Lesson 130
Romans Chapter Ten
The Faithfulness of God
Review:
We’ll examine this section this way:
#1. Justification its
availability 10:6-8
#2.
Justification, its conditions
10:9-13
The material Paul
quoted in Romans 10:6-8 is taken somewhat freely from Deuteronomy 30:12-14 with
clauses quoted here and there.
Blessing was
promised for faith and obedience, and discipline would result from rejection
and disobedience.
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The point of Moses' exhortation in vs:11-14 is that
the generation to whom he was speaking had God's message, they understood it
(it was very near you and in your mouth,) and could respond by faith, believe
it, and walk with God in obedience.
-
Paul takes the thrust of what Moses says
here and uses it to make his point; in the place of the commandments of God,
what does Paul put in? the word of faith, the Gospel.
-
What Paul does is to have BD speaking, rather than the author of Scripture; Justification
speaks; being saved by faith says
something important; He's personifying
the BD of Justification.
-
Paul in this section has in his mind, the fact that the Judaism of the first
century had been perverted from a supernaturally revealed and empowered system
in which salvation was given in answer to faith in a blood Sacrifice, to a mere
ethical cult where obedience to the Old Testament Decalogue
would bring salvation.
The
phrases, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ and ‘Who will
descend into the abyss?’ in
vv 6–7 refer in the original context of going to great extremes in order to
decipher God’s will (Deut 30:11).
Now Paul in our
context of Rom 10 applies the same truth of having and obeying
the Word to the person of Christ who is now God’s final revelation (Heb 1:2).
Since Christ has
come in the flesh (John
Nor does anyone
need to bring Christ up from the dead,
since He has already risen from the dead.
1 Cor 15:3-4
Therefore in vs:6-7 Paul is focused on 2 things;
#1 Christ brought
down [incarnation; had come in the flesh, Jn
#2 Christ brought
up [resurrection]
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What does man have to do with either??
Therefore since He
did it all, salvation is a finished work for the one who believes.
-
Paul is making a strong point here and is saying to
10:8 makes it clear that it is near, its
available, its accessible to all.
"word"
= r`h/ma
not logoj emphasis is on the spoken, communicated word.
This word of faith
which is in your mouth and in your heart, recognizes
the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit to make the message clear and also
that there needs to be a response.
If the response is
one of faith, believing the message proclaimed, there is an instantaneous
impact of that faith.
-
Rem: B.L. as to justification, what Paul has emphasized here is that it is a
finished work based on an incarnate and risen Lord.
And that He is near
you!
Holy
Spirit's Gospel Ministry
The Pre-salvation
Convicting ministry of God the Holy Spirit
1. DEFINITION: The convicting ministry of the
Holy Spirit is the pre-salvation ministry of the Third person of the Trinity.
2.
The need for the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit is documented in
1 Cor 2:11-14.
3.
The first reference to the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit is in
Gen 6:3.
4.
The mechanic of the convicting
ministry of G/HS is often referred to as Common Grace, a ministry to the
unbeliever.
a. Common Grace is the work of the HS
in revealing the gospel to the unbeliever.
b. Common Grace includes enablement to
perceive, to understand the work of Christ related to salvation but also the
means of attainment of salvation, by faith not works.
c. Apart from the Common Grace factor,
the spiritually dead UB cannot understand the things of the spirit.
d. 1 Cor. 2:14;
5. The areas in which the convicting ministry deals is defined in
Jn 16:8.
a. Sin - Jn 16:9 unbelief "because they do no believe in Me"
b. Righteousness - Jn
c. Concerning judgment - Jn 16:11 - no
one escapes. [God's evaluation is the
one that counts for eternity]
6. Observations related to the
convicting ministry of G/HS.
a. The individual can resist and
reject it. Acts
b. Both pos and neg types are brought
under His ministry. Acts 17:22-34
c. At the point of gospel hearing the
individual comes under the principle of being the called. Mt
7. The Gospel and Faith
a. The Holy Spirit is the revealer of
the Gospel. 1 Pet
b. This is because the unbeliever
being under spiritual death can not comprehend spiritual info. 1 Cor
c. The Gospel is the message and power
of God in salvation. 1 Cor 15:1-4; Rom
d. Jesus Christ is the person of the
Gospel and therefore the object of faith in salvation. All the merit resides in the object of faith.
Rom
e. Faith is the mechanic of
appropriating salvation. Eph 2:8,9
1. Reason: faith is the only system of
perception that is compatible with grace. It is non-meritorious, that is there
is no human merit involved.
2. Faith exhaled in Jesus Christ
results in instantaneous salvation.
3. Faith is man's response to the
convicting ministry of G/HS with the result being regeneration, new life in
Christ.
Intro: 10:9-13
This is probably one
of the most abused passages in the Bible, that is, in the context of evangelism
in all of Scripture.