Sunday School Lesson
May 26
Lesson 13 (KJV)
Who Has Believed?
Devotional Reading: Deuteronomy 30:11–20
Background Scripture: Romans 10:1–21
Romans 10:1–17
1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
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.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
6 But 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:)
7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
8 But 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;
9 That 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.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
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.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 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?
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!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Key Text
That 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.—Romans 10:9
Examining Our Faith
Unit III: Standing in the Faith
Lessons 10–13
Lesson Aims
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
1. Identify the seven Old Testament passages that Paul quotes.
2. Summarize how those seven quotations undergird Paul’s argument.
3. State his or her personal responsibility in light of verses 14–15.
How to Say It
Gilgamesh Gil-guh-mesh.
Septuagint Sep-too-ih-jent.
Torah (Hebrew) Tor-uh.
Introduction
A. Life Is a Gigantic Prayer
Preaching that does not come out of love for the people being addressed ultimately does not benefit the listening crowd. The Catholic activist Dorothy Day once commented on preaching that, “If people will not listen, one can still love, one can still find Christ in them to love.” We need not strain ourselves in order to provide examples of leaders whose message sounded good but whose practice turned out to be destructive. In these instances, whatever good was done because of the beautiful words is largely undone because of the harm of the speaker’s actions. As with all Christian practice, preaching without love is worthless (see 1 Corinthians 13).
The same is true for prayer. We might think of preaching as a prayer shared with an audience. The speaker presents the good news in the hope and prayer that God will work in the hearts of those who hear. And, when we find ourselves unable to preach in words, our actions can still be a prayer that the people who interact with us will find themselves turning to God.
B. Lesson Context
Just how comprehensive is the good news of Jesus the Messiah? The entire book of Romans is concerned with this question. Romans 1–8 sets forth proof of the need and extent of God’s mercy available to those who trust Him with their lives. God has announced salvation for all who trust (see Romans 1:16–17). The gospel of grace has come to light for all. The extension of God’s offer of salvation to Gentiles does not exclude Jews. Chapters 9–11 advance the discussion in part by considering the fate of Israel. The depth of God’s love extends to Israel as well as the Gentiles (11:33–36).
Romans 10 reflects on Paul’s hope that the good news that Jesus is the Messiah and Lord will also come to his fellow Jews. God promised salvation to Israel, and God keeps promises at all times. Therefore, the promise of salvation must come to Israel. The hard division between Jews and Christians did not occur until several generations after Paul’s lifetime. Paul himself never used the word “Christians” in his writings, though it had begun to circulate within the church. He likely did not anticipate the centuries of hostility between the two groups or the habit of those thinking themselves to be Christians of insulting and even persecuting Jews. The hard division that Paul experienced and wrote about was between Jews (whether Christ-followers or not) and Gentiles (whether God-fearers or not). The gospel of reconciliation and peace in Christ reaches all, allowing God both to keep the ancient promises to Israel and to add the Gentiles to the faithful community.
I. Paul’s Prayer
(Romans 10:1–4)
A. Heart’s Desire (v. 1)
1. Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Praying for God’s salvation for Israel was probably habitual for Paul. His concern for his people—including family and friends—was reason enough to pray for the nation. The Scriptures he long had studied modeled praying for deliverance for Israel from its various foes (examples: Psalms 79; 85:4–7; 130:7–8). And there was an expectation, found particularly in the prophets’ writings, that the nation would be restored after suffering for their sins (Isaiah 40:1–2; 49:14–26; Jeremiah 30:10–11; Ezekiel 40–48; etc.). Paul’s prayers expanded to include that his people would turn to Christ and find eternal salvation in Him.
What Do You Think?
What group of people do you belong to that you long to see come to be saved?
Digging Deeper
How does your status in that group allow you to witness to the good news in ways that might be difficult for someone from “outside”?
