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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Romans 10:9,10, #5
But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down)" or ‘Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: (Romans 10:6-8)
The above three verses really get at the root of faith, don't they. We don't have to ascend into Heaven to obtain righteousness. We don't have to descend into the deep to obtain righteousness. The righteousness we want is right there in our mouth and in our heart, as we speak and believe the word of faith.
The righteousness that Paul longed for; the righteousness the Jews longed for; was right there in their mouth and in their heart.
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9,10)
Now we can see what the passage means. It is not a formula that Gentiles can accept so we can go to Heaven; it is Paul's instruction addressed to Jews who were attempting to gain righteousness through the works of the Law.
Paul is not emphasizing that all you have to do to be saved is to make the correct confession and believe the correct belief. Rather, Paul is moving the Jews away from seeking righteousness by the Law toward placing their faith in Jesus Christ.
In fact, the two verses are not really suited to Gentiles. The Jew would understand confessing Christ as Lord and believing in His resurrection was not an excuse to behave unrighteously. We Gentiles do not understand this. We think Romans 10:9,10 is just that—an excuse to live unrighteously and yet be accepted into Heaven when we die. We do not love the truth; therefore God Himself has deceived us.
Why has God deceived us? Because we should know better than to believe we have found a way to please God without repenting and living righteously. We are attempting to make God a partner in our evil ways.
The remainder of the Book of Romans proves beyond doubt that Romans 10:9,10 is not an alternative to righteous behavior.
As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, (Romans 10:11,12)
God blesses everyone who calls on Him. Those who trust in Jesus Christ will never be put to shame. This statement might be a bit rich for the Jews in Rome to swallow. Paul is telling them that the playing field has been leveled. There is only one path to righteousness, and it is through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the same for the Jew and the Gentile.
To be continued.