Romans
Chapter 10
1 Friends, I deeply wish and pray to God that Israel may be saved.
2 I can tell that they are eager to serve God, but they lack true understanding.
3 They do not know about God’s righteousness and try to create their own; they have not accepted God’s righteousness.
4 Christ is the end of the law for being right with God for everyone who believes.
5 Moses writes about the law’s righteousness, saying that a person who follows the laws will live by them.
6 The righteousness that comes from faith says, “Don’t think in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (meaning to bring Christ down).”
7 Who will go down into the deep? (This means to bring Christ back from the dead.)
8 But what does it say? The message is close to you, in your mouth and in your heart. That is, the message of faith we share.
9 If you say with your mouth “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 A person believes in goodness with their heart, and by speaking it out, they are saved.
11 The Bible says, anyone who believes in him will not be ashamed.
12 There is no difference between Jews and Greeks: God, who is Lord of all, is generous to all who call on him.
13 Anyone who calls on God’s name will be saved.
14 How can they call on one they haven’t believed in? And how can they believe in one they haven’t heard about? And how can they hear without someone telling them?
15 How can they tell others, if they are not sent? As it is written, how lovely are the feet of those who tell the good news of peace and bring happy news of good things!
16 Not everyone has followed the good news. Isaiah said, “God, who has believed what we shared?”
17 Faith comes from listening, and listening through God’s message.
18 But I ask, haven’t they heard? Yes, truly, their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
19 But I ask, didn’t Israel understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous with those who are not a nation, and with a senseless nation I will make you angry.”
20 Isaiah is very brave and says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”
21 God says to Israel, I have reached out my hands all day to a people who disobey and argue.