B. Zeal Without Knowledge (vv. 2–3) 2. For I bear them record that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
This verse and the next summarize Paul’s understanding of the state of his Jewish contemporaries. Paul did not suggest that his fellow Jews were all pursuing evil ends, because that was clearly not true. Jews who did not follow Jesus still desired to follow God. But, Paul asserts, they misunderstood the trajectory of God’s work and how their own Scriptures pointed to Jesus as their Messiah (compare Luke 24:25–32). Paul does not dismiss zeal for God as insignificant; he knew from personal experience that misdirected zeal could be turned to God’s purposes (Acts 22:3–21; Galatians 1:13–14; Philippians 3:6). Still, his people’s zeal without knowledge of Christ prevented them from recognizing that God’s long-anticipated provision for deliverance of His people (and indeed all nations) had finally been revealed (compare Acts 2:17–36).
What Do You Think?
When have you experienced zeal without knowledge?
Digging Deeper
Is there an occasion when zeal without knowledge only needs time and experience rather than intervention? Explain.
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.
Paul has argued that God’s righteousness consists of extending salvation to all on the basis of trust in the work of Christ (Romans 4; see lesson 11). This verse echoes Romans 2:17–24, in which Paul criticized the attempt to make Jews out of Gentiles. Attempts to come to God on the basis of anything other than Christ, and especially on the basis of any human achievement, fail (compare Philippians 3:9). An approach to saving the Gentiles that tried to compel them to keep the Law of Moses (the Torah) neglected the deeper reality that the relationship to God always depends on faithful trust, not on the works themselves.
C. Christ and the Law (v. 4)
4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
The word translated end can have the sense of “the ultimate goal” in Greek, as it does here (compare Romans 6:22; 1 Timothy 1:5; 1 Peter 1:9). The coming of the Christ (the Hebrew Messiah) and His activity in revealing God’s salvation to all human beings was always the goal of the law. And the Law of Moses itself pointed Israel to the work of God, as opposed to the law’s existing for its own sake. Paul did not expect the abolition of Torah but the completion of God’s promises (compare Matthew 5:17–20). Those who trust God’s work through Jesus have fulfilled the Torah’s overarching objectives.
II. The Word of Salvation
(Romans 10:5–13)
A. Righteousness by Faith (vv. 5–8)
5. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
Here and in Galatians 3:12, Paul quoted Leviticus 18:5: The man which doeth those things shall live by them. Paul did not oppose Jews keeping the law, and he accepted the idea that its instructions can guide a person to a wiser, more faithful life (see Romans 2:25; compare Psalm 119; James 1:22; 2:10–13). In this way, Jews who kept the Torah in faith did live by them and could experience the limited righteousness of striving to accomplish God’s will.
6–7. But 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.) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Paul next quotes Deuteronomy 30:12–13: Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven?… Who shall descend into the deep? These verses are part of God’s promise that He would extend mercy to Israel after the nation experienced the consequences of breaking covenant and turned to Him in repentance and faith (see commentary on Romans 10:8, below).
Paul adds to these quotations two comments, the first being that is, to bring Christ down from above. This is characteristic of a typical Jewish style of reading. In this style, the reader-scholar supplemented the original text by connecting it to a larger doctrinal point. Here, Paul’s point is that Christ’s descent into the human world (Philippians 2:7–8) was God’s work, not that of striving human beings. Salvation, therefore, comes from God and not from humans. The second comment, to bring up Christ again from the dead, connects the ancient text to the core Christian story of Jesus’ resurrection (Mark 16:6–7; etc.).
8. But 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.
The quotation continues, this time from Deuteronomy 30:13. In Deuteronomy the word (in context, the Law of Moses) is nearby, entering into the heart of those who love God with all their “heart, … soul, … and … might” (6:5). The Lord asserted His laws are neither hard to understand nor difficult to carry out (30:14), though people’s experience showed that perfect adherence was not possible (example: Acts 15:10). This puts keeping the law into stark contrast with the heroics of mythic people like Gilgamesh, who needed to climb to Heaven or cross the ocean depths to please their supposed gods. Unlike mythical ancient heroes, ordinary people could not go to Heaven or survive in the waters, but they didn’t need to in order to keep the Torah. It was accessible—as long as it was written on their hearts and not just in a book (consider 4:29; compare Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 11:19).
The word of faith that comes to believers, both Jews and Gentiles, is the trustworthy message that Paul has been preaching. The end of the verse sets up the next several sentences.
What Do You Think?
How do you keep the Word in your mouth and in your heart?
