Romans 10:4

While this post started as an assignment for my capstone course I had procrastinated on writing it became a prompt I was thoroughly interested in. With Easter approaching this weekend I found it appropriate to post below. Thank God for our salvation and the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law.

To translate Romans 10:4 appropriately we must analyze the context of this verse. This passage of scripture is found in Romans whose theme is God’s righteousness. Chapter 4 is significant because it portrays the gospel for both the Jew and Gentile making God’s righteousness available to all.[1] Both Jews and Gentiles are under sin thus Christ is needed as the fulfillment of the Law allowing others to be reconciled to the righteousness of God. Jews were too concerned about the destruction of the Law that they were unable to see its very fulfillment happening before their eyes.[2] The very authorship of Romans, Paul – apostle of the Gentiles – proves the audience for which the gospel has been intended for. Paul writes Romans for the purpose of explaining reconciliation with God by belief in Christ’s death and resurrection for all who believe. Chapters 4-5 focus on the complexity of salvation that includes past, present, and future for individual believers.[3] Paul knew that his writings could be misinterpreted so he wrote the letter of Romans for clarification with the emphasis on the equality of justification by faith for the Jew and Gentile.[4] This saving power is the righteousness of God displayed through Christ on the cross as the fulfillment of the Old Testament.[5]

Upon reading this scripture in context we can conclude that this passage translates as Christ being the Messiah of the Old Testament who came to accomplish the purpose of the Law – rules given as guideline to keep humans from sin to keep them in right standing with God. Those who broke the Law had to make sacrifice after sacrifice to re-establish their good standing thus the ultimate sacrifice – God’s only begotten Son – came to be amend humans with God once and for all. The purest lamb came as atonement. By believing in this atonement for our imminent sin we are restored to God. God sees the pureness of Christ and His sacrifice as a covering for the sin of the world as the present antidote for the fall until Christ’s second coming and the age of the new earth and heaven.

When all is said and done this verse translates to Christ accomplished the Law of the Old Testament allowing for all humans to be saved from their sin allowing for a relationship with God by believing in their heart that Jesus died and rose again for this very reason.

[1] David S. Dockery, Concise Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2016). [2] Holy Bible Study Bible, New Living Translation, Linen Edition (Tyndale House Pub, 2017). [3] Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2012). [4] Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015). [5] IBID