Romans 10:5-6. 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

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1 Romans 10:5-6 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 Next, we 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 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! Let s now concentrate on verse 5. Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1

2 Now we must first address an important textual variant that affects the sense of this verse. The first reading that is adopted by the NASB and RSV is that after the verb graphe, writes we have the reading o%ti thvn dikaiosuvnhn thvn e)k [tou~] novmou. This would make thvn dikaiosuvnhn the direct object of the substantive participle o( poihvsa$ in the quotation of Leviticus 18:5. Connected to this, the same manuscripts that support this reading also omit the accusative neuter third person plural form of the intensive personal pronoun au)tav. The primary Alexandrian uncial a, the secondary Alexandrian uncial A, the original text of the western D and a several important miniscules (33, 81, 1739) support this reading. The other reading that is adopted by the NIV and the NET Bible is that after the verb graphe, writes we have the reading thvn dikaiosuvnhn thvn e)k [tou~] novmou o%ti. So you can see as indicated by underlining of o%ti that in the first reading it precedes the expression thvn dikaiosuvnhn thvn e)k [tou~] novmou. However in the second reading it follows it. This reading would render thvn dikaiosuvnhn as an accusative of reference giving us the translation: For Moses writes with respect to the righteousness of the law, that This reading is adopted by NA 27 and UBS 4 and has strong external support, namely, P 46, the Alexandrian uncial B. The western tradition is represented in support of this reading with the second corrector of D as well as G and the majority text. Evidently, a scribe moved o%ti before thvn dikaiosuvnhn thvn e)k [tou~] novmou because the reading was difficult and awkward. However, Bengel s rule states The more difficult reading is to be preferred over the easier. Also, this strong external support also has strong internal support in that Paul is obviously quoting an Old Testament passage of Scripture, namely Leviticus 18:5 when he uses the expression: o( poihvsa$ au)tav a&nqrwpo$ zhvsetai e)n au)toi~$, the one who does them will live by them. Thus, the second reading would have this Old Testament passage introduced by the conjunction o%ti. Both the NIV and the NET Bible reflect this usage of the conjunction in their translations. Romans 10:5, Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: The man who does these things will live by them. NIV Romans 10:5, For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: The one who does these things will live by them. (NET) NA 27 and the following manuscripts as support (P 46 D 2 F G sy (p) ) include the accusative neuter third person plural form of the intensive personal pronoun au)tav after the participle o( poihvsa$. If we omit the word, that would make thvn dikaiosuvnhn the object of o( poihvsa$. However, if we adopt the second reading which I have argued for then, this word should be included William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2

3 Lastly, there is also a variant at the end of the sentence where the two primary Alexandrian uncials a (original hand) and B, the secondary Alexandrian uncial A and miniscules 33, 81 and 1739 have au)th ~, in it a reference to righteousness. On the other hand, the papyrus P 46, the second corrector of a and D have au)toi~$, in them a reference to the commandments in the law, which is the implied antecedent of au)tav. By making thvn dikaiosuvnhn the object of o( poihvsa$, as in the first reading, would favor au)th, which is adopted by NASB and RSV. However, this reading should probably be regarded as added to accommodate for the omission of au)th after the participle o( poihvsa$. Therefore, we can see that by including au)tav after the participle o( poihvsa$ and au)toi~$ at the end of the verse, Paul is actually following the Greek text of the Septuagint translation of Leviticus 18:5. Therefore, the original Greek text of Romans 10:5 which I have argued for and that is adopted by NA 27 looks like this: Mwu+sh~$ gavr gravfei thvn dikaiosuvnhn thvn e)k [tou~] novmou o%ti o( poihvsa$ au)tav a&nqrwpo$ zhvsetai e)n au)toi~$. Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. For is the causal use of the post-positive conjunction gar (gavr), which introduces the reason for Paul s statement in Romans 10:4. Romans 10:4, Because (faith in) Christ is, as an eternal spiritual truth, the purpose of the Law resulting in righteousness for the benefit of each and every member of the human race to those who at any time do exercise absolute confidence (in Christ). In this passage, Paul is teaching that the reason why the Jews were wrong for never submitting to God s righteousness because they zealously sought to establish their own righteousness was that faith in Christ is the purpose of the Law resulting in the imputation of righteousness to everyone who believes in Christ as Savior. Now, in Romans 10:5, the apostle employs the conjunction gar in order to introduce a statement from Leviticus 18:5 that presents the reason why faith in Christ has always been the ultimate purpose of the Law rather than obedience to the Law. Leviticus 18:5, So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the LORD. NASU Leviticus 18:5, Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD. NIV Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. Moses is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Mouses (Mwu+sh~$) (mo-oo-sace), which refers to the individual who led the Exodus 2009 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3

