Topics for this month's devotionals are on salvation. We are examining what it means to be saved and what God does in salvation. It is an exciting topic. One of the short devotionals is on 1 Timothy two. For the weekend devotional, we are going to expand on that because the section is spiritually very powerful. First Timothy two reveals God the Father's and Christ's commitment to humanity. The text you will be reading is my own translation.
Gamaliel wrapped his phylactery, ceremonial leather straps, around his head. He was saying the Shema, the great confession of Israel. The words are from Deuteronomy 6: "Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, the Yahweh is one!"
The pious Jew during the time of Christ and the time of Paul would make this confession. When Qumran, a community near the Dead Sea at the time of Jesus, was excavated they found many phylacteries and wrapped within them was the Shema. The Shema was the great Jewish confession. It gave the central truths of Judaism. Yahweh is the personal name of God and it is sometimes translated Jehovah. The next verse stated that the response of the Jew to the Shema was to love Yahweh their God with all their heart and soul.
"And you shall love the Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut 6:4-5).
Later in the book of Deuteronomy, chapters 28 through 30, Moses gave the section which is called blessing and cursing. It placed before Israel a spiritual choice, either be faithful to Yahweh and be blessed or be disobedient and be cursed. It was not a subtle choice. That section is critically important to understand because it gave the spiritual responsibility of Israel before God. With that responsibility was the question of how they would be obedient. Moses gave the following answer:
"For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?' But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it. See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity" (Deut 30:11-15).
There was something they would have to do in their heart in order to receive prosperity in life. They did not have to go great distances to do so, but they would have to take the Word of God and integrate into their hearts. Every religious Jew was aware of this passage and recognized that their response to this passage determined their future spiritual fate. So this portion of Deuteronomy was incredibly important and every Rabbi recognized its supreme importance including the apostle Paul. So with this background in mind, it helps us to more clearly understand what Paul said in Romans chapter 10. Romans nine through 11 is where Paul developed the relationship of the church and Israel. He not only dealt with the nation of Israel but he also dealt with the laws of Israel. In chapter 10 he explained to Christians that the law is no longer mandatory for believers.
"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4).
It is a frequent statement by the apostle Paul that Christians are not under the law. We are to live by a living relationship with God the father based upon what Christ is done through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not the law but the Holy Spirit that helps the Christian to practice what God expects. Then, he went on to describe what was found in Deuteronomy 30 and he connected it to what the Christian should be confessing. He clearly connected what he presented as the Christian confession to the Jewish confession of the Shema. In doing this he acted as a typical Jewish Rabbi, he took a section of Scripture and developed its deeper spiritual meaning. But when he did this he was acting as a Christian Rabbi who was showing Christians what was the deeper meaning of Deuteronomy 30.
For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. But the righteousness based on faith speaks thus, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down), 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)" (Romans 10:5-7).
We can see in verses five through seven that he was directly connecting Christ to what would ensure the future blessings of Israel. When the Christian reads the word Christ, he thinks of Jesus of Nazareth. But in this passage he should be thinking the word Messiah because that is exactly what the Jews would be thinking about. They believe that their obedience would bring the Messiah, the Christ. So that when Paul placed those words into the Old Testament text the Jews would not disagree with him. Because all Jews believed that it was the Messiah who guaranteed their future blessing. But Paul said that the righteousness based on faith in the Messiah or Jesus the Christ is not due to our efforts, but to the faith in our hearts.
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 are preaching (Romans 10:8)
Paul then said that the proper words were connected to what he preached. The words he preached will bring salvation to the Gentiles and ultimately salvation to the Jews if they believe in Jesus. To understand what Paul is doing here we have to connect the Shema of Deuteronomy 6 with the promise of Deuteronomy 30. The Jews believed that Deuteronomy 6 and its confession was critical to the promise of Deuteronomy 30. Instead Paul said that there is a greater confession involving Yahweh and that involved Jesus the Christ. One other thing has to be remembered. The word Lord in Greek was the substitute for the name Yahweh in the Old Testament. So the Jew in the confession that Paul was introducing said that the Jew and the Gentile have to confess Jesus as Yahweh or the Lord. They have to confess that he is the deity come to the earth. Further, they have to confess that God raised him from the dead. Certainly Paul was not thinking of the rote confession that that a Jew would make every day, but he was thinking of a faith confession that was deeply believed in by the heart.
"...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved" (Romans 10:9).
A confession ultimately is an admission, and it might be better to translate the word confession as an admission so that people do not think of a robotic statement of words. Then, Paul stated what this will do for the person. They will be saved. The believing makes the person a Christian, and the admitting is simply a reflection of what went on in the heart.
"...for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses [makes an admission], resulting in salvation" (Romans 10:10).
Romans 10:9-10 is used over and over again as what a person needs to do in order to be saved. Almost all of the time its Old Testament context is not noted. Paul was making a startling contrast between the Old Testament Shema and the New Testament confession of Christ.
He then said that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will not be disappointed or ashamed. So the words that guarantee a righteous future with God, and guarantees the rescue of Israel is the confession of Jesus as Yahweh, and the belief in one's heart that God has raised him from the dead.
"For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed'" (Rom 10:4-11 NAS).
