Transcription
Some people reject Jesus by attacking the Bible. But Romans 10 shows us something even more disturbing. Some people can reject Jesus while defending the scripture. That means the Bible is not merely asking us, "Do you believe God exists?" It's asking, "Have you submitted to Jesus Christ as Lord?"
So grab your Bibles and buckle up, friends, cuz we're about to get into it. Welcome back to Every Word. My name is Nate Solah and today we're studying Romans chap 10:es 1-15. If this is your first time watching, welcome. Or if you've been studying with me for a while, please do me a favor and like and subscribe. That just helps to get this kind of teaching in front of more and more people. This episode is brought to you by Logos Bible Software.
Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandment shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your hearts 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 that we proclaim. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.
Paul builds from his previous argument in Romans 9 to talk about his desire for Israel to be saved. That's Romans 10:1. He's also talking about their refusal to submit to God's righteousness, which is revealed in Christ. That's verses 2-4. He's also talking about the nature of how anybody uh Jew or Greek can be saved. That's verses 5 through 13. And he also talks about how the gospel is proclaimed. That's verses 14-15.
The main theme of this entire chapter and arguably Romans 9:10 and 11 is covenantal renewal. Paul is concerned to distinguish between those who rely on covenant privilege apart from Messiah and by those I mean unbelieving Israel, right? And those who participate in covenant renewal through faithful allegiance to Messiah. And that would be Christians uh with a Jewish and Gentile background. Paul wants to distinguish between these groups of people. Why? Well, because Paul, like any good pastor, knows that proper theology helps to solve conflict.
So, here are a couple of noteworthy observations. So, in verse one, Paul speaks directly to his brothers. Okay, but wait, are these his Jewish brothers like in Romans 9:3? No, he's speaking to his brothers in the church in Rome, which again are Christians from both Jewish and Gentile backgrounds. He's speaking to them about unbelieving Israel. Now, here's something interesting. I actually count five times, look at this, that Paul uses the word righteousness or deyosin in Greek, right? Uh within the greater sort of context of his conversation on God's salvation. That's not by accident, friends. Dwight Prior says that righteousness is often parallel to the word salvation in the Hebrew scriptures. As a matter of fact, righteousness, um, faithfulness and salvation are a cluster of terms that are parallel in Hebrew thinking. And that's how Paul can say that the righteousness based on faith in verse 6 connects to the word of faith that we proclaim in verse 8, which then Paul says culminates in salvation. And that's verse 10. And how does all of this work? God's righteousness is counted to a person when they trust in his covenant promise. All right, that's Romans 1:17. Uh that's Romans 4:3. All right.
Now, in verse two, Paul says that Israel's problem is that they have, watch this, a zeal for God, uh, but not according to knowledge. Hey, what does that mean? Well, the word zeal actually refers to an excessive fervor to accomplish a particular end. In the first century, Jewish community, think about this, some people uh took this way to the extreme, right? They were called zealots and they were so passionate about upholding Torah and and honoring God even though they were occupied by pagans in their minds, right, the Romans. They were so consumed with preserving the traditions of the forefathers that they basically uh they basically became physically violent to that end. Paul says unbelieving Israel has zeal with no knowledge. So is he saying they're uneducated? Well, no. They are incredibly educated and they have a thorough knowledge of the Torah of God. Paul's critique of them in this regard echoes a long-standing prophetic tension in Israel's history. And it can be said like this. Um, possessing Torah does not automatically mean understanding God's redemptive purpose. You guys tracking me here? Throughout the prophets, uh, Israel is rebuked. Okay? Not for lacking scripture, but for failing to grasp its covenantal intent. In that sense, their failure to recognize Messiah is not actually a new problem. It's the climax of a very old one.
But wait a second, like how how is this even possible, right? Because the word of God was never meant to be merely a set of commands here, you know? The word of God was always meant to be an opportunity for deeper intimate relationship with the God who redeems his people. That's what it means to truly know God. You know, remember, think it like this way. Uh knowledge of God in the Jewish mind is about intimacy. In the same way that Adam and knew Eve, right, and had children with her in Genesis 4:1, God's people are supposed to know God. It's this kind of intimate relational knowledge that Jesus says actually leads to eternal life in John 17:3.
