Romans 10 and the Salvation of the Jewish People

Comments by Laurence Gonzaga

Romans 10

New King James Version

Israel Needs the Gospel

10 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for [a]Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness (A)that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of (B)God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own (C)righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For (D)Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

-- Paul hopes for all of the Israelites to be saved. They have zeal, presumably sincere, but don't have the knowledge. Why? Because they don't have the truth. Partial truth is not enough. They lack the knowledge of the new covenant. They think they can be saved by their righteousness of Law (Old Covenant) rather than the rightousness of Grace (New Covenant). Christ ends the Law, so that all who believe will become truly righteous.

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5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, (E)“The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, (F)“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, (G)“ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? (H)“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that (I)if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, (J)“Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For (K)there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for (L)the same Lord over all (M)is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For (N)“whoever calls (O)on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

-- The righteousness of Moses and the Law is by doing things and living by them. But the righteousness by faith is by mouth and heart. Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and was Resurrected, and you will be saved. Jesus is Lord of both Jew and Gentile, and all who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. But how do we understand this when we know it's more than just calling on the Name of Jesus that guarantees salvation. Matthew 7:21-23 : "21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

So, it can't be the case that it's just merely confessing with mouth and heart that Jesus is Lord and was Resurrected, but ALSO that the Christian does the will of the Father. Therefore, it's not FAITH ALONE, but FAITH and DOING God's will. Galatians 5:6 : "For (A)in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but (B)faith working through love." The kind of faith that saves is FAITH that WORKS by LOVE or CHARITY (Caritas = Love).

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Israel Rejects the Gospel

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 (P)without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

(Q)“How beautiful are the feet of those who [b]preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

-- This is a very important lesson here. It's critical for anyone who is ever tempted to leave the Catholic Church or refuse to join the Church. Paul teaches us that salvation comes from faith which is believing and calling on the Name of the Lord, but to hear, they need someone to preach, but for someone to preach, they need to be sent (APOSTELLO). Now, preachers are a dime a dozen. And they preach various contradictory doctrines, from the same Bible. God is not a God of confusion. So, you need to find the preachers who are sent with authority, the authority of Christ, otherwise, you can never be sure about the truth of your pastor's preaching. 1 Corinthians 3:4-6 : "4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but (A)ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 (B)I planted, (C)Apollos watered, (D)but God gave the increase." Find the Church that has been sent by Christ since the very beginning. Find the Church that Christ founded in Matthew 16:18 : "And I also say to you that (A)you are Peter, and (B)on this rock I will build My church, and (C)the gates of Hades shall not [a]prevail against it."

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16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, (R)“Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:

(S)“Their sound has gone out to all the earth,

And their words to the ends of the world.”

19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:

(T)“I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,

I will move you to anger by a (U)foolish nation.”

20 But Isaiah is very bold and says:

(V)“I was found by those who did not seek Me;

I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”

21 But to Israel he says:

(W)“All day long I have stretched out My hands

To a disobedient and contrary people.”

-- The other week I was talking to a group about the Jewish people. Many still consider the Jews the People of God. Indeed they WERE before the establishment of the New Covenant. But sadly, they lost their way and rejected Christ and still do, unless they convert to Christianity. We see it here in all of Romans 10. It is further testified here in Romans 11:22-24 : "22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, [a]goodness, (A)if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise (B)you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, (C)if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?" So what is this basically saying?

In SUMMARY, the Jews, formerly the People of God, once had the full truth under the Old Covenant. With the Advent of Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant, the rightousness of Law has been replaced with the rightousness of Grace through Christ. Salvation comes by Grace and not by Law. The Olive Tree of the True Faith remains to this day, in the Church that Christ Himself founded on the Rock of Peter, the Catholic Church, with the original Jewish branches who rejected Jesus cut off, and the wild Gentile branches grafted in by faith in Christ. The cut off branches can easily be grafted back in, as soon as they cease their unbelief, confess by mouth and heart that Jesus is Lord and Resurrected, as well as a life of FAITH WORKING IN LOVE doing the will of the Father.