Chapter # 10 Paragraph # 2 Study # 3
July 22, 2018
Humble, Texas
(062)
1769 Translation:
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;
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.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
1901 ASV Translation:
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach:
9 because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved:
10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame.
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same [Lord] is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him:
13 for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
- I. Strong Adversative Contrast.
- A. But.
- B. What is it saying?
- 1. The righteousness of faith has the prohibitions already given: "Do not say in your heart...".
- 2. This righteousness of faith makes this declaration: "The word is near you...".
- a. The "word" is not the comprehensive message (logos). There is no particular need for seeing beyond the "near word".
- b. The "word" is the "immediate utterance" (to rema). But this is not unspecific.
- 1) In order to be "saved" (10:9), one must "confess" the Lord Jesus and "believe" that the God raised Him from the dead.
- 2) Thus, "the utterance of faith which we preach" involves the identity of Jesus as Lord, and the resurrection of Him from the dead.
- c. Hebrews 3:7 makes this contribution to Paul's concept: "Today if you should hear His voice, do not harden your hearts...".
- 1) This text makes this clear: "hearing" the words of the Gospel can be attended by the response of "hardening the heart". This "hardening" after "hearing" is called "unprofitable" (Hebrews 4:2) because the hearing was not "mixed with faith" in them that "heard". Thus, the "hardening" is the refusal to "believe" even though what was "heard" was clearly established as "truth". This means that "believing" is not primarily about the "truth" issue; it is about a deliberate "hardening against".
- 2) This "hardening" assumes a couple of things.
- a) One cannot "harden" him/her self against something he/she does not understand.
- b) The straightforward implication of that "understanding" is that the "truth" has already "come near"; in Paul's words, "it is in your mouth and in your heart". This strongly implies that the person has heard the "truth claims" in a way that makes "hardening" a conscious rejection of a thing known, understood, and lacking only one thing to be "believed": the quelling of the impulse to "harden" one's heart against it. This is the classic Romans 1:21 and 1:28 syndrome: reject what is inescapably known.
- c) Thus, the person "hardening" is not "willing (using his/her "will") to believe" but, rather, is using that "will" to resist established truth. Thus, man's "will" is not about "choosing to believe", but, rather, determining to resist what is known to be true. This is the depravity of the will, and is strongly prohibited.
- d) But the admonition, "Do not harden..." strongly implies that, though a man may not have the ability to create a certain content of "truth" and then commit himself to it, he, apparently does have the ability to resist the impulse to hear a certain content of truth and reject it. In other words, man does not have the "freedom of will" to determine what is true and commit to it, but he does have the ability to recognize truth and refuse the impulse to reject it. His ability to recognize the truth is God-given by the One Who commands the light to shine in our hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6). His ability to "harden not his heart" (i. e. to refuse the impulse to reject what he/she has had "shined into his/her heart") is also God-given in that only God can create a desire for integrity in the heart of a sinner; this desire being a reluctance to deny what is obviously true.
- d. In the context, this Romans text makes the "essence" of "faith-unto-salvation" the "in your mouth" aspect, not the "in your heart" aspect. "Salvation" does not occur until the "mouth" "confesses". "Faith" in the heart unto "justification" (Romans 10:10) follows after "confession" with the mouth (10:9) and "confession" with the mouth follows after "belief" in the heart (10:10).
- 1) What this boils down to is this: at the point wherein the "heart" is persuaded that "faith" will yield "righteousness" from God, there is this: at this juncture, a person may "harden the heart" so that "confession" is rejected. If this occurs, "salvation" is deflected and the person remains "lost".
- 2) What this reveals is that "faith", the kind God rewards with a decree of righteousness, is incomplete (non-justifying) until the commensurate response to the truth that is presented comes into existence. If "faith in the heart" is not followed by "confession with the mouth", the "in the heart" faith shrivels on the vine and ceases to exist.