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,"
Since Christ has come to earth and died for sin and rose again He and His gospel are near. Righteousness or salvation by faith is "near" or readily available to his listeners and readers. How near is it? How available is it? It is as near, as available as, "the word" (rh ma, "saying") of faith Paul is proclaiming (rh ma, "the spoken word" is also used in Eph. 5:26; 6:17; 1 Peter 1:25). The gospel, "the word of faith," is available and accessible to all who will truly hear it. All one needs to do is receive the Word of faith.
God opens you heart to speak faith into your heart by His Word. As Romans 10:17 teaches, "Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ." God builds faith in the heart through our receiving, believing, and obeying the word of God.
God is not distant and nebulas or undefinable. He is a person, near and intimate. He through His Spirit is present in the preaching of the Gospel. He is known not through mystical and indescribable experiences. He is know by making Himself known through the Word Incarnate and through His witness to the Word in its preaching and proclamation. This is "in the word of faith we are now proclaiming" (Heb. 4:12; 6:5). God has done it all. Our part is to believe His saving message.
III. THE BELIEVING HEART, 9-11.
In verses 9-11 Paul stated the content of that message of faith or in which we place our faith. The word of salvation, the word of righteousness, and its confession is found in verse 9. "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;"
Saving faith takes inward belief and outward confession. These essentials of faith belong together. Confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord is mentioned first [conforming to the order of the quotation from Deuteronomy 30:14 in Romans 10:8.] Their order, however, is less important than their inseparability [James Edwards, Romans, New International Biblical Com. 1992, 255]. Belief without confession is denial and confession without belief is ritual.
The confession with the mouth is public acknowledgment elicited by or because of an agreement with God in the inner being. What is to be acknowledges is not only that Jesus Christ is God but that you are proclaiming Him your own personal Lord. Lord is from kurios, which here signifies sovereign power and authority. Scripture never separates Christ's lordship from His saviorhood. In the entire New Testament Jesus is referred to as Savior ten times and as Lord over seven hundred times. [MacArthur, Romans. MacArthur NT Com. 1994. 75]. If Jesus is not your Lord, He is not your Savior.
Many people acknowledge that Jesus is both the Son of God and Lord of the universe. Paul though is speaking of the deep, personal, abiding conviction that will (publically) confess Jesus as Lord, that is, will confess that Jesus is the believer's own sovereign, ruling Lord, in whom alone he trusts for salvation and to whom he submits.
Another essential truth is the heart-faith "that God raised Him from the dead" (v. 7). Apart from Christ's resurrection there is no salvation. Jesus' resurrection from the dead is the supreme proof that His ministry was validated and successful. To believe that God has raised Christ from the dead includes the belief that Christ is all that He claim to be and that He accomplished all that He came to accomplish [Hodge, Charles. Romans. Banner of Truth. p. 341].
The resurrection was the Father's final stamp of approval on His Son and the final feature in the provision of salvation for those who trust in Him. The resurrection divinely certifies that Jesus is the Messiah, the only Savior, the sovereign and sinless Lord, the sacrificial Lamb who paid the price for our redemption. He is the Judge of All men, the Conqueror of Death, and the coming King of kings.
True belief in Christ's lordship and in His resurrection comes from the heart (as vv 9 & 10 both clearly state). The Hebrews considered the heart to be the core of one's being and the residence of the soul, the deepest, innermost part of man—where thought, will, and motive are generated. That is why the ancient writer admonished, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23).
It is with the heart that man believes, and it is therefore with his heart that man determines his eternal destiny. In the heart one must forsakes His own goodness and trust the goodness or righteousness of God in Jesus Christ.
We are invited to believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and to confess or to make a deliberate and public witness to that belief. It is the combination of belief and confession which our text say results in salvation. To deny Him by rejecting such a simple gracious offer which requires only faith and confession is inexcusable!
The order of confess and belief is reversed in verse 10. " for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
Confess of the mouth and belief in the heart are not two separate steps to salvation. They must be united together. Salvation comes through acknowledging that Christ is the Lord God and believing in Him.
Heart-faith is true confidence, and involves an earnest committal of one's self and interests to the demands of the truth believed. It is like the trust children have toward their father and mother and their real friends. Heart faith will involve a voluntary state of mind but it is essentially an act of the will.
It is with the mouth, or with verbal public witness that man confesses, the Bible says. Confess (homologeo) has the root meaning of speaking the same thing, of being in agreement and accord with someone. Confession means a deliberate and public witness to that belief [Edwards, 255]. The person who confesses Jesus as Lord (v. 9) agrees with God the Father, and that confession mixed with genuine trust brings salvation.
We publically confess with our mouth because we are willing to be made righteous, to become different, to become like Jesus. We confess Him because we believe in Him and have decided to become like Him, to become righteous. God will make righteous those who confess Him from their heart both by imputation of His righteousness and by sanctification as they live out Christ's righteousness. Belief in Christ brings an entirely different kind and quality of life—a holy life, a righteous life, an eternal life. Do you have such life?
Saving faith brings about a righteous life. Faith that does not lead to a righteous life is not saving faith. The Scriptures testify that the "devils also believe and tremble," but it surely cannot be meant that demons have heart-faith. They do not believe unto righteousness.
James teaches that even demons acknowledge truth about God. They are factually orthodox in their theology. "You believe that God is one," he writes. "You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder" (James 2:19). In other words, demons believe in God. Demons have observed more of God's work and know more about His nature and power than all human beings combined, apart from the incarnate Christ. And, having originally dwelt there, they know exactly what heaven is like. They also know that they are destined for judgment, and, knowing something of what judgment means, they "shudder."James's point is that men can hold a belief that is theologically correct but that does not include reception of Jesus as Lord. People may be well aware of their sin, be under deep conviction about it, and even have a great emotional sense of guilt from which they long to be delivered. But they do not repent and forsake the sin that causes the guilt, nor do they trust in the Savior who can forgive and remove the sin. [MacArthur, Romans. 73]
Verse 11 indicates how faith can transform your life. "For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed."
God wants to transform your life by replacing hesitation with bold confidence because of your maturing belief in the sure promises of God. So your faith might rest in the word of God Paul quotes Isaiah 28:16 (Rom 9:33). For the blessings that do not disappoint, believe God.
Now the Bible is not saying that Christians will never be disappointed. There will be times when people let us down and when circumstances are difficult. The Bible is saying that God will keep His side of the covenant. Those who call on Him will be saved and will be eternally saved by Christ's righteousness.
God responds to each individual who believes with the gift of His righteousness. Verse 12 reminded us of God's impartiality. Just as all who sin will be judged (3:22), so all who believe will be saved and richly blessed. This conclusion is supported by a quotation from Joel 2:32 in verse 13. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. To call on the Lord means to pray in faith for salvation. [Walvoord, John; Zuck, Roy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983. S. 480]
CONCLUSION / RESPONSE
God's gives each person a gracious offer of salvation in Christ Jesus. All you need to do is place your faith in Him by asking Him to be your Savior and Lord?
Who has this heart-faith? Who will now commit yourself to Christ? If the thing required were intellectual faith, I could explain to you how it is reached. We could find mental assent by searching through the evidence in the case. But heart-faith must be reached by the simple voluntary commitment to trust, to take God at His Word.
Will you simply bow your knees before God and commit yourself to His will; saying, "I take You at You word. Please be my Savior and Lord! It is a simple act of your will. Will you ask God to save you?
You need a heart of faith because the place of faith is the heart. How can you have a believing heart? By opening your heart to God's gracious offer of salvation in Christ. To those who place their faith for their salvation in Christ He grants Christ's rightness. Will you believe in your heart? If so, you need to confess with your mouth. Make your confession public here and now. There is no better place. There is no better time.
Dear friend to reject Christ is to reject His righteousness, the perfect standing before a Holy God that only He can provide. Those who believe in Christ receive a righteousness which we never could achieved by our own efforts as a grace gift from God. Everyone who believes in Him, takes hold of the new and eternal covenant that Christ sealed and guaranteed with His own blood (see Heb. 12:24; 13:20). Will you?
Will you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord? If so would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I turn from my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Come publically and begin your acknowledging of Jesus as your Lord and Savior before men. You will find that Jesus Christ does not disappoint. You come as the Spirit leads. You will not be disappointed.
