Romans 10 - How Beautiful Are the Feet of Those Who Bring Good News!

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Paul starts out the chapter by re-affirming his love for Israel, and his desire that they might be saved. He acknowledges they are zealous, but they are putting their zeal into the wrong place. They were seeking to establish their own righteousness (by being zealous to keep every jot and tittle of the Law), rather than submitting to the righteousness God desired which came by faith. 

Then, Paul teaches that the Word and promises of God came to us through a person, Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 30 says that the "Word is near you and in your heart and mouth". 

Instead of having to go to great lengths to achieve righteousness by the law, we can immediately receive righteousness by faith, by trusting in the word of the gospel. - Guzik

In Romans 10:9 Paul summarizes quite nicely what it means to justified by faith in Jesus. "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Our salvation comes namely through two things, "confessing" and "believing" in Jesus and His resurrection from the dead. 

To confess Jesus is Lord is to "agree" with God about His Son. To say Jesus is Lord is to say that Jesus is the supreme authority in your life. 

 We can never forget all that it meant to say that Jesus Christ is Lord. “If a man called Jesus kurios he was ranking him with the Emperor and with God; he was giving him the supreme place in his life; he was pledging him implicit obedience and reverent worship.” (Barclay)

Implicit in confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in your heart about his resurrection is that your life shows Jesus' leadership in your life. 

The Christian band D.C. Talk says in one of their songs, "To acknowledge Jesus with our lips and deny him by our lifestyle is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable." 

Then, Paul concludes that this opportunity is equally available to all people when he says, 

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

Paul then turns to evangelism. He makes a very logical argument by asking four pertinent questions: 

1. How can they call on the one they have not believed in?

2. How can they believe in the one they have not heard?

3. How can they hear unless someone preaches to them? 

4. How can anyone preach unless they have been sent? 

Paul concludes by saying, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News!'" 

Bottom line: People come to faith when they are presented with the message of the Gospel. Though only the Holy Spirit can lead people to faith, we are called to share this message of the Good News of what God has done for all of us in Christ. 

Again note the emphasis on human responsibility. From Romans 9 alone we might think that salvation is God’s doing alone, but from Romans 10 we might think that salvation is man’s doing alone – together we see the matter from each perspective.

Have you made Jesus your Lord? If you confess Jesus with your lips does your lifestyle match your testimony? 

Do you have beautiful feet? Do you step out in faith to share the Good News of Christ? Are you an ambassador for the gospel? We get excited about a lot of things in our life, but do we get excited to share the only news that will save people from their sin and give them eternal life?

How are they going to hear and believe unless someone preaches to them? May that someone be us!