Between the Heart and the Mouth

By Cal Cook

He came to be what we couldn’t be, He came to fulfill what we couldn’t fulfill, He came to offer what we couldn’t offer…Holy, Righteous and Pure…the only sacrifice acceptable to the Lord. It sounds too easy to be true…
Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
I think in our minds we would much rather do something, obtain something, earn our way there than have it be a gift of faith. Then it would something we could control, then it would be something we could point to and say, “I did this, it’s of me!” then it would not be a gift of Grace but something I deserve…I guess that’s why it’s not.
If Salvation was of me it wouldn’t be salvation now would it? How can I be saved from something when all I have to do is do the right thing? If I was standing in the open doorway of a burning building and walked out would that be saving myself? It would just be the obvious thing to do! Yet what if I were trapped or even incapacitated in some way and some else came and removed me? We would say, “They rescued me, they saved me!”
Paul through the leading of the Holy Spirit writes these words to the church in Rome, first explaining that the Law allowed the Israelites to do what they desire…save themselves, control it, manipulate it, make it something of themselves instead of a gift from God. Time and time again throughout the O.T. God uses His Prophets to tell His people they have it wrong. It’s not about keeping the letter of the Law, but keeping the intent, holding to the letter only meets the letter, but holding it in your heart meets God’s heart.
I think when we see Romans 10:9 as too easy what we are doing is the same thing the Israelites were guilty of…looking to the letter instead of the intent. When we look at it as a formula, a recipe like making mac and cheese it is too easy…just say some words and then believe something happened. Just like I can say, “Yes men walked on the moon.” I have no direct evidence of it, I have many reasons to doubt it…yet people who should know say it happened. So I say the words and I for the most part believe it.
But that’s not what we’re talking about here in Romans 10:9…I’m not saying it’s hard or difficult, but rather it is a condition of the heart…not a formula or a recipe to be followed to the letter. Reading the context around the passage with a good Study Bible will give you some insight. Paul is loading this chapter with references of the O.T.!
He’s quoting Leviticus and Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Joel and even the Psalms. He’s making a point to those who would seek to understand! It has been God’s intention from the very beginning that we would be saved by faith! That our righteousness is only found by believing in Him…not our ability to do things! The Law established God’s desire for us…how we are to behave and treat others. It even gave us a way to make up for the times we couldn’t keep it…which is often!
But instead of looking at it as a gift, we saw it as a way to manipulate…You said if I did this I would be forgiven, now you have to forgive me God! Sometimes I think even today we get caught in the same trap…You said all I had to do was say words and believe! But the words used in the original language speak of something more!
If you confess: profess, promise, acknowledge; That Jesus is Lord: master, possessor, owner; and believe in your heart: the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors; that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved: delivered, rescued, healed, made whole.
Are you saved? Or is it just something you’ve done?