陈鸽 （译者附加小标题）
罗马书 10:1 弟兄们，我心里所愿的，向神所求的，是要以色列人得救。2我可以证明他们向神有热心，但不是按著真知识；3 因为不知道神的义，想要立自己的义，就不服神的义了。4 律法的总结就是基督，使凡信他的都得著义……。13因为「凡求告主名的，就必得救。」14 然而，人未曾信他，怎能求他呢？未曾听见他，怎能信他呢？没有传道的，怎能听见呢？15若没有奉差遣，怎能传道呢？如经上所记：「报福音、传喜信的人，他们的脚踪何等佳美。」……17 可见信道是从听道来的，听道是从基督的话来的。
洋洋自得！
成为健康教会的一员本身，不是做基督徒的终极目的。当然，常坐在一位按着正意分解真道的牧者脚下受教，真是一份得天独厚的祝福。但是，我们绝不要允许这福气使得我们自满自足，以为我们与神的关系特别亲近。以色列国就是我们的前车之鉴，我们当汲取教训，引以为戒才是。
得天独厚！
论到以色列，保罗写到：“弟兄们，我心里所愿的，向神所求的，是要以色列人得救。”（罗10:1）有一点要注意，保罗不是在谈论罪恶昭彰的异教徒，乃是有旧约圣经的以色列人，他们相信亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的上帝，相信那创天造地和其中万物的耶和华，他把律法赐给摩西，又救赎了以色列人。他们在新约成文之前，是神文字启示的唯一拥有者。身为神的选民，他们所蒙的属灵光照远远超过历史上任何一个民族。“他们是以色列人；那儿子的名分、荣耀、诸约、律法、礼仪、应许都是他们的。”（罗9:4）但有了这些还不够，他们仍然没有得救。
满腔热忱！
基督自己也不断对背道的以色列人宣告审判。甚至，正当那些职业的丧女为他上十架哀哭时，耶稣转身对她们说：“不要为我哭，当为自己和自己的儿女哭。”（路23:28） 主耶稣看见整个以色列国都离经叛道了！尽管他们拥有旧约，但却误解了它的意义，把它的启示扭曲成一套靠行为得救的宗教体系。正如保罗解说的，“我可以证明他们向神有热心，但不是按著真知识。”（罗10:2）这宗教热忱，无论多么火热或虔诚，若非建立在神真理的基础上，就毫无价值可言。
没有自知！
保罗接着具体地解释了为什么以色列人缺乏知识，“因为不知道神的义，想要立自己的义，就不服神的义了。”（罗10:3）换言之，以色列人低估了神的公义，又高估了自己的能力，以为靠自己努力就可以满足神律法公义的标准。他们完全不认识自己的败坏与无奈。因此，他们不肯像（路18:13）那税吏一样地降卑自己，他因着自己的罪孽深重，悲愤地捶着自己的胸膛，说：“神啊，开恩可怜我这个罪人！”
自以为义！
相反地，以色列人深信自己在神面前的良善可蒙神的悦纳。他们对自己罪的认识扭曲了，对神的义的认识也扭曲了，也对可以靠自己的行为得救的能力高估了。更糟糕的是，他们更对基督的十字架严重地曲解了。正如保罗（罗10:4）所写的，他们不明白“律法的总结就是基督，使凡信他的都得著义。” 我们要成为义的唯一途径是透过一个完全满足律法的人，就是基督。以色列人在这一关键点上错失了，他们的神学就一错百错了，导致他们错解了罪、错解了基督、错解了救恩。他们想尽办法要立自己的义，而不是信靠基督的义，这义是赐给“凡信他的”（罗10:4），但他们的信心却牢牢地聚焦于自己的行为上，而非基督成了的作为上。尽管神赐给他们莫大的启示，尽管神的儿子都亲自道成肉身来启示自己，但他们仍未得救。
恨铁不成钢！
以色列人对弥赛亚（基督）的拒绝与排斥，使保罗心痛如绞，以至于在罗马书九章他说：“为我弟兄，我骨肉之亲，就是自己被咒诅，与基督分离，我也愿意。”（罗9:3）他为以色列的背信弃义而忧心如焚。
绝望中盼望！
然而，保罗的思想没有钻进死牛角尖里，在（罗10:13-14）他指出了他盼望的缘由：“因为「凡求告主名的，就必得救。」然而，人未曾信他，怎能求他呢？未曾听见他，怎能信他呢？没有传道的，怎能听见呢？”
徒劳无功！
试想一下，若“自然神学”这个理论是正确的，那么传讲福音、拯救灵魂就完全没必要了，两千多年的宣道劳苦尽都枉费心血了，这也意味着：神百姓为宣教使命所奉献的重价只是无谓的浪费资源而已，那些为传福音舍弃的生命也不过是可悲的劳民伤财罢了。还有，教会历史上所有的殉道者也都白白牺牲了。若还没听过福音、不知道耶稣的人都可以进入天堂的话，那么这些殉道者就不是我们信心的楷模，乃是一群傻子。他们为了相信一个“非排他的福音”白送死了，为了捍卫一个无意义的“圣经的精确性”瞎忙活了。他们不是傻了吗？
奇耻大辱！
