Romans 10 is a climax in the book of Romans. The apostle has already explained that salvation is by grace through faith and that everyone in the world needs it. Because faith is necessary, the message of the gospel is important: People need to hear the message so they can believe it. This chapter is important to the purpose of the book because the whole book gives the basis of missionary work.
Romans 11 deals with the relationship between Israel and the church. Most Jews rejected the gospel. Paul explained that God’s plan was for the whole world and that Jews could also be saved. Israel as a whole will someday accept Christ.
Righteousness must be found by faith, and the necessity of faith makes the gospel message urgently important.
Summary of Chapter 10
It is a mistake to try to achieve justification through personal righteousness. The righteousness God accepts from man, he first gives to man in response to faith. The gospel message provides an opportunity for faith.
► A student should read Romans 10 for the group.
Notes Verse-by-Verse
(10:1-5) The Jews still needed to be saved because they did not understand what righteousness they needed. They tried to justify themselves by establishing a perfect record of personal righteousness, not realizing that it was impossible. The righteousness that God accepts is that which he works in a person in response to the believer's faith.
The purpose of the law is to bring us to Christ by condemning sin and showing the need for a Savior. When a person comes to Christ, the law is no longer the basis of his acceptance with God, so Christ is the end of that use of the law (10:4). That does not mean that the law no longer shows us how to obey God, but that our acceptance by God does not depend on our having a perfect, lifelong record of obedience.
The theory that people who lived before Christ came were saved by works is thoroughly refuted by this passage. Paul states clearly that those who tried to establish their own righteousness by works were misguided and lost. They should have believed the gospel truth that Paul quoted in 10:6-8 from Deuteronomy.[1]
(10:6-11) This is a quotation of Deuteronomy 30:11-14. Moses told the Israelites that keeping the commandments of God did not depend on some heroic or superhuman effort, such as ascending to heaven or crossing the sea. Instead, it would be accomplished in them by God through their faith.
Paul adapted the statement to refer to the feats of ascending to heaven or into the earth and showed that Christ has fulfilled all that is necessary.
Salvation by grace is so near that it is in our hearts and mouths. This means that we receive it by faith (in our hearts) and confession (with our mouths).
(10:12-13) Here is another emphasis that the same means of salvation is available to every person. Jesus is Lord over all, and any person anywhere in the world can call to him.
(10:14-15, 17) This is a call for missionary work. The missionary’s message is urgent—since people are saved by faith, they need to hear the message so they can believe. These verses are central to the purpose of the book.
Paul expresses great passion for missionary work and describes the tragedy of those who have not heard the gospel. They can be saved by believing; but how can they believe unless they hear, and how will they hear unless a missionary goes?
► Paul spoke of the need to send missionaries, which means to help equip and support them. What should you be doing to help send the gospel to people who are not near you?
(10:16, 18-21) Inserted into the missionary call is the reminder that not all will respond. People are not saved by the gospel information alone. The Gentiles had some knowledge by General Revelation (discussed in 1:18-20), but that did not save them since they rejected it (10:18 is a quote from Psalm 19:4). Israel had much more revelation, yet even they were not saved simply by having it. Isaiah predicted Israel's rejection of the Messiah (Isaiah 53:1, 3).
The apostle responds to objections. First, about the Gentiles, someone might say, “But do they really not know?” Paul answers, “Yes, knowledge of God is everywhere,” as he described in 1:20. Then, the objector asks about the Jews: “Did Israel not know?” He answers that God continually reached out to the Israelites, but they refused to obey. The objector is doubting the effectiveness of the gospel message because many heard it and were not saved.
Paul explained that most Israelites did not respond with faith.[3] People are not saved by the message unless they respond.
Preaching does not save the person who refuses – God’s grace is not irresistible. However, it offers the opportunity of salvation. Though everyone knows something about God, the gospel comes with greater light and with the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.
[2] See the section in Lesson 4 entitled “Grace in the Old Testament.”
[3] “Paul’s evangelism, his letters suggest, has two great motivations: a sense of obligation derived from what God has done for him and commissioned him to do for others, and a desire that God will be glorified by as great a number of people as possible. We are to imitate Paul by extending God’s grace in the gospel just as he did.”
