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Okay –
Christians have long engaged in a battle over soteriology or how a person is saved.
Let’s first remember that saved in scripture describes a number of the things and the main four are
Saved from being imprisoned in sin or disease.
Saved from the wrath of God
Saved from Satan, hell, death and the grave, and
Saved TO the kingdom of God.
I would suggest that when we read the record of Jesus day, saved had application to all or some of these things and I reiterate that today and because of Jesus finished work all have been saved from two of those things –
Saved from the wrath of God
Saved from Satan, hell, death and the grave
Some continue to also be saved from being imprisoned to disease, sin and disorder in their lives and so the real question today is how are people today saved TO the kingdom of God?
Some say by “faith,” others say through “works of righteousness,” others say by faith and works and yet another side says by faith that leads to works.
The scripture speaks plainly about faith alone, but the scripture talks even more about bearing fruit;
the scripture talks about Christ doing it all, the scripture speaks to the two-way street of God extending and people receiving, and of people being willing.
Due to these opposing issues, Christianity has been at war with all view having prooftexts in the book to support their pet views.
As I sat down to teach verses 9-10 and was stopped in my tracks three times after full rewrites.
This typically happens to me when I know I am not effectively responding all things considered, that I am missing something, or not adequately presenting some information.
So, I wrote and rewrote this teaching in an effort to try and bring forth what I believe it the biblical message of salvation to the KINGDOM all things considered – if that is possible.
Before we embark on this attempt, I want you to imagine yourself in a heavenly scene. And let’s say that on the day you die three other people all die at the same time and ostensibly “go to heaven” with you.
All have escaped satan, death, hell and the grave because of Jesus finished work but the Kingdom is above and all of you want to enter in.
I want YOU – those of you here and those of you within the sound of my voice – considering all that you know about the Fall, Jesus, the Good News, faith and other commands in scripture – I want you to write the narrative in your head for what you think would please God most or what qualifications he will use to let you in.
Now let’s suppose that Person 1 believes that faith alone would justify them to enter the Kingdom. They believed on Jesus. Period. Nothing more. Not love. Not works. Just belief that Jesus saved the world and they lived their life according to their will and way.
Then let’s say Person 2 believes that faith in Jesus plus water baptism, plus sabbath observance, plus generous donations to the church, and a life of religious service would qualify them.
And Person 3 believes that Jesus did the saving but not even their faith in him matters – but their salvation is all predicated on whether God elected them to be His or not.
Now assign to yourself what position you relate to as most pleasing to God?
Do you have it? Is it different than the first three? If so, how? Remember, we are talking about what YOU actually believe will be pleasing to God toward your being saved to His Kingdom – since all the other saving has been done for you?
This query, this question, plagues me endlessly. Not because I think outside of what Paul said, but because I include all of what Paul and Peter and James and Jesus and John said and know that when it comes to the question of salvation to the Kingdom of God- it is by faith alone, but saving faith is a really unique . . . product, shall we say.
When we merely say, faith and faith alone, I think we miss the mark somewhat in that the faith that stands alone IS unique, and if truly possessed responds, reacts, performs, exists within some very necessary parameters.
So I want to address these parameters one by one in an effort to understand what saving faith actually looks like.
First, we must ask, what is the faith, the belief geared toward or focused on?
Is it on the fact that there is a God? That he created all things? In the Virgin birth? In Jesus miracles? His life’s teachings?
No, the scripture is plain – “the Gospel is the Power of God to salvation.”
This is the focus of saving faith folks – the gospel – which is defined by Jesus dying, being buried, and being raised from the dead after three days.
So where Jesus is the author of all of these events, saving faith is not on the fact that he was a good teacher, or a prophet, or on his teachings. Saving faith begins with genuine faith in these specific events from his mortal life.
There are some very specific reasons for this which we will return to later and discuss.
So, the first point to be considered it that focus of saving faith is on the Gospel Jesus authored.
Everything else, all the ancillary factors about Him and his identity and teachings serve to bolster our faith in these specific realm.
The next thing, now that we know where the faith is focused upon comes through what Paul says at Romans 10:9-10, which is
Romans 10.11
October 10th 2021
Romans 10:9 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.
