Good morning, Bereans. We are currently looking at Paul's theodicy—his defense of God in Romans 9-11. I believe that this is the greatest vindication of God's righteousness and justice found anywhere in the pages of Scripture. This theodicy is necessary in light of what Paul had taught in the first eight chapters of Romans. Over and over in Romans 8, Paul has applied to the Church the blessings originally promised to Israel. With the application of so many of Israel's promises being received by the Church, the question that arises from the Jews is: "Has God gone back on His promises to Israel?" Notice what Paul says in Romans 9.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Romans 9:3 ESV
Paul was implying by this that they were no longer the people of God. Paul was saying that Israel was no longer blessed, in fact, they were now cursed. He says he wished he could take the curse for them. To say that the nation is accursed is not to say that God's promises have failed:
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, Romans 9:6 ESV
Paul is saying that God's promises haven't failed because God never promised unconditionally covenant blessings to each offspring of Abraham. God never intended that all members of the nation Israel would be redeemed. Paul is saying that there are TWO Israel's. Within national Israel is "True Israel" or "spiritual Israel." So, one could be an Israelite without truly being an Israelite. The promises were to "true Israel," not national Israel.
So, who is true Israel? Yeshua is the true Israel! It is in Him and in Him alone that the promises of God are fulfilled. True Israel is Yeshua the Christ and all who trust in Him. We could say, "They are not all 'in Christ' who are physical descendants of Jacob."
Therefore, the unbelief and rejection of ethnic Israel as a whole in no way interfered with the fulfilment of God's covenant purpose and promise.
We ended our study last time with Romans 10:4.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:4 ESV
Christ is the termination of the Law for covenant membership to everyone who believes. You can be a covenant member of the New Covenant without having or obeying the 613 commands of the Mosaic Covenant. Christ is the goal of Torah so that all who have faith, all who are in Christ Yeshua, may have righteousness and life.
Verse 4 is explained by verses 5 and following. N.T. Wright says, "This is one of the hardest little passages in all of Paul."
For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. Romans 10:5 ESV
The "for" here is gar, which connects it with the previous paragraph. "For" shows the connection by way of explanation. Paul uses that connecting particle six times in these verses. Each one builds on the other. Paul is quoting here from Leviticus 18.
You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD. Leviticus 18:5 ESV
Now you may ask, "How does this explain Christ's being the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes?" To answer that, we need to look at Galatians 3:10-14, which also quotes Leviticus 18:5 and has a very similar sequence of thought.
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." Galatians 3:10-12 ESV
Paul cites this text as proof that the governing principle for law-keepers is works, not faith. If one chooses to live under Law, then he must operate within the governing principle of works. On the other hand, one who chooses grace must live by faith. How is it that God can give us salvation on the basis of simple faith in Yeshua the Christ? The answer is found in Galatians 3.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us-for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"- so that in Christ Yeshua the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13-14 ESV
No one could keep the Law perfectly, and so the Jews were to rely upon the sacrificial system God gave them, which was to be received by faith. How else could it be received? How in the world does the blood of an animal take away sin? Well, it doesn't. But if you place your faith in God, who uses that lamb to represent the One who will come to take away your sin, then that sacrificial system becomes your way to life, based on faith.
Leviticus 18:5 says, "A man may live if he does them." But Paul says what "doing" means when it comes to the New Covenant. It means trusting in what God has done, and it means that God in His grace brings His salvation to you.
But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); Romans 10:6-8 ESV
This passage is a quotation from Deuteronomy 30. The context of the previous chapters is talking about the giving of the Law to the people with a warning that if they don't obey the it, they will be exiled. Exile is part of the covenant. Remember that Romans 9-11 is a theodicy defending God's righteousness. And the question arises, "How is God keeping His promises to Israel when they are in exile?" We must understand that Israel's being in exile is not a going back on the promises God made to them. The exile is, in fact, one of the promises to Israel. Notice what Daniel says.
All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. Daniel 9:11 ESV
Daniel says that because of Israel's sin the curses have been poured out on them. God had promised that if Israel sinned, she would be sent into exile as a covenant punishment. But after the exile, there would be renewal or restoration.
Leviticus 18:5 says, "A man may live if he does them." And in the New Covenant God has put His word in our hearts so that we may do it. This is what Paul has hinted at earlier in the Epistle.
For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. Romans 2:13 ESV
Paul clearly says that the doers of the Law will be justified. What does he mean? We know he is not pushing a works righteousness. And I don't see it as hypothetical. So, who are the "doers" of the Law? Is it the Jews? Notice what Peter writes.
This Yeshua is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:11-12 ESV
Peter sites here from Psalm 118:22 with a slight difference. He adds "by you"—referring to the Jewish leaders. The rulers, the "builders" of Israel, have rejected Yeshua, therefore, they were NOT doers of the Law. They rejected the Christ, but God has made Him the cornerstone of the New Israel, which holds the whole building together.
