Romans 10.5-Paul Cites Leviticus 18.5 To Support His Teaching That The Purpose Of The Law Was To Lead Israel To Faith In Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday May 13, 2009
Romans: Romans 10:5-Paul Cites Leviticus 18:5 To Support His Teaching That The Purpose Of The Law Was To Lead Israel To Faith In Christ
Lesson # 334
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 10:1.
This evening we will begin a study of the second paragraph that appears in Romans chapter ten by noting Romans 10:5 in which Paul cites Leviticus 18:5 to support his teaching in Romans 10:4 that the purpose of the Law was to lead Israel to faith in Christ.
The first paragraph in Romans chapter ten appears in verses 1-4.
Romans 10:1-4, “Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
The second paragraph appears in verses 5-15.
Romans 10:5-15, “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 as follows: ‘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 which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!’”
The New American Standard translation of Romans 10:5 is incorrect and is not based upon the best external and internal evidence.
The NIV and NET Bible translations and most English translations of this verse are based upon the best external and internal evidence.
Romans 10:5, “Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: ‘The man who does these things will live by them.’” NIV
Romans 10:5, “For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: ‘The one who does these things will live by them.’” (NET)
Completed corrected translation of Romans 10:5: “Because Moses writes concerning this particular righteousness, which is based upon obedience to the Law (as constituting a source of justification): ‘The person who obeys them will cause himself to live by means of them.’”
“For” is the “causal” use of the conjunction gar (gavr), which introduces a statement from Leviticus 18:5 that presents the reason why faith in Christ has always been the ultimate purpose of the Law rather than obedience to the Law.
Leviticus 18:5, “So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the LORD.” NASU
“Moses” refers to the individual who led the Exodus generation, wrote the Pentateuch, received the Law from God on Mount Sinai and is listed in God’s Hall of Fame of faith in Hebrews 11:24-29 and was born during the eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the reign of Amenhotep I who reigned between 1546-1526 B.C.
Romans 10:5, “For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.”
“The righteousness” is the articular accusative feminine singular form of the noun dikaiosune (dikaiosuvnh) (dik-ah-yos-oo-nay), which refers to a right standing with God or righteous status with God.
“Which is based on law” indicates that Moses writes concerning a particular righteousness that is based on obedience to the Law as constituting the source of justification.
“Who practices” is the articular nominative masculine singular aorist active participle form of the verb poieo (poievw) (poy-eh-o), which is used with reference to obedience to the commandments of the Mosaic Law and thus means, “to obey.”
“Shall live” is the third person singular future middle indicative form of the verb zao (zavw) (dzah-o), which refers to experiencing eternal life in time by obeying the commandments of the Law perfectly and of course this impossible for a spiritually dead person with a sin nature.
So in Romans 10:5 Paul presents the reason why faith in Christ resulting in the imputation of divine righteousness and justification has always been the ultimate purpose of the Law rather than obedience to the Law and to support this he begins to cite a series of Old Testament passages.
This first passage he uses is Leviticus 18:5 in which Moses writes concerning the righteousness that is based on obedience to the Law that the Jew who obeys the commandments of the Law perfectly will live by them or in other words, obtain eternal life.
Of course, every person born into the world is spiritually dead and possesses a sin nature, making it impossible to render the perfect obedience that the Law requires.
God never intended the Law to be a means of salvation according to Galatians 3:21, which that “if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.”
However, the Law did come with promises of life as a result of obedience as we noted in Leviticus 18:5 and Matthew 19:16-17.
The Scriptures teach that if a person obeys perfectly the Law, he will live.
Ezekiel 20:11, “I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live.”
The Law would have given life to anyone who obeyed it perfectly.
However, as we noted before, man had no capacity whatsoever to render perfect obedience to the Law since he possesses a sinful nature.
Thus, the Law promises life even though God did not give it with this intention since He knew sinful man had no capacity to render perfect obedience to it.
God never intended obedience to the Law to be the means of salvation but the Law did come with promises of life if obeyed perfectly as we noted earlier.
The Law required perfect obedience because the Law is the perfect expression of God’s perfect character and integrity and His holiness.
However, the Jew did not have the capacity to render perfect obedience to the Law because they like all men are sinners by nature.
Romans 3:10, “As it stands written for all of eternity, ‘there is, as an eternal spiritual truth, absolutely none righteous, not even one.’”
In Romans 8:4, Paul teaches that the Father’s purpose for Christ’s physical death was so that the righteous requirement of the Law, i.e. perfect obedience might be fulfilled in those Christians who conduct themselves in submission to the Spirit rather than the sin nature.
Romans 8:1-4, “Therefore, there is now, as an eternal spiritual truth, never any condemnation, none whatsoever for the benefit of those in union with Christ who is Jesus. Because, the life-giving Spirit’s authoritative power, by means of (the death and resurrection of) Christ, who is Jesus, has set you free from the sin nature’s authoritative power as well as spiritual death’s. Because with reference to the Law’s inability in which it was always powerless through the flesh, God the Father accomplished by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. In fact, with regards to the sin nature, He (the Father) executed the sin nature by means of His (Son’s) human nature. In order that the Law’s righteous requirement would be fulfilled in us, those of us who are not, as an eternal spiritual truth, conducting our lives in submission to the flesh but rather in submission to the Spirit.”
Christ rendered perfect obedience to the Law, which constituted His loving God perfectly and His neighbor perfectly.
The Christian fulfills the righteous requirement of Law positionally because of his union and identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.
He experiences this union and identification by appropriating by faith through the power of the Spirit his union and identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.
This constitutes experiencing sanctification, salvation, righteousness and fellowship with God.