Discover the significance of Romans 10 in expanding the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles through faith. We delve into the Romans Road, a set of scriptures that guides one towards saving faith in Jesus Christ. With reflections from decades of personal Bible reading and recent Barna studies on scriptural engagement, we invite you to examine your relationship with the Bible and the impact of its teachings in today’s busy world.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
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Today we are in Romans chapter 10, another one of these great, fantastic chapters in the book of Romans. And it will be read by our guest reader, Craig Warner, executive director of the Gideons International. Here are the 21 verses of Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10.
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Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says… Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down. 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 that we proclaim. Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the scripture says, Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greeks. The same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for… Their voice has gone out to all the earth and their words to the ends of the world. But I ask, does Israel not understand? First Moses says, I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation. With a foolish nation I will make you angry. Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.
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I want to start Romans 10 with my journal in 2001 because I wrote a great chapter of Scripture. And I quoted verse 2, zeal for God without knowledge. And then I quoted verse 3, ignorant of God’s righteousness, seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. And then I wrote in my journal, Answers. Verse 8, the word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. Verse 9, confess Jesus. Verse 13, call on him. Back in 1994, I summarized Romans 10 very shortly with these words. Jews failed to believe, though the message was there all along. They could have believed, called upon the Lord, and been saved. That statement probably does not just apply to Jews today, does it? The message of salvation, right here in Romans, has been here now for thousands of years. And yet people still don’t believe. In 2013, I wrote, Stepping away from the journal for a moment, let me read Romans 10.1. Brothers, My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. Back to my 2013 journal. Many have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge of the truth of God. Zeal should be based on the word of God, which is near us in our mouth and in our hearts. Jesus is the way to salvation. Paul is opening the gospel to Jews and Gentiles based on faith, not the Mosaic law. Everyone can be saved. The summary statement, so faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. We have been cruising through the book of Romans for several days now, and this chapter reminds me of something you may have heard of called the Romans Road. The Romans Road is a collection of verses that one can use to lead someone to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Though the Romans Road starts with John 3.16, all the other verses are in the book of Romans. So I would like to go over the Romans Road today. If you ever get a chance or want a chance to share the gospel with someone, the Romans Road is a great tool to use. So let’s begin with the first verse, the one that’s the most famous verse in all the Bible. John 3, 16. You share this with someone. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. And then you can just ask that person, do you believe God loves you? The next verse follows right along. It’s Romans 5.8, one we went over a few days ago. But God shows his love for us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And you can share, yes, God loves you. He loves you so much, he died for you. And the next verse on the Romans road is Romans 3.23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And you can ask the person, do you believe that you’re a sinner? Have you ever done anything wrong? This verse tells us that all have sinned. And the next verse is Romans 6.23. It tells us the consequences of that sin. It says, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So the consequences of us being sinners is death. But praise God, he has a remedy for that sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. And the last two verses of the Romans Road are right here in this chapter, Romans chapter 10. Verses 9 and 10 tell us how we can receive that free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Verse 9 says, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. So to receive that remedy for sin, that gift from Jesus Christ, we have to confess with our mouth and believe in our heart. And we will be saved. And the last verse on the Romans road is Romans 10, 13. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So that’s the Roman’s road, and that can be used to walk someone through the plan of salvation. And when you get to the end of that, all you need to do is ask them, do you want to do that? Do you want to pray and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior? And the Lord reminds us in this chapter, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. In other words, those of us who get the chance to share the gospel with someone, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s a wonderful opportunity that God gives us. And then that wonderful verse, verse 17 says, So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. When you get a chance to do that, will everyone accept the Lord? No, this chapter tells us that. Verse 16 says, But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? So no, not everyone will receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. But it is our privilege, our opportunity to share something like the Roman’s road with those around us. Lord, give me the chance. Give me the opportunity to share the gospel, the Roman’s road, with someone in my family or a friend or a colleague. And Lord, give me the boldness to pray through this and do this as you open the doors of opportunity. As this chapter reminds me, the word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. Lord, use my mouth and my heart to share you with someone, maybe even today. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen. According to a recent Barna research study entitled Bible Reading, A New Year’s Resolution, most Americans are not satisfied with their current level of Scripture reading. A majority express a desire to read the Bible more than they currently do. Born-again and practicing Christians are the most likely to desire more Bible reading in their day-to-day lives. It should not come as a surprise that the majority of Americans wish they read Scripture more than they do, says Roxanne Stone, editor-in-chief of Barna Group. After all, two-thirds of Americans agree that the Bible contains everything you need to know to live a meaningful life. Why wouldn’t you want to read such a book more often? The study continues. However, like other New Year’s resolutions, such as exercising more and eating healthier, Scripture reading is often an aspirational goal. It’s the goal that for most people probably doesn’t feel necessary to survive and so can easily get swamped by the day-to-day demands of a busy life. Scripture reading takes time and focus, two things that feel like scarcities in today’s fast-paced and on-demand culture. Like exercise, like dieting, regular Bible reading does not offer instant payoff. It’s a discipline whose rewards are reaped over the long haul. And the study continues, when people go from feeling they should read the Bible more to needing to read the Bible more, they find the time. Access to the Bible is not the issue in the USA, is it? We all have Bibles. According to another study done a few years ago, 88% of Americans own a Bible. We have 3.5 Bibles in our homes. And this is amazing. 59% of people who have no faith or are atheists even own a Bible, probably just in case. So if you have a smartphone, you have access to the Word of God. My Gideon Bible app has over 2,100 languages. Access to the Bible is not the issue. The issue is changing our beliefs about the Bible to behavior with the Bible. So where are Christians with the Bible today? Christians are well-intentioned when it comes to the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe, we just don’t behave. Our belief in the Bible and our behavior with the Bible are inconsistent. The middle ground related to the Bible seems to be disappearing. The decrease of Bible-neutral and Bible-friendly people and the increase of Bible antagonists suggests that more people are picking a side. Which side are you on? Are you a Bible antagonist questioning the Bible? Are you Bible-neutral? I just don’t know. Or are you Bible-friendly? I love the Bible. Wherever you are, pick a side. Because of our neglect of God’s Word, we are becoming biblically illiterate. For example, in a private religious elementary school, kids were asked about the Old and New Testaments. Here are some funny things that they had to say. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat that apple. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day but a ball of fire by night. What kind of man was Boaz before he married? Ruthless. The epistles were the wives of the apostles. Christians have only one spouse. That’s called monotony. So, if we think about Bible literacy or illiteracy, we think about it this way. If God decided to come down from his throne in heaven, become an author here on earth, you’d think his book would be on the bestseller list. And the fact is, the Bible is the number one bestselling book of all time. 2.5 to 5 billion, according to research. It’s also the most read book of all time. Praise the Lord, that alone might be evidence that the Bible, not any other so-called writing, is God’s Word. According to a weekly World News report, here are a few other Bible facts. About 50 Bibles are sold every minute. The Bible is the world’s best-selling book. It’s also the world’s most shoplifted book. That’s interesting. And that doesn’t even count all the Gideon Bibles stolen out of those hotels. So I encourage you to enjoy a portion of God’s Word every day. Make it a daily spiritual habit. And so until next time, I’m Alan J. Huth, and this program is sponsored by The Ezra Project, with support from listeners like you. Visit EzraProject.net to keep AdBible, connecting God’s people to God’s Word, on the air. I know you’re going to like it and want to share it with others.
