Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson X)

Robert Haldane echoes this refrain: That Christ, and Christ alone has fulfilled the demands of the Law and, therefore, anyone who seeks salvation and eternal life on their own by trying to comply with every word of the Law will do so in vain. Anyone wanting to live by what the Law requires, as Moses declared, must obey each rule to perfection. Just the term “fallen man” even makes it impossible to consider going that route. The Law knows no mercy; it considers no extenuating circumstances; it does not close a blind eye to even the smallest breach, or any miniscule deficiency. One guilty thought or lustful desire ends the chase for self-righteousness and the effort must start all over again after the proper sacrifice is made to cover the sin.¹ This same principle holds sway when people call themselves Christian just because they abide by the laws of their church. A church cannot save anyone, even those who are devoted to its rites, rituals, rules, and righteous sacraments and demands.

Albert Barnes also agrees that the promise of life for following the Law was to be enjoyed down here on earth and then continued on in the world-to-come. I’m sure Moses was thrilled to tell everyone that all they needed was to do what the Law said and they would then be entitled to the rewards of the obedient. The happiness of which Moses spoke was, no doubt, the results which followed obedience. Not only would it produce happiness in this life, but also in the next life.

But there was a catch. The principle on which happiness would be conferred on them in the world-to-come was dependent on their obedience to the Law while in this world. Why obedience? Because the tendency and result of obedience would be to promote order, health, purity, and kindness. Those things were given in order to advance the welfare of mankind and to honor God. This is what is meant by the term “contentment,” in the sense that one’s future is secure. As such, it would produce what Jesus called: life without future judgment.² So we must believe that the Jews knew what Paul was talking about, by quoting Moses in this verse, as a reference to more than temporal blessings here on earth.³

Charles Hodge hearkens back to what Paul said in the previous verse about the goal of the Law. That its aim was for the Messiah to come and fulfill it with His offer of being right with God if a person would have faith in Him as their Savior. Therefore, salvation comes by faith, this is the heart of the Gospel. And this offer is for everyone, without distinction. When this belief is confirmed, then justification is secured. That’s why it was so important for Paul to connect his description and contrast of the two methods often used for justification. One of them is by works and the other by faith. The one by works is not even designed for justification. By its nature it is impracticable. The other, by faith, is both reasonable and rational. Furthermore, it has been adapted for use by all classes of people, Jews and Gentiles. And that was Paul’s mission, to bring everyone this Good News.⁴

Hodge also feels that it is important to understand the term “righteousness.” In its legalistic sense, what constitutes a righteous man is meeting all the demands of the Law by satisfying its claims for justification. The individual who possesses God’s righteousness cannot be condemned. The Apostle bases this conclusion on the fact that God is a just God. Therefore, He does not demand that those He justifies must achieve their own righteousness before He forgives. Every person should want this! There are only two possible ways righteousness can be obtained – by works or by faith. To do that, a person must either have their own righteousness or have received righteousness given to them because they have faith and trust in the one justifying them.⁵ In other words, the choice is ours. Either we can try to be right with God based on our own actions in compliance with the Law, or we can accept the work of Christ as our righteousness. The first is impossible, while the latter is instantaneous.

Charles Spurgeon looks at justification this way: “The message of the Law is: ‘Do and live.’ But the message of the Gospel is, ‘Live and do;’” – two very different things. Those who subscribe to the “do and live” doctrine must live by what the Law says, work hard and you’ll obtain it. However, those who abide by the “live and do” doctrine, actively do what the Gospel says, “You have life freely given to you in Christ Jesus; now work for Him because you live by Him.”⁶ No wonder that Jesus said that He had come so that instead of us merely existing down here on earth, that we may be able to enjoy life from above with all its unending abundance.⁷

John Stott sees the natural interpretation of Paul’s words about living right as being different from the way life is fashioned by obedience to the Law. Paul made that clear when he told the Galatians: “This way of faith is very different from the way of Law, which says, ‘It is through obeying the Law that a person has life.’“⁸ Paul is not just making an arbitrary statement in eliminating the Law as a way to salvation, it’s because no one has ever succeeded in obeying it to the letter. So when someone depends on the Law to save, the weakness of the Law also becomes their weakness.⁹ The real folly is, no individual successfully lives up to perfect obedience to the Law; everyone has disobeyed the Law on numerous occasions. And by such disobedience, instead of it bringing us life, it places us under its curse – certain separation from God for eternity. And this would have remained our position if Christ had not come to redeem us from the Law’s curse by becoming a curse for us. It is in this sense that Christ put an end to anyone considering the Law as a way to righteousness.¹⁰

Douglas Moo contends that Paul cites Leviticus 18:5 to describe righteousness defined by the Law. Paul is not suggesting that Moses purposely taught that one could be saved by doing what the Law said. When the First Covenant speaks of “living,” it generally means: Have a joyful existence in line with what the Law teaches. In doing so, we enjoy all the privileges of being part of Abraham’s covenant with God. It certainly does not always mean eternal life. Paul’s whole point here is that any righteousness based on the Law is, by definition, something one tries to get accomplished by “doing.” And “doing,” is what the Law is all about, as Leviticus 18:5 makes clear¹¹.¹² With all these differences pointed out between righteousness by works and righteousness by faith, we can confidently say that righteousness by works is “doing,” while righteousness by faith is, “being.”

Jewish theologian David Stern states that there shouldn’t be any doubt whether or not the righteousness that results from obeying God’s statutes and judgments leads to eternal life. The verse here says they must live according to everything the Law demands. Renown Jewish Rabbi Rashi quoted the Sifra,¹³ a fourth-century collection of midrashim¹⁴ related to the Book of Leviticus,¹⁵ and he made the point that if we say our righteous living only refers to this world and not the world-to-come, doesn’t every righteous person die sooner or later?¹⁶

That’s why Stern prefers the following translation of this verse: “He will attain life through them – eternal life.” The phrase for “to live” or “attain life” is the same as that used in Romans 8:12–13 to describe what will happen to the believer who “by the Spirit” keeps “putting to death the sinful practices of the body.” So Stern concludes that Paul affirms that the Torah and the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit)¹⁷ offer one and the same eternal life. This may also be derived from the fact that the Holy Spirit came to the first believers on Shavu‘ot (Pentecost), the same day in Jewish history when the Torah was given to Moses.¹⁸

Stern also points out that the two most important of the “statutes and judgments” referred to in Leviticus 18:5 are stated by Yeshua in Mark 12:28–31. The first is to love ADONAI with all ones’ heart, soul, understanding, and strength.¹⁹ And the second is to love one’s neighbor as oneself.²⁰ Both of these are based upon on putting one’s full trust in God. After all, if you can’t love God with your whole heart and believe in Him with your whole mind for who He says He is and what He is, you will have little chance of loving your neighbor if you can’t love God and love yourself. Not as the world might prescribe it, but as the Scriptures define it. So by quoting Leviticus 18:5, Paul, backs up his point that obeying the Torah requires trust, not trial.²¹

The long and short of Stern’s point is that the Word of God is divinely inspired whether it be in the First Covenant or Last Covenant. The difference is that in the First believers were expected to do all the things demanded of them in the Law – which was impossible, whereas in the Last all that is required is to trust God to provide all the blessings promised for obedience – which by faith is possible.²² No one should try to righteousness on their own through works.

Preacher Charles Simeon observed that once we are convinced to give up our attempt be righteous before God by our own works, and are willing to submit ourselves to Christ in order to receive His righteousness, a strange thing happens. The thought of total submission to the power of another is not something that our proud heart accepts easily. We become a lot like Naaman when he was told by the prophet Elisha to go dip in the Jordan River seven times in order to be healed of his leprosy.²³ He thought the prophet’s request was an insult to his dignity. It didn’t seem to be an adequate remedy for the disease that was killing him. People want something more practical. They want to be told what to do, how to do it, and why it will make them feel good about their salvation. Simple faith in Christ just doesn’t seem like enough to get the job done. However, we are commissioned to say that if an angel comes preaching any other method to be saved, reject them.²⁴

Simeon concludes with this prayer: O let your hearts be humbled before God. I’m sure that when Jesus told the ten lepers, “Go and show yourselves to the priests;”²⁵ or, when to the blind man, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam,”²⁶ they were not reluctant to comply. Why then should we? Can we cleanse ourselves from the leprosy if sin? Can we open your own blinded eyes to the truth? Can we bring about our own salvation? No assuredly, we cannot. We should have the same attitude as that of the Apostle Paul who desired to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, but the righteousness of God by faith in Christ.²⁷ So my brothers and sisters, be like-minded with Paul; then you may, like him, be “always triumphing in Christ,” and be assured, that, “when Christ, who is your life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory.²⁸”²⁹

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson IX)

Now we can see why only perfect people would be able to obtain everlasting life by keeping the Law to perfection. Being perfect, according to the Law, became so frustrating and disappointing that the Jews discarded the Law and returned to what they learned while slaves in Egypt. The prophet Nehemiah was so exasperated as he spoke to God about the many times He had mercy on them and tried to bring them back: “You punished them in order to turn them toward your Laws; but even though they should have obeyed them, they were proud and wouldn’t listen, and continued to sin.“¹ That’s why Paul told the Galatians that keeping the Law, under those circumstances, had become a curse.²

But how much different is righteousness that comes by faith in Christ? As Paul told the Philippians: “Everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than nothing, in order that I can have 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—counting on Christ alone.”³

At this point, let us refresh our understanding of God’s righteousness and the righteousness of God. When the Scripture speaks of God’s righteousness, it is talking about the fact that no matter what God does or action He takes He always does what’s right in His eyes. He is a just and loving God. He seeks to save, not to condemn. When we see the term, the righteousness of God, it is defining how our God, who is right, helps us live the right way according to His guidance and teachings. In other words, this ability is imputed into our hearts and mind through regeneration and empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. That means, what we do would be the same thing God would do in a similar situation. So any righteousness a person may claim to have, if it is not in harmony with God’s Word and His will, it is not the righteousness of God.

