Our Responsibility in Salvation
Lesson 17 Notes: Romans 9:30–10:13
“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.” (Romans 10:9)
From birth, we live in a world full of expectations. For the sake of survival, we expect infants to learn to walk, talk, and eventually care for themselves. For the sake of reputation and success, we are expected to pass exams, meet employers’ goals, and live up to the standards set by leaders, teachers, friends, family, and society. People are continuously evaluated based on their ability to meet expectations. Perhaps you have wondered whether you meet the standards others set for your life. Which expectation weighs heavily on you today? Standards drive performance in constructive and destructive ways. People can set goals to measure progress and prove success. People can also become defined by earthly expectations, forgetting that only one standard will truly matter when they meet Jesus face-to-face.
Jesus is the perfect standard setter and keeper. Paul grieved for Jews who had rejected Jesus. Paul’s experience taught him that zealously keeping God’s laws would not be enough to meet God’s standard, which requires perfect righteousness. Without a perfect Savior to meet God’s standard for us, all people face God’s just wrath against their sin. God chooses people to be His own, and they must respond with faith in Christ to be declared “justified” or “not guilty.” Confidence in salvation is secured only through faith in Christ and the righteousness He provides, not in our attempts to meet God’s standard. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Paul’s teaching on righteousness dominates the book of Romans. Our introductory lesson supplied the following simple outline:
The central section of Romans challenges our limited understanding of God’s perfect grace and sovereign purposes in salvation. God elects believers, and yet all people are still responsible to call on Jesus as Lord in faith. Only by faith can a sinful person receive Christ’s righteousness and be declared justified by God.
In this week’s passage, righteousness equates to salvation, or, more precisely, righteousness equates to justification. From Romans 9:30 to the end of chapter 10, the apostle Paul carefully explained that Jewish unbelief is not God’s fault. Jewish unbelief results from a misunderstanding of righteousness and refusal to believe in Jesus as its source. All people need and can access Christ’s righteousness to be justified and saved.
Christ Rejected – Romans 9:30–10:4
Paul helped the church in Rome understand how the gospel satisfies God’s righteous requirement for both Jews and Gentiles. The gospel came first to the Jews, but most worked to attain righteousness, which saves no one.1 Tragically, many Jews failed to see their need for Jesus’s atoning sacrifice and, therefore, did not receive God’s righteousness, which only Jesus provides.
After establishing that God is merciful in election, Paul went on to discuss God’s fairness in granting righteousness to Gentiles, who did not pursue it. Gentiles of Paul’s day and many people in our day live outside God’s law, actively pursuing their own standards, not His. Yet Paul stated that many Gentiles had obtained righteousness. How could this be? The only possible answer is that, in grace, God sought them. Gentile salvation apart from the law shows that righteousness comes by grace through faith in Christ. The Gentiles had believed in Jesus as their Savior, and they received salvation.
Was it unfair that the Jews, who pursued righteousness by the law, had not attained it?2 The law could shape their outward behavior but not purify their hearts.3 A Pharisee before he encountered Jesus, Paul had worked hard to keep every detail of God’s law. Like Paul, many Jews sincerely thought themselves able to achieve right standing before God this way. Despite their hard work, they failed to attain their goal.
The subtle difference in the words “obtained” and “attained” provides a clue to what went wrong. Though some translations use the word “attained” in both verses 30 and 31, in Greek, these are two different words. The Gentiles obtained righteousness—they received it as God’s gift. The Jews tried to earn their salvation but were unable to attain their goal.
