Romans 10:1-2 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
These verses express Paul’s hope for the people of Israel, that they will come to realize they are going about the quest for eternal life in the wrong way. Although he says some difficult things in this letter and no doubt preached a challenging message in the synagogues of the Roman Empire, he stood in line with the prophets of the Old Testament who called people back to faith. The Messiah had come and opened the way of salvation. Many Jews were stuck in the misguided idea that keeping a few laws and traditions would be adequate. There are people today who fall into the same trap. They think that modern “traditions” like going to church once in a while or being part of a “Christian” family or doing good deeds will save them. They like the Jews of Paul’s day have sadly missed the gospel. No one is good enough for heaven because of the power and penalty of sin. We need grace. Grace is received through faith and lived out in obedience.
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