One Jewish writer who examined the Torah and how it harmonized with the thinking of Paul, wrote that for the Apostle, Yeshua was in a sense the shofar (trumpet) announcing the final year of Jubilee. This was the Gospel; the Good News that God had begun a season like Succoth (Feast of Tabernacles); the in-gathering of the Gentile harvest. God had accomplished this on His own through the obedience of Yeshua, just as He had done with the covenant with Abraham. It was God and not Abraham that walked through the pieces of flesh. Abraham was sleeping.⁴ Here, God’s final, or more accurately, renewed covenant was allowing the Gentiles a way into God’s community by faith in the faithfulness of Yeshua, just as the Jews are righteous because of the faith of Abraham.

This, in Paul’s view, is why the Gentiles, did not have to become Jews. The Gentiles were baptized (mikvot) into the community and would live as authentic members of the community. God had provided a way for people who were not His people to be His people and not be Jews. None of these ideas are foreign to the Jewish mind. The problems between Paul and the Jewish community were over how to treat Gentile believers, not how a person is justified by works or grace. Nowhere in the Torah does it say that a man is justified by works of the Law. He is sanctified by works, not justified.⁵

Early church scholar Origen sees the need to clarify how the Law could promise life in return for obedience. One thing that will help us, is to remember that Moses did not say that those who seek righteousness through obedience to the Law will live forever. The promise is that by living and doing what’s right they will have a full and enjoyable life.⁶ Eternal life could not be promised by the Law because the Messiah was coming to be the end of the Law. Christ then would provide a way to get right with God so that eternal life could be granted. As the Apostle says, without Christ it is impossible to qualify as being righteous by following the Law⁷.⁸

In his writings, early church scholar, Jerome, agrees. It was an error for the Jews to justify life in the world-to-come as a result of obeying the Law. The Law was meant for this world, not up in heaven. That’s why Christ came from up there to down here so He could take those who believed in Him down here back with Him up there.⁹.¹⁰ So it is clear that whenever Moses spoke of life through the Law, it was down here, not up there. However, Jewish Rabbis did extrapolate this and began to define it as life in the world-to-come.

Early church scholar Pelagius also sees the need to distinguish between the two kinds of righteousness: Righteousness of Faith and the Righteousness of Works. In this day and age, no one even tries to keep the Law of Moses perfectly. And for those who know the Law’s purpose, they know it is impossible to stand sinless before God without Christ. Believing in Him is also implied in the Law. On account of what Paul says here, some think that the Jews have only earned God’s favor in this present life by the works of the Law. However, what about what Jesus said to the rich young ruler: “If you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”¹¹

It is easy to understand from this that anyone who kept the Law had everlasting life¹².¹³ But that’s where the confusion comes in. What Pelagius does not say here, but was inherent in what Jesus said, it took the complete and perfect keeping of every Law in order to gain eternal life. Of course, what Jesus came to do, with respect to the Law, would be impossible for any other person to do, and that is to obey it to perfection. So His answer to the rich young ruler was not that eternal life was available to him by keeping the commandments but to show how impossible it was.

So righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ became necessary in order for eternal life to be given. Another early church scholar repeats what we have heard so far when contrasting righteousness by works and righteousness by faith. So for those who accept that Moses said the righteousness of the Law would grant eternal life to those who practiced and live by it, must take into consideration something else Moses said. No one should try getting up to heaven and look for the answer, nor should anyone go down to the center of the earth in search of it. What they are looking for it is already in their hearts. In other words, the true source of righteousness was already taught in the Torah which they memorized, and it pointed to the Messiah. So no one should doubt but believe the command which the Messiah will announce in the future when He will come to give you righteousness by faith.¹⁴

John Calvin sees the same forces at work. In this case, Paul compares self-righteousness by works with God’s righteousness by faith just to show how at odds they are with one another. When two competing ideologies or doctrines are placed side by side, it is easier to see where they differ. So he begins with the testimony of Moses, and for a reason. He hoped the Jews would understand that the Law was not delivered by Moses in order to discourage dependence on works as a source for earning God’s righteousness but to lead them to look to the Messiah. This was the same point Paul made to the Galatians.¹⁵ He certainly could have referred to the Prophets as witnesses, but it still would not have answered the question of why the Law prescribed two rules for earning righteousness? But it was not needed since there was only one and that was God’s Righteousness.¹⁶

Calvin goes on to say that the reason why Paul harmonizes the Law with faith and yet allows for the Law to set the path of righteousness in one direction and faith in the opposite direction. To understand this, we must realize that the word “Law” has a twofold meaning. On the one hand, it refers to the Ten Commandments, and on the other to all the precepts, statutes, sacrifices, Holy Days, rewards, and punishments that Moses outlined in Leviticus. So the Ten Commandments sets the principles of the Law, and these other things explain how they should be carried out. Through these, Moses was instructing the people on the doctrine of repentance and what manner of life was acceptable to God. But now that Messiah has come, the truth of what the Law was trying to teach is now out in the open. So what they once accepted by works they now must accept by faith.

Adam Clarke considers attempting to find righteousness through the Law is like an important riddle. Even though Moses received this Word for the LORD: “You must obey only my Laws, and you must carry them out in detail, for I am the Lord your God. If you obey them, you shall live. I am the Lord,”¹⁷ God was not talking about eternal life, but protection from death under the Law. Yet for those who say that it was a promise of salvation are right in one sense. That promise was to anyone who could perform its precepts to the letter. The only ones interested in such a gamble are those who reject Christ’s putting an end to the Law’s reign. No one ever did, nor will anyone ever constantly fulfill each of the Law’s demands to perfection. That’s what it would require to merit salvation by the Law.

Furthermore, Paul already said that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.¹⁸ That already puts them all under the curse of the Law.¹⁹ It is said: “A curse on anyone who does not confirm the words of this Torah by putting them into practice.”²⁰ So it goes without saying that those who try to earn righteousness and justification by way of the Law are already at a great disadvantage. They have broken the Law so many times it would be impossible to catch up. So here’s the reality: If it were not for the saving grace of God provided by the death of Christ, no soul could ever be saved.²¹

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson VIII)

American Bible scholar Charles Hodge also addresses the meaning and context of the word “Law” used in this passage by Paul. As he sees it, the Jews erred greatly in restricting their search for justification to the Law alone. That’s not what the Law was designed for. Its ultimate goal was to lead those who read it, understood it, and practiced it to the Messiah. He would be the one to offer a just cause for them to be declared right with God. The Messiah was sent in order to complete all of the things given to God’s children for guidance. Not only the law, but the feasts, fasts, and festivals. These things were done to find refuge and solace in the love and favor of God.

But they all pointed toward the Messiah. He would become their sole refuge, and the only one they would ever need. So when it says Jesus came to put an end to the law, that’s what it meant. Christ is the One in whom the Law ends and Grace begins because He fulfilled all its requisitions, all its types, and ceremonies, and satisfied its directives and demands for punishment.¹ John Bengel writes that Christ confers the righteousness and life which the law points out but cannot issue. That’s why the Law was given to burden a person with all the weight of their sins until they fled to Christ for safety. Then the will Law say, “You have found your refuge.²”³

Charles Spurgeon had some thoughts on how Christ fulfilled the Law for our sake. One of those is that once you believe in Christ’s righteousness as your own, it is a righteousness the Law could never have given you even if you lived a perfect life.⁴ That means, since the end purpose of the Law is to have a right standing with God, it is fulfilled to the fullest by having Christ stand there as your Savior. This is important because we are not under the first covenant now and so we can no longer attempt to be right with God by following its dictates. Therefore, whoever believes in Christ is as righteous as obeying the Law could have made them, but only if they kept it perfectly. If we receive Christ as our Savior by believing, we have the righteousness of the Law and more. All that could ever come to us by the highest and most perfect obedience to the law, we get by simple faith in Christ Jesus and what He did to save us.

