A Believing Heart Series

A BELIEVING HEART / [Matters of the Heart Series ]

ROMANS 10: 6-11

Your heart has been created with a truly amazing capability. Your heart has been given the capacity to believe, and most wonderfully, to believe in God. It is in the heart that faith springs up, dwells, and works (Acts 15:9). It is unbelief in the heart that draws men away from God (Heb. 3:12). It is into the heart that God sends the Spirit of His Son (Gal.4:6) and it is in the believing heart that Christ Himself dwells (Eph. 3:17).

You need a heart of faith because the place of faith is the heart. How can you have a believing heart? How can your heart be made true and pure? In our text we have God's gracious offer of salvation in Christ and the provision of righteousness by faith in His word.

God speaks to your heart because your heart is the not only the center of your physical-psychological life, it is the center of your spiritual life [Brown, Colin. Dictionary of NT Theology, Vol. 2 ,182]. God opens you heart to speak faith into your heart by His written Word. As Romans 10:17, "Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." [God builds faith in the heart through our receiving, believing and obeying the word of God ]

Now God's Word to us is not distant, but near. Salvation is not difficult, but simple. Salvation is not inaccessible, but readily available. It is as near as your mouth and your heart. If you would believe in Jesus with your heart, and confess Him with your mouth, you will be saved (CIT). And once the Lord Jesus is in your heart you have His righteousness reigning/abiding in your heart also.

Let me give you some background for our text. Some try to achieving righteousness by-works, even by the good works of law keeping. If a person were to receive righteousness by keeping the demands of the Law, that would be human achievement; it would not be from God. However, a person would need to keep the entire Law perfectly all his life to achieve salvation which is an impossible task (James 2:10). Paul then stated that even Moses proclaimed a righteousness-by-faith position. Righteousness by faith is not a new teaching. But now under the new covenant righteousness is available for everyone who with their heart trusts Christ as Lord and Savior.

I. THE DIRECTED HEART, 6-7.

II. THE WORD-FILLED HEART, 8.

III. THE BELIEVING HEART, 9-11.

1ST, THE DIRECTED HEART in verses, 6-7.

To verify the place of faith in God's eternal plan for man's redemption, verse 6 reminds us that righteousness is by faith in Christ alone. But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "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)."

The stern prohibition is against making your own way, even to Christ. All noble, pious and heroic attempts to demonstrate our own righteousness is only active unbelief. We cannot save ourselves no matter what we do. There is no need whatever to scale the heights or plumb the depths in search of Christ. We cannot raise ourselves to Christ much less raise Christ. We cannot establish our selves. We can't save ourselves. Christ has already come, died, and risen again. He is readily accessible to us.

Christ has come in the flesh (John 1:14) and has been resurrected. Therefore there was no need for anyone to ascend the ramparts of heaven to gain some knowledge or acceptance to bring Christ down (in His Incarnation). Nor do we need explore the underworld or dig potholes to hades to bring Christ up from the dead. Christ has already come and proclaimed salvation to the world, and then bled and died to provide forgiveness and been resurrected to forge the way to God. He and His salvation is therefore immediately accessible to faith. We do not need to do anything. Everything necessary for our salvation has been done. [John Stott, Romans, IVP, 1994. p. 284]

The righteousness of faith does not require some mystical, perplexing, and incredible journey or search through the world or universe to find Christ. No matter what form it takes, righteousness which is based on human achievement falls short no matter what journey man took trying to find or attain it. God has done it all. Our part is to believe the saving message. For what is impossible with man is possible with and through Christ Jesus.

II. THE WORD-FILLED HEART, 8.

Have you ever asked, "how do I become a Christian?" The following verses give you God's beautiful answer. Salvation is as close as your own mouth and heart. People think salvation is a difficult endeavor, but it is not. Verse 8 teaches us that faith in Christ is not unattainable but readily accessible. But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,"