5 Mosheh (Moses) wrote this about the Law’s righteousness: ‘The person who practices it will live because of it.’[ref] 6 But the righteousness based on faith says: ‘Don’t speculate in your mind about who’ll go up to heaven in order to bring Messiah down, 7 and don’t ask about who’ll go down to the pit in order to bring Messiah up.’ 8 So what does the righteousness based on faith say? It says: ‘The message is close to you—it’s in your mouth and heart.’[ref] That’s the message of faith that we’ve been preaching: 9 That if you speak out and acknowledge that Yeshua (Jesus; Grk. Yesus) is Yahweh, and you believe in your heart that God brought him back to life from the dead, you will be rescued, 10 because it’s the belief in your mind that leads to righteousness, and it’s the acknowledgement from your mouth that leads to rescue. 11 As the scriptures say: ‘Anyone who believes in him won’t end up disgraced.’[ref] 12 There’s no distinction between Yehudi (Jew) and non-Jew, because we all have the same master who gives generously to everyone who makes an appeal to him, 13 because everyone who appeals to Yahweh’s authority will be rescued.[ref]

14 But how could they appeal to a god that they don’t even believe in? And how could they believe if they haven’t even heard about him? And how would they hear if no one told them? 15 And who would be there telling them if no one was sent out? Compare what was written: ‘It’s so wonderful that these people came and announced the good message.’[ref] 16 But not everyone accepted the good message, just like the prophet Yeshayah (Isaiah) wrote: ‘Yahweh, who believed our report?’[ref] 17 And so faith comes by hearing—listening to Messiah’s message.

18 But then I’d ask: Haven’t they heard it? Indeed they have. It’s written:

‘Their voice went out into all the earth,

and their messages went across all the world.’[ref]

19 But again I’d ask: Didn’t the Israelis know? Well, firstly Mosheh (Moses) wrote:

‘I’ll be making you all jealous

using people who are not even a nation.

Then using a foolish nation,

I’ll be making you all angry.’[ref]

20 And Yeshayah (Isaiah) dared to write:

‘The ones who weren’t looking for me found me.

I showed myself to the ones not asking about me.’[ref]

21 But to Yisrael (Israel) he wrote: ‘All day I stretched out my hands to a people who won’t believe and who speak against me.’[ref]