4 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 B.C. The life of Moses is divided into three equal portions of forty years each (Acts 7:23, 30, 36): (1) Life in Egypt: Moses birth, adoption into the home of Pharaoh, and the avenging of his countrymen. (2) Exile in Midian (Arabia): Middle years of Moses' life where he was married, call by God to service, and culminating in his return to Egypt as a prophet of God. (3) In the Wilderness as Leader of Israel: Leader of the nation of Israel involving his leading the Exodus, the journey to Sinai, receiving the Law at Sinai culminating in his death. In Romans 10:5, the proper name Mouses, Moses functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb grapho, writes. Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. Writes is the third person singular person active indicative form of the verb grapho (gravfw) (graf-o), which means, to write. The present tense of the verb is a perfective present, which is used to emphasize that the results of a past action are still continuing. Therefore, the perfective present emphasizes that the quotation from Moses in Leviticus 18:5 is applicable to the situation in Israel when Paul wrote this epistle. It indicates that the quotation from has an application at the present time or when Paul wrote this epistle since it is applicable to the nation of Israel in his day and not just in Moses day. This type of present is frequently used in the New Testament as an introduction to an Old Testament quotation, which we have here in Romans 10:5 with Paul quoting Leviticus 18:5. The active voice indicates that Moses as the subject produced the action of writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit what is recorded in Leviticus 18:5. The indicative mood is declarative presenting this assertion as an unqualified statement of historical fact and Bible doctrine. Therefore, we will translate the verb grapho, writes. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:5: Because Moses writes 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. The articular construction of the word is monadic that this particular righteousness is unique in that it is produced by obedience to the Law as indicated by the articular prepositional phrase that follows it William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4

5 The word functions as an accusative of respect or reference indicating with reference to what the verbal action is represented as true. An author will use this accusative to qualify a statement that would otherwise typically not be true. What is not true of Israel throughout her history is that her citizens achieved a righteous status with God based upon obedience to the Law and thus obtain eternal life. We will translate dikaiosune, concerning this particular righteousness. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:5: Because Moses writes concerning this particular righteousness Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. Which is based on law is composed of the accusative feminine singular form of the definite article ho (o() (ho), which is and the preposition ek (e)k), based on and the articular genitive masculine singular form of the noun nomos (novmo$) (nom-os), law. Nomos refers once again to the Mosaic Law. The articular construction of the word is anaphoric meaning that the word was used in Romans 10:4 and that its meaning in verse 4 is being used again here in verse 5. It also contains a figure of speech called metonymy where the Law is put for obedience to the Law. The preposition ek functions with the genitive form of the noun nomos, law, as a marker of cause with focus upon source. Therefore, this prepositional phrase indicates that Moses writes concerning this particular righteousness that is based on obedience to the Law as constituting the source of justification. The definite article ho functions as a substantiver meaning it nominalizes (i.e. converts to a noun) and conceptualizing the prepositional phrase ek tou nomou. Thus, we can translate it with the noun phrase which is. The article functions as an accusative of simple apposition meaning that it is appositive to the noun dikaiosune, which is in the same case. So we will translate the expression ten ek tou nomou, which is based upon obedience to the Law (as constituting the source of justification). Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:5: Because Moses writes concerning this particular righteousness, which is based upon obedience to the Law (as constituting the source of justification) Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. Not translated is the conjunction hoti (o^ti) (hot-ee), which is employed with the indicative mood of the verb zao, shall live in order to form a recitative hoti clause in direct discourse that is a specialized form of a direct object clause after verb of perception (grapho, writes ), which contains direct speech. In direct 2009 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5

