ROMANS STUDY GUIDE

Christ Alone! Romans 10:1-21

Brief Comments Introducton: In , Paul explained that God had not failed the naton of . Highlightng individuals from their Jewish history, Paul proclaimed that God has sovereignly chosen/elected Israel to bring renewal to the world. God’s people were called to be a light to the Gentles and a naton of priests to mediate God’s presence to the natons.

It was Israel who failed—not God. Israel was not fulflling its destny.

Now writng in the middle of the frst-century to the church in Rome, the Jewish naton was in a precarious positon. had come, the gospel was being proclaimed, and many people (especially Gentles) were trustng Christ to save them from their sins. The majority of the Jews, however, rejected Jesus as the Messiah and were not believing in the truth of the gospel.

“How can we be saved?” This is the queston that Romans 10 is answering. Paul’s answer is “Christ alone.” Romans 10 may be outlined with three points: Christ alone is our righteousness (10:1-4), faith in Christ alone saves us (10:5-13), and Christ alone must be proclaimed (10:14-21).

Christ Alone is Our Righteousness (10:1-4) 10:1-4: Paul’s “desire and ” is for his people to “be saved.” (10:1; cf. 9:1-5) He longs for them to come to faith. Perhaps one can say that he’s “groaning” for their salvaton. Concerning our family members and friends who don’t know the Lord, Paul provides a good example to follow.

He can also relate to their spiritual conditon. Zeal and passion for God is important, but one must also have the proper “knowledge” of God’s righteousness (1:2; cf. Galatans 1:13-14; Philippians 3:4-11) One has to look no further than to the many faithful members of other religious traditons to fnd a parallel (zeal with wrong knowledge about Jesus and the gospel) for today.

In their atempt “to establish their own” righteousness by obedience to the law, Israel has failed to “submit to God’s righteousness”—a righteousness that can only be found in Christ (justfcaton: 3:21-3:31). “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness” (10:4) in two ways. First, Christ is the climax of the law (it points to and fnds ROMANS STUDY GUIDE fulflment in him: Galatans 3:23-25). Second, Christ has eliminated the role of the law for developing a right relatonship with God.

We cannot place our faith in our good works, ethics, or morality to save us. Our “righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” before God’s holiness ( 64:6) Christ alone is our righteousness. Jesus’ perfect righteousness is the only way to be declared righteous in God’s eyes.

Faith in Christ Alone Saves Us (10:5-13) 10:5-10: If one was to “live by” the law perfectly, then he or she could atain the righteousness necessary (perfect moral goodness) for being right with God. Although this is impossible because all of us have sinned (:23), the law stll has a purpose (refects God’s righteousness, restrains sin, and points to Christ).

In Romans 10:5 and 6, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30:12 (“Who will ascend into heaven?”) and 30:13 (“Who will descend into the abyss”). Paul is teaching that we don’t have to go to heaven to bring Jesus here nor do we need to go to the grave (abyss) to bring him here. Osborne notes that “human efort can no more produce the resurrecton that it can the incarnaton.” (269)

On the contrary, Jesus is right here. He is available and accessible. In Romans 10:8, Paul applies Deuteronomy 30:14 (“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”) to our present spiritual circumstance. Jesus is personal because we can speak about, proclaim, and confess him (mouth) and believe, trust, obey, and worship him (heart).

If our mouths confess “that Jesus is Lord” and our hearts “believe…that God raised him from the dead” then we “will be saved.” (10:9) Paul also notes that this leads to justfcaton and salvaton. Faith alone in Christ saves us from our sins.

10:11-13: In Romans 10:11, Paul quotes part of :16: “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” The verse in full (Isaiah 28:16) highlights a stone, a previous cornerstone (a picture of Christ as the key foundaton of a building structure: Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Peter 2:4-8) that was laid in Zion (full quote in Romans 9:33).

We will not be “put to shame” (Isaiah uses “haste”) because of the cornerstone’s security and strength. Or, to put a slightly diferent nuance: We will not be “put to haste” (to leave fast, abruptly) because of the cornerstone’s security and strength.

Concerning Jews and Gentles, Paul has already made the case that both are condemned for their sins (1:18- 3:20). There’s no diference for all have sinned (3:23) Likewise, both Jews and Greeks (used for Gentles) can be saved by calling “on the name of the Lord.” (10:13) ROMANS STUDY GUIDE

Our salvaton in Christ opens the door to join the elected/chosen spiritual community called the Church (10:13). Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). There is salvaton is no one else (Acts 4:12). It’s not faith in Christ + morality = salvaton. It’s faith in Christ alone = salvaton.

