Romans 10:1-21
Romans 10:1-4:
10:1Brothers, indeed the good-consideration of
my heart and the supplication towards God on behalf of them
(is) into salvation, .2for I bear them witness
that they have a zeal of God but not according to
full-knowledge, .3for unknowing the righteousness of God
and seeking-after to cause (their) own righteousness
to-stand, they were not subjected to the righteousness of God –
.4for Christ (is the) completion of law into
righteousness to every-person believing.
Brothers (Paul and all the holy-people in Rome to
whom he was writing were brothers in the holy spirit category; they were
all children of God; refer to Romans 1:13, 7:1 and 4, 8:12), indeed…
- the
good-consideration of my heart (the word "heart" literally means:
the organ that keeps the fleshy body alive by circulating the blood; but
figuratively it means: the center or core of a person's being, the seat
of his whole personal self and life – the willing-purpose with
good-design of emphatically my heart, that-which I suppose to be well in
the center/core of my being)
- and
the supplication towards God (the specific communication of prayer,
beseeching God regarding a lack and thus having a need in this
particular situation, making known the needful request towards God)
- on
behalf of them (on Israel’s behalf, in the interests of the genealogical
descendants of Jacob/Israel; refer to Genesis 32:27, 28 and 35:10)
- is
into salvation (with a view to, directed to safety, the standing and
state of being saved, made-safe to God from sins and their consequences,
from destruction),
…for I bear them witness (I attest with information that I personally
have about them and therefore I state with authority regarding them)
that…
- they
have a zeal of God (a boiling or vehement passion pertaining to God)
- but
contrary to the correct zeal, their zeal of God is not in
accordance (conformity and proportion) to/with full, clear and exact
personal knowledge pertaining to God,
- for
unknowing the righteousness of God (while they are being ignorant of the
justness issuing from God, they are not being aware of God’s justice,
the attributes of justification, the quality of being and doing what is
just/right from God's point of view)
- and
seeking-after to cause their own righteousness to stand (while they were
looking to set the justness issuing from themselves in place, as though
they could make it acceptable to God instead of the righteousness that
He was making available to them),
- they
were not subjected to (they were not made or caused to be in subjection
to, submissive to, in submission, arranged in the position of being
underneath, under the authority of)
- the
righteousness of God (God’s justness) –
…in truth, Christ is the completion of law (the law’s complete-thing, not
its vanishing or ceasing to exist but bringing it into its perfect
state, its ending-issue – Christ is the fulfillment of law)
- into
righteousness (with a view to, directed to, and resulting-in justness,
justice, the attributes of justification, the quality of being and doing
what is just/right from God's point of view)
- to/for every person believing (all who are having faith, trusting; refer to
verse 9 below).
The law was given by God to Moses so that God's people would know,
believe, and look to the coming of the Christ, the promised seed, the
savior, the redeemer. When Christ came he did not destroy the law of
Moses, but he was its completion – he completed it, he finished it, he
brought it to its goal, its conclusion. The resurrected Christ is the
completion of law into righteousness to every-person believing; but any
person who does not believe regarding the Lord Jesus Christ during the
present time cannot become righteous before God, in His presence.
[Reference: Matthew 5:17 and 18; Luke 18:9-14; John 1:17; Acts 13:38 and
39, 22:3; Romans 1:16, 3:20-25, 5:17 and 21, 8:4 and 10; I Corinthians
1:30; II Corinthians 3:13-17, 5:21; Galatians 1:14, 2:16 and 21,
3:21-29; Ephesians 4:13-18; Philippians 1:11, 3:4-9; II Peter 1:1.]
Verse 5:
.5For Moses writes (regarding) the
righteousness, the (righteousness) from the
law, that "The man having done them will
live in them."
Moses writes concerning the righteousness
(justness), emphatically and specifically the righteousness originating
out from the law, that…
- "The
man having done them (the human-being who has performed the things
stipulated by the law of Moses)
- will live in them (he will be alive, have life, live his life within the
sphere of action of the things contained in that law)."
