1

How does the Roman Catholic church interpret the simplicity of Romans 10:9-13?

Romans 10:9-13
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

7
  • 1
    I am not a Roman Catholic (I am Orthodox - an RC convert), so I probably won't answer, but you might read the commentary on this passage by John Chrysostom (4th century). He is considered a Doctor in the Roman Catholic Church, and is considered an important Church Father by both Roman Catholics and Orthodox. Interestingly, his commentaries are favorites of John MacArthur. His commentaries are on biblehub, but they are kind of buried. You can read his commentary on Romans 10 here
    – guest37
    Mar 3, 2017 at 4:20
  • 1
    I think your question would be easier to answer if you stated in your own words what you understand to be the Roman Catholic doctrines that contradict what is written in Romans 10:9-13. Otherwise the answerer risks posing a strawman argument, supposing you are concerned with a different point than they are focused on.
    – guest37
    Mar 3, 2017 at 17:25
  • this question shows the lack of research and should be closed. The answers are all over the internet.
    – Grasper
    Mar 3, 2017 at 19:39
  • @Grasper ha ha! that's great...isn't everything all over the internet? ha ha
    – David
    Mar 3, 2017 at 21:58
  • 1
    @user33515 I suppose I feel that the text clearly states salvation through a sincere calling on the lords name...not works essentially such as: baptism, confirmation, mass ect ect
    – David
    Mar 3, 2017 at 21:59

1 Answer 1

2

It would be hard, coming from outside the RCC to understand how the Church sees this passage. The Church being universal and spanning the globe and all cultures empties itself from the subjective interpretations of specific cultures and the emphasis those cultures put on passages. Emphasis, not necessarily intended by the inspired author. This is especially noticeable in American Culture (outside and inside the Church), who seemingly but unknowingly, includes in their subjective interpretations those values that are important to them. So, what am I suggesting here. Primarily, as assumed in the question, that there is no “simplicity” of Romans 10:9-13.

The scriptures to Roman Catholics are not broken down into individual versus; they are looked at as a whole, with all of the Word taken into consideration. So when it comes to Romans 10:9-13, a Catholic can say with full confidence that what is being stated is true within the context of the complete Word.

“There is no difference between Jew and Gentile” When the Lord Ascended into heaven leaving the Apostles to grow the kingdom, the remnants of the old Guard, the Jewish leaders through the Greco Roman world, were slowly brought into and evangelized into the Faith. There was resistance, issues of genealogy and OT priesthood, food laws, 613 works of the Law that had to be addressed which was not addressed by Christ but left to his Church. There was much Confusion. Pharisaic Christians, Pagan Christians of many cultures were asked to come together to a banquet where previously no contact was allowed. Customs and traditions, Valid ones especially like circumcision had to be addressed as you can imagine if you were older and had not been cut, the prospects of becoming a Christian with such requirements might seem gloomy.

Much of Paul’s writing echoes the Old Testament, Duet 30:14 for example comes to mind here.

As a Catholic, I simply have faith in God’s Word. Guarded and Protected by the ministry instituted by Christ from inception, not influenced by my subjective understanding or the culture in which I live, but by the Church that spans the globe who has preserved and defined to the modern world those teachings based on Faith and Reason.

1
  • a great answer. I liked this section especially from your answer: "The scriptures to Roman Catholics are not broken down into individual versus; they are looked at as a whole, with all of the Word taken into consideration".. thank you for your time in answering
    – David
    Mar 3, 2017 at 22:04

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .