Replicating Truth - Old and New (Deut. 30 & Romans 10)

In his letter to the congregation of the Lord in Rome, the apostle Paul exhorted these believers with the following statements: “But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:5-10). It is truly a paradox that Christianity claims the last part of this passage of scripture as an evangelical call to unbelieving sinners to “receive salvation.” So how can I say that the Christian usage of this passage of scripture is a contradiction in and of itself? Well, first of all because he was giving these instructions to people who were ALREADY IN the faith of Christ (Rom. 1:7,8). Along with the stated scriptural reference in chapter 1, this is also evident by his saying that the “word of faith” that he preached was already in the people’s mouths and hearts. Now hang on that note while we take a look at a passage from another of his letters: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, IF ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, UNLESS ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” ( I Cor. 15:1-4). Again, writing to those who were already in the faith, he exhorts them to continue in the faith that they had begun in; that being that Jesus died for their sins, and rose again on the third day. He made it crystal clear that these believers would be saved IF they CONTINUED in the faith as they had begun (Col. 2:6). And if they did not continue steadfastly in the faith? Well, we’ll finish the article there.

Remember that note I said to hang onto, about the ‘word’ being already in the mouths and hearts of the congregation in Rome? Now let’s look at where Paul’s sermon to the Romans was taken from. And remember that the apostles preached and wrote the things pertaining to the new testament, strictly from the old testament writings. There were no new testament writings to preach from, because they wrote them. ”For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to 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. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it (Deut. 30:11-13). Surely you see the parallel with Romans 10 here, and I’m sure you see that it is not a coincidence. This was Moses’ sermon to Israel just before they crossed the Jordan to enter the promised land. And Moses was speaking to people who had already been in covenant with God for forty years. That is why he stated, like the apostle Paul did to those in Rome, that the “word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart.” And like Moses, Paul was exhorting people in whose mouth and heart the word of God already dwelled, to continue in the faith that they had started in; by means of “walking in newness of life” till the end (Rom. 6:3,4; Mat. 24:13). And Moses gave the flip side, or consequence of not continuing in the commandments of the Lord, stating emphatically that the failure to do so would be, “that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land.” And that reality was confirmed by the apostle Paul, when he said in his letter to the Hebrews, “For if the word spoken by angels (old covenant) was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall WE escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him?” (Heb. 2:2,3) And all I can do is say AMEN to the scriptures of truth.