Paul again references information that God had revealed to Moses and
which was written down for God’s people. Let us look in the Book of
Leviticus where God spoke to Moses regarding this (also referenced in
Nehemiah 9:29 and Galatians 3:12).
Leviticus 18:1-5:
And the Lord spake unto
Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto
them, I am the Lord your God.
After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye
dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan,
whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their
ordinances.
Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances,
to walk therein: I am the Lord your God.
Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my
judgments: which if a man do, he shall
live in them: I am the Lord.
Paul is making it clear that righteousness from law is obtained only by
merit on the part of each individual.
God's people who lived during the old covenant times (which includes the
time when Jesus Christ physically-lived on earth carrying out God's plan
of redemption and salvation) were to live their lives believing and
obeying God's words to them. This allowed them to live their everyday
lives in fellowship with God. For those people who honestly endeavored
to believe and obey, even though they may have made mistakes from
time-to-time, they will in the future be resurrected from the dead and
judged according to their works and they will receive their new
spiritual bodies. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only human-being who
fully and completely believed and did all the things that God required
of man to do in accordance with that law of Moses.
[Reference: Romans 2:12-16, 7:1; Galatians 3:12 and 24; Philippians 3:9.
For further information regarding resurrection, you may read my studies
on I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, and
chapter 15 of I Corinthians; plus Revelation chapter 20.]
Moses also spoke concerning the righteousness that originates from
belief:
Romans 10:6-10:
.6But the righteousness from belief thus
says, "Let you not say in your
heart, 'Who will ascend into the heaven?'" –
this is to lead Christ down, .7or, “Who will
descend into the abyss?” – this is to
lead Christ up out-from dead-people; .8but what
does it say? "The spoken-matter is near you, in your
mouth and in your heart."
This is the spoken-matter of the belief which we
herald-forth .9that if-ever you may
express-agreement in your mouth (regarding the) Lord
Jesus Christ and you may believe in your heart that
God raised him up out-from dead-people you will be saved;
.10for in (the) heart it is believed into
righteousness and in (the) mouth agreement-is-expressed into
salvation.
The righteousness from belief (the justness out-from
or originating-from the information that God makes known to people to
have confidence-in, to believe, to have faith-in, to trust with assured
certainty and surety) lays out a collection of words to communicate the
substance or content in this manner:
- "Let
you (singular, individual) not say in your heart (this is a
polite command or a very strong suggestion advising each person not to
say the following within the center/core of his being),
- 'Who
will ascend into the heaven (who will mount, go-up into God’s
location)?'" –
- today this is/represents someone saying in his heart, “Who will lead Christ
down?” (in other words: you do not believe what God has already given
you to believe which is that Christ has already come; you claim that God
has hidden him from you and therefore you want to go-up yourself or send
somebody else up, or maybe get a committee together to go-up into heaven
to bring Christ down by your own work and hear him and then you would
believe and do what God says – as though God did not send the Christ and
tell you),
- or,
- “Who
will descend into the abyss (go-down into that place which does not have
a bottom to it, very far away)?” –
- today this is/represents someone saying in his heart, “Who will lead Christ up
out-from dead-people?” (in other words: you do not believe what God has
already given you to believe which is that God has already brought him
up from among the rest of the dead-people; you claim that God has hidden
him from you and therefore you want to raise Christ up yourself or send
somebody else down, or maybe get a committee together to go-down into
gravedom to bring Christ up by your own work
and hear him and then you would believe and do what God says – as though
God did not resurrect the Christ and tell you);
…but contrary to those two questions – what does the righteousness
from belief say via Moses’ writings?
- "The
spoken-matter is near you (the portion of God’s Word containing the
specific discourse on this subject is presently and actively close to
each individual of you – it has already been revealed by God to you),
specifically it is…
- in
your mouth (within the sphere of action of your mouth, you can speak it,
openly express it)
- and in your heart (within the sphere of action of the center/core of your
being, you can believe it)."
