Romans 10:5-15
Romans 10:5-15 (The Message)
Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it's not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story— no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?
The word that saves is right here,
as near as the tongue in your mouth,
as close as the heart in your chest.
It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"
The word that saves is right here,
as near as the tongue in your mouth,
as close as the heart in your chest.
It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"
Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."
But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That's why Scripture exclaims,
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
telling all the good things of God!
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
telling all the good things of God!
In The Message translation, this passage from Romans (our New Testament lesson for Sunday) is straightforward, fairly easy to follow and understand. And of course, it’s Saint Paul’s favorite theme and the core of his theology: salvation comes not by works of the Law of Moses but by the Grace of God through Faith in Jesus Christ.
Raised a Pharisee, Paul grew up being taught to live by the 613 commandments in the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). In Torah, the rabbis codified 248 commandments of things that one must do, and 365 commandments of things one must not do. It can be pretty tough, trying to please God by knowing and keeping them all.
Paul is writing to the Christian church in Rome, which consisted of both Jews and Gentiles. He is trying to set them straight, settle an issue among them.
He says the Jewish Christians are bound to the Law of Moses because that’s their covenant with God, their tradition, which they claimed and to which they submitted by circumcision. But he wants them to understand that being circumcised and keeping the Law of Moses does not justify, is not not salvific, does not make one righteous in the sight of God.
Paul says that, on the other hand, Gentile Christians are not bound to the Law of Moses, including that the men do not have to be circumcised, the mark of the Jewish covenant.
Writing to both the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians, Paul says you cannot make yourself righteous at all. He says only God can make you righteous. And in fact, God justifies you (declares you righteous in spite of your sins) because of God’s grace (lovingkindness). Paul says you learn this by hearing and believing the good news about Jesus Christ. And being quite practical, Paul adds that you can’t learn it unless someone tells you about it. That’s why he’s writing!
Although The Message translation above makes Paul fairly clear, the language is not beautiful for us like the King James Version is. There are some powerful and memorable verses in the KJV translation of Romans 10:5-15, including a couple of verses that I remember from my childhood and have set out in italics below.
But those memory verses are for joy, strength and assurance; they not meant to be quoted out of context as “proof-texting.”
A late relative who was a literalist, inerrantist, fundamentalist Christian, and whose Christianity was entirely focused on staying out of Hell and getting into Heaven, once told me that all you have to do to get into Heaven is confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. His proof-text was Romans 10:9. He said he had confessed that Jesus is Lord and believes that God raised Jesus, and that he was therefore as sure for Heaven as if he were already there.
That’s pretty cheap and simplistic Christianity for Jesus who said you must take up your own cross daily and follow me, and who commands us to love God and love neighbor. Christianity is the Way of the Cross. For a Christian, the Way of the Cross is the way of life; and the way of life is the Way of the Cross. Christianity is not saving oneself from Hell by glomming onto a Bible verse.
Romans 10:5-15 (King James Version)
5Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
6But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
7Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9That 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.
10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Happy Friday.
Tom+