So let's put these pieces together. All right. Uh in Romans 10:2, Paul is saying that Israel is passionate for God, but their passion does not align to God's revealed righteousness in Messiah. Why? Well, because they reject Jesus Christ who is the end or the fulfillment of the law. That's verse four right there. Can you see that? By the way, uh end or tilos in the Greek can mean goal, it can mean culmination or it can mean outcome. In this context, it is best understood as goal or culmination because Paul immediately continues to appeal positively to Torah and to Moses if you keep reading. Right? So Christ is not, in other words, the abolition of Torah. Christ is the Torah's climactic aim. This is what Jesus meant when he said he came to fulfill the law and the prophets in Matthew 5:17. All right.
Now, Paul starts talking about Moses and then he draws heavily from Deuteronomy 30 and a couple of other places in order to make his overarching point in verses 5-13 right here. And that means that we need to spend time in Deuteronomy 30 and then come back to Paul's flow of thought to draw some proper conclusions. We're going to do that in just a moment. All right.
Now, in Romans 10:14 and 15, look at this. Paul drives home the point that the gospel must be proclaimed to those who have not believed. But wait a second, who are they? Right? How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? Well, uh the logic of they obviously applies across the board, right? It applies universally both Jew and Gentile alike. Anyone who does not know the gospel or has not yet covenanted with Jesus Christ. But hold on a second. In verse 16, Paul brings up a they uh again, only this time he's showing that he's always been thinking of unbelieving Israel. So in other words, the they uh for Paul is a bit narrow, even though it can be universally applied to anyone who does not know Christ. Right? So we just have to be careful to bear in mind the overarching flow of Paul's thought process. His point will be again in verse 16 that Israel's unbelief cannot be blamed on a lack of proclamation. And again I mean so you know this is where it's helpful to say this one more time. All right.
The governing theme of Romans 9:10 and 11 is not sotiology in the abstract but its covenant renewal. Romans 9 says God's word has not failed because true covenant membership has always been defined by promise and calling not mere ethnicity. That actually leads to that remnant principle and how election operates within broader Israel. All right. And do you remember what we were talking about in the last video? The two levels of elect. This understanding ultimately preserves covenant continuity. All right. And then Romans 10 says, "Israel's problem is not a lack of covenant privilege or zeal, but failure to submit to God's righteousness in Messiah." Right? All the way back up in here and here. Covenantal renewal becomes explicit. Okay, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30, the restoration after exile passage. You know, the word is near you. That's what he says down here. Um, but the word that is near you now according to Paul is the gospel. The promised internalization of Torah has arrived in Messiah. Can you see that? This is renewal language, friends. It's not replacement language. And we're going to ultimately see where this all leads when we reach Romans 11.
So, last time I noted that there is a major connection in this passage to Deuteronomy 30. Uh, we'll get there, but that's not the only one. So, let's just take these one at a time. Um, but before we get into it, remember Paul does not cite the Old Testament to give proof texts, but rather context for what he's saying. Okay? So again, in Romans 10:2, Paul says that unbelieving Israel has a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Well, that's because the Old Testament has already made this argument. In Numbers chapter 25, 1st Kings 19, and even Psalm 69, folks like uh Fineas and Elijah and David all profess that they have tremendous zeal or jealousy for the Lord. In the psalm, David goes on to say that his zeal for the Lord has consumed him. Look at this. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. But in Hosea 4, the Lord specifically indictes the people of Israel. Watch how he does it. Verse one, there is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land. Therefore, the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish. Watch this. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge. I reject you from being a priest to me. Zeal in Israel's story is covenantal passion. However, Paul's critique echoes prophetic warnings that zeal with no real knowledge of God is misaligned with his redemptive purposes. All right.