Moses recorded this as part of the old covenant writings applicable to
God’s people at that time regarding the information that God spoke to
His people and they heard it.
Deuteronomy 29:29:
The secret things belong unto the Lord our
God: but those things which are revealed belong unto
us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of
this law.
The things that God has not revealed to anyone are secret and are not
known by anyone; but those things that God has revealed are not secret
anymore and so they also belong to the people to whom He has revealed
them. Deuteronomy chapter 30 shows us that God continued to reveal
information to Moses and to the children of Israel, which included what
He asked them to do and what they would gain from believing and doing
what God said.
Deuteronomy 30:10-20:
If thou shalt hearken
unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his
statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if
thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul.
For this commandment which I command thee this day,
it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
It is not in heaven, that thou
shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to
heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou
shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea
for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy
mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest
do it.
See, I have set before thee this day life and good,
and death and evil;
In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy
God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his
statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest
live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land
whither thou goest to possess it.
But if thine heart turn
away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt
be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely
perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon
the land, whither thou passest over
Jordan to go to possess it.
I call heaven and earth to record this day against
you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and
cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may
live:
That thou mayest love
the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest
obey his voice and that thou mayest
cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy
days: that thou mayest dwell in the land
which the Lord sware unto thy fathers,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
God did not hide His Word from Israel but He was very clear making known
to Israel what He wanted them to believe and do. He included His promise
of what He would do for them if they would believe and do it, plus what
would happen if they would reject it. God's Word was not
far from Israel – they had received it, and they had the choice between
life and death.
Here in this letter, Paul continues by explaining the relevance of verses
6-8 by writing in verse 9 exactly what God's spoken-matter of the belief
is to/for people during the new covenant time – from which God’s
righteousness originates for the people believing it. He writes:
This is the spoken-matter of the belief (the specific discourse
that is the belief, the faith, the information that God makes known to
people to have confidence-in, to believe, to have faith-in, to trust
with assured certainty and surety), which we herald-forth (myself and
the other holy-people with me proclaim this because it has been
revealed, it is in our mouth and in our heart, and we believe and do
it)…
- that:
- if
it should happen at any time that
- you
(singular, individual) would express agreement in your mouth (say the
same words, speak agreement with, assent to the same spoken things,
agree within your words, communication, the open expression of your
complete accord)
- regarding/with the Lord Jesus Christ (that your Master is Jesus Who is
the Anointed-one)
- and
- you
would believe in your heart (have faith, trust within the center/core of
your being)
- that
God raised him up out from among those who still remain dead (Jesus is
not dead anymore – he is alive because God raised him up giving him
life; refer to Romans 1:4)
- you
will be saved (caused to be in safety, the standing and state of being
saved, made-safe to God from sins and their consequences, from
destruction);
…in truth…
- in
the heart it is believed (a person believes what God says as being true
to/for himself within the center/core of his being – this is the first
part)
- into
righteousness (with a view to, directed to and regarding God’s
righteousness, the justness that God makes available to people, His
justice, the standing and state of being and doing what is just/right
from God’s viewpoint)
- and
- in
the mouth agreement is expressed (a person declares his agreement with
what God says as being true to/for himself within the words he speaks –
this is the second/last part)
- into
salvation (with a view to, directed to and regarding God’s salvation,
the safety that God makes available to people, the standing and state of
being saved, made-safe to God from sins and their consequences, from
destruction).
In verse 9 some Greek texts do not include the word "Christ" – even so,
it is very clear who is being referred to: the Lord Jesus who is the
Christ. Also, verse 9 contains one spoken-matter of the
belief, which has two phrases or parts joined together; it is
all-together one saying because a person cannot do one part of this
saying without the other part, nor can someone save himself or to force God into
saving him or making him righteous, nor can a person become half-saved
or half-righteous. In order to be saved, a person must believe in his
heart that God raised the Lord Jesus Christ up out-from dead-people (yes
I believe that God raised him up giving him eternal life) and express
agreement in his mouth regarding the Lord Jesus Christ (yes I agree to
accept the resurrected Christ Jesus to be my new master, my Lord).