Digging Deeper
How do you balance your efforts with the Spirit’s work in this regard?
B. Trust in God (vv. 9–10)
9. That 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.
Paul links the confession of faith from one’s mouth with the belief in one’s heart and thus to the commitments of the whole person (compare Deuteronomy 6:5; see commentary on Romans 10:8, above). To confess Jesus as Lord is a radical commitment. It was obviously so in the first century AD when the Roman emperors claimed to be sons of their gods, and many gods were worshipped as sovereign. The confession “Jesus is Lord” was almost certainly a part of early Christian worship; it was definitely a statement used to indicate one’s ultimate allegiance (see 1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:11). Anyone who can sincerely make that confession with their mouth and heart will see a changed life over time.
To believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead also means to trust that God has overcome the power of death itself (see Revelation 1:18). Salvation involves both the present and the future. We can understand being saved as a shorthand for the entire relationship that the redeemed person enjoys with God. The effects begin in our Spirit-led lives now and will culminate in everlasting life in Heaven.
This verse is sometimes interpreted as a description of the entry point into the Christian life. Yet Paul’s vision goes beyond beginnings. Confession of Christ’s lordship occurs daily, both in the face of opposition or hardship and in more peaceful times. It also involves witnesses (1 Timothy 6:12), making it a public commitment (Acts 19:18). The message of the gospel connects deeply to real lives, and those who hear it must internalize it and proclaim it.
What Do You Think?
What biblical examples come to mind of people who called on the Lord and were saved?
Digging Deeper
Do these examples suggest anything about the process of being saved? Why or why not?
10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The prior verse followed the sequence confess/believe in the order of Deuteronomy 30. But this verse follows a more intuitive order, with the commitments of the heart leading to the words of the mouth. (On the heart, see lesson 12 commentary on Romans 5:5.) When the heart and the mouth align in acknowledging the saving work of Christ, it becomes possible to experience both righteousness and salvation. Paul does not separate the realities of righteousness and salvation any more than he separates trust and confession (see 10:9, above). These all interconnect, each supporting the other.
The Language of Faith
I’ve taught all levels of Spanish as a second language. At higher levels, language acquisition assesses a person’s ability to use their new vocabulary based on several elements. Among them are writing, reading, and imagining things with words.
It’s always speaking that makes the difference in language learning. The ability to think in a second language is a form of high cognition because it’s internalized. But speaking words that sound foreign takes boldness and courage. After all, the change of just one letter can be comical or downright embarrassing.
Paul encourages us to confess with our mouths, making a bold, courageous step in our faith. Have you learned the language of faith? What are you keeping to yourself instead of boldly proclaiming? —O. P. C.
Faith Includes All (vv. 11–13)
11. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Paul quotes Isaiah 28:16 (also in Romans 9:33), which is part of a promise that God would rebuild Zion after its destruction. The quotation may not quite match how our English Bibles state Isaiah 28:16 because Paul is quoting from the ancient Greek version known as the Septuagint. Paul may have read that text metaphorically so that the promised “stone” laid in Zion became a reference to the Messiah (compare Acts 4:11), although Paul does not spell out this connection.
The Bible often conceives of shame as a social condition, visible to all, rather than an inner, more private emotion (examples: Psalms 35:26; 132:18; Isaiah 42:17). Paul understands trust in God as the opposite of public humiliation. At the final judgment, those who trust in Jesus for deliverance from sins shall not be ashamed because our hope of salvation will be fully realized.
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.
This verse returns to the thesis statement of the book in Romans 1:16–17. The theme of God’s richness also appears in 2 Corinthians 8:9, which describes the work of Christ in terms of the foregoing of wealth. The image in both texts is of a king who bestows goods on subjects whenever they need them. By calling Jesus Lord over all, the verse emphasizes His close relationship to the Father and the universal scope of His kingdom.
13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
This verse quotes Joel 2:32 (see also Acts 2:16–21), which is part of a passage about one instance of God’s rescuing Israel. Both Joel and Paul understand God as one who answers the sincere cries of people longing for help. Because Jesus is “Lord over all” (Romans 10:12), whosoever may call upon Him.
