Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XVI)

Ambrose sees the human heart and mouth as twin trumpets that should always sound together in harmony so that they may be in accord with what God says in His Word.¹ There is nothing complicated about it. Believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and don’t be ashamed to tell others about it. But that’s only half of the story. They must also proclaim His resurrection from the dead by His Father in heaven as proof that Christ was His Son. Not only that but after God raised Him from the dead, He brought Him back up to heaven to stand at His right side as our only Mediator. And since He ascended in His transformed body, He will return in like manner to gather all those who believe in Him.² Here we can see items that would later become part of the Apostles Creed written by Ambrose in 390 AD.

Augustine points to the fact that the innumerable and multiple rites by which the Jewish people had been oppressed have now been taken away so that in the mercy of God they might attain salvation by the simplicity of a confession of faith.³ But down through the ages, we have seen how believers in the church became oppressed by the innumerable and multiple rites that were developed to provide them grace for salvation and ensure their entry into eternal life.

But for Ambrosiaster, he looks into the future for the vindication of those who put their entire faith and trust in the Lord for salvation. Judgment Day is coming when everything will be laid out for all to see. That’s when all false doctrines and teachings will be exposed. But only those who truly believed in Christ will rejoice seeing that what they believed is true. There will be no reason to prove all other teachings and religions as false, that will be obvious. It’s like having a ring full of keys, but only one will open an important door. As soon as that one is identified by the owner, all the others are automatically disqualified⁴.⁵

Bishop Cyril had the same thing in mind as Ambrosiaster with regard to the Jews and Gentiles. He cautioned the Messianic Jews about assuming that salvation by faith is a blessing peculiar to them. The Scriptures disagree by saying that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. It doesn’t matter whether they are Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free.⁶ The God of the universe saves everyone without distinction because all things belong to Him. And everything God is and has is shared with His Son Jesus Christ⁷.⁸ Remember, Paul was writing to a church where both Jews and Gentiles met in fellowship and worship. But for some reason, Paul felt led to write them because news had reached him that the Jewish leaders were doubting the authenticity of the Gentile’s faith because they did not also practice the Laws and customs of the Jews.

Reformer Martin Luther makes it plain that faith alone will not suffice unless it is combined with a confession of belief in order to reach the goal of salvation. In his eyes, confession is the chief work of faith because it involves man’s denial of his ability to save himself and confesses that God is the only source of salvation. By doing this, a person surrenders their will in order for God to be acknowledged as their only source of salvation. God, in return, will confirm that person’s confession of faith as being genuine.⁹

John Calvin gives us his explanation concerning believing in one’s heart what they are willing to confess with their mouth. Calvin sees this passage as helping us to understand what justification by faith is; for it shows that righteousness then comes to us when we embrace God’s goodness offered to us in the Gospel. We are then, for this reason, justified because we believe that God is gracious to us in Christ. But let us observe this, – that the seat of faith is not in the head, (in cerebrum — in the brain,) but in the heart. To Calvin, Paul’s design was only to identify true faith out from which fruit proceeds. This would prevent anyone from laying claim to the name of faith. For real faith should kindle the heart with such zeal for God’s glory that it would ignite its own flame.¹⁰

As Calvin sees it, after stating all the reasons why God justly disowned the Jews, Paul gets back to the subject of the calling of the Gentiles. He has already explained the manner in which people obtain salvation, including Jews and Gentiles. So now it is time to hoist the universal banner of salvation so that it waves over those who were previously excluded. That’s when Paul repeats the testimony to which he called Isaiah as a witness. This certainly would establish more authority in the eyes of the Jews, and also establish as evidence how well the prophecies concerning Christ harmonize with the Law.¹¹ As German Bible scholar Johann Bengel put it: “Unrighteousness and being lost produce shame; righteousness and being saved bring glory.”¹²

Adam Clarke is not bashful about what he hears Paul saying here. If you really put your faith and trust in Christ Jesus it will result in a full conviction of the truth of His message. Not only that but with it will come overwhelming evidence of His redemption that you will not be able to keep quiet. You will boldly confess your love and dedication to your Redeemer. Not only that, but declare for all to hear about how He and He alone has provided for the remission of all sins through His blood on the cross. One major goal in Paul’s efforts to get the word out is to show the simplicity of the Gospel’s Plan of Salvation. Not only is it simple but it is very effective. That’s because it does not rise or fall on the practice of rites, rituals, and ceremonies like the Law. Each one of these requires that they are perfectly fulfilled by each follower.

But here is the tragedy: after one has done their utmost with unreserved zeal to conscientiously observe all the precepts of the Law, not only will it fail to attain justification, but it does not bring any peace of conscience. That’s why Paul was so adamant that both Jews and Gentiles recognize that their faith and belief in the Lord Jesus, according to the simple declarations of the Gospel, had justified them freely. This was something the Law of Moses could not do. As a result, they now had the witness of the Spirit dwelling in them that they had passed from death to life.¹³ Clarke also feels that Paul is addressing the fact that many Jews despised the Gospel because it did not come with proper pomp and circumstance. So how could it put those who receive it into possession of every heavenly blessing? So Paul borrows from the prophet Isaiah to show that those who do believe will never be disappointed,¹⁴ and never be sorry,¹⁵ for taking such a leap of faith.¹⁶

Robert Haldane makes it clear that although confessing Christ as Savior is necessary, that alone is not enough to bring about salvation. Look at it this way: there is a confession of the mouth as a confirmation of the heart.¹⁷ This implies that the truth confessed with the mouth is known, received, and believed in the heart. So when both are authentically joined together, then one’s salvation is genuine. The reason for this unity can be seen if there is someone who says, “I believe in Christ,” yet when put in the spotlight of criticism they don’t have the heart to back up their claim. This proves that their faith is not genuine. It also must always be kept in mind that if a person believes anything other than what God said about the person and work of the Savior, that is not Gospel. Therefore, it can neither save or sanctify. The Gospel alone is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes it.¹⁸

Also, Paul’s statement: “Has raised Him from the dead,” poses the question – Why is so much stress laid on the resurrection? Isn’t what Jesus did on the cross sufficient to pay the ransom price for redemption? When He said, “It is finished,” was this not before His resurrection? Most certainly it was. But His resurrection proved that His work was finished. Therefore, the belief of His resurrection is part of His whole work. To illustrate this, a gardener plants all the seeds for a beautiful arrangement of flowers around the house. After all the seeds are planted and covered, they are then given water to grow. So the gardener tells the homeowner, it’s finished. But the homeowner will not be satisfied until they see the flowers sprout, blossom, and bloom. The same is true with Christ’s work on the cross. Although He said it was finished, He had to rise from the dead to show everyone all He came to do had been accomplished.

Haldane further explores the connection between believing and confessing. This is important since it results in righteousness and salvation. What righteousness is Paul talking about? It is the righteousness of Christ. What is the righteousness of Christ? It is His perfect standing with God having fulfilled all the demands of the Law. So how is this righteousness imputed to the believer? This righteousness is called “the righteousness of faith.” It is patterned after the righteousness of Abraham.¹⁹ Not that it IS faith, but what Abraham did by being obedient came BY faith; his faith in God’s Word and promise. Only in the believer’s case, their faith is placed in Jesus Christ.²⁰ That means faith is in the work that Christ did on the cross by being the sacrifice for sin. By doing so, no longer must anyone try and produce their own righteousness through good works in an effort to completely obey the Law.²¹ By putting their faith in Christ as their justifying sacrifice, they simultaneously place their faith in Christ as their sole mediator with God the Father. This is not done simply by choice, but by their union with Christ.

