Greetings members and friends and welcome to another commentary and preview to this Sunday’s study of the Word. This Sunday’s study text is entitled “Salvation For All Who Believe” and it is based on the Epistle or letter to the Romans 10:5-17.
Obedience to God’s law and commandments is essential to life. It is, has been and always will be the basis of life. Righteousness, the state or quality of being right as opposed to wrong or good as opposed to evil, is meaningless without the law of God. What is right or wrong, good or evil is dependent upon a person’s interaction with the law of God.
But it is difficult, if not impossible, for human beings to be justified as righteous by their interaction with the law of God. In order to be just, God demonstrated the righteousness of the law by coming in the form of a man and doing what the law required.
In doing this, He can be just in His judgement and silence those who object by saying God required man to do something man is incapable of doing and then condemned him for not doing it.
Righteousness is required of all those who will abide in the presence and receive an eternal inheritance among the people of God. To obtain righteousness, God placed all the requirements of His law into something all humanity can do and that is to believe Him. God, in the person of Jesus Christ, is the fulfillment of His own law.
Now God is just in declaring righteousness based on law, but He is able to declare righteousness based upon another means which is belief and faith. By or through faith, God gives man another alternative or method of achieving righteousness. This is what this study text is about, God’s alternative method of obtaining righteousness.
All people past, present and future both Jew and Gentile, those who know and knew Christ and those who didn’t and won’t, will be justified, and thereby declared righteous, by faith. The saving work of Jesus Christ covers all humanity.
Those who know Jesus, have heard His words, have seen and have knowledge of His works and have accepted Him as their Savior and Lord have a much better opportunity of salvation than those who have not. From righteous Abel and Abraham to everyone who never heard or will hear of Jesus, God will justify, not by their works, but by their faith.
What is it that they and all whom God will justify believe? That God exist and is a rewarder of those who diligently Him. This is made easier when we know and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. There is no need to search or look any further for the cure or answer for righteousness.
To confess with one’s mouth and to believe in one’s heart is Paul’s way of saying believe and act appropriately upon the testimony of Jesus Christ and our lives will be saved. The testimony of Jesus Christ is the gospel and everything Jesus has said and did we have knowledge of.
By this Paul does not exclude those who have never heard nor never will hear the name of Jesus Christ which many Christians mistakenly do. Instead in this text he is including, not excluding, and talking about those who have and will hear His name.
Jesus Christ gave everyone a better reason to believe God. His work gave God the means to justify all His people by faith. Faith itself is made operative, real, saving and redemptive by works. God will determine the disposition of every person’s faith or lack thereof and thereby determine who is righteous.
Well, again be sure to look over the study again and come prepared to offer your comments, questions and perspective on the meaning of the study. If you can’t attend your own Sunday School class this Sunday, you can join us live and online at 9:00 am at www.fbmbc.org and clicking the online services link.
You can also join us live by dialing 508 924-2890. If you have any comments or questions, be sure to place them in the comment section or you can share them on Sunday. So, let’s all have a great lesson and discussion this Sunday and remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
