ROMANS TEN

Read the complete chapter of Romans 10

             1:  Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.

Paul is talking with the Christians in Rome whom he has never met.  He is restating to the Romans how much he desires his fellow Jews to receive Jesus as Messiah and be saved.  Paul had been called to the Gentiles, kings and then Israel as we see in Acts 9:15, but his heart was for his fellow brothers.  He so desired the Jewish people to understand that Jesus was the Messiah they were looking for. Sometimes prayer is the only thing you can do with your family; prayer and being a silent example of Christ.  God sends others to minister to our family members quite often and sends us to others’ family members.

Do you have a loved one that you are concerned about? Leave them with Jesus, He knows your heart’s desire, He will send someone their way to minister to them.  Sometimes people just don’t get it and the best thing you can do for that person you love, is to follow Paul’s example:  love them and pray for them.  Why don’t you do that right now for someone you love and desire to see saved and today, find someone outside your family who needs a good word spoken to them, you might just be the answer to someone else’s prayer!

2:  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

The Jews were religious, they were zealous for the things of God, but they missed the Door of salvation, the coming Messiah, because they decided how He would come.  Jesus stood before them, yet they had spiritual blind eyes and were unable to see Him. They lost focus and concentrated more on the letter of the law and missed the Fulfillment of the law.  They were looking for a conquering King, He came as a helpless baby.  They missed Him.

Do you miss Him?  You may ask, how?  Are you religious?  Have you set boundaries on what your Savior can and cannot do?  Do you follow rules and regulations over faithfully following God?  Has He asked you to do something, but you didn’t even hear because it was outside the perimeters of where you think God would be?  Break religion, it binds up and stifles the spirit.  Today go outside your boundaries of religion and do something you have never done before.

3:  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

The Jews established what they thought was righteous so when Christ’s righteousness came and did not look anything like theirs, they rejected His!  Sad to say, we do the same thing, especially those who grew up in church.  Rules and boundaries set by our church fathers lead us down a slippery slope to find ourselves in ropes of religious bondage.  We cast judgment on others that do not live within the limitations of our regulations.  Doesn’t that sound terrible, even as I write it, it does not sound like the promised liberty and abundant life Christ promised all who followed Him.  How did we get so far off track?  How did the Jews lose sight of their Coming Lord to not even recognize Him?  He comes unexpectedly in unexpected places.  He still does that today.  Jesus shows up in villages of unknown places and sets fire in the hearts of those who willingly accept His message; He shows up in hospitals in remote places that no one has even heard of and heals the sick; He shows up on campuses through radical people who have lost all religious pretense and just love God with all their heart.

Where is God showing up?  Is He in your bedroom; in your school; your workplace?  Where is God showing up?  Be alert and look for Him today without religious limitations, let Him show up and show off!

4:  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

When Jesus Christ came to this earth as a Person, He fulfilled and finished the law of righteousness through His death and resurrection.  Now it’s up to us to believe, if we do, the end of religion is ours.  No more rules, no more regulations, and no more boundaries as we know them.  There is one commandment, no two:  Love God with all your heart… and love your neighbor.  It sums up what Christ came to do.  All the laws in the Old Testament were saying the same thing: “Be Considerate!” But in an unattainable way.  Entered Christ to complete the law, break the bonds of religion and give us abundant life filled with liberty… and yet some still walk in the law of righteousness, why?

Are you free?  Have you believed and received the end of religion?  Are you able to love freely your Lord and live in the storybook, fairy tale Kingdom?  If yes, great, continue on.  If not, why?  What is stopping you?  Ask God if you are still carrying a religious spirit.  Ask God how to get rid of it.  Read the book of Galatians.

5:  For Moses describes the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them (Lev. 18:5).

Paul will take us through a number of scriptures to prove his point about the law and how we need to listen to the Law Defender (Jesus) and see how He made a way for us.  In Leviticus it says if your righteousness comes from the law, in order to live you have to follow all the law.  Impossible!

