聖書注解書

Romans 10:2. That they have a zeal of God— See this zeal of theirs for God described, Acts 21:27-31; Acts 22:3.

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Romans 10:3. God's righteousness— That is, the method of salvation which is provided for mankind by the mercy and wisdom of God.

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Romans 10:4. Christ is the end of the law, &c.— Here the Jew's argument is supposed. St. Paul, who was well acquainted with the notions of the Jews, and had often disputed with them, knowing well what the Jew would allege, for the sake of brevity puts in his answer, without formally stating the Jew's argument; and yet from the Apostle we may probably collect what was the Jew's argument. He insisted that Christ was the end or design of the law in the following sense: that is to say, that the establishment of the Messiah's kingdom, and an interest in the privileges of it, depended upon, or was the result of their submission to or observance of, the law of Moses. Against this the Apostle argues, that by obedience to the law the Jews could never have procured the coming and kingdom of Christ, or redemption by him. In that way, (Romans 10:6-7.) they could never have brought down Christ from heaven, or have raised him from the dead; it is the grace and power of God alone must do that; which they have done; and in order to an interest in the privileges and blessings of his kingdom, have left nothing on our part to be done, but faith in the heart by the operation of the Spirit of God (which the Divine Spirit is willing to accomplish), and a practice and profession suitable to it. Compare Rom 10:9 and Galatians 3:23-25. This and the following verses may be paraphrased thus: "Thus far indeed the Jews think justly, that the end and design of the law is to introduce the kingdom and dispensation of Christ the Messiah: not, as they suppose, to procure the blessings of his kingdom by the observance of the law; but Christ is the end of the law, as the law leads and obliges us to fly to that justification, or way of life and salvation, which is open and free to all who believe; Romans 10:5. For the way ofgaining a title to life and salvation by the law, as Moses describes it, is perfect immaculate obedience; a way in which no people in the world, not the Jews themselves, can hope to procure the blessings of the kingdom of the Messiah. But the way of salvation, which is by faith in Christ, runs in a quite different strain; Romans 10:6-7. It forbids the supposition of procuring the grace of redemption by any works of righteousness which we can do: for, in order to our redemption, Christ was first to come down from heaven, and to be raised from the dead after he was crucified, otherwise he could be no Saviour to us. And what man, through the perfection of his obedience to the law, could acquire either power or interest enough to bring Christ down from the heavenly mansions to this earth; or to loose the bands of death, restore him again to life, and exalt him to God's right hand, to be the author and captain of our salvation? Such mighty effects are not to be accomplished by our works; and therefore the way of salvation by faith very rightly teaches us to disclaim such vain impracticable schemes. On the contrary, it instructs us, Rom 10:8 that the mercy and kindness of God our Saviour has cleared all difficulties on his part, and reduced the affair to the lowest and easiest conditions on ours, by leaving nothing for us to do, but what through the inspiration of the Spiritof God may be performed by our heart and mouth:—Imean, that faith which I preach among the Gentiles, and which is set forth, Romans 10:9." It may be proper to observe here, that the Apostle does not quote Moses, Deuteronomy 30:12-14, by way of proving the point, but only alludes to the manner of expression; as what might with no less, if not with greater propriety, be applied to the Gospel than the law. This appears from the explication he inserts, as, that is, to bring down Christ from heaven;—that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead;—that is, the word of faith which we preach. Which explication he adds, to shew that, though he uses the words of Moses, yet he does not suppose that Moses is discoursing upon the same subject with himself. See Locke, who gives a different exposition of these verses, which, for the satisfaction of the reader, shall be mentioned on Romans 10:9.

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Romans 10:8. The word is nigh thee— The original 'Ρημα, often signifies word, but sometimes affair, business; and so does דבר deber in the Hebrew,—the word used by Moses, Deuteronomy 30:14. In this place the meaning seems to be, the affair is nigh thee, (that is, is rendered easy and feasible,) even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the affair of faith, which we preach. See Matthew 18:16. Luke 1:37; Luke 2:15. 2Co 12:4; 2 Corinthians 13:1.