6 discourse, the conjunction hoti should not be translated but rather in its place there should be quotation marks. Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. The man is the masculine singular form of the noun anthropos (a*nqrwpo$) (anth-ro-pos), which is used in a generic sense for a human being without reference to sex or racial background and is equivalent to a person. The word functions as a nominative in simple apposition meaning that it stands in apposition to the articular nominative participle form of the verb poieo, who practices and further describes or identifies no particular human being as obeying the commandments of the Law to be justified. Though the word is anarthrous it is definite, laying stress on individual identity because it is a generic noun distinguishes the human being who seeks to obtain the righteousness needed to be justified by God by obeying the commandments of the Law from those who don t. We will translate the word the person. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:5: Because Moses writes concerning this particular righteousness, which is based upon obedience to the Law (as constituting the source of justification): The person Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. 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. The verb functions as a substantive participle as indicated by the definite article preceding it, which functions as a substantiver meaning that it converts the participle into a substantive. The active voice indicates that no particular human as the subject performs the action of obeying the commandments of the Mosaic Law. The aorist tense of the verb is a culminative or consummative aorist tense, which is used to emphasize the cessation of an act or state. This type of aorist views an event in its entirety but regarding it from the viewpoint of its existing results. Therefore, the culminative aorist views no particular Jew obeying the Law. But regards this obedience from the standpoint of its existing results, which is that they would obtain eternal life. Therefore, we will translate the verb poieo, who obeys. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:5: Because Moses writes concerning this particular righteousness, which is based upon obedience to the Law (as constituting the source of justification): The person who obeys Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6

7 Not translated after the verb poieo is the accusative neuter third person plural form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (au)tov$) (ow-tos), which refers to the commandments of the Mosaic Law. This is indicated since in Romans 10:5 Paul is quoting Leviticus 18:5 in which Moses quotes the Lord as saying to Israel that if they obey His decrees and laws that they will obtain eternal life. The intensive personal pronoun functions as an accusative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb poieo. We will translate the word them. Corrected translation thus far 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 Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. 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. The future tense is a predictive future indicating that the Jew who obeys the Law perfectly will obtain eternal life. The middle voice is causative direct middle meaning that the subject has done something for himself. This indicates that the Jew who obeys perfectly the Law will cause himself to obtain eternal life. The indicative mood is declarative presenting this assertion as an unqualified statement of fact or Bible doctrine. We will translate the verb will cause himself to live. Corrected translation thus far 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 Romans 10:5, For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. Next, we have a prepositional phrase composed of the preposition en (e)n), which is followed by the dative neuter third person plural form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (au)tov$) (ow-tos). The intensive personal pronoun autos refers to the commandments of the Law since its antecedent the accusative neuter third person plural form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (au)tov$) (ow-tos), which refers to the commandments of the Mosaic Law William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7

8 The prepositional phrase is a marker of means and autos is a dative instrumental of means indicating that the Jew who obeys perfectly the commandments of the Law will live by means of them. 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. 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. The 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: The Scriptures teach that if a person obeys perfectly the Law, he will live. 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. Ezekiel 20:11, I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live. Romans 7:9-10, However, at one time, I was once alive apart from the Law but when the tenth commandment became a reality (in my life), the sin nature suddenly became active. In fact, I entered into the state of temporal spiritual death. In other words, this commandment, which was for the purpose of life, was surprisingly discovered through my own personal experience to result in temporal spiritual death. Galatians 3:10-12, For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM. Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH. However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8

9 The Lord Jesus Christ taught the Jews that if they obeyed perfectly the Law that they would obtain eternal life. Matthew 19:16-17, And someone came to Him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? And He said to him, Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. Luke 10:25-29, And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And He said to him, What is written in the Law? How does it read to you? And he answered, YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. And He said to him, You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE. But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? The Law would have given life to anyone who obeyed it perfectly. However, as we noted before, man has 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. Thus, we can infer that the Law would have given eternal life had it been perfectly obeyed. So in this sense the Law promises life even though God did not give the Law with this intention since man s sinful nature makes it impossible for him to obey the Law perfectly. The Word of God is life thus if a Jew kept the Law, which is a part of the Word of God, then he would experience eternal life. John 6:63, It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. John 6:67-68, So Jesus said to the twelve, You do not want to go away also, do you? Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. Philippians 2:14-16, Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9

