The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Romans 10:6-11,
"The righteousness that is by faith says: 'Do not say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?"' (that is, to bring Christ down) 'or "Who will descend into the deep?"' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? 'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'"
It doesn't get any clearer than this. Salvation is given all who embrace Jesus Christ in faith. In case we're confused, let me quote Paul again, "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." That's it. I don't need to embellish what Paul says. I don't need to add to it, I don't need to compound it. I don't need to add my lofty theological considerations to it. I don't need to redefine it, I don't need to clarify it.
Maybe I should quote Paul again, just in case I'm confused about it, "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
I realize that isn't going to sit well with a lot of denominations, religions, isms and schisms. I know I am offending the theological sensibilities of many here. I note here that Paul failed to mention I have to go see some priest somewhere to receive God's grace through some sacrament. I note here Paul forgot to mention I have to go to some TV evangelist's tent meeting to go get the gift of the Spirit. Paul forgot to mention I have to join someones membership roster or make a regular deposit as the offering is past down the pew. Paul forgot about all the rules and regulations of our church covenant and he didn't even mention the diet buried deeply within the Scriptures that will draw me close to God. How about that "faith promise pledge" I'm supposed to send in?
How astonishing to me to hear some say they have no idea why one person is saved and another isn't. Slipping away from the clarity the Scriptures provide, they shrug their shoulders and say it is a mystery locked up in the sovereign will of God, his eternal purpose in salvation. What nonsense! Paul certainly would agree as well. In this passage he quotes Moses in Deuteronomy 30:11-15 where Moses tells the Israelites the offer of life is not beyond their reach. Anyone can grasp it. You don't have to go to heaven to find it, you don't have to go anywhere as God has made the way abundantly clear, abundantly available. In that passage Moses says,
"Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, 'Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction."
Paul quotes Moses here to make his point that salvation is simple and it is by faith. A simple message God has made known to all. Apparently the harder we look for the answer to life, the further we must be getting from it. Leave it up to us to require convoluted theologies with their attending acronyms and all the cryptic lingo. I wonder if Paul foresaw the theological elites of our day, the ones who appear to hold the secrets of life as they look down on the rest of us from their lofty insights.
Now, let's see... what did Paul say again? How did he put that? "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." The perspicuity of God!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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