So, who are the doers of the Law? Listen carefully. A doer of the Law is one who believes in Yeshua Christ. Listen to what Moses told the Israelites.
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers-it is to him you shall listen- Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV
Moses urged the Israelites to accept and believe in the promised Messiah. Faith is required by the Law, and faith is the sole means of union with Christ whose righteousness vindicates us before God. Paul goes on to say:
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. Romans 2:14 ESV
The misinterpretation of this verse has led to great misunderstanding. Many see this verse as saying that God has written on the heart of every man a basic moral code. That code is similar to the things contained in the Ten Commandments. This universal moral code consists of things like "Do not steal," "Do not cheat," "Tell the truth," "Honor your parents," "Keep your word," "Help the poor," "Do not kill," and so on. That is not what this verse is saying.
The key to understanding this verse is translation. Most of the major translations have missed it here and their mistake has led to a faulty view that all men have an innate knowledge of God. The Christian Standard Bible got this right.
So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law, do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law. Romans 2:14 CSB
N.T. Wright says, "The phrase 'by nature' goes with the possession of the Law, not with the doing of the Law." Those who do not have the Law by nature were the Gentiles. Paul is here distinguishing between Jews who are born with Torah and Gentiles who by nature or birth do not have the Law. Yet these Gentiles are doing the things of the Law.
The ESV's "by nature" is from the Greek word phusis. That Paul uses this word to refer to the possession of the Law is clear from his use of phusis in Romans 2.
Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. Romans 2:27 ESV
The word "physically" here is phusis. This is almost identical to the point that Paul makes in verse 14. Here the "physically uncircumcised" who keep the Torah refers to Gentiles. This cannot refer to people who are "naturally" or "innately" circumcised but refers to those who do not physically have the Law. We could translate verse 14 as: "To those who do not physically have the Law, do the things of the Law."
We could translate this, "When Gentiles who do not physically have the Law, do the things of the Law." Paul uses the word phusis to refer to the possession of the Law, not with the doing of the Law. That is those who do not have the Law naturally—in other words Gentiles. Paul is here distinguishing between Jews who are born with Torah, and Gentiles who by nature or birth do not have the Law. Yet these Gentiles are doing the things of the Law.
They don't have the Law, but they do the things of the Law. How is that possible? They are Gentile Christians, they have trusted Christ, and the requirement of the Law is fulfilled in them. Notice what else Paul says.
So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Romans 2:26 ESV
What do you see in this verse that is strange, almost comical? How can the uncircumcised man keep the requirements of the Law when one of the Law's requirements was that you be circumcised? The Gentile Christian, who is physically uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the Law by faith in Yeshua the Christ, which shows that he has been circumcised in his heart.
The phrase " precepts of the law" in 2:26 is the same Greek phrase as in Romans 8.
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:4 ESV
All that the Law required, including circumcision, is fulfilled in us (Christians) by the Spirit through our union with Christ. Christian faith is the real covenantal keeping of Torah. Even if those Christians have never heard of Torah.
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. Romans 3:27 ESV
What kind of Law excludes boasting? The Law of works doesn't. If you work, you have something to boast about. But the Law of Faith does exclude boasting because faith is a gift of God.
Paul taught in 8:1-11 that the Law is now fulfilled in those who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. And finally in 10:5-11 we now see that the Law, which is in the Gospel, is put on our lips and in our hearts. The Torah is the God-given badge of the people of God which enables them to worship the One and only true God, Yahweh.
But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); Romans 10:6-8 ESV
Paul is quoting here from Deuteronomy 30, which follows the chapters in which Moses lists the covenantal blessings and cursings. He lists the blessings that follow obedience in 28:1-14, then in 28:15-68 he lists the curses. Does anyone know or does anyone want to guess what the final and most emphatic curse is? It is exile!
And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. "And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, 'If only it were evening!' and at evening you shall say, 'If only it were morning!' because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see. And the LORD will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer." Deuteronomy 28:63-68 ESV
Yahweh warns that Israel will be cursed in that she will be driven out of the land and scattered among the nations of the earth. It is assumed that all these things will come to pass.
Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, and the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and cast them into another land, as they are this day.' Deuteronomy 29:27-28 ESV
While Deuteronomy 28-29 anticipated Israel's unfaithfulness and judgment resulting in her exile, the nation was also given a promise that she would be restored to her inheritance when she returned to Yahweh. Deuteronomy 30 is a prediction of the return from exile.
"And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. Deuteronomy 30:1-3 ESV
By "return and obey" is meant to believe the Gospel. If they turn to God in faith, He promises to bring them out of exile and to circumcise their hearts.