In reading F. F. Bruce’s clear exegesis on both the words used and the meaning of Paul’s statement in context, it is clear that the Greek word telos (“end”) has a double meaning. It can either denote “reaching a goal” or “ending in termination.” When used as goal, Christ is the goal at which the law aimed, in that He was to embody the perfect righteousness which it prescribes. This is implied in Matthew 5:17, “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” So when a person begins to live their new life in Christ, the Law’s requirements are fulfilled in Christ Jesus, and as a consequence is fulfilled in the believer.⁵ On the other hand, not only is Christ the Law’s goal, and since in Him the law has found its perfect fulfillment, which is a right standing before God, that implies the termination of the Law’s function as a means of acquiring such a righteous status. So in Christ, the Messiah, the old way of doing things to gain righteousness through obedience to the Law’s requirements is now obsolete. It has been replaced by a new way of getting it done by the Holy Spirit⁶.⁷

Karl Barth does not hold back his convictions. For him, nothing could be clearer. There is but ONE truth, ONE relationship with God, whether by election or in rejection. That means there is only ONE way to stand righteous before God. This ONE righteousness of God is encountered whether we qualify for such a righteous status which proceeds from the faithfulness of God, and which we can only lay hold of and receive by faith.⁸ Whether we are unable to qualify by meeting all the requirements of the law, that is, by measuring up to all the standards of perfect human behavior or not. In the first case, God’s righteousness is invisible. In the second case, the righteousness of God is visible. But it is, nevertheless, the same righteousness. But the biggest factor is this, no one in history has ever met the standards of invisible and visible righteousness except Jesus Christ. Therefore, in the visible case, all of God’s invisible righteousness is to be seen only in and received through Him.⁹

John Stott also deals with the meaning of the Greek word Telos. As said before, it can be used to mean either, “end” in the sense of “having a goal” or “completion.” In Paul’s mind, this indicates the Law pointing to Christ as the one in whom the end would come, the goal would be met, and the completion would be made. But it could also be used to mean “termination” or “conclusion.” In this sense, it implies that Christ came into this world to terminate the Law as the resource for salvation, and brought it to a conclusion on the cross and by rising from the dead. Stott takes the position that this is what Paul has been trying to say.

In other words, because Christ came into the world to bring the task of the law to its completion, therefore, once that it was completed, then and only then was He able to end its rule and authority over those who believed in Him. This would do two things. First, it would neutralize those who claim that since the law no longer has any authority over them, they can live as they please.¹⁰ And secondly, those who see the end of the law in Christ as a way of setting them free so that all they have to do is love God and not worry about trying to get free on their own by obeying the Law.¹¹ Both groups seem to forget that the law was originally given as a means by which people could get right with God. And the reason that is no longer is true is because now Christ is the only way to get right with God.

So by canceling the law, Christ was simply getting rid of the idea that works can qualify someone to stand justified before God. Now it is done through Christ by grace. Grace eliminates good works in the sense that because of what Christ did on the cross, God graciously uses it to offer justification when the work Christ did is accepted. Since justification then leads to salvation, that is where Law and Grace are incompatible. Seeking righteousness by the Law is doomed because the Law cannot forgive sin. Christ is the only one who is now qualified to do that. And since Christ does not offer salvation based on a person’s self-righteousness, then they must accept it completely by faith.¹²

Jewish scholar David Stern gives a lot of attention to this section, especially on the controversy of “ending of the Law.” For him, the fact that Jews have not turned away from their old methods of gaining a righteous status before God, only proves that their enthusiasm for God is still based on a false understanding of the Law. Once they find out and accept the fact that trust in God for salvation is far superior to trust in themselves, they will understand their own Torah much better. This route to the righteousness which the Torah itself not only requires but offers leads through the Messiah. He is the only one who can offer them the righteousness they are seeking. That’s because all they have done, or try to do, still leaves them short of the mark of a right standing before God. Not only does Christ bring the righteousness that will get them there, but He Himself stands at the right hand of the Father to welcome them. Not only that, but they would also see this offer is made to everyone who believes, and that includes the Gentiles.¹³ And this last point may be the largest obstacle in their taking such a leap of faith to depend on Christ instead of the Law.

With this being the understanding, Stern asks if Paul is guilty of stereotypical thinking and prejudice. He does not think so. Rather, Paul is simply reporting the prevailing establishment viewpoint in the non-believing Jewish community of his day. Stern goes on to say a lot of confusion has come about by the way Paul’s words have been translated to more or less mean that the Law came to an end, it was terminated when Christ arrived. Stern rejects this idea. If you are going to accept the Law as having in it the need for the Messiah, then how can you eliminate it without eliminating the Messiah?

In the end, Stern takes what Paul says here as meaning that when a person puts their trust in God to save through Christ, which the Torah itself requires, will have a better understanding – precisely because they have no such trust – that the Gospel is their only way to God. Their faith and trust then will be placed in God’s Messiah, Yeshua. Finally, they will have found the Way, and the only Way, that a person can be justified as righteous in the sight of the God. That’s because they want to serve Him and obey all that He revealed in the Torah. But they will believe the Torah as it is understood in the teaching of Yeshua. However, by refusing to believe in Yeshua they will be disobeying their own Torah.¹⁴

Verse 5: Moses wrote that the person who wants to live right must live according to everything the Law says.

To show the futility of trying to obtain eternal life by following the law, Paul points to the giver of the law, Moses, who carried God’s exact words down the mountain and announced them loudly to the people. They weren’t suggestions or guidelines, they were required actions. This was still the understanding when Jesus came.¹⁵ But the problem was, no one was capable of keeping each and every law to perfection.

The rendering of this quote by Paul from Leviticus 18:5, reads as follows in the Jewish Bible: “For Moses writes about the righteousness grounded in the Torah that the person who does these things will attain life through them.”¹⁶ When we look at the Targum (Paraphrase) of Onkelos, he renders the same passage in Leviticus this way: “The man who does these things shall live in them to eternal life.” And the Arabic version has, “The retribution [payback] of him who works these things is that he shall live an eternal life.” So in Paul’s next verse, that talks about salvation, it seems to be based on what its understanding from the beginning. Paul was not disagreeing with it, but rather is pointing out the fallacy in how the Jews interpreted it.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson VII)

The Bishop of Laodicea, Apollinaris, also writes about Christ versus the Law. As he sees it, Christ is the only source of holy righteousness because He put an end to needing the law by fulfilling everything the law demanded for salvation.¹ To put it another way, the Law was incomplete because it only identified what sin was but provided no forgiveness and no deliverance from its slavery. But when Jesus came, He completed that circle in Himself so that obeying the Law was no longer necessary for those seeking forgiveness and salvation. This is why Chrysostom preached that Christ is the only one to fulfill the requirements needed to be righteous. So it turned things around. Before, no matter how hard anyone tried to be righteous by perfect obedience to the law, they failed. But now, even though someone fails to keep the law perfectly, they are still free of condemnation by their faith in the righteousness of Christ.²

Reformer John Calvin prefers to think of this as Christ completing, not just fulfilling the law. By so doing, He made an incomplete law complete. Now, instead of obeying the law through works, they obey the law by having faith in Christ’s work. So we can see why Paul was no friend of the Jews who abused the law by making-up absurd requirements and establishing impossible obstacles to keep as many as possible from succeeding in their quest. They went from 10 Commandments³ to 613 Commandments,⁴ none of which guaranteed salvation or eternal life. They rejected the spirit of the law and chose the letter of the law. It’s the same as selecting a mummy to communicate with instead of a living person. So what we have here in this remarkable passage is that the law in all its parts already had a reference to Christ because He was the only one who could and would complete it.⁵

Jonathan Edwards believes that the Gospel should be preached often. And although he is not against the moral law being made part of a sermon, it should only be preached as a way of shedding light on the Gospel. Furthermore, in order for the Gospel to be preached effectively, it should be seen as the fulfillment or completion of the law. The same can be said of righteousness. By all means, righteous living should be preached but only to show that Christ is the fulfillment of such righteousness. What good will it do to preach the condemnation of disobeying the law if they neglect to preach the saving grace of the Gospel? Yes, sermons on living right are absolutely necessary but they are preached in vain without including the saving power of the Gospel.⁶

As far as Adam Clarke is concerned, where the law ends, Christ begins. By that, he means that the law ends with multiple temporary, symbolic sacrifices, but Christ begins with an eternal, genuine, onetime offering. The law served as a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ because it cannot save. So it can only leave us at His door. And this is the only door that leads to salvation. Every atoning sacrifice listed in the sacrificial code of Moses was a foreshadowing of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. That’s why Christ’s atoning sacrifice for sin was the grand fulfillment of the whole sacrificial code of Moses. The sheep, goats, birds, bulls, etc., certainly could die as a substitute for the sinner, but they could not duplicate Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. When they died, one sin was forgiven once, but a new sacrifice had to be made each time sin was repeated. When Jesus died, it was for all sin for all time. NO wonder He cried out on the cross, “It is finished!”⁷