Do you set unrealistic expectations on yourself or others?  Righteousness by the law is religion.  List areas in your life where you see signs of a religious spirit.  Again, break the religious spirit off of you today and live by Jesus’ grace by simply confessing and accepting His forgiveness.  Ask Jesus how to live daily by His Spirit.

6:  But the righteousness, which is of faith, speaks on this wise, Say not in your heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (Deut. 30:12)  (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

The righteousness of faith is quite different from the righteousness of the law.  The law expects you to keep it all in your own power.  The righteousness of faith is satisfied with the works of Jesus when He came down from heaven and lived on earth.  The righteousness of faith allows you to live freely under His covering because all requirements were completed.  It’s like someone coming in and taking a test for us, passing with flying colors and now we have passed from the confinements of the school into the liberty of life.

Have you accepted the righteousness of faith, knowing that you are no longer under the tutelage of the law, but now grace and freedom are your teachers?  That is what our Lord is trying to tell us through Paul.  Accept that you no longer have requirements to fulfill, only the debt of love.  Love on your Lord today and spread His love to someone.

7:  Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (Deut. 30:13)  (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

The righteousness of faith sent our Lord to the depths of death.  The punishment for us, He took on that we might have life.  Why do we then set ourselves back in a prison of religion?  God, our Father, must shake His head at our foolishness.  The price being paid, we still linger in limbo because we try to live in our own righteousness.

List ways you live in your own righteousness.  What are things that you do that are religious?  Do they make you more righteous or do they lay a heavy burden on you?  Read Matthew 11:30, ponder on it and set it to memory.

8:  But what saith it? The word is nigh you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: (Deut. 30:14) that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

The Word of faith is close to you, as close as your mouth and heart.  It is a Word that has been given to you from the beginning.  In every one of us is a God voice that calls our name to come share in His heritage.  He has called and it is up to us to respond.  How do we hear the call, Psalms 46 tells us to ‘be still and know that He is God’ in the midst of catastrophes.   It is up to each of us to be still, no matter where we are at, and hear Him.  He has promised to be near, so if we are not hearing Him, then we need to be still and listen.

How often are you still to hear the Lord speak to you in your heart?  Take time today to be still.  Read Psalms 46 in its entirety and meditate on it. Ask for an encounter with your God.

9:  That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

How does the righteousness of faith work?  Confess and believe.  Confess with your mouth out loud that Jesus is Lord of your life and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead then you are saved from destruction; we are all headed for hell because we deserve it, but we can turn towards heaven by confessing Jesus and believing God!  Amazing, I know!  Our Father took all the work out and only asks us to believe.  Oh, yes, there is work in maturing our salvation, but in receiving it, there is only believing, no works involved at all.

Do you work for your salvation or are you just doing what scripture says, Confess and Believe.  Consider a moment what you really do believe about this.  Reconsider the price paid for you to only have to confess and believe.  Doesn’t it just make you want to give Him a huge hug today?  Hug someone as if they were Jesus!

10:  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The heart and the mouth are the two objects God uses for us to receive salvation.  Let’s ponder for a moment why?  If He said with the feet we walk into salvation or with the hands we work for salvation we would gain the credit for partial work.  The heart is the emotional part of our being.  It takes faith or great evidence to believe, so God set the heart to be part of our salvation.  It says in Luke 6:45, ‘Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.’  Thus the connection of heart and mouth; God is stating if our heart believes our mouth will surely confess it.  Out of the abundance of the heart will flow out of our mouth the truth of what we believe.

Have you listened to yourself lately?  What is your heart really believing?  What are you saying around others, does it sound like you believe or are you betraying yourself with your words?  Take inventory of your heart, what’s in there right now?  Do you need to be washed over by the truth once again and walk in the righteousness of faith rather than the righteousness of the law?  Confess and Believe!

