Passage

Romans 10

• Doctrine

  Evangelism

  Frame in terms of gentle proclamation and witness given Japan's low general receptivity and biblical illiteracy; avoid confrontational framing.

  ROM.10.14-15

• Doctrine

  Faith

  Personal trust in Christ specifically, not the generic 'both-and' religious sentiment typical of Japan's syncretistic shrine-and-temple practice.

  ROM.10.9-10, ROM.10.17

• Glossary Term

  Faith

  Personal trust in Christ specifically; must be distinguished from generic 宗教心 (religious sentiment) common in Japan's famously syncretistic 'do both' religious practice (visiting a Shinto shrine at New Year and a Buddhist temple at Obon without exclusive commitment to either).

  ROM.10.9-10, ROM.10.17

• Doctrine

  Fulfillment of Prophecy

  Linear, one-time historical fulfillment (OT to NT), not a fortune-telling prediction (占い) coming true by chance.

  ROM.10.11

• Glossary Term

  Gentiles

  Avoid casual 外人 (gaijin, 'outsider/foreigner'), which risks reinforcing Japan's strong insider/outsider (内・外, uchi-soto) social framework as the operative category, when Romans' Jew/Gentile distinction is a specific redemptive-historical category, not a generic ethnic-insider one.

  ROM.10.12

• Doctrine

  Gospel

  The term itself is unambiguous, but most secular Japanese readers have no prior exposure to it at all; the risk is blankness/biblical illiteracy rather than a competing wrong meaning.

  ROM.10.15-16

• Glossary Term

  Gospel

  Established Shinkaiyaku term.

  ROM.10.15-16

• Glossary Term

  Intercession

  Prayer on behalf of others addressed to God.

  ROM.10.1

• Glossary Term

  Israel

  Proper name; established form.

  ROM.10.12

• Glossary Term

  Jesus

  イエス is the modern Protestant/ecumenical standard, phonetically close to Greek/English.

  ROM.10.9, ROM.10.12

• Glossary Term

  Justification

  CRITICAL: established Shinkaiyaku compound, 'being recognized/counted as righteous' — a forensic declaration, not a process.

  ROM.10.1, ROM.10.10

• Glossary Term

  Law

  The Mosaic Law.

  ROM.10.11

• Glossary Term

  Lord

  Established term.

  ROM.10.9, ROM.10.12

• Doctrine

  Lordship of Christ

  CRITICAL: Romans 10:9 — イエスは主です is the salvation confession.

  ROM.10.9, ROM.10.12

• Doctrine

  Prayer and Intercession

  Direct access to God in Christ's name; distinguish from Shinto/Buddhist ritual petition at a shrine or temple (お参り, おみくじ).

  ROM.10.1

• Glossary Term

  Prophecy

  Same 預言/予言 homophone risk as 'prophet' above.

  ROM.10.11

• Glossary Term

  Righteousness

  CRITICAL: 義 is one of the core Bushido virtues (rectitude/moral courage) as codified in Nitobe Inazo's influential Bushido: The Soul of Japan — a samurai-ethics honor-code virtue displayed through right action.

  ROM.10.1, ROM.10.10

• Doctrine

  Salvation

  CRITICAL: NEVER 解脱 (liberation from samsara).

  ROM.10.1, ROM.10.10

• Glossary Term

  Salvation

  CRITICAL: NEVER use 解脱 (gedatsu, Buddhist liberation from the cycle of samsara).

  ROM.10.1, ROM.10.10

• Doctrine

  Unity of Jews and Gentiles

  Directly challenges any lingering uchi-soto insider/outsider framing; must translate with theological clarity rather than softened diplomatic language.

  ROM.10.12

• Doctrine

  Universal Scope of the Gospel

  No insider/outsider (内・外, uchi-soto) barrier to the gospel; must resist framing that echoes Japan's strong insider/outsider social distinction.

  ROM.10.12-13