Present Standing Of Israel Series

(35) Present Standing of Israel

Romans 10:5-12

5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the Law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”

6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above)

7 or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

8 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 preach):

9 that 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, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

Introduction

It is so simple: Faith plus nothing equals righteousness. While the person seeking salvation through the Law would always be trying to keep the Law (10:5), the salvation which Christ offers is not in some unattainable place; it is as near as our hearts and mouths (10:6-12). Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (10:13). Paul had shown earlier that everyone is lost (1:18-3:20). Now he repeats the good news of 3:21-31: Everyone can be saved! The “anyone” of 10:13, echoes the “everyone” of John 3:16.

5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the Law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”

This is a quotation from [1]Leviticus 18:5 (see below). Literally, its meaning is “the man that hath done these things,” talking about everything a man has done in the past. For a person to become righteous by keeping the Law they must keep the whole Law for their entire life, since the failure to keep even one of God’s commands causes the person to fall below God’s standard, and to be condemned to death. Granted that you could attain righteousness by keeping the Law, but it would be your own righteousness, not God’s righteousness. It would never measure up to His (see [2]James 2:10). A Jew who is able to perfectly meet all the requirements of God would still not be saved. No one, except Christ, has ever been able to keep all the commands of God.

When Moses writes that the Jew who keeps the statutes and judgments of God shall live by them, he does not mean that a person will be given eternal life because of his obedience, or his works. Eternal life is a gift in both the Old and New Testaments and is never earned. Both Moses and Paul clearly understood and taught that obedience to the Law would never give a person a standing of righteousness before a holy God. But Christ by his life and death revealed the perfect righteousness of God, which was bestowed by the Father on the basis of faith in the Son. This was the goal to which the Law pointed.

The Law was given to people who were already sinners and who were already condemned to death. Even if they could keep the Law perfectly from that day forward, they still would be lost because God requires payment for those sins, which are past. Any hopes that men may have for obtaining righteousness by the Law are doomed to failure from the outset.

____________________________________verse 5 notes__________________________________________

[1]Leviticus 18:5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. The solemnity of this verse cannot be overemphasized. These are God’s Laws and they must be obeyed.

[2]James 2:10 Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all. The result of breaking even one commandment is that a person is as guilty as if he broke them all. "Guilty of breaking them all," contradicts salvation by works." Since all men are “guilty before God” (Rom 3:19), salvation necessarily is by grace through faith (Eph 3:8–9).

6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above)

In reference to Moses’ teaching concerning the righteousness, which comes from faith, the apostle quotes [3]Deuteronomy 30:12, 14 (see below). The quotation is used to show that the book of the Law (Deuteronomy) taught the very same principles of the Gospel concerning justification by faith. The Law taught men what to do and how to live. But the righteousness which is by faith teaches men to believe and live. The Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) clearly shows that the Law is to be written upon the hearts of men. It was not to be an external means of external justification. Unfortunately, the Jews mistakenly perverted the Law and were attempting to keep the Law outwardly without the right inward heart attitude.