Romani 10:16 Commento

The dissolving of the peculiar church-state of the Jews, and the rejection of that polity by the repealing of their ceremonial law, the vacating of all the institutions of it, the abolishing of their priesthood, the burning of their temple, and the taking away of their place and nation, and in their room the substituting and erecting of a catholic church-state among the Gentile nations, though to us, now that these things have long since been done and completed, they may seem no great matter, yet to those who lived when they were doing, who knew how high the Jews had stood in God's favour, and how deplorable the condition of the Gentile world had been for many ages, it appeared very great and marvellous, and a mystery hard to be understood. The apostle, in this chapter, as in the foregoing and that which follows, is explaining and proving it; but with several very useful digressions, which a little interrupt the thread of his discourse. To two great truths I would reduce this chapter: - I. That there is a great difference between the righteousness of the law, which the unbelieving Jews were wedded to, and the righteousness of faith offered in the gospel (Rom 10:1-11). II. That there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; but, in point of justification and acceptance with God, the gospel sets them both upon the same level (Rom 10:12 to the end).

INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS 10 In this chapter are contained an account of the two righteousnesses of faith and works, a summary of the Gospel of Christ, a description of the grace of faith, in the nature, use, and means of it, and several testimonies concerning the calling of the Gentiles; and whereas the apostle knew that this, as well as what he had said in the latter part of the preceding chapter, that the Jews had not attained to the law of righteousness, but stumbled at the stumbling stone, would be offensive to his countrymen the Jews; wherefore that it might appear that he said this not out of disaffection and ill will to them, he declares his sincere regard unto them, and the great respect he had for them, by calling them "brethren", by expressing his good will to them, by praying for the salvation of them, Rom 10:1, by bearing testimony of their zeal for God, Rom 10:2, though he faithfully observes to them, that it was an ignorant zeal, of which ignorance he gives an instance, Rom 10:3, particularly in the attribute of God's righteousness; from which ignorance arose all their misconduct in religious things, especially in the article of justification; hence they sought to be justified by their own righteousness, and rejected the righteousness of Christ, and then points out to them the true end of the law, for righteousness which is Christ, Rom 10:4, which if they had known would have set them right, and which is another instance of their ignorant and misguided zeal: this leads him on to what he had in view, which was to give an account of the two righteousnesses he had suggested in the latter part of the former chapter, the righteousness of the law, which the Jews sought for and found not, and the righteousness of faith, which the Gentiles without seeking for enjoyed; and this account he gives in the words of Moses, for whom they had the greatest regard: the description of the former is given in his words, in Rom 10:5, which suggest the impossibility of keeping the law, and obtaining life by it, and therefore it is a vain thing to seek for righteousness by the works of it; the latter is described, Rom 10:6, by the certainty of it, being wrought out by Christ, who came down from heaven, fulfilled the law, and died, and rose again from the dead; and by the plainness and evidence of it, as revealed in the Gospel, Rom 10:8, the sum of which Gospel is, that whoever believes in Christ and confesses him shall be saved, Rom 10:9, which faith and confession, when genuine, are with the heart and mouth agreeing together; the consequences of which are righteousness and salvation, comfortably apprehended and enjoyed, Rom 10:10, and that the above is the sum of the Gospel, and that there is such a connection between faith and righteousness, and between confession and salvation, is confirmed, Rom 10:11, by a testimony from the prophet, Isa 28:16, which being expressed in such a general manner, as to extend to every believer, whether Jew or Gentile, reasons are given, Rom 10:12, in support of such an explanation of that passage, taken from the equal condition of all, there being no difference between them naturally, from the universal dominion of God over them, and from his liberal communication of grace and goodness to all that call upon him; which last reason is confirmed, Rom 10:13, by a passage of Scripture in Joe 2:32, on occasion of which, the apostle proceeds to treat of the calling of the Gentiles, and of the means of it, the preaching of the Gospel, which was necessary to it, which is made out by a train of reasoning after this manner; that seeing salvation is only of such that call upon the name of the Lord, and there could be no calling upon him without believing in him, and no believing without hearing, and no hearing without preaching, and no preaching without mission, which is proved by a citation out of Isa 52:7, and no success in preaching, when sent, without the exertions of efficacious grace, as appears from the case of the Jews, who had the ministration of the Gospel to them by Isaiah, and yet all did not believe it; as is evident from Isa 53:1, and seeing the conclusion of which is, that faith comes by preaching, and preaching by the order and command of God, Rom 10:14, it follows, that it was proper that ministers should be sent, and the Gospel preached to the Gentiles, and that attended with power, in order that they should believe in the Lord, and call upon his name and be saved; and which method God had taken, and which he had foretold he would take, in the prophecies of the Old Testament, and which were now fulfilling: that the Gospel was preached to them, and they heard it, were matters of fact, and were no other than what should be, or might be concluded, from Psa 19:4, cited, Rom 10:18, and that the Jews could not be ignorant of the calling of the Gentiles is clear, first from the words of Moses, Deu 32:21, which the apostle produces, Rom 10:19, and from a passage in the prophecy of Isa 65:1. So that this was no other than what Moses and the prophets said should be, Rom 10:20, and the chapter is closed, Rom 10:21, with another passage out of the same prophet in the next verse, showing the rejection of Christ and his Gospel by the Jews, and which justifies their being cast off by him, of which the apostle treats largely in the next chapter.