10 1 John 1:1, Who has always existed from eternity past, who we have heard, who we have witnessed with our eyes, who we observed, even our hands touched concerning the Word who is the life (of God). The Law would give life to a Jew if they obeyed it perfectly. 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. Romans 3:23, For each and every person has sinned consequently, they are always failing to measure up to the glory originating from God. 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. In Romans 8:4, the noun dikaioma means, righteous requirement and refers to perfect obedience, which the Law requires. It refers to the Law s demands for perfect obedience. As we have noted earlier, no human being with the exception of Jesus Christ of course, was able to render perfect obedience to the Law because of the presence of the sin nature in all of humanity. 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. Apart from the Spirit, Christians can t fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law experientially as clearly delineated by Paul in Romans 7: However, they can when they are in fellowship with God through the power of the Spirit William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10

11 Therefore, the Christian fulfills the righteous requirement of the Law, i.e. the perfect obedience of Christ to the Law positionally through 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. Christ s perfect obedience to the Law has become the Christian s perfect obedience because Christ s death destroyed the sin nature and the baptism of the Spirit identified the Christian with Christ in His death and resurrection. The Father s purpose for sacrificing His Son on the Cross was so that the righteous requirement of the Law would be fulfilled in Christians experientially. Specifically, it would be fulfilled in those Christians who are not conducting their lives in submission to the sin nature but rather in submission to the Spirit. In regards to this, the New Testament writers have much to say under the inspiration of the Spirit. The Scriptures teach that the believer is to walk or live his life on earth by faith in the Word of God and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Just as the Christian received the Lord Jesus as his Savior by exercising faith in Him for eternal salvation, so after salvation he is to live by the same principle of faith (Compare Ephesians 2:8-9 with Colossians 2:5-7). Colossians 2:5-7, For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11

12 Romans 10:6-The Righteousness Originating From And Based On Faith Does Not Reject The Incarnation Paul in Romans 10:6 quotes from Deuteronomy 9:4 and 30:12 to teach that it is impossible for someone to ascend into heaven since that would imply that Christ did not come in the flesh. He teaches that the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith in Christ is non-meritorious and attainable unlike perfect obedience to the Law. In this passage, Paul teaches that the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith in Christ does not reject the incarnation of the Son of God. But is the adversative use of the conjunction de (dev) (deh), which introduces a statement that presents a contrast with Paul s statement in Romans 10:5. 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. In this passage, 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. In Romans 10:5, he 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. The 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. Now, in Romans 10:6, Paul uses the conjunction de in order to introduce a statement that is in contrast with Paul s statement in Romans 10:5. The conjunction de in Romans 10:6 introduces a statement that is in contrast with the idea of a Jew obeying the commandments of the Law perfectly and thus obtaining eternal life, which is impossible because of the sin nature. So Paul is contrasting the unattainable, perfect obedience to the Law with the attainable, faith in Christ. He is also contrasting that which is meritorious, perfect obedience to the Law, with that which is nom-meritorious, faith in Christ William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 12

13 He doesn t employ the conjunction alla since he does not want to convey a strong contrast. Rather, he uses de because he wants to convey a contrast but not a strong one since he wants to emphasize two alternatives or directions that a Jew can go in. He can either trust in the merits of the impeccable incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ in order to obtain eternal life or he can trust in his own merits. He can either foolishly attempt to do the impossible, namely, attempt obey the Law perfectly or he can simply trust in Jesus Christ. We will translate the word, however. Righteousness is the articular nominative feminine singular form of the noun dikaiosune (dikaiosuvnh) (dik-ah-yos-oo-nay), which refers to the righteousness of God that is offered in the gospel as a gift from the Father and is received by the sinner and is imputed to the sinner the moment the sinner exercises faith in His Son Jesus Christ, which in turn results in justification. This is indicated by the prepositional phrase ek pisteos, based on faith, which follow its. It refers to God s righteousness that can never be attained by the sinner through obedience to the Law but only through faith alone in Christ alone. It is the righteousness of God that is received by faith in contrast to the righteousness that is based upon obedience to the Law. With the former, the Father justifies the sinner whereas with latter, He condemns them to the lake of fire since the latter demands perfect obedience to the Law, which sinners have no capacity to do. So we can dikaiosune is a faithrighteousness or gospel-righteousness in contrast to the Law-righteousness or self-righteousness that Israel held to. In Romans 10:6, the word is being personified as indicated by Paul s use of lego, speaks rather than graphe, writes. The latter would emphasize that the righteousness originating from and based on faith in Christ is based on the authority of Old Testament Scripture whereas the former personifies this type of righteousness. Personification is the ascribing of human characteristics or actions to inanimate objects or ideas or to animals. Paul is ascribing the human actions of speaking to the righteousness that originates from and is based on faith in Christ. In Romans 10:6, the articular construction of the word indicates that it functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb lego, speaks. Therefore, we will translate the noun dikaiosune, the righteousness William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 13

14 Based on faith is composed of the preposition ek (e)k), by and the genitive feminine singular form of the noun pistis (pivsti$), faith. The noun pistis refers to the non-meritorious system of perception of placing one s trust or confidence in the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. He is the object of faith for salvation and justification since His spiritual death on the Cross as an impeccable person redeemed sinful mankind from the slave market of sin, satisfied the demands of a holy God that human sin be judged, reconciled the entire human race to God and fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law. He is also the object of faith for salvation and justification since His physical death dealt with the problem of man s sin nature, which is the source of personal sin. That He is the object of faith is indicated in Romans 3:22 and 26. Romans 3:19-26, Now, we know for certain that whatever the Law says, it speaks for the benefit of those under the jurisdiction of the Law in order that each and every mouth may be silenced and in addition all the unsaved inhabitants of the cosmic system may be demonstrated as guilty in the judgment of God. Because each and every member of sinful humanity will never be justified in His judgment by means of actions produced by obedience to the Law for through the Law there does come about an awareness of the sin nature. But now, independently of seeking to be justified by obedience to the Law, the righteousness originating from God is being manifested at the present time while simultaneously being attested to by the Law and the Prophets. Namely, the righteousness originating from God through faith in Jesus who is the Christ for the benefit of each and every person who does believe for there is, as an eternal spiritual truth, absolutely no distinction. For each and every person has sinned consequently, they are always failing to measure up to the glory originating from God with the result that they might, as an eternal spiritual truth, be undeservedly justified based upon His grace by means of the redemption, which is by means of the spiritual death of Christ who is Jesus whom God the Father offered publicly as a propitiatory gift through faith by means of His blood in order to demonstrate His righteousness because of the deliberate and temporary suspension of judgment of the sins, which have taken place in the past on the basis of the tolerance originating from the character and nature of God the Father. Correspondingly, in relation to the demonstration of His righteousness during this present distinct period of history, that He Himself is, as an eternal spiritual truth, inherently righteous, even while justifying anyone by means of faith in Jesus William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 14

15 In Romans 10:6, the preposition ek is used with the genitive form of pistis as a marker of cause with focus upon source. Therefore, this prepositional phrase indicates that the righteousness originating from and based on faith (in Jesus Christ) does not involve human effort, is attainable and is easy in contrast to obeying the Law perfectly, which is impossible. We will translate the prepositional phrase ek pisteos, originating from and based on faith. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:6: However, the righteousness originating from and based on faith Speaks is the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb lego (levgw), which refers to the content of what Paul is quoting from Deuteronomy 9:4 and 30:12. The verb is personifying the noun dikaiosune, the righteousness, which refers to the imputed righteousness that originates from and is based upon faith in Jesus Christ. The third person singular form refers to the imputation of divine righteousness as a gift the moment the sinner exercises faith in Jesus Christ resulting in justification. This is a perfective present, which is used to emphasize the results of a past action. Therefore, the perfective present of the verb lego emphasizes that even though the content quoted by Paul from Deuteronomy 9:4 and 30:12 was written in the past, it still speaks today and is binding on the hearers. The active voice indicates that the righteousness originating from and based on faith in Christ and that is being personified as the subject produced the action of speaking through the writing of Moses in Deuteronomy 9:4 and 30:12. The indicative mood is declarative presenting this assertion as an unqualified statement of fact. We will translate lego, speaks. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:6: However, the righteousness originating from and based on faith speaks As follows is the adverb of manner houtos (ou^tw$) (hoo-tos), which refers to the manner in which imputed righteousness that is being personified speaks. We will translate the word in the following manner William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 15