And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6 ESV
Who is doing the work here? It is God who is circumcising the hearts and causing them to love Him. What does that sound like to you? This is the promise of the New Covenant. It sounds like Jeremiah.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah 31:33 ESV
God puts His Torah in the heart in the New Covenant!
In Deuteronomy 30:11-14 we find the passage that Paul quotes in Romans 10:6-8. Paul is explaining that this life-giving "doing" will not be a matter of struggle to obey because it has all been done for us in Christ. And all who believe in Messiah, whether Jew or Gentile, are fulfilling the Law.
"For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Deuteronomy 30:11-14 ESV
Moses talks about the commandment. Each time Moses refers to the commandment being easy and near, Paul substitutes Christ.
But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) Romans 10:6 ESV
To be high and afar off was a Jewish way of saying something is unattainable. That which is impossible with men, God has already done in Christ!
"or 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). Romans 10:7 ESV
Again, Paul puts Christ where the commandment was. The "abyss" is the place of the dead, the netherworld, or the underworld—the place where no living person can go and return. Who can descend into the abyss to bring Christ up from the dead? Don't waste the effort! You cannot do it, but God did! In that statement Paul encapsulates the work of Yeshua the Christ from His Incarnation to His Ascension.
Paul saw these verses pointing to Christ. He put Christ where the commandment was because Christ is the true Israel who kept the Law perfectly:
But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); Romans 10:8 ESV
In the New Covenant God plants His word in our hearts. Paul says that it is the word of faith "which we are preaching." That's why it is "near you." It doesn't involve effort on your part; you must just believe the Gospel. Paul then explains the word of faith:
because, if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:9-10 ESV
These are two of the most famous and familiar verses in the Word of God. If you have ever taken a course on evangelism, these verses were most likely used.
"Confess" is from the Greek word homologeo, which means "to say the same thing." To confess that Yeshua is Lord is to say the same thing about Him that Yahweh does and the Gospel does and the Bible does.
"Yeshua is Lord" totally identifies Him with Yahweh, the God of the Old Covenant. First-century Jews understood this more clearly than perhaps many of us do. They did not use the title "Lord" lightly. The Jews would not even utter the name "Yahweh." They substituted "Adonai" or "Lord" for this One who created, sustained, and redeemed them. So, when a Jew made the confession, "Yeshua is Lord," he was declaring that Yeshua is God the Creator, the God of the covenants, God who has come to us personally, the God who has redeemed us by His own substitutionary death.
In the early church, the phrase "Yeshua is Lord" was one of the most common and simple expressions by which believers confessed their faith in Christ (cf. Acts. 2:36; 1 Cor. 8:6; 12:3; Phil. 2:11). It is a confession very similar to Israel's basic confession of faith in Yahweh:
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV
We could say that the confession "Yeshua is Lord" is the Shema of the Church.
In the book, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era, James Jeffers writes:
After Julius Caesar strengthened his grip on Rome so that he essentially became dictator, the rest of the Roman emperors followed his lead. In the eastern part of the empire it was common for people to deify their rulers, so as the early emperors began to claim the title of kyrios or Lord, they fell right in line. The western portion of the empire had more difficulty swallowing this but over time, the will of Caesar prevailed. Temples sprang up throughout the empire to show honor and allegiance to the emperor by worshiping him as "Lord." Being good polytheists, they still worshiped other gods, so they had no qualms about coming yearly to the emperor's temple to offer incense or make a sacrifice and utter the confession, "Caesar is Lord." Even the coinage of the time often identified Caesar as lord or as Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of the Roman religion. (James Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era, 151)
To the Christians is was not Caesar who was Lord—it was Yeshua! And many of them died because they would not say that Caesar is Lord.
"And believe in your heart"—Paul has talked a lot about "belief" or "faith" in this Epistle. Belief is understanding and ascent to a proposition. Heart is the thinking process. To believe is to think that something is true. Here the truth believed is that "God raised Him from the dead"—the resurrection from the dead proved that Christ was and did all He said He was and said He would do.
What did the resurrection mean to the Romans? In the Roman world, Caesar had the power of death. Threats to Roman rule were mercilessly crushed. Everyone in the Roman world knew that the cross had a clear symbolic meaning. But Caesar ruled the world with cruel death as his ultimate and regular weapon. The problem, from the standpoint of Roman rule, is that Yeshua didn't stay dead. The resurrection demonstrates that the true God has a power utterly superior to that of Caesar. Rome crucified Yeshua. But God raised Him from the dead and made Him LORD!
In essence, what you're believing is that Yeshua is the incarnate God who came into the world as God in human flesh, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, went into the grave, conquered death, and came out the other side having purchased salvation for us.