Verses 9 and 10 declare the only way that any human-being can be saved
becoming righteous in God’s viewpoint today. God will save a person by
means of the Lord Jesus Christ in accordance with what He has said,
giving him/her eternal holy spirit-life – God's life in Christ's life in
you (refer to Romans chapter 8). Verses 9 and 10 are a
figure of speech giving great emphasis to its exactness and precision –
being saved from the consequences of sin includes being made-righteous
before God, and being made-righteous includes being saved.
This is the righteousness that originates out from belief (the belief
that God has made known as detailed in verse 9) into belief on the part
of the hearer (refer to Romans 1:16 and 17). It is only after a person
believes and does what God says today (the spoken-matter of the belief)
that a person is made righteous before God. It is not a case of a person
‘believing to be righteous’ – but it is a case of believing what God
says about Himself and His son and expressing agreement allowing the
Lord Jesus Christ to be his/her Lord – then God saves that person and
makes him/her righteous by means of the Lord Jesus Christ (refer to
Romans 3:20-30).
[Reference: Deuteronomy 8:17, 9:1-6ff; Matthew 7:23, 10:32, 14:7,
15:7-18; Mark 7:5-23; John 3:10-18(a); Acts 2:1-4 and 22-36, 3:15,
4:8-12, 5:30, 7:17, 10:40, 11:14, 13:30 and 37-39, 16:31, 24:14; Romans
1:4, 16 and 17, 3:20-26, 4:24–5:1 and 19, 9:30; I Corinthians 6:11 and
14, 12:3, and chapter 15; II Corinthians 4:5; Galatians 2:16, 3:23-28;
Ephesians 3:17, 4:8-10, 5:26; Philippians 2:11, 3:9; Colossians 1:27; I
Thessalonians 1:10; I Timothy 6:12; Hebrews 3:1, 4:14, 11:1 and 13,
13:15 and 20; I Peter 2:24; I John 4:15.]
Verses 11-16:
.11For the writing says, “Every-person
believing on him will not be brought-down-to-shame," .12for
there is not a distinction of both Judean and Greek, for the same
Lord of all-people (is) being wealthy into all the
(people) calling-upon him to-themselves, .13for,
"Every-person who ever may call-upon the name of (the) Lord
to-himself will be saved."
.14Therefore how may they
call-upon-to-themselves into whom they did not believe, and how may
they believe whom they did not hear, and how may they
cause-themselves-to-hear without (a person) heralding-forth,
.15and how may they herald-forth except they were
apostled? According as it was written2, "As the feet of
the (people) good-messaging the good-things (are)
beautifully-timed." .16But not all-people obeyed
the good-message, for Isaiah says, "Lord, who believed the
thing-heard of us?"
The writing (scripture; refer to Isaiah 28:16 and Romans 9:33) says…
- “All/every person (emphasis that this is referring
to all people is given
by Paul’s addition of the singular word meaning “all/every” to the
quotation)
- who
is believing on him (having faith, trusting
upon him, relying on the Christ
- the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense)
- will
not be brought-down-to-shame (caused to have the feeling or emotion of
disgrace and guilt bringing reproach having recognized and being sorry
for one's own performance of an improper, ignominious or dishonorable
deed from God's point of view; this person will definitely not be
made to feel shame before another),"
…for there is not a distinction (there is no separation, differentiation,
drawing-asunder) of/between both…
- Judean (a person of the Judean / Israeli background)
- and
Greek (a person of the Greek / Gentile / other-nation background),
…for the same Lord of all-people (the Lord Jesus Christ who emphatically
himself is the Master of everyone who is calling upon him to
themselves)…
- is
presently and actively being wealthy into (he is rich with a view to,
directed to)
- all
the people who are calling-upon him to-themselves (all believers,
holy-people, true Christians with the spirit of Christ in them, whether
from the Judean or Greek background, who are inviting the Lord Jesus
Christ to themselves by turning appealingly towards him),
…for the writing (refer to Joel 2:32) also says…
- "All/every person who ever may call-upon the name of the Lord to-himself
- will be saved (as verse 9 above)."