16 Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:6: However, the righteousness originating from and based on faith speaks in the following manner: The prohibition DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART is taken from Deuteronomy 9:4. Paul wants his readers to associate these words with the context from which they are drawn. In this passage, Moses reminds Israel that when they have taken possession of the land of Canaan that they did not earn or merit it and was not based on their own righteousness. Therefore, Paul adds implicit support from the Old Testament to his criticism of the nation of Israel in his day for their self-righteousness. He is also teaching that the righteousness originating from and based on faith is non-meritorious. Deuteronomy 9:1-6, Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, great cities fortified to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, Who can stand before the sons of Anak? Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you. Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you. It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people. The rhetorical question WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN? is taken from Deuteronomy 30:12 and to which Paul adds the explanatory phrase that is, to bring Christ down, which implies a denial of the incarnation of the Son of God. To ask this question is by implication a denial that Christ has come in the flesh. In the context of Christian theology, the fact that the eternal Son of God became a man two thousand years ago in Bethlehem is called the incarnation which is a transliteration of a Latin term meaning, flesh. The virgin birth or virgin 2009 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 16

17 pregnancy was the means by which God accomplished the incarnation of the Son of God. Without the miracle of the virgin birth there would be no incarnation. The incarnation produced the hypostatic union, which is a technical theological term describing the fact that Jesus Christ is undiminished deity and true sinless humanity in one Person forever or in other words, He is 100% deity and 100% perfect sinless humanity. The word hypostatic is a transliteration of a word that appears in the Greek text of Hebrews 1:3, namely, the noun hupostasis, which means essence, nature of something. Therefore, the theological term hypostatic union means that in the Person of Jesus Christ, we have the permanent uniting of the divine nature of God with a perfect sinless human nature. Our Lord s birth in Bethlehem 2000 years ago was not His origin, only His incarnation. John 1:1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14, And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. In Deuteronomy 30:12, Moses is teaching Israel they do not have to ascend to heaven to know the will of God since through Moses God has graciously revealed His will to them. Deuteronomy 30:11-14, 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. 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. In the Old Testament, the expression of ascending into heaven is used to denote a task that is impossible for human beings to perform (See Amos 9:2; Psalm 139:8; Proverbs 30:4). In Deuteronomy 30, this impossible task is obeying God s commandment to love Him by being obedient to His commands. Now, in Romans 10:6, Paul removes any reference to the commandment and applies the language to Christ since He is the incarnate Word of God (John 1:1, 14). An Israelite did not need to ascend to heaven in Moses day to find God s commandment, so in a similar fashion, there is no need for any Israelite in Paul s day to ascend into heaven to bring Christ down since through the incarnation, Israel s Messiah, the Savior of the world has already been brought down to earth. In Romans 10:6, Paul makes an application of this principle that Moses was conveying to Israel by using this question to illustrate to his readers that the righteousness originated from and based on faith in Jesus Christ is not an 2009 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 17

18 impossibility unlike obeying the Law perfectly. Just as God condescended and through Moses revealed His will to Israel so He did once again by sending His Son who revealed His will to Israel. Therefore, just as no one in Israel could render an excuse in Moses day of being ignorant of God s will so in Paul s day no one in Israel could give an excuse for not knowing the will of God as it relates to receiving God s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. DO NOT SAY is composed of the negative particle me (mhv) (may), NOT and the second person singular aorist active subjunctive form of the verb eipon (ei@pon) (i-pon), DO SAY. The verb eipon actually means to think as indicated by the prepositional phrase that modifies it, namely, en te kardia sou, in your heart. A person speaks with his mouth and thinks with his heart. The verb s meaning is negated by the negative particle me, not, which denies the idea of any Jew thinking in his heart that the incarnation has not taken place. The second person singular form of the verb refers to no particular Jew. The aorist tense of the verb is a constative aorist describing in summary fashion the moment a Jew obeys the prohibition to not think in his heart Who will ascend to heaven? so as to bring Christ down, i.e. deny His incarnation. The active voice indicates no particular Jew as the subject obeying the prohibition to not think in their heart Who will ascend to heaven? so as to bring Christ down, i.e. deny His incarnation. The subjunctive mood of the verb is a prohibitive subjunctive used in a prohibition, forbidding the Jewish people to think in their hearts, Who will ascend into heaven? so as to deny the incarnation. We will translate the verb eipon, do not think. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:6: However, the righteousness originating from and based on faith speaks in the following manner: Do not think IN YOUR HEART is composed of the preposition en (e)n), in and the articular dative locative feminine singular form of the noun kardia (kardiva) (kardee-ah)., heart and the genitive second person singular form of the personal pronoun su (suv) (soo), your William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 18

19 The kardia in the Bible is the mental activity or function of the psuche, soul. In the psuche, it circulates thought, mental activity just as the physiological heart does the same with blood. It is the thinking part, analytical, reasoning part of the soul and dominant thinking part of the soul and is the target of Bible teaching, the Word of God. The kardia is that aspect of the soul, which circulates thought or mental activity and is where one s frame of reference and memory center resides. It is also the place where one s vocabulary and the classification of thoughts reside as well as the conscience where the norms and standards reside. A person s entire mental attitude circulates in the kardia as well as the subconscience where various categories of things that shock or impress from adversity, sin, failure or disappointment are located. Also, it contains the volition, which enables a person to make decisions. The mentality of the soul is divided into two parts: (1) Nous (nou~$), left lobe of the soul (2) Kardia (kardiva), right lobe of the soul. Essence of the soul: (1) Self-consciousness (2) Conscience (3) Mentality (4) Emotion (5) Volition. The Essence of the Heart: (1) Frame of reference (Proverbs 4:4) (2) Memory center (Philippians 1:13) (3) Vocabulary storage (4) Categorical storage, i.e. classification of thoughts (5) Conscience, i.e. norms and standards (Rm. 2:15; 9:1; 13:5; 1 Co. 8:7; 2 Co. 4:2; 5:11; Tit. 1:15; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 2:19). (6) Mentality (7) Subconscience. In Romans 10:6, the noun kardia denotes those aspects of the soul that deal with the Jew s mental activity and volition. The preposition en functions as a marker of location and the noun kardia functions as a dative locative of place denoting that the Jew s heart is the place where they are to obey the prohibition to not think Who will ascend to heaven? so as to deny the incarnation. The definite article before the noun kardia is used with the personal pronoun su, YOUR to denote possession. The personal pronoun su refers to no particular Jew and functions as a genitive of possession and possessive pronoun indicating that this heart in question belongs to the Jew. We will translate the prepositional phrase en te kardia sou, in your heart. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:6: However, the righteousness originating from and based on faith speaks in the following manner: Do not think in your heart 2009 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 19

20 Who is the nominative masculine singular form of the interrogative pronoun tis (tiv$) (tis), which asks a question that demands a negative assertion since the question implies a rejection of the incarnation. It functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is producing the action of the verb anabaino, WILL ASCEND. We will translate tis, who. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:6: However, the righteousness originating from and based on faith speaks in the following manner: Do not think in your heart, Who WILL ASCEND is the third person singular future (deponent) middle indicative form of the verb anabaino (a)nabaivnw) (an-ab-ah-ee-no), which means to ascend. The future tense of the verb is a deliberative future meaning that it asks a question that implies some doubt about the response. It asks a question that implies some doubt as to who among the Israelite nation would call into question the incarnation. The middle voice is a deponent middle meaning that the verb has a middle voice form but an active meaning. The active meaning refers to no particular Jew denying the incarnation in his heart. This is an interrogative indicative meaning that it is used to ask a question, which expects a negative assertion to be made because the assertion is that the incarnation of the Son of God has not taken place in history. We will translate anabaino, will ascend. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 10:6: However, the righteousness originating from and based on faith speaks in the following manner: Do not think in your heart, Who will ascend INTO HEAVEN is composed of the preposition eis (ei)$) (ice), INTO and the articular accusative masculine singular form of the noun ouranos (ou)ranov$) (oo-ran-os), HEAVEN. The noun ouranos refers to the third heaven from which the Son of God came to earth to become a human being. The Lord Jesus Christ as the Creator of both heaven and earth created three levels of heaven according to the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit restored them: (1) First heaven: Earth s atmosphere. (2) Second heaven: Stellar universe. (3) Third heaven: Abode of God, the angels and the dead believers William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 20