As Clarke saw it, when we separate the prophesied sacrificial death of Christ from the context of the Law, then the law has no meaning. The blood of bulls, goats, and lambs were only imitations of the blood of the Messiah because they were insufficient. This is made clear when the Psalmist David said: “Sacrifices and grain offerings you don’t want; burnt offerings and sin offerings you don’t demand.”⁸ The writer of Hebrews also points to this by adding: “For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats really to take away sins. That is why Christ said as he came into the world, ‘O God, the blood of bulls and goats cannot satisfy you, so you have made ready this body of mine for me to lay as a sacrifice upon your altar.’”⁹

So from Clarke’s perspective, God never designed the sacrifices under the law to be considered the actual atonement for sin, but rather, a type or representative of that atonement. It was pointing to the ultimate atonement made by Christ’s sacrifice as the Lamb of God. That’s why He is considered the fulfillment, or end, of the law when it came to sacrifices. Even though sacrifices were offered to procure pardon for sin, grant righteousness, and secure justification, they had to be offered over and over again. Christ ended this practice by providing all three in one sacrifice that never had to be repeated again. Therefore, every Jew who rejected Christ as their Sacrifice rejected their Savior.¹⁰

As unfortunate and unreasonable as it may sound, in many churches today, what the Jews did to the Law, Christians have done to the Gospel. They have made many of their rites, rituals, and ceremonies the end result instead of them pointing to or being representative of the end result in Christ. Water baptism no longer represents one’s “self” being buried and dying in Christ and then rising again in the newness of life with Christ living in them. Now it is an end in itself. No one testifies of being a new creation in Christ Jesus, they only talk of having been baptized. In most churches, they are given Certificates of Baptism. There is nothing wrong with receiving such a meaningful certificate, but it will not get anyone into heaven.

Robert Haldane was moved by Paul’s deep concern for his fellow Jews and the condemnation that removed them from God’s favor. But the real problem was that although a way had been prepared for them to again get right with God, they refused His offer. Their object came from the fact that Christ was being acclaimed as the one who put an end to the law. They were sure that “end of the law,” meant they no longer had any means by which to earn righteousness through their good works. After all, who dare stand before God and tell Him that everything is alright, it has been taken care of, but unable to point to anything they did to make it happen? That would require humbling themselves before God, regretting that they were a failure in trying to make it on their own and throw themselves on the grace and mercy of God for forgiveness and restitution.

These Jews failed or were unwilling, to accept the fact that in their present state the law was unable to justify their existences as God’s children because the law was unfinished, incomplete. That’s why no matter how hard they tried, none of them were able to do all that the law commanded in order to live a righteous life acceptable to God. God knew that too, that’s why He sent His Son, not as an apparition, or in the form of an angel, but in the flesh, in the form of human likeness. This was so necessary because, in order to fulfill and complete the law, it must be done in the flesh. That’s how our Lord was able to win the victory because he fought the war and won the victory over sin in the flesh. The is what Paul told them back in chapter 8, verse 4: “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,” who are in Him. And once Christ fulfilled the law’s demands and completed its mission, He then became the One in whom righteousness is found and received by everyone who believes in Him and the work He did on the cross. The law was given to serve a purpose, Christ fulfilled that purpose.

But there was still more. Everyone living according to the law was under a curse. That curse would keep them from all the blessings of life that God desired to give them. That curse was that all those who were unable to fulfill the complete law would suffer eternal separation from God after their death. So not only did they fall short of doing all the law demanded, but the law also failed in bringing them into a right relationship with God. But all those who now accept Christ as their source of righteousness will receive “everlasting righteousness.” This is what Daniel called it.¹¹ And with that everlasting righteousness comes eternal life. That’s because the believer’s life is not only comprised of what they do but what Christ does in them. This is what Paul told the Colossians: “When Christ who is our real life comes back again, you will shine with Him and share in all His glories.”¹² Accordingly, Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’¹³”¹⁴

Albert Barnes makes note of the fact that the Greek word telos, which is variously translated into English by the KJV as “end, custom, continual, uttermost, and finally.” James Strong defines this word to mean: “to set out for a definite point or goal; the point aimed at as a limit, the conclusion of an act or state.” Thayer in his Lexicon puts the use of telos, here in Romans, in the category of “things that cease to be the way they were,” or, “an act or state of being that comes to an end.” So to talk of the “end” of the law, it means that the Law was given to meet a need, to reach a goal. The goal was to be fulfilled in the Messiah. So once the Messiah came, the Law was no longer needed. To live and move and have one’s being in Christ fulfills the Law to the fullest.

Barnes also interprets this to mean that the law was designed to serve a purpose. It no doubt was given so that people, by obeying and following it, could be put in a right relationship with God because they were doing what He commanded them to do. But perfect obedience to the law was impossible. So what the law could not accomplish through man’s efforts was accomplished by having faith in Christ who did exactly that, He met all the laws demands. In other words, what the law was sent to do went down in defeat, God sent His Son to do all that the Law attempted to do and was victorious.

This was the core subject of the discussion between the Apostle Paul and the Jews. There are some who say that the word “law” means “ceremonial law.” Others take it to signify, “moral law.” The truth is, Christ completed both. Sacrifices on the altar and sprinkling blood on the Mercy Seat of the Ark in the Holy of Holies is no longer needed. Neither is the daily practice of doing good works to show oneself as being compassionate and kind. Jesus said they were now all wrapped up into one: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then he added, love your neighbors as yourself. But as far as this passage is concerned, it was the law that required justification for salvation that came by perfect obedience. As Pilate exclaimed to the Jews, I find no fault in Him.¹⁵ So if we live and move and have our being in Him,¹⁶ we too are justified so that the condemnation of being eternally separated from God is canceled.¹⁷

In other words, no matter how much you pray, say the Rosary, go to church, take communion, read the Bible, give your tithes and offerings, light candles, volunteer for ministry, or sing in the choir, nothing of what you have done to fulfill the Law is acceptable compensation for the salvation you so badly need. It comes freely as a gift through Jesus Christ because He paid the ultimate price. Many of these things should be done as our way to show our Love for the One who died for us, not to earn our salvation by trying to impress God so that He’ll save us our way.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson VI)

Charles Spurgeon does not place the burden of being ignorant of God’s righteousness on the Jews alone. In fact, he says it could also be found among many Gentiles. Such people certainly had a form of righteousness that they understood. In fact, very few, if any, civilized and uncivilized people could be found that did not have a sense of right and wrong. But as far as the Jews were concerned, Paul says that while they have great enthusiasm for being God’s people, it was misdirected zeal since they are not sure how God makes people right with Himself. But instead of learning God’s way, they held on fast to their old way of getting right with God.

They did this by trying to keep every law in the books. How sad it is that they didn’t see that even with such blind zeal they are in fact dishonoring God, and virtually dethroning Him by attempting to set themselves up on the seat of power in their hearts and, thereby, taking God’s rightful place. There was no reason to do that because He had already provided a certain and sure way to get to Him, but they would not accept it.¹ This fits well with what Paul told the Ephesians: “That I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”²

As Spurgeon see it, it is sad and distressing that people should be so dedicated to rites, rituals, and ceremonies without realizing that nothing will come of all their efforts that will impress God enough that He will overlook what His Son did on the cross to save them. There’s nothing wrong with zeal and enthusiasm, it’s only that it’s often aimed it in the wrong direction. It’s pointed at those around them and those that lead them instead of being directed to God. They certainly want to be righteous, but they want to do it in a way that they may stand before God dressed in the robe of their own righteousness.