But they have not all obeyed the Gospel,.... Who hear it, and to whom it is preached; for though ministers may be regularly sent forth, and rightly preach the Gospel in the purity of it, yet there is no success without the power of God attending it: ministers may preach, and men may hear, and yet not obey the Gospel; that is, cordially embrace the doctrines, and sincerely submit to the ordinances of it: for Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report; or "our hearing", agreeably to the Hebrew word in Isa 53:1, and which designs not the "hearing" with which the apostles heard Christ, though what they heard from him, they made known to men; but the hearing, or the word heard, which others had from them, namely, the report they made in their ministry, of the person and grace of Christ, which was disregarded, when the arm and power of the Lord were not, revealed and exerted: this was the case of the Jews in Isaiah's time, and the same in the times of Christ and his apostles, and is always the case, when divine power does not attend the preaching of the Gospel.

"Lord, who hath believed our report?" Isaiah says. For "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," saith the apostle. "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe on Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those that publish glad tidings of good things!" You see how he brings faith by hearing, and the preaching of the apostles, up to the word of the Lord, and to the Son of God. We do not yet understand the word of the Lord to be demonstration.

Not all the Gentiles have believed the gospel nor have all the Jews, but many have, and many more Gentiles have believed than Jews. In this passage, “who has believed really means few have believed.” … Isaiah here is speaking prophetically in the person of the apostles, to whom the work of preaching was entrusted. It was they, when they saw how few believers there were in Israel, who exclaimed: “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”

"But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Since they pressed him with another objection again to this effect, that if these were the persons sent upon the mission by God, all ought to have hearkened to them: observe Paul's judgment, and see how he shows that this very thing which made the confusion, did in fact do away with confusion and embarrassment. What offends you, O Jew, he would say, after so great and abundant evidence, and demonstration of the points? that all did not submit to the Gospel? Why this very thing, when taken along with the others, is of force to certify thee of the truth of my statements, even in that some do not believe. For this too the prophet foretold. Notice his unspeakable wisdom too; how he shows more than they were looking for, or expected him to have to say in reply. For what is it that you say? he means. Is it that all have not believed the Gospel? Well! Isaiah foretold this too from of old. Or rather, not this only, but even much more than this. For the complaint you make is Why did not all believe? But Isaiah goes further than this. For what is it he says? "Lord, who hath believed our report?" Then since he had rid himself of this embarrassment by making the Prophet a bulwark against them, he again keeps to the line he was before upon. For as he had said that they must call upon Him, but that they who call must believe, and they who believe must hear first, but they who are to hear must have preachers, and the preachers be sent, and as he had shown that they were sent, and had preached; as he is going to bring in another objection again, taking occasion first of another quotation from the Prophet, by which he had met the objection a little back, he thus interweaves it, and connects it with what went before. For since he had produced the Prophet as saying, "Lord, who hath believed our report"? he happily seizes on the quotation, as proving what he says, "So then faith cometh by hearing." And this he makes not a mere naked statement. But as the Jews were forever seeking a sign, and the sight of the Resurrection, and were gaping after the thing much; he says, Yet the Prophet promised no such thing, but that it was by hearing that we were to believe. Hence he makes this good first, and says, "so then faith cometh by hearing." And then since this seemed a mean thing to say, see how he elevates it. For he says, I was not speaking of mere hearing, nor of the need of hearing men's words and believing them, but I mean a great sort of hearing. For the hearing is "by the word of God." They were not speaking their own, but they were telling what they learnt from God. And this is a higher thing than miracles. For we are equally bound to believe and to obey God, whether speaking or working miracles. Since both works and miracles come of His words. For both the heaven and everything else was established in this way.

