A overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Romans 9:30-10:3, 9-17, “Believe,” for Sunday, October 25, 2026. Includes a suggested introduction to the lesson, text outline and highlights, illustrations to share, group discussion questions, and spiritual life applications. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:
INTRODUCTION:
???DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“What is something in life that you have to work hard to earn?”
(A lot of things, right? You have to work hard to earn a living. You have to work hard to earn a spot on the football or volleyball team. You have to work hard to earn respect, and so on.)
There are many things like that on earth that we have to earn. Because of that, it’s easy for many people to assume that we have to “earn” our salvation and a place in heaven. But that is a wrong idea, as the Book of Romans makes clear, and which we as Christian ministers, teachers, and members need to try to make clear to others. Unlike so many things in life, salvation cannot be earned. We must receive it as a gift of God, by faith — as we will see in our lesson from Romans 9 & 10 today.
CONTEXT:
We’re moving along in our study of the Book of Romans this quarter. After sharing the most complete doctrinal explanation of the gospel in Romans 1-5, Paul then addresses the battles that Christians have with sin in their lives in Chapters 6-8. All of us have those struggles, but we have new power against sin because of the Holy Spirit of Christ in us — but we will continue that battle until we come to glory.
Then Romans 9 opens with Paul lamenting the Jews, whose hearts for the most part were hardened against the gospel, though they had been specially chosen by God. He indicates near the end of the chapter that the Gentiles (“those who were not a people”) were now coming into the Kingdom of God by His grace, though only a “remnant” of Israel seemed to be saved.
This brings us to our focus passage for this week, which includes the last 4 verses of Romans 9. That section starts with a question, “What shall we say then?” So we need to make the context clear: he’d been talking about how many of the Jews were hardened against Christianity, but many Gentiles were coming to faith in Christ. This brings to the “what shall we say then” question, and our passage for this week from Romans 9:30-10:17.
OUTLINE:
I. Misplaced Faith (9:30-10:3)
II. Saving Faith (10:9-13)
III. Sharing the Faith (10:14-17)
TEXT: Romans 9:30-10:3, 9-17
I. Misplaced Faith (Romans 9:30-10:3)
9:30 “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
(10:1-3) “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” (NASB 1995)
Paul opens this section in 9:30 asking, “What shall we say then?” So first we need to understand why he’s asking this question! It’s similar to starting with a “therefore” or a “since”! “What shall we say to WHAT?”!”
If you look back in context in Romans 9 he’s obviously referring back to what he was talking about earlier in Romans 9: that many Gentiles were being saved and coming into the Kingdom of God, while very few Jews were being saved. He continues that thought in this passage:
— He writes in :30 that Gentiles, who did not pursue the righteousness (of the Law) like the Jews did, were given the righteousness of Christ by faith — like we’ve mentioned several times before: II Corinthians 5: says “He made Him who knew no sin, to BE sin on our behalf, so that we might become THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD in Him.” So many Gentiles were trusting Christ’s righteousness and being saved by faith.
— But on the other hand, most Jews were NOT. Sure, some were being saved, but by and large they were rejecting the gospel. Why? :31-32 says they pursued righteousness “as though it were by works.” Many of them had been brought up like Paul had been, pursuing the righteousness that comes from the Law, like he said in Philippians 3:5-6. But as Paul teaches repeatedly here in Romans, man’s righteous works of the law can’t save us.
This was extremely difficult for them to accept. Think of how men like Nicodemus and other Jews like him had to feel. THEY WERE AT THE PINNACLE of the “works righteousness” of the Law. They were the widely respected Pharisees. We hold them in disdain today, because we read Jesus’ words of condemnation in Matthew 23 and elsewhere back onto them. But we have to understand that in their day, these were the most respected religious men in their nation! When Nicodemus came to Jesus in John 3, it says he was “a ruler of the Jews.” He was at the peak of his field of religious prominence. But what did Jesus say to him? “You must be born again”! In other words, all your religious works and accomplishments are not enough to get you into the Kingdom! Again, we’ve heard this so often that it sounds commonplace to us, but this was earth-shattering to him: you’re the best there is in Judaism; everyone respects your position, your phylacteries and tassels and prayers — but all of that which you’ve grown up trusting is not enough! You must be born again — literally “born from above.” God’s got to do something life-changing to you, or you will never see heaven! This had to be a shock to that accomplished religious leader!
Our pastor said recently that it would like telling a Nobel Prize winner — who was at the peak of his field, recognized by the world — that with all his accomplishments, he was not good enough. His pride would be offended and he would just walk away. This is how it was with many Jews. They were offended by this message that all the works they’d been so diligent at were insufficient to save them, that it’s just faith in Jesus’ cross. That was a “stumbling block” to their pride and accomplishment, as :32-33 states. Peter quotes this in I Peter 2:8, that Christ is a “stone of stumbling.”
