Romans 10-11

Read Romans 10-11.

            In chapter 10, I think Paul comes to the heart of his argument. I’ve been saying that since the beginning of the letter, Paul has been answering the question, “How do we explain that God seems to have replaced Israel in His plans and purposes?” His answer has proceeded in steps. First, Israel was never better than the other nations; she was always part of God’s problem. That is to say, she was always part of sinful humanity. However, God was faithful to His promises. For Israel he kept His promises by way of Abraham, that is, by the way of faith. The law of Moses didn’t make Israel special. The purpose of the law of Moses was to make sin more pronounced; in a sense, the law of Moses irritated and provoked sin, made it worse.

            Now, in chapter 10, he makes the statement that Christ was the culmination of the law. The Greek word translated culmination means an end or a goal. Paul is saying the whole law of Moses was leading to Jesus. Consider: the story of Adam’s children went bad quickly, ending in the twin disasters of the flood and the tower of Babel. So, God embedded His promise in one family, the family of Abraham. When they had grown from a family to a nation, He gave them the law of Moses, and a stark choice, “Do this and live.” Here’s the connection to Romans 10. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30, the very chapter where Moses challenges them, “Do this and live.”

            The problem, of course, is that Israel hadn’t kept the requirements of Moses’ law. They had faced the consequences of that failure in the Babylonian exile. Jesus had warned them they were facing the same consequences again. Paul is arguing that same argument, only Paul’s wrinkle is that the inclusion of the Gentiles is meant to provoke Israel to jealousy so that she will finally seen God’s plans and purposes correctly and regain their place.

            Some Israelites—like Paul and other Jewish believers—had believed. Paul still held out hope for others, and he warned the Gentile believers that they too could fall. What in the world he meant when he said, “In this way all Israel will be saved” (11:26), is a matter of much discussion. I think his point is simply that God will have the fullness of His people—both Jew and Gentile.

            Delving into the deep things of God is mind-boggling, and Paul concludes the section with a note of praise, extolling the wisdom and knowledge of God. It’s a good conclusion for us, too, when we are confronted with the reality that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts aren’t our thought (Isaiah 55).