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heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea,
that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it unto us, that we may
hear it and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that
thou mayest do it."
So the Apostle Paul quotes these two references thus:
"Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: `The man who does
these things will live by them'. But the righteousness that is by 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 deep?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say?
The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we
are proclaiming. That if you confess with your mouth, `Jesus is Lord', and believe in
your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your
heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are
saved. As the Scripture says, `He that believes in Him will not be disappointed'."
(Romans 10: 5-11, N.I.V.).
There is no need for Israel or any one else to reach heaven and bring Christ down.
The Incarnation had already accomplished that. Nor was there any need to bring Christ
from the dead, for His resurrection and ascension was an accomplished fact. The word of
faith was so near that it was in their minds. They had only to exercise it and believe
God's testimony concerning Christ, confessing, proclaiming Him to be the One Lord,
then this would result in their salvation. Note how the resurrection is an essential part of
the gospel of grace (I Cor. 15: 3, 4). Too often it is forgotten by preachers who limit their
gospel to Calvary. "If Christ be not risen from the dead . . . . . your faith is also vain"
(I.Cor.15: 14). We do not proclaim a dead Christ but a risen Saviour, Who is the One
Lord of the Bible, Old Testament and New, that is, Jehovah, the great almighty God. The
Lord Jesus is assuredly "our great God and Saviour" (Titus 2: 13, R.S.V.), and all who
put their trust in Him will never be confounded, that is, disappointed or "let down".
No.19.
10: 12 - 11: 16.
pp. 225 - 229
The Apostle Paul goes on to state that there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile:
"For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and
richly blesses all who call on Him, for, `everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved'." (Rom. 10: 12-13, N.I.V.).
All without distinction have sinned and all without distinction have the same Lord
who will hear their call and pour out His rich blessing on them. The Apostle quotes
exactly the LXX version of Joel 2: 32 and then, by constructing a chain of connecting
links, shows why Israel failed to do this very thing. At the same time he emphasizes the
limits of human responsibility. A righteous God does not expect the impossible.