Verses 5-10 

Rom. 10:5 "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 6 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:) 7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 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; 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. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." 

"For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them."  The text to which Paul points is Lev 18:5, "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD."  There is a difference between right living and a right standing before God.  There is also a difference between getting life and living.  One must first have life before he can live.  We do not live in order to get life.   

To have a right standing before God, we must be perfect.  We cannot point to the law and say that we got perfect by keeping the law.  The fact is that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  As Gal. 3:10 teaches, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."  Thus, by the works of the law all men are cursed before God.  Further, Paul teaches in Gal. 3:11, 12, "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them."  Righteous living under the law cannot lead us to a righteous standing before God.  While it is good to live right, yet this living right will not justify us before God.  Thus, no man is justified by the law in the sight of God. 

The righteousness, which is of the law, then was to do right by keeping the law, but this never made us righteous with God. 

"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.)"  Paul begins his discussion of the righteousness of faith by telling us what faith does not do.  This is very pertinent to today's false belief systems.  Often we hear false teachers say, "We through our preaching bring Christ down to present him to a dying world in order that they may have a chance to be saved."  The truth, however, is that Christ came down from heaven according to the covenant of God and to perform the work of God.  His coming into the world and his resurrection from the dead was all by the work and power of God alone.  The works of men do not aid what he accomplished in his life and in his death, burial and resurrection.    

Some say that Christ died for all men, but it is not effective unless the gospel is preached to them and they are given a chance to repent and believe and accept the Lord as their personal savior.  In this way of thinking, Christ is brought down before men by the preachers and the sinners accept Christ in order to make his death and resurrection effective.  Paul says that the righteousness of faith speaks not on this wise.  The righteousness of faith does not bring Christ down from above or raise Christ from the dead.  Thus faith is not a tool for getting right with God.    

"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."  Here, Paul sets forth the idea that the same word of faith, which we preach is already in the believers mouth and heart.  Thus there is a two-fold testimony.  How did that word of faith get in our mouth and heart?  The answer is found in the following verses of scripture: 

1.  2 Cor. 3:3 "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart." 

2.  Rom. 2:14 "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)                  

3.  Heb. 8:10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."                  

4.  Heb. 10:16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." 

In the New Birth, God writes his laws in the minds and the hearts of the elect.  When the gospel is preached in power and demonstration of Spirit, it is testifying to the same thing that is already in the minds and hearts of the elect.  To those not born of the Spirit, it could not be said, "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach."  The preached gospel does not resonate in the mind and heart of the non-elect.  Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 1:18, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."  The gospel cannot be a means of getting someone born of the Spirit.  The gospel only resonates in the heart of someone who is already born of the Spirit. 

"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."  Once more we ask ourselves, "Saved from what?"  The answer is the same as Paul had prayed for in verse 1.  That is to be saved from ignorantly trying to establish our own righteousness through the keeping of a set of rules.  When we believe in our heart that Jesus died for our sins and the third day was raised from the dead and when we confess him as our Lord and Savior, we are saved from going about to try to establish our own righteousness  and to submitting ourselves to the fact that Christ is the end (completion) of the law for our righteous standing before God.   

You cannot truly confess to something unless it is already a fact.  Thus, to confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior does not make him Lord and Savior.  He is already our Lord and Savior and we are simply confessing to a fact.   

"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  It is in the heart and mind of the elect that God has written his laws.  In the heart and mind quickened by the Spirit of God we believe that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.  In addition, we confess with our mouths that salvation from sin is through the finished covenant work of Jesus Christ.  Now all of this is to God's name's praise, honor, and glory.