11:  For the scripture says, whosoever believes on Him will not be ashamed (Isaiah 28:16).

If we believe in verse 10 we will not be ashamed.  Paul is dedicated to the scriptures of the Old Testament.  He brings quite a few OT verses in Romans 10.  We too need to use scripture to make our case for others.

If you believe in Jesus then why not take scriptures to memory and use them next time you have a chance to share your faith.

12:  For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

God, our Father, does not differentiate between races. He is open to receive all who come calling on Him.  He has so much love and wants to give it away to those who choose to love Him.  God is wealthy in His love towards His children; He is not going to run out.  He has lots of love to go around. We are one big happy family of all nations, tribes and languages!

Do you differentiate between people?  Do you judge people?  Your Father does not want that kind of behavior in His kingdom.  All are welcome and He is training you to be accepting of all people.  If you have a problem with a certain race or type of person talk with your Father today and ask Him to show you His thoughts on them.  Open your heart to the Holy Spirit and ask for more love.

13:  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Joel 2:32).

Paul quotes Joel.  Anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.  What good news that is for all of us.  It is a nonexclusive family; open to all who will believe in their hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with their mouths Jesus Christ is Lord. Seems so simple yet how many through the ages have stumbled over this simple belief?

Why do you think this is such a hard pill to swallow?  Why has God made it so simple to enter and yet so many are confused, many are angry at what God asks of them?  Take a closer look today at the values people around you put on God’s ways.  Do you think they understand the simplicity of entering into God’s storybook fairy tale kingdom?

14:  How 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?

Paul, the missionary, will now go into his soapbox statements.  He has brought us to see how easy it is to enter into the family of God, but he also makes a good four point message:  without a preacher they will not hear; without hearing they will not believe and without believing they will not call on Him.  It is necessary for each of us to share the good news of Jesus Christ in our own way every day.  We must open our minds and hearts to readily speak the good news.  If it’s by simply smiling on gloomy days or sharing an encouraging word to the person you most dislike or blatantly sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to a stranger, it must be done for the sake of love.  It can be done naturally supernatural as we depend on the Holy Spirit to direct our lives.

What will you do today to walk out the three steps that Paul insists needs to be done in order to complete the family?  Open your heart today to what the Spirit wants you to do.  Drop all agendas of what you think it might look like. Play a game with the Lord and let Him lead you into the joys of sharing your salvation with other family members not yet calling on His name because they haven’t heard so they couldn’t believe!  Increase the family of God today by opening your heart to others.

15:  And 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 (Isaiah 52:7)!

The fourth part of Paul’s soapbox message is unless they are sent no one will preach.  So let’s check out Jesus’ last words to His disciples and His family (that’s us):  He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone,” Mark 16:15.  We have been sent to preach the good news to everyone.  So maybe some of us don’t preach as well as others, that’s okay, let’s check out the Greek word preach: Kerusso which means proclaim, herald or preach… so if we are not into preaching then we can be proclaiming or heralding.  The most important thing is that we are not keeping our lamps under a bushel (Matthew 5:15), but sharing what we have with others. In so doing we are bringing our joyful message of peace to those ready to listen.

It may be hard for you to share with others about your God because maybe you haven’t done it lately or at all.  The way to begin is to know what you believe.  Write out what you believe into simple statements.  By going through this study you are sure to know more of what you believe.  As you set your beliefs into simple statements, now begin to share what you believe with others.  You didn’t ride a bike with ease the first time you got on, it took awhile, but soon you were peddling with confidence.  The more you share what you believe, the easier it will get and before you know it you will be proclaiming it to the multitudes.

16:  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report (Isaiah 53:1)?

Not all will obey, not all will respond and not all will think of us as preachers with beautiful feet.  That is not our concern, we are to be obedient in sharing and let God deal with each person’s response.  If someone rejects our words of truth, then we are to keep sharing with others.  God will deal with the one who rejects Him.  For some reason not everyone will believe.  It’s imperative that we continue to share our good news until He comes back.  We must get used to sharing with anyone who will listen.

