Romanschapter 10
21 verses · Paul · AD 56 or 57 · Paul's letters
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is for their salvation.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, Romans Overview.
Paul wrote this letter from Corinth about AD 57 to house churches in Rome he had never visited. He had once been a zealous Pharisee, so he knew from the inside the zeal he describes. He wrote to a city where lord was the emperor's title, and he speaks of confessing Jesus as Lord out loud. This chapter continues the answer on Israel that began in chapter 9. Listen for the two kinds of righteousness set side by side, and for the chain of questions about preaching and hearing. Notice how much of the chapter is spoken in the words of Moses and Isaiah.
Context
- Who
- Mixed house churches in Rome, in a city where public words about lordship carried political weight.
- What
- The middle of Paul's answer on Israel, setting the righteousness of the law beside the righteousness of faith and tracing how the message reaches those who call on the Lord.
- Where
- Written from Corinth to the house churches of Rome.
- When
- About AD 57, in the early years of Nero's reign.
- Why
- To show that Israel's failure lay in refusing God's righteousness and that salvation is open to Jew and Greek alike through faith in Christ.
Historical context
Confessing "Jesus is Lord" was not a private opinion in Rome. The same title was used for the emperor, and by the end of the century refusing to say "Caesar is lord" would be a test that decided whether a Christian lived. Even in Nero's early years, saying it out loud in front of witnesses had a cost.
Show the rest of the historical context, 2 more paragraphs
Public confession also fit how the ancient world worked. Loyalty was declared, not merely held; oaths, acclamations, and spoken allegiance were the visible glue of society. Paul pairs believing in the heart with confessing with the mouth because both were expected of a real allegiance.
He quotes Moses in Deuteronomy about the word being near, in your mouth and in your heart, to argue that the message he preaches is not remote or unreachable. And he quotes Isaiah's line about beautiful feet, which in its original setting described messengers running over the hills with news that the exile was over.
Significance
The first hearers were given the plainest sentence in the letter: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, with no distinction between Jew and Greek.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
They were also given a job. The chain of questions, how will they call on one they have not believed, and how believe in one they have not heard, and how hear without a preacher, puts the whole weight of the argument onto people willing to go and speak.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Zeal Without Knowledge: Christ Is the End of the Law
Romans 10:1-3
my heart’s desire and prayer to God: Paul prays for Israel's salvation and credits them with real zeal for God, zeal without knowledge. Ignorant of the righteousness God gives, they set about building their own and refused to submit to His. That refusal is the diagnosis of the whole chapter.
Romans 10:1
“Brethren - This expression seems intended particularly for the Jews, his ancient friends, fellow-worshippers, and kinsmen, but who had embraced the Christian faith. It is an expression of tenderness and affection, denoting his deep interest in their welfare. My heart’s desire - The word “desire” εὐδοκία eudokia means benevolence, and the expression, “my heart’s desire,” means my earnest and sincere wish. Prayer to God - He not only cherished this feeling but he expressed in a desire to God. He had no desire that his kinsmen should be destroyed; no pleasure in the appalling doctrine which he had been defending.”
zealous for God: Paul could testify about Israel's zeal for God, for he had been zealous in the same way, as Barnes notes. Calvin reads the testimony as compassion. Paul saw Israel fallen through lack of knowledge and without malice, and his prayer is for their salvation.
Romans 10:2
“Their zeal was not according to knowledge. It is true God gave them that law for which they were so zealous; but they might have known that, by the appearance of the promised Messiah, an end was put to it. He introduced a new religion and way of worship, to which the former must give place.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:2
“They have a zeal of God - They believe their law to have come immediately from God himself, and are jealous of its glory and excellence; they conscientiously observe its rites and ceremonies, but they do not consider the object and end of those rites; they sin more through ignorance than malice; and this pleads in their excuse. By this fine apology for them, the apostle prepares them for the harsher truths which he was about to deliver.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 10:2
“There was indeed a just cause why he should regard them with compassion rather than hatred, since he perceived that they had fallen only through ignorance, and not through malignancy of mind, and especially as he saw that they were not led except by some regard for God to persecute the kingdom of Christ.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
Romans 10:2
“He alludes to this well-meaning of his people, notwithstanding their spiritual blindness, not certainly to excuse their rejection of Christ and rage against His saints, but as some ground of hope regarding them.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
sought to establish their own: Chrysostom notes that ignorant of God's righteousness would seem to plead for pardon, and the refusal to submit removes the plea. Barnes calls the ignorance chosen, for the message had reached Israel, as verse 18 says. Augustine traces their own righteousness to self-confidence.
