The Hope for Israel’s Salvation

¹Siblings, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

²For I testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

³Since they were not understanding God’s righteousness and were seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God.

⁴For Christ is the end of the law, and there is righteousness for everyone who believes.

⁵For Moses writes about the righteousness from the law, “The human who does these things will live by them.”[#Leviticus 18:5]

⁶But the righteousness from faith says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down);[#Deuteronomy 30:12]

⁷or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)”[#Deuteronomy 30:13]

⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart;” that is, the word of faith which we are preaching:[#Deuteronomy 30:14]

⁹that if you will confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰For with the heart one believes resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses resulting in salvation.

¹¹For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in ʜɪᴍ will not be put to shame.”[#Isaiah 28:16]

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him.

¹³For, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord [YHWH] will be saved.”[#Joel 2:32]

¹⁴How then can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher?

¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those,

who bring the good news of good things!”

¹⁶But they didn’t all listen to the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord [YHWH], who has believed our report?”[#Isaiah 53:1]

¹⁷So then, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard from the word of God.

¹⁸But I say, didn’t they hear? Absolutely yes,

“Their voice went out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹But I ask, didn’t Israel know? First Moses says,

“I will provoke y’all to jealousy with those who are not an ethnic group.

I will enrage y’all with an ethnic group that lacks understanding.”

²⁰Isaiah is very bold and says,

“I was found by those who didn’t seek me.

I revealed myself to those who didn’t ask for me.”

²¹But about Israel he says, “All day long I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”[#Isaiah 65:2]