In Romans 10:3, Paul says that unbelieving Israel is seeking to establish their own righteousness. Why? Well, because they are ignorant of the righteousness of God. Hm. Where did he get this idea from? Right in Deuteronomy chapter 9, the Lord tells Israel that he will give them the land that they desire and drive out the disobedient nations who live there, but it won't be because of their righteousness. All right? Do not say in your heart after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, it is because of my righteousness that uh the Lord has brought me in to possess this land. Right? Isaiah 64:6 goes on to say that all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. You know, the Torah itself denies self-established righteousness as covenant basis. And the people of Israel should know this. All right? So, when Paul's talking about it in Romans, this should not come as a surprise.
In Romans 10:5, Paul quotes actually from Leviticus 18:5. Look at this. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules. If a person does them, he shall live by them. I am the Lord. Now, this is part of the holiness code and originally referred to covenant life under Torah. Are you noticing the pattern?
In Romans 10 6-7, Paul says something interesting. He says, "But the righteousness based on faith says, 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." Hey, what's going on here? And what does that even mean? Right? Paul is reading Deuteronomy 30logically. He's identifying the promised near word with the proclaimed Messiah. All right, look at this. See, we have to remember Deuteronomy is right here is Moses's final covenant address to Israel at the end of their wilderness period before they are about to enter the land of Canaan. Okay? His purpose in speaking is to rehearse the law so that this generation of Israel, which by the way is the second generation since the older one largely died off in the wilderness, right? This generation will renew their covenant with Yahweh once again. And do you see this is about covenant renewal and understanding? In other words, Moses is representing Sinai to a new generation of Israelites. Right? But Moses's speech is incredibly wise. Why? Well, because it anticipates heart circumcision, inner transformation, um obedience from within, and a restoration to covenant blessing. That's why Paul draws from Deuteronomy 30 in Romans 10. He's interpreting all of this in light of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Now, in verses 11-13, Moses says, "For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us that we may hear that we may hear it and do it." Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, "Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?" Okay. Now, notice what is in view here. Obedience to Torah. Moses is saying that Torah is not so far off and difficult to find that a person has to scale the cosmic mountains and reach the top of heaven in order to hear and understand it. Nor is it beyond, right? Or or as Paul suggests underneath the sea. It's neither of these things. The commands of God are very near to his people. It is in their mouth and it should be in their heart. Now, that should make you think of another passage. All right, we'll get there in a moment. But that's why Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30:14 in Romans 10:8. And what Paul is doing is he's interpreting this passage in light of Christ. He's saying that the ultimate t-loss or the fulfillment of Torah for righteousness is Christ. Again, that's Romans 10:4. That means faith in Christ is the basis for God's righteousness being counted to a person. All right? This is not Torah performance um pursued as a basis for covenant status. As a matter of fact, Paul just got done saying that unbelieving Israel's problem was that they sought to establish their own righteousness without submitting to God's righteousness. Right? To seek righteousness apart from Messiah is in um Paul's imagery, it's like attempting to scale the cosmic mountains and reach the top of heaven in their own strength, right? To to to bring the restoration that Moses predicted down to the people or to plum the depths of the sea in order to bring it up. You know, it also misunderstands what God has already accomplished in Christ, which is ultimately the restoration that Moses spoke of. That means listen, the promised covenant restoration has arrived in Jesus and the word of that restoration is now being proclaimed all according to the scripture. It all tracks with what God's word has always been talking about. And that promised heart response is now faithful allegiance to our risen savior, Jesus Christ. You guys still with me?
