Why did Paul place Romans 10:9-10 in the middle of a discussion about salvation of Jews in Romans 9 to 11?

Question

Romans 10:9-10 NIV

[9] If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

The main scripture we use in witnessing on the streets is used by Paul as the central core truth [envelope structure inside Romans 9 to 11], when discussing the salvation of Jews who had only the law? Why did Paul do this?

Hebrews 9:25-26 says that Christ entered the holy of holies with his blood as payment for sin once for all time in the fullness of time. Could you therefore say that his blood was shed also as payment for the sin of OT Jews?

Answer 1

When the whole argument of Paul, starting from Romans 1:5 to 11:36, is read in one go, it can be seen that he is constantly weaving the salvation of Jews in with the salvation of Gentiles. There he starts by speaking of "obedience to the faith among all nations", then begins to show how the gospel of Christ is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (1:16) This sets the pattern for his argument right to the end of chapter 11.

The question is asked why, when discussing the salvation of Jews who had only the law, did Paul do this? What he was doing was to show the Jews that law-keeping would not (could not) save them because they could not keep the law. Thus the law could only condemn them. Only faith - explicitly the faith of Jesus Christ (3:22) - saves anybody, and that applies equally to Gentiles as to Jews:

"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference; For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God... Where is the boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." - Romans 3:20-28 AV

The final query is raised, whether we can say that his blood was shed also as payment for the sin of OT Jews? Most certainly, because the perfect sacrifice for sin was sufficient to deal with all sin, before, during and after the earthly ministry of Christ. Here is part of that explanation from this book:

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested: even the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ." The faith of Jesus Christ here is specific. Just as the righteousness of God here is specific. It is his faith as the substitutionary Sin-bearer, during the whole period of the atonement, whilst he was exposed to the righteousness of God in the position that he had taken for his people. That faith took away sin and wrath during that period. And during that period the same faith brought in righteousness of God.

When his blood was shed in death, God's righteousness could find absolutely nothing in him against those in whose place he had died. Then, divine righteousness was fully satisfied, completely at rest, in respect of their persons... They answered to his righteousness, and his righteousness answered to them, in their Substitute. The witness of this was in the blood. 'Being now justified by his blood', Rom. 5:9... righteousness of God has been brought in for all those for whom Christ died as Substitute." Justification by Faith, John Metcalfe, pp.179-180, http://www.johnmetcalfepublishingtrust.co.uk/contact_us.htm

Christ died equally for people of faith before his incarnation, during it, and after his return to heaven, down to this very day. When he cried in triumph from the cross, "It is finished", it was not only a work of salvation done for people who believed in him then (nearly all of whom were Jews), but for all people of faith in the Old Testament (nearly all of whom were Jews), and all those who were saved by faith after he returned to heaven (nearly all of whom were Gentiles).

That is why Paul interwove explanations about the Jews being saved as with the Gentiles being saved: past, present, and future.

Answer 2

Genesis 17:18-26 NIV

¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” ¹⁹ Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. ²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” ²² When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. ²³ On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, ²⁵ and his son Ishmael was thirteen; ²⁶ Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day.

Verse 18

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֖ם אֶל־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים ל֥וּ יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל יִחְיֶ֥ה לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃
So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael could live before you”(BDB)

In this passage Abraham pleads with God that his son Ishmael might live before him ‘have life and an awareness of Gods presence in the way Abraham enjoyed relationship with God’ God responds that his covenant will be with Isaac and not Ishmael. Clearly there are two covenants at play in the passage. Both Ishmael and Isaac were circumcised and were therefore accepted and blessed by God with everything that was part of old covenant. What God was saying to Abraham was that Isaac and not Ishmael would receive new covenant the circumcision of the heart which will give awareness of Gods presence and relationship with God for Isaac.

Paul explains in Romans 4 that Abraham received circumcision of the heart through faith and this was received on a system of credit.