God has His own attire of righteousness.³ These robes are not earned, they are a free gift to everyone who believes in the One who made them righteous, Jesus Christ. What they didn’t realize is that by trying to produce their own righteousness garments, they have started a rivalry with God. This not only dishonors God’s name, but it is an insult to His Son. Spurgeon cried out from the pulpit: “May God grant that any of you here who are very zealous in a wrong direction may receive light and knowledge, and henceforth turn your thoughts in the right way.”⁴

Charles Ellicott approaches this subject of the Jews’ zeal from a historic perspective. Paul was right in calling it a zeal for God but without the proper spiritual knowledge that comes through His Word. They had this enthusiasm for God that they would do anything to impress Him. Based on Ellicott’s own research, he said that Jewish Historian Josephus observed that the Jews knew the Law better than their own names, duly observing all sacred rules. They also frequently attended all the great feasts, by the thousands, going over and above the requirements of the Law. This allowed the strict religious exercises advocated by the teachers of the Law to be the new trend. In fact, the Greek Jews and Egyptian Jews living under the rule of emperor Caligula were crucified and burned at the stake for following their faith so precisely. And Palestinian Jewish prisoners of war died by the claws of African lions in the Roman amphitheater rather than sin against the Law. “So what Gentile,” exclaims Josephus, “would do the same [for their religion?]’”⁵

John Stott sees a duplication of this ignorance of true grace on the part of the Jews in Paul’s day and our current situation. It comes mostly from the tragic adoption of a false way. In fact, such errors are widespread among religious people of all faiths. It’s because all human beings, who know that God is righteous and they are not, start looking around for a righteousness which might make them more fit to stand in God’s presence than the form of righteousness they were taught. To put it another way, they tried to “be more holy” than others. This then presents only two possible options from which to choose. The first is to attempt to fashion a type of righteousness made by man. That includes good works and religious observances. But this is doomed to failure since in God’s sight all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.⁶ One other option is to see the righteousness of God that comes only by receiving Christ as one’s personal Savior, who brings God’s righteousness into the heart by the Holy Spirit⁷.⁸

Verse 4: Christ ended the requirements under the law so that everyone who believes in Him is made right with God.

All of this talk about salvation by works and the law that gave rise to such uncorrectable conduct as that displayed of self-righteousness for personal gain leads Paul to inform the Jewish believers that this was one of the reasons Christ came to end the Jews’ bondage to the Law. In other words, He came to take the place of the Law so that through Him righteousness could be attained without all their religiosity, ritualism, and legalism. This should not have been all that new to the Jewish believers, after all, it was foretold by Isaiah: “It was the Lord’s good plan to bruise Him and fill Him with grief. However, when His soul has been made an offering for sin, then He shall have a multitude of children, many heirs. He shall live again, and God’s program shall prosper in His hands. And when He sees all that is accomplished by the anguish of His soul, He shall be satisfied; and because of what He has experienced, my righteous Servant will make many to be counted righteous before God, for He shall bear all their sins.”⁹

Paul was not talking about some doctrine or theory that he imagined or constructed, he was echoing the words of John the Baptizer who told his critics: “This is the man I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.’” We have all received from his fullness, yes, grace upon grace. For the Torah was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Yeshua the Messiah.”¹⁰ Then, the Messiah Himself said: “Don’t misunderstand why I have come—it isn’t to cancel the laws of Moses and the warnings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them and to make them all come true. With all earnestness, I’m telling you: Every law in the Book will continue until its purpose is achieved.”¹¹

So it is no wonder that when Paul and Barnabas arrived in Antioch, in the province of Pisidia, that he preached to the Jews they found there and said: “Brothers! Listen! Through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for sin! Everyone who trusts in Him is cleared of any guilt and declared righteous—something the Jewish law could never do.”¹² And when Paul learned of certain elements in the church at Corinth that thought they knew better than others what was the true way for Jews to become better Christians, he told them: “For it is from God alone that you have your life through Christ Jesus. He showed us God’s plan of salvation; He was the one who made us acceptable to God; He made us pure and holy and gave Himself to purchase our salvation.”¹³ In other words, there is no place in God’s plan of salvation for the self-righteous.

The churches throughout Galatia had become especially vulnerable to this kind of thinking, so Paul had to write them and remind them of this: “The Jewish laws were our teacher and guide until Christ came to give us right standing with God through our faith. But now that Christ has come, we don’t need those laws any longer to guard us and lead us to Him. For now we are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.”¹⁴ And to the Colossians, Paul explained it this way: “Don’t let anyone criticize you for what you eat or drink [that’s not kosher], or for not celebrating Jewish holidays and feasts or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these were only temporary rules that ended when Christ came. They were only shadows of the real thing—of Christ Himself.”¹⁵ Believe it or not, there are some churches today that are so enamored with Jewish customs and practices that it is now required that they participate in them to make their salvation surer.

One early church scholar, Clement, who wrote his own Epistles to the church in Rome, feels that what Paul was talking about here was the cancellation of the authority that the Jews had placed in the law. This was because the Jews did not understand the intention of the law and, by misunderstanding it, they failed to put to good use. So they made up their own version because they thought they were saying what the law meant to say. They also had no faith in the prophetic power of the law. So they simply did what it said without thinking of the results. In other words, they followed it to the letter but did not grasp the inner meaning which can only be realized by faith.¹⁶

Then we read the view of early church theologian Novatian, who believed the Jews missed the main points of the law by reading into it what wasn’t there while failing to see what was there. They paid so much attention to the literal interpretation that they couldn’t perceive how the metaphors and figures of speech illustrated deeper meanings. Jesus complained about the same thing concerning His parables. They got so caught up in the story that they totally missed its spiritual implication.¹⁷ So when Paul talked about Christ putting an end to the law, they thought He meant that Jesus did what Moses did, broke the tablets of stone and threw them away.¹⁸ What Christ really did was fulfill the Law in every respect so that it wasn’t needed anymore. All that was needed now could be found in Him.¹⁹ In other words, it wasn’t so much that Jesus ended the law, but that He proved to be the end result of the Law.

Let me illustrate in the form of a parable. There was a growing village on low side of a wide river that was constantly being flooded and in danger of being inundated. So the inhabitants made canoes out of trees in order to row to the other side where there was much higher ground and safety. But each time they tried to paddle across the river they failed, some were even swept away by the current. Then one day a wealthy man on the other side of the river sent his son, trained in carpentry as a boy, to build a bridge for them. He too wanted them to join him to live in peace and safety. But because of their pride, they refused to use it. They wanted the notoriety and of being able to reach the other side their own way. Now here some 2,000 years later, they are still trying to row across and having no success. So it is with those who are trying to get to heaven to be saved on their own. They still ignore the bridge built in the form of a cross by the Son of God and keep paddling their own canoes.

Former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, once made this statement: “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor souls who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”¹

That reminded me of what the Lord told the people of Israel about keeping from Him the things they could contribute to the growth and success of His mission here on earth. In particular, to stop cheating Him out of the support His House needed to survive. So God gave them this challenge, “Stop cheating me with your support for My House, test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”²

God challenges us to prove that He means what He says. He is waiting to do business with us, whenever we’re ready. He promises to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings until we can’t contain it all. The only delay is on our part. As soon as we trust Him by taking the jump, He will show us that there are many more blessings to enjoy than we had ever imagined. God says, “I dare you to obey Me by giving properly.” The question is, are you willing to take God up on His dare?

This has nothing to do with taking a gamble, it is all about exploring your potential. To do that, late Bahamian evangelist Myles Monroe helps us understand some of the ways we can unbind our potential in Christ:

◆ Know your Source and how you are related to each other.

◆ Understand what you are attempting to do and how it works.

◆ Be sure of your reason and purpose in doing it.

◆ Remain confident that your Resource has what you need.

◆ Check your environment to make sure it’s right for your experiment.

◆ Look to see if you are prepared and able to take the challenge.

◆ Get ready to work hard on planting the seed for the harvest you expect to bring in.

◆ Don’t walk off and leave your investment unattended.

◆ Develop plans on how to share the results of your effort.

◆ Always keep in mind the laws of limitation. Trying to overdo something may only result in undoing everything you have done so far.

Neither President Roosevelt nor Evangelist Monroe were advocating that we carelessly climb out on an unsupported limb, nor to start off on a journey minus a map or without knowing where we are going and our reason for getting there. It’s all about looking an opportunity in the eye and believing that with God’s help you can do it for His glory. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

GOD’S “SPECIAL DELIVERY!”

In my 54 years of ministry, I’ve been blessed to experience God’s special guidance on occasions that, in one case, saved my life. So when I read this story, I could say with assurance that such things do happen to people when they are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The writer of this story withheld his name in order to give God all the glory.

He had just come out of church after the Wednesday night Bible Study, where the Pastor taught on “Listening to God and obeying His voice.” The young man couldn’t help but wonder, “Does God still speak to people?”

As was their custom, he and several of his friends went to a nearby cafe for some coffee and pie, where they discussed the lesson. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o’clock PM when the young man started for home. While driving, he began to pray, “O Lord, if You still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey.”

As he drove along the route he always took from church, he suddenly had the strangest urge to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out to himself, “Where did that idea come from?” As he drove on, once again the same urge came into his mind like a voice speaking to him, stop and buy a gallon of milk.

Then young gentleman remembered how the Pastor has talked about young Samuel in the Bible and how he didn’t recognize the voice of God, and how he ran to the high priest Eli thinking it was him. At that moment, the young fellow said. “Okay, God, just in case that’s You talking to me, I’ll stop and buy the milk.” It didn’t seem like too bad of an idea. After all, he could always use the milk. So, he stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and then continued toward home, thinking he would learn soon why he had been led to buy the milk.

