Romans 10

n this section, Paul addresses a serious question. Many Jews did not believe in Jesus. If God had promised salvation to Israel, how could Jesus truly fulfill God’s plan when so few Jews believed (9:1–5)? In response, Paul uses the Old Testament to show that God always planned to save only a remnant, that is, a smaller group within Israel (9:6–29). Paul also explains that many Jews did not accept Christ because they refused to trust in him (9:30–10:21).

Paul then makes clear that God has not rejected Israel. Some Jews have already believed in Christ (11:1–10). Many more will trust in Christ in the future (11:12–26).

zealous: This means a strong and sincere commitment to God and to what God desires (see Numbers 25:6–13). This kind of passion can be good and faithful.

In Paul’s time, however, much Jewish zeal was misdirected. Many people did not understand that Jesus Christ is the central point of God’s plan. Because of this, their passion did not lead them to the truth.

Paul points to his own life as an example. Before he trusted Christ, Paul showed great zeal, but it was aimed in the wrong direction (see Acts 9:1–2; Galatians 1:13–14)

God’s righteousness: See 1:17; 3:21–26. Paul uses this phrase to explain Israel’s failure using the core message of the gospel.

God showed his righteousness through the work of Jesus Christ. However, most Jews did not understand what God was doing. This was partly because they were focused on keeping the law as a way to establish their own righteousness, rather than trusting what God had done through Christ.

The function of the law was to point forward and prepare the way for the Messiah, God's chosen one. The coming of Jesus does not destroy the law but fulfills all of its requirements, so that the primary requirement for God’s people is to believe in him (see 3:31; Matthew 5:17–18).

“The man who does these things will live by them”: See Leviticus 18:5, where these words encouraged the Israelites to obey the law in order to enjoy long life and prosperity in the land that God was giving them (see also Leviticus 26:3–13; Deuteronomy 28:1–14). Paul explains that if people seek to be made right with God through the law, they must obey all of its commands, not just some of them.

Here, Paul quotes three phrases from Deuteronomy 30:12–14 dealing with the law, and he applies them to the good news about Jesus. We do not need to go up to heaven to find Jesus (and thus to be made right with God), because God has already brought him down to earth as a man. Nor do we need to go down to the place of the dead to find Jesus, because God has already raised him from the dead. To find Jesus, people must believe the message that God has made available to them.

Paul quotes Joel 2:32. In that passage, the LORD refers to Yahweh, the personal name of God (see Exodus 3:15). However, Romans 10:12 makes clear that the Lord in Romans refers to Jesus Christ. By applying this Old Testament passage to Jesus, Paul shows that believers from the time of the apostles understood Jesus to share in God’s identity.

It is natural to think that the pronoun they refers to “all who call upon Him” from 10:12 or “everyone” from 10:13. This verse likely does refer to all people. However, it also continues Paul’s criticism of Israel that began in 10:2–3 (see 10:18).

Paul argues that Israel was in a position to understand what God was doing through Jesus Christ. Because of this, Israel was responsible for failing to understand or accept God’s work. Israel was guilty in two ways. First, they failed to understand God’s plan after Christ came (10:3–4). Second, they focused so strongly on the law that they missed Christ when he arrived (9:30–32).

Indeed they did: Paul quotes Psalm 19:4 to show that the message of the good news about Jesus was available to all people through creation. In this sense, God had already made his message widely known.

By the time Paul wrote the book of Romans, early Christian messengers had spread the good news through much of the Roman Empire. Because of this, most Jews had many opportunities to hear the message.

make you jealous … make you angry: This quotation from Deuteronomy 32:21 describes God’s punishment of Israel for worshiping other gods (idolatry).

In Paul’s time, Israel was still guilty of idolatry. This was because many people treated the law as more important than God himself. As a result, God used the Gentiles (people who were not even considered a nation) to make Israel jealous and angry. Paul explains this idea more fully in Romans 11:12–32.

This quotation is from Isaiah 65:1. In the book of Isaiah, the phrase "those who did not seek Me" refers to the people of Israel. As in Romans 9:25–26 Paul applies them to the Gentiles to show that God has made it possible for them to be a part of the people of God.