Romans 9–11: The Place of Israel in Salvation History (Part 3a): Israel Needs the Gospel

Israel’s Condemnation is Their Own Fault 

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:1-4, ESV).

Paul’s spiritual bond of kinship with his multi-ethnic Christian brethren is much more significant than his historical and cultural connection to the third-person “them,” although his passion expressed in 9:1-4 remains. His “heart’s¹ desire and prayer to God” for his fellow Israelites “is that they may be saved,” i.e., delivered from God’s wrath (5:9), even though he knows “only a remnant of them will be saved” (9:27). Paul is a man of prayer (12:12; 15:30),² and here he uses the term δέησις in reference to petitionary prayer³ (its only occurrence in Romans), which seems superfluous if the Calvinistic doctrine of unconditional election, surmised by many from the previous chapter, were true. 

Since God has done so much to save people (5:6-10) and provided so many advantages to the Jews (3:1-2; 9:4-5), why are so many of them missing out? Paul explains with successive uses of the explanatory conjunction “for” [γάρ] (vv. 2, 3, 4, 5). Their well-intentioned “zeal” [ζῆλος]⁴ is acknowledged, which Paul too had exhibited in the past (Acts 22:3; Gal. 1:14; Phil. 3:6), albeit misplaced and not according to “knowledge” [ἐπίγνωσις], i.e., adequate or full knowledge.⁵ Reiterating what has already been established in 9:30-31, they are “ignorant of the righteousness of God” and therefore “did not submit to God’s righteousness.” They have failed to comply in obedient faith to the gospel of Christ, wherein the righteousness of God is revealed (cf. 1:5, 16, 17). Instead, they are “seeking to establish” a righteousness of “their own” through meritorious works of the Mosaic “law” (cf. 3:19-20; 4:4, 13-15; 9:32). 

The “end” [τέλος] (emphatic!) of the law is “Christ” [Χριστός]—the “anointed one” in fulfillment of the messianic prophecies of the Jewish scriptures (cf. v. 5; 1:1-6)—who has carried the law to its fruition and is now the one through whom righteousness is made available. The Law of Moses pointed to Christ, brought us to Christ, and its binding precepts have been terminated in Christ (cf. 8:4; 13:8-10; Gal. 3:19-26). In the discussion that follows, “Paul examines the character of national Israel’s idolatry, namely, how they could have come to be devoted to the idol of Torah observance instead of God.”⁶

Accessing God’s Righteousness

With v. 3 serving as “the conceptual center of the paragraph,” v. 4 “is justly famous as one of the most succinct yet significant theological assertions in all of the Pauline letters.”⁷ As true as this may be, due attention must be given to the translation, meaning, and application of the expression “every believing one” [παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι], conveying more than just “everyone who believes” in the sense of accepting a cognitive belief. Contextually “every believing one” describes the penitent baptized believer who has responded to the gospel in “obedience of faith” (cf. 1:5, 16; 3:22; 4:3-24; 6:3-4). 

“For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on 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 abyss?”’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim)” (Rom. 10:5-8).

Again citing “Moses,”⁸ Paul loosely quotes Lev. 18:5 (cf. Gal. 3:12),⁹ which in its original context is concerned with the observance of God’s statutes and avoiding the sexual perversions of the Egyptians and Canaanites. The law’s purpose was to show how to live a God-pleasing and God-honoring life if one “does the commandments” (cf. 2:13, 23, 25).¹⁰ But this cannot be maintained as if it were equivalent to “the righteousness” revealed in the gospel “based on faith” (1:16-17; 3:22-31; 4:9–5:2; 9:30-32), a concept not entirely foreign to the writings of Moses. 

Paul then borrows wording from and comments on Deut. 9:4 and 30:12-14, but instead of carefully exegeting the respective passages he simply draws a parallel between the past and present, using biblical language to make his point. In the setting of Deut. 9:4-6, the land inheritance of ancient Israel was not to be gained as a result of their own “righteousness” but would confirm “the word of the Lord.” Likewise, Paul speaks concerning the Israelites of his own day, “Do not say in your¹¹ heart [καρδία] …” (cf. 2:5, 29) in thinking righteousness can be appropriated apart from faith (cf. v. 3), as discussed since the beginning of the letter.

