2018 STUDY OF ROMANS
Chapter 10, Verses 1-5
“Christ, My Righteousness!”
[1-6-19]
Review: “God Does the Choosing!”
Romans 9:8-16) [NIV] In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
10) Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac.
11) Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad-in order that God’s purpose in election might stand:
12) not by works but by him who calls-she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”
16) It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
NOTE: He’s not talking about eternal salvation; he’s talking about God choosing who he will use to accomplish His will in this life.
Review: “Does God Have An Infinite Supply of Life Jackets?”
Romans 9:17-33) [NIV] For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
18) Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
NOTE: Again, he’s not talking about eternal salvation; he’s talking about God choosing whom He will use to accomplish His will in this life.
24) even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
“God’s sovereignty is never exercised in condemning men who ought to be saved, but rather it has resulted in the salvation of men who ought to be lost” [C. R. Erdman].
**NOTE: They can’t have it both ways. Erdman is teaching that God chooses to save some who are lost, but not others who are lost. He saves those He chooses by the force of irresistible grace, but withholds that same irresistible grace from others; thus He withholds from the lost the only mechanism that can save them, according to their doctrine. They want to teach that the lost perish because of their choice, not God’s. That’s not true, according to their doctrine. Adam and Eve were the only humans who made the chose to become sinners; the rest of us were born sinners. As such, our only hope is the intervention of God, and according to the teaching of Divine Election, God chooses not to intervene for the majority.
30) What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
31) but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
32) Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.”
33) As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
NOTE: The Gentiles sought for a right relationship with God through faith. The Jews sought for a right relationship with God by earning their way, by keeping the Law. There is no mention in the above verses that are dealing with a subject that affects eternity that God did the choosing. Just the opposite, people “pursued” it.
This Week’s Lesson: “Christ, My Righteousness!”
Romans 10:1-5) [NIV] Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.
Romans 9:1-3) [KJV] I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
2) That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
3) For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
QUESTION: What do the beginnings of Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 show us?
ANSWER: Paul longs for his countrymen, the Jews, to be saved.
2) For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
3) 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.
(NLT) For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. They won’t go along with God’s way.
“establish” – “Or set up, indicating their pride in their endeavor. They would erect a righteousness of their own as a monument to their own glory and not to God’s” [Vincent].
“submit” – “to put oneself under orders, to obey” [Robertson].
QUESTION: What were the Jews doing wrong?
ANSWER: They didn’t understand that “righteousness,” a right standing with God, comes from God as a gift to us who believe. It can’t be earned. They tried to become righteous. Paul said that the effort to become righteous is a failure to “submit to God’s righteousness.”
Romans 1:16-17) [KJV] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
(NLT) This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
QUESTION: What are these 2 verses from chapter 1 telling us?
ANSWER: The “Gospel” [Good News] message is what tells us how we can enjoy a right relationship with a Holy God; and that message tells us that it’s only by “faith” from the beginning to the ending of our relationship with God that accomplishes this.
4) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
(NLT) For Christ has accomplished the whole purpose of the law. All who believe in him are made right with God.
QUESTION: What does “the end of the law” mean?
ANSWER: Some suggest it means that it’s the end of the sacrificial Law, but we must still keep the moral Law.
QUESTION: What’s wrong with that idea?
ANSWER: If Paul is just referring to the end of the sacrificial Law then I must still keep the moral Law to become right with God.
QUESTION: Again, what does “the end of the law” mean?
ANSWER: It means that the Law has no authority to bring accusations against me. My right standing with God isn’t a result of my keeping all the commandments of the Law; it’s a result of my placing my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Since righteousness comes from Christ, then only Christ can bring charges against me; and He won’t. See the verses below:
Romans 8:33-34) [KJV] Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? [It is] God that justifieth.
34) Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
5) Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
QUESTION: What does the Law teach us about righteousness?
ANSWER: We must do all the Law for all our life to be found righteous.
“Of course, this statement presents an ideal which no sinful man can meet. All it is saying is that if a man could keep the law perfectly and perpetually, he would not be condemned to death. But the law was given to people who were already sinners and who were already condemned to death. Even if they could keep the law perfectly from that day forward, they still would be lost because God requires payment for those sins which are past. Any hopes that men may have for obtaining righteousness by the law are doomed to failure from the outset” [BBC].
He who keeps the law in all respects blameless shall have life. But Paul has elsewhere shown that no one can keep the law perfectly. That righteousness, then, requires a perfect obedience, a sinless life [PNT].
4) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
(NLT) For Christ has accomplished the whole purpose of the law. All who believe in him are made right with God.
NOTE: Jesus kept the Law perfectly for me! He gave me the ‘A’ He took the blame for the ‘F’ I got! He took the judgment of God so I could enjoy the blessings of God! WHAT A DEAL HE HAS GIVEN US!!
2018 STUDY OF ROMANS
Chapter 10, Verses 6-8
“Descending And Ascending!”
[1-13-19]
Review: “Christ, My Righteousness!”
1Romans 10:1-5) [NIV] 2) For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
3) 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.
ANSWER: The Jews didn’t understand that “righteousness,” a right standing with God, comes from God as a gift to us who believe. It can’t be earned. They tried to become righteous. Paul said that the effort to become righteous is a failure to “submit to God’s righteousness.”
Romans 1:16-17) [KJV] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17) (NLT) This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
4) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
(NLT) For Christ has accomplished the whole purpose of the law. All who believe in him are made right with God.
NOTE: It means that the Law has no authority to bring accusations against me. My right standing with God isn’t a result of my keeping all the commandments of the Law; it’s a result of my placing my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Since righteousness comes from Christ, then only Christ can bring charges against me; and He won’t. See the verses below:
Romans 8:33-34) [KJV] Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? [It is] God that justifieth.
34) Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
5) Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
NOTE: We must do all the Law for all our life to be found righteous. Jesus kept the Law perfectly for me! He gave me the ‘A’ He took the blame for the ‘F’ I got! He took the judgment of God so I could enjoy the blessings of God! WHAT A DEAL HE HAS GIVEN US!!
This Week’s Lesson: “Descending and Ascending!”
Romans 10:6-8) [NIV] 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)
7) “or ‘’Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8) 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:
Deuteronomy 30:11-14) [KJV] For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
12) It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13) Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14) But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
“Say not, Who shall ascend into heaven? The Jews expected a Savior, reigning upon the earth, a visible king of an earthly kingdom, and hence said, “Bring down Christ from heaven, where you say he is, and we will believe upon him.”
Or who shall descend into the abyss? Another stumbling block with the Jews was the death and burial of Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, they held it to be proof that he was not the Christ. They still were wont to demand that they should see the Risen Christ with their own eyes, or that he be produced from the realms of the dead. To have met the demands of the Jews would have been sight rather than faith” [PNT].
“Who shall ascend into heaven? – This expression was used among the Jews to denote any difficult undertaking. To say that it was high as heaven, or that it was necessary to ascend to heaven to understand it, was to express the highest difficulty” [Barnes].
NOTE: Above are a couple of ideas of what Paul was saying to us in vs. 6-8 of Romans 10.
Allow Me To Share Some Other Thoughts With You:
Luke 23:43) [KJV] And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Luke 16:22-23, 26) [KJV] And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Abraham’s bosom – “the happy side of Hades, where the saints were regarded as resting in bliss” [PNT].
23) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
26) And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
**NOTE: Jesus was busy the 3 days He was dead. He descended, in my view, to Paradise/Abraham’s bosom to share the Gospel to the Old Testament righteous dead. They were kept in Paradise, a place of bliss, until Jesus would pay for their sins on Calvary. Then when He died He descended to Paradise with Lazarus, neither one of them in their bodies; where He shared the Gospel. All the Old Testament saints readily accepted Jesus as their Savior and were then made fit for Heaven.
Revelation1:18) [KJV] Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
**NOTE: He also stopped off to visit with Satan! While there He seized control of “the keys of Hell and of death.”
Ephesians 4:8-10) [KJV] Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9) (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10) He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
NOTE: Then after He arose from the dead, prior to speaking to Mary in the garden, He ascended to Heaven to offer His blood on the true Mercy Seat in the Heavenly Temple of God!! He brought along with Him the Old Testament saints who were now born again.
Colossians 2:14-15) [KJV] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15) And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
He made a show of them openly – “As a conqueror, returning from a victory, displays in a triumphal procession the kings and princes whom he has taken, and the spoils of victory” [Barnes].
Triumphing over them: “Paul used similar phrasing in 2Co 2:14, where he had in mind the Roman victory parade where a conquering general led his defeated captives through the streets in triumph [Guzik].
“We believe that this is the same triumph that is described in Ephesians 4, where the Lord Jesus is said to have led captivity captive. His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension were a glorious triumph over all the hosts of hell and of Satan. As He passed up through the atmosphere on His way back to heaven, He passed through the very domain of the one who is the prince of the power of the air” [BBC].
Matthew 27:50-53) [KJV] Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51) And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52) And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53) And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
**NOTE: All dead saints at that time would have been in Paradise/Abraham’s Bosom. Their graves were opened when Jesus died; they resurrected after Jesus did!! Some of them were seen; meaning this was a bodily resurrection. They went to Heaven with Jesus before He appeared to Mary in the Garden. They witnessed Jesus taking captive the hosts of Satan’s angels and leading them as a conquered army into Heaven.
2018 STUDY OF ROMANS
Chapter 10, Verses 8-13
“Believing and Confessing!”
[1-20-19] changed to [1-27-19]
Review: “Descending and Ascending!”
Romans 10:6-8) [NIV] 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)
7) “or ‘’Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8) 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:
Luke 23:43) [KJV] And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Luke 16:22-23, 26) [KJV] And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
**NOTE: He shared the Gospel with the Old Testament saints, and with the thief. They all accepted Jesus as their Savior and were then made fit for Heaven.
Revelation1:18) [KJV] Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
**NOTE: He also stopped off to visit with Satan! While there He seized control of “the keys of Hell and of death.”
Ephesians 4:8-10) [KJV] Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9) (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10) He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
NOTE: Then after He arose from the dead, prior to speaking to Mary in the garden, He ascended to Heaven to offer His blood on the true Mercy Seat in the Heavenly Temple of God!! He brought along with Him the Old Testament saints who were now born again.
Colossians 2:14-15) [KJV] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15) And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them: “Paul used similar phrasing in 2Co 2:14, where he had in mind the Roman victory parade where a conquering general led his defeated captives through the streets in triumph [Guzik].
This Week’s Lesson: “Believing and Confessing!”
Romans 10:6A) [NIV] But the righteousness that is by faith says:
Romans 10:8-13) [NIV] 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:
(ERV) This is what the Scripture says: “God’s teaching is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.” It is the teaching of faith that we tell people.
9) 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.
10) For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
(NLT) For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
QUESTION: What does the righteousness that is by faith say?
ANSWER: Everything needed for our salvation is already done! We don’t have to go to Heaven to talk Jesus into coming to earth to die again; and, we don’t have to descend into Paradise to bring Jesus back from the dead. He’s already died for us! He’s already risen from the dead!
QUESTION: What else does the righteousness that is by faith say?
ANSWER: Salvation is as close to you as your heart and your mouth. Believe the Gospel story in your heart; confess with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord!”
QUESTION: What’s different about vs. 9 and 10?
ANSWER: Vs. 9 has confession first and believing second; vs. 10 has believing first and confession second. Vs. 8 has the same order as vs. 9.
QUESTION: Why does vs. 10 above separate justification from salvation?
Romans 1:16-17) [NIV] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Righteousness – 1343 – “the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God” [Thayer].
Justification – 1347 – “the act of God declaring men free from guilt and acceptable to him” [Thayer].
ANSWER: Justification is the judicial act of God declaring a believing sinner to be in a right relationship with Him. Salvation is the result of that judicial act.
A SAD NOTE: The unsaved will miss Heaven by less than a foot, which is the distance between the heart and the mouth. All who believe in their heart that Jesus died to save them and from the abundance of the heart confess Him as Lord will go to Heaven.
11) As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
(ERV) Yes, the Scriptures say, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.”
“shall not be ashamed; neither in this world, nor in that to come; in the Hebrew text it is, ‘shall not make haste’” [Gill].
Isaiah 28:16) [KJV] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
NOTE: Some translators render this “shamed,” some “disappointed,” and the Hebrew has it “make haste.” It seems to me that the idea is that when we put our trust in God we won’t have to “make haste” to run away from Him because God will not say anything to us that would cause us “shame,” or that would “disappoint” us. Rather, I expect to hear Him say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” [Matthew 25:21]. Plainly put, we will not be disappointed when we stand before the very God Who has justified us!!
12) For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
Galatians 3:28-29) [KJV] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29) And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
QUESTION: Who will go to Heaven?
**ANSWER: Absolutely everyone who sincerely calls out to God to save him/her will go to Heaven!
13) for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
QUESTION: Does God care about your ethnicity, race, or color? Does He care if you’re a rich man, middle class man, poor man, or slave? Does He care if you’re a man or a woman?
ANSWER: Absolutely not! He desires all to “call on the name of the Lord” so they can be saved!!
2018 STUDY OF ROMANS
Chapter 10, Verses 14-21
“Believing the Gospel!”
[2-3-19]
Review: “Believing and Confessing!”
Romans 10:6A) [NIV] But the righteousness that is by faith says:
Romans 10:8-13) [NIV] 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:
9) 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.
10) (NLT) For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
NOTE: Everything needed for our salvation is already done! Salvation is as close to you as your heart and your mouth. Believe the Gospel story in your heart; confess with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord!”
QUESTION: Why does vs. 10 above separate justification from salvation?
Romans 1:16-17) [NIV] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
NOTE: Justification is the judicial act of God declaring a believing sinner to be in a right relationship with Him. Salvation is the result of that judicial act.
11) As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
12) For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
Galatians 3:28-29) [KJV] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29) And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
QUESTION: Who will go to Heaven?
**ANSWER: Absolutely everyone who sincerely calls out to God to save him/her will go to Heaven!
13) for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
QUESTION: Does God care about your ethnicity, race, or color? Does He care if you’re a rich man, middle class man, poor man, or slave? Does He care if you’re a man or a woman?
ANSWER: Absolutely not! He desires all to “call on the name of the Lord” so they can be saved!!
This Week’s Lesson: “Believing the Gospel!”
Romans 10:14-21) [NIV] How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
15) And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:14-15) [NLT] But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
15) And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
QUESTION: What must be done to get people to call “on the name of the Lord”?
ANSWER: Somebody has to tell that individual about what Jesus has done for them.
16) But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”
17) Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
(NLT) Yet faith comes from listening to this message of good news — the Good News about Christ.
(ERV) So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.
(GNB) So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.
QUESTION: Why doesn’t everyone who hears the Gospel get saved?
ANSWER: Some refuse to believe “our message.”
QUESTION: Where does saving faith come from?
ANSWER: Faith comes as a result of hearing the “message,” and the saving “message” comes from what the Lord Jesus taught us through His own words and the words of His Apostles.
Galatians 1:6-8) [KJV] I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
NOTE: We can bring another message to people, but the only message that will save them in the Gospel message.
QUESTION: Is there more than one Gospel?
ANSWER: A thousand times, “NO”!
NOTE: Any message outside of the one Paul preached is absolute HERESY!! It can’t, and won’t save anyone! The Good News is that Jesus did for me what I couldn’t do for myself! I couldn’t purchase my own salvation through good works, by keeping the rules better, by reading the Bible more, by praying more, or by any other way!!! Jesus purchased my salvation through the shedding of His blood as the remission for my sins!
ANOTHER NOTE: Any message that says that I can, in any way, impress a Holy God sufficiently enough to get Him to welcome me into Heaven is a flat out lie!
STILL ANOTHER NOTE: There is no excess righteousness not needed by Mary or the Apostles that I can somehow get my hands on to make up for the lack of my own righteousness that will then enable me to become acceptable to God.
YET STILL ANOTHER NOTE: However, there is One Who has an infinite amount of righteousness that is willing to share it with the “whosoever wills” of this world. His righteousness, however, does not add itself to mine to make me palatable to God! Rather, God accepts the righteousness of His Son in place of mine when I place my faith in Him.
18) But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
19) Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, “I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”
(CEV) Did the people of Israel understand or not? Moses answered this question when he told that the Lord had said, “I will make Israel jealous of people who are a nation of nobodies. I will make them angry at people who don’t understand a thing.”
(NLT) But did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God had said, “I will rouse your jealousy by blessing other nations. I will make you angry by blessing the foolish Gentiles.”
20) And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”
(ERV) Then Isaiah is bold enough to say this for God: “The people who were not looking for me– they are the ones who found me. I made myself known to those who did not ask for me.”
21) But concerning Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
QUESTION: Why, then didn’t all the Jews become Christians?
ANSWER: They heard the message from the Apostles, but they didn’t believe it.
QUESTION: What was God’s response to the disbelief of the Jews?
ANSWER: God said He would make Israel jealous by moving in the lives of people who were not a nation. That’s referring to Christians. We are not a nation in the sense that Israel is a nation; rather, we are made up of people from all nations.
QUESTION: What people found God?
ANSWER: People whose history had not been one of seeking the God of the Jews found Him.
QUESTION: How?
ANSWER: God revealed Himself to them.
QUESTION: Again, why didn’t the majority of the Jewish people find Him?
ANSWER: They ignored all of God’s messages and invitations to them.