Romans 10.7-The Righteousness Originating From And Based On Faith Does Not Reject The Resurrection
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday May 17, 2009
Romans: Romans 10:7-The Righteousness Originating From And Based On Faith Does Not Reject The Resurrection
Lesson # 336
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 10:1.
This morning we will note Romans 10:7 and which Paul cites the principle taught in Deuteronomy 30:13 to teach that the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith in Christ does not deny the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
Romans 10:1, “Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.”
Romans 10:2, “For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.”
Romans 10:3, “For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”
Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Romans 10:5, “For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.”
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.’”
As we have noted in Romans 10:5, 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 apostle in Romans 10:5 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.
In Leviticus 18:5, 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.
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
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.
Then, in Romans 10:6, Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 9:4 and 30:12 to teach that the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith in Christ is non-meritorious and attainable unlike perfect obedience to the Law.
Romans 10:6, “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).”
Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 9:4 to teach that the righteousness originating from and based on faith in Christ is non-meritorious since in the context of this passage the Lord emphasizes with Israel that He would bring them into the land of Canaan not on the basis of their own righteousness.
Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 30:12 to teach that the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith in Christ does not deny the incarnation by asking the question “Who will ascend into heaven?” which is an implicit denial of the incarnation.
Deuteronomy 30:11, “For this commandment (love the Lord: See Deuteronomy 30:16) which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.”
Deuteronomy 30:12, “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?’”
Deuteronomy 30:13, “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?’”
Deuteronomy 30:14, “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.”
In Romans 10:6, this question “Who will ascend into heaven?” implies that the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith in Christ is not an impossibility and is attainable unlike attempting to obey the Law perfectly mentioned in Romans 10:5.
Now, in Romans 10:7, Paul does not quote exactly from Deuteronomy 30:13 but rather only the principle taught in this passage to further emphasize that the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith in Christ is not an impossibility and is attainable unlike attempting to obey the Law perfectly.
Romans 10:7, “Or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
In this passage, Paul cites the principle taught in Deuteronomy 30:13 to teach that the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith in Christ does not deny the resurrection has taken place in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
Just as he used the question “Who will ascend into heaven?” in Romans 10:6 as an implicit denial of the incarnation, so he uses the question “Who will descend into the abyss?” in Romans 10:7 as an implicit denial of the resurrection.
In this second quotation from Deuteronomy 30, there is a significant difference between Paul’s wording and the original quotation.
In Deuteronomy 30:13, we have the question “Who will cross the sea?” whereas Paul has “Who will descend into the abyss?”
He does this since “sea” and “abyss” were many times interchangeable concepts in the Old Testament and in Judaism.
In Psalm 71:20, the noun abussos, “abyss” is used to translate the Hebrew noun tehom, which in this passage, clearly refers to the place of the dead underneath the earth rather than the sea itself.
Psalm 71:20, “You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again, and will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.”
Paul clearly employs this use of abussos in Romans 10:7 where it refers to the abode of the death underneath the earth into which Christ descended immediately after His physical death and rose from three days later.
The “abyss” is a compartment of Hades/Sheol.
“Hades” is the name given in the New Testament for the temporary quarters for the souls of the dead and “Sheol” is the name given in the Old Testament.
Prior to the resurrection, ascension and session of the Lord Jesus Christ, Old Testament saints when they died did not go to the third heaven but rather to Paradise.
These Old Testament saints such as Abraham ascended with Jesus Christ into heaven as part of our Lord’s triumphal procession as victor in the angelic conflict and were part of the booty from our Lord’s victory that was accomplished through His death and resurrection.
Ephesians 4:8, “Therefore it says, ‘WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.’”
“He led host a host of captives” refers to Old Testament saints that were temporarily residing in the second compartment of Hades called Paradise (Lk. 16; 23:43).
Ephesians 4:9, “(Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?”
When it says that our Lord descended into to the lower parts of the earth, it refers to His soul entering Hades and releasing Old Testament saints from Paradise and proclaiming His victory at the cross to the unbelievers in Torments and demons in Tartarus.
When our Lord died physically, His physical body went to the grave (Luke 23:50-53), His human spirit went to heaven (Luke 23:46; John 19:30) but His human soul went into Paradise a compartment of Hades (Luke 23:43; Acts 2:27; 2:31; Eph. 4:9).
Also, in Romans 10:7, Paul is not quoting Deuteronomy 30:13 exactly but only the principle taught in Deuteronomy 30:13, which is an impossibility.
It is impossible for someone to descend into the abyss since this would imply that Christ did not rise from the dead.
Thus, in Romans 10:7, Paul changes the wording when quoting Deuteronomy 30:13 in order to make an application to Jesus Christ.
Just as Paul taught in Romans 10:6 that it is impossible for someone to ascend into heaven since that would imply that Christ did not come in the flesh so in the same way he teaches in Romans 10:7 that it is impossible for someone to descend into the abyss since that would imply that Christ did not rise from the dead.
Just as Paul taught in Romans 10:6 that the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith does not reject the incarnation, so in Romans 10:7, he describes this righteousness does not reject the resurrection as well.
Just as he used the question “Who will ascend into heaven?” as an implicit denial of the incarnation, so he uses the question “Who will descend into the abyss?” as an implicit denial of the resurrection.
Belief in both the incarnation and resurrection of Christ are essential for salvation since if the Son of God did not become a human being, then there is no Savior and if He did not rise from the dead, then He is not God and if He is not God, then He is not the Savior.