Availability of the Word of Faith

The next quotations come from Deut. 30:12 and 14 in the context of the Lord’s blessings and cursings consequential to whether or not his commands are obeyed. The divine will was clearly communicated with the expectation of obedience “with all your [circumcised] heart and with all your soul” (vv. 2, 6, 8, 10; cf. 2:28-29). It was not necessary for anyone to “ascend into heaven”¹² or “descend into the abyss”¹³ to retrieve the Lord’s directives. Rather, according to his gracious providential and revelatory work, his “word [ῥῆμα] is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”¹⁴ In the same way, none of Paul’s contemporaries has to journey to either extremity “to bring Christ down” (incarnation) or “to bring Christ up from the dead” (resurrection and exaltation). All that needs to be known is readily available through “the word [τὸ ῥῆμα] of faith [τῆς πίστεως] that [ὃ] we proclaim [κηρύσσομεν]” – present tense, on a current and ongoing basis (cf. 1:1-6; 6:17-18).

Proclamation of the Word of Faith

Paul’s use of the first person plural, “we proclaim,” raises the question of whether the referential proclaimers are inclusive or exclusive of the readers.¹⁵ Although most of the first person plurals in the letter are employed inclusively, this statement follows an extended section of scripture quotations, rhetorical argumentation, and third-person discourse. Paul typically uses the plural form of κηρύσσω when writing in the first person (1 Cor. 1:23; 15:11; 2 Cor. 1:19; 4:5; 11:4; 1 Thess. 2:9).¹⁶ In almost every occurrence its meaning is exclusive of his addressees by a contrast with “you” and/or an explicit reference to Paul’s ministerial colleagues. Moreover, throughout his correspondence to the Romans he seems to consider them primarily as recipients of the gospel rather than proclaimers (cf. 1:15; 6:17). In light of its usage elsewhere, κηρύσσομεν here seems to be limited in its application to Paul and his fellow preachers as distinct from the reading audience.

Conclusion

With much more to be said, Paul has made clear that the unbelief characteristic of so many of the Israelite people since the beginning of the Christian movement is the cause of their hopeless predicament before God. Their only hope, like everyone else in the world, is still available through “the word of faith.” To be continued …   

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Note the heavy concentration of καρδία (“heart”) in this chapter: vv. 1, 6, 8, 9, 10.  

     ² Paul prayed regularly, especially for his fellow-Christians (Rom. 1:9-10; Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:3-4; Col. 1:9-12; cf. 1 Thess. 1:2; 3:10; 2 Thess. 1:11), and often requested prayers on his own behalf (Rom. 15:30-32; 2 Cor. 1:11; Eph. 6:19-20; Col. 4:3, 4; Philem. 22; cf. 1 Thess. 5:25; 2 Thess. 3:1-2).

     ³ B. M. Newman, Concise Greek Dictionary 39; H. K. Moulton, Analytical Greek Lexicon 89. Used three times in the Gospel of Luke (1:13; 2:37; 5:33), once in Romans (10:1), twice in 2 Corinthians (1:11; 9:14), twice in Ephesians (6:18), four times in Philippians (1:4, 19; 4:6), twice in 1 Timothy (2:1; 5:5), once in 2 Timothy (1:3), and once each in Hebrews (5:7), James (5:16), and 1 Peter (3:12).  

     ⁴ Cf. John 2:17; 2 Cor. 7:7, 11; 2 Cor. 9:2; 11:2; as opposed to the negative sense of “jealousy” or “envy” (Acts 5:17; 13:45; Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:20; Gal. 5:20), or “fury” (Heb. 10:27). 

     ⁵ 1 Cor. 13:12; Eph. 4:13, Phil. 1:9; Col. 1:9, 10; 2:2; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:25.

     ⁶ A. Sherwood, Romans 546.

     ⁷ D. J. Moo, Romans 631.

     ⁸ Note also v. 19; 5:14; 9:15; 1 Cor. 9:9; 10:2; 2 Cor. 3:7, 13, 15; 2 Tim. 3:8.

