WWUTT 177 Confess With Your Mouths?

Romans 10 9 says 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 There are people that take this verse out of context to say you just have to do this one time and you'll be saved

But we're supposed to do this with our whole lives continually when we understand the text This is when we understand the text a final commentary to help encourage your time in the word.

Here's your teacher pastor Gabe Thank you, Becky. I concluded yesterday with Romans 9 33 where the

Apostle Paul is quoting the Prophet Isaiah as it is written behold I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense and whoever believes in him in Christ Will not be put to shame now

Paul is attributing this to the Jews who thought that they could attain Righteousness by their own works.

They thought they could achieve Salvation by their ability to keep the law of God But they did not succeed in reaching that law as Paul says in verse 31

Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on Works, it is only

Christ who fulfilled the law and the prophets only he did it perfectly and it is only through him that we can attain

Salvation his atoning blood is perfect atoning sacrifice to be received by faith now

Although Paul is attributing verse 33 to the Jews. We could actually apply this to anybody who does not believe in Christ Jesus Anybody who is not a follower of Christ is

Attempting to attain righteousness by works. They're trying to be a good person. I can be good without God That's essentially what anybody who does not believe in Jesus is saying but we read in Romans chapter 3 that there is none who does good and No one does righteous the righteousness that we attain can only come by faith in Jesus Christ Otherwise a person is presented with the perfection that is

Christ and they are dashed against that rock and they are put to shame Because in their sin, they just don't measure up to the perfect holy standard of God This is why we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world

So that they might repent of their sins and receive a righteousness that comes from God and when they stand before God in judgment

They will not be put to shame which is ultimately what we're talking about there at the end of verse 33 an eternal shame not just Embarrassment in the moment, but when we stand before God in judgment

We will not be put to shame because we will have the righteousness of Christ that is upon us.

So preach the gospel Only Christ saves only belief in the true

Jesus Christ of the historical scriptures and what he did upon the cross for our sins It is only faith in Christ that will save us.

We go on to Romans 10 with this in mind. Let's continue on Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved now again

Paul in context is talking specifically about the Jews here but it is the attitude that we should have about everyone in the world who does not believe in Christ our

Hearts desire and our prayer to God for them is that they may be saved and it is only by Hearing the gospel and repenting of their sins might they come to salvation

Paul goes on For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God But not according to knowledge for being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own

They did not submit to God's righteousness for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to Everyone who believes so again, he's talking about the

Jews here. They have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge not according to a knowledge that comes from God for being ignorant of the

Righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own They did not submit to God's righteousness for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes

God has given me an opportunity lately to witness to some Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons in my community and though some of these

Mormons that I have talked to have a real zealousness for You know the Book of Mormon the teachings of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints What their church teaches is actually a salvation by works and not a salvation that is to be received by faith

Joseph Smith taught Therefore ye are justified of faith and works through grace

So Joseph Smith's his teaching went against what we read in Ephesians 2 8 9 it is by grace

You have been saved through faith and this is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God Not of works so that no one may boast but Joseph Smith taught that you are justified of faith and works and so because of this teaching a

Mormon believes that it is according to works that they attain righteousness like it's a combination of Faith and grace and works even though Ephesians 2 8 9 says clearly the opposite of that So although they have a zealousness for God many of the

Mormons that I have been witnessing to they are Ignorant of the righteousness of God that is spoken about in the true

Scriptures not the false teachings of Joseph Smith, but the true scriptures of God They seek to establish their own just as Paul is talking about the

Jews here not submitting to God's righteousness Romans 10 4 for Christ is the end of the law for Righteousness to everyone who believes we must believe that it is fully the work of God and not the work of man

There is nothing that we can do to attain righteousness Whereas a Mormon teaches in 2nd

Nephi 25 23 if you go to the book of Mormon It says that we know that it is by grace.

We are saved after all that we can do So in other words a Mormon teaches that you have to do as much as you possibly can and then where you fail

That's where God's grace covers the rest of that. That's not what the true scriptures of God teach

It is not by any work of our own that we attain righteousness

But it is through faith in Jesus Christ only which is a gift that is given to us by God It is not of yourselves

Let me read that whole section in Ephesians 2 8 9 and 10 For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God Not a result of work so that no one may boast verse 10 for we are his workmanship

Created in Christ Jesus for good works Which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them

So we are called to work, but it is not by our works that we are saved rather It is our works that are the evidence of the salvation that we have attained in Christ by his righteousness

And not by ours. So you are fully Justified in the presence of God by the work of Christ and then this is your

Sanctification that process of growing in holiness that we would do works that verify

This salvation that we have received in Christ works are not the cause of our salvation

But they are the evidence of the salvation that we have received in Christ Jesus our Lord We must understand this it is not a combination of faith grace and works

Which is what a Mormon would teach but rather it is only through the work of Christ that we have attained

Salvation not by any work that we have done So Paul yearns and he desires that the

Jews would come to this understanding So we must yearn and desire that all men would come to this understanding that it is only through Christ Are we saved

Paul goes on to talk about the message of salvation for all looking at verses 5 through 12

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 ascend 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 We come back to that statement again

Which Paul was drawing from the prophet Isaiah verse 12 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 so understand by what we read here in this text that just as we have read previously in in Romans that God shows

No partiality and he will judge the Jew and the Gentile the same here We read in Romans 10 12 for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek a word that is interchangeable with Gentile For the same

Lord is Lord of all bestowing his riches on all who call on him So Jews and Gentiles will be judged the same, but we will also receive rewards the same that we would believe in Christ as Savior and we would receive the same reward from God a

Jew does not receive any greater reward than a Gentile just because he is a Jew Likewise a

Gentile does not receive any greater reward than a Jew just because he is a Gentile But rather they both receive the same

From to be received by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord now as we look at this here at this particular section

We come across a pair of very popular verses Verse 9 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 these verses are often taken out of context to to apply to something that I talked about yesterday

Easy believism as long as you just say you just say it with your mouth that Jesus is

Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved and And will there are people out there who will try to say all you have to do is say

I believe That Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead All you have to do is say those words and you're saved

You've punched your ticket into heaven and nothing that you can do will will take away that salvation

Okay, there are there are people that try to witness that way But that's not the context as we understand it here in Romans 10 9, but rather as one of my elders at church

Dave Blesner wonderful man of God Said in a recent sermon when he was preaching on Romans 10

He said the mouth confesses what the heart believes and that's ultimately what we're supposed to understand here out of Romans 10 9

That that a person did not just say something once and are therefore saved

But rather they're continuing to say it from the mouth is pouring forth an evidence of the transformation that has happened in their heart by God Through Jesus Christ, you don't just repent and believe one time, but you continually practice repentance and faith before the

Lord Continually being sanctified and being shaped in the image of Christ as we've talked about in Romans chapter 8

It's not just a one -time thing But it is an evidence in the life of a believer that it is an ongoing faith

And again something that is not attained by our works But rather that our works give evidence of the faith that we have received in Christ Jesus our

Lord God, I pray that we would understand these things rightly and we would teach them to our fellow men that they must repent of their sins and come to faith in Jesus Christ for Salvation to all who believe on his name the work that he accomplished not by any works of our own

But by the very work of God we thank you for this salvation that we have in Christ in the name of Jesus We pray amen

Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas find out more online at www .utt