As he passed Seventh Street, he suddenly felt the urge to turn and go down Seventh Street. He had never been down that street before, so it didn’t make any sense. He drove on, but the urging in his mind would not stop prodding him. So, he decided to take a chance because if this was God speaking to him, he wanted to obey. So he turned around and went back to Seventh Street. As he turned on to a very dark and unfriendly looking street, he half-jokingly said to himself, “Okay Lord, I’m doing this just for You.”

It was not one of the most upscale parts of their small city. There were lots of small business and some apartment buildings and small houses. He drove on slowly for several blocks when all at once, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. I was eerily dark in that spot, there were no street lights on, and he didn’t see any lights on in any building. He was pretty sure that everyone who lived there was already in bed.

He was beginning to feel some anxiety about where he was. As he looked around one more time before he decided to get out of there, he was hoping he’d see something that might help him understand why he had been led there. His eyes fell on the front door of a small house right across the street from him, and he felt a strong urge to take the gallon of milk to that door. As he stared at the door, there was nothing that told him it would be a friendly place to go. But he gritted his teeth, quickly got out of his car, grabbed the gallon of milk and ran over to deposit the milk at the front of the door.

As he ran up to the door of this small, somewhat shabby house, he went to place the milk at the front door when he suddenly heard voices inside. Now, this whole thing didn’t seem so insane as it appeared to be at first. So pressed the doorbell button just once. The voices inside stopped. He waited for a moment and was about to put the milk down and hurry back to his car when He could hear a man’s voice inside yelling out in an agitated tone, “Who is it? What do you want?” That did it, he was going to drop the milk and get out of there as quickly as he could.

But just as he turned to leave, the door flew open and there was a young man standing in jeans and a T-shirt. He looked like he just gotten out of bed. He stood looking at this stranger with a bewildered look on his face, and he didn’t seem too happy to have somebody ring the doorbell that late at night. The man asked again, “What do you want?” But this time his voice sounded more like a desperate person looking for help. The young man thrust out the gallon of milk and said, “Here, something told me to bring this to you.”

What happened next caught him by surprise. The man grabbed the milk, whirled around and rushed down the hallway speaking loudly in Spanish. He opened a door to a room and shouting to the person inside. Out rushed a young woman holding a tiny baby. Together they hurried to the kitchen. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face as he turned around and came back to the front door. He was sobbing as he tried to explain that he and his wife had been praying all day. Through tears, he told the young man that they had some big bills to pay this month and ran out of money. Wiping away the tears, he told the young gentleman, “We didn’t have any milk for our baby. We were asking God to show us some way we could get some milk for our baby.” His wife then called out from the kitchen, “I asked God to send an angel with some milk. Are you an Angel?”

Now everyone had tears in their eyes and a joyful smile on their faces. The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put it in the man’s hand. The young man and his wife thanked him over and over again, praising God for answering their prayer. After hugging and praising the Lord, the young man turned and walked back toward his car with tears were streaming down his face. He knew he had just experienced how God speaks to people. It was a lesson he would never forget.

I can tell you from personal experience that when you let God use you like this, those to whom he sends you do think that you are an angel. Well, you are! Not in the physical sense of having wings and flying down from heaven, but in the sense that the word “angel” means “messenger.” So the next time God urges you to visit or call or take something to someone, just consider yourself as a divine messenger with a special delivery. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson V)

Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards agrees that the more knowledge you have the greater will be the pressure to conduct yourself in a discreet and discretionary manner in your Christian life. To do so will bring more honor and glory to God and establish faith in Christ as the better way of living. There are many who mean well, and they are full of good intentions, yet, for the lack of discernment, they behave in such a way as to give Christianity a bad reputation. Although they say they are on fire for God, they do more harm than good. That’s because so many fall short of the glory of God in their daily lives and ministry. It’s not so much that they need more grace, they need more wisdom and spiritual perception. And such insight comes only from God’s Word and through the counsel of the Holy Spirit.¹

Adam Clarke finds the Jews’ treatment of the law repulsive. Although they believe that the law came directly from God to Moses, oddly enough they became somewhat jealous of how it was glorified because of its excellence. While they conscientiously observed its rites, rituals, and ceremonies, they did not consider the real purpose of such acts of worship. Not necessarily because they consciously did so, but out of Ignorance more than with Intent. They use this as a convenient excuse when they are confronted by the Gospel. It may have seemed like an appropriate apology for them, but Paul is getting them ready for the harsh reality he is about to deliver.

It all came down to the fact that their so-called misunderstanding of God’s righteousness came from not knowing enough about God’s method for saving sinners. That’s why they went so far out on the limb to try to establish their own righteousness. Since they didn’t know how to obtain salvation from God, they decided to acquire salvation through their own efforts. With or without knowing it, they were refusing to bow to the will of the Most High. Even when told, they rejected God’s mode of saving mankind through faith in Jesus Christ. If they had decided to do things God’s way, it would have required them to acknowledge that Christ’s death on the cross was, in fact, the only available, acceptable, and God-approved sacrifice for sin. What seemed to hurt them the most was that this would also pronounce the law dead as it pertained to having any power to save.

Robert Haldane was convinced that the Apostle Paul acknowledged that his fellow Jews had great zeal for God and His Word. However, because of their attachment to the legal system of the Law, rather than having any joy for salvation in Christ, Paul was dismayed because there is no salvation by works. Not only was it an eyeopener to the Jews, but it serves as an important lesson to thousands who profess Christianity. Believe it or not, there are some that say if you are sincere in what you believe, it doesn’t matter if you understand what you believe. It is also incredulous, but some Christians will tell you what you should believe, but they really don’t believe what they are telling you. God did not set up His plan of salvation with leniency for those who claim ignorance or misunderstanding of what it really means.

It is one thing to have a faith full of works, but it is another to have a faith that really works. How can you be acceptable to God if you don’t know what you are doing? This will neither assure you of salvation nor will it serve as an excuse when you come up short of God’s glory. If you really want to know what God’s Word says about salvation, you must open your mind and be ready to believe what it tells you. The one big error made by the Jews was that they rejected out of pure ignorance the teaching of Christ and the Gospel preached by the Apostles. Had they only listened and tried to understood they would have given up their foolish attempt at establishing their own righteousness and plan of salvation. Just as John told us, Jesus came to His own, but His own would not accept Him.² And by not accepting Jesus and His message, they rejected the plan of salvation sent to them by God³

Albert Barnes tells us there is another factor to consider in this proposed ignorance by the Jews in recognizing God’s way as opposed to their way. First of all, such ignorance was voluntarily on their part. That then made it more than just an error, it was a major felony. Paul does not excuse their actions because they really didn’t know what God’s plan of salvation was. He will clearly point that out later on in this chapter, verses 18-21. They were given enough information to know about God’s plan. The problem was, they didn’t give enough time to the attentive study of their own Scriptures that would have led them to the true knowledge of the Messiah and His righteousness such as what they would have read in the prophet Isaiah.⁴

Remember what Jesus told His critics? “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.”⁵ Jesus clearly indicates that there is power in God’s Word.⁶ So when Paul brought up the fact that they had either misread or not completely read what the Scriptures had to say about it, he did so in a way that they would not think he was chiding them for it, but simply trying to take some of the sting out of what he was about to say on the fact that ignorance is no excuse for sin and guilt. It was another way of Paul saying you can’t get into heaven by mistake.⁷

H. A. Ironside agrees that some Jews were filled with a mistaken zeal for God, marked by an outward adherence to Judaism as a divinely-established system and that they were earnestly trying to serve the God of their fathers but without really knowing God as their Father. That means, they refused the opportunity to gain a fuller revelation of who He really is. They were unable to see that God gave Himself, His plan, and His will through Christ Jesus His Son. Unfortunately, the same is true of many today who call themselves Christians, but their actions are anything but Christian.

Ironside touched on another subject that Paul was dealing with. The term “God’s righteousness,” as it’s used here, is somewhat different than “the righteousness of God.” We can see how the term “the righteousness of God” has been interpreted two ways. First, it indicates that God is consistent with His character. As such, He becomes an anchor for our souls, someone we know who will never treat us wrongly or do things to us out of spite or anger. The Scriptures reveal how He can be both just and the Justifier of those who put faith in Christ. All questions concerning sin have been settled by Him in the right way. That’s how God demanded it to be because that’s His divine nature. That’s how He conceived all along to deal with guilty sinners, and it is called Grace.

Secondly, is how this righteousness of God is imputed to those who believe in His Son. This is done when Christ His Son takes up His dwelling in the believer’s heart through the Holy Spirit. So with Christ inside, the believer then is capable of doing what is right in God’s eyes. In other words, with Christ’s help, believers can always do what is right before God and his fellowman without hesitation. This is how believers are made in the likeness of Christ by exhibiting His characteristics which are the same as God’s. This is how it was expressed by the prophet Jeremiah: “And this will be His name: ‘The LORD who does everything right and good.’⁸”⁹

Pastor Octavius Winslow preached on the subject of man’s own righteousness. In his sermon, he asked the question: Is digging out a self-made cistern to replace the infinite fountain of God righteousness the best that man can do to provide for his own righteousness?¹⁰ Of course, this comes from what God said about the children of Israel: “My people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me – the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!”¹¹ Not only is this cistern of self-righteousness shallow and narrow, but it has leaks. That means it cannot hold this man-made righteousness for very long. It constantly needs replacing. But there’s more because this cistern is cracked it means that it is fractured by guilt, anxiety, and fear. And in spite of man’s attempt at repairs, they last only for a short while.

