Some Key Words (11/6/00-11/7/00)

End (telos [5056]):

the goal, the limit at which a thing ceases to be what it was previously, not the extinction but the reaching of the goal, the conclusion at which a thing arrives, the consummation; the limit at which a thing ceases to be, the end of an act or a state - not of a period of time, the last in a series, that by which a thing is finished, the aim or purpose of things, a toll or custom tax; the point aimed at as a limit, the conclusion of an act, the result, the purpose

Righteousness(dikaiosune [1343]):

the essence of what is just or righteous, fulfilling the claims of God, conforming to God's standards, the state commanded by God; the state of one who is as he ought be, the condition acceptable to God, integrity, purity of life, correctness of thought, feeling, and action; equity of character and act, Christian justification

Believes (pisteuo [4100]):

to give credit to, to have a mental persuasion, to be of opinion, to believe in or on Christ - with knowledge, assent, and confidence in Him; to consider to be true, have confidence in, the conviction and trust to which the law of the soul drives a man, trust in God as able to save, saving faith, acknowledgement of the facts, intellectual faith; to credit, entrust

Practices (poieo [4160]):

to endow with a quality, to qualify, to make, constitute, the meaning of the act vs. the means of the act, the doing once and for all; to make, form, fashion, to be the cause, to make ready, prepare, to acquire, produce, to make or declare one as something, to lead one, to make one do something, to carry out, to do to somebody, to make ready, to perform; to make or do

Faith (pistis [4102]):

being persuaded, belief, knowledge of, assent to, and confidence in divine truth leading to good works, knowledge and assent without the good works - false faith, fidelity, assurance; conviction of the truth of a thing, belief respecting man's relationship to God and the divine - creating trust and holy fervor, conviction of God's existence as creator and ruler of all things, and as author of salvation through Christ, belief in Jesus as Messiah and the means of salvation, belief combined with trust; persuasion, moral conviction of God's truth, reliance upon Christ for salvation, constancy in professing Christ

Confess (homologeo [3670]):

to consent, promise, to speak the same with, to consent to the desire of another, to speak in agreement with the facts, to celebrate with public praise, profess, publicly acknowledge; to agree with, assent to, to concede, promise, to not deny, to declare, to declare openly, speak out freely; to covenant

Lord (kurios [2962]):

one wielding authority for good; the one to whom a person belongs, the one who has the power of deciding about another, master, the possessor and disposer of a thing, the sovereign, prince, chief, a title of reverent honor; supreme in authority, controller

Raised (egeiro [1453]):

to wake one from sleep, to become aware of one's danger, and of God's salvation, to recover, rise up from sickbed, to recall the dead to life, to call forth, cause to appear; to arouse from the sleep of death, to bring before the public, to stir up against one, to cause to be born; to rouse from sleep, death, obscurity, ruins, or nonexistence

Saved (sozo [4982]):

to save from temporal dangers and suffering, to save spiritually and eternally, to experience God's presence as delivering from sin's bondage; to keep safe and sound, to save from suffering, to rescue, to deliver from Messianic judgement, to save from evil obstructions which prevent receiving deliverance; to deliver or protect

Salvation (soteria [4991]):

deliverance, preservation; deliverance from enemies, the present possession of all true Christians, the total benefits of a Christian, redeemed from earthly woes, consummated in heaven; rescue

Distinction (diastole [1293]):

difference, the different sounds made by musical instruments; a variation

Abounding (plouteo [4147]):

to become rich; to be rich, have abundance, to be richly supplied; wealthy

 

Paraphrase: (11/5/00)

4 Because of Christ, the Law is finished and righteousness is available to any who believe.

5 Mosaic Law made the righteous life dependant on doing all that the Law commanded. 6 But the righteousness of faith does not seek to change who Christ is, by drawing Him down from heaven 7 or raising Him from death. 8 Rather, such faith declares that the word of God is in your mouth and heart. This is the faith we proclaim: 9 that if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord, and fully believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved. 10 For the heart believes, leading to justification, and the mouth speaks confession, leading to salvation. 11 For those who trust in Him will never be shamed by that trust. 12 Yes, the Lord is Lord of both Jew and Gentile, there is no difference, He blesses all who call on Him, 13 for everyone who calls on Him will be saved.

Key Verse: (11/5/00)

10:12 - In the economy of God, there is no longer a distinction between Jew and Gentile, for He is Lord of all, and He hears all who call Him.

People Mentioned: (11/5/00)

N/A

Some Parallel Verses (11/7/00)

10:4

Ro 7:1-4 - Since the law ceases to apply at death, we have been freed from the Law by Christ's death, and are now joined to Him as to a husband. Gal 3:24 - The Law was to lead us to Christ so that our faith in Him could be justification. Gal 4: 5 - He has redeemed us from the rightful penalty of the Law, and brought us to adoption as sons of His Father. Ro 3:22 - This redemption and His righteousness He has made available to all believers without distinction.

10:5

Lev 18:5 - A man may live if he does all that God has given as statutes and judgments. Neh 9:29 - Israel had failed to listen to His commandments, and sinned against His law by which they were enabled to live. Eze 20:11 - God informed man of His Law in order that they could observe His rules, and live, Eze 20:13 - but Israel did not obey that Law, causing God to be wrathful, Eze 20:21 - planning to expose them to His anger in the wilderness for profaning His Sabbath. Ro 7:10 - The goal of these commandments was life, but it resulted in death as sin took advantage.

10:6

Ro 9:30 - The Gentiles found righteousness by faith, even though they weren't looking for it. Dt 30:11-12 - The commandments of God are not so difficult that we need to send somebody into heaven to bring understanding to us so that we can do it

10:7

Lk 8:31 - The demons pleaded not to be sent to the abyss. Heb 13:20 - God raised our Shepherd from death by the blood of the covenant.

10:8

Dt 30:14 - The word of God is in our mouth and our heart, so that we can obey it.

10:9

Mt 10:32 - Christ will confess those who confess Him before men before the Father, Lk 12:8 - and before angels. Ro 14:9 - Christ died and returned to life so as to be Lord of both the dead and the living. 1Co 12:3 - Nobody can speak of Jesus as their Lord except the Holy Spirit is in them. Php 2:11 - Every tongue should confess Jesus as Lord, so that God may be glorified. Ac 16:31 - Those who believe in Jesus as Lord save themselves and their household. Ro 4:24 - Righteousness will be imputed to those who believe in the risen Lord. Ac 2:24 - God raised Christ from death, because death could not keep Him in its power.

10:10

10:11

Is 28:16 - He who believes in the costly Cornerstone of God's foundation will not be disturbed. Ro 9:33 - But that Cornerstone will be a cause for stumbling to those who don't believe.

10:12

Ro 3:22 - The righteousness of faith in Jesus knows no distinctions among men. Ro 3:29 - God is God of both Jew and Gentile. Ac 10:36 - Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

10:13

Joel 2:32 - Whoever calls upon the Lord will be delivered. Ac 2:21 - The message echoed: all who call shall be saved.

 

New Thoughts (11/8/00)

It is good to be reminded here, that Jesus is not said to have abolished the Law, but rather to have completed it. This accords with what He said, Himself - that not one word of the Law would change (Mt 5:18). What Paul is telling us here is what he said also in Galatians 3:24, the Law serves its purpose in showing us our need for the salvation Jesus offers. The Law remains in force, it is still to guide our lives, and set our standards. Yet, we know that in ourselves it is impossible to keep. Hear what Moses said of the demands of the Law! It is not too difficult, or out of reach. There's no need to send to heaven, or some far land to bring back the one who can explain it to us. It's in our hearts and our mouths, so that we can do it (Dt 30:11-14). How, then, was it so unattainable as to point us to Christ Jesus as the only hope? This seems to contradict what Paul is telling us here. Did Moses misunderstand? Was he so close to God as to not realize the weakness of the more common man? Perhaps he saw clearly that God was already very present by His Spirit. Perhaps he saw the plan of salvation which was to be unfolded after his time. Moses said they could do it. And yet, by the time of Jesus' death, not one had ever managed. How is this? Paul's answer would seem to be that sin had in every case taken advantage of the awareness that the Law produced to entice each man into sinning, and thus becoming guilty of the due penalty of Law. In every case, the tempter had succeeded with this plan of attack until the One arrived. That One withstood the storm of temptation that was thrown about Him, and came to the end of His earthly days still standing outside of the Law's condemnation, for no wrong could be found in Him. This is what the Law pointed to. It pointed us slowly, but inexorably to the realization of our imperfect nature, to our absolute need for another to accomplish what we could not. And He did. He alone completed what the Law required. Yet He paid the penalty of all who had failed, and would yet fail, the demands of holiness.

Israel, when first faced with the call of the Law, was shocked. They recognized in it an unattainable goal, and so, their reaction was to send for help. But Moses said, no! The help is already within. You can do it! However, that internal help message got lost in the confusion, and Israel tried instead to do it by main force. Now Paul comes, presenting the solution. You don't need to send to heaven, for heaven already sent to us the One who can redeem us. And he realized the likely reaction to this news. But, He's so holy! Who will speak to Him for us? Who will mediate that His holiness not slay us on contact? And the answer came. He is the mediator, there is no other, nor is there a need for another. They try another tack. But, He's dead. How then will He come back to help us? But this too is answered. God already raised Him from death. All that is required now, is that you realize and believe this, that you put your trust - all your trust - in the only One who can redeem you from the Law's rightful conviction of guilt. The Word is near to us. He is ever present. The Word is in our hearts, for He has sent the Holy Spirit to counsel us. We have been made temples of the Living God. The Living God lives in us! Christ, His Word lives in us. He is in our hearts, and our mouths cannot help but speak from the fullness of the heart. If we are not speaking out His glory, if we are not celebrating the goodness of our God with public praise, it can only be because we have dragged other idols into His temple, and allowed ourselves to follow after false gods. Father forgive us. Forgive me. Too often, I have made excuses for myself not to declare You to the world around me. I have allowed fear of man to make a fool of me. I have allowed my pride a higher place than Your love. I have allowed my comfort to matter more than my neighbor's life. And always, I've had my justifications ready. It's not my nature. It might drive them away, rather than attract them to You. I'm such a poor example. They might be offended. Oh, there's a whole list of excuses. Forgive me, Lord. Sweep Your temple clean of this foolishness, and restore boldness to Your holy abode. Remind me of who it is that directs this life, who it is that has bought me, such as I am. If I am to call You Lord, I must willingly surrender to Your command. Lord, I pray You enable me to so will, for I am weak. Work through me, oh God. Bring that spiritual reproduction, that harvest that You desire from me. Help my talents to bring You gain.