Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans · John Calvin

015 - Romans 101-21

·56 min·3 clips

Calvin begins by pressing the apostle's rebuke of self-made righteousness. No man who seeks to justify himself, he says, can submit to the righteousness of God. The issue is framed as the pride of hypocrites, who hide self-conceit under zeal while standing as rebels against God's righteousness. Christ is therefore named as the end, or perfection, of the law. Calvin notes the translation question, but leaves the reader free to judge which rendering fits the context best. He then turns to the resurrection as the Father's public testimony to the saving effect of the Son's death. That resurrection, he says, is not a detour from the cross but a declaration of what the cross has accomplished. Faith is next described as believing with the heart unto righteousness. Calvin insists that the heart means a serious, sincere, and ardent affection, not a bare notion lodged in the mind. Confession follows unto salvation, yet it is not treated as the cause of salvation. Instead, it shows how the faith God has put within begins to show itself outwardly. The apostle's language is read as a description of true faith, because confession springs from it as fruit. Calvin then returns to the question of unbelief among Israel. He rejects readings that would soften the force of Isaiah's complaint. The terms are taken as stubborn, rebellious, and gainsaying, because the point is obstinate resistance to the prophets. That resistance is not only intellectual doubt. It is pride, bitterness, and a settled refusal of divine instruction. The commentary closes by keeping the reader before the solemn fact that God spoke early through the prophets, yet his people contradicted him. Thus Romans 10 becomes both a doctrine of justification and a verdict on hardened unbelief.

As heard by us

A severe, patient reading of Romans 10 that keeps faith, confession, and pride sharply distinct.

The section reads as a firm, patient case for how a sinner stands before God: not through self-made righteousness, but through faith that receives Christ, confesses him, and turns from private pride.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want Romans 10 taken verse by verse, this stays exacting and direct.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans