If he had to die, his fathers would receive him "holy and pure." "But if [for so it should be read] thou art named a Jew," etc. Believe in Christ as you would believe in your friend: believe that he died for sinners, and trust in him for salvation. The unbelieving Jews were the most bitter enemies Paul had in the world, and yet Paul gives them as good a character as the truth would bear. The judgments of God will fall on man as man, but the heaviest blows are reserved for Christendom. He had no uncertainty; he was as sure of his safety as it it had been a matter of calculation by the rules of arithmetic. It could not therefore be the source or means of his righteousness. for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. and Jack replied, "I do not know much about these things; but this I do know and am sure of, They put him back for awhile, to try if he would grow in his knowledge, but he never went an inch beyond the first standard. They set up the golden calf, and thus cast off the true God, their God, even in the desert. What does experience say about believing in Christ! The righteousness of God flows from His mercy, of course; but its character and basis is righteousness. Abraham believed God when, according to nature, it was impossible for him or for Sarah to have a child. At this point we enter upon a most important part of the epistle, on which we must dwell for a little. iii. The way of salvation is now both plain and easy. This is a clear statement. "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." If God has made you feel yourself a sinner, then Christ is such a Savior as you need and you may have him at once: the only difficulty lies in the way being so easy that you can hardly think it can be so. He came down, indeed, when he was born; and, being down so low as that, he descended to the carpenter's shop, to the weariness of the well's brink, and to a thirst which made him say, "Give me to drink." (James 2:10-11). Thus the latter portion of the chapter is not doctrine exactly, but the proof of the difficulties of a soul who has not realised death to the law by the body of Christ. Not so, says the apostle. Thus the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against (not only the open ungodliness of men, but) the orthodox unrighteousness of those that hold the truth in unrighteousness. But there is a third. It was the Lord giving us the profit of sorrow, and ourselves bowing to the way and end of God in it, so that the result of tribulation should be rich and fruitful experience. I am afraid we say a great deal at times which rather lumbers and cumbers the gospel than makes it clear. 15), "because we are not under the law, but under grace?" Romans 10:8-17 8 But what does it say? Their problem is not that they have not heard or understood it, but that they have refused to believe it (see v. 16). God pronounces against the unrighteousness of such; for if the knowledge, however exact, of God's revealed mind was accompanied by no renewal of the heart, if it was without life towards God, all must be vain. Ah, then the heart foolishly cries, "I must know a great deal; as much as if I had been to heaven and seen for myself, or as if I had dived into the depths and made discoveries there." There are two things that might make insuperable difficulty: the one is the obstacle of sin in the nature to practical holiness; the other is the provocation and condemnation of the law. But what does it say? It is sinful shame that makes people deny Christ, Mark 8:38. There must be a radical submission to the righteousness of God, putting away our own righteousness. There is the type of confession described in Matthew 10:32. It is with that objection Paul deals; and, as he deals with it in its various forms, on each occasion he clinches his answer with a text from scripture. This clearly takes in man, it will be observed; and this is his grand point now. That is, it is the power of God unto salvation, not because it is victory (which at the beginning of the soul's career would only give importance to man even if possible, which it is not), but because it is "the righteousness of God." They give us the basis of the first Christian creed. Hast thou not heard the tale? (325) It is the word which requires faith, and is received by faith; or it is the word entitled to faith, worthy of being believed; or it is the word which generates and supports faith. It is just as clear as ever the law was, and quite as sharply distinct. The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. 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. The gospel states its message as clearly as the law. When you and I are no longer sinners, Christ is no longer our Savior; when you and I no more need him, then we shall not have him. The expression, The word is nigh thee, means Gods word is so close it is as if it were in our mouths. It will not suffice for you to learn those commands by heart, or to write them up in your churches, or to read them over and say, "Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law": all that may be well enough, but it is not to the point. There was no law there or then; for Abraham died long before God spoke from Sinai. (that is, to bring Christ down from above:): In Moses sermon these words mean the law that he commanded Israel to obey was not some far off impossibility requiring heroic superhuman efforts to discover and obey. But this great work of Christ was not and could not be a mere vindication of God; and we may find it otherwise developed in various parts of Scripture, which I here mention by the way to show the point at which we are arrived. The former is the direction, and the latter the application. Jack answered, "I never get lower than I am, for I am down at the bottom. The Jews were the last in the world to take such ground as this. It is important to note, however, that Paul does not quote Moses. Verse Romans 10:8. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? But what it does it say -- --continuing the quotation from Deuteronomy 30:14. The connection is fully owned with that which had been from God of old. for he came to bring everyone who believes and trusts into a right relationship with God. If you will just confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord. This is not something to smile at, but to admire. For this he quotes that scripture (Leviticus 18:5), You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them. Following up with the teaching of the olive-tree, he carries out the same thought of a remnant that abides on their own stock, and points to a re-instatement of the nation, And I would just observe by the way, that the Gentile cry that no Jew ever accepts the gospel in truth is a falsehood. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, alone is capable of performing the mighty works of salvation required by humanitys sinfulness, and He has already done them. They are a disobedient and contrary people, and all the more so because of their great responsibility before God. We should say the best we can even of our worst enemies; this is blessing those that curse us. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. That early prophet tells Israel, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. He says, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Now, what Paul declared of the Jew then is still true today. The facts were so well known by the preaching of the apostles, that they might be said to be in every mans mouth. - BN. I'm sorry you can't accept it, but that is the way it is. No fresh revelations from God can nullify those which preceded them; but as the prophets looked onward to what was coming, so is the gospel already come, supported by the past. The apostle has come now to the nature. There is no hope for man otherwise; for the gospel is not all that is now made known. Listen, man. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? You say, "Well, I can't reconcile that with God's divine election." This knowledge was readily available and known to all. He has been telling them truths which were difficult for them to hear and bear. No, they cry, it is in Isaac's seed that the Jew was called. Nothing less, I am persuaded, than this full blessing is the line that God has given to those who have followed Christ without the camp, and who, having been set free from the contracted ways of men, desire to enter into the largeness and at the same time the profound wisdom of every word of God. The word is nigh thee - This is still a use of the language of Moses. 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The last verses of the chapter, however, bring in the deliverance not yet the fulness of it, but the hinge, so to speak. 8 But what saith it? ** See No. A good wish (Romans 10:1; Romans 10:1), a wish that they might be saved--saved from the temporal ruin and destruction that were coming upon them--saved from the wrath to come, eternal wrath, which was hanging over their heads. Let us go a little further. A man cannot be blamed for not knowing what he never had a chance to know; but he can be blamed for neglecting to know that which was always open to him. i. Brethren, my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. May you begin to experience greater victory in your walk with Jesus Christ as you yield yourself to that touch of God and as He molds and shapes you into that person He wants you to be, and as He conforms you into the image of Jesus Christ. He observes Sabbath; he loves God. It is our duty truly and earnestly to desire the salvation of our own. Not thus does God deal with souls. Concerning faith: It is with the heart that man believeth, which implies more than an assent of the understanding, and takes in the consent of the will, an inward, hearty, sincere, and strong consent. The latter clause in the first verse of the authorised version mars the sense. It was not merely better light in the conscience, which might be elsewhere, as is supposed in the early verses of our chapter; but the Jew's position was directly and unquestionably one of divine tests applied to man's estate. It must also be noticed, that the word, by which we have a firm and calm trust as to our salvation, had been set forth even by Moses: This is the word of faith. It is true that Christ was in the grave, and it is as true that he is now in heaven; but we need not perplex and puzzle ourselves with fancied difficulties, nor must we create to ourselves such gross and carnal ideas of these things as if the method of salvation were impracticable, and the design of the revelation were only to amuse us. 2 172). We need not here enter into the details; but on the surface we see how the apostle brings all down to that which is of the deepest interest to every soul. A person cannot save himself. 2. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" (ver. One said somewhat roughly to him a fortnight before, "Don't be downhearted; you may got better yet." The Text And where? . The past prepared the way, as it is said here, "which God had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, [here we have the great central object of God's gospel, even the person of Christ, God's Son,] which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (ver. Justification by faith has always been the way for people to come to God. For they're ignorant of God's righteousness and they are going about to establish their own righteousness.I had a Jewish fellow one night as we were talking say to me, "Well, Chuck, my father is a very religious man. If he was called, so were they he an apostle, they not apostles but saints; but still, for them as for him, all flowed out of the same mighty love, of God. There is then the solemn truth also of divine wrath. If what Christ has done will not save a sinner I am damned; for I have nothing else to depend upon; but if it will save, and sure I am that it will, I am saved as surely as Christ has risen from the dead. Let us not stumble at the starting-point, but leave room for the due extent and depth of "salvation" in the gospel. Hence it is essentially founded on the gift not only of a Saviour who would interpose, in the mercy of God, to bear our sins, but of One who is already revealed, and the work done and accepted, and this known in the fact that God Himself has interposed to raise Him from among the dead a bright and momentous thing to press on souls, as indeed we find the apostles insisting on it throughout the Acts. Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Harga saham emiten migas Grup Bakrie PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk (ENRG) dan emiten milik taipan Prajogo Pangestu PT Barito Pacific Tbk (BRPT) kompak menjadi top losers hingga penutupan sesi I, Rabu (1/3/2023). What was it? The gospel replies, if you did ascend to heaven what would you do there, without Christ, the anointed Savior? 8-10. Yet note, that Paul opens this up into two things. The gospel means His glad tidings for man. 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. That is quite true, because Isaiah says: "Lord, who has believed what they heard from us?" Oh, let's all get our climbing ropes and let's all climb into heaven and let's bring the Messiah down. Hence the action of the Spirit of God in a double point of view comes before us. Several general exhortations proper for all Christians, Rom. The consequences spiritually are blessed to the soul; how much more is it to Teach the source from which all flows! It became simply a question whether, in fact, God did call Gentiles, or whether He had revealed such intentions. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. Paul's answer is: "Israel's disbelief was only to be expected, for, long ago, Isaiah was moved to say in despair: 'Lord, who has believed what we have heard?'" The law ends for the believer in the sense that our obedience to the law is no longer the basis for our relationship with God. In both parts, as it may be observed, the door is opened to the Gentile. in your mouth -- --when you confess Him. Time was when none of the English, nor French, nor of any other nation believed in the Saviour. the top and bottom of such an ascent must be, "to bring Christ down." Your name is not on the list." Paul was entirely ready to admit that the Jews were zealous for God; but he also saw that their zeal was a misdirected thing. Cold desires do but beg denials; we must even breathe out our souls in every prayer. It was already among them by the preaching of the apostles, and was a subject of conversation and of thought. that is, the word of faith, which we preach -- --that is, the word which men were to believe and obey for salvation (compare 1 Timothy 4:6). As Cottrell observes: Moses emphasis is clearly on the accessibility and understandability of Gods law. And as that little remnant is ever sustained by the grace of God, it is the standing pledge of their final blessedness through His mercy, whereon the apostle breaks out into raptures of thanksgiving to God. A soul may as truly, no doubt, be put into relationship with God be made very happy, it may be; but it is not what Scripture calls "peace with God." No trembling sinner doubts but that by the breaking of the law we are condemned: be you equally sure of it, that by not believing you are condemned. All who confess Christ as Lord, and believe in His resurrection, will be saved. 10:5-8: For Moses writeth that the man that doeth the righteousness which is of the law shall live thereby. In Romans 7:1-25 we have the subject of the law discussed for practice as well as in principle, and there again meet with the same weapon of tried and unfailing temper. Holy and pure. for sinners, and believe in his resurrection will... Am afraid we say a great deal at times which rather lumbers and cumbers the gospel than makes it.. His grand point now, who has believed what they heard from us? who. Salvation is now made known `` do n't be downhearted ; you may better... Friend: believe that he died for sinners, and hearing by the preaching of the apostles, they... Before God spoke from Sinai up into two things was already among them by preaching! 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