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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Romans 10:9,10, #2
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. 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 10:9,10)
We might think of Romans 10:9,10 as being the entrance to the path of salvation. The only entrance into the Divine plan of redemption is the confession of Jesus as Lord and the belief that God has raised Him from the dead. Because God raised Jesus from the dead we are confident that Jesus is able to save us.
Now we have gone through the correct door, the door that leads to salvation. It is what comes after this that presents the problem.
By using Romans 10:9,10 as a ticket to Heaven, we are saying the entrance to salvation is the entire program of redemption. It is not. It is merely the entrance. Most of the New Testament is written about what we are to do after we go through the entrance.
One would think this would be obvious. It is not obvious at all! Most Christian people, as far as I can tell, are not aware what they do after their initial confession has genuine significance. May I say that as important as the initial step is, if the subsequent steps are not taken, the initial step will avail us nothing. We have died in the wilderness, so to speak.
Today we are placing far too much emphasis on the initial step of salvation. In the Pentecostal movement we say that the next step after salvation is the baptism with the Holy Spirit. In actuality, the baptism with the Holy Spirit is part of initial salvation. We should believe, repent, be baptized in water, receive the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues, be healed if we need healing, and go on our way rejoicing that we have taken the beginning step of salvation.
But the salvation we have just entered must be worked out patiently and in the fear of the Lord.
Have we been saved at this point? Yes, and no. Actually, we are not finally saved until we endure to the end. "He who endures to the end shall be saved." Isn't this what Jesus, who is God in the flesh, informed us? Yet some today are challenging the statement made by the Lord Jesus, saying we do not need to endure to the end because we are saved by a sovereign grace. Thus they make God a liar! Sorry to be so blunt, but it is time we return to the Bible and believe what it states. Do you agree?
For myself, I would tremble to disagree with what Jesus said. Wouldn't you?
The problem lies in our definition of salvation, as I have written so many times in the past. Salvation has little to do with going to Heaven. Salvation is not a change in where we are but in what we are. Salvation moves us from Satan to God, not from earth to Heaven.
To be continued.