To answer your good question, let’s read Romans 10:5-8, “For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.” 

In this portion, Paul quotes from the writings of Moses several times.  In Leviticus 18:5 we read, “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.”  Indeed, if a person could continually keep every tenet of the Law and NEVER fall short of its demands, that person would have no need of salvation.  He would be perfect.  Of course, the Law was given to imperfect people and was never meant to give salvation.  Rather, it was given to show man his helplessness in pleasing the Lord unto salvation, and to show our need of a savior.  In fact, we read in Romans 8:3, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” 

Paul then goes on to quote Deuteronomy 30:11-13, “For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?”  Of course, these words of Moses are not referring to grace, but to the Law.  Moses had encouraged his people (the Jews) to “turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:10).  He was reassuring those who desired to follow the Lord’s Law that the Law was not far off, neither was it difficult to find. 

However, Paul uses this OT portion to bring out the grace of God, to speak of salvation through grace.  Notice how he interjects the name of Christ twice in using this portion from Deuteronomy.  Paul is teaching us here that salvation does not come from works, it comes ONLY from faith in the Lord Jesus.  A person does not have to ascend into Heaven to bring Christ down (an impossibility).  Neither does a person have to descend into the deeps to bring Christ up from the dead (another impossibility for the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day). 

Since the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not instruct men to do the impossible to gain salvation, what does it tell us?  Paul continues in the words of Moses by quoting and adapting Deuteronomy 30:14, “But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.”  Specifically, he says in Romans 10:8, “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.”  Paul speaks of the “word of faith”.  It is very near to us.  It is easily spoken of and not hard to be understood.  It is in contrast to the keeping of the Law.  So, what is this “word of faith” that brings salvation?  What is the word that Paul preached?

It is found in Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”  If anyone acknowledges and appropriates Jesus as truly Lord and believes (from the heart) that He rose from the dead after dying for our sins…that person is saved!  I trust that my readers have truly believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior.  We don’t work for our salvation for Christ has done all the work for us when he “offered himself without spot to God.” (Hebrews 9:14).  (375.6)