The doctrine of Moses and of the gospel was nigh; that is, it was easily obtained, embraced, and understood. 14:1 - 15:14. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God: Saving faith comes through hearing by the word of God. The point is best understood by examining the source of Pauls information. It is a dilemma of human experience. But, suppose I still say: "Can it be that they have not heard?" And mark the force of it whosoever." Then follows a warning against those who bring in stumbling-blocks and offences. The answer is found in this portion of our epistle (that is, from the middle of chapter 5). The gospel is called the Word of faith, the Word of God, as being what was spoken, or communicated by God to man. "He that doeth those things," that is, always, without exception, with all his heart and soul and strength "he shall live by them"; but nobody else. 5. Not only was Abraham justified without law, but apart from that great sign of mortification of the flesh. The first is Moses himself. The information in verse 8 makes the point even more forcefully. There was a most important trial of man in the person of Adam; but after this, what dispensation was there? Includes cross references, questions, verse by verse commentary, outline, and applications on Romans 10. God has brought him again from the dead and exalted him at his own right hand, and this is not for himself, but for all those who trust in him. he was Lord of heaven and earth, and yet they called him Beelzebub, and talked of him as a drunken man and a wine-bibber. Thereby is identification with His death. Hereupon he enters upon the direct proofs, and first cites Hosea as a witness. As positively as the law utters its promise and threat, so positively and unalterably doth the gospel deliver its decree. They're both true. The believer is not put under law, you will observe, but under grace, which is the precise reverse of law. This passed away with man when he sinned. "For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) To profess this doctrine was, therefore, virtually to profess all the truths of the Christian religion. It is not a question of creature-standing. If God has blessed your ministry or other holy work, the devil whispers, "You are a pretty fellow; you have done wonders"; and up you will go if you are not steadied by the firm conviction that you may not glory, since you are nothing at all in yourself, and your sole help is in Jesus your Lord. Therein God is both vindicated and glorified. "The just shall live by faith" (not by law). They are merely persons who plume themselves on their orthodoxy, but in a wholly unrenewed condition. It is the product of many graces, evinces a great deal of self-denial, love to Christ, contempt of the world, a mighty courage and resolution. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. This is the essential point. If it was the Lord's will that I should die in the street at this moment, I would cheerfully go." The direction is "unto all;" the application is, of course, only to "them that believe;" but it is to all them that believe. Compare verse 6 (where the margin, not the text, is substantially correct) with verse 4. The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach: The 5th verse is a quotation from Leviticus 18:5. That word is the gospel of Christ. 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." Oh, how I love that phrase.That is why I love the ministry so much, because I have the privilege to bring to men glad tidings of good things. Yes, and I find a self-denying, Christ-exalting faith to be good in times of jubilation and success. It is not said to be revealed in the gospel. Though it directs us to a better and more effectual righteousness in Christ, yet in itself, considered as a law abstracted from its respect to Christ and the gospel (for so the unbelieving Jews embraced and retained it), it owneth nothing as a righteousness sufficient to justify a man but that of perfect obedience. If you find him in it will not much matter where you find him, in heaven or in the deep, for he must be almighty everywhere. But what is testified by Christian baptism is Christ's death. The judgments of God will fall on man as man, but the heaviest blows are reserved for Christendom. God has given us His word. For they do not realize that a man can only achieve the status of righteousness by God's gift, and they seek to establish their own status, and so they have not submitted themselves to that power of God which alone can make them righteous in his sight. From the Septuagint, Deuteronomy 30:14. "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. (2.) The hope of salvation by works is black despair; yet we have a set of men on the face of the earth who are always wanting us to preach up this hopeless hope, and urging us to lay this heavy burden upon the shoulders of dying men. It was not an easy thing; it must often have been made extremely inconvenient; and it must often have made life very uncomfortable. 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. Finally he comes to two other witnesses; as from the Psalms, so now from the law and the prophets. f. The Scripture says: Referring, I think, to the general sense of Scripture, rather than to any one passage. 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. (iii) The third objection is a restatement of the first: But, what if I insist that they never got the chance to hear? or, Who shall descend into the deep?" We should say the best we can even of our worst enemies; this is blessing those that curse us. It is part of the honour of Christ that every tongue shall confess, Philippians 2:11. And how shall they hear without a preacher? "To all that be at Rome, beloved of God, called saints" (ver. Salem Media Group. Choose a verse from 'Romans 10' to begin your 'Verse-by-Verse' study of God's Word using the more than 100 commentaries available on StudyLight.org. It must not be, assumed too readily. 5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. Of whom does it declare all this? Is It Ok for Christians to Follow Zodiac Signs? If you get extreme on the Calvinistic side and into election and predestination and all, then you have lost the center of truth. [1.] Moses writes that the man who works at the righteousness which comes from the law shall live by it. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but can know the eternal life of God and the glory of God's eternal kingdom and can share as children of God, heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, kings and priests in that glorious age that is coming. He dwells in the heart by faith. Ah, my Lord, what should I do then if I could not as "a poor sinner, and nothing at all" find Christ to be my "all in all." I need not speak about it this morning: I believe it, and rejoice in it: but it is not at all contrary to this precious truth. The practical part follows, wherein we find, 1. In the most solemn way he appeals to man with the demand, whether he thinks that God will look complacently on that which barely judges another, but which allows the practice of evil in the man himself (Romans 2:1-3). 3). What canst thou need more than to rely upon the Anointed of the Lord? Perhaps I am doing the same this morning, but I do not mean to do it. Romans 4:1-8,13-17. "Don't scold," said one. He has Gods law; all that remains is for him to obey it. How are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard? The "word of faith" means the message that righteousness comes by faith. "Ah, well," said one, "sometimes I enjoy good frames and feelings, and feel very happy, and then I lose them, and sink in spirit." We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. "For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It was a very great thing, especially, when the profession of Christ or Christianity hazarded estate, honour, preferment, liberty, life, and all that is dear in this world, which was the case in the primitive times. All the while God is wanting the Jews to come elbowing, which is a trait for them anyhow, to come on in and get close.Moses said, "I will provoke you to jealousy by them that were not my people. So there must be confession with the mouth. b. All that I have and all that I am I would give to escape from the righteous wrath of God. He speaks of the sovereignty of God having elected that it might stand by election. 14, 15). The solution is given elsewhere in the Bible: Get back to what brought us together in the first placethe combination of the word of Christ and devotion to Him, to the love . (ii) The second objection is: "But, in point of fact, Israel did not obey the good news, even if your argument is true. No, you must not: the gospel is simple; salvation is as plain as a pikestaff; familiar an homespun; easy as the A B C of your childhood. Now, soul, thou hast nothing to do with asking vain questions; thou hast to accept the result of the Savior's actual performances. The resurrection was an essential of Christian belief. This it was before it was his prayer. Not a pretty toy for Sundays, but food to live upon; a common-sense hope; a blunt man's religion that he can carry into business. b. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God: Paul will readily recognize that Israel has a zeal for God but he also sees that it is zeal not according to knowledge. by all that remains of the ancient world. It is Paul's one desire that the Jews may be saved. The gospel goes forth universally. They grasped the meaning of this offer all right, when it came to them unexpectedly and unsought." Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. It is not as if we have to ascend into heaven or descend into the abyss to gain Jesus. (ii) There is the ignorance which comes from wilful blindness. I want to call your special attention to the fact that Paul borrows the words of Moses; for his intent was the ending of all fears. Accordingly, in chapter 2 the Holy Spirit shows us man satisfying himself with pronouncing on what is right and wrong moralizing for others, but nothing more. But this one is a special little angel. 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. It is agreed by all commentators that this is one of the most difficult and obscure passages in the letter to the Romans. He introduced a new religion and way of worship, to which the former must give place. Whoever you are, God's promise is to you that if you call upon the name of the Lord you will be saved. It is not our effort which wins us goodness. Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians 4:14; 1 Corinthians 15:13-20. That is, [a.] You must carefully guard against the notion of its being a question of Paul's own experience, because he says, "I had not known," "I was alive," etc. a. If slurred over, as it too often is in souls, it invariably leaves practical obedience lame, and halt, and blind. The moral law was but for the searching of the wound, the ceremonial law for the shadowing forth of the remedy; but Christ is the end of both. As to those who have been called home, how have they died? He knew whom he had believed, and knew what the Lord had done for him, and he could not see a weak point in it all. 3. Obedience was possible and the consequences of obedience (Gods blessings) were sure. There is no language where their voice is not heard. He laughs at all our comeliness, he knows that it is a hollow cheat, a vile sham. or who hath first liven to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? The "word of faith" is the message of justification by the system of "faith" as opposed to the Law. Here was the very truth that every Jew, as such, denied. All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Genesis 21:8-21 (The rescue of Hagar and Ishmael); Psalm 86:1-10 16-17 (Prayer for deliverance); Romans 6:1b-11 (Buried and raised with Christ in baptism); Matthew 10:24-39 (The cost of discipleship) ( English Standard Version) June 25, 2023. (324) For the purpose of removing the impediments of faith, he has hitherto spoken negatively: but now in order to show the way of obtaining righteousness, he adopts an affirmative mode of speaking. They already possessed them, and talked and thought about them: so that there was no need of going to distant places to learn them. To those that were under it, to be sure. 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. c. But the righteousness of faith: This is based on Jesus, and we dont have to work to get Jesus. No, He has already come and brought salvation down from heaven to men. So that we have here a brief summary of the terms of salvation, and they are very reasonable; in short this, that we must devote, dedicate, 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. He says his prayers every day. Nor is there only the manifest call of the Gentiles in this, but with no less clearness there is the rejection, at any rate for a time, of proud Israel. If you want to live by the law (find life through the law), you must do the law and do it completely and perfectly. 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