Roman 10,1-15: Good news for everyone

437 good news for everyonePaul writes in Romans: “My dear brothers and sisters, what I pray for the Israelites with all my heart and pray for them is that they may be saved” (Romans 10,1 New Geneva translation).

But there was a problem: “For they do not lack zeal for God's cause; I can attest to that. What they lack is the right knowledge. They have not seen what God's righteousness is all about and are trying to stand up before God through their own righteousness. In doing so, they rebel against God's righteousness instead of submitting to it” (Romans 10,2-3 New Geneva translation).

The Israelites Paul knew wanted to be righteous before God with their own works (by keeping the law).

“For with Christ the end has been reached that the law is about: everyone who believes in him is declared righteous. The way to righteousness is the same for Jew and Gentile” (Romans 10,4 New Geneva translation). You cannot reach God's righteousness by improving yourself. God gives you justice.

We all lived under laws at times. When I was a boy, I lived under the laws of my mother. One of her rules was, after playing in the yard, taking off my shoes before I entered the apartment. I had to clean heavily soiled shoes with water on the porch.

Jesus cleanses the dirt

God is no different. He does not want the filth of our sins to be spread all over his house. The problem is, we have no way to clean ourselves and we can not come in until we are clean. God lets only those who are holy, sinless and pure into his dwelling. No one can achieve this purity by themselves.

That's why Jesus had to come out of his house to cleanse us. Only he could clean us up. If you are busy freeing yourself from your own filth, you can clean yourself until the last day, it will not be enough to enter the house. However, if you believe what Jesus says because he has already made you clean, you can enter God's house and sit at his table to eat.

The verses 5-15 in Romans 10 deal with the following fact: It is impossible to know God until sin is eliminated. The knowledge of God can not remove our sin.

At that point in Romans 10,5-8, quotes Paul 5. Genesis 30,11:12, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will go up into heaven? – as if one wanted to bring Christ down from there”. It is said that as human beings we can seek and find God. But the fact is, God comes to us and finds us.

The eternal Word of God has come to us as God and man, the Son of God, Jesus Christ of flesh and blood. We could not find him in heaven. He decided in his divine freedom to come down to us. Jesus saved us humans by washing away the filth of sin and opening the way for us to come into God's house.

This begs the question: Do you believe what God says? Do you think that Jesus found you and washed away your filth so you can now enter his house? If you do not believe that, you are outside of God's house and can not enter.

Paul speaks in Romans 10,9-13 NGÜ: “So if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one is declared righteous when one believes with the heart; one is saved by confessing "the faith" with the mouth. That is why the Scriptures say, "Everyone who trusts in him will be saved from destruction" (Isaiah 2 Cor8,16). It makes no difference whether a person is Jew or non-Jew: everyone has the same Lord, and he shares his riches with everyone who calls on him "in prayer". “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 3,5).

This is the reality: God redeemed his creation through Jesus Christ. He washed away our sins and made us clean through his sacrifice, without our help and request. If we believe in Jesus and confess that he is the Lord, we are already living in this reality.

Example of slavery

Am 1. On January 1863st, 19, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. That executive order said all slaves in all states in revolt against the US government are now free. News of this freedom did not reach the slaves of Galveston, Texas until June 186, 5. For two and a half years these slaves did not know of their freedom and only experienced the reality when soldiers of the US Army told them so.

Jesus is our Savior

Our confession does not save us, but Jesus is our Savior. We cannot oblige God to do anything for us. Our good works cannot make us sinless. It doesn't matter what kind of job it is. Whether it's obeying a rule - like keeping a day holy or avoiding alcohol - or whether it's the activity of saying, "I believe." Paul says it unequivocally: “Again, by the grace of God you have been saved, and it is because of faith. So you don't owe your salvation to yourselves; nay, it is God's gift" (Ephesians 2,8 New Geneva translation). Even faith is a gift from God!

God does not expect a confession

It helps to understand the difference between a contract and a confession. A contract is a legal agreement in which an exchange takes place. Each party is obliged to trade something for something else. If we have a contract with God, our commitment to Jesus will save us. But we can not commit God to act on our behalf. Grace is Christ, who decides in his divine freedom to come down to us.

In an open court, by confessing, a person admits that the facts exist. A criminal might say, "I admit to stealing the goods. He accepted the reality of his life. Likewise, a follower of Jesus says: “I admit I must be saved or Jesus saved me.

Called to freedom

What slaves 1865 needed in Texas was not a contract to buy their freedom. They had to know and confess that they were already free. Their freedom was already established. President Lincoln was able to free her, and he released her by his order. God had the right to save us and he saved us through the life of his son. What the slaves needed in Texas was to hear of their freedom to believe that it was true and to live accordingly. Slaves need someone to come and tell them that they are free.

This is Paul's message in Romans 10:14 NLT: "Now it is like this: one cannot call upon the Lord unless one believes in him. You can only believe in him if you have heard of him. One can only hear from him when there is someone who proclaims the message about him”.

Can you imagine what it was like for those slaves chopping cotton on that June day in the 40-degree heat of Texas and hearing the good news of their freedom? You experienced the most beautiful day of your life! In Romans 10,15 Paul quotes from Isaiah: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news" (Isaiah 52,7).

What is our role?

What is our role in God's plan of salvation? We are his messengers of joy and we carry the good news of freedom to those who have not yet heard of their freedom. We cannot save a single person. We are the messengers, the announcers of the good news and bring the good news: "Jesus has accomplished everything, you are free"!

The Israelites Paul knew heard the good news. They did not believe the words that Paul brought them. Do you believe in the liberation from your slavery and live in the new freedom?

by Jonathan Stepp


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