Romans 10: 1-17 The Meaning of Salvation
Romans 10: 1-17 The Meaning of Salvation
1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.6 But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down)7 or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).8 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);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.10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."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.13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?"17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
The Gospel is meant to be told simply. God wants salvation to be made simple, because it is His desire that anyone can understand and obtain it.
- CONSIDER THE MEANING OF SALVATION.
To be saved means to be delivered from sin. Sin comes in three forms:
The wrong we do
The right we don't do
The good we do without God
We see the freeness of salvation. "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:2-4).
Some people think salvation roots in the merit of man. They think salvation is a reward for the righteous, but really it is a gift for the guilty.
Many remain unsaved, not because they think they're sinners but because they think they've never sinned. The worst form of badness is human goodness if human goodness is what keeps you from salvation.
We see the nearness of salvation.
6 But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down)7 or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).8 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);
We don't have to go on a pilgrimage to find salvation, because Jesus Christ stepped out of Heaven to find us. He already paid the price with His life, already bore the weight of our sins on the cross, and rose to life to give us hope. We only need to be bold and unashamed as we confess Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Salvation is not an intellectual belief that we tack on along with other ideas; it is trusting and committing everything to Jesus, claiming Him as Saviour and Lord.
we see the richness of salvation in Romans 10:12."For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him."
Nobody is so good they don't need to be saved, and nobody is so bad that they cannot be saved.
God wants anybody to be saved; anyone who calls upon Him will be saved. We may fail Him, but He has never failed us. Salvation is by grace through faith, trusting the Lord Jesus.
- CONSIDER THE MAN OF SALVATION:
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith must have the right object to be real faith. Romans 10:11 There is no power in faith alone. There is nothing mystical or magical about just believing. Faith is no better than its object. Misplaced faith is a dangerous thing. It is not faith that moves mountains; it is God that moves mountains. John 3:15-16
Faith is not positive thinking. If we make faith just simply positive thinking, then we will get discouraged.
If we put faith in faith, we will be a sitting duck for the devil.
The devil will say that we're not good enough to be saved. We ought to say that we don't have faith in ourselves.
The devil will say that there are hypocrites in the church. We ought to say that we're not putting faith in hypocrites, but we're trusting the Lord.
The devil will question our feelings. We ought to say that we're not trusting in feelings but trusting in the Lord.
The devil will question whether our faith is good enough, strong enough and the real thing.
We should not put faith in our faith; our faith should be in Jesus.
The least amount of faith in the right object is better than strong faith in the wrong object.
We are to believe Him. Hebrews 12:2 We're to be looking to Jesus.
Don't look at your look; don't put faith in your faith. Put faith in God.
Acts 16:30 says "...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved."
When these disciples said, "Lord" they meant He's the Master of our lives.
When these disciples said, "Jesus" they meant He's the Mediator between us and God.
When these disciples said, "Christ" they meant He's the Messiah, the one who saves.
- CONSIDER THE METHOD OF SALVATION:
The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);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.10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. What does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? It is not mere intellectual belief. The demons believe and tremble (James 2:19), and they are certainly not saved. "Believe on" means "commit to". Commit to the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Rom. 10:13)
And whosoever means anybody, any time, any place, anywhere.
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