Bible Discussion — Romans 10

October 31, 2007, 12:00 pm; posted by
Filed under Bible, Connie, David, Erin, Josh J, Steve  | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter in the book of Romans, Romans 10.

Genesis: 1-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-18 | 19-22 | 23-26
27-29 | 30-32 | 33-36 | 37-39 | 40-43 | 44-46 | 47-50

Exodus: 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | 15-18
19-22 | 23-26 | 27-30 | 31-34 | 35-40

And the book of Romans: Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4
Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 (I) | Ch. 8 (II) | Ch. 9

 
INTRODUCTION:
David:
Paul continues his dissertation on the Law, explaining that his brethren have to stop trying to fulfill it and realize that Christ has fulfilled it for them. He then declares faith in Christ to be the real goal they should seek.

Connie:
Paul discusses the fruitless ways Israel has tried to achieve the righteousness they so desperately need on their own through the law.

Steve:
Having already addressed the constant sinfulness of man and the universal providence of God, Paul now moves to the logical next step — spreading the news to everyone!

 
SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Erin:
This passage isn’t just about what the message of salvation is, but also about a call to share it.

Steve:
Paul describes Isaiah’s prophecy that God would make appear to those who did not seek Him as “bold.”

Connie:
The requirement of confessing with your mouth precedes believing in your heart. It reminds me of the verse in Luke 9:26 that says we need to not be ashamed of Him before men — then He won’t be ashamed of us before God.

 
BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Steve: Provoke
David: Glad Tidings
Josh: Untrained Zeal; End of Law
Connie: Contrary People
Erin: Confess

 
STORY IT REMINDS YOU OF::
Josh:
Zeal without knowledge reminds me of more times in my own life than I’d care to admit sometimes.

David:
Verse 3 reminds me of the old story of the immigrant who bought a ticket to America, but had no money left for food and starved to death on the boat, not knowing his ticket had included meals. Ignorance of God’s provision for our sin is what kills us — not the sin itself.

 
DEEP THEOLOGICAL MEANING:
Erin:
The Israelites are saved just as everyone else is saved: by having faith in Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection — they aren’t bound to the law anymore.

Josh:
I am always struck by Paul’s assertion that belief in the heart and confession with the mouth are necessary to salvation. I think many may mistakenly think salvation is all a matter of the heart and overlook the importance of confessing Christ as Lord.

Steve:
One of the weaknesses of the Calvinist viewpoint is missions. It’s a little harder to get motivated to die for the Gospel if you believe it’s a matter of uncovering the elect, rather than saving the would-be damned. Here Paul explains in detail the importance of missions, in a way that shows mission work to be singularly vital. How shall anyone believe if they haven’t heard? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, written and preached.

David:
True faith is taught in this chapter and it has three phases.

1. We must hear God. We can’t choose to believe anything we want to believe; it has to be from God.

2. We must believe what we hear.

3. We must act on what we believe, because “faith without works is dead.”

 
RANDOM THOUGHT:
Steve:
Verse 12 (“there is no distinction between Jew and Greek”) seems self-evident to us, who have benefited from its message our entire lives. But back then, in the face of thousands of years of religious history? To say there was “no distinction” must have been incredibly radical.

David:
What if it really is this simple? “Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Does it make sense that God would make it so complicated that we need theologians to comprehend it, priests to mediate it, or thousands of volumes of commentary to administrate it? Maybe a person can just call out His name and be saved. It worked for me.

 
WHERE IS JESUS IN THIS PASSAGE:
Connie:
Jesus is the core and end-all of this passage. The sad thing is that Paul is saying exactly that to Israel. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes.”

David:
At the very center of what we believe and confess, the risen and ascended One.

Erin:
Jesus is the focal point for this chapter, even if many of the Jews Paul was writing to didn’t want to hear it.

 
VERSE TO REMEMBER:
Erin:
10:12 — “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.”

David, Erin, Connie:
10:13 — “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’ ”

Josh, Steve:
10:9 — “[I]f you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

 
PORTION YOU WOULD MOST LIKE EXPLAINED IN HEAVEN:
Erin:
What does this have to do with the Jewish remnant?

Connie:
Was 10:19verse 19 reverse psychology?

Steve:
I’m not sure what Paul is talking about in verses 6 and 7, when he apparently tries to explain how righteousness by faith speaks, through some quotations from Deuteronomy he applies to finding Christ. I guess he means that we don’t need to descend to hell or ascend to heaven on our own, because Jesus took care of it already, but it seems like an odd way to talk about it.

 
LESSON TO TAKE AWAY:
Josh:
Verses 13 and 14 in particular seem to me to be a pretty clear directive to tell everyone about Jesus.

David:
Romans 10 serves as a good counterbalance to the teachings of predestination, election and calling in the previous two chapters, and offers the open invitation: “Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Whatever predestination turns out to mean, it doesn’t mean that you are beyond his reach. You can “believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord,” and be saved today.

Steve:
Part of being a Christian is telling others about Jesus. It’s our primary calling, and as a bonus, it will give us beautiful feet!

Connie:
Don’t assume you know everything just because you read it in a book somewhere.

 
GENERAL RESPONSE TO THE PASSAGE:
David:
Wonderful doctrine in this chapter for salvation.

Erin:
Salvation seems almost too wonderfully simple to be true!

 
CONCLUSION:
David:
Stop trying to be good and be forgiven. Then He will make you good.

Steve:
Jesus is the “end of the law for righteousness,” the perfect conclusion and embodiment of all it stood for.


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