5 For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or, ‘Who will descend into the Abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.
REFLECTIONS
Written by Stephen Shead
This is one of my favourite passages in all Paul’s letters. At first, it sounds like Paul is doing bizarre things with the Old Testament. But actually, what he’s doing shows how deeply he understands the way the Old Testament law pointed to Jesus. (It’s pretty complex, but I’ll have a crack at explaining it!)
Paul knew that God’s grace had exploded into the world in the coming of Jesus, Israel’s Messiah. Now finally, salvation was available, as a gift through trusting in Jesus, the Lord whom God had raised from the dead (v 9). But Paul’s anguish is that his own people Israel had rejected Jesus. They thought they were already righteous because God had given them the law of Moses, so why would they need this Jesus?
So Paul quotes two passages from the law of Moses, to show that the law itself pointed to their need for Jesus.
The law of Moses is the first 5 books of the Old Testament (Genesis to Deuteronomy). Those books present two possible ways to seek salvation and life – but one was a dead end. The first way, which is through the law itself, is in Leviticus 18:5: “The man who does these things will live by them.” Paul’s point is: Having the law does nothing. You need to obey all its commands.
And that was always the problem. The people of Israel had stubborn and rebellious hearts. They always ended up turning away from God – and the law didn’t just give commands, it also told the story of Israel’s incurable disobedience. By the end of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is tearing his hair out (Deuteronomy 31:27). It was clear that the law couldn’t solve the problem.
But at the same time, in Deuteronomy 30:1-10, God made an amazing promise: one day, he would do a great new work of forgiveness and heart-transformation, which would finally bring life. The details of that promise were still shrouded in mystery – but the law ended by showing that the way to righteousness lay in a new, future work of God’s grace.
The second passage Paul quotes comes straight after that promise, in Deuteronomy 30:11-14 – though Paul doesn’t just quote it. He removes the shroud of mystery. He fills in the blanks with the fulfilment of the promise: the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Lord. That was the second way of righteousness that law pointed to as the only hope for Israel and the world.
I love the Bible so much – and the more I study it, the more I marvel at Jesus. I guess the only question left is: Have you confessed “Yes, Jesus is Lord” (you could say it out loud now), and do you believe God raised him from the dead? If so, you are saved. End of story!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen is our Senior Minister.