Then we come to Romans 10 — and remember the chapter divisions are NOT part of the inspired scripture; Paul’s just continuing the thought of the previous verse here — and he says in :1, “My heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.”
This brings up a good question: since the vast majority of the Jews have rejected Christ, what should be our attitude towards them?
ILLUSTRATION: NEWS CLIPS
You might share one or more news clippings like this one, which indicates that anti-semitic (anti-Jewish) attacks had reached a record high in 2025. Or reference:
ILLUSTRATION: MARTIN LUTHER AND THE JEWS
As a younger man, Martin Luther had been sympathetic to the Jews, but after some debates with rabbis, he turned hostile to them. In his later years he wrote a book: On the Jews and Their Lies and he asks: ”What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews”? His answers may shock you:
“— First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools … This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians …
“— Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed.”
“—Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them.”
This is not a-typical. In Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” the “bad guy” was the hard-hearted Jewish merchant who wanted his “pound of flesh” from the man who’d borrowed from him. This story represented typical attitudes of many people in that era towards Jews.
???DISCUSSION/APPLICATION QUESTION???
“What should OUR attitude be towards Jews, biblically?”
(I believe Paul does a great job of summing up our attitude towards the Jews here in Romans 10:1: “my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.” THAT is what our attitude should be: let’s desire for them to be saved! Let’s PRAY for them. Christians should love the Jews, but also not content to leave them without Christ. We should pray and seek ways for them to be saved. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” Psalm 122:6 says. But the peace they really need comes only from Christ. If you haven’t already, put the Jewish people, and those in Israel, somewhere on your prayer list each week. And pray for and support ministries seeking to evangelize Jewish people.
Then Paul closes this section by saying something very important about them in :2-3: He says, “I testify that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.” He says they’re trying to “establish their own righteousness” — by seeking to gain God’s favor through their own works, like we were talking about earlier.
But this is not just the Jews, is it? Virtually every world religion centers around seeking to please God through good works. Some of them can be very “zealous” as Paul says, in their works. But they are misguided.
???DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“What are some of the ways you’ve seen/heard that some people show a misguided zeal for God?”
(— Once I was on a plane to India and in the middle of the flight, all the Muslims on board went out into the middle of the aisle and put their prayer rugs down and prayed at the hour of prayer. That zeal puts many of us Christians to shame.
— We’ve all had Jehovah’s Witnesses knock at our door. They’re so “zealous” to share — but sadly they’re sharing a lie. “They have a zeal for God — but it’s not in accordance with knowledge.” No amount of works can save anyone:
— Romans 3:20 says, “By the works of the Law, no flesh shall be justified in His sight.”
— Ephesians 2:9 says salvation is “not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Sadly, all these religions are very zealous — but their zeal is “not in accordance with knowledge.” It’s zeal for a lie!
What’s even more said, is that these who are so zealous for a lie, put to shame so many of us who know the truth! But Paul’s point here is that many, many people — Jews and others — have a misplaced faith, trusting their works for salvation. Make sure that YOU or someone you know are not like that. Christianity is NOT like all the other world religions, seeking be “good enough” to enter heaven. Scripture teaches we’re only saved by faith through the gospel of Christ, which is our second point:
II. Saving Faith (Romans 10:9-13)
:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (NASB 1995)
A. The Method of Saving Faith (:9-10)
So if we’re not saved by works like the Jews, Muslims, and others are attempting to do, how are we saved? This is what Paul shares in :9-13.
You should know that :4-8, which are not in the Lifeway “focus passage,” describe more about how salvation is not through the Law. Paul quotes Moses in Deuteronomy 30, saying that salvation is not accomplished through doing great works of “going up to heaven” or “going down to the abyss” and so on — but quoting Deut. 30:14 he says “the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” He’s saying, this word that Moses proclaimed to you, “THAT is the word of faith which we are preaching.” (In other words, this is not somehow “against the Old Testament;” no, it comes right out of the Old Testament! This is the very thing Moses promised! And what is that word of faith specifically? He describes it here in :9 & 10:
:9 “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
See, what “great work” is involved in that? NONE! Like Moses said, salvation is not up on some high, unattainable mountain, or down in some low valley you have to descend to. You don’t have to do any great work at all to get it. It’s as close to you, it’s as believing in your heart, and confessing with your mouth what you believe in your heart. If you do that, he says, you will be saved.
This is what he’s been saying for several chapters now: salvation is by faith:
— Romans 3:22 “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe”
— Romans 4:16 “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace”
— Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God …”
So he’s just restating it here: “believe in your heart.” It doesn’t involve any “work” at all.
