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Read Romans Chapter 10

Up and down arrows move from one verse to the next.

1Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

2For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

3For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

5For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

6But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

7Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14How 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?

15And 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!

16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

17So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

18But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

19But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

20But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.

21But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

You are readingKing James Version

Explanation

Romans 10

In short

Paul is upset that Israel is trying to earn God's approval by keeping religious rules instead of trusting in Jesus. He says that salvation comes through believing in Jesus and speaking that belief out loud, and that this salvation is available to everyone. But people can only believe if they hear the message preached to them.

What the text says

Verses 1-3: Paul wishes Israel could be saved. They work hard at religion but do not understand God's way. They try to create their own path to acceptance with God instead of accepting God's path.

Verses 4-5: Jesus marks the end of the law as a way to earn God's approval. The old way through Moses said that if you do these things, you will live.

Verses 6-8: The faith way is different. It does not ask you to climb to heaven or dig up the dead. The message is close to you, in your mouth and heart. It is the message of faith that is preached.

Verses 9-11: If you speak Jesus as Lord out loud and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you are saved. Scripture says that whoever trusts him will not be ashamed.

Verses 12-13: There is no difference between Jew and non-Jew. Whoever calls on the Lord's name will be saved.

Verses 14-15: But how can they call on him if they do not believe in him? How can they believe without hearing? How can they hear without someone preaching? The text says how beautiful it is when people bring the good news.

Takeaways

  • Salvation comes through belief and spoken confession, not through keeping religious rules.
  • This salvation belongs to everyone who calls on God, with no difference between groups.
  • The message must be preached and heard for faith to grow, yet Israel heard but refused to obey.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.