To Everyone Who Believes

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is an end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Paul's longing for his people teaches us that the work of evangelism begins on our knees.

A Father's Prayer Before We Begin

Father, we thank You for Your great word. We ask that You would continue to teach us through it, and not only give us understanding, but use Your word to compel us to bring the Gospel to those who don't yet know it or have not yet received it. We ask for open doors in our communities, in our families where there are members who don't know You, and in our workplaces to bring this good news of salvation. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed saying, "Amen."

Without raising your hand, think for a moment: how many of you have a friend, family member, co-worker, or neighbor you would like to see come to know the truth about who Jesus is? Hopefully a person comes to mind—maybe more than one—someone you think, "I would love for that person to come to believe in Jesus." Maybe you've even had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them in the past.

Evangelism Begins With Prayer

In Romans 10—a subject that actually began back in Romans 9—we are given insight into Paul's deep-seated desire for the salvation of his countrymen, the children of Israel. Verse 1 reads: "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved." Note first that evangelism begins with prayer.

You'll find prayer cards in the seat back of the chair in front of you. I'd ask you to take one out, and on the back where it says "Prayer Requests," write down the name or names of those people who come to mind—those you long to see become believers in Jesus. Stick that card in your Bible as a bookmark, and begin to pray for their salvation, because evangelism begins with prayer.

In Romans 9, Paul revealed this desire from the start: "I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites." But Paul's desire didn't end at an emotional, zealous longing in his heart; that desire compelled him to do something. First and foremost, he prayed. Every one of us has someone who does not know the truth about who Jesus is—or who knows but has not yet yielded to receive His grace.

Four Things About Paul's Prayer

First, Paul prayed. Many times we fail to recognize the power of prayer, and that God works by prayer. Some of us have decided, "Well, God is sovereign, He's going to do what He wants, so I have no part in the work." But the Scriptures don't support that. Though God is sovereign and will effectively fulfill His plan—as we saw in Romans 9—He still involves us in that plan by prayer.

In Isaiah's day, the children of Israel faced God's judgment at the hands of the Assyrians. The northern ten tribes became the lost tribes; then the Assyrian army moved into the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, destroying forty-six cities. Only Jerusalem was spared. In Isaiah 36–39, the Assyrian armies surround the city, and King Sennacherib sends a letter to King Hezekiah with conditions for peace. Hezekiah lays the letter out before the Lord and prays. Then we read in Isaiah 37:21: "Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah saying, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel, "Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria…"'" Deliverance could only come from God, and God said, "Because you have prayed, I'm going to deliver you."

The same is true in the New Testament. Paul's life ended in Rome, where he had two imprisonments. During the first, he wrote to the Philippians: "For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:19). Paul was delivered from that first imprisonment because God had more work for him. D.L. Moody, one of the great American evangelists, once said, "Where prayer is focused, power falls." Hezekiah prayed and power came; Paul asked the church to pray and power came. There are people in our lives in bondage, facing destruction, who need deliverance. Write down a name and begin to pray.

Second, Paul prayed to God. This may seem redundant—where else would he pray? Yet when Jesus' disciples said in Luke 11, "Teach us to pray," He said, "When you pray, say: Our Father who art in heaven." In Matthew 6 He said, "In this manner pray: Our Father in heaven." He also encouraged us to pray in His name: "Until now you've asked Me for nothing in My name. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24). Sometimes we pray casually, not recognizing that the One we address is the One who said, "Let there be light," who grants life to the dead and makes something out of nothing. We are not writing a letter to the president hoping for a pardon. We are speaking with our God in heaven, who is our Father.

Third, Paul prayed to God for Israel. His prayers were targeted. He knew who he was praying for. Do you have someone specifically in mind whom you regularly lift up to God? One reason to write it down is so you'll have a clear, visible praise when they come to faith: "That person I prayed for for six months, two years, ten years—they've believed." The reality is that there are people we think are beyond the reach of God, who seem like they'll never come. Well, have you prayed for them?

Fourth, Paul prayed that they may be saved. His prayers were focused and specific. Many times our prayers are ambiguous, but they need to be clear and targeted: "Father, I pray for Joe, that he would come to the knowledge of the truth. I pray for Kevin, that I'd have an opportunity to share the Gospel with him." Paul knew who he addressed, who he prayed for, and exactly what he was asking God for.