Haldane then looks at Paul’s phrase: “And with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Confessing Christ as Savior is more than just taking an oath. It is more than making a substantiated claim. There is a difference between having faith in Christ and confessing Christ as Savior. Each one serves a different purpose. Faith is necessary to obtain the gift of righteousness; confession is necessary to prove that this gift has been received. When we look at the Greek term homologeō, it can be used to “give assent, to promise, to profess, to praise or celebrate.” Thayer, in his Lexicon, identifies its use here as, “openly declare, speak out freely.” He explains it as that of which a person is convinced, and which they hold to be genuine. It’s not a guess or a supposition, it is fact, a known reality.

Elbert Green Hubbard (1856–1915) was an American writer, publisher, and artist, He and his second wife, Alice Moore Hubbard, died aboard the RMS Lusitania when it was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915.

But during the years before his untimely and tragic death, Hubbard had visited the elegant homes of many of the world’s richest families. As a result, he published a fourteen-volume work titled: Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great. After seeing all the luxury in the mansions of these titans of industry and commerce, he made the statement: “I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.”

How true this should be for all of us. As a young man, I was what one of those you’d call a “Car Guy.” Before I knew how to drive, I would visit all the car dealerships where I lived when the new cars came out and collect brochures showing their latest models. As I leafed through the pages, I wondered what it would be like to own a Cadillac Eldorado or Lincoln Imperial or Ford Continental Mark II. Every time I’d see one on the street I’d stand and stare.

My first car was a 1949 Oldsmobile that I bought for $75. It was sitting up on blocks in a neighbor’s driveway. I think he took the money just so I’d haul it away because it didn’t run and had holes in the floorboard. But with a little hard work changing the spark plugs, the points, the timing, the battery and putting in new oil and a filter, I got it to running again. It had a sun visor over the windshield, but that wasn’t enough, I put visors over the headlights and mudflaps behind the wheels.

When I drove into the parking lot of my high school with my beauty, I noticed everyone looking at the preacher kid’s car, especially the girls. With my shoulders back I walked into school as proud as I could be. But still, whenever I saw a luxury car go by I’d still stare at it. Not with greed, but with awe and appreciation. Did I hope one day I may have one? Yes! Of course! But did that make me not appreciate the old Oldsmobile I had? Not in the least!

Too often people are so enamored and jealous of what others have they lose all appreciation for what they do have. Once you no longer value something as being precious to you, you lose interest and are then prone to abandon it. What a terrible state to be in! You’re unhappy that you don’t have what you can’t afford, and at the same time, miserable about what you can afford. In that state of mind, you’ll end up letting everything that counts in your life decline to the point where it’s of no use to you.

Some men are pathetic because their wife is not like someone else’s, and many a woman is upset because her husband is not some other woman’s. The same goes for kids, families, houses, jobs, etc., etc. King Solomon said it is better to be poor and content than to be rich and always wanting more.¹ He also said that if you have what you need to live comfortably, you will be happy that God blessed you with what you had to work for. In other words, it’s hard to appreciate something given to you out of pity rather than earning it with lots of sweat and hard work.

The Apostle Paul once told the church members in Philippi that he knew what it was to have very little, but also what it was like to have all he needed to be comfortable. It taught him to be satisfied with whatever he had to meet the needs of the moment. But one thing for sure, he would not be able to live with such piece of mind if it wasn’t for the Lord’s help.² So the next time you want to thank God for His blessings in your life, just tell Him you’re happy with what you have. Then watch out, He just may give you something you’ve wanted for a long time.³ – Dr. Robert R Seyda

HE GAVE HIS LIFE, WHAT MORE COULD HE DO?

While I was living and teaching in the Philippines, a lady’s trio from the USA came over to help us. That’s when I heard for the first time these lyrics: “We were the reason that He gave His life, We were the reason that He suffered and died, To a world that was lost, He gave all He could give, to show us the reason to live.” It remains one of my favorites to this day.

So when I read this fictional story written by Matthew Kelly, it touched my heart in a special way. So I wanted to share it with you.

Imagine this …

You’re driving home from work after a long day. You turn on your radio. You hear a blurb about a little village in India where some villagers have died suddenly, strangely, of a flu virus that has never been seen before. It’s not influenza, but three or four people are dead, and it’s kind of interesting, and they are sending some doctors over there to investigate it. You don’t think much about it, but coming home from church on Sunday you hear another radio spot. Only they say it’s not three villagers, it’s 30,000 villagers in the back hills of this particular area of India, and it’s on TV that night. FOX News runs a Special Report: people are heading there from the disease center in Atlanta because this disease might quickly turn into an epidemic.

By Monday morning when you get up, it’s the lead story. It’s not just India; it’s Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and before you know it, you’re hearing this story everywhere, and they have now coined it as “the mystery flu.” The President made the comment that he and his family are praying and hoping that all will go well over there. But everyone is wondering, “How are we going to contain it?”

That’s when the President of France makes an announcement that shocks Europe. He is closing their borders. No flights from India, Pakistan, or any of the countries where this thing has been seen. And that’s why that night you are watching a little bit of FOX News before going to bed. Your jaw hits your chest when a weeping woman is translated into English from a French news program. There are several people now lying in a hospital in Paris, dying of the mystery flu. It has come to Europe.

Panic strikes. As best they can tell, after contracting the disease, you have it for a week before you even know it. Then you have four days of unbelievable symptoms. And then you die. Britain closes its borders, but it’s too late. South Hampton, Liverpool, North Hampton, and it’s Tuesday morning when the President of the United States makes the following announcement: “Due to a national-security risk, all flights to and from Europe and Asia have been canceled. If your loved ones are overseas, I’m sorry. They cannot come back until we find a cure for this thing.”

Within four days our nation has been plunged into an unbelievable fear. People are wondering, “What if it comes to this country?” And preachers on Sunday are saying it’s the scourge of God. It’s Wednesday night, and you are at a church prayer meeting when somebody runs in from the parking lot and yells, “Turn on a radio, turn on a radio!” And while everyone in church listens to a little transistor radio being picked up by a microphone, the chilling news is heard. Two women are lying in a Long Island hospital, dying from the mystery flu. Within hours it seems, this disease envelops the country.

People are working around the clock, trying to find an antidote. Nothing is working. California, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts. It’s as though it’s just sweeping in from the borders. And then all of a sudden the news comes out. The code has been broken. A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It’s going to take the blood of somebody who hasn’t been infected. So through all the channels of emergency broadcasting, everyone is asked to do one simple thing: Go to your nearest hospital and have your blood analyzed. That’s all you’re asked to you. Even though this is an emergency, please make your way quickly, quietly, and safely to the hospitals.

Sure enough, when you and your family get to the nearest hospital, there is a long line, and they’ve got nurses and doctors coming out and pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it. Then they tell the people, “Wait here in the parking lot, and if we call your name, you can be dismissed and go home.” You stand around, along with strangers and neighbors, scared, wondering what on earth is going on, and if this is the end of the world.

Suddenly, a young man comes running out of the hospital waving a clipboard yelling. What he yells makes chills run down your spine. You are standing there in disbelief as your young son tugs on your jacket and says, “Daddy, that’s me.” As soon as you raise your hand to get their attention, they take hold of your son. “Wait a minute, hold on!” you say, “It’s okay, his blood is clean. His blood is pure. We want to make sure he doesn’t have the disease. We think he has the right blood type,” they reply. Then they tell everyone standing around you they can go home.

A short time later, out come the doctors and nurses are crying and hugging one another – some are even laughing. It’s the first time you have seen anybody laugh in a week. An older doctor walks up to you and says, “Thank you, sir. Your son’s blood is a perfect match. It’s clean, it is pure, and we can use it to make the new vaccine.” But then the gray-haired physician looks you and your wife in the eyes says, “May we see you inside for a moment?” After you are seated, he continues, “We didn’t realize that the donor would be a minor and we need you to sign a consent form.”

You begin to sign and then you see that the box for the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty. “H-h-h-how many pints?” you stutter. The elderly doctor’s smile fades, and he says, “We had no idea it would be this difficult. We weren’t prepared for this, but we will need all of it! Even though he’s only one person, his blood is just enough.” “But… but… I don’t understand. He’s my only son!” you plead. “We are talking about the world here,” the doctor says, “Please sign. We… we… need to hurry!” “But once you take his blood, can’t you give him a transfusion?” “It wouldn’t matter,” the physician replies, “we have no uninfected blood so he would die anyway. Please, please, sign the consent.”

In numb silence you do. Then they say, “Would you like to have a moment with him before we begin?” It wasn’t easy, but the parents get up and hurriedly walk back to that room where their son is stretched out on a table. When he sees them he asks, “Daddy? Mommy? What’s going on?” Could you take his hands and say, “Son, your mommy and daddy love you, and we would never ever let anything like this happen to you that wasn’t an emergency. Do you understand that?” The elderly doctor comes back in and says, “I’m sorry, we’ve got to get started. People all over the world are dying,” you can leave now. Could you walk out while your son is pleading with you, “Dad? Mom? Why are you forsaking me like this?”

A few days later the city has a ceremony to honor your son. Everyone is invited, but some folks sleep through it, and some folks don’t even bother to come because they have other things to do, and some folks come with a pretentious smile and just pretend to care. You can’t take it. You want to jump up and yell, “EXCUSE ME! MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DON’T YOU CARE? DOES IT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?”

I wonder, is that what God wants to say every Sunday? “MY SON DIED FOR YOU. DOESN’T THAT MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU? DON’T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE FOR YOU BY LETTING HIM DIE LIKE THAT?”¹ Some people do care. They gather every Sunday to thank God for His gift. So when His Son comes back to gather all those He saved, who have accepted His blood for their salvation, who do you think will go with Him, and who will He leave behind? – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XV)

Dr. Hodge now moves on to the second requisite for salvation which is, “faith.” This faith must include the truth that God raised Jesus from the dead. The reason, this was God’s way of publicly acknowledging Him to be all that He claimed to be and verified everything He came to perform in His name. God wanted the world to know that this was His Son and the chosen Savior of the world. That is why He accepted His death and blood as the only sacrifice for sin.¹

Having “faith” is a long way from simply guessing or speculating. It involves a commitment so strong that giving one’s life defending it is never out of the question. Such a commitment will always be accompanied by strong affections. That’s the foundation of why confession is considered an outward oath confirming an inward loyalty. With faith being more than an emotional act of the mind, it includes understanding such dedication. Saving faith is more than thinking you are saved by something you said you would do out of submission, commitment, and faithfulness. It is knowing you are saved by something God said He would do through His love, grace, and mercy.²

In Charles Spurgeon’s way of thinking, the Gospel’s command, “Be and live,” is just as clear, plain, and positive as the Law’s command, “Do and live.”³ From his perspective, there never was, and never will be, a person who confessed with their mouth Jesus Christ as Lord, and with their heart believed that God raised Him from the dead, that was not saved. When all the multitudes that end up in hell are examined, there will not be one confessing believer or one believing confessor among them. The same thing Jesus about the pairing of man and woman in marriage can be said of marrying confession and faith: “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”⁴

It goes without saying, that the mouth and the heart are equally necessary to be a functioning, breathing body, and a living soul. Since one’s faith harbored in the heart cannot be seen on the outside, it must be attested to by spoken words and good deeds. What Paul says here is like taking these two and tying them with a rope to an anchor which is the work of Jesus Christ. Storms may come and the tempest may rage but the ship that is anchored to Christ will not be moved. By seeing Christ die on the cross, many thought He sank like a ship and our salvation sank with Him into the depths of the grave. But because He was raised out of the depths of the grave, then we will be raised as He was to be with Him forever.

As Spurgeon said, and I concur, if you throw yourself, sink or swim, on what Jesus has done, then you need not fear because you are saved. To say otherwise would make anyone who did so a liar. But even worse, this would make the Bible a Book of Lies as well. Not only that, but the Spirit of God would have perjured Himself by saying something that was not true. Spurgeon gives his own confession: “With my mouth, I do again confess the Lord Jesus, for I believe Him to be very God of very God, my Master, my all. Moreover, in my heart, I do verily and assuredly believe that God raised Him from the dead, and I am glad of it.”⁵

Frédéric Godet believes that what Paul says in this verse can be better understood in the light of what he says in verse 8. The Word is in your mouth and heart, that then becomes the message of faith you proclaim. This points out two conditions of salvation. First, faith is all that’s needed to take hold of our completed atonement in Christ. And, secondly, when this faith becomes a living lifestyle, that will then serve as an open profession. It reminds us that profession would be nothing without faith, and faith would be of no use without profession.⁶

F. F. Bruce agrees with many of the older commentators that if on your lips is the confession “Jesus is Lord,” while believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then salvation is yours. I like the way Bruce puts it: “Saving faith is resurrection faith.” This certainly echoes what the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians: “If the Messiah has not been raised, your trust is useless, and you are still in your sins.”⁷

David Stern approaches the need for confession from a Jewish point of view. He talks about “secret believers” in Judaism. In using that term Stern identifies them as Jews who have come to believe that Yeshua is the Messiah but do not tell their family and friends, and have little fellowship with other Messianic believers. This stems from the fact that trusting in Yeshua is a process rather than an instantaneous event. During this period a person may not yet be ready to go public with their belief. But this raises the question of whether or not such a person would pass the test given by Peter?⁸ Stern admits that if that person is in touch with other Messianic believers and is receiving the proper instructions, this incubation period should last no longer than a few days or weeks. This seems to be a repeat of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.⁹ However, those who ultimately fail to acknowledge their faith for all to know face a reprisal from the Lord Himself.¹⁰ What Stern says here about Messianic believers among their fellow Jews, can easily be said of Christian believers among their non-believing friends and family.¹¹

Verses 10-11: When we believe in our hearts, we are made right with God. We tell with our mouth how we were saved from the punishment of sin. Yes, the Scriptures say, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be sorry they did.”

Paul is not about to leave the understanding of what he is saying here up to personal interpretations by his readers. He wants to make it crystal clear that a right standing with God is based upon true belief in the heart, and salvation is joined to that belief by a sincere confession of the mouth. Jesus illustrated this in his parable about seed sown in the ground; some falling on a hard path, some on stony ground, and some among weeds. But Jesus said that when the seed falls on good ground, “The good soil represents honest, good-hearted people. They listen to God’s words and cling to them and steadily spread them to others who also soon believe.”¹²

In the opening chapter of his Gospel, the Apostle John makes the same point: “Even in His own land and among His own people, the Jews, He was not accepted. Only a few would welcome and receive Him. But to all who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust Him to save them. All those who believe this are reborn!—not a physical rebirth resulting from human passion or plan—but from the will of God.”¹³ Today, we would rephrase this to say that when Jesus came to the Jews He was preaching to the choir. But even among those who sang the songs of praise and worship, there were many who did not believe what they were singing.

And the writer of Hebrews puts it this way: “So, brothers, we have confidence to use the way into the Holiest Place opened by the blood of Yeshua. He inaugurated it for us as a new and living way through the parokhet [veil], by means of His flesh. We also have a great cohen [priest] over God’s household. Therefore, let us approach the Holiest Place with a sincere heart, in the full assurance that comes from trusting – with our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.¹⁴ Let us continue holding fast to the hope we acknowledge, without wavering; for the One who made the promise is trustworthy.”¹⁵ So true conversion that comes from confessing faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior is more than a prayer, it is a life-changing experience.