- Douglas J. Moo, Romans
Passage Study – Romans Part 5, Passage 3
Main Point of Chapter 11
Nobody can be saved without accepting salvation on God’s terms.
Summary of Chapter 11
Israel in general was not saved because they refused to be saved God’s way. Many Gentiles were being saved, but any who fall from faith lose salvation. Jews could be saved if they chose, and Israel as a whole will someday accept the gospel. God will keep the promises he made to their ancestors.
► A student should read Romans 11:1-15 for the group.
Notes Verse-by-Verse
(11:1) The question is, “Has God rejected the Jews?” Paul answers, “No, I also am a Jew.” Some Jews were saved.
(11:2-5) Those whom God foreknew are not rejected. Of course, God foreknew everyone in the sense that he is omniscient, but those whom he foreknew in the sense of this verse cannot be everyone because the verse is talking about specific people of Israel. The verse refers to those whom God knew would respond to his grace.[1] Paul provides an example of people whom God foreknew in this sense and accepted – the 7,000 who did not bow to Baal.
The remnant who are chosen by God (11:5) were not chosen arbitrarily or randomly. They are the people that God knew would believe in him.
(11:6) Works and grace always go together in the Christian life, but they completely exclude each other as a basis for salvation. They cannot be added together as a basis for our acceptance by God, as some false religions teach.
(11:7-10) 11:8, which is a quote from Isaiah 29:10, shows that the insincerity of the people made them spiritually blind. Their hearts became hard because they continued to reject truth. Isaiah 6:9-10 also says that people become blind when they continue to hear and reject the offer of mercy. These verses in Romans do not mean that God refused to offer mercy to some people. David's curse (Psalm 69:22, 23), which Paul quoted in Romans 11:9-10, was not that repenting people would be rejected, but that wicked people would be punished.
(11:11) Has God allowed them to fall beyond all hope? No. Israel's rejection of Christ resulted in his crucifixion, which was God's means of salvation. In this sense, their rejection resulted in the acceptance of the Gentiles. When the Jews see Gentiles getting saved, they will understand that they could be saved the same way.
(11:12-15) The Gentiles will be benefited even more if Israel returns to God. It is not necessary for God to choose between Jews and Gentiles. He wants to save all.
► Some theologians believe that because God chose not to save some people, he withheld his grace from them, making it impossible for them to be saved. How would you answer that idea from 11:12-15?
► A student should read Romans 11:16-24 for the group.
(11:16-24) These verses use the illustration of the practice of taking branches from a tree and putting them on another tree. Israel was like branches broken off from God’s tree, and Gentiles were branches added in. The Jews were broken off because of their unbelief. Anyone who has been brought in will also be broken off if he does not continue in faith. Those already broken off can be restored.
Paul did not say that God decides who will be on the tree and that His decision is unchangeable. He said that God takes off those who are unbelievers, but they will be added again if they believe. Believing Gentiles are added, but they will be broken off if they fall into unbelief. God responds to man's choices.
► From these verses, how would you explain the illustration of branches being added or removed?
It is important to understand what the Bible teaches about the security of the believer. The Bible has many serious warnings for believers.
In John 15:2-10 is the famous metaphor of the vine and branches. It answers some important questions.
How do we abide in Christ? “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love” (15:10). To stop abiding in Christ would mean that a person stopped obeying him. What happens then?
“If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (15:6). If a person stops obeying, and thereby stops abiding in Christ, he is rejected. The illustration of branches falling off the vine and being gathered for the fire shows the most complete rejection that we can imagine.
“Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me” (15:4). “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away” (15:2). To bear fruit is to live a life that is changed, blessed, and guided by the grace of God. If we don't abide in Christ by obedience, we can't bear fruit. The person not bearing fruit is rejected.
The Bible nowhere tells us that we will possess salvation no matter what we do. Continual grace for Christian living comes through our relationship with God through Christ. Christ is like a vine from which we must continually draw life. The metaphor of the vine shows that the gift of salvation is possessed by means of relationship. To be separated from him is to be separated from salvation. We maintain this saving relationship by obeying God.