不要搞错啦！后现代基督教的兴起（所谓“神广大的怜悯”）并不是一种无伤大雅、甚至有潜在益处的神学观点；这乃是对教会福音使命直接致命的攻击，也是对教会历史上无数受苦受害的真诚信徒的一大侮辱。
唯一指望！
保罗很清楚，他知道他的劳苦并非徒然，反之，他所传的福音，和在他之后无数人所传的福音，是那些陷于自义之中、难以自拔之世人的唯一指望。罗10:13-14 是他为福音使命奔波的冲锋号。他的理由很明显：如果你不信福音，就不能得救；如果你没有听见福音，你就不能相信福音。这是一清二楚的道理！
跑的漂亮！
保罗因福音的使命而充满了干劲和激情，他衷心地称赞神忠心的福音使者：“「报福音、传喜信的人，他们的脚踪何等佳美。」（罗10:15） 他明白：人类试图实现自己的救赎简直是异想天开，所以他甘心为那唯一能释放罪人的真道而热血沸腾。
别无拯救！
罗10:17，保罗继说：“可见信道是从听道来的，听道是从基督的话来的”。“基督的话”最好的总结就是主自己说的一句话：“「我就是道路、真理、生命；若不藉著我，没有人能到父那里去。」（约14:6）
生命的意义！
这世界必须听见耶稣基督的信息，而我们则拥有做他福音使者的宝贵特权。愿我们不要以我们的神学而自豪，以为得救全在于神主权的恩典，以致忘记我们伟大的神不仅拯救了我们，而且也呼召我们成为他赐福的管道，好叫别人借着我们可以得救。只要神赐我们一口气息，他就给了我们生命的使命，愿我们都忠于所托，为他荣耀和他国度的缘故，不止息地传扬基督荣耀的福音。
(Adapted from Good News)
（改编于好消息）
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The Danger of Ignorant Zeal
by John MacArthur
September 24, 2018
Being a member of a healthy church isn’t an end initself. It’s a wonderful blessing and privilege to sit under the faithfulteaching of a shepherd who rightly handles God’s Word. But we must never allowthat blessing from God to cultivate complacency in our relationship with Him.The nation of Israel serves as a sobering reminder of that danger.
Regarding Israel, Paul writes, “Brethren, my heart’sdesire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation” (Romans 10:1).This is vital to understand, because he’s not talking about rank pagans here.Israel had the Old Testament. They believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, andJacob. They believed in the God who created the world and everything in it, whogave His law to Moses, who was the Redeemer and Savior of Israel. Prior to thewriting of the New Testament, they were the sole possessors of God’s writtenrevelation. As God’s chosen people, they had more spiritual light shed on themthan anyone else in history. To them belonged “the adoption as sons, and theglory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service andthe promises” (Romans 9:4). But it wasn’t enough. They were not saved.