Then we get to Romans 10 9-113. Okay, again we know verse 9 and 10 because a lot of us memorize it in church, right? Um, but here Paul is concluding the thought that he's been developing from Deuteronomy 30. But if we look at verses 9 and 10 uh specifically, apart from the Old Testament context, we're going to miss the depth of the point that Paul is actually making. Okay? So let me say it like this. Romans 10:9 and 10 is not about intellectually asenting to the truthfulness of the proposition that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead so that we can punch our train ticket to heaven at the end of our life. When Paul talks about the mouth, watch this. When Paul's talking about the mouth and the heart, right, he's thinking of Moses in Deuteronomy 30. Again, Moses says, "But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it. But he doesn't stop there. Look at the whole passage in context. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days. Do you see how this is not merely about saying a magic phrase, right, or some magic words in a certain order to go to heaven? I'm I'm I'm trying to be hyperbolic to make the point here. Are you picking up what I'm putting down? Paul has interpreted Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of Moses words to Israel. Yahweh said their choice was life or death if they remained faithful to the covenant they cut with him. Not just with their mouth but with their heart. And the same is true for Christ followers today. The words spoken with the mouth and the belief embedded in the heart cannot be understood apart from the covenant faithfulness that God expects of his people. So that means that Paul is not minimizing belief. He's actually deepening it. Right? Belief is covenantal trust expressed in public allegiance to God. And once again, if we really let this sink in, Christians today are challenged to appreciate the depth of God's word as well as his expectations upon us. Amen. And the way that I keep putting it is, cuz I think it's very helpful, you know, is Christianity is way more than merely affirming the intellectual proposition that God exists and the resurrection really happened. What it's really about is vowing yourself to be a loyal spouse in marriage to the living God. That's what these passages are helping us to see. You with me?
In Romans 10:13, Paul quotes Joel chapter 2, uh, who prophesies about the coming day of the Lord. Look at this. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape as the Lord has said, "And among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls." It should be noted that Peter also quotes from Joel 2 to say that the day of Pentecost is the fulfillment of this great and awesome day of the Lord. You can take a look at Acts 2 17 to 21 for more on that.
In Romans 10:15, Paul quotes from Isaiah 52. Watch this. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation. Once again, Paul is interpreting the accomplishment of Christ as the fulfillment of Isaiah's new Exodus announcement. Hm. I think we have what we need to identify a lesson for the original audience. Okay.
So, let's put the pieces together in order to track Paul's flow of thought. So, in Romans 10:2, Paul says that unbelieving Israel has a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. This ignorance was not due to a lack of scripture, but to their refusal to submit to God's righteousness. That's verse three. And that's the key to understanding everything that he says next. And where has God revealed his righteousness according to Paul? In Jesus Christ. In verse four, he says, "For Christ is the end or the teas or the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Right? So then what's the actual problem here? Well, Israel is passionate about the word of God while also rejecting the Messiah in whom God has fulfilled that word. As a matter of fact, in the name of adherence to God's word, they sentenced the God of Israel to death through the hands of the Romans on the cross at Calvary. This leads to an important lesson for them. Are you ready? It is possible for someone to be zealous for God's word and still resist Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, who has fulfilled it.
One of the things that uh strikes me about this passage is Paul's statement in Romans 10. Again, let me show you. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. As we noted last time, this does not come out of nowhere. Right? So, so in other words, Paul's not describing a magic statement that someone says at the end of an altar call um and a private mental ascent about the truthfulness of the proposition that Jesus rose from the dead. That's not what's going on here. Paul is drawing from Deuteronomy and he's quoting it repeatedly to make a deeper point. He's actually refraraming the covenant confession of Schma in order to show that allegiance to the one true God entails confessing Jesus as Lord. Do do you remember Schma? Right. Schma is this is how it goes, right? This is Deuteronomy chapter 6. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You remember this. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Now look at that. The schma, think about this, is a declaration with the mouth that is also a love expressed from the heart. Can you see that? This is why Deuteronomy 30 where Paul directly quotes repeats the sentiment. But the word is very near you, right? It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it. And what is the backdrop from Moses's words there? The schma.
Now, a lot of you ask me, you know, Nate, how do you make these kinds of connections? Right? You jump over here, you go to the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 30. How did you see the schma right in Deuteronomy 30? And the answer is I'm looking for repeated words, uh, repeated ideas, um, repeated covenant patterns across the scripture all the time. Okay, that's one of the reasons that I actually use Logos Bible software because I can type in certain concepts and words or phrases and then just go looking for them as they repeat all throughout the scripture. So, for example, uh, mouth, the word heart, the word obedience, right? The word word, right? I just type them into the search feature here, and I've narrowed the search feature. Look at that. Only to the scripture by itself. And there we find the schma, Deuteronomy 6. Right? It's that easy. That's why Logos is so helpful, ladies and gentlemen. It doesn't do the study for you, right? It doesn't cheat. It just gives you the tools to study carefully. So, if you want to go deeper in your own Bible study, you can try Logos for free for 2 months right now. Just go to logos.com/everyword. Again, that's logos.com/everyword.
