“IF: A BIG WORD WITH 2 LETTERS” Romans 10:1-13
FBCF – 10/12/25
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Gas pump video last week – PSA for railroad crossing:
- STOP
- LOOK
- LISTEN
- LIVE
The plan according to the railroad folks is that, IF you’ll do the first 3 things, you will live. IF you choose NOT to do those first 3 things, you will place yourself in a very dangerous position & may die.
This is what we need to do today:
- STOP – You’ve stopped your busy life to be here today, & that’s not by accident or coincidence. It’s by God’s design.
- LOOK – Look at your life, the condition of your heart, the level of your faith & commitment to Jesus, or if there is even a commitment to Jesus.
- LISTEN – Listen for the voice of God speaking to your heart today. Hebrews 3:15 – “Today, IF you heart His voice, do not harden your heart…”
- LIVE – IF you’ll do those first 3 things, there’s a great possibility that you will live & live forever if you commit your life to Christ. But IF you choose NOT to do those things, there’s the real possibility that you will NOT live & be forever separated from God in a very real place called hell.
EXPLANATION – Romans 10:1-13
Suppose you were standing in line at Sullivan’s or sitting at a TCA game & someone behind you speaks to you & says, “Hey! Don’t you go to FBCF?” You reply, “Yes, I do.” “Aren’t y’all a Christian church?” “Yes, we are.” “Well then, can you tell me how to be sure that I’m going to go to heaven when I die?” What would you say? Many of you would know how to answer them. You might take your evangelism bracelet off & share it w/ them. Or you might share the Roman Road to salvation or the FAITH Evangelism outline or pull out a Gospel tract or go to THE BEST NEWS app on your phone.
But if you don’t have a clear understanding of the Gospel, then you might answer that the same way the Jewish people would answer in v. 1-3.
- “You’ve got to have a zeal for God” - an “enthusiasm for God” (NLT) & “cling to your own way of getting right w/ God” & TRY real hard.
- TRY to live a good life
- TRY to keep the 10 commandments
- TRY to do enough to satisfy God’s requirements
- TRY to appease God & HOPE you've done enough
- TRY to make God happy & TRY to keep Him happy
Paul had a deep love for his fellow Jews & a deep desire for them to be saved. In fact, salvation is the main issue in Rom. 9-11. Paul’s heart was heavy for the Jews due to their misguided & misdirected zeal like so many people have today. They were sincere about God, but their sincerity was based on establishing their own righteousness on the basis of obeying the law instead of Christ alone.
- Philippians 3:9 – “I am not dependent upon any of the self-achieved righteousness of the Law. God has given me that genuine righteousness which comes from faith in Christ.” (Phillips)
Truth is that many sincere, religious people are just flat wrong in their beliefs about how a person goes to heaven. Sincere Muslims are wrong – Sincere Mormons & Jehovah’s Witnesses are wrong – Sincere Buddhists & Hindus are wrong – Sincere churchgoing Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians & nondenominational folks are wrong IF their sincerity is based on their church attendance, how many Bible studies they attend, family history & heritage, or the size of the offerings or the size of their study Bibles.
- “…human effort, no matter how sincere, can never substitute for the righteousness God offers us by faith. The only way to earn salvation is to be perfect - & that is impossible. We can only hold out our empty hands & receive salvation as a gift.” (Note on Rom. 10:3-5, Life Application Study Bible, p. 2241).
APPLICATION – You can be confident of your salvation today!
Paul said, “Dear brothers, the longing of my heart & my prayer is that the Jewish people might be saved.” (TLB) May I use Paul’s words & say this to you today: “Dear brothers & sisters, the longing of my heart & my prayer is that the people under the sound of my voice right now might be saved!” So today, I’m preaching a message of confirmation: That you would confirm that you ARE saved or confirm that you need to BE saved.
2 Corinthians 13:5 – “Check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test? Do you feel Christ’s presence & power more & more within you? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren’t at all?” (TLB)
- If you’re truly saved, you’ll know it. If you’re not, you’ll know it.
- If your salvation is for real, you’ll know it. If you’re just pretending, you’ll know it.
3 words that Paul uses here that speak to God’s plan of salvation:
IF YOU CONFESS – v. 9-10 – homologeo – “to say the same thing; to publicly declare” – Risky thing to do in 1st century b/c to declare, “Jesus is Lord” put a person in direct conflict w/ the prevailing governmental system that demanded that a person declare their total allegiance to Caesar by pronouncing that “Caesar is lord.”