Do we have to publicly confess Christ to be saved? Some will say, "Yes" because the text says, "If you confess with your mouth." They say that that means you do it publicly. Does this mean that you can believe in Christ but you are not saved until you publicly confess Him? How many people do you have to confess him to? One? One Hundred? Unfortunately, there are many who have come to think that the way to be saved is to believe in your heart, and then in the presence of a group of people make a public profession of faith by raising our hands in the meeting, coming down front, and acknowledging in front of people that we have believed in the Lord Yeshua the Christ. This is not what Paul is talking about. He didn't know anything about a church meeting in which "Just as I Am" was sung at the end of the meeting and people were invited to come forward to confess publicly their faith in Christ.
The reason for the emphasis upon belief and confession is related to the quotation from Deuteronomy 30:14 where both the mouth and the heart are mentioned. To the Jews the mouth had to do with meditation. The Hebrew word for "meditate" is hagah. Hagah means "emit a sound, murmur, mutter, speak in an undertone." For the Hebrews, meditation was not silent. Several texts clearly support this contention that meditation was normally verbal, that is, expressed in spoken words.
My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. Psalm 49:3 ESV
The Hebrew parallelism indicates that what is spoken with the mouth is the same as "meditation."
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 ESV
Here "words of my mouth" parallels "meditation of my heart." This idea is further seen in the words of Joshua:
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8 ESV
In this context, "meditate" is defined by the command "The Law shall not depart from your mouth." This negative way of speaking implies a strong positive.
These passages give insight into what meditation involves. Meditation is the outward verbalizing of one's thoughts before God, of the pouring over His teaching and works. It means to articulate thoughts of worship, wonder, and praise.
Can you be saved if you do not confess Christ? This is a big debate between the Lordship camp and the Free Grace camp. If you say that "confess" means to agree with what God says about Christ, then I would say you must confess Christ to be saved. But if you say that confess means to publicly acknowledge Christ, then I would say, "Yes, you can be saved and not confess Christ." Let me attempt to back this up.
Now Yeshua did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 ESV
This tells us that the reason for the writing of the Gospel of John is so that people will believe that Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing they will have eternal life. John has a lot to say about belief. But let's go to chapter 12.
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." When Yeshua had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, John 12:36-37 ESV
Yeshua is calling men to faith, but the Scripture says, "They were not believing in Him."
so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them." John 12:38-40 ESV
They didn't believe because they could not believe because God had hardened their hearts. Now consider the next verses.
Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. John 12:42-43 ESV
Despite those who did not believe, many of the rulers believed in Him. John only uses this of those who trusted in Christ. To believe is to be saved. So, these rulers were saved, but they were not confessing Him. This is the same Greek word as in our text in Romans. They were not publicly confessing Him for the same reason many of us don't, they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24 ESV
These rulers heard and believed; thus, they had eternal life, but they did not confess Him. The Gospel of John and the rest of the New Testament teach that a person is given eternal life on the basis of faith alone. It's not about confessing, commitment, sacrificing; it is about faith and faith alone.
What if I'm wrong? What if the Free Grace view that I am espousing is not correct? Let's think about this. If I'm wrong, what damage could this view possibly cause? If the Free Grace view is wrong, it could cause people to think that they are saved when they're really not. It could be giving false hope to unbelievers. So what? Do you believe in election? Will the elect of God ever be lost? No! Will the reprobate ever be saved? No! So, in my opinion, the worst that the Free Grace view will do is give false hope to the reprobate.
If the Lordship teaching is wrong, what harm can it do? It can cause a believer to think that he is not redeemed because of sin in his life. This view can bring the elect under guilt and condemnation. It can cause a believer to give up on Christianity by making him doubt that he really is saved. Notice what Yeshua said about those who harm His flock.
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6 ESV
The Lordship view can hurt the Church of God by causing Christians to live in guilt and doubt. But the worse that the Free Grace view does is give the reprobate false hope. As I see it, only the Lordship view is harmful to the Church. We all must admit that neither of these views can change the destiny of the elect. Selah!
For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." Romans 10:11 ESV
Notice that it doesn't say, "Whoever believes in him and confesses Him will not be disappointed."
Paul quotes here from Isaiah 28:16. He's already used this verse in chapter 9:33. It's a Messianic declaration of the coming of Christ through the use of metaphorical language. He is called "a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone firmly placed." Then Isaiah declares, "He who believes in Him will not be disturbed." In 9:33, Paul joins this passage with Isaiah 8:14 that speaks of the Messiah as "a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over." While some will stumble over Yeshua Christ through unbelief, others will believe in Him. None who believe in Him will be disappointed!
"Disappointed" conveys something happening outside of us that lets us down. So, the question might be posed, "Will God let us down?" "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." He will not let us down! Here is a statement of assurance that, as believers in Christ, we will stand before God without disappointment.