Romans 10:1-13 (NIV)
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Despite the fact that the had been persecuting him for years, Paul still desired that the Jewish people, his own flesh and blood, would give up their futile pursuit of man-made righteousness and turn to Jesus so they could be saved. He had previously stated that he would be willing to give up his own salvation if it would save his Jewish brothers and sisters (Romans 9:3), although he definitely realized that that’s not the way it works.
Paul’s statement that “Christ is the end of the law” does not mean that with the coming of Jesus the law has been eliminated. That would contradict what Jesus Himself said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17 NIV) Instead, the Greek word translated here as “end” is “telos,” which actually means “goal”, “fulfillment”, “accomplishment”, or “completion”.
What Paul is really saying here is that the righteousness that the law requires, both in action and in heart, in unachievable by human means. Perfection in following all the requirements of the law has never been achieved except by Jesus Himself. But that goal of genuine righteousness has been accomplished by what Jesus did by dying for the sins of all mankind, rising again to defeat death, and sending the Holy Spirit to live in the heart of every believer, guiding them, teaching them, purifying them, and reshaping them into the very image of Jesus.
The formula that Paul gives for salvation here is much deeper than it seems in the simple words he uses in verses 9-10. To be saved, one must confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord. But those are not simply words that are to be recited. They are a powerful commitment to who Jesus is. When a person confesses Jesus as Lord, he or she is proclaiming that they not only accept the fact that He is God in the flesh, but they are also proclaiming that He is the Lord of them, their absolute Master in every area of their life.
And when a person believes in their hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, they are at the same time believing in all that Jesus did and all that He taught, because Jesus’ resurrection was the validation by God Himself of all He claimed to be, all He taught, and all He did.
When a person, whether a Jew or a gentile, believes and confesses those things, he or she will be saved, and receive both eternal life and the indwelling Holy Spirit. And this salvation is for everyone who calls on the name of Jesus – male and female, rich and poor, slave and free, since there is only one Lord, one Savior, and one Name by which every human being can be saved.
Father, thank You that You made a way for us to come to You through Jesus. Help us to allow Your Holy Spirit to help us to live out our confession of Jesus as our Lord, to live out the righteousness that He makes possible, and to love and serve You all the rest of our lives. Amen.