Now remember, when Paul wrote this to them /then, “saved” had at least FOUR applications and it could have meant one of them and/or ALL of them!
Saved from the prison of personal sin
Saved from the coming wrath
Saved from hell, Satan and death, and/or
Saved to the Kingdom of God.
They were facing the prophesied and promised wrapping up of that age, which would commence with Jesus return to them, and at that time God’s wrath would be poured out on the Nation gathered at the High Holidays, and Jesus would return for His bride, and Satan and hell and death would be defeated and the Kingdom of God would be established on high by the wedding of his bride to the Groom called Christ.
So, Paul said to them:
Romans 10:9 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.
Verse 9 is Paul describing how they could experience every expression of salvation – salvation from personal imprisonment, from God’s wrath, from Hell and Satan’s grip and TO the Kingdom!
Then verse 10 explains why and how this special combination works in the lives of believers, as Paul says:
“For . . . with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Let me rewrite this for clarity:
“For . . . with the heart man believeth in the Gospel unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession of the Gospel or Christ is made unto salvation.”
Try and remember however, that according to the biblical descriptions of our time, nobody is being saved from “the wrath of God” or from “Satan death or hell any longer. That Christ has had the victory over such and ever since people are either being saved TO the Kingdom and/or from the things that that hold them captive in their flesh OR NOT.
Paul had just finished telling his brethren last week that even though the Jews have a “zeal for God” which lead to them “going about to establish their own righteousness,” they missed the point of salvation by faith when they failed to recognize “the righteousness of God” which is summarized by all of the Law and the Prophets being fulfilled in and through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
With this being the case, Paul explains that salvation then is available to all by virtue of FAITH and FAITH alone. But again, faith in what? All the elements of Jesus life that create or compose the Gospel, which, IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION.
This is a really, really important distinction to be made in the debate over salvation.
We are truly saved by God’s grace through faith but that saving faith (LISTEN) Saving faith is in the Gospel Christ authored . . . which scripture clearly states is, “THE POWER OF GOD TO SALVATION.
And that power is the heartfelt, faithful determination that Jesus (and Jesus alone) died, was buried and resurrected from the grave!
If or since the Gospel is the Power of God to SALVATION, then the answer to the soteriological debate is this:
“Salvation comes by grace through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
It is really important to include this in the view because it brings us to a huge crossroads and I would be remiss if I avoided the complexities of this message due to the convenience of dogmatic devotion.
So part of the solution is that saving faith, when genuine, is always discovered in and through “the Gospel format” of everyone who believes.
If it doesn’t, then “the power of God to salvation” is void or rendered unimportant, because the stated faith is not according to His power and plan.
So, it is NOT a question of does salvation come by faith alone, works alone or faith and works, salvation is always had in and through (ready)
“The Gospel received by faith.”
The response, “by faith alone,” then, while true, fails to describe of what “saving faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ” consists.
Its sort of like saying, “all we need is love,” but failing to describe what kind of love is needed to fix the world.
And so while we admit that saving faith is all that is needed, it is a saving faith in something very specific – the Gospel authored by Jesus Christ life alone.
That salvation is granted by the fact that a person chooses to specifically believe that Jesus
He surrendered what was obviously an innocent life out of love and obedience to God by becoming sin for the world
That His former flesh was buried in the earth proving the sacrifice real and putting his former flesh out of sight, and three
He overcame sin, death, the grave, Satan, hell and rose to new life.
The next point to cover is what Paul now says in verses 9-10, which is:
Romans 10:9 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.
Paul makes it clear (for the Jewish reader to whom he was writing) that the “righteousness which is of FAITH” (which makes salvation a reality) is reached ONLY by and through belief (from the heart) that Christ was raised from the dead” AND that “confession (or the profession) from the mouth that Jesus is Lord is made unto salvation.”
I want to try and wrangle this passage together in an effort to keep these directives from becoming rote in the lives of believers where zealous souls try and make people confess things to be saved or to recite a sinners prayer.
But I would suggest that Paul is not laying out a prescription here for salvation but instead a description, meaning that those who believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead would naturally confess this with their mouths.