     ⁹ The Lev. 18:5 citation is at variance with the LXX (slightly) and the Hebrew text where they agree (E. E. Ellis, Paul’s Use of the OT 150-52). Some English versions (ESV, NASB) do not mark this as a quotation, whereas others do (ISV, NIV, NKJV).  

     ¹⁰ Also Gal. 3:12; Luke 10:26-28. On the difference between “doing” the law and “fulfilling” the law, see K. L. Moore, “Fulfilling the Law,” Moore Perspective (6 May 2012), <Link>.

     ¹¹ The second person references here and in the following verses are singular, in line with the OT passages quoted, wherein the singular pronominal references apply to all of Israel as a collective unit. 

     ¹² “In the OT, the language of ‘ascending into heaven’ becomes almost proverbial for a task impossible for human beings to perform” (D. J. Moo, Romans 654). Cf. Isa. 14:13; Amos 9:2; Psa. 139:8; Prov. 30:4.

     ¹³ Also rendered “the deep” (NIV, KJV), the depths” (ISV), “the place of the dead” (NLT). The MT reads, “beyond the sea.” 

     ¹⁴ Contrast Rom. 1:21, 24; 2:5; 16:18. 

     ¹⁵ The few commentators who address this question are not in agreement. C. K. Barrett treats κηρύσσομεν as an epistolary plural (Romans 199-200), B. Byrne suggests that it is inclusive of Christians in general (Romans 318), and V. B. Pickett maintains that it excludes Christians in general (“A Study” 5).

     ¹⁶ “He does not see his preaching as idiosyncratic, but as an expression of the gospel held in common, which unites the new movement round the one ‘word of faith’ – an important expression of solidarity with the relatively unknown Roman church (so vv 14-15)” (J. D. G. Dunn, Romans 2:606-607). Paul uses κηρύσσω only three times as a first person singular (1 Cor. 9:27; Gal. 2:2; 5:11). In 1 Cor. 9:27 it comes at the end of his lengthy self-defense that is saturated with fifty-six first person singulars.

Related Posts: Rom 9:19-32, Rom 10:9-11

Free from Sin, Enslaved to Righteousness (Romans 6:15-23)

“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6:15-18, ESV).

Free to Obey

The chapter began with the rhetorical question, “Are we to continue [present tense] in sin,” followed by an emphasis on freedom. Here the question is repeated but slightly altered, “Are we to sin [aorist tense],” followed by an emphasis on servitude. The subtle difference may simply be between the habitual lifestyle of sin and any violation of the “law.” 

If the intention of the law was to direct people to live righteously in line with God’s will (cf. 2:17-18; 3:1-2; 7:7, 12, 14), and if “we are not under law,” are we then left with no standard of morality so that sin is reinvigorated? Once again Paul responds, “By no means!” Freedom from sin is not freedom to sin, which would otherwise be a total misconception of freedom “under grace” apart from the law. 

Although Christians are free from the old Mosaic system as a means of justification, it is entirely untrue that there are no obligations to the divine will under grace. Obedience continues to be inextricably linked to faith as a fundamental requisite within the new-covenant system of grace. In fact, the sixth chapter of Romans appears to be a concerted effort to reaffirm the essential role of “obedience of faith” (1:5; 16:26).¹

To “present yourselves … as obedient slaves” is a willful choice of being completely devoted in service. The choice is between “sin” unto [εἰς] “death,” or “obedience” unto [εἰς] “righteousness.” Paul is thankful to God that the Romans have chosen the latter, involving the “standard” [τύπος] (cf. 5:14), “pattern” or “model,”² of “teaching” [διδαχή], the body of doctrine mutually accepted and followed by first-century churches of Christ (16:16). This is “the doctrine [διδαχή] that you have been taught …” (16:17), the pattern of instruction “to which you were committed” [παραδίδωμι], “delivered” (ASV, N/KJV), “handed over” (CSB), “entrusted” (ISV, NASB 2020, NRSV); “has now claimed your allegiance” (NIV). 

