Romans 10:1-21

"For they don't understand God's way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God ..." Rom. 10:3

"Always the Queen's way!" - The Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland

I remember as a kid one of the 'bones of contention' when playing games in the school yard was who's rules we were going to abide by. I remember that there was always a particular way certain groups of kids would play games during recess. Learning the rules of the different groups was important to getting included in the game. Contesting the rules almost always happened and arguments occasionally led to the kid who owned the ball picking the ball up and leaving!

In the game of life, the rules of engagement evolve into the same contention for what rules we will play by in the work place, on the street, and in our own communities. Most of all, contention almost certainly arises in terms of who God is and how to engage in following Him. Paul the Apostle continues to expand his answer to the foreboding question, "Will Israel make it in the end?" by focusing on what it is that keeps the Jews out of the game of relationship with God. In his own estimation [which is quite accurate since he is a Jew by birth], the Jews stubbornly hold on to their way of being right with God which subsequently creates distance between them and God. Recalling Paul's own encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus [Acts chapter 9] and how Jesus challenged the way Paul was following God gives weight to Paul's critique of Jews in general and their approach to God. Jews were anchoring their being right with God according to their adherence to the Law. All along, in this letter, Paul has been re-orientating the Roman believers reminding them that being right with God has everything to do with what God has done for us and nothing to do with what we do for God.

For Paul, it wasn't a matter of being "zealous," for his own people have more than enough "zeal" in terms of their commitment to religion, but its a matter of focus: "What makes someone belong to the family of God?" Building on what he has already said in previous parts of the letter, Paul emphasizes that what makes one belong is their decision to believe in the way God has given to be right with Him. Confessing and believing that this is true and putting our trust in God's way of making us right with Him, [Rom. 10:9ff] we benefit from the Good News Paul has been preaching all along. This Good News tells us that the Father in heaven loves us and His desire is to draw us into His family by adopting us through Jesus and giving us His Spirit to help us live in this loving community.

In the verses that follow [Rom. 10:18 ff] Paul pulls scripture from the prophets who comment on the significance and history of Israel to show that Israel is very much a part of God's plan to rescue the world. The fact that Jesus comes as a Jew attests to the fact that Israel has a very important part in God's plan and God has preserved her throughout history so that His purposes will be fulfilled. Yes, Israel historically rejects God's ways time and time again, but God set them apart to be a light to the nations and whether they were with Him or not, He uses them to reach out to the other nations. These references from the prophets show that "God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning." [Rom. 11:2]. They still continue to be part of His plan and we will see in chapter 11 that Paul believes God's plan is that they will respond as a nation to Jesus and put their trust in Him!

Although Israel has walked away with the ball many times, there will be a day in the future when we will play together again in God's field enjoying the love and relationship that He desires for every human being!

Questions:

What is it that makes us right with God?

How can we build relationships with our Jewish brothers and sisters?

What is necessary for us to be counted as being in God's family?