Romans 4:3 NIV

What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Romans 4:9-11 NIV

⁹ Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰ Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹ And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

God had a system of credit in the OT period where He sovereignly would elect persons he chose to receive salvation and imputed righteousness with the circumcision of the heart. This was on credit because Christ's blood had not yet been shed.

Hebrews 9:25 passage says the blood shed at Calvary was shed once for all time in the fullness of time. Whilst the blood of Christ could not make payment for sin until after it was shed, Paul explains in Romans 9 to 11 that God is sovereign and saves or elects whom He wills. Paul points out in Romans 10:9 that the remnant of Jews who were the 7000 that had not bowed their knee to Baal. He shows that some of his countrymen received salvation through faith in the same way Abraham did and the same way we do today.

John 1:12-13 NIV

¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--- ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

The sovereign election of God is what saves people today when they believe in God and confess him as Lord or their God.

It is an error to say that Jews only had the law and the Old Covenant. Law would never be given without Grace. The two have always worked together. The tabernacle was a copy of a heavenly tabernacle that already existed, and scripture says there was a high priesthood through Melchizedek. There was no power in the law to save any Jew. The law was given as a schoolmaster to faith.

When a Jew was doing an animal sacrifice the gospel message was in the sacrifice that sin was terrible and repentance was called for. God would look at their heart attitude as he does with the New Testament church today and sovereignly chooses or elect some for circumcision of the heart or born again with the spirit coming alive as it does for us today. The righteous Jew who had received a righteousness that comes only through faith when he died went to paradise a place of waiting. When Jesus had shed his blood and paid for their sin he led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:11) and brought all the righteous dead Jews to heaven with him.

Deuteronomy 30:6 NIV

The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Jesus said to the Jews in John 10:14 “There are other sheep I have who are not of this pasture (Gentiles), them also I must bring and the two pastures will become one.” This is a picture of the chosen elect or the church through time in the same that Paul says in Romans 11 that the New Testament believers are grafted into the promises given to the Jews.

Romans 11:17-21 NIV

¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, ¹⁸ do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ²⁰ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

This is the faith tree, we receive new covenant salvation by being grafted into the promises made by God to the Jews. How can we think all they had was the Law with none having what we have today in Christ?

Answer 3

Paul's audience includes both Jews who had the law, and Gentiles. Verse 1 is in regard to his past Jewish brethren who continue to regard the law as being their path to righteousness, where they "stumbled" (Rom 9:32, Rom 11:11).

Paul is continuing on the point that there are none righteous on their own (Rom 3:10) and that the purpose of the law was to actually make everyone see that truth:

Romans 10:4

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Romans 10:12

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

Paul is making his case of how and why righteousness is now the imputed gift of God (Roman's chapter 4) upon having faith alone in Christ alone, which is in effect the moment of coming to the realization of God's righteousness. One submits that they are incapable of obtaining it and are then gifted the very righteousness of God Himself upon placing their faith in Christ (2 Cor 5:21).

Galatians 3:24

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Romans 10:9-10 is simply another opportunity for Paul to present the correct path to justification, during his focus on what is not.

Answer 4

Paul is interpreting Jewish scripture as consistent with his own teaching about salvation through belief in the resurrection of Christ. So he begins this passage by saying:

5 Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. 6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows:

He proceeds (6b-8) to provide several paraphrases of Jewish scripture to show faith-based righteousness in the teachings of Moses.

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, 7 or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.” 8 But what does it say? “ The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Deuteronomy 30:14) — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching.

The OT passage Paul draws from here is (Deuteronomy 30:10-14)

...turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. 11 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. 12 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?’ 13 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?’ 4 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.

Paul continues this kind of OT scripture-based exegesis of his Christian teaching in the OP's verses. Verse 9 is related to Isaiah 28:16, which says "whoever puts faith in it [the cornerstone] will not waver." Verse 10 is an almost direct quote from Joel 2:32 “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered."

Conclusion: To some Christians today, verses 9-10 seem to be out of place. But for Paul, they were part of a consistent theme, showing that Jewish scripture supports Christian teaching.