Zeal Without Knowledge

Verse 2: "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." Israel genuinely had a zealous passion for the things of God, but it was a misdirected zeal—because it was not according to knowledge. For all that Israel had, they lacked an exceedingly important understanding.

Just what did Israel have? Look back at Romans 9:4: "My countrymen who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came." They had the covenants, the promises, the patriarchs—all these great things. They knew so much, yet they lacked what was most important.

What specifically did they lack? Romans 10:3: "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God." The Greek word for ignorance is agnoeo, the same root from which we get agnostic. They were agnostic about God's righteousness. Like Israel 2,000 years ago, we are a nation filled with a lot of really smart, dumb people who know a great deal about many things. They may know a lot about religion, even about Christianity, even own a Bible they took from a hotel marked Gideons. They may have memorized a few verses, and yet they're ignorant about the most important truth: God's righteousness.

Establishing Their Own Righteousness

Not only was Israel ignorant of God's righteousness; they were religiously seeking to establish their own by their own works. That was their way in the first century, and it's the way in twenty-first-century America as well. Many have refused to submit to receiving the free gift of God's grace, the free gift of His righteousness in Christ, and instead try to establish their own by good works. They may say, "That's great for you. You have your truth, I have my truth. You have your way, I have my way." But the Bible says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death." Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by Me."

Some have heard the Gospel, even come to church with you, and yet not received grace for salvation. They say, "I've heard that Jesus thing; it didn't work for me." You may think they're beyond the grasp of God's grace. They're not. This is the God who said, "Let there be light," and there was light, who calls into existence things that were not. We pray to Him on behalf of ordinary human beings who need the grace of forgiveness.

Christ Is the End of the Law

Verse 4: "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Even though Christ brought a new and better way through the new covenant, Israel had not yet yielded to God's grace for righteousness.

Some read "Christ is the end of the law" and wrongly assume antinomianism—the belief that Christians are freed from being required to yield to any law. But Paul is not teaching that here. In this very book, Romans 12 through 15, he gives more than 40 exhortations about things Christians should do. We must read in context: "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness." Why? Because Jesus, in His life and ministry, fulfilled all righteousness. Everything the law required, Jesus did. He was tempted in all points, like as we are, yet without sin. In Matthew 3, when Jesus came to be baptized, John said, "I shouldn't be baptizing You, You should be baptizing me." And Jesus said, "Permit it to be so, for thus we must fulfill all righteousness."

To be in Christ is to be clothed in consummate righteousness. To be a Christian is to be robed—as Isaiah foretold 700 years before Jesus came—not in your own righteousness, but in the righteousness of God. And God's righteousness far exceeds our own. It's almost comical to put them in the same sentence. It would be as if I said, "Scott, I want to give you a hundred-ounce bar of gold," and you replied, "That's nice, but I have a 101-ounce bar of pyrite, and mine's better because it weighs more." They can't even go together. Israel's ignorance was evidenced by their rejection of His perfect righteousness in favor of their own faulty righteousness. You can only chalk that up to ignorance.

The Law Reveals Sin

In Romans 3:20 Paul says, "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." The law only reveals how sinful we are. It cannot make you righteous; its whole purpose is to expose our unrighteousness and exalt the righteousness of God.

He continues in Romans 3:21–22: "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference." The Old Testament looked forward to this.

Everyone Who Believes

How do I receive this righteousness? Verse 4 says, "righteousness to everyone who believes." Some read that and conclude universal salvation—that because Jesus died, salvation is automatically for everyone. But notice the condition: "everyone who believes." This belief is not mere mental assent to a fact; it's actual trust—"I am trusting that what He did on the cross is sufficient payment for my sin and for my salvation."

One group in the church fails to recognize this condition—men like Rob Bell, who tend toward universal salvation. But the Scriptures are clear: there's a condition to receiving the free gift of grace. Yet another segment fails to recognize the broad availability of salvation. Salvation is for all; the call goes out to all. This is why we need missionaries, men and women of God, the Gideons, who go out among people who haven't heard, or who have heard and not yet yielded. We want the call to go to all.

