Getting right with God by the law depends on doing the right things. Why does Paul quote the Old Testament by saying that faith does not say "who will ascend into heaven" or "descend into the deep"? Righteousness by law depends upon us being something we are not. By nature we do not do the right things. The Law tells us what to do, but does nothing about our sinful heart and mind.
Faith does say "the word is near you, it is in your mouth and in your heart". The gospel, righteousness by faith, does change us. This is the new and better covenant (Jeremiah 33). Jesus came so we could be born again, become a new creation. We become different, so it becomes natural for us to do the right thing. The gospel does do something about changing us.
We believe in our heart. We trust God, and so we are counted as right before God. We confess with our mouth, ie we publicly identify with Christ. When we identify with Christ, he identifies with us (Matthew 10:32,33).
A key point of all that Paul is saying in Romans is that in terms of salvation there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Jesus is the Lord, and He will bless all who believe in Him.
For most of us the distinction between Jews and Gentiles is not a "live issue", but the universality of the gospel (not universalism, in case anyone is worried!) is vital. First, it means that you and I are saved by faith, we need have no doubt. Secondly, anyone else, no matter who they are or what they have done, can also be saved by faith. We can sometimes despair when we look at ourselves, or at others. Instead we should look both at ourselves and at others with faith, considering the difference that Christ can made.
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