This only causes more frustration and stress knowing that danger lies ahead and beyond that certain punishment no matter what this individual may do can fix the problem. They may decide to start attending church every Sunday, read their Bible and have devotions every day, say a prayer before every meal, listen to religious music on the radio, even attend various rites, rituals, and ceremonies at their local church. But none of it will count because it is all good works done out of fear and dread. Even though they have done their best, it’s not enough. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can replace the righteousness of God through Christ by the Holy Spirit.

Charles Hodge feels that we need not be apologetic and excuse the ignorance of the Jews about the difference between their righteousness and God’s righteousness. After all, their understanding of God and how He works were neither enlightened nor wise. They put too much emphasis on their perceptions of God and not enough on His personality. The Jews were very zealous about the law, the traditions of their fathers, and always trying to find new ways to build a bigger barn to house their growing sum of merit accrued through good works. It is no secret then, that being so overzealous would naturally cause them to put their faith in man-made objects of veneration and in the observance of external rites. It would be more a matter of pride in what they are able to do than trusting in what God can do. So when you ask them about their zeal for God and His Word, they will look at you as though that doesn’t matter. In other words, that’s not something they really need to worry about because of what the Church has promised them for their adherence to its rites, rituals, and ceremonies.

It’s obvious the Jews didn’t know that all of what’s done in the name of their religion should be to and for God. This is what bothered the Apostle Paul so much, and why he continued to cautioned them about it. His greatest fear was they would think that their self-righteousness would serve as justification. But that is not the basis on which the sentence of justification is founded. No amount of righteousness, either personal and inherent, can justify us in the eyes of God. As we have no righteousness of our own, nothing that we have done or experienced, nothing personal or subjective, can answer the demands of the law, we can be justified only through the righteousness of God, imputed to us by the Holy Spirit and received by faith in the work Christ did on the cross.¹²

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson IV)

When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he shared with them how, as a Pharisee, he thought that keeping the feasts and sacrifices gave him an advantage over others. But now, he tells them: “It was because of Him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having that righteousness which comes through the Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust.”¹ So we can see why Christ told John to write this in a letter to the church in Laodicea He said to them: “You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”²

In looking at this statement by Paul, one of the earliest church scholars, Origen, saw Paul addressing the need that those who say they know about God must do more than that to really understand Him. For instance, if someone says that they love God, do they know that loving Him means loving others as yourself and that requires patience, kindness, not being envious, not acting in wrong ways, not puffed up with pride, not seeking one’s own instead of God’s will? Anyone lacking these virtues only loves God with their emotions, not their heart, soul, mind, and strength and others must get by on their own. It’s another way of saying: they feel that they love God, but the truth is they don’t really love Him because they don’t know Him personally.³ We see this today when people express their love for God but direct it to pictures of saints and images, thinking that God will be pleased with their devotion.

Ambrose, early church bishop of Milan, Italy, and mentor of St. Augustine, wrote a letter to Constantius, a newly appointed bishop. In the letter, Ambrose reminds him that accepting this office like being named captain of a ship. He now stands at the helm on the bridge from which he guides and directs the ship to its destination. There will be times when he does so into the teeth of the oncoming waves. So he is to hold fast to the wheel so that the rudder remains steady and on course. He must resist being shaken by the heavy storms of persecution by this world. Yes, the sea may be vast and deep. But he is not to fear because the one who controls the seas is the same one who constructed the ship and prepared it to weather the storms and hold up against the waves⁴.⁵

Then Ambrose also wrote a letter to Roman Emperor Theodosius I. In that letter he complimented him on his devotion to treat everyone with mercy, gentleness, with a heart full of faith and reverence of the Lord. But in spite of his dedication, there will be times when mistakes will be made, some of which will escape everyone else’s notice. That’s because there are some who have great zeal for God, but without understanding what God really wants. So it was incumbent upon those in charge to be keenly aware of the fact that many of those over whom they have been given responsibility have that same ignorance in their devotion to God.⁶ It would be constructive if Bishops today were to write all those who minister under them to be aware of this same issue.

For Augustine, what Ambrose described was just another way people sought to be right with God but not in the way God wanted them to be right. Paul had his own description of such people. When he looked at many of the Jews, he saw individuals who, because of their own self-confidence and position with God, thought they had achieved all this through good works. So they rejected any offer of free grace as being unnecessary because they had earned it. Why should they trade all they had accomplished in pleasing God on their own just by accepting Christ as their Savior?

Even though they had nothing to do with establishing the law, still they trusted it to do the job for them as long as they were able to fulfill its demands. Sad thing was, none of them had ever accomplished such a feat. So they needed to throw themselves on the altar of God’s mercy. It all came about because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and depended instead on their righteousness. It gave them more pride to say that they did it through their strength instead of depending on Christ’s strength.⁷

Constantius, another early church scholar, was also troubled because what he saw in the Jews was something he was seeing in some Christians. When Paul talked about “their own righteousness,” it was clear that he was calling out the Pharisees. Little did they know, that all the sacrifices required by the law and the other things they did were only shadows of the truth that would be fulfilled in Christ’s work on the cross which ceased to function once He rose from the grave. But when they were told, they refused to believe it. Why would God change something that had been in effect for thousands of years? They didn’t realize that all of what came before was only an introduction to what was coming. So Paul had every right to point out that self-righteousness was not what God wanted but what they wanted.⁸

Later on, Pelagius was troubled by the same thing. Because the Jews did not really know that God justifies by faith alone they continued relying on their self-righteousness to get them to heaven. So they saw no reason to submit themselves to God for forgiveness of sins based on the sacrifice of Christ. The main reason was that it would force them to admit that they were still sinners. We are told that this is something that happened when they heard John the Baptizer preach repentance: “But the Pharisees, rejecting God’s purpose for themselves, refused to be baptized with John’s baptism.⁹”¹⁰ Both Constantius and Pelagius no doubt saw the same attitude among those who called themselves church members who believed that by doing whatever the church told them to do, they did not need to seek a personal relationship with God through Christ.

Martin Luther quotes an old German saying that goes: Die Absicht ist gut, und der Zweck ist wahr, aber die Mittel werden mißbraucht.¹¹ When translated, it reads: The intention is good, and the purpose is true, but the means are misused. This certainly illustrates the goal which the Jews were seeking. They had every intention of being righteous before God but it was the incorrect way to get it accomplished. Luther confessed that he saw that same arrogant zeal of good intentions among church members in his day. I dare say, it has continued until our day. Luther feels that Paul is being overly kind when he says they are doing all this for lack of knowledge. It’s another way of saying that they set about to accomplish their goal with blind zeal, unwise urgency, and foolish purpose. That is the greatest danger and it should serve us as an example that we may deal with the faults of others with mildness.

Luther goes on to say that when such an attitude is developed where people are consumed with zeal but without proper training or understanding, it is a terrible thing. It may seem appropriate, but it resists faith, opposes obedience to God’s Word, and makes people stiff-necked and unreformable. This is the attitude we see in heretics and dividers.¹² Luther says that they insist upon their “good intentions” with bullheadedness and obstinate opposition, just as though they could not be mistaken. They believe that their salvation is altogether based upon the fact that it serves a good purpose in their zeal for God. Such people, says Luther, are described in the Bible as contrary in heart and corrupt in mind. Therefore, we must note that to have a zeal for God according to knowledge means to regard nothing else as greater than always to be ready with fear and trembling to be guided, led, and instructed by His Spirit in all that is good, no matter how easy it may seem for us.

John Calvin sees a subliminal thought squeezed between the lines of what Paul is saying here about the good intentions of the Jews to follow God’s path to salvation and what they actually accomplished. That not only involves having good intentions, but knowing where such good intentions will lead. All too often, those who end up being disappointed, or even admonished, use the handy excuse: I didn’t mean to harm anyone. The same mindset exists among Christians, who think that whether they are a success or failure in their efforts; whether someone is helped or ends up getting hurt, they still excuse the fact that they did not seek God’s will because they really were only trying to do what was right. And certainly God, and everyone else will understand, they did it with good intentions. By using that same logic, we can then accept the excuse the Jews may have for crucifying Christ, or for going after and martyring the Apostles, or for attempting to dismiss the true story of Jesus’ virgin birth, His death, and certainly His resurrection, with lies and misinformation. Such excuses are a waste of time. Before we go off on a tangent thinking we are going to get credit for doing something good, we should sincerely seek God’s will and follow what He says, and only what He says.¹³

But there’s more that caused Calvin grief when he spots something else going on in the church. It involves misinterpreting energy for enlightenment. For instance, when we see how the Jews, especially the Pharisees, plunged ahead with thoughtless eagerness to create their own definition of righteousness. They did so with foolish confidence because of their ignorance of God’s righteousness, so we can see how dangerous that can be. Dangerous in the sense that what they were creating would not stand up to God’s judgment. So the very punishment they tried to avoid would be given to them. We can understand this better when we compare God’s righteousness with man’s righteousness. The first thing we observe is they are actually in conflict with one another.

