Romans10

New Living Translation

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¹Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.

²I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.

³For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.

⁴For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.

⁵For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands.

⁶But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth).

⁷And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).”

⁸In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach:

⁹If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

¹¹As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”

¹²Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him.

¹³For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?

¹⁵And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

¹⁶But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

¹⁸But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have: “The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.”

¹⁹But I ask, did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God said, “I will rouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles.”

²⁰And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, “I was found by people who were not looking for me. I showed myself to those who were not asking for me.”

²¹But regarding Israel, God said, “All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.”

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Romans 10.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The apostle's earnest desire for the salvation of the Jews. (1–4). The difference between the righteousness of the law, and the righteousness of faith. (5–11). The Gentiles stand on a level with the Jews, in justification and salvation. (12–17). The Jews might know this from Old Testament prophecies. (18–21).

vv1-4

The Jews built on a false foundation, and refused to come to Christ for free salvation by faith, and numbers in every age do the same in various ways. The strictness of the law showed men their need of salvation by grace, through faith. And the ceremonies shadowed forth Christ as fulfilling the righteousness, and bearing the curse of the law. So that even under the law, all who were justified before God, obtained that blessing by faith, whereby they were made partakers of the perfect righteousness of the promised Redeemer. The law is not destroyed, nor the intention of the Lawgiver disappointed; but full satisfaction being made by the death of Christ for our breach of the law, the end is gained. That is, Christ has fulfilled the whole law, therefore whoever believeth in him, is counted just before God, as much as though he had fulfilled the whole law himself. Sinners never could go on in vain fancies of their own righteousness, if they knew the justice of God as a Governor, or his righteousness as a Saviour.

vv5-11

The self-condemned sinner need not perplex himself how this righteousness may be found. When we speak of looking upon Christ, and receiving, and feeding upon him, it is not Christ in heaven, nor Christ in the deep, that we mean; but Christ in the promise, Christ offered in the word. Justification by faith in Christ is a plain doctrine. It is brought before the mind and heart of every one, thus leaving him without excuse for unbelief. If a man confessed faith in Jesus, as the Lord and Saviour of lost sinners, and really believed in his heart that God had raised him from the dead, thus showing that he had accepted the atonement, he should be saved by the righteousness of Christ, imputed to him through faith. But no faith is justifying which is not powerful in sanctifying the heart, and regulating all its affections by the love of Christ. We must devote and give up to God our souls and our bodies: our souls in believing with the heart, and our bodies in confessing with the mouth. The believer shall never have cause to repent his confident trust in the Lord Jesus. Of such faith no sinner shall be ashamed before God; and he ought to glory in it before men.

vv12-17

There is not one God to the Jews, more kind, and another to the Gentiles, who is less kind; the Lord is a Father to all men. The promise is the same to all, who call on the name of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, as God manifest in the flesh. All believers thus call upon the Lord Jesus, and none else will do so humbly or sincerely. But how should any call on the Lord Jesus, the Divine Saviour, who had not heard of him? And what is the life of a Christian but a life of prayer? It shows that we feel our dependence on him, and are ready to give up ourselves to him, and have a believing expectation of our all from him. It was necessary that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles. Somebody must show them what they are to believe. How welcome the gospel ought to be to those to whom it was preached! The gospel is given, not only to be known and believed, but to be obeyed. It is not a system of notions, but a rule of practice. The beginning, progress, and strength of faith is by hearing. But it is only hearing the word, as the word of God that will strengthen faith.

Key Words

BrothersG80Greek

ἀδελφός (adelphós): a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G1 (Α))

myG1699Greek

ἐμός (emós): my

heart’sG2588Greek

καρδία (kardía): the heart, i.e. (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (mind); also (by analogy) the middle

desireG2107Greek

εὐδοκία (eudokía): satisfaction, i.e. (subjectively) delight, or (objectively) kindness, wish, purpose

andG2532Greek

καί (kaí): and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words

prayerG1162Greek

δέησις (déēsis): a petition

toG4314Greek

πρός (prós): a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. toward (with the genitive case, the side of, i.e. pertaining to; with the dative case, by the side of, i.e. near to; usually with the accusative case, the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the destination of the relation, i.e. whither or for which it is predicated)

GodG2316Greek

θεός (theós): figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very

forG5228Greek

ὑπέρ (hypér): "over", i.e. (with the genitive case) of place, above, beyond, across, or causal, for the sake of, instead, regarding; with the accusative case superior to, more than

themG846Greek

αὐτός (autós): the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons