Romans 10
24 Apr 2026 - Theology
Jesus Christ is Lord
Paul starts this chapter by continuing to write about physical Israel.
Romans 10:1 - “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”
“might be saved” - Strong’s Concordance [1519] [4991]
- motion or direction towards a place or thing
- to save; deliverance, preservation, salvation
- generally encompasses the whole process of salvation (past justification, present sanctification, future glorification)
Romans 10:4 - “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that [ppt] believeth.”
[ppt] = The present participle denotes continuous or repeated action
“end” - Strong’s Concordance [5056]
- denotes the final end, the conclusion which the dominion of the law has found in Christ
- does not mean the end or termination with reference to time
- the goal reached, the completion or conclusion at which anything arrives, including the ending of what went before
The Method of Justification (5-21)
Romans 10:5 - “For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which [apt] doeth those things [fm] shall live by them.”
[apt] = simple, one time action
[fm] = future tense, the middle voice represents the subject as acting in some way upon himself or concerning himself
Leviticus 18:5 - “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord.”
Righteousness by the law does not include Jesus Christ as the Savior, rather it means that you are working to be your own savior. In verses 6-8, Paul contrasts this to the righteousness by faith, quoting from Deuteronomy 30:10-14.
This is the word of faith:
Romans 10:9 - “That if thou [asba] shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and [asba] shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, [fp] thou shalt be saved.”
[asba] = simple, one time action
[fp] = future tense; the passive voice represents the subject as receiving the action of the verb
To believe this word of faith means that you agree that you can not save yourself, that it was Jesus Christ who died in your place, operating as your Savior.
Romans 10:10-11 - “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
What do we confess? What Romans 10:9 says - that Jesus Christ is Lord. But what does that mean?
The Greek word for “Lord” is Kurios and translates to “Lord” or “master”. Kurios is the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) translation of the Hebrew YHWH, representing the same supreme authority. New Testament writers use kurios for Jesus to attribute Yahweh’s sovereignty, worship, and divine nature to him, intentionally bridging the two testaments. Similar to how Jewish readers would substitute Adonai (Lord) for YHWH in Hebrew, kurios is used in the Greek New Testament as the substitute name for God. This means everywhere it says YHWH, Adonai, or Lord in the Old Testament, we can translate the name Jesus instead! So we are not just confessing that Jesus is master, we are confessing that He is the same God we know from the Old Testament, and attributing the same characteristics to Him.
Romans 10:12-13 - “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all [ppt] is rich unto all that [ppt] call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Paul uses the next verses to talk about the importance of those who preach. In order for someone to call upon the name of the Lord (Jesus Christ) and be saved, they need to believe that Jesus is Lord. In order for them to believe, they need to hear the gospel. In order for them to hear, there needs to be a preacher, one who is sent by God to preach to them. (14-15)
Romans 10:17 - “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Unfortunately, not all who hear will believe and obey, including many in physical Israel. It is for this reason that God went to the Gentiles, so that they might believe and be saved.
Romans 10:19 - “But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.”
Deuteronomy 32:21 - “They [Israel] have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.”
Talking about the Gentiles, the prophet Isaiah says:
Romans 10:20 - “But Isaiah is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that [ppt] sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that [ppt] asked not after me.”
But to physical Israel, the prophet Isaiah says:
Romans 10:21 - “But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.”
In the next chapter, we will read about how God has not given up and abandoned the people of Israel, His chosen people since the beginning of the world.
References
- The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
- Romans 10 - Greek Interlinear