No wonder Paul told the Galatians: “You and I are Jews by birth, not mere Gentile sinners, and yet we Jewish Christians know very well that we cannot become right with God by obeying our Jewish Laws but only by faith in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And so we, too, have trusted Jesus Christ, that we might be accepted by God because of faith – and not because we have obeyed the Jewish Laws.”¹⁶ And Paul shared this personal experience with the Philippians: “I have put aside everything else, assessing it as being worth less than nothing, in order that I can be joined to Christ, and become one with Him, no longer counting on being saved by being good enough or by obeying God’s Laws, but by trusting Christ to save me; for God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith—depending on Christ alone.”¹⁷ The Apostle John said Amen to what Paul says here. He told his readers: “Anyone who believes and says that Jesus is the Son of God has God living in him, and he is living with God.”¹⁸

So the doctrine of belief and confession became an important part of the early church, especially as it relates to converts. Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John, stated: “It is better for a man to be silent and be a Christian than to talk and not be one.” For Ignatius, people must believe with their heart and confess with their mouth for a reason. The first, to declare their right standing before God, and the second, to proclaim their salvation through Christ. He points out that it is good to teach, but only if the teacher does what he or she tells others to do.¹⁹ Usually, such statements are made in trying to straighten out a case of people who have become victims of misbelief. It appears that some were going around saying they were Christians but the lifestyle did not support their claim. This is an early example of the saying: Practice what you preach.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XIV)

The Apostle Peter reached the conclusion after Jesus told them that the Father in heaven is unreachable, that unless they go through Christ they cannot have fellowship with Him. So Peter says: “Master, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life, and we believe them and know you are the holy Son of God.”¹ And Paul adds that we must have complete confidence and faith in Christ’s resurrection. He told the Corinthians: “If He is still dead, then all our preaching is useless and your trust in God is empty, worthless, hopeless; and we apostles are all liars because we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, and of course that isn’t true if the dead do not come back to life again. If they don’t, then Christ is still dead, and you are very foolish to keep on trusting God to save you, and you are still under condemnation for your sins.”²

So when the Apostle Peter sent his letter to the scattered Jewish believers around the Roman empire, he wrote: “God chose Him [Christ] for this purpose long before the world began, but only recently was He brought into public view, in these last days, as a blessing to you. Because of this, your trust can be in God who raised Christ from the dead and gave Him great glory. Now your faith and hope can rest in Him alone.”³ Have you ever heard a minister lead people in a sinner’s prayer by saying: “And I believe with all my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead to be my Lord and Savior?”

When examining what early church scholars have to say on this confession of faith, we look at what Augustine and Pelagius had in mind. Augustine recommends that when asked about your salvation, memorize what Paul says here as a Creed that you then repeat as your answer.⁴ Pelagius seems to oppose the very idea, that later on in the Roman Catholic church, became known as “indulgences.” For him, what you confess with your mouth is the testimony of what’s in your heart. When you follow what Paul said, you will be saved from past transgressions, but not sins in advance.⁵ In other words, no matter what one says in confessing their faith in God and in Christ, what comes out of the mouth must be coming from a pure and honest heart at that moment.

Mike Aquilina, a writer for Our Sunday Visitor, in his work on the writings of the early church fathers, makes a point about how salvation was determined at the beginning of the church era. He discovered that there were many sects claiming the name “Christian,” who practiced doctrines contradictory to one another. So it had to be made clear very early in the Church exactly what a person meant when they claimed to be a follower of the “Christian faith.” So Church leaders and scholars had to come up with concise statements of belief that mirrored the teachings of Christ and the Apostles.⁶ He points out what Paul wrote to the Corinthians,⁷ here to the Romans, and in the Acts of the Apostles were major points in their consideration.⁸

Aquilina then shares the explanation of creeds by St. Cyril of Jerusalem: That the reasoning behind describing faith was not made to agree with human opinions. Rather, what was found to be of the greatest importance when gathered from all the Scriptures. This was necessary to present the one teaching of faith in its entirety. And just as the mustard seed contains a great number of branches in a tiny grain, so too this summary of faith, made up of a few words, contained the whole knowledge of true faith contained in the both Covenants.⁹

Reformer Martin Luther sees another factor in this confession, and that is the recognition that Jesus was crucified for our sins and raised again for our justification.¹⁰ Without that, there would have been no reason for Him to die or be resurrected. Luther then points back to verses 6-7 where Paul explains that our righteousness does not come through the Law but from the death and resurrection of Christ. So when put together, whoever believes both of these facts will be saved, according to what Paul says in verse 10. So the actual act of salvation is not based on what we say, but that we believe what we say.

John Calvin takes issue with Paul for putting confession before faith. Calvin feels that the order would have been more convincing if faith of the heart had preceded confession of the mouth. That’s because confession comes after faith, as long as the person rightly confesses the Lord Jesus. And this confession is an acknowledgment that He is the one given by the Father, and described in the Gospel. Another thing Calvin emphasizes is that the mention of Christ’s resurrection should not be taken as something that diminished the momentous importance of His death on the cross. The work of salvation did not start until Christ hung on the cross, and His rising again completed the whole work of our salvation.

There was nothing before, such as the Law, and nothing has been added since, such as the sacraments of the church that change this principle of faith. Our redemption, calling, and justification were put into effect by Christ’s death, through which we are reconciled to God. He then won the victory over sin, death, the grave, hell, and Satan by His resurrection. That then put us on the path of righteousness, newness of life, and the blessed hope of immortality. So Paul had no intention of drawing attention away from Christ’s death by only mentioning His resurrection here. Paul was standing by what he told the Corinthians: “If Christ did not rise from the grave, then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins”¹¹.¹²

John Bengel sees the thought expressed here by Paul as copying the Hebrew parallel form. It reads as follows: “Confession by the mouth must be added to faith of the heart, in order to secure salvation.”¹³ Albert Barnes takes the Greek word homologeō rendered “confess,” as meaning the same when it is rendered “profess.”¹⁴ So while it means “declare” in one instance it means “profess” in another. In fact, Thayer states that in this case, it means, “to declare openly, to speak out freely.” But there is more when that declaration is a confession, then what is said agrees with something else. It is exemplified by what the person is saying: They not only talk the talk but walk the walk. Furthermore, what a believer says for themselves must be in agreement, or accord, with what God says about them.

I like the way Jonathan Edwards speaks about how a sinner must make an open confession of their faith in Christ. It may be referred to as the “sinner’s prayer,” or “public testimony” of their acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior. For him, when the Apostle Paul speaks of the necessity of a profession of one’s faith in Christ as they seek salvation, he is actually speaking of a saving faith. And this “saving faith” is a combination of what one says with their mouth and what one believes in their heart.¹⁵

Barnes suggests that it could be formed as a creed that would imply the following: A profession of faith that stands as a public declaration of our agreement with what God has declared, and includes in all His extends to all His proclamations about our lost condition, our sin, and our need of a Savior. Also to His teachings about His own nature, holiness, and the Law; about the Savior and the Holy Spirit; about the necessity of a change of heart and holiness of life; about the grave and the judgment; and about heaven and hell.

