Shema - that the LORD is the only
God - to prove the point that God is the God of
the Gentiles in addition to the Jews. To admit
that there was no place for the Gentiles among
God's people was to say that either the Gentiles
were never to be included in God's people,
something the Prophets clearly foresaw (cf.
Isaiah 49:6, 56:3-8), or it was to say that
there were many "gods," as represented by the
myriads of pagan religions in the world. The
Prophets of Israel, however, clearly foresaw
that in the Messianic era the whole world would
abandon idols and worship the one-true God.
Knowing this, Paul boldly proclaimed a message
of salvation that did not discriminate against
Gentiles. The same LORD that blesses the chosen
among the people of Israel with salvation is the
same God who blesses Gentiles with that same
salvation. Here, the word "Lord" (Gr. "kurios")
should be understood as circumlocution, that is,
a substitute for God's holy name. The word
kurios is used all throughout the Septuagint
(LXX) and the Apostolic Scriptures as a
circumlocution for the name of God but it is
also the common Greek word for "lord" or
"master." It's interesting, then, that Paul
consistently used it to refer to both God and
the Master Yeshua Himself. Actually, Paul's
quotation of Joel 3:5 shows how the
atoning work of the Messiah is wrapped up in the
"name" of God. To "call upon the name of the
LORD" is to trust in God's unchanging character
and to hope in Him for salvation. Once again,
the word "name," especially in this verse,
cannot simply refer to a word but instead refers
to the reputation, authority and character of
the person. In this case, there is only God and
one Lord who saves, so anyone, whether Jew or
Gentile, are saved by faith in Him.
14How then will they call on Him in whom they
have not believed? How will they believe in Him
whom they have not heard? And how will they hear
without a preacher? 15How will they preach
unless they are sent? Just as it is written,
"HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING
GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
Some may have questioned Paul's teaching that
Israel as nation didn't recognize God's way of
saving people. Likewise, some may have argued
that it was the message and those who proclaimed
it who had failed not the people. In response,
Paul posed four questions, each leading into the
other. These questions highlight the process in
which the message of salvation is conveyed and
accepted. It's most likely that the prospective
hearers that Paul had in mind were the people of
Israel as a whole and that the preachers are the
messengers God has sent to her, namely, the
Prophets and the Apostles. The answer to each
question was to be self-evident based upon the
wording of each question. Firstly, the people
cannot call on the Messiah for salvation without
believing in Him. Secondly, without hearing of
Him and the saving message He proclaimed, the
people won't be able to believe. Thirdly, the
people won't be able to hear the message about
the saviour unless someone proclaims it. And
lastly, there cannot be people who proclaim the
message unless God commissions and sends them.
In this way, Paul outlined the process and
method through which God activates saving faith
within His elect: God first sends messengers,
the messengers proclaim the good news, the good
news is heard and believed in by the people,
which then leaves those people to continue to
trust God that their calling upon Him for
salvation will be answered in the end. Paul then
quoted Isaiah 52:7, which in the context
referred to messengers who brought the good news
of the restoration of Israel from exile. The
message of good news that Paul proclaimed was
essentially the same message, for when Israel
believes in Messiah, repents of their sins and
seeks God in obedience, the long exile will
indeed be over. Paul's primary point in quoting
this verse was that, as far as the Apostles were
concerned, they had accomplished the
proclamation portion of the process of
salvation. That the majority of Israel rejected
the message cannot be blamed on the Apostles,
and the Prophets before them, because they had
done their part.
16However, they did not all heed the good
news; for Isaiah says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED
OUR REPORT?" 17So faith comes from hearing, and
hearing by the word of Messiah.
Sadly, Israel's rejection of the message was
exactly the point that Paul was getting at. Paul
again quoted Isaiah to show that it was within
the purview of the prophetic message that Israel
as a whole would reject the message of salvation
and that barring the supernatural work of the
Spirit, the message would be hard to believe
(cf. Isaiah 53:1). Faith can only come
from hearing, specifically hearing the message
about the Messiah. From a Jewish perspective, to
take "heed" or to "hear" does not refer to a
passive state of listening but instead to
accepting and obeying the message given. In this
way, this reiterates the fact that the message
that Paul proclaimed was not a different message
that Moses and the Prophets proclaimed. The
phrase "word of Messiah" is most likely parallel
to Paul's use of the phrase "word of faith" in
verse 8. In other words, the call to put one's
faith in God and obey Him through that faith is
the "word of Messiah." If the word of faith or
word of Messiah is not proclaimed, faith cannot
be produced in the hearer. Again, we must
remember that the call to faith in the Messiah
is a call to a way of life; it's not only about
agreeing with theological statements.
18But I say, surely they have never heard,
have they? Indeed they have; "THEIR VOICE HAS
GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO
THE ENDS OF THE WORLD." 19But I say, surely
Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says,
"I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A
NATION, BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I
ANGER YOU." 20And 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."
Once again, sadly, the conclusion Paul rightly
came to was that it was not the message or the
proclaimers of the message that failed but it
was that Israel had rejected the message. In the
context of Psalm 19:4, from which Paul
quoted, David referred to how the heavens speak
of the glory of God, proclaiming to the earth
that there is indeed a Creator. Paul sees this
as a fitting illustration to his point that
Israel has indeed heard the message of
salvation. In fact, out of all the nations of
the earth, Israel had the most revealed in
regards to how to come to God for salvation.
Again, in contrast to this, some were probably
saying that Israel should not be blamed for
missing God's salvation, since they hadn't
received the message. To this, again, Paul
stated that not only had the message been
revealed to Israel but it was revealed to the
Gentiles and they accepted it! Paul first quoted
Moses and then Isaiah to show that it was always
within the plan of salvation for God to turn to
Gentiles, causing a fruitful jealousy among the
people of Israel who were in rebellion (cf.
Deuteronomy 32:21 and Isaiah 65:1). Despite
the state of much of Christianity today, the
fact that there are those within essentially
every people group of the world who worship the
God of Israel and are in possession of His
revelation attests to the fact that there is no
way that Israel could claim to have somehow
missed out on the message of salvation through
the Messiah. Thankfully, there is indeed a
remnant among the Jewish people to whom God has
graciously given the ability to go beyond what
both Judaism and Christianity proclaim and have
taken hold of the salvation that comes through
Yeshua the Messiah.
21But as for Israel He says, "ALL THE DAY
LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A
DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE."
For now, however, we must remember that Paul is
not speaking of the remnant within Israel who
are faithful but instead to the majority that
will not accept God's way of salvation. Paul
quoted Isaiah 65:2 to drive the point
home that the current spiritual state of the
majority of Israel, both in his day and ours, is
one of rebellion. It's imperative to see the
compassion in this verse, however. It's the
heartfelt desire of God Himself that Israel as a
whole turns to Him and enjoys the blessings He
will lavish on her. Strangely, the historic
Christian church has understood the rebellion of
the majority of Israel to be the final "nail in
the coffin" in regards to God's patience; to
historic Christianity, God has given up on
Israel as a nation (God forbid) and has moved on
to His new people, the church. As we'll see in
chapter 11, however, God has not given up on
Israel as a nation and that those who do have
genuine faith in the Messiah and obey the Torah
out of that faith, do not make up a new group,
separate from Israel but are actually the true
Israel within Israel. |
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