Unit: Romans (Part 2)
Theme: Justified
Lesson Text: Romans 10:1-15
Supplemental Text: Deuteronomy 30:11-16; Joel 2:32; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Aim: Confess faith that Jesus is Lord, risen from the dead.
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Download a PDF of this week’s lesson material (the Study by Mark Scott, Application by David Faust, and Discovery Questions by Michael C. Mack): LOOKOUT_Feb27_2022.
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By Mark Scott
Words matter. Jesus said as much (Matthew 12:36-37). The things we say reveal our hearts. Our professions and confessions in life are indicative of what we believe. To confess that Jesus is our Lord is therefore no small thing. We lay claim to salvation when we confess Jesus in both lip and life.
In Romans 9–11, Paul marked out how God’s salvific plan related to both Jews and Gentiles. The Jews had some definite advantages over the Gentiles, but sometimes they compromised those advantages. The Gentiles sometimes displayed more righteousness by following their consciences, but even then they were guilty of suppressing God’s truth. So, both Jews and Gentiles had to place their faith in Christ to be “justified and saved.” Romans 9 ended with Paul telling the church that the Jews stumbled over “a rock” (Jesus) in attempting to establish their own righteousness. Romans 10 furthered his argument by giving the “reason” for this stumbling. The text details three “body parts” (metaphors) that will help us embrace justification.
Heart for Salvation
Romans 10:1-4
Chapters 10 and 11 both begin by announcing that God had not given up on the Jews (nor had Paul). Paul’s heart longed for his fellow Jews to experience God’s salvation with all their hearts. His desire (thinking well of) and prayer (“specific” request) for Israel was that she be saved. Paul acknowledged Israel’s zeal for God. But it was Paul’s “God-intoxicated prayer” (as John Walvoord called it in The Bible Knowledge Commentary) that their zeal would be rooted in knowledge. Few things in life are as dangerous as zeal without knowledge.
The Jews tried to wrestle God’s righteousness to the ground and establish (be made to stand) their own righteousness. They wanted salvation the old-fashioned way (i.e., to earn it). This gave evidence that they did not submit to God’s righteousness. They failed to understand that Christ was the culmination (“end”; i.e., intended goal in that he fulfilled it—Matthew 5:17) of the law. So, to pursue righteousness by the law would frustrate the plan of God in Christ. Locating salvation in Christ alone meant that righteousness could be for everyone who believes. All could have a heart for salvation.
Mouth Confessing Salvation
Romans 10:5-13
The spoken word is discussed throughout this section. Moses spoke Leviticus 18:5 before he ever wrote it down (“The person who does these things will live by them”). “Say” or “says” appear three times in this section. “Word” appears only once, but it is the term for “spoken word” (rhema). “Mouth” appears three times, and “calls” appears once. “Declare” appears once but is the word for “confess.” The reason for Paul’s confidence in the spoken word is because of his confidence in the heart to hold to the right things.
God does not bestow salvation because someone forces him to give it. One cannot do anything to affect the incarnation (going up to heaven to bring Christ down to earth) or the resurrection (bringing Christ up from the grave). Faith simply affirms what God has done in Christ. To underline the simplicity of this, Paul used Deuteronomy 30:12-14 for his argument. God’s message in Christ is not hidden away in some far corner of the universe. It is as near as he has made his revelation.
Romans 10:9-10 supremely underlines the significance of our confession of faith. Giving voice to the earliest of confessions (Jesus is Lord) shows what the heart believes, and it is a confession that brings about salvation. [Of course, this is not to negate other imperatives of salvation that must also be appropriated by faith.] Paul used two other texts to affirm this (Isaiah 28:16 and Joel 2:32). To believe in God will never result in shame, and to call on the name of the Lord will result in salvation.
Feet Bring Salvation
Romans 10:14-15
Paul asked four “progressive” questions in one of the more beautiful passages in Romans. Calling on God’s name for salvation cannot happen without believing the message. The message cannot be believed if no one hears it. No one can hear the message unless someone preaches to them. And no one can preach the message unless that person has not been authorized (sent, i.e., the verb for the word apostle).
Paul rooted this order in Isaiah 52:7. Prior to the salvific call of the messianic Servant (Isaiah 52:13–53:12), Isaiah blessed those who brought good news. Their feet were beautiful (attractive, or comely, used of virgins getting ready for their marriage).
Salvation involves the whole person. A meditative exercise might be to hold your hand over your heart, open your mouth in witness, and look down at your feet.
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