When it comes to any doctrine of salvation, the role of the Redeemer must be front and center. It is put here by Paul as a way of making a distinction between all other facts. This is publicly expressed by the believer as their assent to that fact. So it is a declaration of agreement with everything else said in Scripture on this subject.¹⁶

Robert Haldane focuses in on why and how confessing Jesus Christ as Lord results in salvation. First, any confession made must imply that the truth confessed must be known and agreed to in the heart. That way, the belief of the heart is in sync with the confession of the lips. Neither one is genuine without the other. Unless that is the case, then neither the belief in the heart and the confession with the mouth result in salvation. If a person says, “I believe in Christ,” yet denies Him when challenged, or if a person does believe in Christ as Savior yet refuses to confess such belief openly, such conflict between heart and mouth causes one to cancel out the other. It is not enough to believe what we say without believing what God says. Christ did not die to be our Savior only at the beginning of lifting us up from being dead in trespasses and sin, but to be our Savior at the end when He raises us up from the grave to everlasting life. Anything less than this can neither save nor sanctify.¹⁷

Charles Hodge disagrees with John Calvin on putting faith before confession. For him, the two requisites for salvation mentioned in this verse – confession and faith, are stated in their natural order. First, our outer “confession” is the evidence of our inner “faith.” The Apostle Peter puts them in the same order by telling his readers to “confirm their calling and election.”¹⁸ Since calling is placed before election, then “calling” is the evidence of “election.” To make this clearer, let’s look at the thing to be confessed or confirmed. It is that Jesus Christ is Lord.¹⁹

That openly recognizes His authority to the full extent in which He is Lord. It also acknowledges that He is exalted above all principalities and powers.²⁰ Even angels are subject to His authority.²¹ Furthermore, all power in heaven and earth are committed to Him because He is Lord.²² This confession, therefore, includes in it an acknowledgment of Christ’s universal sovereignty, and a sincere recognition of His authority over us. So to confess Christ as Lord is to acknowledge faith in Him as the Messiah. This is how God sees Him and as a result made Him our Mediator. So it is clear that faith is necessary in such a confession.²³

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XIII)

When our thoughts, words, and deeds use the Word of God as a guide and motivator, our obedience then becomes one of principle, not obligation. As Paul told the Philippians: “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”¹ Paul then goes on to tell how Christ, even though He was on the same level as the Father, did not regard that as being something to cling to, but, as God’s Son, gave up His exalted privileges in exchange for a humble position in becoming Mary’s son. Not only did He take on human form, but in doing so had to deal with all the limitations and needs of the flesh. He even went to the cross in obedience to His Father’s will and died as a criminal. But after doing so, God raised Him from the dead and elevated Him again to His divine position in heaven.

So how does this relate to us? It becomes a matter of principle by which our attitude and motivation are affected. Jesus was willing to give up one thing in order to receive another thing that His heavenly Father ordained for Him. Our Lord subjected Himself to a status much lower than what He previously possessed for the sake of others. Not only that, but He freely consented to enduring hardships and trials in order to carry out His Father’s will. As a result, He was despised by the world, made fun of for His faith and the audacity of calling Himself the Son of God. It ended up costing Him His life. But in doing so, He was able to save others and God rewarded Him by raising Him from the dead to have with everlasting life up in heaven. Since Jesus did that for us, can we do any less for Him?

John Calvin sees Paul’s statement concerning the “message of faith” being interpreted as a “word of promise.” That is, the Gospel itself because it must be understood in its relationship to faith. For we are told that faith is the substance of things hoped for but as yet unseen.² And these things hoped for are the promises of God coming true. In this, we can see the distinction between the Law and the Gospel. And from this differentiation, we learn that while the Law demands works, the Gospel requires nothing more than faith. And when faith is brought to God, His grace is received. And that grace allows for the forgiveness of sins. And once those sins are forgiven, then justification is given to stand before God in as being right with Him. But not by the self-righteousness of works, but by the righteousness available through the work of Christ on the cross and resurrection. So the big difference between what Paul was preaching and what Moses told the children of Israel is that salvation has a different source. It is no longer the Law, but Christ.³

John Bengel has an interesting way of internalizing what Paul is saying here. As a believer, there is no reason why you should go looking for Christ in a church building or up in the sky. As soon as you believed, the Spirit of Christ took up residence in your heart. So don’t seek the Lord at a distance, but look within you. You will find Him there. This is true not only during the beginning phase of your faith but during your whole journey.⁴ This is reflective of what the Psalmist said: “Search for the LORD and for His strength, and keep on searching! Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the decisions He has made.”⁵ And just remember, as a new creation in Christ Jesus, you are one of His miracles. Because once this happens then you are eligible for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to exercise His gifts.

Adam Clarke sees Paul answering his own question about where to find the blessed assurance of salvation. There is no need to travel the world in search of the source of God’s saving power. It’s as close as saying by faith, “Father forgive me.” God never intended to make the way to salvation difficult or complicated. It was as simple as Christ’s death on the cross. And having faith in His death and resurrection is clear for all to know, and there are thousands who have answered the call and found that what it says it does and what it says it will do.

This is why Jesus commanded His disciples and all who followed Him to go and proclaim the Good News. He did not want the lost sheep to go in search of Him, He wanted them to know that He was willing to go in search of them.⁶ Paul also made it clear when he said in the next verse: “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.” But such a confession is useless if it is not done sincerely by faith with a strong desire to be saved. By submitting to this method of justification which God has devised, there is nothing a person can do to augment it or make it better.⁷

Robert Haldane questions whether or not the Apostle Paul is looking for a way to show that when it comes to righteousness, the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ must agree on some mutual point since both come from God. It appears that Paul found such a coincidental point of view when he quotes from Deuteronomy 30:11-14. Or could it be that Paul saw the clear manner in which the knowledge of what God required given to the children of Israel, and compared it to the clear language of the Gospel required to be given to those who would become the children of God?

As Paul explains it, under the Law they had to reach out for righteousness through works. But in the Gospel, righteousness reaches out to the sinner because the work is already done by Christ. Furthermore, under the Law the sinners were encouraged to search in order to find the way to God. But in the Gospel we see that God found a way to the sinner by sending His Son. So since the door of truth, as contained in the Law, was staring the people of Israel in the face, all they had to do was knock so they could go in. But in the Gospel is it Christ who stands at the door and knocks, and whoever opens up, He will come in⁸.⁹

Albert Barnes notes that Paul’s quote of Deuteronomy 30:14 was to signify that the doctrine was already so familiar, and so well understood, that it was already part of their language; their common conversation. Moses had so often instilled it in their minds that it was understood and talked about by the people. That way, there was no need for them to go in search of it in some distant land among a foreign people in order to obtain it. So Paul’s point is that the same is true of the Gospel. The facts were so well-known by the preaching of the Apostles, that they might be said to be “in every man‘s mouth.” So there was no need to go looking for it, it was already in front of them. This simplicity and plainness of the Gospel will now be explained by Paul in the next verse.¹⁰

Swiss theologian Frédéric Godet does not hesitate to consider the writings of Moses from ancient times being considered relative truth, but in Christ it becomes absolute truth. There is, therefore, in this passage neither an attempt to merely quote the words of Moses, nor, as a Rabbi, for Paul to pretend to interpret it correctly. In fact, what Paul does here ought to be done in every sermon. First, point out in the strict sense of the text the fundamental and universal principle it contains. Then, in the broad spirit of the text freely apply that fundamental and universal principle to the circumstances in which the people hearing are living. But there is one critical part of this process. Whatever is taken from the wisdom of Moses, must be delivered to the current audience through the wisdom of Christ.¹¹

But British scholar John Stott has a warning when such a process is used. He feels that many try to read into what Paul was thinking or saying things coming from their imagination but not a real part of the text. So, first the question is asked: “How does Paul use this passage from Deuteronomy?” Could we suppose that under the anointing, Moses was foretelling the death and resurrection of Jesus? Or could we assume that Moses was preaching the Gospel under the guise of the Law? The answer is emphatically, No!

Where we find the similarity between what Moses was teaching and what Paul was teaching lies in their easy accessibility. Paul knew that Moses began this part of his speech by telling the Israelites that his teaching was neither too difficult for them to understand, nor too far beyond their comprehension. Moses used dramatic imagery. He said it was neither up in heaven nor beyond the sea – remote and unknown. That’s why they did not need to have someone ascend into heaven or cross the sea in order to bring it back to them. On the contrary, what he taught was closer to them than he was. It was a part of them already. It was actually inside them, in their hearts and in their mouths. So the same can be said of the Gospel.¹²

Jewish scholar David Stern finds Paul telling the Israelites that what needed to be done was found in the Word given to them. It was not about following religious rules, but trusting in the message being brought to them. So the question needs to be asked: “What is this ‘trust’?” According to Paul, it consists of two components: privately trusting and publicly acknowledging. To do this, it requires using the heart and the mouth. On the basis of such trust alone can our efforts to obey God’s directives (Romans 1:5) lead to being made righteous (1:16–17). And that, in turn, will bring deliverance (or “salvation”) from the death penalty which sinners (that is, all people, 3:23) have earned (6:23).¹³

Verse 9: If you openly declare, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from death, you will be saved.

