Romans 10:5-10 | |
5. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. | 5. Moses enim describit justitiam quae est ex Lege, Quod qui fecerit ea homo rivet in ipsis. |
6. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) | 6. Quae vero est ex fide justitia sic dicit, Ne dixeris in corde tuo, Quis ascendet in coelum? hoc est Christum deducere: |
7. Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) | 7. Aut, Quis descendet in abyssum? hoc est Christum ex mortuis reducere: |
8. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith which we preach; | 8. Sed quid dicit? Prope est verbum, in ore tuo et in corde tuo; hoc est verbum fidei quod praedicamus, |
9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. | 9. Quod si confessus fueris in ore tuo Dominum Iesum, et credideris in corde tuo quod Deus suscitavit illum ex mortuis, salvus eris: |
10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. | 10. Corde enim creditur in justitiam, ore fit confessio in salutem. |
5.
But we ought to understand the reason why Paul harmonizes the law with faith, and yet sets the righteousness of one in opposition to that of the other: -- The law has a twofold meaning; it sometimes includes the whole of what has been taught by Moses, and sometimes that part only which was peculiar to his ministration, which consisted of precepts, rewards, and punishments. But Moses had this common office -- to teach the people the true rule of religion. Since it was so, it behooved him to preach repentance and faith; but faith is not taught, except by propounding promises of divine mercy, and those gratuitous: and thus it behooved him to be a preacher of the gospel; which office he faithfully performed, as it appears from many passages. In order to instruct the people in the doctrine of repentance, it was necessary for him to teach what manner of life was acceptable to God; and this he included in the precepts of the law. That he might also instill into the minds of the people the love of righteousness, and implant in them the hatred of iniquity, promises and threatening were added; which proposed rewards to the just, and denounced dreadful punishments on sinners. It was now the duty of the people to consider in how many ways they drew curses on themselves, and how far they were from deserving anything at God's hands by their works, that being thus led to despair as to their own righteousness, they might flee to the haven of divine goodness, and so to Christ himself. This was the end or design of the Mosaic dispensation.
But as evangelic promises are only found scattered in the writings of Moses, and these also somewhat obscure, and as the precepts and rewards, allotted to the observers of the law, frequently occur, it rightly appertained to Moses as his own and peculiar office, to teach what is the real righteousness of works, and then to show what remuneration awaits the observance of it, and what punishment awaits those who come short of it. For this reason Moses is by John compared with Christ, when it is said,
"That the law was given by Moses, but that grace
and truth came by Christ." (John 1:17.)
And whenever the word law is thus strictly taken, Moses is by implication opposed to Christ: and then we must consider what the law contains, as separate from the gospel. Hence what is said here of the
6
Let us now then simply explain the words of Paul: As the assurance of our salvation lies on two foundations, that is, when we understand, that life has been obtained for us, and death has been conquered for us, he teaches us that faith through the word of the gospel is sustained by both these; for Christ, by dying, destroyed death, and by rising again he obtained life in his own power. The benefit of Christ's death and resurrection is now communicated to us by the gospel: there is then no reason for us to seek anything farther. That it may thus appear, that the righteousness of faith is abundantly sufficient for salvation, he teaches us, that included in it are these two things, which are alone necessary for salvation. The import then of the words,
8.
It must be further observed, that lest the minds of men, being led away by crafts, should wander from the way of salvation, the limits of the word are prescribed to them, within which they are to keep themselves: for it is the same as though he had bidden them to be satisfied with the word only, and reminded them, that in this mirror those secrets of heaven are to be seen, which would otherwise by their brightness dazzle their eyes, and would also stun their ears and overpower the mind itself.
Hence the faithful derive from this passage remarkable consolation with regard to the certainty of the word; for they may no less safely rest on it, than on what is actually present. It must also be noticed, that the word, by which we have a firm and calm trust as to our salvation, had been set forth even by Moses:
The
9.
By putting
Express mention is made only of Christ's resurrection; which must not be so taken, as though his death was of no moment, but because Christ, by rising again, completed the whole work of our salvation: for though redemption and satisfaction were effected by his death, through which we are reconciled to God; yet the victory over sin, death, and Satan was attained by his resurrection; and hence also came righteousness, newness of life, and the hope of a blessed immortality. And thus is resurrection alone often set before us as the assurance of our salvation, not to draw away our attention from his death, but because it bears witness to the efficacy and fruit of his death: in short, his resurrection includes his death. On this subject we have briefly touched in the sixth chapter.
It may be added, that Paul requires not merely an historical faith, but he makes the resurrection itself its end. For we must remember the purpose for which Christ rose again; -- it was the Father's design in raising him, to restore us all to life: for though Christ had power of himself to reassume his soul, yet this work is for the most part ascribed in Scripture to God the Father.
10.
But let them see what answer they can give to Paul, who at this day proudly boast of some sort of imaginary faith, which, being content with the secrecy of the heart, neglect the confession of the mouth, as a matter superfluous and vain; for it is extremely puerile to say, that there is fire, when there is neither flame nor heat.
1 Righteousness is here personified, according to the usual manner of the Apostle: law and sin had before been represented in the same way. -- Ed.
2 It seems not necessary to have recourse to the distinctions made in the foregoing section. The character of the quotation given is correctly described in the words of Chrysostom, as quoted by Poole, "Paulus ea transtulit et aptavit ad jusitiam fidei -- Paul transferred and accommodated these things to the righteousness of faith." He evidently borrowed the words of Moses, not literally, but substantially, for the purpose of setting forth the truth he was handling. The speaker is not Moses, but "the righteousness of faith," represented as a person. Luther, as quoted by Wolfius, says, that "Paul, under the influence of the Spirit, took from Moses the occasion to form, as it were, a new and a suitable text against the justiciaries." It appears to be an application, by way of analogy, of the words of Moses to the gospel; but Pareus, Wolfius, Turrettin, and Doddridge, consider the words as applied by way of accommodation. -- Ed.
3 "The righteousness of faith" is evidently the "it" in this question: See Romans 10:6. -- Ed.
4 It is "the word" which requires "faith," and is received by faith; or it is the word entitled to faith, worthy of being believed; or it is the word which generates and supports faith. -- Ed.
5 "He puts 'mouth' before 'heart,'" says Pareus, "for he follows the order in which they are given by Moses, and for this reason, because we know not faith otherwise than by profession."
This is one of the many instances both in the New and Old Testament, in which the most apparent act is mentioned first, and then the most hidden, or in which the deed is stated first, and then the principle from which it proceeds. See Romans 13:13; Romans15:13. And we have here another instance of the Apostle's style; he reverses the order in Romans 10:10, mentioning faith first, and confession last. The two verses may be thus rendered, --
9. That if thou wilt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
And believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead,
Thou shalt be saved.
10. For with the heart we believe unto righteousness,
And with the mouth we confess unto salvation.
He begins and ends with confession, and in the middle clauses he mentions faith. -- Ed.
6 "Creditur;"
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