So, to “confess w/ your mouth that Jesus is Lord” is much more than just a casual statement that you make. There’s nothing nonchalant about it! It was then & it is now a courageous, very public proclamation that affirms your total loyalty & commitment & submission to Jesus Christ alone as your Savior, Lord, Master, & King. To confess Jesus as Lord means that you are living for Him & Him alone – That He alone:
- Calls the shots in your life & tells you how to live your life
- Controls how you treat your spouse, raise your kids, conduct your business, spend your money
- Shows you how to act at school, on the ballfield, in the office, at the hunting camp, on vacation
- Speaks to what you do w/ your time, what you do w/ your body, what you allow into your mind, what comes out of your mouth
- IF you confess "Jesus is Lord," you are saying that Jesus is not only your Savior – He is the reigning & ruling King who has all authority over your life
So if you confess Him as Lord & declare publicly that He is the Ruler & Master of your life, it will be evident in your life in every way.
IF YOU BELIEVE – v. 9-11 – Walked in DG in Clinton the Thu night to buy some cat food. As I walked the aisles looking for the Cat Chow, I realized that Santa Claus & snow men were watching me. Christmas decorations already on sale!
Christmas movies – “The Santa Clause” – “Fred Claus” (my favorite) – “Christmas w/ the Kranks” (Vicki’s favorite along w/ “White Christmas”). And, of course, no Christmas complete w/out watching “Elf.”
“Miracle on 34th Street” – At end of the movie after Kris Kringle is put on trial, the entire population of NYC believes that Kris is truly Santa Claus & Santa is real.
So, is that what Paul is talking about here? To believe is to simply say, “OK, I believe in Jesus” like you believe in Santa Claus? Is that all there is to it?
To believe in Jesus & “that God raised Him from the dead” does mean to give mental assent, acknowledgement, & agreement. But it’s more than that. It means faith & trust, & that you believe it to the point of staking your entire life on it. It signifies a deep, unwavering, abiding, determined, enduring, resolute, single-minded, steadfast, unswerving, & unshakable commitment to entrust every aspect of your life to Jesus for the rest of your life!
Put it this way: To believe is to trust. Skydiving – Get to altitude – Instructor: “Do you believe parachute will work?” (Yes) “Do you believe in me?” (Yes) “Ok. Let’s jump.” Those who truly believe in the parachute & in the instructor are those who jump.
When we believe in Jesus, we don’t only mentally agree that He is God’s Son & died for our sins. We also trust His GRACE & mercy – we trust His power & provision – we trust His teachings & truth - & we jump, trusting completely in Him to deliver us from hell & to heaven.
IF YOU CALL – v. 13 – Lots of uses for the word “call.”
- Duck call
- Referees & umpires make calls on the football field & baseball diamond
- Find yourself in an emergency – “Call 911!”
Problem w/ all of those is that there is no guarantee on any of them.
- No guarantee that those duck calls are going to work every time, no matter what Russ Chandler promises you. You HOPE so, but no guarantee.
- No guarantee that those refs & umps are going make the right calls every time. You HOPE so, but no guarantee.
- No guarantee that there is going to be a connection w/ an operator every time you call 911. You HOPE so, but no guarantee.
But if you or anyone else “calls on the name of the Lord”, there is a 100% ironclad guarantee that that prayer will be answered every time b/c JESUS will NEVER fail you! There is no “I hope He will hear me & save me.” HE WILL!
- It is HIS desire to save you!
- It is HIS plan to save you!
- It is HIS joy to save you!
CONCLUSION – October 14, 2024 – Visited Mr. John Chastain. Still grieving the loss of his wife who passed away in May of that same year. Went in his home right over here on Estes Drive, sat down, & the first words out of his mouth were, “Bro. Jon, I need to be saved.” And just a few minutes later, Mr. John did exactly what these verses tell us to do – he confessed Jesus as Lord – he believed that God raised Him from the dead – he called on the name of the Lord - & he was saved. And the last words I said to him Friday morning were, “Mr. John, things are about to get really good for you. You’re about to see Jesus face to face.” That was about 9:30. And at 10:52, text from his son, Michael: “He passed away.” And John Chastain saw Jesus face to face.
What about you? When that moment comes for you, would I be able to say to you, “Things are about to get really good for you”? If not, then CONFESS – BELIEVE - & CALL ON JESUS right now.
