A personal reflection on Romans 10:9

Unfortunately, there are times when we sin in a moment of weakness, sometimes uncontrolled and sometimes deliberate, then regret it and humbly ask God for forgiveness. These are transient sins which will happen from time to time, but they are not pre- meditated, wilful, deliberate, un-repented sins, for which we know there is no excuse. However, over the years I have experienced people who are Christians, but are liberal in their application of some aspects of their faith, somehow considering these things to be of lesser importance than others in their understanding of sin. There are also times when a sin is knowingly committed, but an excuse offered that is considered to allow it. Those with whom I have experienced this liberal approach would willingly acknowledge that Jesus died for our sins, and that God raised him from the dead. In Romans 10:9 Paul tells us ... if you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. If you aren’t afraid to announce your belief in Jesus, and your faith is strong in that you believe in your heart that God raised him from death, then this verse is exactly what you want to hear, seemingly confirming you will be saved. There are also a few verses in John's gospel that support this text. Notably, these are Jesus’ words: .... so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. [John 3:15] . For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. [John 3:16] . .... Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears My Word and believes on Him who sent Me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death to life. .... [John 5:24] And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him should have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day. [John 6:40] Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me has everlasting life. [John 6:47] And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? [John 11:26] This seems straightforward enough. Of course, there has to be the obvious caveat that if you believe with your heart then repentance of your sins, praying for forgiveness and, as appropriate, a change in lifestyle and attitudes is a natural consequence of becoming a believer. Despite this caveat, and remembering some Christian people’s attitudes, I question if simply believing is really enough. This simple analogy is an attempt to explain my thinking. If I were a heavy smoker, enjoyed a regular morning fry-up and spent my evenings having a great time downing a few pints with some like-minded friends, then I believe this would certainly shorten my life. If, however, I enjoyed this lifestyle and chose to continue with my unhealthy ways, then I’m not acting on my belief and by belief is in vain. In the same way, if I confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead, but do not act on that belief then, surely, my belief is in vain. What prompts this view is Jesus’ words towards the end of his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:21-23 21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! Lord! shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and through Your name throw out demons, and through Your name do many wonderful works? 23 And then I will say to them I never knew you! Depart from Me, those working lawlessness! Jesus doesn’t give us the situation preceding these verses, but lets us assume the obvious: These people had come to Jesus fully expecting to be accepted, but were rejected, which led to their plea in verse 22: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? Jesus’ response would have been devastating. So, what had gone wrong. It might be that they were doing these things for their own glory and not God’s, were not preaching the true message of scripture, or perhaps they were so involved in their works that they didn’t even consider that their relationship with Christ might be lacking. Whoever these people were, whatever their qualifications or ability to do the listed works, Jesus clearly stated that he never knew them, which means they never knew Jesus; they didn’t have a relationship with him. That, surely then, is what we should aim for if we want to be accepted by Jesus. We have the means to enter that relationship by reading the gospels and epistles, praying and being a witness to Christ by living a better Christian life. The final words from Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount gives us a good guide to how we might begin to achieve this. 24 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. 25 And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock. 26 And everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them shall be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat on that house. And it fell, and great was its fall. When Jesus says “these sayings of mine” he is naturally referring to those preceding these verses in his sermon, as recorded in Matthew chapters 5 to 7. Jesus is telling us that his Sermon on the Mount then is of vital importance in our quest to be ‘right with God’. It is considered to be the highest ethical teaching in the Bible and teaches us, God’s children, to develop our thinking ever closer to that of Christ. However, verse 26 uses the words “founded on a rock”, telling us that these ‘sayings’ serve as a foundation on which further teachings are based. We shouldn’t then allow this sermon to be all that is required to overcome the ‘is simply believing enough’ consideration, but it is a good foundation. My personal view is that the Sermon on the Mount should take priority in our quest to be ‘right with God’, and would recommend it be read now, but along with the aid of a commentary. Having understood this vital piece of scripture, it would then be useful to occasionally return to it as a refresher. Personally, if I don’t return to this sermon for some time, I find it then serves as a reality check. There are an abundance of commentaries on the Internet, but if you are not accustomed to reading commentaries, or Bible study, then finding one you are comfortable with could be a problem. Your church should be able to help you with this. Here are just three that might help:

My own

I don’t consider myself an authority on the Bible, a Bible teacher or an evangelist. My commentary is a personal one in that I compiled it from other commentaries specifically to serve as a reminder of the Sermon on the Mount’s purpose and meaning. Read time is a little under 40 minutes, around the same time as Chuck Smith’s referred to below. Both will take longer if occasional pausing is required to absorb the meaning of some of the passages. This can be read here .

Chuck Smith

Listed as a Study Guide: https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/smith_chuck/StudyGuides_Mount/Mount.cfm

David Guzik

More comprehensive than Chuck Smith’s study guide. These links give the choice of written, audio or video commentaries . https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-5/ https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-6/ https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-7/ Total read time for the written commentaries is around 2 hours as a straight read, but will obviously take longer to appreciate the commentary. For the audio there are six sessions of approximately 1 hour, totalling 6 hrs 15 mins. These audio sessions expand on the written and are worth listening to while following the written commentary. For the video there are 20 sessions averaging around 40 minutes totalling 13 hrs 42 mins. These videos are recordings of Pastor Guzik’s preaching to his congregation. Again, it is worth following the written commentary while watching these videos. Alternatively, you could suggest your church embarks on a Bible study on this topic.