Many have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. They strive to follow the rules to be counted as righteous, accepted, and in good standing. Look around, and it is easy to see. When Paul wrote to the Romans about this, he had the Jewish people in mind. But other religions have the same problem. Even some churches fall into this trap by supplanting vibrant faith with legalism.
Paul wrote, “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation. I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Since they are ignorant of the righteousness of God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes, since Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: The one who does these things will live by them. But the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this: Do not say in your heart, “Who will go up to heaven?” that is, to bring Christ down or, “Who will go down into the abyss?” that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: 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. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:1–13, CSB)
This is the simple Gospel that imparts true righteousness. It’s not about what we do; that comes later. It’s about what we believe and say. “The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: 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. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.” That’s it. Nothing else needs to be added, and nothing can be taken away. It is the irreducible truth of righteousness by faith.
The section ends with a promise that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is the other side of the election coin. God chooses, but everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. All are invited; it’s not up to us to decide if God chose someone.
That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any do’s. What we read above is the beginning and must come from faith. What follows is a lifetime of discovering what it means when we confess that Jesus is our Lord. But we don’t do the do’s to curry God’s favor or get our prayers answered. We do the do’s because He loves us, we love Him, and He is our Lord. We confess our sin and repent. We love God with our whole being. We love others, even those who persecute us. We seek God’s kingdom. We partake of God’s Word. We pray and spend time with God. We walk alongside other believers. We make disciples. We strive to overcome sinful desires. We worship. Not from law, but from faith. “Everything that is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23b, CSB)
Romans Applied – This is where we check our motives. Why do we do what we do? Is it to please God, to appease God, or to appease others? Is it from faith or from law? Do we add to the plain Gospel of “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”? How about you? Can you make that confession of faith and allegiance and know in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead?
- Romans Applied – By Faith - August 5, 2026
- Romans Applied – The Potter - August 3, 2026
- Romans Applied – A Complicated Relationship - July 29, 2026