There are so many things that are contrary to each other and, therefore, cannot work together. Just like oil and water. So it goes without saying that when people try to institute their own understanding of right living, it automatically subverts what God has said. Furthermore, the rules for right living that people compose are made up with faulty and incomplete thinking. This is another way of telling God He doesn’t know what He’s doing. And anyone who seeks to justified themselves as being exempt from eternal punishment because of what they’re trying to do, is a slap in the face of the One who gave His life for them on the cross. The first step in obtaining the righteousness approved by God is to renounce one’s own righteousness. There’s no reason to search for any other way to God when the only One who could make a way, has made that way for us on the cross. When we do that, God is pleased.¹⁴

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson III)

Verses 2-3: I can say this about them: They really try hard to follow God, but they don’t know the right way. They did not know the way that God makes people right with Him. And they tried to make themselves right in their own way. So they did not accept God’s way of making people right.

I want to borrow some thoughts from John Gill who sees this chapter containing an account of the two types of righteousness – one of faith and one of works. He also finds in these verses a summary of the Gospel of Christ, a description of grace by faith, its nature, use, and how it was applied, and several testimonies concerning the calling of the Gentiles. Also, that the Apostle knew the Jews had not attained any righteous standing with God by way of the law but tripped over the stumbling-block of the Gospel because they took it to be offensive.

It is clear that Paul did not say this out of dislike or ill-will toward his fellow Jews. He expresses his sincere regard for them and the great respect he had for them, by calling them “brethren,” and by conveying his sincere feelings for their plight, by praying for their salvation. He also acknowledges their zeal for God, although he clearly points out that it was a misguided zeal. It was combined with their lack of understanding of God’s righteousness that resulted in all their misconduct in religious things, especially in the doctrine of justification. Nevertheless, to his regret, they continued to seek justification by their own good deeds and rejected the work of Christ on their behalf.

Paul’s revelation to his fellow Jews is like a two-edged sword. On the one hand, he will describe the joys and benefits of freely receiving salvation by grace, and on the other the futility and despair of attempting to earn salvation by works. After all, he was just like they are now at one time. His zeal for Pharisaical Judaism was so strong that he persecuted the new Christian movement, called The Way, in radical fashion.¹ During his missionary journeys, there were many occasions when his fellow Jews would attack and attempt to harm him in a similar manner now that he was on the Christians’ side. But even more troublesome were those Jews who had converted to Christianity, yet insisted on keeping all the Jewish rites, rituals, and ceremonies as a supplement to their faith.

In fact, when Paul was in Jerusalem visiting with James and the Church elders, Paul told them all about his success among the Gentiles. But not to be outdone, they told Paul: “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also become believers, yet they are all very insistent that Jewish believers must continue to follow the Jewish traditions and customs.”² A Jewish translation puts it this way: “…they are all zealots for the Torah.”³ But bragging rights was not their main point. The leaders of the Jerusalem church were under pressure to make it a requirement for all new converts, including Gentiles. Paul would have none of it. This is what got him arrested and caused a riot.⁴

So in talking to these Jewish members of the Church in Rome, Paul shared his personal experience of being a zealot for what he thought was the truth, only to find out later he was way off course. He told the Philippians: “If anyone ever had reason to hope that he could save himself, it would be I. If others could be saved by what they are, certainly I could! I was a real Jew if there ever was one! What’s more, I was a member of the Pharisees who demand the strictest obedience to every Jewish law and custom. And sincere? Yes, so much so that I greatly persecuted the Church; and I tried to obey every Jewish rule and regulation right down to the very last point. But all these things that I once thought very worthwhile—now I’ve thrown them all away so that I can put my trust and hope in Christ alone.”⁵

So with that background and experience, Paul was trying to persuade any of those who still held onto such misbeliefs to do the same thing he did. As he told the Philippians: “I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than nothing, in order that I can have 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—counting on Christ alone. Now I have given up everything else—I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought Him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with Him. So whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead.”⁶

Paul knew it would not be the first or last time that they, even he, might meet Solomon’s definition of foolishness: “To act without knowing how you function is not good; and if you rush ahead, you will miss your goal.”⁷ But, as Paul told the Corinthians, he had seen the light: “God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made us understand that it is the brightness of His glory that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”⁸ The Jews were still covering their eyes from the glory that shone on Moses’ face when he came down off Mt. Horeb, now Paul wanted them to see the glory of Jesus’ face now that He came down from Mt. Calvary. In the words of the song by country western singer Alan Jackson: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

But Paul is not out to condemn them without cause. He recognized that they, just as he, were doing all these things in ignorance. They were looking for righteousness in all the wrong places. They kept looking down instead of looking up. Archbishop William Newcome (1729-1800) of the Church of Ireland decided that the King James Version of 1611 needed some updating. So in 1796, he published what he called the “Improved Version” of the NT. The KJV translated verse 3 this way: “…have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” But Bishop Newcome rendered it: “…they have not submitted themselves to the justification appointed of God.”⁹ Archbishop Newcome felt that the reader needed to know that Paul was comparing man’s method of sinner’s saved with God’s method of saving sinners.

Paul goes on to mention that even though these people depended on their own good deeds to help them find favor with God, they really didn’t understand what deeds counted for righteousness. The Psalmist was very proud to extol the righteousness of God: “But I, I will always hope and keep adding to your praise. All day long my mouth will tell of your righteous deeds and acts of salvation, though their number is beyond my knowledge.”¹⁰ The Psalmist goes on to say that he depends on the power of the LORD God to help him as he tries to emulate the righteous character of God. Paul shared this same sentiment with the Corinthians when he told them: “In your eating, drinking, or anything else you do, do it for the glory of God.”¹¹ And to the Colossians, he wrote: “And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with Him into the presence of God the Father to give Him your thanks.”¹² The problem with these self-righteousness people was that all of their good deeds for others were done to bring them honor and glory, not God.

No doubt Paul remembered what was said in Isaiah about the mission of the Messiah: “The time is coming, says the Lord, when I will place a righteous Branch upon King David’s throne. He shall be a King who shall rule with wisdom and justice and cause righteousness to prevail everywhere throughout the earth. And this is his name: The Lord Our Righteousness.”¹³ So it is not our righteous deeds that count, it’s the righteous works of God that we are to carry out for His honor and praise because the Lord of Righteousness is living within us. Paul explained this to the Corinthians: “God made this sinless man [Christ] to be a sin offering on our behalf.¹⁴ I like the way the Lexham English Bible renders it: “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin on our behalf, ”

I’m sure the Apostle Paul was acutely aware of what God said to the Israelites about their pretending to be righteous in order to be seen as pious and be revered for their works: “I myself will expose your [so-called] righteousness because what you have done won’t benefit you.”¹⁵ Later on, Isaiah confessed this on behalf of the Israelites: “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we put on our prized robes of self-righteousness, we find they are but filthy rags.”¹⁶

This condition was illustrated so clearly by the expert on Moses’ laws who came to Jesus and asked Him what must a person do to obtain eternal life. First of all, this lawyer was asking the question to test Jesus, not because he really wanted to find out the truth. So when Jesus told Him that in addition to love the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, he must love his neighbor as himself.¹⁷ The NIV translates verse 29: “But he wanted to justify himself…” The Living Bible renders it this way: “The man wanted to justify his lack of love for some kinds of people…”

On another occasion, Jesus was teaching about seeking worldly wealth instead of heavenly riches. So the Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, laughed at Him. Then Jesus looked at them and said this: “You wear a noble, pious expression in public, but God knows your evil hearts. Your pretense brings you honor from the people, but it is an abomination in the sight of God.”¹⁸ Perhaps Paul heard that some of the Jewish leaders in the Roman church wanted to be treated special because they not only confessed Christ but made a public spectacle out of their prayers and good deeds. Paul no doubt was reminded of what he told the Galatians: “Anyone trying to find favor with God by being circumcised must always obey every other Jewish law or perish. Christ is useless to you if you are counting on clearing your debt to God by keeping those laws; you are lost from God’s grace.”¹⁹ We can make this admonition relevant for today by simply substituting the word, “baptism” for “circumcision,” and the words, “Jewish law” with “Church ritual,” and come to the same conclusion about lost grace.