Proving It From Moses and the Prophets

Verse 5: "For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, 'The man who does those things shall live by them.'" Remember the context: Romans 9, 10, and 11 sit in the middle of a letter to a predominantly Gentile church in the very Gentile city of Rome. Yet Paul devotes a large section to and for the nation of Israel, because he longed to see his own people come to the truth. He patiently takes time to share the Gospel with those who knew the law of Moses and the prophetic Scriptures, proving from Moses and the Prophets that righteousness by faith—not by works of the law—is Old Testament teaching as well.

As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:20, "to the Jews I became a Jew, that I may win Jews." He spoke in language they could understand, but he also knew how to contextualize among Greeks, using their own philosophers and poets, because he wanted to win as many as possible. Paul wanted to win. There are people in our lives who don't know Christ yet, who at this moment are lost. We want them won to Christ.

Paul quotes Moses from Leviticus 18:5—if you want to live, you must keep the law, all of it. According to Jewish rabbis, the first five books contain 613 commandments. You thought there were ten? There are 603 more. Moses says the man who does the law will live by it, but he must keep it all. James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, is guilty of all." We like to pick and choose—"I can keep that first and sixth commandment, but I'm having trouble with that eighth." You're not allowed to do that. By the law is the knowledge of sin, and by it we recognize we fall short of the glory of God, consistently and continually.

The Word Is Near You

Verse 6: "But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, 'Do not say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?"' (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or '"Who will descend into the abyss?"' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is the word of faith which we preach)." Paul goes back to Deuteronomy 30:11–14, using Moses' own words to show his countrymen that the way of salvation is not ascending to heaven or descending into the abyss. The word of salvation is near—in your heart and your mouth.

Verse 9: "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." This is good news! It would not be good news if I said, "Salvation's available, but you have to keep all 613 commandments." That's bad news. You might say, "Yes, I will do that!"—and the children of Israel did. Three times in Exodus 19 they said, "All that You have said, we will do and be obedient." It wasn't forty days before they were dancing around a golden calf. And don't say, "I would have done better." It would have been four hours.

Believing and Confessing

Verse 10: "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This isn't only New Testament teaching. In Genesis 15:6, Abraham, the first follower of God by faith, believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. We need the righteousness of God for salvation; our own will never satisfy the requirement of God's law. How do we receive His imputed righteousness? "With the heart one believes"—putting our trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Why does the resurrection matter? Romans 4:25 says Jesus "was delivered up for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification"—raised to make us righteous. "He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

But what about confession? Some say, "That seems like a work of man—I thought it was just about faith." It is by faith, as verse 4 made clear. So why is verbal confession necessary? Because it is proof of faith—proof of a new heart, the new birth. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Ezekiel 36:26 says that when we're saved we receive a new heart. And 1 Corinthians 12:3 says no one can proclaim Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. So when you confess Him as Lord, you are evidencing a work of God in the heart. Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and Peter said, "You're Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, Peter, but My Father in heaven." That confession didn't come from Peter.

No Distinction—Whoever Calls

Verse 11: "For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.'" Faith is the essential component—putting our trust in Christ. Paul now quotes the prophets, Isaiah 28:16. He goes further in verse 12: "For there is no distinction between Jew or Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him." And verse 13, quoting Joel: "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Quoting Moses, Isaiah, and Joel, Paul shows that salvation is not by our works of righteousness but is extended graciously to us as we receive the righteousness of Christ.

Sovereign Call and Human Responsibility

One last thing. Romans 9 highlighted the sovereign calling of God, working in the lives of human beings for salvation. Romans 9:24–26: "even us whom He called, not of Jews only, but also of Gentiles. As He says in Hosea, 'I will call them My people, who were not My people…there they shall be called the sons of the living God.'" God's sovereign call is seen in Romans 9. But here in Romans 10 we see, "Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." God's sovereign call and man's responsibility to call out to Him are woven together in the Scriptures—and this call is for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord.

Evangelism begins with prayer. Who are you praying for, that they would come to the knowledge of the truth? In a couple of weeks we'll see that evangelism doesn't end with prayer—it goes from prayer to preaching: "How then shall they call on Him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe on Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?"

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your grace that You've given to us for salvation. Without Your grace, Lord, we would be completely lost, but we recognize today that there are family members, neighbors, co-workers, and friends who don't know Your grace yet. They are ignorant of Your righteousness, and maybe to this point they've rejected it. But Lord, we ask that You would stir our hearts, compel us to begin to pray for them, that they would come to the knowledge of the truth, and that You would stir us up and give us boldness to declare Your word. In Jesus' name, amen.