A modern illustration could be a light bulb and electricity. The bulb has light while the power of electricity is flowing into it. The bulb cannot keep its light if it is detached from its power source. Likewise, we have eternal life by our relationship with Christ. His life flows into us. We do not retain that life if we disconnect from him.
Scripture warns us that a person once saved can lose salvation by being ultimately defeated by sin. “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life” (Revelation 3:5). These were saved people, yet their salvation would be lost if they were overcome by sin.
At one time, Paul was worried that his converts in Thessalonica might have given up their faith. He said that if that had happened, his labor of evangelizing them would be wasted (1 Thessalonians 3:5). This shows that it is possible for a believer to fall from his faith so completely that his original conversion is worthless.
In 2 Peter 2:18-21 we find that there are false teachers who deceive some believers who have “escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” These former believers had known the way of righteousness but left it. This text says that they would have been better off never to have known the way than to return to a sinful lifestyle. This shows that it is possible for a person to lose his salvation by going back into sin. If it were not possible for a person to lose his salvation, a person could never be worse off than before he was saved.
God does want believers to feel secure, but not by basing their feelings on a false assurance that makes them put themselves in real spiritual danger. We must not promise believers something God has not promised. He does not promise that we will be safe from losing our salvation no matter what we do.
God promises to be with us, guide us, and empower us to live in victory over sin. He promises that we receive spiritual life from our relationship with him. The believer can live without fear in God’s promise of continual grace that the believer receives in relationship with God.
Passage Study – Romans Part 5, Passage 3
Notes Verse-by-Verse continued
(11:25-29) Israel as a nation (all Israel) will be saved. That does not mean that every individual Jew will be saved, but at some future time the remnant of the nation will turn to God. The fullness of the Gentiles is mentioned in Luke 21:24. (Other information about Israel's salvation as a nation is in Isaiah 2:2-5, Isaiah 60:1-22; Zechariah 12:7-13:9.)
(11:30-31) See the note on 11:11.
(11:32) God has categorized them (grouped them) all as unbelievers in the same condition. God has condemned all and pronounced sentence on them, so that all are equally candidates for mercy. The term all is used twice in this verse. Just as all are sinners, God wants to have mercy on all. Just as he condemned all, he offered mercy to all.
All people are put into the same category so that they can receive the same salvation. (See 3:19-23.) The point is that he has put all under condemnation so that He can offer mercy to all the same way.
(11:33-36) These verses are an exclamation of praise for the wisdom of God. The great salvation plan is above what our imagination could have devised. We must accept it the way he wants to give it, for he owes us nothing (11:35). Some are offended by God’s plan of salvation, as if it is a rock of stumbling; but it is the foundational rock of mercy.
Dispensationalism Versus Covenant Theology
Theologians have tried to understand the relationship between Israel and the church.
Questions include these: Were people in the Old Testament saved a different way from the people of the New Testament? Do God’s promises to Israel apply to the church also? Is Israel still special in God’s plan?
One explanation of the relationship between Israel and the church has been called “dispensationalism.” Other theologians have disagreed with dispensationalism and have developed an explanation that has sometimes been called “covenant theology.”
Dispensationalism
The term dispensation comes from the concept that there are different periods of human history where God deals differently with people, providing salvation through different means. A period of time when God uses a specific plan of salvation is called a dispensation.
Some dispensationalists divided human history into many dispensations. The two periods that most affect biblical interpretation are based on a distinction between Israel and the church. These theologians believe that Old Testament Israelites were saved by following the law of Moses and system of sacrifices; and that New Testament believers are saved by grace through faith. The church is completely distinct from Israel, and God deals with them differently.
Although there are many variations of dispensational theology, a typical version of dispensationalism teaches that all of God’s promises to Israel about land and the kingdom will be literally fulfilled.
Dispensationalists think that both plans could not go on simultaneously on earth; therefore, they believe that the church will be removed from the earth for a period of seven years. During that time Israel will accept Jesus as their Messiah. After that period will be a period of 1,000 years when Jesus will rule in Jerusalem.
Dispensationalists make the Old Testament less useful for Christians because they believe it was addressed to Israel under a different dispensation. They use the stories of the Old Testament to illustrate truths, but they often reject doctrinal proof from the Old Testament and try to follow only the New Testament.
