1:
Brethren my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved 2: For I bear them record that they have a zeal for God but not
according to knowledge[1] 3:
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish
their own righteousness have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of
God 4: For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
who believes[2]
5: For Moses described the righteousness which is of the law That the one
who does those things shall live by them 6: But the righteousness which
is of faith speaks on this wise Say not in your heart Who shall ascend into
heaven that is to bring Christ down from above 7: Or Who shall descend
into the deep that is to bring up Christ again from the dead[3] 8:
But what [does] it say The word is near [to] you even in your mouth and in your
heart that is the word of faith[4]
which we preach 9: That if thou shalt confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you
shalt be saved 10: For with the heart one believes unto righteousness
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation 11: For the
scripture says Whosoever believes 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 who call upon him 13: For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved 14: How then shall they call on him in
whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have
not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher 15: And how shall
they preach, except they be sent as it is written How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things Acts
2:17-1816: But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias said
Lord who hath believed our report 17: So then faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the word of God 18: But I say Have they not heard Yes truly
their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world 19:
But I say Did not Israel know First Moses said I will provoke you to jealousy
by them that are no people and by a foolish nation I will anger you 20:
But Esaias was very bold and said I was found of them that sought me not I was
made manifest to them that asked not after me[5] 21:
But to Israel he says All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a
disobedient and dissenting people
[1] It is possible to have a zeal for God
and not be saved. There is a way that seems right but, in the end, the
scriptures say, leads to death. Eternal life depends on knowing God—not knowing all about
God John 17:3. There is a vast difference between the two, for
example, most people know about the
President of the United States, but how many can say they know him? The Bible teaches that we only have access to God through
faith in his Risen Son, Jesus Christ John 3:16.
[2] Submitting to faith and the liberty of
the Holy Spirit is apparently not as easy as it sounds. Rebellious hearts
always resist the ways of God. Even when the scriptures assure that, “Where the
Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” Expecting salvation to come from
obedience to a list of do’s and don’ts is a perversion of God’s word, which
condemns those going about to “establish their own righteousness.”
[3] Just as Jesus said we have no power to
change how tall or short we are, and that by worrying we cannot change
anything, Paul wrote that by seeking to make ourselves righteous would be as
effective as attempting, in our own power, to raise Christ from the dead, or,
by our own righteousness, attempting to usher in his return. There is nothing in
us that can facilitate Eternal Life or influence the times and seasons that God
has in his own power. Only in Jesus, and faith in his shed blood and his
resurrection, can we be born again and please God.
[4] The word of faith, that Paul preached,
had everything to do with total reliance on Jesus’ completed work on the cross
for forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Is Jesus the High Priest of our
confession? Yes. And that is a reference to the function of a High Priest under
the Old Covenant, where he made sacrifice and intercession for the forgiveness
of sins for all the people. Should we believe every word spoken by God in his
Word, and agree with him (in our hearts and verbally) on all of it? Absolutely.
Can we use words to manipulate God into doing our will? Absolutely not …Selah.
[5] That happened to this writer. I was finished with God, Jesus, Heaven, Hell, Christianity
and anything that had to do with it. God truly found me at a time when I was not
looking for him.... Read the rest of her testimony here http://hungryheart100.tripod.com/id67.html
Additional commentary pending for this
chapter. Questions and comments are welcome.
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