10
Israel needs salvation
1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to real knowledge. 3 For they, failing to understand God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to God's righteousness.
How to be saved
4 Now for everyone who believes into righteousness, Christ is the end of the law* 5 —Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”† 6 But the righteousness that is from faith speaks like this: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ”‡ (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ”§ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 So what does it say? “The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”* (that is, the message of faith that we proclaim): 9 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. 10 Because with the heart one believes into righteousness, and with the mouth one promises† into salvation. 11 Because the Scripture says: “Everyone who believes on Him will never be put to shame”‡; 12 because there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call upon Him; 13 because: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”§
The message is necessary
14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe on Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without someone proclaiming it? 15 And how will they proclaim unless they are sent? As it is written: “How timely is the arrival* of those who bring good news of peace,† of those who announce the good things.”‡ 16 (However, they did not all obey the gospel; because Isaiah says: “Lord, who has believed our message?”§) 17 So, the faith is from a message, and that message is by the Word of God.*
A rebellious people
18 But I say, did they really not hear? Indeed yes:
“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
and their spoken words
to the ends of the inhabited world.”†
19 Again I say, did Israel really not know? First Moses says:
“I will provoke you to jealousy by a non-nation,
I will move you to anger by a senseless nation.”‡
20 But Isaiah is so bold as to say:
“I was found by those who were not seeking me;
I was revealed to those who were not asking for me.”§
21 But concerning Israel he says:
“All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and contrary people.”*
* 10:4 That is, as a means of salvation. † 10:5 See Leviticus 18:5. ‡ 10:6 See Deuteronomy 30:12. § 10:7 See Deuteronomy 30:13. The ‘abyss’ here is presumably not the eschatological one. * 10:8 See Deuteronomy 30:14. † 10:10 This refers to a solemn commitment made publicly—even a demon can mouth the phrase, ‘Jesus is Lord’, as can any person, except that the demon knows it is really true. ‡ 10:11 See Isaiah 28:16. § 10:13 See Joel 2:32. This has always been true, although the level of opportunity differs from time to time and people to people. * 10:15 Literally, ‘beautiful the feet’. † 10:15 “Of those who bring good news of peace” is omitted by 10.5% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding. ‡ 10:15 See Isaiah 52:7 and Nahum 1:15. § 10:16 See Isaiah 53:1. * 10:17 Perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘Christ’ rather than “God”, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding. It is the Word of God that gives authority to our message. Actually, ‘word’ here is a spoken word, precisely the messenger proclaiming his good news. † 10:18 See Psalm 19:4. ‡ 10:19 See Deuteronomy 32:21. § 10:20 See Isaiah 65:1. * 10:21 See Isaiah 65:2. To be ‘disobedient’ and ‘contrary’, there must be a revealed will, one that they knew about.