To me the great example of that is found in Acts 10, when Peter is preaching to Cornelius and his loved ones who’d gathered to hear him. When Peter got to the point in his sermon when he said in :43, “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins,” then :44 says: “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.” Ephesians 1:13 says the Holy Spirit comes into your life when you are saved (“after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.”) So when Cornelius and company heard Peter share that Jesus brings forgiveness of sins, they believed it in their heart, and IMMEDIATELY the Holy Spirit came upon them, :44 says. That was the moment of salvation.
BUT WHAT DID THEY “DO” TO GET THAT SALVATION? They didn’t do ANYTHING but believe it in their heart! This is one of the greatest examples of salvation by faith in the whole Bible: the moment they believed in their heart, they were saved.
Now Paul does go on to say “confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord.” If you truly believe in Jesus, you WILL confess Him.
AND it is important that he said it the way he did: “confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart …”, because many people could say, “Ok, I confess Jesus …” — but Paul says, just “saying” it with your mouth isn’t salvation. You have to truly believe it in your heart, in order to experience genuine salvation.
The point is, ultimately salvation is not based on any “work” or “act” we can do, but by FAITH: “believing in our heart.” And as Romans 4:5 made clear (“Now to the one who does not work, but believes …”) the act of believing is not a “work;” it is the opposite of “works.” It is salvation by faith. And that is the great truth this Book of Romans makes clear, this is the great truth of the gospel — and it is the great thing that each of us must take hold of to be saved. Just believe in your heart.
There may be someone in your group this Sunday, who needs to really understand this for the very first time. You mean it’s not that I go to Sunday School and church as much as I can? You mean it’s not that I put something in the offering plate? You mean that it’s not that I try to keep the 10 Commandments? It’s just believing that Jesus died for me? Someone in your group this Sunday morning may be just like someone in Cornelius’ group that day with Peter: they might hear this message and truly believe it in their heart for the very first time — and be saved! I pray that will indeed happen!
(Notice there is no mention at all of baptism here! Those who insist on baptism for salvation have a problem at this point. He doesn’t say anything about baptism in this crucial passage about how a person is saved. Now, if you know me, you know I definitely believe in believer’s baptism. It’s the first step of obedience for a Christian, and there is evidence that it was at baptism that believers made their public confession “Jesus is Lord.” But Paul makes it clear here and throughout Romans that it is faith saves, NOT any work, not even baptism!)
B. The Scope of Saving Faith (:11-13)
So who is this for? Jews? Gentiles? The rich? The learned? Who?
In Verse 11 Paul quotes Isaiah 28:16: “WHOEVER believes in Him will not be disappointed.” “Whoever” in Greek is the word “pas,” “all.” In Greek it’s literally “all the ones believing in Him will be saved.” Whoever will believe, will be saved! This invitation is open to everyone. Verse 12 says there’s no difference between Jew and Greek, God will give the riches of His salvation to all who call upon Him — and then comes that great verse 13 (again an OT quote, Joel 2:32) “For WHOEVER will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
The emphasis here is that this is for everyone: it’s for Jews; it’s for Greeks; it’s for whoever will call upon the Lord. Do you want to be saved? BELIEVE! “Call on the name of the Lord.” This is for you!
Have you ever gone to an event, or a giveaway, or something, only to find out that it “wasn’t for you”? It was only for members, or only for a certain age group, or so on. We’ve all probably got some story about that. But the gospel invitation, Romans makes clear, is for anyone: it is for ALL who will believe!
ILLUSTRATION:
I remember being in the Lake Charles area after Hurricane Rita hit in 2005. Most of the stores were closed; most of the fast-food restaurants were not serving. But we heard that there were soldiers down at “the old Walmart” at Hwy 171 who were giving out MREs (meals ready to eat). I remember going down there, wondering if they would give me some: was this only for a certain group? Was there some kind of qualification I might not meet? I didn’t know. But when I got there, I found that they were giving them to anyone who came. Whoever heard the message, and believed it, and came to receive it, got it!
“WHOEVER”! That’s the scope of the gospel that Romans 10 gives us here. It’s for whoever will believe it.
— Are you wondering if this great message is for you? IT IS! It’s for “WHOEVER will call on the name of the Lord”! Believe what Jesus did for you, and confess Him as your Lord & Savior, and you will be saved!
— Is this for anyone you know? IT IS! It’s for “WHOEVER will call on the name of the Lord”! Encourage your friend, family member, or loved one, to call on the Lord and ask Him to save them. If they will call, He will save them. Like the old hymn says: “To those who have sought Thee, Thou never saidst no”. And “Whosoever Meaneth ME”!
