 Introduction
In Romans 9, Paul reveals the depths of his anguish for his fellow Israelites. He longed for their salvation so intensely that he declared he would be cut off from Christ if it meant they could be reconciled to God. Paul wrestled with the tension between Israel’s place in God’s redemptive plan and their widespread rejection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He made it clear that God’s promises had not failed; rather, they were fulfilled according to His sovereignty and mercy. Yet Paul also testifies that God is not finished with Israel. His passion for their salvation echoes the heart of God, who still extends mercy. In Romans 10, the focus shifts from the mystery of God’s sovereignty to the reality of human responsibility. While Romans 9 emphasizes God’s sovereign election, Romans 10 emphasizes the necessity of faith, confession, and proclamation. Israel, and indeed all people, must respond to the righteousness of God that comes through faith in Christ alone. Romans 10:1–4 Paul begins chapter 10 by affirming what no one can deny: the Jews had great zeal for God. Their history demonstrates both devotion and failure. Throughout their story, they were called the people of God, yet they often turned aside to idolatry. This disobedience ultimately led them into captivity in Babylon. After decades in exile, they returned to their land in 538 BCE, determined never again to fall into the same national idolatry. From that point onward, zeal for God became a defining feature of Jewish life. For example, between 167–160 BCE, the Jewish nation faced oppression under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. When he conquered Jerusalem, he desecrated the Temple, erected an altar to Zeus, and forced the priests to eat pork in an attempt to Hellenize the Jewish faith. The Jewish people refused to compromise. Their resistance led to the Maccabean revolt, and, against all odds, they prevailed. Their zeal for God’s law was defining. Keeping the law of Moses was seen as essential. It was this zeal—unyielding and intense—that made the thought of accepting Jesus as Messiah unthinkable to many. Paul himself understood this firsthand. Before his encounter with Christ, his zeal for God drove him to persecute, imprison, and even approve the execution of Christians. That is why Paul recognizes Israel’s zeal but also insists that it is tragically misdirected. Their zeal, he says, “is not according to knowledge.” Proverbs 19:2 warns, “Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.” Paul’s argument is clear: zeal alone cannot make one right with God. Sincerity does not equal salvation. To illustrate this, imagine someone baking a pie as a gift for a dear friend. Out of love and eagerness, they prepare a rich peanut butter pie and deliver it with joy. Yet in their zeal, they failed to ask if the friend had food allergies. If that friend has a severe peanut allergy, the gift meant to bless could bring destruction. Motive and zeal may have been pure, but ignorance made it deadly. Similarly, Israel’s zeal was not rooted in a knowledge of God’s righteousness revealed in Christ. They were pursuing their own righteousness through the law rather than submitting to the righteousness of God. John Stott observed, “I think the Jews (like all human beings) were more self-righteous than [some commentators] allow. As Calvin justly commented, ‘the first step to obtaining the righteousness of God is to renounce our own righteousness.’”¹ This is not only Israel’s problem; it is the universal human problem. Every person faces two options: either try to establish righteousness through works or submit to the righteousness God provides through faith in Christ. The first way always ends in failure, for as Isaiah 64:6 declares, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.” The second way—the only way—is to trust Christ’s righteousness, receiving salvation as a gift of grace through faith. In verse 4, Paul makes a claim: Christ is the end of the law. Many translations render it this way, but Paul does not mean that the law has been abolished or discarded. Rather, he means Christ is the goal, the fulfillment, the culmination of the law. The entire purpose of the law was to point toward Him. Paul’s writings clarify this in 1 Corinthians 9:21 he says, “I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.” Similarly, Galatians 6:2 exhorts believers, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Jesus Himself affirmed this in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” The law remains the Word of God, instructive and good. But the law in itself cannot save. It is Christ, crucified and risen, who is our righteousness. The law finds its completion in Him, and those who believe in Him are declared righteous before God. Romans 10:8–22 Paul then summarizes the gospel in terms of confession and belief. These two elements cannot be separated. He writes, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Confession means more than private spirituality. It is a public declaration. One of the earliest Christian creeds was simple: “Jesus is Lord.” To openly confess this truth is to declare allegiance to Christ above all. Jesus warned in Matthew 10:32–33, “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.” This is not a threat as much as a principle: true faith will be confessed openly. Belief, however, must accompany confession. Paul says we must “believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.” In biblical thought, the “heart” refers to the center of the person; mind, will, and emotions. Believing in the heart is entrusting one’s entire life to Christ’s saving work. It is not merely intellectual assent or general admiration for Jesus. It is staking your whole life on His death and resurrection as the sufficient grounds for salvation. Thus, inward belief and outward confession belong together. One without the other is incomplete. Paul’s conclusion is sweeping: “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” The gospel is universal. It is for Jew and Gentile alike, for “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But this raises a practical question: how will people call on Christ if they do not believe? And how will they believe if they have not heard? And how will they hear unless someone preaches? Faith comes by hearing, Paul says, and hearing through the word of Christ. The word “preach” here is the language of a herald, someone sent to announce good news in the public square. In verse 15, Paul asks, “How can they preach unless they are sent?” The word “sent” (apostello) connects directly to apostleship and mission. The original apostles were sent by Christ to bear authoritative witness, and their message is preserved in Scripture. Yet Christ also continues to send His people, missionaries, pastors, and ordinary Christians, to herald that same apostolic word to the ends of the earth. The implication is clear: every believer is a participant in God’s mission. Whether across the street or across the world, we are sent ones, bearing the word of Christ. Yet, tragically, not everyone who hears the gospel will believe it. Israel had heard. They had even understood. Their unbelief was not because the message was unclear but because their hearts were stubborn. As Tim Keller observes, “So why did they not believe? It could not have been because they did not understand, because God can work to overcome that, as he had for the Gentiles (Romans 10:19). It cannot be because they were not searching for God, because God works to reveal himself to those who have not asked for him (v 20). And to Israel, God ‘all day long’ has ‘held out my hands’ (v 21). But they did not respond because they are disobedient and obstinate.”² Israel’s story reminds us that zeal without knowledge and religion without Christ cannot save. Only faith in Christ’s righteousness brings life. Conclusion God is sovereign. His purposes will stand, and His mercy is never thwarted. Yet Paul makes it abundantly clear that God’s sovereignty does not cancel out human responsibility. There is no room for excusing unbelief, for hardening the heart against the gospel, or for neglecting the urgency of evangelism. The same God who elects also commands all people everywhere to repent and believe, and He has chosen to work through the proclamation of His people to call sinners to Himself. This leaves us with two great truths. First, every person is responsible for how they respond to the “word of Christ.” The gospel is not merely information to be heard but a summons to be obeyed. To reject it is to remain in spiritual death; to embrace it is to find eternal life in Christ. Second, every Christian is accountable for sharing that “word of Christ” with the world. We are not called to sit idly by and admire God’s plan from a distance; we are invited into it as participants, bearing witness to the good news of Jesus Christ to our families, our neighbors, and the nations. In God’s sovereign design, the message of salvation goes forth through the lips of His people. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Therefore, we are both comforted and compelled: comforted, because God’s sovereign grace guarantees that His word will not return void; compelled, because we are entrusted with the sacred privilege of carrying that word to a world that desperately needs it. ¹ John Stott, The Message of Romans (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 283. ² Timothy Keller, Romans 8–16 For You (The Good Book Company, 2015), 67. Responding to the Word: Romans in Real Life 1. Where in your life have you confused zeal for God with truly knowing Him through Christ? True zeal for God must be rooted in the knowledge of His righteousness revealed in Jesus Christ.
Confession with the mouth flows from true belief in the heart that Jesus is risen and reigning.
The gospel calls believers to publicly confess Christ, not to hide faith as a merely private matter.
Biblical faith is entrusting your whole self to the finished work of Christ, not just admiring His teaching.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes through the word of Christ proclaimed by His people.
Some will reject Christ not from ignorance but from stubborn disobedience, just as Israel did.
God’s sovereignty guarantees His word will not return void, yet His plan includes our active obedience.
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Jeff has been in full-time ministry for thirty years. He currently serves as Executive Director at Anchor House Ministry at SeaPort Manatee in Palmetto, FL and he is a part-time Campus Pastor at West Bradenton Southside in Bradenton, Florida.
Jeff Has authored recently published (Nov. 2025) his commentary on Revelation titled Revelation for My Friends, A Lent Devotional (A Spiritual Journey to Lent), an Advent Devotional (The Advent of Jesus), and a devotional on the book of James (James: Where Faith and Life Meet). All four are available on Amazon. He is married to Carrie and they have four children, Micaiah, Gabe, Simon, and Berea. Preview or purchase Jeff's Books
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