The name of the Lord Jesus Christ incorporates the fullness of everything
involved with this name: all that the name of “Lord” and “Jesus” and
“Christ” represent and stand for – it includes all the
authoritative-power, ability, workings, etc, that God gave to Jesus when
He raised him up out-from the dead-people, and gave him the name that is
above every other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and
Christ (refer to Acts 2:21, 36 and 38; 3:6 and 16; 4:7-12, and 30;
Romans 1:3 and 4; Ephesians 1:19-23; Philippians 2:9 and 10; II
Thessalonians 3:6; Hebrews 1:1-4).
The reference to Joel 2:32 is part of the prophetic writing regarding the
outpouring of the gift of holy spirit which occurred on the day of
Pentecost (recorded in Acts chapter 2). Since God raised Jesus Christ
from the dead, Jesus Christ is made Lord of all those who believe what
God has given to be believed concerning him.
Whatever type of background (including language, country, race,
skin-color, ‘religion’, etc) that a person may have had before he/she
believes the good-message does not matter. All that is required is that
a person believes what God has given mankind to believe (the
spoken-matter of the belief) regarding Himself and His son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and then he/she is saved; he/she receives the gift of holy
spirit becoming righteous before God.
Paul continues:
Following-on logically…
- how
would they call-upon (invite) to themselves
- regarding whom they did not believe (did not have faith-in, did not trust that
Jesus is the Lord and the Christ)?
- the
unwritten answer is: it is not possible – because it is necessary to
believe regarding the one whom they would call upon to themselves,
- and
how would they believe (have faith in, trust)
- of/from whom they did not hear (the sound of his voice speaking to them)?
- the
unwritten answer is: it is not possible – because it is necessary to
hear what is spoken by the one whom they would believe,
- and
how would they cause themselves to hear (listen)
- without a person heralding forth (apart-from, lacking someone proclaiming the
belief)?
- the
unwritten answer is: it is not possible – because it is necessary for
someone to herald the information in order to give people the
opportunity to hear it,
- and
how would they herald-forth (proclaim)
- except they were apostled (unless they were sent forth/away on this specific
assignment or mission)?
- the unwritten answer is: it is not possible – because it is necessary to be
apostled in order to herald forth the message pertaining to that
specific apostleship.
At the present time it is just as (according to how, in comparison to the
way that) it was previously written by the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 52:7)
and this truth has not changed…
- "As
the feet of the people good-messaging the good-things (the movement of
those who are evangelizing the good message pertaining to the things
that issue from God and therefore are good; God is the One Who issues
His goodness and He sets the standard to be conformed to by others – the
feet of the people preaching the gospel concerning good things)
- are beautifully-timed (beautiful as fruit that is ripened at the proper
season, which is the limited period of time when it is most beautiful)."
Now is the beautiful time when people can be saved from the consequences
of sin and made righteous – both Judeans and Gentiles. The good message
concerning God’s son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is being heralded forth
today which is the specific season for this message to be made-known.
This is similar to how a tree, which has beautiful blossoms, delights
those who are willing to look at it and appreciate the beauty that it
has already produced and made available for all to see.
Also at the present time, however, contrary to everyone believing and
doing what God says – all the people have not obeyed the good-message
(they have not all listened attentively to the gospel that has been made
known to them and their action in response to what they heard was not to
carry it out – they have been disobedient). This is according as Isaiah
says and it is written in Isaiah 53:1…
- "Lord (referring to the only true God in His covenant-relationship to
that-which He created),
- who believed the thing-heard of us (who has had faith in the hearing, the
report proceeding from us, who trusted the information that we who are
apostled speak to the people, who believed what we have published to be
heard by them)?"