All right, back to Romans 10. Okay. So, what Paul has done is he's identified that allegiance to the one true God and now it runs through the lordship of Jesus Christ. Again, this isn't just words spoken into the air. This is a verbal confession that necessarily expresses itself through a person's faithful obedience every single day. That was the expectation of God upon his people when they recite the Schma. Right? This is this is about loyalty. That's why I keep comparing this to marital vows. So again, in order to fully appreciate Paul's thought process here, look at how Moses ends Deuteronomy 30. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days. This is what Moses meant when he said that God's word is in his people's mouth and in their heart. And Paul now interprets that pattern in light of Jesus Christ. Again, this was unbelieving Israel's problem, right? They refused to submit to Jesus Christ while at the same time clinging to God's word as their authority. And as Paul already said in Romans 9:32-33, they have stumbled over the stumbling stone. See, it is possible for someone to be zealous for God's word and still resist Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, who has fulfilled it.
The question is, can this still happen today? I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, uh, but the lessons for the original audience, they carry a universal principle that, uh, it's like they cross this bridge of history and generations from the context of the biblical period to our own today. You know, I don't know if you've noticed that. By the way, this was how I was taught to do hermeneutics when I was in school. I was trained to identify what's called the principalizing bridge. Okay, say that three times fast. Right? Uh, that is this is the uh universal theological principle that is true for all time. Doesn't matter what period of time you are in. This is what drives the lessons that I identify for the original audience in these studies and how they carry over and apply to me today. But if you think about it, the principle is often expressed differently in different times and contexts, you know. So I live uh and operate within a modern western mindset. I've talked about this before, you know, uh very much shaped by Martin Luther and the re uh formation. I'm an ordained Southern Baptist pastor, you know. Um, I have affirmed Baptist faith and message 2000. Right. I I attend an SBC church with contemporary worship and uh some mild liturgy. And right now I'm just trying to I'm simply explaining the water in which I swim. Okay. My brothers and sisters and I engage the same theological principles that Paul's audience did but just in a different context. Okay. For example, in my circles, there are those who have a zeal for God, but they resist the authority of Jesus Christ. You want to know what we call them? We call these people cultural Christians. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Cultural Christians. These are the folks who recognize the benefit, right? The utility of being a a Christ follower and they even participate in the traditions of church but they refuse to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ for the salvation and sanctification of their souls. In other words, these people play church but they are not the church. They look and they sound very similar to the world uh in many ways, right? In other words, they affirm decisions, uh, values and character traits that are antithetical to Christ's teaching. While at the same time, a lot of them will defend the existence of God and the truth of the Bible. Uh, a lot of them are online, and that's uh that's pretty wild to me. That's that's pretty bizarre, you know, and I I never fully appreciated uh this issue until I moved to the south. Just being real with you, you know, where uh the south where everyone says they are a Christian, right? You know, it's interesting. So, I moved to Nashville from Las Vegas. Uh I think it's been 3 years now, a little over 3 years. And being in the south has forced me to think about conversations with people differently. So, so out of necessity, I have had to ask different questions in order to gauge who I'm dealing with, right? So, before in Las Vegas, I would simply ask, you know, hey, are you a Christian? Right? And that would typically do it. You know what I mean? Like that would typically suffice in order to understand the person that I'm engaging. Here in Nashville, I'm having to ask a different question. And it sounds more like uh do you know God and does he know you back?