The teaching of Jesus and the apostles, especially in terms of the demands of discipleship, the ethical requirements of the faith, and the principles that must guide believers in their relations one to the other and to the world became in time so definite and fixed that one could go from one area of the church to another and find the same general pattern. The law was a fixed, definite entity with precepts and prohibitions. Grace has its norms also.”³

This obedient faith emanated from the “heart” [καρδία], the physical, mental, and spiritual core and impetus of action,⁴ and was necessary for “having been set free from sin” (cf. v. 22; 8:2) and to “have become slaves of righteousness.”

Slaves to a New Master

“I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification” (Rom. 6:19).

Paul has been using the familiar analogy (“in human terms,” cf. 3:5; Gal. 3:15) of slavery in the Roman world⁵ to illustrate the past bondage to sin and current obligation to righteousness. Allusion to “your natural limitations” is lit. “your weakness of the flesh,” which Paul acknowledges for himself in the next chapter. While moral impediments may be suggested, it particularly conveys “the difficulties of apprehension, from defective spiritual experience, which prevent the understanding of its deeper truths.”⁶ This is not intellectual ineptness but limitations fostered by corrupt moral character (cf. 8:5-7; 1 Cor. 2:14; 3:1-3). Not only is this “weakness in the capacity to understand,” but “the proneness of self-deception and to forgetting the obligations imposed by grace.”⁷

In the past the Romans had given themselves over to “impurity” (cf. 1:24) and increasing “lawlessness” (cf. 4:7) but have now changed masters to “righteousness” (cf. 1:17) unto “sanctification.”⁸ The noun “sanctification,” used in Romans only here and in v. 22 (with its verbal form in 15:16), refers to the process of making or becoming holy, “set apart for God and separated by life and conduct from the unbelieving world …”⁹ It is cognate with the adjectival “holy” or “set apart,” as well as “holiness” and “saints” (1:7; 8:27; 12:13; 15:25, 26, 31; 16:2, 15).

While one is sanctified at the time of conversion (1:7), sanctification or holiness is to be maintained by holy living (6:1-2, 4), with complete and ultimate sanctification anticipated in the future (6:22). It is not uncommon for a distinction to be made between “sanctification” as an action or process, and “holiness” as the resulting state, but such a clear distinction between the two is less than certain. 

Wages of Sin Vs. Gift of God

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:20-23).

As former “slaves of sin,” so-called “freedom” was essentially “free in regard to righteousness,” when sin was the master rather than the righteous ways of God. Using agricultural imagery (cf. 1:13; 15:28), “fruit” (vv. 21-22) here refers to “the conduct of one’s life in the realm either of salvation or of damnation.”¹⁰ Fortunately the Roman saints are “now ashamed” (cf. 1:16) of their past sinfulness that led only to “death” (cf. 5:12–6:16), something earned and thus deserved as “wages.”¹¹ Now, having been “set free from sin” (cf. v. 18), they have submitted themselves as “slaves of God” producing a different kind of “fruit,”¹² namely “sanctification,” a new and holy way of life, “and its end, eternal life” (cf. 2:7; 5:21), which is unearned and undeserved as “the free gift of God” (cf. 5:15-16) “in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Conclusion

We are accountable for our own decisions and actions, as God allows us freedom to choose. He calls us to exercise our freedom responsibly by rendering ourselves completely to his will. He offers us freedom from ourselves and from the master of sin, so we may wholeheartedly obey him. We are thus free from sin’s control and free to obey God in humble service to his righteousness.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ C. K. Barrett, Romans 131. “Against those who might object that the abandonment of the law as a code of conduct (cf. 6:14, 15; 7:1-6) leads to license, Paul argues that the gospel itself provides sufficient ethical guidance for Christians. Through the renewal of the mind that the gospel makes possible, Christians can know and do the will of God (12:2) …” (D. J. Moo, Romans 746).

     ² Acts 7:44; 1 Cor. 10:16, 11; Phil. 3:17; 1 Thess. 1:7; 2 Thess. 3:9; 1 Tim. 4:12; Tit. 2:7; Heb. 8:5; 1 Pet. 5:3. In Gal. 6:16 Paul pronounces a blessing on those who walk according to the κανών (“rule” or “standard”), derived from a Semitic word for stalk or reed that came to be used for “measuring rod,” thus a “standard” or “rule.” The English word “canon” is derived from this word, referring to a list of titles of various works or the collection of documents themselves, in particular the biblical canon.

     ³ E. F. Harrison, “Romans” 73.

     ⁴ See Psa. 9:1; 13:5; 86:12; 111:1; 119:2, 7, 10, 34, 58, 69, 145; 138:1; Prov. 3:1; 4:23; Matt. 12:34-35; 15:18-19; 18:35; Eph. 6:6; Philem. 20; Heb. 10:22.

     ⁵ During the first century AD approx. 16-20 percent were reportedly slaves within a population of about 60 million (W. V. Harris, “Towards a Study of the Roman Slave Trade” MAAR 36:117-40); some estimates are as high as 33-40 percent (K. R. Bradley, Slavery and Society 33). See K. L. Moore, “Households and Slavery,” Moore Perspective (24 July 2019), <Link>.

     ⁶ W. Sanday and H. C. Headlam, Romans 169.

     ⁷ H. Balz and G. Schneider, eds., EDNT 1:170; R. Mohrlang, Romans 106. 

     ⁸ Cf. 1 Cor. 1:30; 1 Thess. 4:3, 4, 7; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Tim. 2:15; outside of Paul only Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:2. Compare 1 Pet. 4:1-5.

     ⁹ R. C. Kelcy, Thessalonians 83.

     ¹⁰ H. Balz and G. Schneider, eds., EDNT 2:252.

     ¹¹ Cf. Luke 3:14; 1 Cor. 9:7; 2 Cor. 11:8. 

     ¹² See also Gal. 3:22-23; Eph. 5:9; Phil. 1:11; Heb. 12:11; Jas. 3:17-18.

Related Posts: Baptism: Death, Burial, Resurrection (Rom 6:1-4), United with Christ (Rom 6:5-14)

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Righteousness, Circumcision, and Abraham’s Faith

“Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised” (Romans 4:9-12, ESV). 

All people (whether Jew or Gentile) are justified according to the same kind of faith-response to the Lord, not reliance on ritualistic ordinances of the old law but on God’s righteous work in Christ, trusting him to do what he promised to do when we step out in faith and do what he directs us to do. 

Circumcision, as a highly valued “work of the law” among Jews and Judaizers at the time Paul composed Romans, was being promoted as a requisite of divine favor and blessings excluding so many ethnically diverse disciples and causing unnecessary division (cf. Rom. 2:25-29; 3:1, 30; 15:8).¹ Circumcision is thus highlighted here to distinguish between what had become a meritorious work of the flesh, on one hand, and the kind of faith that enabled Abraham to be justified, on the other. “Circumcision and the Law were separate in time and in origin. But from the moment of the institution of the Law they were co-extensive in their operation: for those under the Law were under Circumcision.”²

God pronounced Abraham righteous (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:6) prior to his circumcision (Gen. 17:10-11, 24), so Abraham has become “the father of all” (both Jew and Gentile) responding to the Lord with the same kind of faith. The phrase rendered in English, “all who believe” (ESV), with two pronouns and a verb, is actually pántōn tōn pisteuóntōn (an adjective and articular participle) that should be translated, “all the believing [ones].” Paul is not telling non-Christians to get saved by merely believing without repentance and baptism; he is writing to penitent baptized believers whose faith-response has already included repentance and baptism (6:1-18). “Faith in Christ and baptism were, indeed, not so much two distinct experiences as parts of one whole. Faith in Christ was an essential element in baptism …”³

To “walk” [stoichoûsin – presently and continuously]⁴ “in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had” is not reliance on Jewish rituals (like circumcision) but living a life of obedient faith.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Cf. Acts 15:1-5; Gal. 2:12; 5:1-6; 6:12-13, 15; Tit. 1:10.

     ² J. B. Lightfoot, Notes on Epistles of St Paul 280.

     ³ F. F. Bruce, Romans 129.

     ⁴ Cf. Gal. 5:25; 6:16; Phil. 3:16; compare peripatéō in Rom. 6:4; 8:1, 4; 13:13; 14:15.

Related Posts: Questions About Baptism, Abraham Believed God (Rom. 4:3), Justification, Peace, Hope (Rom 5:1-2), Baptism: Death, Burial, Resurrection (Rom 6:1-4) 

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