This portion of the Book of Isaiah foretells about the coming Christ, the
Messiah, the savior who would redeem mankind from their predicament of
the lack of holy spirit-life and their state of being liable to death.
Paul quotes this question because he is also writing regarding the
Christ and the people of Israel had been told about him previously, but
many did not believe and do what God made known regarding him during the
time of Isaiah and also now which is after Jesus Christ has done exactly
what had been foretold about him.
[Reference: Isaiah 28:16, 52:6-8 and 13-15, 53:1-12, Joel 2:28-32 (3:5);
John 12:37-50; Acts 2:1-21 and 31-36, 3:22, 4:8-12, 9:14 and 21,
chapters 10 and 11, 13:26, 15:7-11, 16:31, 26:12-18; Romans 1:1, 9 and
15, 3:21 and 22, 9:33; I Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 3:8,
4:8-13; I Timothy 1:16; II Timothy 2:22, I Peter 2:6.]
Verse 17:
.17Consequently the belief (is) from
(the) thing-heard, and the thing-heard (is) by means of
(the) spoken-matter of Christ.
In correspondence to what is written in the previous verses above…
- the
belief (the faith, the information that God makes known to have
confidence-in with assured certainty and surety, as detailed in verse 9
above)
- is
from the thing-heard (the belief originates out from the hearing, the
report heard, that-which was spoken in order to be heard by the people –
it has to be communicated to the people so that they can then have the
opportunity to believe it for themselves),
- and
the thing-heard
- is
by means of the spoken-matter of Christ (what is heard is by-way-of or
through the saying or the portion of the whole of God’s Word containing
the specific discourse pertaining to Christ, concerning the Messiah, the
Anointed-one whom God promised in Genesis 3:15 and who has now
accomplished redemption and made salvation available to people).
There would be nothing to hear if the spoken-matter of Christ did not
exist. The spoken matter of Christ is the action or agency by way of
which the thing-heard is available today. Without this spoken matter
pertaining to Christ there would be nothing to herald forth so as to
allow people to hear it and believe it and do it thereby allowing God to
save them and make them righteous by means of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God gives people His belief when He tells people what they should
believe. We can rely on what God tells us concerning a specific
situation or circumstance. Once God communicates His belief to us, then
we are given the opportunity to have the same belief regarding that
specific situation or circumstance – how? – by
believing (having confidence-in, having faith-in, trusting) the contents
of what God says, His words to us. We should accept His belief being
true to and for ourselves. God’s belief is not dependant upon
whether a person believes it or not. The
spoken matter of the belief (which pertains to Christ) is detailed in
verse 9 above. This is the belief from which righteousness originates
(verse 6 above).
Verse 17 corresponds to verses 14 and 15. Let us have a look at those
verses in reverse order to which we have already looked at them in
relation to today’s time, which is after Jesus Christ has accomplished
redemption and made salvation available to people:
- First of all –
- God
reveals His belief, which is the spoken-matter, the good-message of the
good-things that God has given to be believed regarding the Lord Jesus
Christ (Romans 10:8-10);
- Then
–
- the
apostles are sent on their specific assignment or mission with this
belief which they herald-forth to other people;
- Then
–
- this
belief which is heralded-forth to be heard – is heard by people;
- Then
–
- people have the opportunity to believe what they hear, which is the
spoken-matter pertaining to Christ;
- Then
–
- those who believe it can carry it out, obey it, express agreement that he is
their Lord and thus call-upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
to-themselves. They make their own free-will decision to turn-towards
the Lord Jesus Christ by submitting themselves to his lordship, his
mastership.
God in His kindness and His grace and His mercy has made it available
today for people to become His children – by means of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
[Reference: Acts 2:1-4 and 14-36, 5:20-22, 10:36-44; Galatians 3:2-9; I
Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 3:2; Jude 1:17.]