Christ Himself continually pronounced judgment onapostate Israel. Even as He walked to the cross, while the professionalmourning women were weeping over Him, He turned to them and said, “Stop weepingfor Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children” (Luke 23:28).Jesus saw the whole nation of Israel as apostate. They had the Old Testament,but they had misrepresented its meaning and twisted its revelation into asystem of salvation by works. As Paul explained, they had “a zeal for God, butnot in accordance with knowledge” (Romans 10:2).And religious zeal—no matter how vigorous and pious—is worthless if it’s notgrounded in God’s truth.
Paul goes on to explain specifically why Israel’sknowledge was lacking. “For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seekingto establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness ofGod” (Romans10:3). In other words, Israel had underestimated God’s righteousness, andoverestimated their ability to satisfy the righteous standard of His law. Theycompletely misunderstood their own depravity and inability. Therefore, theyfailed to humble themselves like the publican in Luke 18:13,who pounded his breast in horror over his own wretchedness and said, “God bemerciful to me, the sinner!”
Instead, the people of Israel were convinced of their owngoodness and acceptability before God. They had a warped view of sin, a warpedview of God’s righteousness, and a warped view of their ability to attainsalvation by their own efforts. Worse still, they had a severe misunderstandingof the cross of Christ. As Paul wrote in Romans 10:4,they didn’t understand that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness,”that the only way we will ever be righteous is through the One who satisfiedthe Law perfectly. Missing that pivotal point was a disaster for Israel’stheology. It distorted their understanding of sin, Christ, and salvation. Theysought to manufacture their own righteousness instead of relying on Christ’s,which is available, as Paul says, “to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).Their faith was firmly focused on their own works, not the completed work ofChrist. Despite all the revelation God had given them—despite the incarnationof the Son of God Himself—they were not saved.
Israel’s rejection of the Messiah was so wrenching to theheart of Paul that in Romans 9, he says, “For I could wish that I myself wereaccursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmenaccording to the flesh” (Romans 9:3). He agonized personally over the apostasy ofIsrael.
But Paul’s thoughts don’t end in desperation. In Romans10:13–14, he identifies the source of his hope: “‘Whoever will call on thename of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on Him in whom theyhave not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? Andhow will they hear without a preacher?”
Imagine for a moment that the theory of natural theologyis correct—gospel preaching and evangelism are entirely unnecessary to seesouls saved. That renders more than two thousand years of missionary workutterly futile. It means the incalculable sums that God’s people have put intomissions were a prodigious forfeiture, and that the lives sacrificed for thesake of the gospel were a pathetic waste. The same goes for all the martyrsthroughout church history—if it’s true that people can get to heaven withoutknowing anything about Christ and with no exposure to the gospel, the martyrswere not heroes of our faith but fools who died worthless deaths for anonexclusive gospel and in defense of meaningless biblical precision.
Make no mistake: the rise of postmodern Christianity andthe supposed wideness in God’s mercy isn’t a harmless, potentially helpfultheological perspective. It’s a direct assault on the gospel work of the churchand an affront to the integrity of countless believers who suffered and diedthroughout its history.
Paul knew better. He understood that he did not labor invain, but that the gospel he preached, and that countless others after himpreached, is the only hope in the world for those caught in the grip ofself-righteousness. Romans 10:13-14 is his rallying cry to get busy about thework of the gospel. His case is clear: You can’t be saved if you don’t believethe gospel, and you can’t believe the gospel if you haven’t heard it.
Paul is so energized by the work of the gospel that hebursts into enthusiastic praise for God’s faithful evangelists: “How beautifulare the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” (Romans 10:15).He understood the farce of attempting to achieve your own salvation, and he waspassionate about the only truth that could set sinners free.
In Romans 10:17, Paul continues, “So faith comes from hearing,and hearing by the word of Christ.” That word of Christ was best summed up bythe Lord Himself in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; noone comes to the Father but through Me.”
The world must hear the message of Jesus Christ, and wehave the precious privilege of serving as His ambassadors and heralds. May wenever be so content with our theology—never so satisfied with our salvation andsovereign grace—that we forget that our great God has not only saved us but hasalso called us to be the means by which He will save others. As long as Hegrants us breath, He has work for us to do. May we be faithful in therelentless proclamation of the glorious gospel of Christ, for His glory and thesake of His kingdom.
(Adapted from Good News)
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