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Romans 10:9. That if thou shalt confess, &c.— St. Paul had told them, Romans 10:4. (says Mr. Locke) that the end of the law was to bring them to life by faith in Christ, that they might be justified, and so be saved. To convince them of this, he brings three verses out of the book of the law itself, declaring that the way to life was by hearkening to that word, which was ready in their mouth, and in their heart; and that therefore they had no reason to reject Jesus, the Christ, because he died, was removed into heaven, and remote from them. Their very law proposed life to them by something nigh them, which might lead them to their Deliverer; namely, by words and doctrines, which might always be at hand, in their mouths, and in their hearts, and so lead them to Christ; that is, to that faith in him which the Apostle preached. We may observe farther from this place, that the expectation of the Jews was, that the promised Messiah should be their deliverer; in which they were right: but that which they expected to be delivered from at his appearing, was the power and dominion of temporal, not spiritual enemies. When our Saviour came, the time predicted for his coming was completed, and the miracles which he did concurred to persuade that he was their Messiah; but his obscure birth and mean appearance did not correspond with those ideas which they had formed of his splendour. This, with his prediction of the destruction of their temple and state, set the rulers against him, and held the body of the Jews in suspense till his crucifixion, which made them wholly averse to him. They gave up all thoughts of being delivered by him; he was gone; they saw him no more;—and it was past a doubt with them, that a dead man could not be the Messiah or deliverer even of those who believed in him. It is against these prejudices that this and the preceding verses seem directed; wherein St. Paul teaches them, that there was no need to bring the Messiah from heaven or the grave, and introduce him personally among them; for the deliverance that he was to work for them, and the salvation he was to procure, was salvation from sin and its condemnation; and that was tobe had by believing and openly avowing him to be Messiah their king, and that he was raised from the dead; for by this they would be saved, without his personal presence among them.

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Romans 10:11. For the Scripture saith, &c.— In this and the two preceding verses, the Apostle intends to shew the nature and efficacy of the gospel faith and profession, in opposition to the mean opinion which the Jew might have of them, in comparison with the several branches of his dependence; and which, in his eye, appeared much more honourable and magnificent. It is not necessary to spend time in settling the precise difference between believing with the heart, and confessing or professing with the mouth. Thereby the whole of true religion, both in principle and practice, is denoted;—the root in the heart, and the fruit in the life: only, professing with the mouth may be particularly mentioned, because that gives a right to the present privileges of Christ's kingdom;—none but professed believers have right to a place and standing in the church of God. Nor need we be curious to inquire into the distinction between righteousness or justification, and salvation. The Apostle's design, it seems evidently, is to express all the blessings which God will bestow in this and the future world: that the one or the other of these comprehends the present blessings and privileges of the kingdom of God, none perhaps will question: and that the one or the other takesin the final and eternal salvation of the faithful saints of God will appear, if we consider that the 11th verse, Whosoever believeth, &c. certainly refers to final salvation, or the full accomplishment of Christian faith and hope. But this quotation in the 11th verse is intended to confirm at least one of the clauses in the foregoing verse, and therefore one of these clauses must refer to the final issue of faith in everlasting life to the persevering Christian. Faith is the grand principle of the Gospel; a professed faith intitles us to present privileges; and faith, as a principle in the heart, discerning, valuing, and improving the grace of God in the Redeemer, and enabling us to resist temptation, to be stedfast and unmoveable in adhering to truth and dutyis that which constitutes the Christian, the life of sobriety, righteousness, and godliness, and such as, if persevered in (the power and blessing of God supposed) will carry us safe to eternal life. And as we are to be saved, not by mere power considered abstractedly, but in a moral way, nothing less than this faith can be appointed, or be effectual to our salvation.

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Romans 10:13. Whosoever shall call, &c.— Believing in Christ, or God, Rom 10:11 and calling upon him, Rom 10:12-14 are in effect the same thing, as calling upon God necessarilysupposes faith in him; and he who duly believes in Christ, has such a sense of his dependence upon divine grace, that he looks unto and trusts in the power and goodness of his God alone for happiness; which is the true religion of the Gospel. Bishop Pearson argues at large from this verse, that if Christ be not here called Jehovah, the Apostle's argument is quite inconclusive. The reader cannot fail to observe and admire the fine climax in the next verse. See Benson, and Pearson on the Creed, p. 149.

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Romans 10:15. How shall they preach, except they be sent?— St. Paul is careful every where to preserve the esteem of his brethren the Jews. May not therefore this, with the two foregoing verses, be understood as an apology to them for professing himself an Apostle of the Gentiles, as he does by the tenor of this epistle, and in the next chapter expressly? Romans 10:13. In this chapter (Romans 10:12.) he had shewn, that both Jews and Greeks, or Gentiles, were to be saved by receiving the Gospel of Christ; and if so, it was necessary that somebody should be sent to teach it to them; and therefore the Jews had no reason to be offended with any one sent on that employment. Feet are variously used in Scripture, and sometimes have respect to things internal and spiritual: for as the life of man and the practice of piety are compared to walking, Psalms 1:1.; so his feet may signify the principles upon which he acts, and the disposition of his mind, as Ecclesiastes 5:1. Keep thy foot, when thou goest to the house of God. Agreeably to this, the feet of the messengers in Isaiah, and of the apostles in thisverse, may signify the validity of their mission, the authority upon which they acted, and any character or qualifications with which they were invested. Bos observes that, in Sophocles, the hands and feet of those who came upon a kind design are represented as beautiful to such as receive benefit by their arrival. See Locke, and Isaiah 52:7.

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