This scripture has been so misunderstood and misapplied that many who have heard it quoted to them as part of the sinner’s prayer are still not sure if salvation is theirs. Confessing that Jesus is ADONAI and believing that God raised Him from the dead, is only the first step toward salvation. In other words, there is no reason to go on confessing one’s sins and expressing that Christ is now Lord, Savior, and advocate before God the Father in order to receive forgiveness and eternal life. Unless you believe with all your heart that it is true, whatever else you may say will have no effect. It would be like a Jew reciting the Ten Commandments without believing they really came from God and are binding. Or, for someone to repeat John 3:16 without being convinced that it really happened and that by believing in Him they need not fear dying in their sins and facing everlasting punishment.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XII)

German theologian John Bengel notes that for some in the Church at Rome there is a dilemma. A number of them were looking in the Law for something they couldn’t find, while others who were not seeking anything found everything they needed in the Gospel. Of course, we are speaking of righteousness and salvation which are in Christ and available for all who believe in Him. On top of that, as one searches the Law of Moses for righteousness and salvation, they discover that they need the Gospel after all. I like what Bengel says next: “Faith too has a mouth; for faith speaks, but unbelief generally mutters.”¹ Bengel goes on to say that unbelief fluctuates; is always seeking, but finds nothing. That’s why unbelief looks down into the deep with suspicion and looks to heaven with doubt. One thing, Bengel says, that unbeliever’s need to know is what they are looking for. He goes on to say, poetically: “O unbelief, searching heaven and the deep for an answer, to find refuge in heaven or the deep, cannot be done outside of Christ.²

Adam Clarke also stresses the impossibility of attaining a right standing with God through works. There can be no doubt, as Paul has made clear, justification cannot be achieved through good works since everyone is sinful and can never satisfy the Law’s demands. So if it is God’s desire to grant salvation to all who believe, it must be by faith since it is essential that faith have some object, whether seen or unseen, in which to trust. And seeing, in this case, it cannot be the Law then it must be Jesus Christ.

The reason for that is He is the only one who, through His passion, death, and resurrection has infinite merit before God the Father in heaven. By trying to earn justification through works of the Law, it would require going up into heaven and defending oneself before God. But since it can only be received as a gift, that required Christ to come down from heaven to deliver it to all who will believe. So His coming down, His suffering, His death, and resurrection are absolutely essential for justification and salvation. No amount of self-righteous works can be a substitute for even a minute particle of what Christ did for sinners. If a person refuses to believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, then they have to climb up into heaven to find a replacement because they won’t find another one down here. All you have down here is the antichrist who will send you down the path to everlasting punishment.³

Bible scholar Albert Barnes feels that it is important that everyone know that nowhere does the Apostle Paul affirm that Moses describes righteousness by faith. Nor does he credit Moses with confirming justification by faith. Moses had a different goal in mind. To issue the Law and state its demands and rewards. Nevertheless, though he did not formally describe the plan of justification by faith, yet he used wording that could be taken as a similar plan. We find it at the time Moses called all the people together to deliver to them all that God had given him.⁴ Then Moses says to them: “This Law I give you today is not too hard for you, or too far from you. It is not in heaven. You do not need to say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to make us hear it, so we may obey it?’ It is not farther than the sea. You do not need to say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and bring it to us to make us hear it, so we may obey it?’ But the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.”⁵ If we were to personify justification so that it would be able to describe what it is and what it does, there is little doubt that it would be able to speak for itself.⁶

Charles Hodge sees this from a different angle. By Paul quoting the Torah, it is thereby implied that he is advocating that justification can be attained with perfect obedience to all that Moses delivered to the children of Israel. However, when we look at what Moses went on to say must be also be obeyed, it is instantly clear that it would be impossible for any sinner to achieve. That’s why Paul is declaring that the Gospel requires no such impossible tasks. There is no need for anyone seeking to know the truth to climb to the heavens or sail across the sea to find it. Since these are figures of speech, Hodge sees them as saying that what God requires is unsophisticated enough for even a child to understand, and one does not need a broad or wide spectrum of comprehension. All it takes is an open mind an open heart and an open confession.

Since the knowledge and will of God have been made so easily available, no one is then required to go through an obstacle course to access the truth. Neither is it hidden in a riddle nor so mystical that it requires extrasensory perception. What Paul is talking about here and what Jesus offered to Nicodemus was not some new mantra or magical spell. These expressions had already become proverbial among the Jews. Something described as being too high or far off was another way of saying it was unattainable.⁷ To ascend to heaven or go down to hell, was to do what was impossible.⁸ As the sea was to the ancient mariners impassable, it is easy to understand how the question, “Who can pass over the sea?” was the same thing as saying “Who can ascend up into heaven?”⁹

Swiss Bible scholar Frédéric Godet notices a change of subject from Romans 10:5 to Romans 10:6. Paul is making it clear that Moses goes from advocating that a person’s righteousness and justification be grounded in the Torah, to grounding one’s righteousness and justification in trust or faith. Also, Moses goes from speaking of possessing this blessed assurance in a book to having it in one’s heart. Paul does this by quoting from a passage in Leviticus 18:5-6. In looking at it, we see that at first, it was speaking about the letter of the Law, then it switches to speaking about the spirit of the Law.

So the question is, what message was Moses trying to convey to the children of Israel? More or less he was telling them they need not distress themselves about the difficulty in understanding and practicing this Law. There was no need to imagine that someone would have to go up to heaven or sail beyond the horizon on the seas to bring back an explanation. Don’t trouble yourselves with thinking this would be necessary in order to fulfill the Law’s demands. This Law had been revealed by the Lord in such a way that every Israelite could understand it with their heart and profess it with their mouth. This was to help them put their faith in the nearness of Yahweh and in the promise of His grace and mercy.¹⁰

John Stott sees a clear path to salvation in what Paul says here. It is a case of pointing out what it was then and what would be years from now on. When Paul came preaching the Gospel, it was understood by the Jews that salvation came through obedience to the Law. Paul understood it that way when he told the Galatians: “The Law does not use faith. It says, ‘You must obey all the Law or there is no hope.’”¹¹ But that was during under Moses. Now under Christ no-one is justified before God by the Law. Not because the Law was so bad, but because no-one had succeeded in obeying it. That weakness of the Law became the weakness of everyone who tried to find salvation by obeying it.¹² But there was even more. It wasn’t just a case of not being able to obey the Law, but how often it was disobeyed. So instead of bringing life, it brought its curse – all who disobey the Law must die. But the Good News was that since Christ redeemed us from the Law’s curse by becoming a curse for us so it can no longer threaten us.¹³ It is in this sense that we say, “Christ completed the Law.” Righteousness now is no longer found in the Law, but in Christ.¹⁴

So as far as Stott is concerned, the righteousness Paul came preaching is by faith. He set before those who were listening that salvation is no longer found in the Law but in Christ. And that added another dimension: the assurance of salvation is no longer promised by a powerless Law, but by the risen Savior who has been given all power.¹⁵ Furthermore, you had to work for your salvation under the Law, but now your salvation is a gift from God because Christ has done all the necessary work. So Paul tells them there is no need to think how can I scale the heights or plumb the depths in order to find this salvation if it is no longer in the Law? The Messiah came down from above to earth and then rose up from below out of the earth so that He could ascend back into heaven having accomplished His mission of bringing salvation to all who believe.¹⁶

Verse 8: This is what the Scripture says: “God’s teaching is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.”¹⁷ It is the message of faith being brought to people.

