CALL TO WORSHIP
OPENING COMMENTS
- Today is the first Sunday in Easter Preparation, a period of reflection and preparation for Easter celebration. For many people, this season is associated with a period of giving up something we enjoy for 40 days. This practice can create room within ourselves so that we might be transformed, resurrected by God. Since the Holy Spirit that raised Christ also dwells in us, it makes sense that creating room in our hearts makes it possible to consider new ways we can love each other better and live in harmony. After all, we must be transformed personally if we are to transform the social systems that we inhabit.
- Our theme for this week is God, Our Deliverer, and it encourages us to think about what we mean when we say “deliverer.” Do we mean that we will never face difficulty, pain, suffering, or death? This first week in Easter Prep is our opportunity to examine whether we unconsciously view our relationship with God as a “get out of jail free card” instead of a promise of close companionship as we navigate our lives.
OPENING SONGS
OPENING PRAYER
FIRST MESSAGE
- God Our Deliverer
- Voiceover by: Peter Mill – Glasgow, Scotland
From the transcript …
Life can feel like a wilderness path, rough and winding, marked by both beauty and challenge. There are steep climbs, dark valleys, and unexpected storms. But along this road, we’re not alone — there is a companion with us, steady and faithful, promising to walk beside us every step of the way. As we enter this season of Easter Preparation, we walk with Jesus, who traveled his own journey of sacrifice and trust, fully relying on his Father’s presence.
In Epiphany, we celebrated the light of God revealed in Jesus, but as we move into this season, shadows fall over the path. We witness the struggles Jesus faced: hostilities from those who opposed him, his sorrow over a world filled with suffering, his disappointment in the misunderstandings of his followers. Yet, through it all, Jesus moved forward with courage and love, deeply trusting in God as his Deliverer.
As we enter this season, we reflect on what it truly means to call God our Deliverer. Do we think it means freedom from every hardship, or is it the promise that God will give us strength and companionship through them? Jesus’ journey shows us that God’s deliverance isn’t about removing life’s challenges; it’s about providing the courage and support to face them. This is the kind of deliverance that draws us closer to God, refining our faith and shaping who we are.
Today’s Psalm, Psalm 91, reminds us of God’s promise to be our refuge and fortress, to walk with us through every trial. Just as Jesus found strength in his Father during his own journey, we too can lean on God’s unwavering presence, especially in times of struggle. This psalm invites us to trust that God is with us, guiding us and lifting us up, even when the way is hard.
As we begin this season of Easter Preparation, let us embrace the journey of self-examination and draw near to God in prayer, seeking to know his heart. May we come to understand that God’s deliverance doesn’t remove us from life’s challenges but strengthens us through them. As we follow the path that Jesus walked, let us place our trust in God, our Deliverer, who never leaves our side.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.’
If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.’”
May we rest in God, our Deliverer, who walks with us, sustaining and guiding us every step of the way.
FIRST READING
8 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), 9 because[a] if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe[b] in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes[c] with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes[d] in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
SPECIAL MUSIC
Every Praise … Hezekiah Walker
MAIN MESSAGE
NO Magic Words
8 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), 9 because[a] if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe[b] in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes[c] with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes[d] in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
What is the main takeaway from that passage?
CONTEXT … Romans 10:1-7 …
Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not based on knowledge. 3 Not knowing the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that comes from 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 abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
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- QQQ … It was not our effort which brought Christ into the world or raised him from the dead. It is not our effort which wins us goodness. The thing is done for us, and we have only to accept. (Barclay)
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8 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), 9 because[that] if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe[trust] in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For one believes[trusts] with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation.
11 The scripture says, “No one who believes[trusts] in him will be put to shame.”
From Barclay’s commentary on Romans 10 …
The whole Jewish approach was that by this kind of obedience to the law a man earned credit with God. Nothing shows better t.he Jewish attitude than the three classes into which they divided mankind.
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- There were those who were good, whose balance was on the right side;
- there were those who were bad, whose balance was on the debit side;
- there were those who were in between, who, by doing one more good work, could become good.
It was all a matter of law and achievement. To this Paul answers: “Christ is the end of the law.” What he meant was: “Christ is the end of legalism.” The relationship between God and man is no longer the relationship between a creditor and a debtor, between an earner and an assessor, between a judge and a man standing at the bar of judgment. Because of Jesus Christ, man is no longer faced with the task of satisfying God’s justice; he need only accept his love. He has no longer to win God’s favour; he need simply take the grace and love and mercy which he freely offers.
To make his point Paul uses two Old Testament quotations.
