Romans Chapter 10

Romans Chapter 10
Brothers, Paul’s deepest wish is that Israel should be saved. It’s what he prays to God for. He bears record that the Israelites have a zeal for God, but it’s not according to knowledge. You see kids, these folks are ignorant of God’s righteousness, and of how to go about becoming righteous themselves. Problem is they haven’t properly submitted themselves to God. (I know everyone already knows this, but I’m pretty sure most Jewish people would disagree, as a faith they seem to believe strongly that they have submitted themselves to God’s will and his laws… but whatever, I get it, this is some new sect so they have to tell everyone before them that they had it all wrong).

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for all the believers. (Damn, Paul sure hates the law doesn’t he?)

Moses described the righteousness which is the law, and the man that does those things will live by them. (Er, uh, yeah, if you do something it automatically becomes part of your life… hmmm).

But faith speaks to this idea: doesn’t it say in your heart who will ascend to heaven? (My heart doesn’t like heaven, but it would tell me that everyone who wants to go can go if it exists). Paul puts in a side not that tells us that all this is to bring Christ down from heaven. (Dare I even go into the WTF of this? Why are WE trying to bring him down: a) he’s happy up there, b) he said he’d come like a million times regardless of what humanity does or doesn’t do, c) why are we so concerned about it anyway?)

Or, who will descent into the deep? His side not here says, this is to bring up Christ again from the dead. (Ugh, isn’t he already in heaven? Why are we raising him from the dead again if he’s already risen, how man mortal bodies did he leave down here?)

But what said all this? (If you think the answer is Paul, I’m with you.) The word is with you, in your mouth and heart, and guess what y’all? It’s the word of faith which we preach. If you confess with that mouth of yours about our pal JC and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you’ll be saved.

With his heart a man can believe himself into righteousness, and with his mouth he can make a confession and get salvation. The scripture said that whoever believed in him will not be ashamed. (Seriously? Because I used to believe in JC, at least in some degree, and this book has made me terribly ashamed of that.)

There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek (that’s true. In my elementary school the Greeks had all the fun parties and cool stuff and in my high school all the Jewish kids had that… so I agree, same, same.) The same Lord is available to all who chose to call. Whoever call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (including or excluding those who cannot be forgiven because in the past they have blasphemed the holy spirit?).

How can those who have not believed call on the Lord? And how can they believe in him if they haven’t heard of him? And how can they hear of him without a preacher? (Well, if you have an omnipotent God who created the whole universe and call, maybe he should have let more than a few thousand people know what was happening. It’s a really unreliable source this “oh-so-powerful” dude chose to spread his precious word).

And how shall they preach, except to be sent out into the world? It is written that those who preach the gospel and bring glad tidings of good things have beautiful feet. (Well, beautiful feet and glad tidings are nice).

But, they haven’t all obeyed the gospel (always have to throw in something negative, don’t we?). Esaias asked the Lord who believed their report?

So then faith comes by hearing the word of God. But Paul wonders, haven’t they heard? Sure they have. The sound went into all the earth and the words went to the ends of the world. (Or just around the Mediterranean, but whatever, that’s the whole earth from his perspective I suppose).

But Paul says, didn’t Israel know? Moses said that he would he would provoke you to jealousy by those that are not a people and by a foolish nation, he will anger you. (Great, sounds very sensible).

But Esaias is very bold, and he said that he was found by people who weren’t even looking for him, he was made manifest to those who didn’t ask for him. But to Israel he said that all day long he has stretched out his hands to a disobedient and contradictory people.