A Mouth and Heart Matter
Romans 10:1-13
The Philippian jailer asked in Acts 16, “What must I do to be saved?” Another way of asking this question is, “How do I get to go to heaven?” When people are asked this question a myriad of answers pour forth. Jesus Christ taught that the path to heaven was very narrow and very few find it as many misguidedly choose to travel wrong paths. The dilemma is that man seeks to find salvation in his own way just as Paul spoke of Israel’s struggle in the tenth chapter of Romans.
I. Man’s Dilemma – Seeking salvation through human efforts – Romans 10:1-5
A. Romans 10:1-3 “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
B. By keeping the law
1. Israel sought to establish their own righteousness by complying with all the demands of the Law so that they might merit salvation.
2. Romans 9:31-32 “...Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law...”
3. Romans 3:20 (LEB) “For by the works of the law no person will be declared righteous before him, for through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
C. By being good
1. Matthew 19:16 “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”
2. Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
3. Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”
D. By being religious
1. When a person hears the word Christian, they equate that word with the word Religion.
2. Some define religion this way: “Being religious means adhering to a certain set of rules or doctrines. It means that I go to a church (or synagogue or temple or whatever), and I do what the pastor (or priest, or rabbi) tells me I should. It means that I believe, that by doing what I should do, I am somehow getting closer to God.” - copied
3. Acts 17:22 “So Paul stood there in the middle of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I see you are very religious in every respect.”
4. The problem with being religious is seen in these comments: “Religion allows you to keep your old life. You can live life as you please doing a few good things for God like going to church or helping someone that makes you feel good about yourself. Religion is always SELF-CENTERED and SELFISH.”
5. Being religious is not the same as being righteous.
6. There is no encouragement or command in the scriptures for anyone to be religious, and there are no blessings attached to religiosity.
II. God’s Design – Salvation by work of Jesus Christ – Romans 10:4
A. Designed out of necessity
1. Romans 5:6 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
2. Romans 3:10-12 “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understands; there is none that seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
B. Designed out of love
1. Romans 5:8 “God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
2. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
C. Designed to be simple
1. Romans 10:8 “...The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the Word of faith, which we preach.”
2. Dr Jack Hyles when asked about salvation being easy answered, “"I did not make it easy; God made it easy. I simply tell you how God made it." I made this comment in a home recently: If my girl, Becky, ran away from home, I would want her back. It would be the easiest thing in this world for her to get back. All she would have to do is come and say, "Daddy, I want to come home," and she would be as good as at home. I would want her to come home as much or more than she would want to return, so I would make it very easy for her to come back home. If one of your children got lost, you would make it easy for him to come back. You would search everywhere. You would be the aggressor. You would be more anxious, or at least as anxious, for him to come home as he would be to return home. Our Heavenly Father is the same way. Salvation, my friend, is not hard. It is simple. Salvation is not running an obstacle course and hoping you will end up standing up someday when the judgment comes. God has made salvation so simple that the smallest child who understands right from wrong can accept it and be saved. God has made salvation so easy that anybody who knows he is a sinner and knows that by faith he can receive Christ as Saviour can be saved. God's Part in Salvation is Big, Tremendous.” – Jack Hyles, The Simplicity of Salvation.
III. Man’s Decision – Salvation is a mouth and heart matter – Romans 10:9-10
A. A mouth confession
1. Romans 10:9 “if you confess with your mouth "Jesus as Lord...”
2. Confess – homologeo means to say the same and so to agree in one's statement. Homologeo means to express openly one's allegiance to a proposition or a person, in this context the person of Christ. It is a statement of identification, faith, confidence, and trust. Homologeo has strong legal connotations. As a judicial term, the word indicates the binding and public declaration which settles a relationship with legal force. A person can confess to a charge in court and thus openly acknowledge guilt. Or one may agree with a court order and thus make a legally binding commitment to abide by it. This last sense is implied here in Romans 10 calling on us to acknowledge Jesus. We are to express our binding commitment to Jesus publicly thus acknowledging our relationship to Him as our Lord and Savior. - copied
3. Confessing that Jesus is the Christ means that a person agrees that Jesus is everything that the Bible says of Him:
a. He is the only begotten sinless Son of God.
b. He is his Substitute and Saviour
c. He is his Lord (master, owner, the one with absolute authority and power)
d. John 20:28 “Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”
e. Martin Luther puts Lord in an interesting perspective noting that... "The life of Christianity consists of possessive pronouns. It is one thing to say, "Christ is a Saviour"; it is quite another thing to say, "He is my Saviour and my Lord." The devil can say the first; the true Christian alone can say the second.
B. A heart belief
1. Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
2. Outward confession stems from a profound inward conviction.
3. Haldane said, “The confession of Christ is salvation. But that confession which is salvation is a confession which implies that the truth confessed with the mouth is known and received in the heart.”
4. For salvation to be genuine there must be belief with the heart. Ask yourself...Do I believe that I am a sinner and unable to save myself? Do I sincerely believe that Christ is the sinless Son of God? Do I believe that He died for my sin on the cross? Do I believe that He is risen and alive today? Do I trust in Him as my sole hope of salvation? Have I given the ownership of my heart and life over to Him?
5. Romans 10:10 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
C. A new life begun
1. Romans 10:9, 12-13 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved... For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who is rich to all who call upon him. For ‘everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
2. The moment a person places their trust in Christ from their heart and acknowledges Him as Lord and Savior a new life begins based not on keeping the 10 commandments, doing good works, or being religious but on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. But once that new life begins it will be evidenced by a life that now pleases God as He works in you.
3. Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