Romans 10:3
He does not call the law given by Moses commandments of men, but the traditions of the elders themselves which they had invented, and in upholding which they made the law of God of none effect, and were on this account also not subject to His Word. For this is what Paul says concerning these men: "For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book IVpatristic
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:3
“For they being ignorant of God's righteousness--that is, for the justification of the guilty (see on Ro 1:17). and going about--"seeking" to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God--The apostle views the general rejection of Christ by the nation as one act.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 10:3
“The nature of their unbelief. They have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God, that is, they have not yielded to gospel-terms, nor accepted the tender of justification by faith in Christ, which is made in the gospel. Unbelief is a non-submission to the righteousness of God, standing it out against the gospel proclamation of indemnity.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 10:3
“For they being ignorant - The ignorance of the Jews was voluntarily, and therefore criminal. The apostle does not affirm that they could not have known what the plan of God was; for he says Rom 10:18-21 that they had full opportunity of knowing.”
Christ is the end of the law: The word behind end is telos, which carries both a finish and a goal. Christ ends the law's claim to condemn and is the aim the law pointed to all along, as Calvin and Wesley both hold.
Romans 10:4
“For this is what Paul says concerning these men: "For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." And how is Christ the end of the law, if He be not also the final Cause of it?”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book IVpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:4
“For Christ is the end--the object or aim. of the law for--justifying righteousness to every one that believeth--that is, contains within Himself all that the law demands for the justification of such as embrace Him, whether Jew or Gentile (Ga 3:24).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 10:4
“For Christ is the end of the law - Where the law ends, Christ begins. The law ends with representative sacrifices; Christ begins with the real offering. The law is our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ; it cannot save, but it leaves us at his door, where alone salvation is to be found. Christ as an atoning sacrifice for sin, was the grand object of the whole sacrificial code of Moses; his passion and death were the fulfillment of its great object and design.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The Word Is Near You: Confess and Believe
Moses states the terms of the righteousness that is by the law, quoting Leviticus 18:5. The man who does these things lives by them, and the whole weight falls on doing. Verse 6 sets the righteousness that is by faith beside those terms.
Romans 10:5
“For Moses describeth the only righteousness which is attainable by the law, when he saith, The man who doeth these things shall live by them - that is, he that perfectly keeps all these precepts in every point, he alone may claim life and salvation by them. But this way of justification is impossible to any who have ever transgressed any one law in any point.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:5
“For Moses describeth ... - This is found in Lev 18:5, “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do he shall live in them.” This appeal is made to Moses, both in regard to the righteousness of the Law and that of faith, in accordance with the usual manner of Paul to sustain all his positions by the Old Testament, and to show that he was introducing no new doctrine. He was only affirming that which had been long before taught in the writings of the Jews themselves.”
Romans 10:5
“The law which was given upon Mount Sinai, though it was not a pure covenant of works (for who then could be saved under that dispensation?) yet, that is might be the more effectual to drive people to Christ and to make the covenant of grace welcome, it had a very great mixture of the strictness and terror of the covenant of works.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Romans 10:5
- QuotingLeviticus 18:5“Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.”
'The man which doeth those things shall live by them' (righteousness of the law)
Romans 10:6-8
the righteousness that is by faith: borrows Moses' words from Deuteronomy 30:12 to 14, where the commandment is near and within reach. Paul turns that nearness onto Christ and the message of faith the apostles proclaim.
Romans 10:6
Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ down, &c.--that is, "Ye have not to sigh over the impossibility of attaining to justification; as if one should say, oh! if I could but get someone to mount up to heaven and fetch me down Christ, there might be some hope, but since that cannot be, mine is a desperate case."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:6
For as it was not possible that the man who had once for all been conquered, and who had been destroyed through disobedience, could reform himself, and obtain the prize of victory; and as it was also impossible that he could attain to salvation who had fallen under the power of sin,-the Son effected both these things, being the Word of God, descending from the Father, becoming incarnate, stooping low, even to death, and consummating the arranged plan of our salvation, upon whom [Paul], exhorting us unhesitatingly to believe, again says, "Who shall ascend into heaven?