The Apostle Paul here so closely associates the tandem of the tongue and heart to the act of conversion in a way that we must consider them inseparable. To believe with the heart yet not confess with the mouth is to do no more than King Agrippa.¹⁸ Furthermore, it is liable within the boundaries of Christ’s own Law of confessing Him before men so He can acknowledge us before His Father in heaven. On the other hand, to confess with the tongue yet not believe in the heart is hypocrisy. Some of Christ’s most scathing rebukes were directed toward hypocrites. Yet even as the ingredients of salt are poisonous individually, together the compound is a preservative and excites flavor in food. Was it not our Lord who called those who believe and confess Him, the “salt” of the earth? Oh, you ask, what about the mute who cannot speak, or the deaf who cannot hear their own words? Since God sees the heart, their contrition and confession reaches His ears as loudly as one who verbalizes their confession. But their handicap cannot be used as an excuse by those who are able to testify to their belief in Christ as the risen Son of God.

In his quote from the Torah, Paul is referring to what Moses said to the children of Israel upon the giving of the Law. He said: “Obeying these commandments is not something beyond your strength and reach; for these Laws are not in the far heavens, so distant that you can’t hear and obey them, and with no one to bring them down to you; nor are they beyond the ocean, so far that no one can bring you their message; but they are very close at hand—in your hearts and on your lips—so obey them.”¹⁹ Paul takes what Moses said here about the Law being something that one does not obey out of habit or just as a practice, but something that abides in the heart and mind to lead and guide those who want to be obedient to God’s will, and applies it to the Gospel. Too often the teachings of Christ are followed as an outward formality and not out of an inward love for God.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XI)

Verses 6-7: But the salvation that comes through faith says: “You don’t need to go up to heaven to find Christ and bring Him down to help you,” and, “You don’t need to go down among the dead to bring Christ back to life again.”

Here the Apostle Paul gives us a general meaning of what Moses said about the Law: “Obeying these commandments is not something beyond your strength and reach; for these Laws are not in the far heavens, so distant that you can’t hear and obey them, and with no one to bring them down to you; nor are they beyond the ocean, so far that no one can bring you their message; but they are very close at hand—in your hearts and on your lips—so obey them,”¹ and combines it with what is written in Proverbs: “Who else but God goes back and forth to heaven? Who else holds the wind in His fists and wraps up the oceans in His cloak? Who but God has created the world? If there is any other, what is His name—and His Son’s name—if you know it?”² And of course, “we know His name!” says Paul, it is none other than Jesus the Christ.

Paul knew that the Jewish believers in the congregation at Rome would not find it unusual for him to use the hyperbole of ascending to heaven or descending into the place where the dead. He was aware that such expressions were oft used by the Rabbi’s to express the impossible.³ For instance, in the Talmud, the Rabbis were discussing how the requirements of the Law can be fulfilled in different ways. They concluded that even if it proves impossible to fulfill every Law if a person stipulates what else might be done to qualify as having fulfilled the law, what would that be? This question was raised because it had been taught that if someone says, Here is your divorce, on condition that you ascend to Heaven or descend to the deep, on condition that you swallow a hundred cubits of sugar cane or cross the great sea on foot; if those conditions are fulfilled, the divorce is valid, but not otherwise.⁴ So as we can see, this was another way of saying that trying to fulfill the demands of the law any other way than complete obedience is impossible. That’s the same thing Paul was trying to say about seeking justification from God by works.

This was also not something Paul just made up, he has the words of Jesus Himself to Nicodemus: “If you don’t even believe me when I tell you about such things as these that happen here among men, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven? For only I, the Messiah, have come to earth and will return to heaven again.”⁵ Jesus repeats this in a different manner after feeding the multitude on the eastern shore of Lake Galilee and mysteriously meeting them again in Capernaum, He used the manna from heaven that God gave Moses to give the children of Israel with the bread from heaven that God gave Him to give to them. Jesus told them: “The true Bread is a Person—the one sent by God from heaven, and He gives life to the world.”⁶

But Jesus wasn’t through explaining this transfer from heaven to earth. He then told them: “I have come here from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to have my own way.”⁷ In other words, Jesus is telling them: You couldn’t get to me through the Law given to Moses, so I, the Word, was sent down to you. That’s how John put it when he said, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”⁸ Jesus then goes on to tell many of those He just fed with bread and fish: “I am the living bread that has come down from heaven… I am the true Bread from heaven; and anyone who eats this Bread shall live forever, and not die as your fathers did—although they ate bread from heaven.”⁹

Here Paul is repeating to the Romans much of what he told the Ephesians: “The psalmist tells about this, for he says that when Christ returned triumphantly to heaven after His resurrection and victory over Satan, He gave generous gifts to men.¹⁰ Notice that it says He returned to heaven. This means that He had first come down from the heights of heaven, far down to the lowest parts of the earth. The same one who came down is the one who went back up, that He might fill all things everywhere with Himself, from the very lowest to the very highest.”¹¹

Since Paul was speaking here primarily to the Jewish contingent in the Roman church, he knew that they were well aware of what they had been taught by the Rabbis. For instance, in the Babylonian Talmud, we find a conversation between Rabbis about understanding the Torah, the Word of God. They said that everyone should fix a certain time every day to study of the Torah. This is in harmony with what another Rabbi said after asking: Why is the text of the Torah so significant? First of all, it is not stored up in heaven so that someone would have to ask: “Who can go up to heaven and bring it down to us?¹² Nor is the Torah in some place beyond the sea than another would have to ask: “Who can go over the sea and bring it back to us?”¹³

They go on to say that we know it’s not up in heaven. If it were then someone should have gone up and gotten it. And if it was beyond the sea someone should have gone over and returned with it. Then a teacher of Rabbis expounded further by saying that not only was the Torah not in heaven, it is also not with someone who thinks so highly of themselves that they believe they know everything. This only means that their pride is as high as the heavens. And for those who think that their knowledge of the Torah is beyond anyone else’s comprehension, only means that their self-esteem is as wide as the ocean.¹⁴

Medieval Jewish scholar Rabbi Moses Maimonides gives us some insight into how the Jews understood these words of Moses. He explains that when someone says, “It is not in the heavens,” that is a reference to being high-minded or having a proud spirit. When they say, “It is not across the sea,” they are indicating that it is not found in people who live far across the sea and must be retrieved.¹⁵ In other words, no matter how intellectual a person may be, and no matter how broad is the expanse of their knowledge, they still will not grasp all that God has to say in His Word. But Paul takes it one step further by saying that heaven is a reference to the infinite wisdom of God and the sea is a reference to His omniscience. So how can we understand God’s Word unless He explains it to us?

Jesus used this same quote from Deuteronomy when He was speaking with Nicodemus. After telling this highly educated member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and revered Pharisee about being born again, his confusion forced Jesus to tell him that we all know what human birth is and how it happens, but take faith to understand what spiritual birth is and how it happens. Nicodemus was still baffled, so Jesus had to explain to him that having faith is like saying the wind is blowing even though you can’t see it. You can tell by looking at the tree branches as they move back and forth, even though you don’t see what’s moving them, it must be the wind.

But what concerned Jesus more than anything was the lack on Nicodemus’ part of not recognizing the One talking to him. So Jesus said this esteemed Jewish Rabbi: “You hold the office of teacher in Isra’el, and you don’t know this? Yes, indeed! I tell you that what we speak about, we know; and what we give evidence of, we have seen; but you people don’t accept our evidence! If you people don’t believe me when I tell you about the things of the world, how will you believe me when I tell you about the things of heaven? No one has gone up into heaven; there is only the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.”¹⁶

Reformer Martin Luther believes that Paul is pointing out the futility of anyone trying to live in such a way that they do not suffer the death penalty for failing to live righteously under the Law. That is not an excuse and will not suffice to meet God’s requirements of righteousness. The righteousness needed for salvation lies beyond the Law’s ability to provide. The Law can convict, but it cannot convert. Therefore, there must be another source, and that is found in Jesus Christ. And when one believes in Christ they can live the way God wants them to live without being tied to the Law, trying to achieve the level of righteousness demanded of the Law.

