Day 1: Salvation for All Who Call

Reading: Romans 10

Listen to: Romans chapter 10

Historical Context

Romans 10 stands at the center of Paul’s three-chapter treatment of Israel’s place in God’s redemptive plan (chapters 9-11). Having established in chapter 9 that God’s sovereign election operates independently of human merit, Paul now addresses the human side of the equation: Israel’s own responsibility for their rejection of the Messiah. The chapter is a masterpiece of pastoral theology, holding together divine sovereignty and human accountability without flattening either truth. Paul begins not with an accusation but with a prayer: “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved” (v. 1). The word for “desire” is eudokia, expressing deep personal longing. Paul’s anguish from chapter 9 has not dissipated; it has become intercession.

Paul’s diagnosis of Israel’s problem is precise: “They are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge” (v. 2). The Greek word for zeal, zelos, carries overtones of intense passion, even fanaticism. Paul knew this zeal firsthand – he had once been its fiercest embodiment. As a Pharisee, he had persecuted the church with zeal that he believed honored God (Philippians 3:6; Galatians 1:14). The problem was not the intensity of Israel’s devotion but its direction. They sought to establish “their own righteousness” (idian dikaiosunēn) rather than submitting to “the righteousness of God” (v. 3). The phrase “their own righteousness” does not merely mean self-generated moral achievement; it refers to a covenant status secured through Torah observance and ethnic identity – a righteousness that belongs exclusively to Israel. By clinging to this national privilege, they missed the fact that “Christ is the telos of the law” (v. 4).

The word telos is one of the most debated terms in Pauline studies. It can mean “end” (termination), “goal” (purpose), or “fulfillment” (completion). Did Paul mean that Christ has abolished the law, that Christ is the goal toward which the law always pointed, or that Christ has fulfilled what the law demanded? Most likely Paul intended a layered meaning: Christ is both the goal and the culmination of the law, so that the law’s era as the defining boundary marker of God’s covenant people has reached its intended destination. Righteousness is now available to “everyone who believes” – Jew and Gentile alike – without the mediating requirements of Torah.

In verses 5-8, Paul engages in a remarkable midrashic interpretation of Deuteronomy 30:11-14, a passage in which Moses told Israel that the commandment was “not too difficult” and “not far away.” Paul reads this passage christologically: the word of faith is near, in your mouth and in your heart. The “word” (rhēma) that Moses described is now identified with the gospel proclamation about Christ. The descent into the deep is Christ’s descent into death; the ascent into heaven is his resurrection and exaltation. Paul is not distorting the original text but drawing out its deeper significance in light of Christ: what Moses promised – that God’s word would be accessible and near – has reached its ultimate fulfillment in the gospel.

Verses 9-13 contain the chapter’s most famous declaration: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (v. 9). The confession “Jesus is Lord” (Kyrios Iēsous) was the earliest Christian creed, used in baptismal liturgies and worship. In the Septuagint, Kyrios translates the divine name YHWH, so the confession carries an implicit claim about Jesus’ divine identity. The pairing of mouth and heart, outward confession and inward belief, reflects the Deuteronomic framework Paul has just cited. Faith is not merely intellectual assent; it is a whole-person response that transforms both inner conviction and public allegiance. Verse 13, quoting Joel 2:32, delivers the universal punch: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” In Joel’s original context, “the Lord” was YHWH; Paul applies the title to Jesus, once again making a staggering christological claim.

The chapter’s climax comes in verses 14-17, where Paul constructs a logical chain that has shaped Christian missiology ever since: calling requires believing, believing requires hearing, hearing requires preaching, and preaching requires sending. Each link depends on the one before it. The beauty of this passage is that it grounds the church’s missionary obligation in the nature of salvation itself. If the gospel must be heard to be believed, then the church is not optional in God’s saving purposes – it is the instrument through which the word goes out. Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7 – “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” – a passage originally celebrating the herald who announced Israel’s deliverance from Babylonian exile. The gospel is the ultimate homecoming, the definitive liberation.

Yet Paul must also account for Israel’s refusal. Did they not hear? Yes, they heard – Paul cites Psalm 19:4 to show that the message has gone to the ends of the earth. Did they not understand? Yes, even Moses and Isaiah predicted that God would provoke Israel to jealousy through a “foolish nation” and would be found by those who did not seek him (Deuteronomy 32:21; Isaiah 65:1). Israel’s unbelief was not due to God’s failure to communicate but to their stubborn refusal to receive the message. The chapter ends with the haunting quotation from Isaiah 65:2: “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” The image of God stretching out his hands – the posture of pleading, of invitation, of longing – reveals a divine patience that refuses to give up on the beloved.

Key Themes

• Misdirected zeal – Israel’s passion for God was intense but aimed at establishing their own righteousness rather than receiving God’s righteousness in Christ, a warning for every generation of religious people.
• Christ the telos of the law – Jesus is both the goal and the culmination of the Torah, opening the door of righteousness to everyone who believes regardless of ethnic or religious background.
• The sent-preach-hear-believe chain – Salvation is mediated through proclamation, making the church’s missionary vocation inseparable from the gospel itself.

Connections

• Old Testament Roots: Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (the word is near you) provides the text Paul interprets christologically. Joel 2:32 (everyone who calls on the Lord) supplies the universal promise. Isaiah 52:7 (beautiful feet of the herald) celebrates the messenger of salvation. Isaiah 65:1-2 (God found by those who did not seek him) and Deuteronomy 32:21 (provoking to jealousy) explain Israel’s stumbling.
• New Testament Echoes: Philippians 2:9-11 (every tongue confess Jesus is Lord) expands the christological confession. Acts 2:21 records Peter quoting Joel 2:32 at Pentecost. First Corinthians 1:21 affirms that “God was pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.”
• Parallel Passages: Acts 2:14-41 (Peter’s Pentecost sermon invoking Joel 2:32), Galatians 3:23-26 (the law as guardian until Christ), Philippians 2:9-11 (the lordship of Christ), 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (the foolishness of preaching).

Reflection Questions

1. Paul says Israel had “zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” What does misdirected religious zeal look like in the contemporary church? How can you distinguish between zeal that honors God and zeal that serves your own agenda?
2. The sent-preach-hear-believe chain in verses 14-17 makes preaching essential to salvation. What does this imply about the church’s responsibility to those who have never heard the gospel? What role do you personally play in this chain?
3. The chapter ends with the image of God holding out his hands to a disobedient people. How does this picture of divine patience challenge or comfort you in your own relationship with God?

Prayer

Lord God, we confess that our zeal for you is often misdirected – aimed at establishing our own righteousness rather than receiving yours. Thank you that the word of faith is near us, in our mouths and in our hearts. Stir us to confess with our lips and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord. And because calling requires hearing, and hearing requires preaching, and preaching requires sending – send us. Make our feet beautiful with good news. Give us the persistence of your outstretched hands toward those who have not yet believed. Through Christ, the goal and fulfillment of all your promises. Amen.