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book IIIpatristic
Romans 10:6
“No, salvation is not put at so vast a distance from us. [2.] But it is very plain and easy: The word is nigh thee. When we speak of looking upon Christ, and receiving Christ, and feeding upon Christ, it is not Christ in heaven, nor Christ in the deep, that we mean; but Christ in the promise, Christ exhibited to us, and offered, in the word.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Romans 10:6
- QuotingDeuteronomy 30:12“It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’”
'Who shall ascend into heaven?' (righteousness of faith speaks)
Moses wrote of crossing the sea at Deuteronomy 30:13, and Barnes notes that Paul keeps the sense and changes the words. The sea becomes the Abyss, the place of the dead. Ambrosiaster marks the words to bring Christ up from the dead as Paul's own addition.
Romans 10:7
“The quotation is from Deuteronomy [30:12], but the last phrase is the apostle's own addition. He says that someone who does not doubt about the hope which is in Christ has the righteousness of faith.”
Ambrosiaster · written before 384 · Commentary on Paul's Epistlespatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 10:7
“Or who shall descend into the deep? - These words are also a part of the address of Moses, Deu 30:13. But it is not literally quoted. The Hebrew is, “Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go over the sea for us, etc.” The words of the quotation are changed, but not the sense; and it is to be remembered that Paul is not professing to quote the words of Moses, but to “express the language of faith;” and this he does mainly by words which Moses had used, which also expressed his meaning.”
Wesley reads near as within reach, a word easy to understand and to live. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown tie the mouth and the heart to verse 9. The mouth confesses the word and the heart believes it.
Romans 10:8
“True knowledge, then, consists in the understanding of Christ, which Paul terms the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery, which "the natural man receiveth not," the doctrine of the cross; of which if any man "taste," he will not accede to the disputations and quibbles of proud and puffed-up men, who go into matters of which they have no perception. For the truth is unsophisticated; and "the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart," as the same apostle declares, being easy of comprehension to those who are obedient.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeuspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 10:8
“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee - There is no occasion to seek high or low for the saving power; the word of reconciliation is nigh. The way of salvation is now both plain and easy. The law is magnified and made honorable by the death of Christ; and the doctrine of faith in his death and resurrection is fully proclaimed, and amply proved to be effectual to the purpose for which it was revealed.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 10:9-10
confess with your mouth: Confession with the mouth and belief in the heart stand together here. Confess translates homologeo, to say the same thing openly, and the belief has one named content, that God raised Jesus from the dead.
Romans 10:9
Marcus Brown
In the book of Hebrews we learn that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the certainty in our hearts of what we cannot see. We are also given encouragement that the Lord rewards those with faith as we accept Him and accept his chosen ambassador who he has perfectly revealed himself through.
Salvation is the greatest accomplishment of man and it is attributed to only one man, Jesus of Nazareth. In part, his way was marked by total submission to his Father, our Creator, through absolute obedience even to the point of death. Jesus is our example of perfect alignment. Outwardly, we might suppose that this alignment was by accomplished by his perfect works and try for ourselves to come into a favorable position with God through our well-intentioned behavior. This is not the case, Christ's works were outward evidence of the inwardl identity. His actions were perfectly consistent with his identity, which we recognize as integrity.
Likewise, for ourselves to lay hold of the gift of salvation purchased for us, we most not only believe that God is as he claims to be through the person Jesus of Nazareth, but we must also be congniscent of our need for salvation and cry out "Lord, Save me!" Which is Hebrew sounds something like "Elohim, Yeshua ti!"
If we stop here, we fall short of repentance. "And confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord." This is not simply an acknowledgment, it is an oath. By this decree we establish Yeshua as the ultimate authority in our lives and submit ourselves to obedience to him.
We might be tempted once we have prayed such a prayer to continue on our way, pleased with our own wit and intellect to have called upon the One who has the power to save. Forgetting that now Christ bids us to follow him, to pick up our cross and come after him.
"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Cost of Discipleship.
ConnectionsRomans 10:10
with your mouth you confess: Augustine presses the second half against those who denied Christ before persecutors while keeping faith in the heart. The mouth must confess what the heart believes. In the early church the mouth confessed Jesus as Lord at baptism, with the heart believing.