That’s because the righteousness of faith needs no works of the Law in order to live a holy life. Just having the Spirit of Christ within and living according to the example He provides is all that’s needed. This way, faith replaces works because Christ has already done the works the Law demanded.¹⁷ Simply put, the need to work on getting salvation is unnecessary because Christ did the work for us. Now we must join Him in doing the works necessary to prove that our salvation is real. One of the most important works is to love God and love each other. Jesus Himself said that the whole world will know that we are His because we love one another.¹⁸

John Calvin attempts to put a frame around the words of Paul so that the picture of righteousness can be better seen. This is done by looking at the blessed assurance of our salvation as having two parallel sides. On the one side, we notice that eternal life has been obtained for us. And on the other side, we see that death has been conquered for us. For Paul, faith through the Word of the Gospel is sustained by both of these: Christ died for us, and by dying the power of everlasting separation from God was forever chained. Christ was also raised from the grave for us, and by coming back to life the power of everlasting life was released. The benefit of Christ’s death and resurrection is now communicated through the preaching of the Gospel. So there is then no reason for anyone to look for salvation in anything else or anywhere from anyone else.¹⁹

Japanese Psychologist Takahisa Kora, MD., made this statement during one of his lectures: “The key is to not resist or rebel against emotions or to try to get around them by devising all sorts of tricks; but to accept them directly, as they are.”¹ Although I studied psychology at the University of North Dakota, in no way, shape or form do I consider myself a qualified psychologist. However, I learned enough that I can safely say: Never let your emotions take control of you, always take control of your emotions.

If you have ever seen or viewed a report on what we call today, “Road Rage,” you will have witnessed a great example of emotions out of control. Almost every local evening news report will include a violent domestic dispute. Those are valuable learning lessons for us to remember what can happen that a person may regret the rest of their lives. Even though I’ve not read this anywhere in the many books on psychology that I have perused, I don’t think it would be out of line for me to suggest the following rule: However you react after being unduly criticized or insulted, keep in mind that whatever you do, that’s what you’ll be remembered for a long, long time.

Whenever you are suddenly confronted with something that makes your blood boil, instead of thinking about how you feel, think about how to react. That may require taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. And instead of looking at the individual who insulted or slandered you, look up and imagine the One who is watching you. It all begins with what Dr. Kora said: Don’t dismiss what you are feeling; don’t deny what you are feeling; don’t try to avoid what you are feeling; just accept it and then take control of it.

The Bible is not silent on this subject. King Solomon has a number of proverbs for us to remember. Once he said that fools are quick to lose their temper, but those who are wise remain relaxed when insulted.² In another place he said that a person who knows what they are doing always keeps their temper under control. They know that to lose control would be an awful mistake.³ Solomon goes on to advise us that to keep control of one’s temper is better than being famous, and being able to control self is better than being able to control an army.⁴ And finally, Solomon tells us that any person who is lacking in self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls.⁵

But Jesus gives us one of the most significant examples of taking control of one’s emotions so that the results are not embarrassing or do damage to one’s reputation. Matthew in his Gospel tells us about Jesus and His disciples were ministering in the area known as Caesarea Philippi, which is at the base of Mount Hermon, north of the Sea of Galilee. He was curious to find out what the people in that area were saying about him. Each of the disciples told Him what they had heard, but Peter comes right out and says that he is convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus immediately congratulated Peter on receiving such a revelation from His Father in heaven. He even told Peter that he would be a big part of the assembly of believers that would result from other’s believing that same thing about Him.

You can imagine that this made Peter somewhat proud to be the one God chose to reveal this vital and essential truth. So as Jesus began to speak to His disciples about His plans of going to Jerusalem, and what would happen to Him there. He warned how He would suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders, that He would be killed, and that three days later He would be raised to life again. When Peter heard this, he just couldn’t believe that the One he just confessed to being the Messiah, the Son of God would allow Himself to be treated like this.

So he walked over and softly whispered in Christ’s ear, “Lord, can we talk for a moment?” Then He led the Master some distance away from the other disciples, and begin to rebuke Jesus for talking this way. Peter more or less said to Him: As long as there’s a God in heaven this will never happen to you. Can you imagine how the King of Heaven, the Son of God felt when this lowly fisherman, the son of Jonah, talked to Him in such a condescending manner?

While we are not told precisely how our Lord felt, His actions say quite a lot about it. Matthew records that Jesus reacted to Peter with words that have become very well-known, “Get behind me Satan! You are an obstacle in my path!” The Greek verb strephō that Matthew uses here literally means to “turn around, to turn one’s back to.” One Jewish translation renders it, “Yeshua turned his back on Kefa (Peter”). In other words, Peter and our Lord were talking face to face, but when Peter began to speak to Him so disrespectfully, Jesus turned around and started to walk off. While God had put the revelation that Jesus was His Son in Peter’s mind, it was clear that Satan had put these words in Peter’s mouth. That’s why Jesus told Peter that his admonition was from a human perspective, not from God’s point of view.⁶ So it wasn’t that Jesus turned His back on Peter, it was that He turned His back on Satan.

What a great illustration for us when we are rebuked or spoken to disrespectfully. Don’t consider the source as being your spouse, child, neighbor, fellow worker, boss, or friend. Just as an enemy cannot betray you, an enemy cannot insult you. The real assailant here is Satan using a friend to insult you. So don’t turn your back on your spouse, child, etc., but turn it on Satan. Paul made this very clear to the Ephesians when he told them: If you become angry, don’t let nursing your grudge cause you to make a big mistake. Don’t let it torment you all day without dealing with it. Resolve to take control of the situation right away. For when you let anger continue unabated it will stress you out. By doing so, you are surrendering your rights to the devil.⁷

All of this may sound to you like the total opposite of what you’ve been told or believed to be the way to handle your emotional outburst. Get in their face, let them know exactly how you feel. And don’t be afraid to use any words you can find that will make them feel like the stupid, useless, good-for-nothing bum that they are. That way you’ll get it off your chest and you can go on feeling relieved that you told them off. But clearly, Jesus said, that’s the devil’s way, not God’s way. So which way will you choose? The one that makes you look like a child of the devil, or, the one that makes you look like a child of God? Keep in mind, whichever you choose will be your reputation for a long, long time. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

HAS ANYONE SEEN GOD?

A small boy once approached his slightly older sister with a question about God. “Suzy,” he said, “can anybody ever really see God?” Busy with other things, Suzy smiled as she replied: “No, of course not, silly. God is so far up in heaven that nobody can see Him.”

As the day went one, the boy’s question still lingered in his mind, so he approached his mother: “Mom, can anybody ever really see God?” he inquired. “No, not really,” she gently said. “God is a spirit, and He doesn’t have a body like us, so He dwells in our hearts, and we call that His Holy Spirit, but we can never really see Him.”

Somewhat satisfied, he went on his way but was still wondering if those pictures of God he saw in a book were real. Not long afterward, his grandfather, a retired minister, took the little down to the local lake to do some fishing. They had a great time together, but it was getting late, and his Pop-Pop knew they had to go home. As the sun began to set with unusual splendor, the old gentleman stopped fishing and turned his full attention to the exquisite beauty unfolding before him.

As the little boy looked up, he saw the face of his grandfather reflect a deep sense of peace and contentment. He was gazing into the glow of a magnificent, ever-changing sunset. The little boy thought for a moment and finally spoke hesitatingly: “Grandpa, I, uh, I wasn’t going to ask anybody else, but I wonder if you can tell me something. I’ve been wondering, has anybody ever really see God?”

The old man did not even turn his head. A long moment slipped by before he finally answered. “Son,” he quietly said. “It’s getting so that when I see the sunset, the stars, the beautiful ocean, the snow-covered mountains, I can’t see anything else, but God.” – Author unknown

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
— Psalm 19:1-4