III. Preaching Leads to Faith
(Romans 10:14–17)
A. How Will They Hear? (vv. 14–15)
14–15a. 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? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?
How do people know to call on God? The answer becomes a sustained explanation of the nature and purpose of Christian preaching. The act of proclaiming the gospel ultimately comes from the God who sends out proclaimers, not from their own concerns or abilities. Paul always understood his own mission as following God’s leading (examples: Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1). Here, we see a logical progression: a preacher must be sent so that an audience can hear the gospel and come to faith.
15b. As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
The evidence Paul offers for God’s calling messengers to preach is a quotation of Isaiah 52:7. That text, in turn, is part of a long discussion of the glad tidings to ancient Israel: God was ending the suffering of the Babylonian exile. The exiled people would soon return home and rebuild the ruined cities, especially Jerusalem (examples: Ezra 6:13–18; Nehemiah 6:15). The people would experience a good life in their own land, complete with the healing of physical and social ills (see Isaiah 61:1–4).
An important characteristic of Christian preaching is the proclamation of peace between God and humanity. When one experiences reconciliation with the Lord, it becomes possible to be reconciled to other people as well. Christian teaching and preaching should, therefore, be filled with joy and hope because of the good things God wants to accomplish in us and through us.
What Do You Think?
What books of the Bible most heavily informed your faith? Explain.
Digging Deeper
What books of the Bible have influenced you least? What value might you anticipate from giving one of those books another look?
The Lawyer of Good News?
A few years ago, my aunt received a vague voicemail from a lawyer. Her first reaction was worry; why was this person reaching out? She had some ideas, none of them good. For this reason, my aunt decided to call the lawyer back, with her family in the same room for moral support.
To their collective amazement, the call was about some money she was inheriting. Her sister, whom she had not seen in decades, had passed. Because her sister had no other family, my aunt received the entire inheritance. When the call was finished, my aunt resolved to express her appreciation to the lawyer who had shared this unexpected news.
Messengers who bring good news are welcomed and appreciated because of what they carry, regardless of who they are. And regardless of who we are, Paul challenges us to carry out the beautiful job of telling others the gospel. How will you proclaim the glad tidings this week? —O. P.
B. Who Has Believed? (vv. 16–17)
16. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who that believed our report?
Paul quotes Isaiah 53:1, a text that is part of the prophetic reflection on the fact that people do not always listen to God’s Word (compare Isaiah 6:9–11; compare John 12:37–41). In its immediate context, Isaiah 53:1 continues the account of the Suffering Servant, noting the disbelief of many.
In spite of that disbelief, Paul’s job, and the job of all Christ-followers, is to keep celebrating the good news and to live lives that reflect our faith in Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 4). After all, we might plant the seed and water it, but God gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). Our responsibility is not the outcome but our faithfulness to report the gospel.
17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. There is a contrast between verses 16 and 17. Both draw on an idea from the Old Testament prophets regarding how their audience would react. Verse 16 emphasizes the negative side of unbelief, while verse 17 understands the power of the word to be so great that it leads people to trust God. Paul was confident that both Jews and Gentiles would learn to trust God once they understood the nature of the gospel.
Conclusion
A. Who May be Saved?
The offer of salvation comes through the preaching of the Word as one of hope and expectation. God is for us and wishes to be with us. When we trust the reliability of that offer, we can enter into a life of joyful hope, which the Bible calls salvation. That life begins now and extends into eternity.
In Romans 10, Paul speaks of those who cry out to God, confess Jesus as Lord, and so receive salvation. Like the prophets of Israel, who called on their people to turn from evil toward good, Paul makes a direct connection between the words that humans speak and God’s willingness to save. The words must be sincerely uttered, but the key actor in the drama of salvation is God. Preaching connects closely to prayer as we seek to conform our desires to God’s desires. It must be full of hope, inviting listeners to trust a gracious God.
This readiness to hear comes from God’s passionate love for the creation. In truth, God created the world originally out of love, and He sustains the creation out of the same love. In an environment of love, a needy humanity crying out for help receives a willing ear.
B. Prayer
O God who makes promises and keeps them over generations and long centuries, our prayer is for all people near and far to come to know Jesus. Send us! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
C. Thought to Remember
Confess and believe that Jesus is Lord!