Have you seen my glasses? I just had them here somewhere. What? They’re on my head? Oh, thanks.
Have you ever frantically searched for something that was right by you all the time - like your glasses perched on your head, a pencil behind your ear, or a wallet in your coat pocket? Such a panicky search at best will make you feel foolish; at worst it can be quite traumatic.
Another kind of frantic search that can not only cause trauma, but end in tragedy is the search for salvation. Many people search high and low for salvation never realizing it’s right by them. They spend years reading books, comparing religions, and even embarking on costly pilgrimages to find the answers to life when in reality the truth was always near them. Perhaps that even describes you. If you’re on a search for salvation the Apostle Paul has something to say to you. You don’t need to make a Herculean effort to find it. Salvation is near you – it’s in His Word, and it’s in your words.
In chapters 9 and 10 of his letter to the Romans, Paul laments the fact that many of his own people, the Jews, God’s chosen people, were not members of God’s kingdom. The reason for that was that many had refused to believe in Jesus as the Saviour of the world. Many Jews had rejected Jesus because they were looking for salvation in the laws and commands that God had given to Moses instead of in the promises that God has given to us in Christ. Paul explained their position this way. “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes”(Romans 10:1-4).
There’s a huge difference between the law and the gospel isn’t there? The law demands while the gospel promises. Paul explained the difference between the two this way. “5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says:“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 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” (Romans 10:5-9).
The law demands that we work for our salvation, putting heaven out of our reach. The gospel’s message, however, brings salvation to us by telling us who Jesus is and what he has done. That’s why we can say that salvation is near - it’s found in God’s Word, the Word that tells you about Jesus.
God’s Word that leads to salvation teaches us that Jesus is Lord. That’s more than just saying that Jesus was a swell guy and a good teacher. It’s saying that Jesus is God. Many people think that it’s foolish to believe that Jesus is God but it’s really the other way around. It’s foolish not believe that Jesus is God because otherwise his death on the cross would be worthless. Had he just been a man Jesus’ death could not have paid for the sins of the whole world. It would be like trying to put out a 5-alarm fire with a garden hose. You need more power than a man has to put out the fires of hell.
Not only do we learn from the Word that Jesus is Lord, we also learn that he was raised from the dead and that assures us that we too shall rise on the last day. We can be certain that Jesus was raised from the dead because we have eyewitness accounts of his resurrection. Those eyewitnesses are trustworthy because they were once sceptics themselves. Think of Thomas. He refused to believe that Jesus had risen until he could actually put his hands in Jesus’ nail marks. Thankfully for us Jesus did appear to Thomas and allow him to check out his hands and his side. But it wasn’t just Thomas who was the sceptic. All the disciples had doubted. They had at first refused to believe the women’s report of the angels at the tomb and how Jesus had appeared to them. They too only believed after Jesus himself appeared to them behind the locked doors.
Yes, salvation is near us because the way to heaven is recorded for us in the Word. But just to know what the Bible says does not lead to salvation. Paul said that we are saved by believing and confessing the truth. “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:10). Salvation is near us because it’s not just in the Word but it’s in our words of faith.
Now before you think that I’m implying that we have some hand in our salvation let’s take a look at the role our faith plays. Faith is not the cause of salvation – Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is. Faith is simply the vehicle that makes Jesus’ gift of forgiveness our own. Think of it this way. If you received an injection that saved you from a rare disease you wouldn’t say that the needle used in the injection saved you. No, the medicine saved you but the needle made it possible for the medicine to enter into your body and work. That’s what faith is like. Faith is the needle through which God’s life-saving gift of forgiveness becomes ours.
Wouldn’t that still seem to imply that we had something to do with our salvation? After all if we don’t have faith we can’t receive God’s gift of forgiveness right? Well, yes that’s true but even faith is a gift from God. In the second part of Romans chapter 10 Paul said, “Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (v. 17). Faith is born in us when God’s Word goes to work in our hearts.
Since faith comes from hearing the Word it’s important that we continue to hear that Word isn’t it? We are blessed to be surrounded by God’s Word in our worship services and Bible classes but it’s easy to take the Word for granted isn’t it? We often figure that if we’ve heard God’s word in church then we don’t need to hear it in Bible class, or Sunday School too. Or we think that if we’ve heard God’s word in church and in Sunday School than we don’t need to bother listening to it again until the next Sunday.
Hearing God’s word on a constant basis is like getting hooked up to a dialysis machine. It cleans out all that other stuff we pick up from the world around us. You see if you don’t plug into God’s Word on a regular basis you are going to end up plugging into something else. That happened to a friend of mine who grew up in the church, went to a Lutheran parochial school and high school, and even a year at a our synod’s pastor training college. After the first year of college he quit school and quit going to church. In two years he was living with his girlfriend. Oh, I’m sure it all started out innocently enough. He probably figured that it would be OK to have her stay over every now and then but when that became a hassle they moved in together and he soothed his conscience by promising to get married to his girlfriend some day. Do you see what happened? Because he wasn’t plugged in to the Word he bought into the world’s way of thinking and drifted away from the faith.
What can you do when a fellow Christian goes astray like my friend did? You can share the Word with them. In that sense too salvation can be found in our words as we share the Word with others. The Word is for everyone of course, and not just Christians who are drifting. It doesn’t matter how old, young, rich, poor, or what your cultural background. God’s Word is for all. Paul said, “For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:12, 13).
Since God’s word is for everyone it’s important that we go out and share that word. Paul went on to say in vs. 14, 15, “14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Do you have opportunities to speak God’s words to your friends and neighbours? I’m sure that you do. A great time to share God’s word is in times of crisis when they are ready to hear. But what about beyond that? How about sharing the message full time as a pastor or parochial school teacher? Have you thought about becoming one or another? There are many opportunities to share the word on a full time basis. If you just don’t think you could ever be a pastor perhaps you could join the staff ministry program at MLC and serve as a family counselor at a church or make sure that a congregation’s evangelism or Sunday School program is running smoothly. I’m not just speaking to the young people in the congregation but to you adults as well. Why not join us in our evangelism program and become better acquainted with God’s Word so that you will be ready to share it with others. There are so many opportunities to grow in the Word; take advantage of them!
If you have been searching for the truth don’t look any further, because the truth of who you are and what your purpose is on this earth is found in God’s Word. Jesus has died and risen for your sins. Believe and confess that and you will be saved. On top of that, spread that truth so that no one can claim that salvation was out of their reach. Amen.
