Romans Week 7 | Salvation is for All Who Believe
- Jerry and Hope
- 4 days ago
- 8 min read
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever noticed how complicated we make the things God made simple?
We create steps… systems… ladders… checklists. We love to measure ourselves, compare ourselves, and try to prove ourselves. We may even create spiritual report cards— “Did I pray enough? Read enough? Behave enough?”
But when it comes to salvation, Paul reminds the church in Rome that God has brought the gospel near—as near as your mouth and your heart.
Romans 10 is Paul’s heartbeat: That people would know how simple and accessible salvation truly is… and that the church would feel the weight and the joy of sharing it.
Salvation is not hidden in mystery. It’s not reserved for the spiritually elite. It’s not unlocked through religious achievement.
God has placed salvation within reach.
“If you confess with your mouth… and believe in your heart…”
Paul is saying, Church, this is not complicated. God has done the work. Our role is to receive it… and proclaim it.
Before we step fully into Romans 10, let me remind us where we just came from in Romans 9.
In Romans 9, Paul is as passionate and heartbroken. He begins with a deep ache for his fellow Israelites who have not believed the gospel. He loves his people so much he says he’d trade places with them if it meant they could know Christ.
Their unbelief raises a big question:
If Israel rejected Jesus… has God’s plan failed?
Paul answers immediately: No. Not even close.
God has always worked through His promise, not human effort.
God is sovereign in showing mercy — “it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”
Israel stumbled because they tried to achieve righteousness by the law instead of receiving it by faith in Christ.
So, Romans 9 shows us why so many in Israel missed salvation. Romans 10 now shows us how salvation actually comes — and how near it really is.
1. THE GOSPEL IS NEAR AND ACCESSIBLE
Romans 10:1–4
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.
Explanation & Exegesis (vv.1–4)
“My heart’s desire and prayer… that they may be saved” → Paul doesn’t just debate doctrine; he praying for people.
“Zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” → they were sincere, but sincerely wrong. Passion without truth still misses the mark.
“Seeking to establish their own [righteousness]” → they tried to build a righteousness résumé instead of receiving one.
“Did not submit to God’s righteousness” → at the core, rejecting Christ is not just ignorance; it’s a refusal to submit to God’s way of making us right.
“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness” →
end = goal, fulfillment, completion.
Jesus is where the law was always pointing.
He doesn’t throw the law away; He fulfills it, and offers His righteousness to “everyone who believes.”
The law says, “Do and live.” The gospel says, “Christ has done—believe and live.”
Now Paul shows the contrast between righteousness by law and righteousness by faith.
Romans 10:5–10
For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 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). 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.
Explanation (vv.5–10)
Paul reaches back to Deuteronomy 30 — where Moses told Israel that God’s commands were not far off or impossible to grasp.
They weren’t hidden. They weren’t locked away. They weren’t unreachable.
Verse 5 — “the person who does the commandments shall live by them”: Righteousness based on the law demands perfect obedience. One failure breaks the whole thing. No human can carry that load.
Verses 6–8 — “Do not say in your heart…”: Paul uses Moses’ language to show us:
You don’t go up to get Christ.
You don’t go down to bring Christ up.
God has already done the work.
We don’t climb religious ladders. We don’t dig deep enough to qualify for heaven. We don’t strive our way into God’s favor.
Righteousness doesn’t come from us searching for God. Righteousness comes from God coming to us in Christ.
Two Movements of Faith
Heart Belief — trusting Jesus fully
Not intellectual agreement.
Not just checking a box.
This is placing the weight of your eternity on Christ—believing He truly died for your sins and rose again.
Mouth Confession — openly acknowledging Jesus as Lord
In Rome, this confession was dangerous.
Saying “Jesus is Lord” meant “Caesar is NOT.”
It’s public allegiance, not private opinion.
Paul is saying:
Belief anchors you.
Confession expresses you.
Belief justifies.
Confession completes the expression of saving faith.
And the promise is simple and stunning:
“You will be saved.”
Jerry’s Jam: “Church… God didn’t hide salvation in a maze. He put it right in front of you. If you’ve been overthinking it — stop climbing ladders He never built.”
2. SALVATION IS FOR EVERYONE WHO CALLS
Romans 10:11–13
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.”
Explanation
Paul is doing something pretty radical here. He is opening the door of salvation so wide that no one can miss the point:
Everyone means everyone.
Jew and Gentile
Insider and outsider
The rule-breaker and the rule-keeper
The person who feels too far gone
The person who thinks they “should know better”
The quiet, faithful servant
The messy, broken struggler
Imagine this… If God saved only “the good people,” heaven would be empty.