What a great message: “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED”!
III. Sharing the Faith (10:14-17)
:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (NASB 1995)
So he just made that great statement: “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But HOW will this happen? This is what he addresses in this section — and it’s something that should convict and impel each one of us as believers to share the gospel.
— He begins the chain of reasoning in :14, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?” This is a good question, right? “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved?” That’s great! BUT HOW are they going to call on Him, if they haven’t first believed? They have to believe before they can call on Him.
— Ok, but now he asks another question: “How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?” THIS is an important question, right? THEY HAVE TO HEAR IN ORDER TO BELIEVE! (We’ll see some more on that in just a second.)
— Then he asks: “And how will they hear without a preacher?” This is getting to the meat of it now: God’s people have to share the word so that people will have the opportunity to hear and believe.
(By the way, don’t think: “Yeah, those ‘preachers’ need to do their job. Listen: he’s not talking about a “full time paid pastor” like we often mean when we talk about a “preacher.” He just means someone who is sharing the message. The word “preacher” here is “kerusso,” which means “to proclaim openly, to herald, or preach.” It’s actually a Greek present active participle: “one proclaiming.” How can somebody hear, without “one proclaiming?” He’s not talking about a “full-time paid pastor.” He’s just talking about someone who shares the message. How can someone hear and believe, unless somebody shares the message with them?
DO YOU UNDERSTAND: HE’S LOOKING AT YOU & ME WHEN HE ASKS THIS QUESTION? “How can people hear, so that they might believe, if no one shares the message with them?”
(:15 also adds: “How will they preach unless they are sent?” — a reminder to us about the need for our churches to send people out on mission, like the early church did Paul & Barnabas in Acts 13. The mission mandate is not finished until “this gospel of the kingdom has been preached in all the world, for a witness to all the nations,” as Jesus said in Matthew 24:14. Let’s keep giving, praying, and going on mission, sharing the gospel of Jesus.)
As we’ve talked about this before: this great section ends with :17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” How does faith arise in a heart? It arises when someone hears the message of Jesus, and they believe it. THAT IS GOD’S PLAN FOR HOW PEOPLE WILL BE SAVED. Share the message, and some people will respond with faith in their hearts. We don’t know who that will be — so our responsibility is just to share the message.
The only way that people can hear and believe, is if we share.
Thus Satan’s best weapon against anyone being saved, is to convince God’s people not to share the message. Sadly, he’s done a pretty good job of that in our country. He’s talked us into thinking that everybody’s heard this, that nobody will believe it.
ILLUSTRATION
It reminds me of what David McCullough (author of 1776, John Adams, Truman, and more) wrote about an interview he did with a Secret Service agent, who gave him so much information about Presidents Truman, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower. About halfway through the interview, McCullough apologetically said to the agent: “I’m sorry; I know you’ve been asked about this so many times.” To his shock, the agent said,”No, Mr. McCullough, nobody has ever asked me about any of this.’” (Brave Companions, p. 207) He just “assumed” the man had been asked so many times — but he hadn’t! Good thing he asked!
Isn’t that how it often is with the gospel. Satan’s talked us into thinking, “Oh, they’ve heard this so many times already,” or “they’ll never respond to this.” But we are just “prejudging” people. WE DON’T KNOW THAT! How many unlikely people have been saved, all over the world, and all through history? It’s not our responsibility to “judge” who might or might not believe — it’s just our responsibility to share the message. Just need to put it out there, and let THEM make their own decision! When they hear it, there is a chance that they’ll believe the message and be saved. One thing is for certain: if we never share, they will never believe. That’s Paul’s point here. He’s talking to us. We need to share the message so that people can believe.
APPLICATION:
Every one of us should ask ourselves this week in light of this passage: who in my life needs an opportunity to hear the gospel and believe it? I bet every one of us can think of someone. Pray and ask God to give you an opportunity to share the message with them this week. As the second part of :15 says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”
???DISCUSSION/APPLICATION QUESTION???
“Who was involved in leading you to Jesus?”
(In my life it was my Aunt Betty & Uncle Bill, along with the influences of others.)
Aren’t these people special to you? The thing is, YOU have the opportunity to be that person for someone else. YOU can be that special person who shared the gospel with them, so that they were saved. No matter what else we accomplish in life, we’ll never do anything better or more important than this.
The message of Romans 10 in a nutshell is:
— If you’ve been trying to earn your salvation, stop, and put your faith in Jesus today!
— And if you’ve already put your faith in Jesus, then share that message with someone, so that they’ll have the same opportunity you did, to hear and believe. God’s message of salvation by grace through faith in Christ is for everyone who will believe!
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