Romans 10:10
“With these twin trumpets of heart and mouth we arrive at that holy land, viz., the grace of resurrection. So let them always sound together in harmony for us, that we may always hear the voice of God. Let the utterances of the angels and prophets arouse us and move us to hasten to higher things.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · On the Death of Satyrus 2.112patristic
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:10
“For with the heart man believeth, etc. - And be sincere in this: for with the heart, duly affected with a sense of guilt, and of the sufficiency of the sacrifice which Christ has offered, man believeth unto righteousness, believeth to receive justification; for this is the proper meaning of the term here, and in many other parts of this epistle; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 10:10
“It is not believing (not to be reckoned so) if it be not with the heart. This is unto righteousness. There is the righteousness of justification and the righteousness of sanctification.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 10:10
“For with the heart man believeth unto--justifying righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation--This confession of Christ's name, especially in times of persecution, and whenever obloquy is attached to the Christian profession, is an indispensable test of discipleship.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 10:11-13
The word anyone carries the paragraph, and its promise runs to all who believe with no difference between Jew and Greek. Joel 2:32 seals it, and the name of the Lord in Joel is called on here as Jesus.
Romans 10:11
“For the scripture saith--in Isa 28:16, a glorious Messianic passage. Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed--Here, as in Ro 9:33, the quotation is from the Septuagint, which renders those words of the original, "shall not make haste" (that is, fly for escape, as from conscious danger), "shall not be put to shame," which comes to the same thing.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:11
“Israel ought not to suppose that salvation by faith is a blessing peculiar to it. For Scripture says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, whether Jew or Gentile, whether slave or free. The universal God saves everyone without distinction, because all things belong to him. Thus we say that all things are recapitulated in Christ.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Explanation of the Letter to the Romanspatristic
Romans 10:11
“For the Scripture saith ... - Isa 28:16. This was the uniform doctrine of the Scripture, that he who holds an opinion on the subject of religion will not be ashamed to avow it. This is the nature of religion, and without this there can be none; see this passage explained in Rom 9:33.”
Cross references
Romans 10:11
- QuotingIsaiah 28:16“So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.”
'Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed'
Connectionstopics/shame
gives richly to all who call on Him: The same Lord who is Lord of all is Christ, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read it with Chrysostom. Rich is Paul's favourite word for overflowing grace. Ambrosiaster notes the other side, that Jew and Greek stood together in unbelief before they stood together in faith.
Romans 10:12
"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same is Lord of all, rich toward all who call upon him." How there is no distinction of Jew and Greek in faith we have already shown frequently above. But that he is the same Lord of all, you will understand according to what we have just now set forth; that is, if justice and truth, sanctification and wisdom — all of which is Christ the Lord — hold dominion over us.
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
calls on the name of the Lord: Peter quoted the same line from Joel at Pentecost, so the first Christian preaching and this letter call on one name. Origen marks its limit and its reach. The riches go to everyone who calls on the name, whether Jew or Greek.
Romans 10:13
“For--saith the scripture whosoever--The expression is emphatic, "Everyone whosoever" shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved-- (Joe 2:32); quoted also by Peter, in his great Pentecostal sermon (Ac 2:21), with evident application to Christ.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:13
“This extent, this undifferencing extent, of the promise both to Jews and Gentiles he thinks should not be surprising, for it was foretold by the prophet, Joel ii. Calling upon the name of the Lord is here put for all practical religion. What is the life of a Christian but a life of prayer?”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 10:13
“For whosoever shall call ... - This sentiment is found substantially in Joe 2:32, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.” This is expressly applied to the times of the gospel, by Peter, in Act 2:21; see the note on that place. To call on the name of the Lord is the same as to call on the Lord himself.”
Cross references
Romans 10:13
- QuotingJoel 2:32“And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.”
'Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved'
ConnectionsJoel 2:32
How Shall They Hear Without a Preacher?
Romans 10:14-15
How then can they call on the One: Paul runs the chain backward: calling rests on believing, believing on hearing, hearing on preaching, and preaching on being sent. Isaiah 52:7 supplies the close, where beautiful feet belong to those who bring good news.
Romans 10:14
“How then shall they call on him - As the apostle had laid so much stress on believing in order to salvation, and as this doctrine, without farther explanation, might be misunderstood, it was necessary to show how this faith was produced; and therefore he lays the whole doctrine down in a beautifully graduated order. 1. There can be no salvation without the Gospel: a dispensation of mercy and grace from God alone, here called, Rom 10:15, the Gospel of peace; glad tidings of good things. 2. This must be preached, proclaimed in the world for the obedience of faith.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 10:14
“The beginning, progress, and strength of faith, are by hearing. The word of God is therefore called the word of faith: it begets and nourishes faith. God gives faith, but it is by the word as the instrument.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ambrosiaster and Henry both hear Nahum 1:15 beside Isaiah, for the two prophets use the same picture of good news carried on foot. Tertullian reads the beautiful feet as the work of the apostles, foretold long before. Gill adds that preaching needs a sending.
Romans 10:15
“And how shall they preach - In what way shall there be preachers, unless they are commissioned by God? The word “how” does not refer to the manner of preaching, but to the fact that there would be no preachers at all unless they were sent forth. To preach means to proclaim in a public manner, as a crier does. In the Scriptures it means to proclaim the gospel to people. Except they be sent - That is, except they are divinely commissioned, and sent forth by God.”
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:15
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent,.... There is no proper, rightful, regular, and lawful preaching of the word without a mission, which is either extraordinary, or ordinary; extraordinary mission was such as the apostles themselves had; who, as they were called to extraordinary service, had extraordinary qualifications, and were sent forth in an extraordinary manner, with a power of doing miracles, and immediately by Christ himself.”
Romans 10:15
“The like passage we have, Nah. i. 15 , which, if it point at the glad tidings of the deliverance of Israel out of Babylon in the type, yet looks further to the gospel, the good news of our salvation by Jesus Christ. Observe, (1.) What the gospel is: It is the gospel of peace; it is the word of reconciliation between God and man.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Romans 10:15
- QuotingIsaiah 52:7How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
'How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel' ('as it is written')
ConnectionsIsaiah 52:7
Romans 10:16-17
Some who heard the good news refused it, as Isaiah 53:1 had already lamented. Paul's verb in verse 16 is hypakouo, to obey, so the gospel arrives as a summons that carries a claim.
Romans 10:16
“But they have not all obeyed the Gospel - This seems to be the objection of a Jew; as if he had said: A Divine mission would be attended with success; whereas there are numbers who pay no attention to the glad tidings you preach. To this the apostle answers, that the Spirit of God, by Isaiah, Isa 53:1, foretold it would be so, even in the case of the Jews themselves, where he said, Lord, who hath believed our report? For although God brings the message of salvation to men, he does not oblige them to embrace it.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:16
Neither did all of the Gentiles believe the Gospel, nor all of Israel: yet more, and many more, from the Gentiles than from Israel. Therefore, when the Apostle sets down that Isaiah said, "Lord, who has believed our report?" — the word "who" is said in the sense of "few"; and we ought to observe that this expression in the Scriptures is sometimes put for "few," and sometimes for "no one at all."
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
Romans 10:16
“EVEN concerning those who have heard the Gospel, it can still be said, "They have not all obeyed the Gospel." And this, dear Friends, is one of the plainest proofs of the deep depravity of human nature.”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2804: “Disobedience to the Gospel” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Cross references
Romans 10:16
- QuotingIsaiah 53:1“Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”
'Lord, who hath believed our report?' ('Esaias saith')
ConnectionsIsaiah 53:1
faith comes by hearing: Matthew Henry reads the verse as a summary. Many who hear never believe, yet everyone who believes has first heard. Origen takes the word of Christ as the preaching about Christ, and Barnes hears the line as the objector speaking.
Romans 10:17
“'So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.''Romans 10:17. IT IS DIFFICULT to make men understand that the salvation of the gospel is not by works but entirely by grace, that it is not presented to men as the reward of their own endeavors, but is given to them freely upon their accepting it by an act of simple faith or trust in Jesus Christ.”
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh ... - This I take to be clearly the language of the objector. As if he had said, by the very quotation which you have made from Isaiah, it appears that a report was necessary. He did not condemn people for not believing what they had not heard; but he complains of those who did not believe a message actually delivered to them. Even by this passage, therefore, it seems that a message was necessary, that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the divine message.”
Connections1 Corinthians 2:8
did they not hear?: The first excuse is that Israel never heard. Paul answers with Psalm 19:4, where the voice of the heavens goes out into all the earth. He reads that wordless witness of creation onto the apostolic preaching.
