Romans 10:1-4

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 10:1

Verse 1 1.We here see with what solicitude the holy man obviated offenses; for in order to soften whatever sharpness there may have been in his manner of explaining the rejection of the Jews, he still testifies, as before, his goodwill towards them, and proves it by the effect; for their salvation was an object of concern to him before the Lord, and such a feeling arises only from genuine love. It may be at the same time that he was also induced by another reason to testify his love towards the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 10:2

Verse 2 2.For I bear to them a testimony, etc. This was intended to secure credit to his love. There was indeed a just cause why he should regard them with compassion rather than hatred, since he perceived that they had fallen only through ignorance, and not through malignancy of mind, and especially as he saw that they were not led except by some regard for God to persecute the kingdom of Christ. Let us hence learn where our good intentions may guide us, if we yield to them. It is commonly... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 10:3

Verse 3 3.For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, etc. See how they went astray through inconsiderate zeal! for they sought to set up a righteousness of their own; and this foolish confidence proceeded from their ignorance of God’s righteousness. Notice the contrast between the righteousness of God and that of men. We first see, that they are opposed to one another, as things wholly contrary, and cannot stand together. It hence follows, that God’s righteousness is subverted, as soon as... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 10:4

Verse 4 4. For the end of the law is Christ, etc. The word completion, (321) seems not to me unsuitable in this place; and [Erasmus ] has rendered it perfection: but as the other reading is almost universally approved, and is not inappropriate, readers, for my part, may retain it. The Apostle obviates here an objection which might have been made against him; for the Jews might have appeared to have kept the right way by depending on the righteousness of the law. It was necessary for him to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 10:1

Brethren, my heart's desire ( εὐδοκία , expressing good will ) and prayer to God for them ( for Israel, as in the Textus Receptus, has no good support) is, that they may be saved (literally, is unto salvation ) . "Non orasset Paulus, si absolute reprobati essent" (Bengel). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 10:1

Solicitude and supplication for the salvation of sinners. Paul was himself a Jew, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. His first ministry was to Israelites, and, when upon his missionary tours, he made it his first business to address the frequenters of the synagogues. By his training and by his associations, and also by his evangelistic intercourse with his countrymen, he understood the Jewish mind, and how to deal with it. From the Jews he met with obstacles, opposition, and persecution; and he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 10:1

Anxiety for the salvation of our fellows. It is the lot of reformers to be twitted as renegades, and to be exposed to the taunt of indifference to the welfare of their old companions. So the apostle was charged with noxiously subverting ancient customs, and he found it necessary to justify himself even to Jewish Christians against the reproach of wanton molestation of the hopes of Israel. It is difficult for prejudice in its blind conservatism to see that the change proposed is intended... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 10:1-4

Israel's strength and weakness. The apostle returns again to the tender solicitude for the spiritual welfare of Israel which he had already expressed in the beginning of the ninth chapter. He was no blind bigot. He could recognize the good qualities even of those from whom he differed. He knew how far Israel had departed from the truth of God, and yet he is quick to perceive that, even amid their errors and sins, there is much that is commendable in their character. What an example for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 10:1-11

The freeness of salvation. The apostle's heart yearns for his people. For he recognizes their sincerity in much of their grievous mistaking of the ways of God. They had zeal for God, though the zeal was unreasonable and irreligious. Unreasonable; for how can man make himself just before God, guilty and sinful as he is? and why should the Jew think that, if this were possible, only one small portion of the race should be suffered to work out its righteousness? Irreligious; for instead of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 10:1-11

Confession of a risen Saviour. In the previous chapter we saw a Christian patriot lamenting that so many of his fellow-countrymen, through rejecting God's mercy manifested in Christ Jesus, were becoming mere vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. At the same time, he sees in Divine sovereignty, its incidence and its justice, the real clue to the philosophy of history and the progress of the world. In the present chapter he discusses the rejection of Israel and its reasons, and the nature... read more

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