Verse 18:
.18But I say, "They did not
not hear, did they?" – certainly-indeed
(they heard)! – "Their tone went-out into all the earth and
their spoken-matters into the ends of the inhabited-area."
Contrary to all the people believing what God says regarding Himself and
His son, the Lord Jesus Christ as detailed in verse 9 above, I (Paul)
say…
- "They did not
not hear, did they (emphasis
is placed by the usage of a double negative – it is not true that they
did not hear what God gave them to believe, is it)?"
- The
answer: No! The Greek construction of this question indicates that the
expected answer is "no (because they did hear about the Christ)."
Then Paul confirms this by writing…
- –
certainly-indeed (emphatically it is true
that they heard)! –
- "Their tone (their precise sound, as playing notes on a musical
instrument according to the specific line or notation indicated on the
music sheet)
- has
gone forth into all the earth (directed to every part, the entire earth)
- and
their spoken-matters (each with their own portion of the whole of God's
Word to communicate a particular tune or message)
- into the ends of the inhabited-area (directed to the extremities of the
dwelled-in parts of the world)."
Again Paul references that-which God had previously revealed and
made-known to people, and which was written-down to record it. This
quotation is taken from the Book of Psalms where it is talking about the
heavens with its stars, the sun, etc.
Psalm 19:1-5:
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the
firmament sheweth his
handywork.
Day unto day uttereth
speech, and night unto night sheweth
knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their
voice is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the
earth, and their words to the end of the
world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Which
is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and
rejoiceth
as a strong man to run a race.
The heavens, which every man/woman can see when looking up to heaven
day-after-day and night-after-night, declare the glory of God, and the
firmament shows His handiwork. The heavens show-forth portions of God's
knowledge of the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, plus many
other details regarding God's plan of redemption for mankind and the
spirit-realm. There is no speech nor language where their tone is not
heard.
God taught mankind how to read
the stars, the constellations, etc,
meaning that He drew pictures in the heavens around the stars so that
people would remember His plan of redemption (refer to Job 38:5 and
31-33, and Matthew 2:2). Everybody on the face of the earth could view
that-which God has given to be believed and we still can today. The
good-message regarding the Lord Jesus Christ has been proclaimed and
shown forth to the whole inhabited area by God. He revealed what He
wanted people to believe, and as we have read, that-which God has
revealed belongs to those to whom He has revealed it – it is not a
secret, it is not a mystery! Therefore, there is no excuse which can be
made by any man or woman.
God gave Paul some additional information regarding those things which
had been kept secret but which He revealed now to Paul. This is why Paul
could say and write what we read today in his letter to the Christians
in Rome, plus in the other letters that Paul wrote.
God wants His people to love Him and to know all that He has made
available for us by means of His son, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a
loving and gracious God!
[Reference: Psalm 19:1-5; Acts 2:4 and 14, 4:18, 26:25; I Corinthians
14:7; Ephesians 3:10-12.]
Romans 10:19-21:
.19But I say, "Israel did not
not know, did they?" First, Moses says, "I will cause
you to-be-jealous on (people who are) not a nation; I
will cause you to-be-wrathful on a nation without-understanding."
.20And Isaiah shows-great-daring and says, "I was found
among the (people) not seeking-after Me; I became manifest to
the (people) not asking Me"; .21and towards Israel
he says, "The whole day I spread-out My hands towards an
un-persuading and contradicting people."
Contrary to the people of Israel believing what God says regarding
Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ as detailed in verse 9 above,
I (Paul) say…
- "Israel did not
not know, did they (emphasis
is placed by the usage of a double negative – it is not true that Israel
did not personally know, did not have a truly active and relative
knowing of what God gave all of mankind, not only Israel, to believe, is
it)?"
- The
answer: No! The Greek construction of this question indicates that the
expected answer is "no (because Israel did know about the Christ and
that God’s Word would be heralded to all the inhabited areas of the
world, to people who are not descendants of Israel/Jacob).”
Then Paul confirms this by writing…
- First, Moses says (he prophesied to/for Israel and it was recorded in
the old covenant writings),
- "Emphatically I will cause you to be jealous (in Greek there is a
definite word for “I” plus the verb meaning “I will cause to be jealous”
giving emphasis – I Myself will provoke you people to jealousy)
- based on (motivated by) people who are not a nation (the Greek word
translated "nation" is the same word which may also be translated into
the English as "Gentile” – here it is referring to a group of people who
are not a nation as Israel was at that time);
- emphatically I will cause you to be wrathful (in Greek there is a
definite word for “I” plus the verb meaning “I will cause to be
wrathful” giving emphasis – I Myself will excite you to wrath, provoke
you to a lasting angry vengeful state of mind, like the heat of a
burning-fire, not a spur-of-the-moment thing on your part, and in the
context it is wrath against doing what I, God, want you to do)
- based on (motivated by) a nation without-understanding (lacking insight into
the things of God, void of apprehension, people who have not put what I
have been saying together in their minds to the end of understanding)."
This scripture is taken from Deuteronomy chapter 32 where God is speaking
about the children of Israel and how He had given them so much but they
rejected Him.
Deuteronomy 32:15-21:
But Jeshurun [the
children of Israel] waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat,
thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he
forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of
his salvation.
They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods,
with abominations provoked they him to anger.
They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods
whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your
fathers feared not.
Of the Rock that begat thee thou art
unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them,
because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will
see what their end shall be; for they are a very
froward generation, children in whom
is no faith [no belief].
They have moved me to jealousy with that-which is
not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I
will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Returning to Romans, Paul continues:
- Also
Isaiah shows great daring (he prophesied being very venturous with
courage) and says,
- "I
was found in/among the people who are not looking for Me;
- I
caused Myself to become manifest (evident, shown-forth, openly-seen) to
the people not asking Me (not asking a question with familiarity
inquiring for information on a certain topic such as Myself or the
things of God including the Christ)";
- and
towards (with a purposed reference to) Israel he says (Isaiah is
speaking on God’s behalf),
- "The
whole day (the entire time) I expanded My hands towards a people (the
word “people” here is a singular noun laos meaning: a mass or group of people collectively as one
unit, one united assembly) who are
- un-persuading (not willing to be convinced by what God says)
- and contradicting (speaking against God, saying things against what God says
to them)."
This is a reference to what is written in Isaiah chapter 65 (Septuagint
version, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew old covenant
writings):
Isaiah 65:1-5:
I became manifest to them that asked not for me; I
was found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold, I am
(here), to a nation, who called not on my name.
I have stretched forth my hands all day to a
disobedient and gainsaying people
[Israel], to them that
walked in a way that was not good, but after their sins.
This is the people that provokes
me continually in my presence; they offer sacrifices in gardens, and
burn incense on bricks to devils, which exist not.
They lie down to sleep in the tombs and in the caves
for the sake of dreams, (even)
they that eat swine’s flesh, and the broth of
(their) sacrifices; all their vessels are defiled:
who
[the people of Israel] say, Depart from me, draw not nigh to me, for
I am pure.
This is a smoke of my
[God’s] wrath, a fire burns with it continually.
God's promise regarding the Christ was made to/for all of mankind, not
only the children of Israel. God made this information known – it was
not a secret, not a mystery! Since the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts
chapter 2, God allows people to make up their own minds regarding what
He has given them to believe about the resurrected Christ and what he
has accomplished on behalf of all mankind. Both the Judeans (children of
Israel) and the Gentiles (the other nations, other ethnic groups) can
believe it. God has made known the benefits of believing what He says
and the consequences of not-believing what He says.
[Reference: Genesis 3:15; Deuteronomy 32:21; Isaiah 65:1 and 2; Acts
13:44-49, and 28:23-31; Romans 2:8, 11:11. Note: verbs with a
superscript 2 (2) immediately following them indicate the
"perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of
this study.]