Romans 10:18
"But I say: Have they not heard? Their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." This is taken from the eighteenth psalm, where it says: "There are no speeches nor discourses whose voices are not heard. Their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world."
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:18
“To this remote island of Britain, one of the utmost corners of the world, not only the sound, but the words, of the gospel came within a few years after Christ's ascension. It was in order to this that the gift of tongues was at the very first poured so plentifully upon the apostles, Acts ii .”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 10:18
“Whether the apostle quoted them as in their primary intention applicable to his subject (as OLSHAUSEN, ALFORD, &c.), or only "used scriptural language to express his own ideas, as is done involuntarily almost by every preacher in every sermon" [HODGE], expositors are not agreed.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 10:18
“But I say, have they not heard?.... ואני אומר, "but I say", is a phrase frequently used by the Jewish doctors in disputation, either in forming or answering objections.”
Cross references
Romans 10:18
- QuotingPsalms 19:4“their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.”
'Their sound went into all the earth' (creation's witness)
ConnectionsPsalms 19:4
Romans 10:19-21
did Israel not understand?: The second excuse is ignorance, and Moses and Isaiah close it. Deuteronomy 32:21 foretold a nation without understanding that would make them jealous, and Isaiah 65:1 has God found by people who never sought Him.
Romans 10:19
“But I say, Did not Israel know?--know, from their own Scriptures, of God's intention to bring in the Gentiles? First--that is First in the prophetic line [DE WETTE]. Moses saith, &c.--"I will provoke you to jealousy ('against') [them that are] not a nation, and against a nation without understanding will I anger you" (De 32:21).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:19
"But I say: Has Israel not known? First Moses says: I will lead you to jealousy by a non-nation, by a foolish nation; I will bring you into wrath." He seems to have spoken the things said above concerning the nations; but now, as is his custom, to add something also concerning Israel; and he wishes to prove by suitable witnesses that Israel is without excuse.
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
Romans 10:19
“The Gentiles are here called no people, and a foolish nation, that is, not the professing people of God. How much soever there be of the wit and wisdom of the world, those that are not the people of God are, and in the end will be found to be, a foolish people. Such was the state of the Gentile world, who yet were made the people of God, and Christ to them the wisdom of God.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 10:19
“But I say ... - Still further to meet the objection, he shows that the doctrine which he was maintaining was actually taught in the Old Testament. Did not Israel know? - Did not the Jews understand. Is it not recorded in their books, etc. that they had full opportunity to be acquainted with this truth? This question is an emphatic way of affirming that they did know. But Paul does not here state what it was that they knew. That is to be gathered from what he proceeds to say.”
Cross references
Romans 10:19
- QuotingDeuteronomy 32:21“They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.”
'I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people' ('Moses saith')
Boldly translates apotolmao, to dare, and Barnes reads it as Isaiah speaking openly with nothing held back. Wesley sets the verse after Moses. What Moses said in verse 19 of a nation without understanding, Isaiah boldly says of people who did not seek God.
Romans 10:20
The Jews, then, are angry that, when they themselves made excuses and refused, the Gentiles were invited to the king's banquet — not looking to those things which long ago concerning this mystery "Isaiah dares to say: I was found by those who did not seek me; I appeared openly among those who did not ask after me. But to Israel what does he say? All the day I have stretched out my hands to a people that does not believe and contradicts."
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:20
“But Esaias (the Greek orthography for Isaiah) is very bold - Speaks out in the fullest manner and plainest language, Isa 65:1, notwithstanding the danger to which such a declaration exposed him, among a crooked, perverse, and dangerous people: I was found of them that sought me not; I put my salvation in the way of those (the Gentiles) who were not seeking for it, and knew nothing of it: thus, the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained to the law of righteousness, Rom 9:30, and they have found that redemption which the Jews have rejected.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 10:20
“The prescribed method is, Seek and find; this is a rule for us, not a rule for God, who is often found of those that do not seek. His grace is his own, distinguishing grace his own, and he dispenses it in a way of sovereignty, gives of withholds it at pleasure--anticipates us with the blessings, the riches choicest blessings, of his goodness.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Romans 10:20
- QuotingIsaiah 65:1“I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. To a nation that did not call My name, I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
'I was found of them that sought me not' ('Esaias is very bold')
I have held out My hands: The quotation runs straight on from verse 20 in Isaiah 65:2. Clarke reads the hands held out all day long as God's readiness to gather Israel.