Paul says there is no distinction — because the same Lord is Lord of all.
This is a new kind of kingdom:
No spiritual hierarchy
No insider club
No spiritual résumé
No religious pedigree
Just one question:
Who calls on the name of the Lord?
And the promise is guaranteed: “Everyone who calls… will be saved.”
Gospel Clarity — What Salvation Is NOT
Paul is not saying:
Everyone who tries harder
Everyone who cleans themselves up first
Everyone who fixes their past
Everyone who earns their way back
He is saying: Everyone who calls.
Application
Many people believe Jesus saves — but they quietly fear He doesn’t save them.
They carry guilt they think is unforgivable. They wear shame they believe disqualifies them. They assume their story is too messy for God to redeem.
Romans 10 speaks directly to that lie:
The only qualification for salvation is calling on His name. If the gospel is for everyone, then it is for you.
Jerry’s Jam: “Church… grace doesn’t check your background before it lets you in. If you’re willing to call on His name, He’s willing to save — and He’s faster at saving than you are at running.”
3. WE ARE SENT WITH THE MESSAGE
Romans 10:14–17
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!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Explanation (vv.14–17)
These verses are a chain — and every link matters.
People must call on Jesus to be saved.
But they can’t call unless they believe.
They can’t believe unless they hear.
They can’t hear unless someone speaks the gospel.
And they can’t speak unless they are sent.
Paul is showing us something huge:
God saves — but He uses people to carry the message that saves.
It’s a divine partnership:
God provides the salvation.
We provide the voice.
God opens the heart.
We open our mouths.
Paul quotes Isaiah:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Let’s be honest… feet aren’t usually considered “beautiful.” But in God’s eyes…
Feet that carry hope are beautiful.
Feet that walk across the street.
Feet that walk into a workplace.
Feet that walk toward someone hurting, searching, doubting.
Reality Check
Vs 16 Paul says, “They have not all obeyed the gospel.”
Meaning:
Not everyone will believe.
Not everyone will respond.
Not everyone will say yes.
But results belong to God — obedience belongs to us.
You share. You love. You speak. You pray. You plant. And God does what only God can do.
The Core Principle — Romans 10:17
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Faith doesn’t magically appear. It doesn’t grow by accident. It doesn’t fall from the sky or transfer through vibes.
Faith comes when the word about Christ is heard. Someone has to speak it.
Jerry’s Jam: “The gospel didn’t come to you just to get to you — it came to you so it could go through you. Somebody in your life is waiting to hear what you already know.”
GOSPEL CONNECTION, FURTHER EXEGESIS (vv.18–21) & CONCLUSION
We’ve seen:
The gospel is near. You don’t climb to heaven to find Christ — Christ came down to you. You don’t dig deep to fix yourself — He rose up to raise you.
Salvation is for everyone who calls. Paul says “everyone” three times in four verses. That includes:
The hurting
The ashamed
The religious
The rebellious
The people who think they’re too far
The people who think they’re too good
Everyone who calls… will be saved.
We are sent with the message. The gospel moves: from God’s heart → to our hearts → through our mouths → into someone else’s life.
You are part of God’s rescue mission. The gospel came to you… on its way to someone else.
But Paul knows there’s still a question hanging in the air:
“If the message is going out… why hasn’t everyone believed — especially Israel?”
So he finishes the chapter by showing that the problem is not that God has been silent. The problem is that many have been unwilling to listen.
Romans 10:18–21 (ESV)
But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
Exegesis (vv.18–21)
“Have they not heard? Indeed they have…” Paul quotes Psalm 19 — a psalm about how creation declares God’s glory. He uses it to picture how the gospel has begun to go out into “all the earth.” In other words: the problem is not lack of sound; it’s lack of response.
“Did Israel not understand?” Paul reaches back to Moses and Isaiah to show that Israel had been warned ahead of time:
God would use a “not-a-nation” — the Gentiles — to provoke Israel to jealousy.
Those who “did not seek” God would find Him — a picture of the Gentiles responding to grace.
“I have been found by those who did not seek me… shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” That’s the gospel: God goes after people who weren’t even looking for Him. He shows Himself to people who didn’t even know to ask.
“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” What a picture of God’s heart toward Israel — and toward us. Not arms crossed. Arms stretched out. Patient. Persistent. Pursuing.
Church…
Some of us need to receive this gospel. Some of us need to rest in this gospel. Some of us need to release this gospel into someone else’s life.
Wherever you are today, the invitation is the same: