Confess and Believe

Intro

I want to start with a question. If we believe that we are saved by faith in Christ alone, and if we believe that once we have received that saving faith that leads us to repentance and good works, what’s the logical endpoint? What kind of life does that lead us to live? That’s what I want to unpack today as we read today’s passage.

Stand with me as we read God’s word. Romans 10:1-13.

As we work through this passage, I want to center around this bold truth that Paul preaches. Romans 10:10 “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

When we read that one verse in the context of what we have just worked through in Romans 9, we know that a genuine faith is the only thing required for salvation. There is no work that we can do to add to the righteousness that we receive from Christ.

So, now, when we read this verse, it seems as though there are these things other than faith that we must also do. These are exactly those good works that we know the Spirit will work in us once we have received that genuine faith. It is a genuine faith that is expressed when we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord.

So then, if we are sure that we have done these two things, we get to claim what Paul says next with total assurance and boldness. Paul, quoting from Joel 2:32 says in Romans 10:13 “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

Let’s just follow the logic of this section of Paul’s argument. In Romans 9:30–32 “What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,”

So, we attain righteousness, or a right standing with God, if we seek a righteousness that is by faith is Christ. And if we have this genuine faith, it will surely produce good works as we said last week. We are saved by faith alone, but a faith that saves is never alone, it will always produce good works.

So, we mentioned some of the good works that come with a genuine faith, like resentence and trust in God. Here, we have these things that Paul is also saying must be present if we are saved, being this profession that Jesus is Lord and belief that God raised Him from the dead.

So, now we have these two qualities of a genuine faith which we can actually see and hear and feel. These are fruit of a genuine faith that we can judge. And if we have these two things, we can have this confidence Paul articulates here in Romans 10. I also think of his words in Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

I recognize that the doctrine of eternal security has been contested throughout church history and still to this day. There are most likely some in this room that disagree with this doctrine. My hope today isn’t to give a conclusive biblical defense, or even convince you of this doctrine. I want to show you the hope and beauty that can be found in this understanding of the character of God.

Romans 10:1-7

Let’s first look at the opening verses of this chapter. Paul begins with his heart’s desire. That those, specifically those kinsmen of his, the Jews would be saved. Paul’s heart throughout this entire letter is both bold in objective truth, and loving toward those who do not know the truth.

He affirms their zeal for God. Notice, we can be zealous about the wrong things. Paul says that he bears them witness that they have zeal for God. Surely, when Paul was persecuting Christians as a pharisee, he had zeal for God, but not a zeal rooted in knowledge, or truth.

He continues to exhort the Jews to understand that the righteousness that they need for salvation is a righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus, not a self-righteousness that comes from adherence to the law, because no one can acheive it. And why would this now be the case? Because Jesus, remember from Hebrews, is the fulfillment of the law. And while Jesus did not abolish the law, he did end the law.

We obviously see in Jesus’ own teachings that the law is good. It teaches us of the character of God, but that simple observance of the law by deed isn’t even enough, because all of these laws also can be broken in the heart. No man could ever hope to keep the law fully in both thought and deed. No man can be righteous of his own accord, but only receive the righteousness of Christ through faith.

In v.5, Paul goes on to explain a little further. He makes a distinction between righteousness through adherence to the law and righteousness that is by faith. He says of the righteousness that is by faith, that we don’t have to look at one another and wonder. We don’t need to fear whether we, or our fellow believers in Christ will be saved. It’s from this jumping off point that with boldness he proclaims these truths in the rest of our passage for today.

Romans 10:8-11

Now on to the point I want to park on this morning. Romans 10:8–10 “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Paul proclaims with boldness here that if we do these two things, we can be assured that we are saved. What is more beautiful than this, that you, in whom God began a good work He will surely bring to completion?

Those who would challenge the doctrine of eternal security, or once saved always saved, would ask this. If you believe that you’re saved, and there is nothing that you need to do, why do anything at all? Why obey? Why not go on sinning? Won’t God’s mercy just be made new tomorrow?

These are good questions. Paul addresses one of them himself.

Romans 6:1–5 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

You, the moment you were justified became a new creation. You saw with unveiled eyes the glory of the Lord. Do you remember that moment?

I was sitting in the pew of a church I had never been to before in the middle of nowhere Florida when a faithful man of God preached a word that pierced my heart. I still struggle to articulate exactly what happened in that moment, but Isaiah said it well.

I know many of you are familiar with this passage. In Isaiah chapter 6, he has a vision where he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. And the Seraphim were flying above Him saying “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”

Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord, and he says, Isaiah 6:5 “And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!””