That when genuine saving faith is possessed confessing Jesus with the mouth is a natural result!
In my estimation it would be rather unusual for a person to truly believe and receive Jesus (from the heart by faith) and to not speak of it.
So, Paul plainly describes this, saying in Romans 10:9:
“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.”
I think its important to understand how the Gospel is the power of God to salvation and that belief in the heart (which is evidenced and followed by) “confession with the mouth” is sufficient for salvation in every circumstance.
It is not by mistake that here in Romans 9 and 10 Paul uses two different areas of human make up, to describe two different actions, which bring about two different results.
VS9
PART
ACTION
RESULT
MOUTH
Confess
The Lord Jesus
HEART
Believe
God raised him from dead
Verse 10
PART
ACTION
RESULT
HEART
Believes
Unto righteousness
MOUTH
Confession
Unto Salvation
In true salvation, the heart does the believing, the mouth does the confessing of what the heart believes. And remember, the mouth speaks the contents of the heart
Remember what Jesus taught
Mt 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Mt 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mt 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Lu 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
So confession alone is meaningless – the heart believes (that God raised Him from the dead) unto RIGHTEOUSNESS – and the mouth will always reveal the hearts belief.
First, Paul addresses two parts of a human being, saying:
“For with the heart” AND
“with the mouth”
The heart and the mouth.
We know from the Word that the heart is synonymous with the “seat of our thoughts” – it is our beliefs, our feelings, emotions and thoughts gathered up into the heart in “convictions.” I would add that the human heart contains elements of the mind.
And then in relation to our mouths we know that it typically reveals the contents of the heart. (We know Jesus said in Matthew that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.)”
So, for a true Christian, the two are wholly interrelated. But again, for others, they might not be. The heart may be focused on one thing while the mouth speaks another. Then, Paul pairs two more words:
“Believeth and confession”
(for with the heart man believeth. . . ) AND
(and with the mouth . . . confession is made)
So again, in the human heart true beliefs exist – that is what God examines. Within each of us, in our hearts, the truth lies. Therefore “it is the heart that BELIEVES unto righteousness.”
This is another way to say that we are made righteous by faith in the heart on Him who provided us the Good News.
And then, with the mouth in a genuine Christian speaking the contents of the heart, “confession is made unto salvation” not because confession of Christ alone saves us but because the confession IS expressing the contents of the HEART which trusts in His death, burial and resurrection.
That is why the two are mentioned by Paul. The heart believes unto righteousness and because the mouth speaks the contents of the HEART, then confession is made unto salvation.
Then he pairs two more words relative to our being saved, saying that when a person believes Jesus was raised from the dead (it results in one thing), and when we confess that He is Lord, (that it results in another . . .
“Righteousness” (which is a product of the believing heart) AND
“Salvation” (which is the result of the confessing mouth)
Again – and putting it all together, Paul explains:
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
HEART BELIEF RIGHTEOUSNSESS
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
MOUTH CONFESSION SALVATION
Is it possible for a man to confess Jesus as Lord and for him to NOT be saved? Of course. Because the heart would not truly believe
But even more difficult, is it possible for a person to believe in the heart and NOT confess Him as Lord and therefore not be saved?
The Greek word for confess (and profess) is HOMOLOGEO.
With HOMO meaning “the same.”
and LOGEO meaning “words.”
So, to “homologeo” (to confess) unto salvation, it means “the mouth speaks the same words that the heart believes.”
Which plainly states that there would be no hypocrisy between the state of the heart and the contents of the mouth in a person who was truly saved.
So, back to the first question – “Is it possible for a man to confess Jesus as Lord and for him to not be saved?”
Absolutely. And we have scriptural evidence for this in Matthew 7:23 were we read a familiar account as Jesus says:
“Many will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”
23 And then will I profess unto them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Where Jesus says:
23 And then will I “profess” unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” The word for profess is homologeo. His mouth will say the same words from His heart.
But where Jesus said, “many will “SAY” to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not done many, many wonderful works in thy name,” the word is NOT “homologeo” but “ereo,”which means they were speaking just words, but not the same words that were in their heart!
