These verses from Romans chapter 10 which we heard tonight are jam-packed full of what Paul calls 'the word of faith'; jam-packed full with the heart of the Christian message. But to appreciate them fully, we need to remember the context in which they were written. Through Romans 9 to 11 Paul is addressing the rejection of the Gospel by the Jews, and their place in God's economy. There are, Paul is saying, two ways of trying to be right with God. The one the Jews had followed had been that of the Laws introduced through Moses, and of keeping those laws. But, says Paul in verse 4, Christ is the end of the Law- the end, that is, not in that it was done away with, but that he fulfilled it in a way no-one else ever could. He follows this with a series of quotes from the book of Deuteronomy, the last of which is the one we started with.
The word is near you; it is in your mouth and on your heart.That, says Paul, is just what the 'word of faith' we are proclaiming is. What Paul is saying is that God never intended to make it difficult for anyone to be right with him. True we are sinners; true that sin comes under God's judgment. But because of this God has opened up a much more direct way to seek out or strive for.
It wasn't just the Jews who ot it wrong by struggling to
make their own way to God. The Jews sought after moral uprightness and religious
observance. Thus it always was and thus it always will be. It's the basis of one
of the basic Christian heresies which says in effect: "There's something we've
got to do to add to what Jesus Christ has done". And such a falsehood can creep
in nowhere more easily than in Lent. Lent was originally the time when
candidates for baptism focussed on Jesus and the essentials of the faith. So we
have these verses from Romans tonight.
There are several strands to the 'word of faith'. So we can but briefly glance
at them this evening. These are the three elemets:
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36)We have moved on to the second point, but before going further, just one thing: Confessing Jesus as Lord, or God, is something which all Christians say publicly, not just as a pre-condition of salvation, but just because Jesus is Saviour and only God can save. And that word 'confess' can also carry with it a sense of inward agreement and indeedd conviction that something is true. When we 'confess' or sins what we are doing is agreeing with God that certain things we have done are sins.
So then, If you believe with
your heart that God raised him from the dead
Jesus died for our sins- Paul would always agree with that and
said so. But for him the keystone was the resurrection. It's not just a case of
saying the Apostles' or Nicene Creed. It's a matter of inward conviction. It's a
matter of the heart which, in the biblical sense, has to do with the core of our
being. That belief that Jesus is alive has to permaeate our whole
being.
Thirdly, Paul says that if these two 'ifs' apply to you,
then you will be saved.
There is truly a present content in salvation. In Ephesians 2:8
Paul says that it is by grace that you are
saved.
However the main emphasis is future.
Charles Wesley enshrines it in one of his greatest hymns
There is a completeness of salvation which we shall only attain to it in the life after death.
We have looked at the 'word of faith' but very briefly. I would like to close by looking at the last words of this evening's passage: Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. This is something much more through-going than just 'call out'. I can do no better than quote words from Leon Morris in his commentary on Romans.
It is a calling on the Lord out of a semse of inadequacy and need and proceeds from a genuine conviction that the Lord can be relied on.The phrase carries a sense of dedication to the Lord. The Old Testament priests had on their head-dress the word "Holy to the Lord". The ones who will be saved are the ones who are holy (or dedicated) to the Lord.