What went wrong? Verse 32 explains why the Jews failed: “Because they pursued it [righteousness] not by faith but as if it were by works.” Until God turns our minds and hearts to Jesus Christ, we all attempt to establish our own righteousness. The Jews’ pursuit of righteousness through their own works caused them to miss Christ’s righteousness as their only hope. To prove this point, Paul combined two verses from Isaiah:
Paul used one verse to help us understand the other. The Old Testament frequently identifies God as the rock or the stone.4 The stone in Isaiah 8:14 follows this pattern. However, in Isaiah 28:16, God laid a distinct stone—an individual—in Zion. Paul showed the believers in Rome how Isaiah spoke about Jesus, God the Son, the stumbling stone the Father sent into the world. Those seeking to attain God’s favor through self-effort will stumble over the same stone who becomes a solid foundation for all who seek righteousness through faith.5
The great sorrow Paul expressed in the beginning of chapter 9 gave rise to his heartfelt “prayer to God for the Israelites ... that they may be saved.”6 The Israelites’ zeal for God only increased Paul’s sorrow. Zeal cannot substitute for truth. They thought the righteousness God required was human righteousness—good character and good works that people can achieve. They did not know the righteousness God requires is entirely different—perfect, divine righteousness freely given by God through faith.7 The people of Israel had closed their minds and hearts to the good news of God’s grace in Christ.
God is righteous in His own nature, just as God is love.8 The Israelites failed to recognize important truth about what God requires.
They Did Not Know the Righteousness That Comes from God (10:3a) – Human righteousness merely conforms to what society determines as good. When people do not know that their standards of righteousness differ from God’s, self-deception fools them into believing self-saving methods are good enough. Jesus’s compassion, kindness, love, and good works—including His sacrifice—revealed His divine righteousness.9 Jesus, one in nature with God the Father, always exhibited perfect behavior motivated by a pure heart. Jesus’s unattainable righteousness offended people who considered their own works worthy of commendation. Those offended by Jesus did not know or accept that He took on flesh and died to make God’s perfection theirs through faith.
They Sought to Establish Their Own Righteousness (10:3b) – God gave the law to show that all people are sinners who need a Savior. The law was not a way to be justified or earn God’s favor, or for people to condemn one another.10 Self-righteousness often results in belittling others to elevate ourselves. Self-righteousness also encourages us to point to our own achievements and reject God’s true righteousness in Christ.
When Jesus offered saving righteousness by faith alone, He exposed sin in those who saw themselves as righteous. This angered many religious leaders who worked their whole lives to earn what God intended to give freely.11
They Did Not Submit to God’s Righteousness (10:3c) – Submitting to God’s righteousness means acknowledging we need what only Christ can give. People who do not submit to God’s righteousness exalt themselves above God. Their measure of righteousness matters to them more than God’s. Their evaluation of others matters more than God’s. Humans are prone to condemn those who do not share their cultural values, economic status, or educational background. But God looks at people’s hearts of faith to declare them righteous.12
God Provides His Righteousness for Everyone Who Believes (10:4) – We can only receive the righteousness we need in Christ, for He “is the culmination of the law.” Jesus Christ fulfilled the law perfectly for us in our place, and the law points us to Him. Through faith in Jesus, our efforts to earn righteousness end. Christ’s righteousness extends equally to every person, Jew and non-Jew, on the grounds of faith.
Our Need, Christ’s Provision
Righteousness includes upright moral conduct and right standing with God. While a believer’s right standing with God leads to ever-increasing moral behavior, upright moral behavior does not lead to right standing with God. Paul offered this truth to the believers in Rome and everyone today. Following rules or measuring morality by human standards can never earn God’s declaration of righteous, justified, or not guilty. God bases His standard of righteousness on His perfection. In this sin-infected world, no one can meet God’s perfect standard by following rules.
Paul grieved for fellow Israelites who tried zealously to adhere to God’s law without understanding that Jesus Christ perfectly kept the law and offered His righteousness to everyone by faith. Jesus was morally pure and upright. Jesus also satisfied the law’s demand that sin be punished by offering His life in the place of sinners.1 Because Jesus was perfectly righteous before God, those who place their faith in Jesus, instead of in their own works, receive His righteousness. God’s declaration of righteousness stands firm while the Spirit works in believers to help them think, feel, and behave more and more like Jesus.
When we fail to recognize our need for righteousness, which can only be obtained through faith in Jesus, we suppose we can earn God’s favor. As we strive to prove our worth and value, our self-focus often draws us away from God rather than toward Him. No matter how many good things we do or bad things we do not do, our works never add up to God’s true righteousness or salvation.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, God credits His Son’s righteousness to us and gives us new life by His Spirit. What good news! When we look to Christ alone for righteousness, we are drawn to prayer, worship, and fellowship with our Lord. We can approach God boldly because we know Christ secures our right standing with God. Our moral failures do not render us hopeless or unlovable in God’s eyes. People need true righteousness. In Christ, God abundantly meets that need. Have you accepted God’s gift of righteousness in Christ?
1. Jesus fulfilled the law: Matthew 5:17; Romans 8:3-4
Christ Received – Romans 10:5-9
The Jews revered Moses, through whom God had given the law. Paul wisely used Moses’s words to show that true righteousness had never come through heroic law-keeping. In fact, righteousness by works (law-keeping) and righteousness by faith have always been different paths with different destinations. All religions except biblical Christianity fall into righteousness by works. Christianity uniquely offers an everlasting, personal relationship with the triune God by grace through faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. People with true faith confess Jesus Christ as Lord from a transformed heart, honoring Him as the resurrected, returning Savior and King.
Before the cross, Israel lived “under the law.”13 God’s good law reveals His holy character, and God’s people flourish when they obey His law from the heart. However, the law condemns all who break it, even if only once.14 Because we cannot meet the law’s demands with the perfection required, we are all condemned lawbreakers—“there is no one righteous.”15 God has always saved people the same way: by God’s grace through faith in His promised Messiah.16
With Christ’s cross in view, Paul quoted from Deuteronomy, where Moses prepared Israel for his death. Moses said, “What I am commanding you ... is not too difficult for you. ... It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ... ascend into heaven. ... Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ... cross the sea to get it. ... The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.”17
Some rabbinical texts claimed the messianic era would begin only through Israel’s effort to bring the Messiah down from heaven.18 How far from the truth! In Romans 4, Paul referenced Abraham and David to show what God required of Old Testament believers: to believe His promise and look forward in faith to the Messiah’s coming. All anyone needs to do to be saved is believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel.
The proverbial expressions “ascend into heaven” and “descend into the deep” refer to doing impossible things. Such efforts are unnecessary and fruitless. Great sacrifices and harrowing exploits add nothing to Jesus’s finished work on the cross. The gospel of Jesus Christ stands alone. Whatever we attempt to add to faith in Christ for our salvation twists the gospel into a false religion of works. Jesus Christ plus anything equals a false gospel leading to death and hell. Nothing we do persuades God to save us. When we add to God’s requirement of faith, we say Jesus’s perfect life and substitutionary death are not enough.
The “word” that Moses and Paul said was near Israel, in their mouths and hearts, was about God’s plan for righteousness through faith. The gospel message was very near Israel. They did not need an additional word from God; they only needed to believe. As Paul taught elsewhere, God announced the gospel to Abraham.19 Abraham and David’s lives both taught Israel that God justifies people by faith.20 Much later, Paul explained the object of saving faith: “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.”
What does it mean to say, “Jesus is Lord”? Why are these words so important? These three words (only two words in Greek in this passage) were the starting point of early Christian preaching. “Jesus is Lord” was the first Christian confession of faith. Many first-century believers willingly died for their confession of these words, and many in our day have shared their fate. These three words testify to three essential truths:
Jesus’s Deity – Most New Testament writers quote from the Septuagint, an early Greek translation of the Old Testament, dating to the 3rd century BC. The Septuagint uses the word kyrios (“Lord” in the Old Testament) more than 6,000 times to refer to Yahweh, the Hebrew covenantal name for God. Christ’s disciples did not hesitate to call Jesus kyrios; they proclaimed that Jesus is the Lord, Yahweh.21 In the book of Romans, kyrios (“Lord” in the New Testament) occurs in 43 verses. The vast majority of the time, the references are used to identify Jesus Christ. More than a dozen other times, “Lord” appears to refer to God the Father, Jesus, or both. Because Paul proclaimed Jesus’s absolute deity, he used “Lord” for Jesus and the Father.
Jesus’s Saving Work – The title “Lord” also implies Jesus is the Savior. On the cross, Jesus triumphed over all the rulers and powers of evil. He is Lord of Lords because He conquered death and sin. He is able and willing to rescue us from sin, Satan, fear, and death. Our salvation rests on His victory.22
Jesus’s Authority – If Jesus is Lord, then He rules and reigns over His people. If you are a believer, Jesus rightfully rules over you. Believers acknowledge Jesus’s reign and their need for Him by setting their minds on what the Spirit desires23 and giving up their right to rule their own lives. Jesus’s authority declares that the righteous requirements of the law are fully met in believers, in whom His Spirit dwells.24 Every believer, whether Jew or Gentile, is responsible to cooperate with His Spirit in the sanctification process.25 As believers mature, they increasingly submit their emotions, passions, activities, and ethics to Christ’s authority. More and more, they recognize the foolishness of elevating their ideas above God’s revealed ways.
Christ Expressed – Romans 10:10-13
Paul’s words affirm the need for sincere confession of faith: “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Belief in Jesus’s humanity, deity, atoning death, and resurrection are crucial for salvation. However, Paul was clear that saving faith, which blossoms in our heart—the moral, emotional, and personal center of our being—is rooted in relational trust and produces external fruit.
Believers who consider themselves dead to sin26 offer their bodies as instruments of righteousness.27 True belief, rooted in the heart, also leads to spoken words. A person with saving faith cannot help but speak; he or she cannot stay silent. We are saved by God's power at work in us, not by the words we say. However, words that point to Jesus flow from the faith deeply established in believers’ hearts.
In Romans 9:18, Paul flatly stated, “God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.”28 In Romans 10:11, Paul returned to Isaiah 28:16. When Paul first referenced this verse in Romans 9:33, he maintained Isaiah’s more general wording: “The one who believes in him.” But in 10:11, Paul did not leave the verse in that form, adding the Greek word pas—“anyone.” Election does not negate or contradict the offer of the gospel to everyone!
To ensure readers did not miss his new emphasis, Paul added, “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.” This explanation would have especially helped the Roman church, which was made up of believers of different ethnicities and diverse backgrounds. Paul repeated this critical point a second time by quoting Joel 2:32 in verse 13: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” The glorious, free offer of the gospel overcomes all human boundaries. If not for this offer, some might think the gospel is for other people, not themselves or others who appear beyond Christ’s reach. Paul made it clear that salvation is for anyone who calls on Jesus.
Paul insisted that all who reject God’s righteousness in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, are responsible for their unbelief. Concerning salvation, Paul held God’s sovereignty and human responsibility in deliberate tension.29 We cannot dispel the mystery of God and His ways without somehow misrepresenting His infinite perfection in an attempt to fit our finite thinking. What explains the seeming contradiction? All who seek saving righteousness may come to Jesus Christ if they will. However, it is God’s gift of faith that leads people to trust Christ’s righteousness alone, so God receives all the glory.
These verses are not here simply to explain how God’s sovereignty and human responsibility to believe fit together. The verses that follow this section exhort messengers to go and announce salvation to all, not knowing who will trust in Jesus Christ as Savior. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Take to Heart
Faith in Jesus Christ strikes at the root of all works-based righteousness and self-effort. The triune God established the Lord Jesus Christ as the solid rock on which God’s people are to build their lives. Paul’s teaching deeply offended many Jews of his day. They stumbled over Jesus and attempted to build on the shaky ground of their own righteousness. They did not grasp the sinfulness that all people share or their need for Jesus’s righteousness. No one perfectly keeps God’s law except God incarnate, Jesus Christ. No amount of self-effort makes anyone acceptable to God.
