Who Will Ascend into Heaven? And a Discussion of Faith vs. Works Theology
Abraham demonstrates his true faith by obeying God in Genesis 22.
“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). Romans 10:6-7.
What does this mean??!!
In Romans 10:6-7, while discussing Israel's unbelief, Paul expresses a confusing idea that I have long wondered about. What is all this about ascending to heaven to bring Christ down? To me, at first glance it sounded like Paul was caught up in an insane rant. But a closer reading reveals that it actually hits at the very heart of Paul's message throughout the entire book of Romans.
As we have seen before, in order to understand an ancient Jewish person's perspective on a particular issue, it is important to look at the Bible they were using: the Old Testament. In this case, Paul quotes from Deut 30:11-14. In that chapter, Moses is addressing the congregation of Israel and reminding them that God wants them to obey from their hearts out of true faith:
“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 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?’ 13 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?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish.
Here we see Moses telling the people that obeying God's command is not difficult, obscure, or far away. Instead, he says the word is so near to each of them that it is in their very heart and mouth. And the true danger to them is not found in lack of outward action, but if they were to allow their hearts to turn away (vs 17). Even Moses never asked the people to observe outward ritual without any deep relationship with their God. Obedience is simply the true expression of a deep love for the Lord. So what is the truly important thing? To Love the Lord your God. Then the actions that flow from that heart of faith will not be too hard for you. ...and Paul agrees.
Interestingly, Paul reveals that the "Command" or "The Word" of God that Moses spoke of is actually Jesus himself! By the Holy Spirit, Jesus is actually in our heart through belief, and in our mouth, through confession of our faith in him. "For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:10). Jesus is the embodied Word of God, and has never been far off. That is why he is the fulfillment of the Law (Matthew 5:17). So, Paul says we don't have to go searching for Jesus in heaven to bring him down and explain these things to us. We don't have to go to the abyss of the sea and bring Christ up (as though he were hiding from us!). It is not hard, far away, or obscure, because pleasing God has always proceeded from true faith, a deep personal relationship with our Lord, not through outward cold religious adherence to a written moral code. As Jesus said in John 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." And John 15:10 confirms, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love." We cannot keep his commandments if we do not stay connected to him, and if we are connected to him we will, by nature, keep his commandments.
By this, we see that Paul and Jesus are in perfect unity. They both teach us that through a deep personal love-connection with the Word of God (Jesus) we can finally obey the commandments of God from our hearts, out of true faith rather than trying to perform outward "works" of cold adherence to endless rules. Paul then acknowledges this is really the whole point of his Epistle to the Romans (and indeed Paul's Gospel wherever he preached it) "that is, the word of faith we proclaim." The "Word of Faith" that Paul refers to is the idea that we are, and have always been saved by true faith in Jesus. Even those who followed the Old Testament law were only saved if they followed it with their hearts, and even that was only effective because the law was looking forward to the final sacrifice of Jesus on the cross! This is because sacrificing animals was never able to take away sins. See Hebrews 10:4-5, "4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;'"
Many in the modern evangelical movement including those of the Free Grace persuasion simply get this wrong. It stems from a confusion about the meaning of "works." Works, as defined by Paul, are merely outward acts of the old written code. Paul contrasts this with the true obedience springing from the deep connection of love and faith I described above. Paul draws this distinction again in the passage we are discussing: Romans 10:5-8 "5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 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);"
Let us illustrate this point:
If I were Jesus and I said to you (as you stand in front of me), "hey, you need to step three feet to your right, or else a piano will fall on your head and crush you." And, if you are a close personal friend of mine who both loves and trusts me implicitly, your natural response would be to step three feet to your right and avoid being crushed! If you did not step to the right, we could make some logical assumptions: Either you believe me and want to be crushed by the piano, or you do not believe me at all. If you want to be crushed, you would be in the category of the demons who believe in God and shudder. (see James 2:19). If you do not believe me, then you must not love or trust me enough to actually believe a piano is about to fall on you. When it falls, you would be crushed by your unbelief because you did not actually love or trust me. Now this stepping three feet to the right is not a pointless "work" as Paul describes it. Rather, this would be an expression of true faith. You would be demonstrating that you actually love and trust me. However, it would be quite different if, after this act of faith, your descendants established the "Church of the Holy Side-Steppers" and performed empty rituals where the congregation would step three feet to their right every Sunday without any belief that the one who told them to do this even exists or that pianos exist, much less that a piano is going to fall on their heads if they don't do this "work." Do you see the difference? This is really the whole point. We don't obey God to somehow "earn salvation" but if we have true faith, we will walk with Jesus, allowing him to move in us while keeping our hearts connected to him. And, in so doing, that deep and abiding relationship will undoubtedly spring forth in an abundance of faith-motivated actions which confirm the validity of the faith we profess. These are not empty outward “works” like circumcision (or animal sacrifices from people who could care less about their God). Rather, these faith-motivated actions are a pleasing aroma to God, as we live, walk, and abide in Jesus as "living sacrifices" to him! (Romans 12:1).
I ask you, in the example above, was it belief or action that would save a person from being crushed by the piano? Think about that. You can see that belief is not able to be separated from action because as soon as you break them apart, it is no longer actually belief. This was the main point of the James in 2:21 "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?" Without Abraham's action, his profession of belief would be invalid. But, on the other hand, the fake "Church of the Holy Side-Steppers" is equally invalid. They have outward action without any belief whatsoever. This is the main point of Paul's teaching on salvation by faith in Romans 4:2 "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God." and Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Paul is saying Abraham was not saved by the outward act of being circumcised, but rather the fact that he believed God. And how did he express that true belief? By lifting the knife to slay Isaac! Lifting the knife was an act of faith. Circumcision was an outward "work" given to him as a sign that he was marked as the father of faith. So, you see Paul and James are speaking about two different things when they use the word "works." Yet, they are in perfect agreement. God wants true believers who show they believe by obeying him. In Abraham's case, in a sense God was convinced of this true faith when Abraham acted. We know this because God said, "now I know" (See Genesis 22:12). So James and Paul agree perfectly on this point, both agree that we are saved by true faith, not by outward ritual works.
In conclusion, let us remember that with the Holy Spirit, his commands are not too hard for us. We do not need to ascend to heaven and ask Jesus to come down and explain this to us. We just need to walk with Jesus and let him transform our hearts and minds. He is near to us, as close as the breath in our mouths. Let us not draw a false dichotomy between Paul and James by misunderstanding "works" and thinking that Paul says you are saved by "faith alone" while James says you are saved by faith expressed in works. Both agree that Abraham was justified by faith. Moreover, both agree that true faith is never separate from heart-connected trusting relational obedience to our Lord.