Romans 10
1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation.
Paul desired to see the salvation of the Jewish people. This should be the same desire of all believers. Christ will not return and establish his Millennial Kingdom until all of Israel is saved. "All or Israel" is all of the Jews who survive the Great Tribulation.
2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth.
The Jews have an emotional zeal for God, but it is not based upon biblical knowledge. The Jews had γνῶσις (gnosis), which was knowledge of Scripture, but not epignosis (epignosis), which was divine knowledge of their Messiah.
3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
Jews believed in salvation by works rather than salvation by faith. This placed them under the anathema curse of Galatians 1:8.
4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.
The Greek word for "end" is τέλος (telos), meaning the end goal, or the termination. It is the word origin of the telescope. A telescope is stretched out to the end. Christ was the end goal of the Law and he also terminated the Law. The goal of the Law was to bring the Jews to faith in their Messiah.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.”
Paul quoted Leviticus 18:5. Moses knew that the Law was righteous. However, he also knew that no one could keep it. Therefore, there was no one righteous before God.
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)
Paul quoted Deuteronomy 30:12-13. No one needs to ascend into heaven to gain salvation.
7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
No one needs to descend into the abyss to gain salvation.
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach),
Paul quoted Deuteronomy 30:14. The message of salvation was available right where they were standing.
9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The confession of the mouth and the belief in the Lord Jesus Christ occur simultaneously.
10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.
Paul was not saying that the believer must make a public statement. This would be works salvation. He is saying that the belief in their heart must be in harmony with what they say with their mouth. If they believe in their heart, then they will confess this truth to others. They will not be mute about the gospel.
11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Paul quoted Isaiah 28:16 to show that the only condition of salvation is faith. Grace plus faith plus nothing equals salvation. God gave grace to men. Man believed it. Man was saved.
12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him.
Salvation is not just for Jews only. Salvation is universal for both Jews and Gentiles. There are differences between Jews and Gentiles, but there is no distinction on how they are saved.
13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Paul quoted Joel 2:32. Anyone, Jew or Gentile, who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The name of God is the character of God. God's character is to save everyone who calls upon his name.
14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?
Paul listed God's divine method of salvation. No one will call on the name of the Lord unless they first believe the gospel. No one will believe the gospel unless they hear it. No one will hear the gospel unless it is preached to them by another individual. This chain is a divine connection which cannot be broken.
15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news?”
One cannot preach the gospel unless he is sent by God to do so. Paul quoted Isaiah 52:7 to show that the gospel had been preached to the Jews, but they did not believe it.
16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”
Paul quoted Isaiah 53:1, which is part of the Suffering Servant prophecy. This prophecy predicted that the Jews would hear the message of the gospel, but they would not believe it. Israel's rejection of the Messiah was part of God's prophetic plan.
17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ.
Faith cannot come to salvation unless one hears the gospel. The gospel cannot be heard unless someone preaches it. One cannot preach it unless he is called to preach it. One cannot preach it unless he is sent. This is the unbroken chain of the process of salvation.
18 But I ask, have they not heard? Yes, they have: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
Paul quoted Psalm 19:4 to show that Israel had heard the gospel, but they rejected it. They had more revelation than just creation and conscience. They heard the actual gospel with their ears and rejected it.
19 But again I ask, didn’t Israel understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.”
Why did Israel not understand the gospel? Paul answered this question by quoting Deuteronomy 32:21. God saved the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. The Gentiles are not a nation. They are a church. This is one of the few hints in the Old Testament about the possible existence of a future church. Many commentators claim that the church is a mystery that was not revealed in the Old Testament. This is not true. The mystery was that the church consisted of Jews and Gentiles.
20 And Isaiah is even bold enough to say, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I became well known to those who did not ask for me.”
Paul quoted Isaiah 65:1 to show that salvation would come to Gentiles who were not seeking God.
21 But about Israel he says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!”
Paul quoted Isaiah 65:2 to show that even though Israel rejected God, he still loved them and reached out for them. God keeps his hands open to Israel continuously. He will accept any that come to him. Israel has rejected their Messiah, but their Messiah is waiting with open arms to receive them.
