Albert Barnes Commentary Romans 10

ROMANS Chapter 10

Brethren. This expression seems intended particularly for the Jews—his long-standing friends, fellow-worshippers, and kinsmen—who had embraced the Christian faith. It is an expression of tenderness and affection, indicating his deep interest in their welfare.

My heart's desire. The word "desire" (eudokia) means benevolence; and the expression, my heart's desire, means my earnest and sincere wish.

Prayer to God. He not only cherished this feeling, but he also expressed it in prayer to God. He had no desire that his kinsmen should be destroyed and no pleasure in the appalling doctrine he had been defending. He still wished for their welfare and could still pray for them, that they might return to God.

Ministers take no pleasure in proclaiming the truth that people must be lost. Even when they declare the truths of the Bible that some will be lost—when they are constrained by the unbelief and wickedness of people to proclaim it of them—they can still sincerely say that they seek their salvation.

For Israel. For the Jewish nation.

That they might be saved. This clearly refers to salvation from the sin of unbelief and the consequences of sin in hell. It does not refer to the temporal calamities that were coming upon them, but to preservation from the eternal anger of God (1 Timothy 2:4). The reasons why the apostle begins this chapter in this tender manner are the following:

1. Because he had stated and defended one of the most offensive doctrines that could be preached to a Jew, and he wished to show them that it was not from any lack of affection for them, but that he was urged to it by the pressure of truth.
2. He was regarded by them as an apostate. He had abandoned them when bearing their commission and while on his way to carry out their favorite purposes, and had preached the doctrine they had sent him to destroy (Compare to Acts 9). He had opposed them everywhere; had proclaimed their pride, self-righteousness, and crime, in crucifying their Messiah; had forsaken all that they valued—their pomp of worship, their city, and their temple; and had gone to other lands to bear the message of mercy to the nations that they despised. He was willing to show them that this proceeded from no lack of affection for them, but that he still retained toward them the feelings of a Jew and could give them credit for much that they valued in themselves (Romans 10:2).
3. He was aware of the deep and dreadful condemnation that was coming upon them. In view of that, he expressed his tender regard for their welfare and his earnest prayer to God for their salvation. And we see here the proper feelings of a minister of the gospel when declaring the most terrible of the truths of the Bible. Paul was tender, affectionate, and kind; convincing by calm argument and not by harshly denouncing; stating the appalling truth, and then pouring out his earnest desires to God that he would avert the impending doom. So should the awful doctrines of religion be preached by all the ambassadors of God.

For I bear them record. To bear witness means to be a witness, to give evidence. Paul was well qualified to do this. He had been a Jew of the strictest order (Acts 26:6; Philippians 3:5), and he well knew the extraordinary efforts they made to obey the commands of the law.

A zeal of God. A zeal for God. Thus, John 2:17: The zeal of your house has eaten me up; an earnest desire for the honor of the sanctuary has wholly absorbed my attention. . Acts 21:20: You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who believe, and they are all zealous of the law;Acts 22:3: And was zealous toward God as you all are this day. Zeal for God here means passionate ardor in the things pertaining to God, or in the things of religion.

In this, many of them were undoubtedly sincere; but sincerity does not of itself constitute true piety. John 16:2: The time comes that whoever kills you will think that he does God service. This would be an instance of extraordinary zeal, and in this they would be sincere; but persecution to death of apostles cannot be true religion.

See also Matthew 23:15; and Acts 26:9: I thought that I ought to do, etc. So many people suppose that, provided they are sincere and zealous, they must of course be accepted by God.

But the zeal that is acceptable is that which aims at the glory of God, and which is founded on true benevolence to the universe, and which does not aim primarily to establish a system of self-righteousness, as did the Jew, or to build up our own sect, as many others do.

We may remark here that Paul was not insensible to what the Jews did, and was not unwilling to give them credit for it. A minister of the gospel should not be blind to the amiable qualities of people, or to their zeal, and should be willing to speak of it tenderly, even when proclaiming the doctrine of depravity or denouncing the just judgments of God.

Not according to knowledge. Not an enlightened, discerning, and intelligent zeal. Not that which is founded on correct views of God and of religious truth. Such zeal is enthusiasm, and often becomes persecuting. Knowledge without zeal becomes cold, abstract, calculating, formal, and may be possessed by devils as well as humans. It is the union of the two—the action of a person called forth to intense effort by just views of truth and by right feeling—that constitutes true religion. This was the zeal of the Savior and of the apostles.

For they being ignorant. The ignorance of the Jews was voluntary, and therefore criminal. The apostle does not affirm that they could not have known what the plan of God was, for he says (Romans 10:18–21) that they had full opportunity of knowing. An attentive study of their own Scriptures would have led them to the true knowledge of the Messiah and his righteousness (compare to Isaiah 53 and following).

Yet, the fact that they were ignorant, though not an excuse, is introduced here, undoubtedly, as a mild and mitigating circumstance that should lessen the severity of what he might appear to them to be saying (1 Timothy 1:13: But I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly, in unbelief; Luke 23:34: Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do; Acts 7:60). Involuntary ignorance excuses from guilt, but ignorance produced by our sin or our indolence is no excuse for crime.

Of God's righteousness. This refers not to the personal holiness of God, but to God's plan of justifying people, or of declaring them righteous by faith in his Son (see Barnes on Acts 1:17).

Here God's plan stands opposed to their efforts to make themselves righteous by their own works.

And seeking to establish, etc. Endeavoring to confirm or make valid their own righteousness, to render it such as to constitute a ground of justification before God, or to make good their own claims to eternal life by their merits. This stands opposed to justification by grace, or to God's plan, and they must ever be opposed.

This was the constant effort of the Jews, and in this they supposed they had succeeded (see Paul's experience in Philippians 3:4-6; Acts 26:5). Instances of their belief on this subject occur in all the Gospels, where our Saviour combats their notions of their own righteousness (see particularly their views and evasions exposed in Matthew 23; compare to Matthew 5:20 and following, and Matthew 6:2-5).

It was this which mainly opposed the Lord Jesus and his apostles; and it is this confidence in their own righteousness which still stands in the way of the progress of the gospel among people.

Have not submitted themselves. Confident in their own righteousness, they have not yielded their hearts to a plan which requires them to come confessing that they have no merit, and to be saved by the merit of another. No obstacle to salvation by grace is so great as the self-righteousness of the sinner.

Righteousness of God. This refers to His plan or scheme of justifying people.

For Christ. This expression implies faith in Christ. This is the design of the discussion: to show that justification cannot be obtained by our own righteousness, but by faith in Christ. As no direct benefit results to people from Christ unless they believe in him, faith in him is implied where the word occurs in this connection.

Is the end of the law. The word translated "end" means that which completes a thing, or makes it perfect. It also means the boundary, issue, or termination of anything, such as the end of life or the result of a prophecy (John 13:1; Luke 22:37).

Furthermore, it signifies the design or object in view—the principal purpose for which something was undertaken. For example, in 1 Timothy 1:5, The end of the commandment is charity; the main design or purpose of the command is to produce love. In 1 Peter 1:9, The end of your faith, the salvation of your souls; the main design or purpose of faith is to secure salvation. And in Romans 14:9, To this end Christ both died, etc.; for this design or purpose.

This is undoubtedly its meaning here. The main design or object that the perfect obedience of the law would accomplish is accomplished by faith in Christ. That is, perfect obedience to the law would accomplish justification before God, secure His favor and eternal life. The same end is now accomplished by faith in Christ.

The great desire of both is the same; and the same great end is finally gained. This was the subject of discussion between the apostle and the Jews; and this is all that is necessary to understand in the case.

Some have supposed that the word end refers to the ceremonial law—that Christ fulfilled it and brought it to an end. Others have supposed that He perfectly fulfilled the moral law. And still others, that the law in the end leads us to Christ, or that its design is to point us to Him.

All this is true, but it is not the truth taught in this passage. That truth is simple and plain: by faith in Christ, the same end is accomplished regarding our justification that would be accomplished by perfect obedience to the moral law.

For righteousness. For justification, or acceptance with God.

To every one that believes. (See Barnes on Romans 1:17).

For Moses describes, etc. This is found in Leviticus 18:5: Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do he shall live in them. This appeal is made to Moses, regarding both the righteousness of the law and that of faith, in accordance with Paul's usual manner of supporting all his positions with the Old Testament and showing that he was introducing no new doctrine. He was only affirming what had been taught long before in the writings of the Jews themselves. The word describes is, literally, writes (grafei), a word often used in this sense.

The righteousness, etc. This refers to the righteousness that a perfect obedience to the law of God would produce. That righteousness consisted in perfectly doing all that the law required.

The man which doeth these things. This refers to the man who performs or obeys what was declared in the previous statutes. Moses here was referring to all the commandments God had given, both moral and ceremonial. The doctrine of Moses, which pertains to all laws, is that whoever renders perfect and continued compliance with all the statutes made known will receive the reward the law promises.

This is a first principle of all law, for all law holds a person to be innocent—and therefore entitled to whatever immunities and rewards it has to confer—until they are proved to be guilty. In this case, however, Moses did not affirm that in fact anyone either had yielded or would yield perfect obedience to the law of God. The Scriptures elsewhere abundantly teach that it never has been done.

Doeth. This means obeys, or yields obedience. So also Matthew 5:19, Shall do and teach them;Matthew 7:24, 26, Whosoever heareth these sayings—and doeth them; also Matthew 23:3; Mark 3:35; Mark 6:20; and Luke 6:46, 47, 49.

Shall live. This means to obtain felicity. Obedience will render a person happy and entitle them to the rewards of the obedient. Moses doubtless referred here to all the results that would follow obedience.

The effect would be to produce happiness in this life and in the life to come. The principle on which happiness would be conferred would be the same whether in this world or the next.

The tendency and result of obedience would be to promote order, health, purity, and benevolence; to advance the welfare of man and the honor of God, and thus it must confer happiness. The idea of happiness is often represented in the Scriptures by the word life. (See the notes on John 5:24).

It is evident, moreover, that the Jews understood Moses here as referring to more than temporal blessings. The ancient Targum of Onkelos renders the passage in Leviticus thus — "The man who does these things shall live in them to eternal life." So the Arabic version is, "The retribution of him who works these things is that he shall live an eternal life."

By them (en autoiv). In them. In their observance he will find happiness. This happiness is not simply a result or reward, but the very act of obeying carries its own reward. This is the case with all true religion.

This declaration of Moses is still true. If perfect obedience were rendered, it would, by its very nature, confer happiness and life as long as the obedience continued. God would not punish the innocent. But in this world, such obedience never has been rendered, except in the case of the Lord Jesus; and the consequence is that the course of man has been attended with pain, sorrow, and death.