Have you been rejected by someone while sharing the good news, remember, it isn’t you they are rejecting, it’s Jesus.  Hold firm to what you believe and do not waiver in your faith.  Read the account of Joseph’s life in Genesis 37, 39~50.  Write about the many times he was rejected and yet he continued to share the good news, he kept his integrity and helped save not only the remnant of Abraham, but all the peoples around Egypt.

17:  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

To increase our faith we must hear the Word of God.  For others to increase their faith we must share the Word of God.  The Word of God is not a list of do’s and don’ts.   It is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).  It is so important that we understand how necessary the Word of God is in our individual lives; we cannot receive the Word of God on a once a week or bi-weekly basis, we will starve.  We have to develop a desire to be in the Word daily so we can receive our dosage of faith to continue on in our relationship with our Father.  The Word is active and living to grant us a deeper understanding of who our Father is.  The Word is powerful to bring down strongholds that are set up against us.  The Word is God, so if we want to know God we need to be in the Word.

Honestly how often do you read the Word?  This is a question between you and God.  It’s hard to start a new habit if you have never been a disciplined reader, but I guarantee if you set time aside daily to read your Word, you will gain a great deal of satisfaction and contentment in your life, with many more benefits of knowing God better.

18:  But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world (Psalm 19:4).

There will be a time when all will hear.  The trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will go first and then we which remain will be caught up with them in the sky and we will forever be with the Lord!  Until that time, we must share the good news of the gospel of Christ!

Consistent sharing is important.  Does that mean you have to be talking all the time?  No.  You can share the gospel by your good deeds.  Why not do something today that shows the love of Jesus without word.

19:  But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you (Deut. 32:21).

How did Israel miss the Messiah?  Paul goes right back to his opening statements.  He really does love His Jewish brothers.  Then Paul rests in the scriptures.  In Deuteronomy, Moses foretells that the Jews would be jealous of us, we would provoke them to anger because we believed in Him whom they rejected.  Paul looks to scripture throughout this chapter and sees the faithfulness of God’s Word.  Paul saw that the OT spoke of the Jewish nation missing out on the Messiah.  The scripture told Paul a new breed of people would become God’s family. Paul could rest in God’s Word to be true.

Is there something going on causing you to wrestle with the sovereignty of God?  Do you question some events in your life or wonder why people aren’t getting it?  Rest in the scriptures and know God is faithful to set all things in their place in the proper time (Ecc 8:5, 6).  Today put the things you do not understand into the loving hands of your Father and find the peace and joy He has for you.

20:  But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me (Isaiah 65:1).

Paul is now expressing the fact that God called us. We didn’t seek Him nor did we ask for Him.  He just pick us to be the objects of His affection so He might make the Jewish nation jealous, so they would come back to Him.  Does that mean God is using us to bring back His original choice?  Yes and aren’t we glad.  We were the objects of His affection; we receive the same inheritance as the Jewish nations and the same inheritance as Jesus, that ought to be good enough for us to be satisfied. He used a foolish nation to confound a self-thought wise nation.

God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27) .  Remember that next time you’re feeling foolish.  God sought you out and God made Himself transparent to you.  Many of the Jewish people today still do not believe.  Take time today to pray with the same passion as Paul for their salvation.

21:  But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people (Isaiah 65:2).

Ouch!  The Word hurts sometimes, but truth is truth.  We must accept the bruises the Word brings our way to make us better people. One day the Jewish remnant will believe, but for now many are disobedient and in it for what they can gain.

Where is the Word hurting you?  Conform to the Word so that your character can be a light to those around you.  Today be honest with yourself and allow the Word to hurt a bit.  Read 1 Corinthians 13.  Where are you at?  Don’t try harder; surrender more to the encounters of Jesus.  Be still and know He is Father God and He will supply to you all things.