From Prayer To Salvation Romans 10:1-4

Anthony Rhodes

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Romans 10:1–4 ESV

1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Praying for the Lost To Be Saved vs 1

In Romans 9:3, Paul talked about how he was so burdened for the Jews and the lost Jews that he would exchanged his own salvation for their salvation if he could. Now he starts Chapter 10 talking about his burden for their lostness as well.

He tells us that the Desire of His Heart is that the people without Jesus would be saved. He not only stated that his desire is for them to be saved, he said that was his prayer to God.

This is the approach that we should have for the Lost people. We have

Exalting Jesus in Romans The Intensity of Paul’s Burden (Romans 9:30–10:4)

And grace should cause us to pray like Paul (10:1). While Paul is praying for unbelieving Israel in particular, I think there is a general principle here for us to apply. To be an evangelist like Paul, we need to learn to pray for the salvation of others. C. S. Lewis quipped,

I have two lists of names in my prayers, those for whose conversion I pray and those for whose conversion I give thanks. The little trickle of transferences from List A to List B is a great comfort. (in Ryken, “C. S. Lewis the Evangelist,” 8)

May the Lord use us to help people transfer from list A to list B!

When was the last time you took time to fervently pray for that lost person to be saved?

When was the last time you got to celebrate because a name was moved for the praying for salvation to praising God for Their salvation?

Showing The Lost their Need To Be saved vs 2

Paul wasn’t only praying for the Jews/Israelites to be saved, he was bearing witness to them.

Bearing witness of what?

Their Zeal for God. They had a deep zeal for the things of God. That was the Jewish way and especially the Pharisee way. To do the things of God but not necessarily follow the new ways of God through Christ that was being Taught.

Paul would have known the ways of the Jews and Pharisees because after all he was one.

Galatians 1:13–14 ESV

13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

Acts 22:3 ESV

3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.

Paul is reminding the Jews that they were legalistic ways rather than their faith.

John MacArthur

10:2 Demonstrated by legalistic conformity to the law and fierce opposition to Judaism’s opponents

Pointing The Lost to the SOURCE of Salvation vs 3-5

The Israelites looked to the law for their righteousness. That is what they had been taught, that’s what they believed, and that’s what they were going to do. Basically, they were going to do it even it was wrong.

We are like that in our own lives. If we will be honest with ourselves, there have probably been times in our lives that we do something that in our minds we are doing what’s right but in reality, we know that it is completely wrong.

Show Ma and Pa Kettle Math Clip

Ma and Pa was wrong no matter how you look at it. However, in their minds they were absolutely correct.

Folks, that is the way the Israelites were. In their mind, the Law is all they needed to achieve the Righteousness of God. However, as Paul points out in Romans 10:4, God’s righteousness is what must be submitted to and not man’s righteousness. Yes, the Law is from God, but in order to achieve the Righteousness of God, you must keep all of the Law! That is not possible!!!!

Romans 10:1–4 New American Commentary Romans

The only thing God requires of people is that they not persist in trying to earn what they can only receive as a totally free gift. Their problem is that pride stands in the way of receiving God’s gift. Deeply ingrained in people’s hostility to divine grace is a proud and stubborn self-reliance that would rather suffer loss than be deprived of an occasion for boasting.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 10:1–4

The Law did not and could not of itself provide righteousness before God for individuals (cf. Rom. 3:20; 7:7). But Christ fulfilled the Law (Matt. 5:17–18) by keeping it perfectly during His sinless life (cf. John 8:46) and then gave His life in payment for the penalty of sin and the broken Law (cf. Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:13–14). The Law then pointed to Him as the Source of the God-provided righteousness it could not supply (Gal. 3:24). A godly Jew who trusted Yahweh and followed the Levitical system, including the sin offering and the trespass offering, would most likely be inclined to respond to Christ by faith and would receive God’s righteousness (i.e., be justified; Acts 13:39; Rom. 3:24; 4:3, 5). He then could meet the requirements of the Law by the indwelling Holy Spirit (8:4). Conversely, a Jew who sought by works to establish his own righteousness would not recognize Christ as “the end of the Law” and would stumble over Him.

The True Righteousness of God can be and will only be achieved Through Jesus Christ.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 10:1–4

MacArthur

Rom. 10:4 Christ is the end of the law. Although the Greek word translated “end” can mean either “fulfillment” or “termination,” this is not a reference to Christ’s having perfectly fulfilled the law through his teaching (Matt. 5:17–18) or through his sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21). Instead, as the second half of the verse shows, Paul means that belief in Christ as Lord and Savior ends the sinner’s futile quest for righteousness through his imperfect attempts to save himself by efforts to obey the law (cf. Rom. 3:20–22; Isa. 64:6; Col. 2:13–14

As we come to the close of this message today. I want us to realize that doing things our way will never please God or will it bring us closer to God. As we will see a little later when we get to Romans 12:1-2, only offering ourselves fully to God is how we please God.

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The source of Salvation is not the Law! The source of Salvation is JESUS!!!!

If the Law could have brought full salvation of all mankind, Jesus would not have had to be born, die a brutal death, placed in a borrowed tomb, rise again, ascend to heaven, and tell us that He is coming again. If the Law could have brought Salvation, we wouldn’t have had the New Testament! If the Law could have brought Salvation, more people would have been saved. However, THE LAW CANNOT BRING THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD BECAUSE WE CANNOT FULLY KEEP GOD’s LAW!!!!