Many people who do not know the term dispensationalism have been influenced by its ideas. Often people refuse to accept the authority of the Old Testament, though the New Testament writers obviously considered it to be their authority.
Covenant Theology
According to covenant theology, the people of God are those who love and serve him, whatever historical period they live in. The people who are saved, whether in Old Testament or New Testament times, are the people who repent and trust God for salvation.
The church is now the people of God and receives the promises given to the people of God, including the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament. The nation of Israel has no special importance now.
"For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God (Romans 2:28-29)."
"Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'In you shall all the nations be blessed.' So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:7-9)."
"So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:14)."
"There is neither Jew nor Greek… And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:28-29)."
According to covenant theology, these promises will be fulfilled for the church instead of Israel:
The throne of Christ established in Jerusalem
Peace
Israel as leader of the world
All nations being taught by Israel
Eternal possession of the promised land, and tameness of wild animals.
The promises all are interpreted to have spiritual meaning, instead of literal meaning. These promises must all be fulfilled by spiritual benefits in order to be fulfilled in the church.
Most people who believe covenant theology do not believe in a literal rule of Christ on the earth for a 1,000-year period. They believe that Christ and the saints rule now spiritually, through the influence of the gospel. They believe that the promise to Abraham that his descendants would possess Canaan forever is fulfilled by present believers possessing salvation.
According to covenant theology, there is no present significance to the nation of Israel now, because they rejected Christ. Jews can be part of the people of God by receiving individual salvation, just like any Gentile.
An Alternative View
Many theologians today have tried to come to a scriptural balance between dispensationalism and covenant theology.
There are problems with dispensationalism. The Apostle Paul told Timothy that the scriptures (the Old Testament) taught salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). Jesus said that Nicodemus should already know about the new birth because he was a teacher of the Old Testament (John 3:10). The New Testament says that a believer is now the true Israelite and child of Abraham (Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 3:28-29). It also says that the Old Testament sacrifices did not take away sin (Hebrews 10:4). These scriptures show that God has not provided different ways of salvation in different periods of history.
There are also problems with covenant theology. To say that the Old Testament promises are fulfilled spiritually is to allow interpretations that cannot be evaluated. Also, this interpretation loses the original meaning. It would have been impossible for Abraham or others to understand the promises, even though they thought they did. For example, God promised Abraham that his children would possess certain land forever; can that really mean that Gentiles will be saved?
Covenant theology denies that Israel is still significant in God’s plan, but the Apostle Paul said that Israel as a nation would someday be saved (Romans 11:26).
A balanced view of Israel and the church will include an understanding of the various promises in the Old Testament.
Promises of salvation. Salvation is by grace and is obtained by repentance and faith by Jew and Gentile in any period of history. The basis of God's acceptance of an individual was always the same (Romans 4:3, Ephesians 2:8). There is no need for Israel and the church to have separate turns on the earth because the plan of salvation is the same for both.
Promises of God’s care for his people. Many promises describe God’s usual way of taking care of his people, with whomever is in obedient relationship with him. An example is Psalm 23. These promises show the nature of God revealed in relationship. These principles have applications in any time and place, with Israel or the church.
Promises to Israel as a nation. Jesus was the Messiah of the Jews. Someday Israel as a nation will turn to Christ (Romans 11:26). Promises that God made to Israel as a nation will be literally fulfilled for the remnant of believing Jews.
► What statements in the alternative view match dispensationalism, and which statements differ from it? What statements match covenant theology and which ones differ?
Lesson 10 Review Questions
(1) What is the main point of Romans 10?
(2) How did the Jews try to justify themselves?
(3) How do we know that people who lived before Christ came were not saved by works?
(4) What does it mean that salvation is in our hearts and mouths?
(5) Why is the missionary’s message urgent?
(6) Explain the illustration of tree branches in Romans 11.
(7) List three kinds of promises in the Old Testament.
Lesson 10 Assignments
(1) Write a page explaining why the Old Testament is important for Christians today. Give examples of Old Testament scriptures that are especially valuable.
(2) Remember to report on conversations with at least two members from other churches.
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