Above, when He saith, "The hour is coming, and now is," I beseech you give earnest heed. Above, then, when He said, "The hour is coming," and added, "and now is," what did He subjoin? "When the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." He did not say, "All the dead shall hear, and they that hear shall live;" for He meant the unrighteous to be understood. And is it so, that all the unrighteous obey the gospel? The apostle says openly, "But not all obey the gospel." But they that hear shall live, because all that obey the gospel shall pass to eternal life by faith: yet all do not obey; and this is now. But certainly, in the end, "All that are in the graves," both the just and the unjust, "shall hear His voice, and come forth."

The prophets were never sent to the Gentiles. If not all those to whom the prophets were sent obeyed, how much less those to whom no one was sent!

The first part of this [verse] ought to be read as a question to which the second part is the apostle’s answer.… There is nothing surprising about this, for Isaiah also testifies to the small number of believers.

The Apostle said that the prophets testify that God sent these evangelists. Therefore, lest anyone object: if they were from God, then it follows that all should have heeded them, he affirms that, indeed, not all heeded the good news, but this does no harm to the truth. Isaiah spoke of this many years before: "Who has believed our report?" (Isa. 53:1). The word "who" is used here in place of "few" believed our report.

Then when he says, but all do not obey the Gospel, he shows that the later steps do not always follow. For although one cannot believe, unless he hears the word of the preacher, nevertheless, not everyone who hears believes; and this is what he says: but all do not obey the Gospel: not all have faith (2 Thess 3:2). He says this to show that the outwardly spoken word of the preacher is not sufficient to cause faith, unless a man's heart is attracted inwardly by the power of God speaking: everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me (John 6:45). Consequently, if men believe, it should not be attributed to the industry of the preacher. It also shows that not all unbelievers are excused from sin, but those who do not hear: if I had not come and spoken to them they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin (John 15:22). And this is more consonant with what the Apostle will say further on. Second, he cites his authority for this, when he says, for Isaiah says: Lord, who has believed our report? As if to say: a few; you are among unbelievers and destroyers (Ezek 2:6); for I have become as one who gleans in autumn the grapes of the vintage (Mic 7:1). Isaiah said this because he foresaw the future unbelief of the Jews: with a great spirit he saw the last things (Sir 48:27). And he says, our report, referring either to what they heard from God: we have heard a heard thing from the Lord, and sent messengers to the nations (Obad 5:1); or referring to what men heard from the apostles: they heard your words, and they did not do them (Ezek 33:32).

The apostle expresses his earnest desire for the salvation of the Jews, Rom 10:1. Having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, they sought salvation by works, and not by faith in Christ, Rom 10:2-4. The righteousness which is of the law described, Rom 10:5. That which is by faith described also, Rom 10:6-10. He that believes and calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, Rom 10:11-13. What is necessary to salvation, believing, hearing, preaching, a Divine mission, the Gospel, and obedience to its precepts, Rom 10:14-16. Faith comes by hearing, Rom 10:17. The universal spread of the Gospel predicted by the prophets, Rom 10:18-20. The ingratitude and disobedience of the Israelites, Rom 10:21.

But they have not all obeyed the Gospel - This seems to be the objection of a Jew; as if he had said: A Divine mission would be attended with success; whereas there are numbers who pay no attention to the glad tidings you preach. To this the apostle answers, that the Spirit of God, by Isaiah, Isa 53:1, foretold it would be so, even in the case of the Jews themselves, where he said, Lord, who hath believed our report? For although God brings the message of salvation to men, he does not oblige them to embrace it. It is proposed to their understanding and conscience; but it does not become the means of salvation unless it be affectionately credited.

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED--HOW ISRAEL CAME TO MISS SALVATION, AND THE GENTILES TO FIND IT. (Rom. 10:1-21) Brethren, my heart's desire--The word here expresses "entire complacency," that in which the heart would experience full satisfaction. and prayer--"supplication." to God for Israel--"for them" is the true reading; the subject being continued from the close of the preceding chapter. is, that they may be saved--"for their salvation." Having before poured forth the anguish of his soul at the general unbelief of his nation and its dreadful consequences (Rom 9:1-3), he here expresses in the most emphatic terms his desire and prayer for their salvation.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel--that is, the Scripture hath prepared us to expect this sad result. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?--that is,"Where shall one find a believer?" The prophet speaks as if next to none would believe: The apostle softens this into "They have not all believed."