1 Brothers and sisters, what I want most is for all the people of Israel to be saved. That is my prayer to God. 2 I can say this about them: They really try hard to follow God, but they don’t know the right way. 3 They did not know the way that God makes people right with him. And they tried to make themselves right in their own way. So they did not accept God’s way of making people right. 4 Christ ended the law so that everyone who believes in him is made right with God.

5 Moses writes about being made right by following the law. He says, “The person who obeys these laws is the one who will have life through them.”✡ Quote from Leviticus 18:5. 6 But this is what the Scriptures say about being made right through faith: “Don’t say to yourself, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ ” (This means “Who will go up to heaven to get Christ and bring him down to earth?”) 7 “And don’t say, ‘Who will go down into the world below?’ ” (This means “Who will go down to get Christ and bring him up from death?”)

8 This is what the Scripture says: “God’s teaching is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.”✡ Quotes from Deuteronomy 30:12-14. It is the teaching of faith that we tell people. 9 If you openly say, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved. 10 Yes, we believe in Jesus deep in our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we openly say that we believe in him, and so we are saved.

11 Yes, the Scriptures say, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.”✡ Quote from Isaiah 28:16. 12 It says this because there is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not. The same Lord is the Lord of all people. And he richly blesses everyone who looks to him for help. 13 Yes, “everyone who trusts in the Lord* who trusts in the Lord Literally, “who calls on the name of the Lord,” meaning to show faith in him by worshiping him or praying to him for help. will be saved.”✡ Quote from Joel 2:32.

14 But before people can pray to the Lord for help, they must believe in him. And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about him. And for anyone to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them. 15 And before anyone can go and tell them, they must be sent. As the Scriptures say, “How wonderful it is to see someone coming to tell good news!”✡ Quote from Isaiah 52:7.

16 But not all the people accepted that good news. Isaiah said, “Lord, who believed what we told them?”✡ Quote from Isaiah 53:1. 17 So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.

18 But I ask, “Did those people not hear the Good News?” Yes, they heard—as the Scriptures say,