Now Paul in Romans 10 is speaking about those who refuse to submit to Christ altogether uh which is a matter of covenant entrance. But the same principle can expose areas in a believer's life where we resist his lordship functionally. Do do you understand what I'm saying? And I'll um I'll prove it to you because the question that I ask a cultural Christian doesn't just examine them. Uh the the question turns around and examines me too like at the same time you know uh are there any ways in my life big or small where I resist the authority of Christ? You you see how the context is different, but the principle still holds. So now I'm no longer talking about unregenerate cultural Christians. Uh for that matter, I'm not even talking about unregenerate Israel in the first century. Now I'm thinking of ways that my zeal for God as a believer masks a resistance to the lordship of Christ over aspects of my life. Do any of you know what I'm talking about? You know, so every now and then I like to throw a good house party. Uh, are you like me? I really like to have fun, get loose, right? All of it. Have really great food. Um, I have a killer guacamole dip that I make. Uh, I like to have shenanigans, you know, lots of fun, but not too much where like the cops get involved. But anyways, but there is an unspoken rule in my house. If you are a guest in my party, you basically have free reign to go anywhere, right? You can get into my kitchen. You can grab whatever you want out of my fridge. You can use my guest bathroom, right? But do not do not go into my master bedroom. Why? Well, there are certain things that I don't want everyone to see, right? Like maybe uh piled up dirty clothes in the corner of the room, right? Or or used toothpaste is is just sitting out on my sink in the bathroom, right? I don't want people to see that. And as the sovereign over my own house, I can pick and choose where my guests get to go. But the question is, is that what I'm doing with Jesus Christ? Am I picking and choosing which rooms of my heart that he has free reign to enter into and have sovereignty over? For me, one of the problems that I wrestle with or that I struggle with, it's in the area of control. I control my calendar as if I'm the one who invented time. Does do you know what I'm Do you know what I mean? It sounds really silly when I say it out loud like that, but but that's how I act sometimes. And look, I've got my routine. I've got my workflow. It works for me down to a tea. There's a lot, praise the Lord, that I get accomplished in a day, right? But when God intervenes with his own providential plans or if things happen that do not go according to the plans that I have set, watch what happens to me. Right? I just I I start to crash out. I I tend to get frustrated. I get angry sometimes if I'm really in my flesh. I'll get anxious. I'll get, you know, moody, whatever. Right? You know what that tells me? Jesus is not the Lord over my time. Sure, he's my savior and and and rabbi, and I obey him in so many different ways, but he better not mess with my calendar because that belongs to me, right? I'm just trying to be real with you. You know, that's a problem. That's a that's a big problem. And I, you know, I I still must examine myself and allow Christ to uh, you know, as David says, "Search me, oh God, and know my heart, right? Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous uh thing in me, right?" Yeah. I mean, this this this is a lesson that definitely challenges me. Does it challenge you? Do you know what I'm talking about at all? Because now it's time for you to sit with this and wrestle and think and pray. Amen.
All right. Don't forget to grab your two-month free trial of Logos. Just go to logos.com/everyword. If you are so inclined, you can check out my wise disciple bundle. That's got a bundle of commentaries in there that help me to study God's word. And if you so choose to grab that, it'll help you, I'm sure, as well. All of that again is logos.com everywhere. Hey, if you want to learn how to study scripture, the very particular and unique way that I do it by tracing arguments, noticing all the connections, even moving from observation to application, you got to check out my Wise Disciple Academy over on Patreon, where I'm personally training Christians to do these very things. All right, just come and look and uh take a look around. A lot of it is available for you just to look. Um, but I encourage you to do that. If if if you want to take that next step, that's for you. The link for the Patreon is below as well. Finally, if you're interested in learning the original biblical languages, you got to check out Bibling Lingo. Now, I partnered with Logos and Bibling Lingo because they are so helpful to you in your studies, and they've been helpful to me as well. So, click on the Bibling Lingo link below, but make sure to use my discount code, Wise Disciple 10, at checkout. All right, friends. Next time we are going to push through Romans 10, but we're going to notice what Paul is really up to in Romans 9:10 and 11. And when you see it, it's going to clear up a lot of questions for you. And we'll get into all that next time. As always, keep your eyes on the scripture, friends. Stay close to the Lord. Happy reading. And bye for now.