Christ Alone Must be Proclaimed (10:14-21) 10:14-15: The next two verses identfy the practcal steps of proclaiming the gospel of Christ alone (from the last to the frst) (10:14). So, we will reorder the steps accordingly. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?” (10:14)

Paul then cites a part of :7: “How beautful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” In its original context, the prophet Isaiah was celebratng Israel’s liberaton from Babylon. The exile was over. It must have been an amazing experience to receive such good news!

Paul applies this quote to highlight the signifcance of proclaiming the gospel of Christ alone. This point must be emphasized. Christans must share, proclaim, testfy, explain, defend, and live out the gospel in our lives and communites.

10:16-18: Our responsibility is to proclaim Christ alone saves. We need to be faithful to God’s call. Some will call upon the name of the Lord to be saved, but others will simply not be interested and perhaps outrightly reject the gospel The remaining verses in Romans 10 focus on the response of Israel (and us) to the proclamaton of the gospel.

In Romans 10:16, Paul cites :1: “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” Isaiah 53 should be interpreted through Messianic eyes. Prophetcally, it refers to the naton of Israel rejectng Jesus as the Messiah, but it also applies to anyone who hasn’t place their faith in Christ alone for their salvaton (10:16: “not ROMANS STUDY GUIDE all obeyed the gospel.”)

Again, Paul highlights the importance of faith and hearing the gospel (10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”) It’s imperatve that we proclaim Christ alone to others so that they will hear the gospel.

But perhaps Israel has not received a “fair chance” to respond to God’s truth? What about your family members and friends? Romans 10:18 addresses this concern (previously discussed in 1:18-20). Romans 10:18 is a quote from Psalm 19:4: “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” (The context of 19:1-6 is general revelaton of God through creaton and nature.)

Paul is making the point that Israel (and humanity as well) is without excuse because they received truth from God’s revelaton of creaton and nature (cf. :18-20).

10:19-21: In Romans 10:19, Paul cites Deuteronomy 32:21: “I will make you jealous of those who are not a naton; with a foolish naton I will make you angry.” In other words, God’s plan was to make Israel jealous and angry because the Gentles were coming to faith and experiencing the blessings of a spiritual community and salvaton.

Romans 10:20-21 is a quote from :1-2. With irony, Paul explains that the Gentles have found God— and they weren’t even seeking Him! (But God was seeking them.) God revealed Himself “to those who did not ask.”

And what about Israel? He patently waited (“all day long”) and ofered the blessings of a relatonship with Him (“held out my hands”) but they remained “disobedient and contrary people” (they were against God). It’s easy to read the last several verses of Romans 10 and place our focus solely on the naton of Israel. Although the historical context is addressing their spiritual conditon, it’s important to note that many of us are like Israel. We’ve grown up at church. We read our . Someone has proclaimed the message of Christ alone to us.

Like Israel, we are without excuse. Is it possible that you have missing out on the blessings of a spiritual community too? Is it possible that God has blessed others spiritually in order to provoke us to jealousy and anger?

Here’s another truth for you to consider. God has been patent with your family and friends (2 Peter 3:9). They don’t know Christ. Have you been sitng idly by while they have yet to consider the claims of the gospel? Christ alone must be proclaimed. We must proclaim the message of Christ alone. ROMANS STUDY GUIDE

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (10:14)

Refecton 1. How does Paul “critque” his people (Jews) in light of their pursuit of righteousness? (10:1-5) How does this principle universally apply today?

2. What is the role of faith in our salvaton? (10:6-8)

3. Read Romans 10:9-13. How does a person become “saved?”

4. What’s our role in God’s plan of salvaton? (10:14-17) Consider the signifcance of the fve steps (see chart in study notes).

5. How does understanding the historical context of 10:15 (quotng Isaiah 52:7; see study guide) encourage us?

6. What can we learn about sharing our faith, people rejectng the gospel message, and persevering in our evangelistc eforts? (10:18-21)

7. We need to proclaim Christ alone. During this week, reach out to a family member or friend (perhaps someone on your Fab Five list) and initate a spiritual conversaton. Trust God. Be bold. Ask God for wisdom. Have a friend pray for you. Share about this experience with others.