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Reading Romans 10:8-13 where the Apostle Paul talks about how the transformed heart will confess Christ as Lord, evidence that God has saved you. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!
Romans 10 9 says if you confess with your mouth, then you'll be saved. So all you have to do is come down the aisle and pray a prayer and you're a Christian, right? No, that's not what makes you a Christian when we understand the text.
This is when we understand the text studying God's Word to reach all the riches of full assurance in Christ. Thank you for subscribing. And if this is ministered to you, please let others know about our program here.
Once again is pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you Becky yesterday. We started chapter 10 in our study of the book of Romans. We come back to that chapter again today and I'll begin reading in verse 5 through verse 13.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on 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 abyss. That is to bring Christ up from the dead. But what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart.
That is the word of faith that we proclaim. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. You will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
For the scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all. Bestowing his riches on all who call on him for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Will be saved.
Perhaps you are familiar with an evangelism method known as the Romans Road. It's kind of taking a person through Romans to share the gospel with them. This method generally begins with Romans 3 23 for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
You may follow that up with Romans 5 8, but God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. You go from there to Romans 6 23. For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, then you come to Romans 10 and you have verses 9 and 10 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. And then this Romans Road evangelism probably ends with verse 13 for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Now I'm perfectly fine with that as an evangelism method to share the gospel with somebody else. But I still think you need to have the law in there. You have to show a person exactly how they have sinned.
It takes more than saying all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. You have to explain what sin is and how that person has sinned in. In these occasions that I've had walking up to a person on the street or doing evangelism in this way I rarely ever have anybody disagree with me.
Regarding sin in that they will they will readily admit that they have sinned. It usually goes something like this. Oh, yeah, but we've all made mistakes, right? Everybody said I've sinned you've sinned see they play off that.
This is a big deal by grading on a curve like grading according to each other. We've all sinned. Therefore I think that that we can we can excuse one another in this. Otherwise, none of us are gonna survive.
Of course, the fact of the matter is if not for Christ, right? None of us would survive. We would all perish under the judgment of God if Jesus had not died on the cross for our sins and now it's by faith In him that we are forgiven our sins and have eternal life.
But you still have to show someone how they've sinned exactly. How have they? Rebelled against God and are therefore deserving of God's wrath and judgment. So this is where that law and gospel method or the way of the master method is so helpful.
To show a person that they have lied. They have stolen. They have committed adultery lusted in their heart. They've hated a brother or sister and therefore murdered in their heart. They've blasphemed God by taking his name in vain.
You go through the law and show to a person how they have broken God's law and are therefore worthy of judgment and in this you are able to say all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory and the Wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So the Romans road is a perfectly good evangelism method so long as a person is sure to get in there an understanding helping a person understand and see how they have sinned how they have broken God's law and Really Paul went through some of that at the beginning of Romans in Romans chapter 1 and chapter 2.
He showed the Gentiles how they had sinned and showed the Jews how even they were guilty as the same things that the Gentiles had Done so if you fit that in with your Romans road evangelism, then I think you'll do pretty good.
But today as we look at this particular section here in Romans 10, and I've quoted these verses to you already. We have two very common verses when it comes to evangelism and two verses that are Very often taken out of context as well and surely, you know, I'm referring to Romans 10 verses 9 and 10.
Yesterday we finished off with verse 8. This is where we would be picking up today. But what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith that we proclaim.
That's important to keep in mind as we go into verses 9 and 10 exactly what Paul says there in verse 8. Remember how we finished up yesterday verses 6 and 7 the righteousness based on faith says. We don't have a righteousness based on keeping the law.
We couldn't do that. We failed at that but righteousness based on faith in Jesus Christ. Here's what that says. Do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven that is to bring Christ down. Paul quoting from the Old Testament there or Who will descend into the abyss that is to bring Christ up from the dead and as I said to you yesterday in reading these? passages we are incapable of these superhuman Supernatural feats in order to gain righteousness.
We couldn't keep the law. That seems ordinary enough and we couldn't do that. Nor can we do anything superhuman to make ourselves righteous. Christ is the one who came down for us. So we don't go into heaven and bring Christ down.
Christ died for us. We don't go into the grave and raise him back up again. Jesus laid his life down of his own accord in Submission to the will of the father and the father showed that he received the son's sacrifice By raising him up from the dead.
This is all the work of God. It is never our work that brings us to justification and our sanctification so then in light of that the these Statements that Paul is made here in verses 6 and 7 and you have the parenthetical references.
To explain it. He's being exegetical. He's exegetically explaining these Old Testament passages. He's quoting and then he quotes another one again here in verse 8. But what does it say the word is near you in your mouth and in your heart and explaining this passage?
He says that is the word of faith that we proclaim. Paul here is quoting from Deuteronomy 30 verse 14. I'm gonna go to Deuteronomy chapter 30. I'm gonna start reading here in verse 11 for this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you.
Neither is it far off? It is not in heaven that you should say who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us that we may hear It and do it that sounds familiar, right? Paul was quoting that one earlier verse 13.
Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us that we? May hear it and do it. But the word is very near you it is in your mouth and in your heart.
So that you can do it. That was verse 14. That was the verse that Paul quoted there in Romans 10 8. Let me go on here in Deuteronomy 30 verse 15. See I have set before you today life and good death and evil if You obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today by loving the Lord your God.
By walking in his ways and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules. Then you shall live and multiply and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
But if your heart turns away and you will not hear but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them. I Declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.
I Call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death Blessing and curse therefore choose life that you and your offspring may live Loving the Lord your God Obeying his voice and holding fast to him for he is your life and length of days.
That you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob. To give to them. So here is the choice that God lays before Israel to do good According to the statutes that he has given to them or to do evil to reject these statutes and to go their own way and to worship false gods and Notice that that the Lord says to them.
This is not too difficult a thing that I am laying before you because this word that I declare to you today is In your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it. Deuteronomy 30 14 that is said to us even now the Word of God that we are reading right before us here.
It is near to us. It's in our heart so that we can do it. This word has been written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. God says through Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter 36 I will give you a new heart and will cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
This righteousness that we have is in our hearts. The Lord has put it there when he poured his Holy Spirit into us and so going back to verse 5 Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law that the person who does the commandment shall live by them.
But the righteousness based on faith says the word is near you. I'm now skipping to verse 8 because that's part of the context here the Righteousness based on faith says the word is near you in your mouth and in your heart that is the word of faith that we proclaim verse 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
You will be saved going back again to Deuteronomy 30 14. The word is very near you it is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it. You proclaim it because it's in your heart. It's in your heart because it has been confessed to you and by the Spirit of God that he poured into your heart.
Regenerating your heart that you may hear the gospel and believe you have heard what has been proclaimed and you Follow it if you confess with your mouth. You are speaking with your mouth that which is in your heart as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 12.
Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. So what you confess with your mouth is what comes from your heart and if in your heart you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead if in your heart you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.
You will be saved. So one may ask how is this righteousness by faith achieved? Like like faith. What do I got to do here? Well your hearts been changed. You've been Reoriented going from a person who speaks like the world and thinks like the world.
To a person who thinks with the mind of God and speaks the words of God. The Word of God is in your heart. It's gonna come out of your mouth. You believe in the Word of God that Jesus Christ is Lord. You're gonna proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
You will proclaim that God has raised him from the dead. In Luke 9 26 Jesus said whoever is ashamed of me and of my words of Him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the Holy Angels.
Later on in chapter 12 verse 8 Jesus says. Everyone who acknowledges me before men the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God. But the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God if you believe in Christ.
Then you will profess Christ and the Christ that you profess that you proclaim will be the Jesus of the Bible. It won't be according to your words. It will be according to God's Word. Whoever believes these things Confesses these things demonstrates that he has been saved by God.
The order here is not Believe it and then you will be saved. Confess it and then you will be saved. God has saved you and therefore you believe. You believe and therefore you confess these are fruits of the salvation or it is a it is a Demonstration of the salvation that we have been given in Christ alone by faith in Christ alone.
We go on to verse 10 for with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and Is saved. Now notice they're justified and saved. That's the same thing if if one believes and is justified then why does one therefore need to confess and be saved?
Well, remember that a lot of times saved salvation. These words can also be synonymous with sanctification or growing in holiness. So you are justified you're declared innocent before God by faith in Jesus Christ.
With the heart one believes and is justified. But then further action is demonstrated showing this justification has taken place and that is the confession that comes from the mouth and so with these Confessions as we continue to proclaim as we share and speak of the things of God.
We are being grown in sanctification. We are becoming more Christlike for he is the one who testified to the kingdom of God and to the Father. So we do also with what we say the Jesus Christ whom we serve.
Who died for us who rose again from the grave we confess him in the words that we say. We go on into verse 11 for the scripture says. Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. This is Paul continuing to reference the Old Testament and in fact a passage that he had just referenced earlier from Isaiah.
This was back in Romans 9 33 as it is written behold I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. He uses that same reference again here in chapter 10 verse 10 or verse 11 for the scripture says.
Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. Whoever does not believe is put to shame again, Jesus says whoever does not. Whoever is ashamed of me and my words I will be ashamed of him before my father when I come in the judgment of the Father and of the Holy Angels.
So whoever is ashamed of the Word of Christ Christ will be ashamed of him. But whoever believes in him has no reason to be ashamed. Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. We are received by the Father exactly what was said earlier when Paul said with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and Is saved.
We are received by God Because of faith in Jesus Christ verse 12 for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all. This is going back to The statement that Paul made in Romans 9 where he said he is called not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles.
Remember chapter 9 starting in verse 22. What if God desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction in Order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory.
Even us whom he has called not from the Jews only. But also from the Gentiles and we remember the thesis statement of the book of Romans back in chapter 1 verse 16. I am NOT ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek we read in Romans 3 22 there is no distinction verse 23 for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are Justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
There is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all Bestowing his riches on all who call on him. No one receives more. No one receives less than what God has given to both Jew and Greek the promises in Christ our Lord verse 13 for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Will be saved.
A reference back to the Old Testament yet again. And this one Joel chapter 2, but it was this is to show that this was stated in the Old Testament. It is fulfilled in Christ and now spoken about and taught about here in the New Testament.
It all points back to Christ. Our salvation is Christ. It is looking to Jesus who is the author and the perfecter of our faith. These verses are not about an altar call. It's not about come forward and say this prayer and therefore you are saved.
Otherwise, we're just wizards. We just say magic words and then boom we automatically have entrance into heaven. No. What's clearly being stated here is that as the transformation of the heart has occurred by the power of God alone?
So the confession will with the mouth will be a demonstration of the heart that has been changed. You are not saved by saying magic words. You are saved by God, but your words will be a testimony To the Christ who has saved you.
Amen Heavenly Father. Thank you for saving us. Thank you for growing us in this salvation and may we learn all the more day by day how we walk in these things. In a way that is good and pleasing unto Christ our Savior we desire not to walk in our own ways.
Help us to have a desire for God and not for the ways of this world. That we not be led astray by this world or the lies in this world. But we are for God and his glory living holy. Pleasing upright lives before our Father who is in heaven that we may be worthy.
Sons and daughters of God lead us in paths of righteousness for your namesake in Jesus name. Amen.
Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog sharing personal thoughts alerting readers to false teachers and offering commentary on the church and social issues. You can find a link to the blog through our website www .tt .com.
Thank you for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue our study in God's word when we understand the text.