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by Gary Sims
02/23/04
Not For Sale
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The Letters
Romans 10:8b-13 – Jesus is Lord!
Key Verses: (NCV)

9: “If you use your mouth to say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved.” – In Paul’s continuing argument that one cannot earn his way into heaven through good works, he provides us all a very straight forward guideline to salvation.
10: “We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we use our mouths to say that we believe, and so we are saved.” – Once we place our faith in God, He does the rest.
12b: “The same Lord is the Lord of all and gives many blessings to all who trust in Him.” – This is Paul’s statement to those people who attempt to confine God into their own beliefs and traditions. God is universal. He is the Lord of all. Trust in Him.
13: “As the scripture says, ‘Anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.’” – This is a quote from the prophet Joel that establishes the universal accessibility to God.

Points to Contemplate:

Can you say: “Jesus is Lord?” Do you “you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead?” Paul says that this is all you need to do to be saved. Can it be any simpler than this? Do you tend to complicate the process? Are you digging deeper to learn more and do more? Are you still setting your focus on your accomplishments and your good works so that, in some way, you will become more holy or more worthy of God’s love? Are you still trying to earn salvation?
Are you being made right by God? Can you feel Him leading you into the paths of righteousness as you progress through the decisions you face each day? Are you leaning into His loving spirit for strength, understanding, and guidance? Can you look back and see how far you have come? Do you recognize that your belief in God is what has brought you this far?
Do you trust God? Is this the hardest part? Is this where the ‘rubber meets the road’ in your faith? Do you, on the one hand, profess your faith in Christ, and yet, on the other still find yourself working hard at making things right? Does your faith allow you to set your worries and anxieties aside? Can you hand all aspects of your life over to God and trust that He will take care of your needs, worries, and concerns? Are you ready to count your blessings as you do?
Is God Lord of all? Paul is focused on the issue where early Jewish Christians were insisting that Gentiles first needed to become Jewish before they could be a Christian. Can this also be a warning from Paul regarding the creation of any religious faith? Is he suggesting that God is accessible to all who call on His name, regardless of their religious beliefs and affiliations? How does this speak to the strife in our world between competing religions? Is he calling for more acceptability by each of us or is he drawing a line in the sand that separates Christians from everyone else? Is this an issue of our concern or is it best to trust God in these matters and focus more on our individual relationships with Him and with others?

Promises of the Gospel:

Paul continues to stress that our salvation comes through believing in Jesus and no amount of good works can ever be sufficient in winning God’s approval. The only thing to remember is: “If you use your mouth to say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved.” All other issues, worries, concerns, debates, misunderstandings, and questions fall into God’s hands. When we trust God with everything in our life, when we freely give everything to Him, then we will be made right by His love. He will shape us and form us into a life of holiness that is called discipleship.

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