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- First, he quotes Lev.18:5 where it says that, if a man meticulously obeys the commandments of the law, he will find life. That is true — but no one ever has.
- Then he quotes Deut. 30:12-13. Moses is saying that God’s law is not inaccessible and impossible; it is there in a man’s mouth and life and heart. Paul allegorizes that passage.
It was not our effort which brought Christ into the world or raised him from the dead. It is not our effort which wins us goodness. The thing is done for us, and we have only to accept.
Rom. 10:9-10 are of prime importance. They give us the basis of the first Christian creed.
(i) A man must say Jesus Christ is Lord. The word for Lord is kurios. This is the key word of early Christianity. It has four stages of meaning.
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- It is the normal title of respect like the English sir, the French monsieur, the German herr.
- It is the normal title of the Roman Emperors.
- It is the normal title of the Greek gods, prefaced before the god’s name. Kurios Serapis is Lord Serapis.
- In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures it is the regular translation of the divine name, Jahveh or Jehovah.
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So, then, if a man called Jesus kurios he was ranking him with the Emperor and with God; he was giving him the supreme place in his life; he was pledging him implicit obedience and reverent worship. To call Jesus kurios was to count him unique. First, then, a man to be a Christian must have a sense of the utter uniqueness of Jesus Christ.
(ii) A man must believe that Jesus is risen from the dead. The resurrection was an essential of Christian belief. The Christian must believe not only that Jesus lived, but also that he lives. He must not only know about Christ: he must know him. He is not studying an historical personage, however great; he is living with a real presence. He must know not only Christ the martyr: he must know Christ the victor, too.
(iii) But a man must not only believe in his heart; he must confess with his lips. Christianity is belief plus confession; it involves witness before men. Not only God, but also our fellow men, must know what side we are on.
A Jew would find it hard to believe that the way to God was not through the law; this way of trust and of acceptance was shatteringly and incredibly new to him. Further, he would have real difficulty in believing that the way to God was open to everybody. The Gentiles did not seem to him to be in the same position as the Jews at all. So Paul concludes his argument by citing two Old Testament texts to prove his case.
- First, he cites Isa. 28:16: “Every one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” There is nothing about law there; it is all based on faith.
- Second, he cites Joel 2:32: “All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.” There is no limitation there; the promise is to everyone; therefore, there is no difference between Jew and Greek.
In essence this passage is an appeal to the Jews to abandon the way of legalism and accept the way of grace. It is an appeal to them to see that their zeal is misplaced. It is an appeal to listen to the prophets who long ago declared that faith is the only way to God, and that that way is open to every man.
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
WHAT IS THE MAIN TAKEAWAY?
God doesn’t save us because we believe and confess …
God saves us by His grace … Ephesians 2:8-10
Belief (Faith; Trust) is how we receive salvation (something God has already given/provided).
QQQ … From the GCI Lectionary Notes …
Romans 10:8b–13 can be misread to imply that our salvation is ensured or sealed by saying the “sinner’s prayer” or by speaking aloud the name of Jesus. We must guard against believing that we ourselves are making it true simply by our special words — that’s superstition. That’s making this passage about the “form” rather than the “substance.” Confess and believe is not a formula. The substance is “everyone.” It’s as if Paul is saying to the Jews, “Look. Before it was birthright that saved you. But the Greeks believe the gospel is true (their confession proves it), and they’re saved too! Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.”
A transactional interpretation of what it means to simply confess and believe in Jesus in exchange for salvation is similar to Israel’s belief that their righteousness came from their law-keeping. Paul challenges us to see the connections between Old Testament promises and their surprising fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as the righteousness and restoration we’re to be a part of in this world. We’re also challenged to live in integrity with what we say we believe and the way it is expressed through our speech and our behavior. Our faith in Christ must be more than knowing the magic words.
CLOSING SONG
CLOSING PRAYER
From Barclay’s commentary on Romans 10 …
THE MISTAKEN ZEAL
Brothers, the desire of my heart for the Jews and my prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I do say this for them–that they do have a zeal for God, but it is not a zeal which is based on a real knowledge. For they do not realize that a man can only achieve the status of righteousness by God’s gift, and they seek to establish their own status, and so they have not submitted themselves to that power of God which alone can make them righteous in his sight. For Christ is the end of the whole system of law. for he came to bring everyone who believes and trusts into a right relationship with God. Moses writes that the man who works at the righteousness which comes from the law shall live by it. But the righteousness which stems from faith speaks like this–“Do not say in your heart, `Who shall go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or, `Who shall go down into the deep abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ again from among the dead).” But what does it say? “The word is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart.” And that word is the message of faith which we proclaim. This word of faith is our message, that, if you acknowledge with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For belief with the heart is the way to a right relationship with God, and confession with the mouth is the way to salvation, For scripture says, “Every one who believes in him will not be put to shame,” for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord over all, and he has ample resources for all who call upon him. For “every one who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Paul has been saying some hard things about the Jews. He has been telling them truths which were difficult for them to hear and bear. The whole passage Romans 9-11 is a condemnation of the Jewish attitude to religion. Yet from beginning to end there is no anger in it; there is nothing but wistful longing and heartfelt yearning. It is Paul’s one desire that the Jews may be saved.