Isn’t that amazing!
So from this passage we KNOW that it is entirely possible for people to (confess/profess/say) his name and NOT be His.
But I would add that whomever believes in their heart that Jesus was raised from the dead will always confess with their mouths – it’s a foregone conclusion!
In Luke 12:8-9 where we read the words:
Whosoever shall confess me (HOMOLOGEO) before men, him shall the Son of man also confess (HOMOLOGEO) before the angels of God.
The term is homologeo so we know that Jesus use of confession is tied to the mouth saying the same words that the heart has already confirmed.
Now, remember, that here in Romans 10 Paul is speaking or addressing his brethren the Jews.
And they had sought to go about establishing their own righteousness, not knowing the righteousness of God.
I would suggest that they believed that in pursuing “works of righteousness” they could apply them to being justified before God because of them.
Paul is trying to explain to them that they had to BELIEVE in their heart that Jesus was raised from the dead AND AND AND this heartfelt faith would come from their mouths, proving such a belief and therefore proving salvation.
However, and this must be addressed here, but “Is it possible for a person to actually believe from the heart on and in Him and NOT confess Him? Not homologeo Him?
Surprisingly . . . it is. Especially in this setting that Paul is in. And this is another reason salvation then was a one-two punch of believing in the heart AND confessing Him as Lord.
In John 12 we find ourselves reading about actual Chief Rulers who had actually heard Jesus and actually believed Him.
But listen to what it says: (John 12:42-43)
“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, (HOMOLOGEO Him – say with their mouth what their heart thought of Him) “lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
From this we see – we have proof – that there are people, at least the Jews mentioned here, who believed on Jesus but did not, would not, confess Him.
They would not speak their heart because they feared the Pharisees would “put them out of the synogogue” and they had this fear because they “loved the praises of men more than the praises of God.”
We get support for this in reading what Paul added to the whole message in verse 11:
11 For the scripture saith, “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
I would suggest that this is (one reason) the Holy Spirit led Paul to write in verse 10
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
That is, a true, heart-felt, selfless, grateful conviction that Jesus was raised from the dead will, due to Him being Lord of their life, move a person to confess him with the mouth. But fear and shame of the individual do have the ability to keep them silent. Therefore Paul gives the one-two punch and anything less would not do.
But the reverse is true as well – which once again, I experienced firsthand this very week where I watched a man once devout, believing, humble, unfettered, who believed in his heart and could not keep his mouth from confessing, now has a mouth that cannot help but confess that his heart no longer believes.
That is the thing about the heart-mouth relationship – the mouth can speak lies about the contents of the heart, but when the heart is truly convinced of a matter of faith or faithlessness, the mouth almost cannot help but reveal the true sentiments from within.
Paul’s whole point here, really, is to show the Jewish reader that salvation was from and of the heart, not due to zealous works of the hands.
Faith in the heart
On the resurrection of Christ
Which the mouth will confess unto salvation.
All pretty normal stuff that follows a natural order and not something to be fabricated or systematize or rotely expressed.
Do you believe that God raised Jesus of Nazareth, who was killed and died and was buried, to new eternal life?
If you really do, your mouth will confess this to salvation. And your mouth will always prove the true convictions of your heart.
But there is one final application of the Gospel being the power of God unto salvation to the Kingdom.
And that is I do not see being saved to the Kingdom as sufficient if there is more to be had for those who believe.
And this brings me to Paul’s desire to attain unto what he calls, “the out resurrection.”
This too is accomplished only by and through the Gospel and the power of God and it is when a believer, from the heart, allows the very power of God to have application in their life.
When the very POWER of God to salvation takes a hold and place in the believer in that they too
Die
And their former woman or man is buried and they rise in the new inner man or woman to new life by the power of the risen Lord.
In that miraculous manner, the Gospel is not only what saves all people from sin, death, hell and the grave
And the Gospel is not only what saves people to the Kingdom, but the very Gospel itself, in the life of those who have believed from the heart, serves to bring a son or daughter to maturity, allowing them through the power of Christ resurrection, to bear fruit of genuine heavenly love, and enter that Kingdom above as children in the family of God.
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