Romans 10 - What You Say About Jesus Matters!
10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Paul still has a passionate desire for his fellow Israelites to be saved. They are religious but they missed the boat when they tried to be saved by their own righteous acts. They did not know the righteousness of God, but instead "sought to establish their own". Part of our human nature is we would rather take matters into our own hands then surrender to God. We think we know better than God. Of course, we reason God would want me to figure out how to be saved. Unfortunately by trying to establish their own way to be saved the Israelite's missed out on God's plan of salvation.
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by 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 deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 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. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
So how do we obtain the righteousness that comes by faith? Is there anything we need to do? Obviously we need to come to faith, but what does that mean? Paul says we need to confess our faith in Jesus. The words we use are important. What we say about Jesus matters. In this case Paul gives us the gold standard for our confession of faith.
First, Paul says we need to confess with our mouth. To confess means to say the same thing as God. In this case when we confess Jesus is Lord, we are saying the same thing God the Father says about His Son.
What is the content of our confession. We confess, "Jesus is Lord!" The word "Lord" is an important word in Jesus' time and the Roman culture.
"We can never forget all that it meant to say that Jesus Christ is Lord. “If a man called Jesus "kyrios" 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)
To say Jesus is Lord of your life is to say Jesus is the "leader" of your life. There is a new person in charge. There is a new sheriff in town. Many people want to have Jesus as their Savior, but are not willing to make Him their Lord. The two cannot be separated.
What does it mean to believe in your heart?
Mere intellectual agreement with the facts of the cross and the resurrection is not enough. You must believe in your heart; and even that belief is not enough without accompanying action: confess with your mouth. - Guzik
Do you believe in Jesus and that God raised him from the dead? Do you confess Jesus as the Lord of Your life? These are two of the most important decisions of your life?
God wants you to be saved. He has done everything in His power to save you. We can't save ourselves. We can't establish our own way of being saved. This is prideful and dangerous. To think we are smarter than God is the basic nature of the Fall of Adam and Eve. They didn't trust God at His Word but thought they knew better!
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
There is another role we have in the salvation process. We are the ones God has called to preach this Good News to the world. How will someone know what Jesus has done from them, if we don't tell them about it? We are not responsible for saving someone, but we are responsible for introducing them to the One who can save them.
Paul says, "How beautiful are the feet who bring Good News!" When Paul uses the word "feet", it reminds us that we are sent to share the Good News. We have to get up out our seats to share. It is not passive. We take a step in the direction of someone who needs to know what Jesus has done for them.
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Just because someone hears the Word doesn't mean they believe in it. And, importantly the Word is about Christ. Jesus is the Word, but in this case Paul uses the phrase the, "word about Christ". In this case it is the word we use to preach and teach the gospel. Notice too the words are about "Christ". Words Matter!
It is important for your to be ready to share the Good News about Christ. It doesn't need to be complicated. It is truly Good News. Sometimes people turn it into bad news by focusing on how sinful people are and unless they believe they will go to hell. But the Word about Christ is the Good News. It is the Good News about God's love for all people first for the Jews, then for Gentiles! It is Good News for all people!
18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." 19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, “I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.” 20 And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.” 21 But concerning Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
As Paul makes clear over and over again, it was not like God was trying to hide things from the Israelites. Paul quotes many prophecies from Isaiah, the Psalms, and Deuteronomy. God's sovereign plan was that all people would come to know Him through Jesus. He sent His Son, Jesus, to step into our world to show us what He is like.
Everything Jesus did and said revealed God's great love for us shown first to the the Jews through the covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David. But God can't make anybody love him, just like we can't. Despite all of God's efforts Paul says this about the Jewish people.
"All day long I have held my hands out to a disobedient and obstinate people."
Let no one say God is narrow minded or arbitrary or capricious in His judgment. God holds His hands out all day to those who would come to him. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28,
"Come to me all you who are weary and burden and I will give you rest. Rest for your souls!"
Does your soul need rest? Do you constantly deal with feeling like you have not done enough or you are not good enough? Do you battle guilt and shame and a past riddled with regret?
Come to Jesus, His arms are wide open!
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