If ever we are to bring men to the Christian faith, our attitude must be the same. Great preachers have known this. “Don’t scold,” said one. “Always remember to keep your voice down,” said another. A great present-day preacher called preaching “pleading with men.” Jesus wept over Jerusalem. There is a preaching which blasts the sinner with tempestuously angry words; but always Paul speaks the truth in love.
Paul was entirely ready to admit that the Jews were zealous for God; but he also saw that their zeal was a misdirected thing. Jewish religion was based on meticulous obedience to the law. Now it is clear that that obedience could be given only by a man who was desperately in earnest about his religion. It was not an easy thing; it must often have been made extremely inconvenient; and it must often have made life very uncomfortable.
Take the Sabbath law. It was laid down exactly how far a man could walk on the Sabbath. It was laid down that he must lift no burden which weighed more than two dried figs. It was laid down that no food must be cooked on the Sabbath. It was laid down that, in the event of sickness, measures might be taken to keep the patient from becoming worse, but not to make him better. To this day there are strict orthodox Jews in this country who will not poke or mend a fire on the Sabbath or switch on a light. If a fire has to be poked a Gentile is employed to do it. If a Jew is wealthy enough he will sometimes instal a time switch to switch on the lights at dusk on Sabbath without his doing so himself.
This is not something to smile at, but to admire. The way of the law was not easy. No one would undertake it at all unless he was supremely in earnest. Zealous the Jews were and are. Paul had no difficulty in granting that, but the zeal was misdirected and misapplied.
In the Fourth Book of Maccabees there is an amazing incident. Eleazar the priest was brought before Antiochus Epiphanes whose aim was to stamp out Jewish religion. Antiochus ordered him to eat pork. The old man refused. “No, not if you pluck out my eyes, and consume my bowels in the fire. We, O Antiochus,” he said, “who live under a divine law, consider no compulsion to be so forcible as obedience to our law.” If he had to die, his fathers would receive him “holy and pure.” He was ordered to be beaten. “His flesh was torn off by the whips, and he streamed down with blood, and his flanks were laid open by wounds.” He fell and a soldier kicked him. In the end the soldiers so pitied him that they brought him dressed meat, which was not pork, and told him to eat it and say that he had eaten pork. He refused. He was in the end killed. “I am dying by fiery torments for thy law’s sake,” he prayed to God. “He resisted,” says the writer, “even to the agonies of death, for the law’s sake.”
And what was all this about? It was about eating pork. It seems incredible that a man should die like that for a law like that. But the Jews did so die. Truly they had a zeal for the law. No man can say that they were not desperately in earnest about their service to God.
The whole Jewish approach was that by this kind of obedience to the law a man earned credit with God. Nothing shows better t.he Jewish attitude than the three classes into which they divided mankind.
-
- There were those who were good, whose balance was on the right side;
- there were those who were bad, whose balance was on the debit side;
- there were those who were in between, who, by doing one more good work, could become good.
It was all a matter of law and achievement. To this Paul answers: “Christ is the end of the law.” What he meant was: “Christ is the end of legalism.” The relationship between God and man is no longer the relationship between a creditor and a debtor, between an earner and an assessor, between a judge and a man standing at the bar of judgment. Because of Jesus Christ, man is no longer faced with the task of satisfying God’s justice; he need only accept his love. He has no longer to win God’s favour; he need simply take the grace and love and mercy which he freely offers.
To make his point Paul uses two Old Testament quotations.
-
- First, he quotes Lev.18:5 where it says that, if a man meticulously obeys the commandments of the law, he will find life. That is true — but no one ever has.
- Then he quotes Deut. 30:12-13. Moses is saying that God’s law is not inaccessible and impossible; it is there in a man’s mouth and life and heart. Paul allegorizes that passage.