I love this passage. Does this feeling sound familiar to any of you? In a moment my eyes were unblinded, and my ears were unblocked, and I beheld for the first time the glory of the Lord.

In this one moment, we are justified. So then why should we try to do good works? Why should we pursue righteousness? Why should we obey God?

I want to challenge you for a moment to consider the love of God in the law. This is a good practice for us, because for me personally, early in my Christian walk, I struggled to synthesize the God of the OT with the God of the NT. God in the OT seemed to be a God of wrath and judgement while the God of the NT in Jesus seemed to be full of love and mercy. I had trouble understanding what seemed to me as a stark distinction.

As we read through the OT, we can see God’s love in all of it, so let’s use the law as our example for today. Is the law good? How could it be good if it condemned people? We know that the law. Hebrews says that Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.

The law is indeed good, but how can we see it that way. I want to urge you to consider for a moment what God has done in giving us the law. We often refer to the law as a mirror that reveals our sin to us, that is true. It also teaches us of the character of the Holy God that we worship. But what was God seeking when He gave these commandments? Obedience for obedience sake?

By no means! When Marissa and I are firm at the dinner table that Ryder and Theo do not leave the dinner table until they’ve eaten enough dinner, why would we make such a commandment? If we were loving parents, wouldn’t we just let them go play because that’s what they really want to do?

We set these commandments in place all throughout our day because we know what’s best for our children. We know that if they do leave the table and go play, they won’t come back to their food. We know that as soon as they lay their little head on their pillow, they’ll be hungry. We know that if we get them up then to have a snack, they won’t go to sleep on time and still wake up early. We want them to have good days where they play and enjoy and have fun, and for those things to happen, they have to eat dinner.

What if God, in giving the law, had this sentiment, except perfect? What if John Piper is right when he says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him?”

What if the law is good because God is good, and adhering to the law in both thought and deed is what will bring us ultimate satisfaction?

Now that Jesus has fulfilled the law, we still look at the Ten Commandments as the foundational guidelines of God’s will for us, which Jesus summarized and broadened with His two commandments.

Luke 10:27 “And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.””

When we obey these commandments, we don’t do it because if we don’t, we won’t be saved, we obey because we know that our heavenly Father knows what we need better than we know what we need. He knows that what we need is more of Him and less of us.

Piper on the same topic introduces a phrase for this he calls “Christian Hedonism.” I know I have a couple of English majors saying that’s and oxymoron. What is hedonism? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says hedonism is “the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life.”

That’s exactly what Piper meant. That the sole or chief good in our life is pleasure or happiness in the only place that our pleasure and our happiness can be totally satisfied. In God.

Can we track all that? What’s the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever? What was the Piper quote from before? God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Christian Hedonism.

We have a Heavenly Father who wants us to have the most joy, the most happiness, the most pleasure in Him. This is how we navigate trials. When our whole world is crumbling, God is unchanging. He is there, by your side. And no matter what this world can give us, or take away from us, nothing can take away the Holy Spirit that is within us.

God doesn’t want you to obey cause He wants control over you. He wants you to obey because He wants to overflow you with joy and pleasure and happiness that will never fade.

So, back to our original question? If we believe that we’re saved by faith alone, and that we have this eternal security in our salvation, how do we respond?

We respond to the greatest love ever displayed through Jesus on the cross with the greatest love that we can muster in our lives. Not through striving, not through grit and white knuckling through it, but by enjoying the presence of a God who will never leave you or forsake you. The one who started a good work in you. The one who will complete that work He started.

Hebrews 6:19 “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,”

Walk with boldness, believer. If you’re being crushed by the waves of the tempest of this world, cry out the words of Charles Spurgeon, “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.”

Let every trial of this world hurl you back into the loving arms of your Father. Let every drive you to your knees, that a God who didn’t owe you anything has given you everything you need in Jesus. And in every moment in between, set your heart to be most satisfied in Him, knowing that He is most glorified in you. For when Christ is your treasure, your anchor will hold, and your joy will not be shaken.”

1. Restate your opening question

“So I asked at the beginning—if we believe we’re saved by faith alone, what’s the logical endpoint? What kind of life does that lead us to live?”

2. Summarize your answer in one sentence

“It leads us to live a life of obedience, not to earn God’s favor, but because we already have it in Christ.”

3. Tie back to your main passage (Romans 10:10–13)

“With the heart we believe and are justified, with the mouth we confess and are saved—and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

4. Apply it personally

“So walk with boldness. When the storms come, let them throw you against the Rock of Ages. When life is calm, anchor your joy in Him.”

5. End with a memorable line or quote

“The God who began a good work in you will bring it to completion—so glorify Him by being most satisfied in Him, until faith becomes sight.”