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Romans 10:5
For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”
Following his usual method, Paul now turns to the Old Testament Scriptures to bolster his argument that the Jews themselves are to blame for their unbelief, not God. In verses 5–9, he contrasts a “righteousness which is of the law” (v. 5) with a “righteousness of faith” (vv. 6–9). In the latter section, he first shows what faith is not like (vv. 6–7), then demonstrates what it is like (vv. 8–9). The apostle’s overall message in this section is that the Jews have no excuse for thinking that they can make themselves acceptable to God by obeying His law, for the law itself communicates the gospel to them.
To begin with, Paul quotes Leviticus 18:5, where, he says, “Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law.” Through Moses, God told His people that “ ‘The man who does those things shall live by them.’ ” On one level, Moses may have been saying that keeping the law leads to abundant life, that obedience brings blessing. That is certainly true. On another level, however, he was affirming that the person who keeps the law will have eternal life. But Moses knew he was not conveying some easy-to-achieve method of salvation. He said elsewhere, “ ‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law’ ” (Deut. 27:26a). This verse clearly is saying that eternal life can be achieved through the law only if obedience is perfect. In other words, only 100 percent conformity to every point of every command of God, including not just the outward observance but the inward motivation, will constitute a righteousness that will enable a person to stand before God. But such obedience is impossible for us. And that is why Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 in Galatians 3:10 to bolster his argument that the law cannot save. Therefore, Moses’ words in Leviticus are a warning: Anyone who tries to be saved by keeping the law is on a fool’s quest. It is beyond the ability of any mere person to generate the righteousness he or she needs to stand before a righteous God.
In his Romans commentary, Dr. James M. Boice sums up Paul’s intent in 10:5 this way: “Salvation is beyond the grasp of those who are merely law-keepers. Right standing before God must be sought in a different way entirely, and that is by faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior.” Paul will begin to focus in on the way of faith in the verses we will study tomorrow.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
It is sometimes taught that Old Testament believers were saved by keeping the law, while New Testament believers are saved by faith in Jesus. But the law is never portrayed in Scripture as a means of salvation. If you have been taught to think of the law that way, pray for the Spirit’s illumination as we study the next few verses of Romans.
For Further Study
- Acts 13:38–39
- Romans 9:11
- Galatians 2:16
- Ephesians 2:9