Romans 10:21
“But to Israel he saith,.... Or against Israel, or concerning Israel he saith in the same prophecy in Isa 65:2. All day long I have stretched forth my hands, unto a disobedient and gainsaying people: very rightly does the apostle apply these words to Israel, as he does the former to the Gentiles; and just in like manner does the above mentioned Jewish writer, R. Moses the priest, interpret them.”
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 10:21
“It can also be understood of the Savior, that upon His cross He protected us with His wings. And under His feathers you shall hope. "All the day long I have stretched forth my hands to a people that did not believe and that contradicted me." The hands of the Lord raised to heaven did not ask for help, but were protecting us wretches.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Homily 68, on Psalm 90 (Alternate Series)patristic
Romans 10:21
“It is a wonder of mercy in God that his goodness is not overcome by man's badness; and it is a wonder of wickedness in man that his badness is not overcome by God's goodness.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Romans 10:21
- QuotingIsaiah 65:2“All day long I have held out My hands to an obstinate people who walk in the wrong path, who follow their own imaginations,”
'All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient people'
How this psalm is built
The form: An argument that meets each objection by showing its doctrine already taught in the Old Testament, as Barnes classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The chain of verses 14 and 15 | Four questions begin with how, and they run backward from calling on the Lord to believing, hearing, preaching and being sent. Barnes reads the last how as a question of fact, whether there would be preachers at all without a commission from God. Verse 17 gathers the chain into one line, faith by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on Romans 10:15. | Romans 10:14, Romans 10:15, Romans 10:17 |
| Moses and the prophets | The Berean text opens ten quotations of Scripture in twenty-one verses: three from Moses, five from Isaiah, one from Joel and one from the Psalms. Moses speaks first and again near the end, and Isaiah has the last word in verses 20 and 21. Chrysostom holds that the difficulty so many raise about Israel lies answered from of old in the words of the prophet.John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 18, 407, on Romans 10:21. | Romans 10:5, Romans 10:11, Romans 10:13, Romans 10:18, Romans 10:19, Romans 10:21 |
| Heart and mouth | Verses 8 to 10 pair the mouth and the heart three times, twice in the order of Moses, mouth and then heart, and once reversed in verse 10. The Berean text uses heart five times in the chapter and mouth three times. Ambrose of Milan calls heart and mouth twin trumpets that should always sound together.Ambrose of Milan, On the Death of Satyrus 2.112, 397, on Romans 10:10. | Romans 10:8, Romans 10:9, Romans 10:10 |
How this chapter is built
6 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verses 1 to 4 give Paul's prayer and his witness to Israel's zeal, and close on Christ as the end of the law. Verses 5 to 13 set two kinds of righteousness side by side in the words of Moses and close on Joel's promise to everyone who calls. Verses 14 to 17 run the chain from calling back to sending. Verses 18 to 21 meet two excuses, that Israel never heard and never understood, and answer both from Scripture.
Where it stands in the letter
Chapter 9 ended with Israel stumbling over the stone laid in Zion, and this chapter explains the stumble as a refusal to submit to God's righteousness. Origen, in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans at 10:1, notes that Paul speaks at one time for the Gentiles and at another for Israel. Barnes, in his Notes at 10:19, reads the close as Paul showing that his doctrine was taught in the Old Testament. The chapter ends with God holding out His hands to a disobedient people, and chapter 11 takes up whether God has rejected His people.
Where to go deeper
Christ as the end of the law is taken up at /featured/the-law-fulfilled, and Moses' word that is near at /featured/land-covenant. Belief in the heart has its own page at /featured/the-heart, and verses 9 to 13 stand on /featured/the-romans-road. The answer that chapter 11 gives is at /featured/israel-and-the-olive-tree.
Sources: Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, 253, on Romans 10:1. Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on Romans 10:15 and 10:19. John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 18, 407, on Romans 10:21. Ambrose of Milan, On the Death of Satyrus 2.112, 397, on Romans 10:10.
Keep studying
Studies11
Words12
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
The form and classifications
Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on Romans 10:19.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Augustine of Hippo; Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans; Charles Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, sermons on Romans 10; Frederic Godet, Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS; Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans and Tertullian, Against Marcion Book III.
The writing
Marcus Brown wrote what stands in his name on this page.