The powerful purity of Christ’s righteousness fulfilled the law and is the only way to receive God’s favor. Christ’s saving righteousness is available to anyone who calls on His name. As God draws sinners to Himself, they respond with faith in Jesus and the profession of His supreme lordship. Because Jesus is eternally righteous and able to save, God’s promise stands that anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.
Are you wearing yourself out working for the righteousness that God makes available through faith in Jesus? Perhaps you stumble over obtaining saving righteousness through faith in Jesus alone because it seems too simple or ignores your contribution or spiritual accomplishments. The world seems to reinforce that we must work hard for anything worth having. But the most valuable thing a person can obtain—right standing with God—is received through faith rather than attained through effort. If rule following and self-justification entangle your faith, Paul offers the reminder that Jesus is near you, seeking your heart and lordship of your life. Will you trust His righteousness alone?
How often have you been zealous for a cause without understanding all the issues? Every one of us stumbles in ignorance at some point. We all begin at the same place—without knowledge of Christ. This truth should tenderize our hearts toward those currently living without Him, even those who blatantly reject Him. Would you ask God to increase your love for the lost and your passion to pray and share the gospel? Ask God to help you understand and grieve for the people around you who live deceived and lost. God works through prayer and your spoken words to drown out competing messages in the hearts and minds of those He seeks to save. God’s offer of salvation stands, and He uses human lips and His powerful Word to dispel the darkness shrouding human hearts.
Have you proclaimed Jesus as your Savior, source of righteousness, and Lord? If you are not yet a believer in Jesus Christ, Romans 10:13 calls you to trust in His sacrificial death for your sins and receive a completely new life. Will you believe and proclaim Him today? The Bible promises that if you will call on God, He will save you. He will rescue you from the wrath that hangs over you because of your sin. Will you submit to God’s gracious rule over your heart? Ask Jesus to show you how He wants to be Lord and ruler of your attitudes, ambitions, employment, money, leisure, status, and possessions. When we surrender to Jesus, He offers grace, peace, righteousness, acceptance, and love that we could never earn and can never lose—today and forever!
1. Jews first: John 1:11; Acts 1:8; Romans 1:16
2. Reliance on law: Romans 2
3. Law’s purpose: Hebrews 10:1-2, 19-22
4. God the rock: Genesis 49:24; Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18; 1 Samuel 2:2; Psalms 18:2; 19:14; 31:2-3; 92:15; 95:1; Isaiah 44:8
5. Stumbling stone: 1 Peter 2:6-8
6. Great sorrow: Romans 9:2-4
7. Righteousness from God: Romans 3:21-23
8. God is love: 1 John 4:8
9. Jesus’s attributes: 1 Corinthians 1:30; Hebrews 1:3
10. All are sinners: Romans 3:9-20
11. Righteousness for sinners: Luke 5:29-32; 23:39-43
12. God sees the heart: 1 Samuel 16:7
13. Under law: Romans 2:12; 6:14
14. Law condemns: Romans 7:7-13; Galatians 3:10-11; James 2:10
15. No one righteous: Romans 3:9-20
16. Faith in God’s promise: Genesis 3:15; Romans 3:27–4:25
17. Preparation for Moses’s death: Deuteronomy 30:11-14
18. Johannes Munck,Christ and Israel: An Interpretation of Romans 9–11, trans. Krister Stendahl (Fortress Press, 1967).
19. Gospel to Abraham: Galatians 3:8-9
20. Justified by faith: Genesis 15:6; Psalm 32:1-2; Romans 4
21. Jesus is kyrios: Psalm 110:1; Luke 2:11; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; Philippians 2:5-11
22. Jesus’s victory: Acts 2:36; Colossians 2:15
23. Spirit’s desires: Romans 8:5
24. Law’s requirements met: Romans 8:3-4
25. Believers’ obligation: Romans 8:12-14
26. Dead to sin: Romans 6:11
27. Instruments of righteousness: Romans 6:13
28. God’s prerogative: Romans 9:18
29. God’s sovereignty: John 6:35-40; Romans 9:1-29
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