A Brief Study in Romans 10
A Brief Study in Romans 10
When first I was asked to publish a study on Romans 10 verses 6-8, I was intimidated by the material the verses contained. Truth be told, I have found these verses curious for much of my life. Funny thing about curious verses from the Old that are quoted in the New; taking the time to travel back to the source and read them in context provides fascinating insights. I am blessed to have a friend who pastors a nearby church to thank for reminding me of this recently.
When studying specific verses, it is always important to read the text that surrounds them, so in this study, we will begin with Romans 10:4, 10-4?
Romans 10:4–11 (NASB 2020)
4 For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
OK, I’m sorry, but I really cannot continue from here without saying at least something about this glorious verse.
Did you catch it? Jesus is the end of the Old Testament Law of Moses. This is true, according to this verse, for everyone who believes. It is this stipulation that gives greater depth to 1 Timothy 1:8–9 which reads, “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and worldly…” and so on. (NASB 2020)
You, saint, are a believer. That means Jesus is the end of the law for you. You don’t need it. Jesus fulfilled it and now, safely tucked in Him, so have you, according to Romans 8:4. Now, He is working in you to desire and do godly things, and at the same time, He is teaching you to deny ungodliness. You can learn more about that in Philippians 2:13 and Titus 2:11-12.
This little detour is not actually a detour at all. As you will see as this study progresses, Jesus and His relationship to the Law defines your relationship to the Law and your relationship to God.
Let’s begin at Romans 10:5 “For Moses writes of the righteousness that is based on the Law, that the person who performs them will live by them.”
This is a quote from Leviticus 18:4–5 “You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the LORD your God. So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them; I am the LORD.” (NASB 2020)
Under the Old Covenant, the Hebrew people agreed to keep God’s laws as codified in the Torah. This included the Ten Commandments, written on stone tablets, and the 603 other laws, commandments, and ordinances of the Law of God given to the people by Moses. God says that if they obey all that, they will live.
We know that the Law is an impossible standard. Jesus made that clear in the Sermon on the Mount with His declarations about cutting off hands and gouging out eyes and being perfect like God. Since God knew that no one could meet the righteous requirement of the Law because for us it is impossible, God must be alluding to something else. Let’s carry on in Romans 10 and see if we can figure it out.
Romans 10:6-11 “But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL GO UP INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down),
or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.”
The New American Standard Bible puts Old Testament quotes found in the New Testament in ALL CAPS. The three small quotes in verses 6-8 are taken from a passage in Deuteronomy 30. Here is that text.
Deuteronomy 30:6–14 (NASB 2020)
6 “Moreover, the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live.”
Here in verse 6 of Deuteronomy 30, God says something that we hear about again in the New Testament—circumcision of the heart. We find this in Romans 2:29, “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God.” (NASB 2020) This idea is also communicated in Colossians 2:11 where Paul wrote, “and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” (NASB 2020)
While God is talking to Jews under the Law in Deuteronomy, He is referring in a shadow to the reality that is later fulfilled in Jesus.
Deuteronomy 30:7-8 “And the LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you will again obey the LORD, and follow all His commandments which I am commanding you today.”
These enemies who hate God’s people are those who have rejected God. Father goes on to say that His people will obey Him and follow His commandments. Notice that He gives no indication that this is something they will instigate. He simply states it as a fact.
We have already talked about the fact that no one can possibly keep the law because it requires perfection, so how is it going to be possible that His people will obey? Holding that question in mind, lets finish the passage from which the quote in Romans 10 is taken.
Deuteronomy 30:9-12 “Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in every work of your hand, in the children of your womb, the offspring of your cattle, and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. “For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away. It is not in heaven, that you could say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you could say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may follow it.” (NASB 2020)
Earlier in this study, I mentioned Romans 8:4, which reads, “so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (NASB 2020) This is key to understanding what’s going on in Romans 10 and in Deuteronomy 30.
Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God, and Romans 14:23 tells us that whatever is not of faith is sin. When Jesus told the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-25 what it would take for him to gain eternal life, the requirements were so stringent that, “When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them, Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:25–26 (NASB 2020)
Salvation is possible only for God. No person can save themself.
Now lets read Romans 10:6-11 again.
“But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL GO UP INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.”
This final OT quote is from Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, A precious cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. The one who believes in it will not be disturbed.”
With this background we can understand what Paul is saying. He is interpreting Deuteronomy 30 and explaining that it is speaking of faith in God as the only way to meet the righteous requirement of the Law. He brings to bear another Old Testament passage that points to Jesus very clearly. This seals the deal with regard to how people can be made righteous. It is faith in Jesus Christ, the precious cornerstone and foundation of the Church.
It is precisely this faith for which Jesus recognized Peter in Matthew 16:15–18 “He said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” (NASB 2020)
This passage in Romans 10 makes it clear that just as the Hebrew people of God did not need to send someone to heaven or into the abyss to get their savior, neither do we today. It isn’t necessary because the Word is near us, in our mouth, and in our heart.
It’s all about Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the fulfillment of the Law who fills all in all. It is He who lives in us and in whom we live and move and exist.
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NASB 2020)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.” John 1:1–4 (NASB 2020)