It was not our effort which brought Christ into the world or raised him from the dead. It is not our effort which wins us goodness. The thing is done for us, and we have only to accept.
Rom. 10:9-10 are of prime importance. They give us the basis of the first Christian creed.
(i) A man must say Jesus Christ is Lord. The word for Lord is kurios. This is the key word of early Christianity. It has four stages of meaning.
-
-
- It is the normal title of respect like the English sir, the French monsieur, the German herr.
- It is the normal title of the Roman Emperors.
- It is the normal title of the Greek gods, prefaced before the god’s name. Kurios Serapis is Lord Serapis.
- In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures it is the regular translation of the divine name, Jahveh or Jehovah.
-
So, then, if a man called Jesus kurios he was ranking him with the Emperor and with God; he was giving him the supreme place in his life; he was pledging him implicit obedience and reverent worship. To call Jesus kurios was to count him unique. First, then, a man to be a Christian must have a sense of the utter uniqueness of Jesus Christ.
(ii) A man must believe that Jesus is risen from the dead. The resurrection was an essential of Christian belief. The Christian must believe not only that Jesus lived, but also that he lives. He must not only know about Christ: he must know him. He is not studying an historical personage, however great; he is living with a real presence. He must know not only Christ the martyr: he must know Christ the victor, too.
(iii) But a man must not only believe in his heart; he must confess with his lips. Christianity is belief plus confession; it involves witness before men. Not only God, but also our fellow men, must know what side we are on.
A Jew would find it hard to believe that the way to God was not through the law; this way of trust and of acceptance was shatteringly and incredibly new to him. Further, he would have real difficulty in believing that the way to God was open to everybody. The Gentiles did not seem to him to be in the same position as the Jews at all. So Paul concludes his argument by citing two Old Testament texts to prove his case.
- First, he cites Isa. 28:16: “Every one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” There is nothing about law there; it is all based on faith.
- Second, he cites Joel 2:32: “All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.” There is no limitation there; the promise is to everyone; therefore, there is no difference between Jew and Greek.
In essence this passage is an appeal to the Jews to abandon the way of legalism and accept the way of grace. It is an appeal to them to see that their zeal is misplaced. It is an appeal to listen to the prophets who long ago declared that faith is the only way to God, and that that way is open to every man.
Lectionary Notes
More Than Magic Words
Romans 10:8b–13 NRSVUE
There’s a joke about an eight-year-old named Michael who needed to use the restroom at school. Here’s how that conversation went:
Michael: Can I go to the restroom?
Teacher: What’s the magic word?
Michael: Abracadabra.
In our world, the words we use matter, and, as the joke about Michael shows, we’re usually taught from an early age to use courtesy words to make our requests. (The teacher wanted Michael to say, “Please.”) Words are also important to us as Christians, which can be either good or bad. The words we use to talk about God or talk to God can be misused or given more weight than is necessary. For example, some churches teach that you must end your prayer with “in Jesus’ name;” otherwise, your prayer won’t be heard by God. Other denominations say that you must “pray the sinner’s prayer” to be saved, and if you don’t do that before you die, then you’re destined for hell. Hopefully, we remember what we know about God’s character and love for all of humanity, recognizing that praying the sinner’s prayer and getting the words right to be saved or to have our prayers heard is a requirement made by human beings, not by God. Though it is good and fitting that we can express what is in our hearts through our words, our spoken words do not magically save us. Jesus saves us.
Our sermon text for today covers topics like salvation, confession, and justification, and we’ll learn that Paul is talking about more than mere words for us to repeat.
Let’s read Romans 10:8b–13.
8 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), 9 because[a] if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe[b] in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes[c] with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes[d] in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The context of Romans 10
Paul’s letter to the Romans is his longest letter, and he was writing to a group that he had not visited. In this sense, Paul is introducing himself and how he views justification by faith, not works. Theologians Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan believe the best interpretive practice for the letter to the Romans is to “get Paul and his letter to the Romans out of the sixteenth-century polemical [i.e., hostile and critical] Reformation world and back into the first-century imperial Roman world” (156–157). Often, modern readers think that Paul was criticizing Judaism. Instead, Borg and Crossan argue, Paul was “a Christian Jew within covenantal Judaism criticizing Roman imperialism” (157).
Our sermon text offers Paul’s summary of how salvation comes about. Salvation is a major theme of Romans, and by utilizing prophetic Old Testament texts, Paul explains how salvation is provided, not just for the Jews but also for non-Jews, through Israel’s Messiah. Paul tends to repeat this thought: even though Israel stumbled and mishandled the Law, God was working both through the Torah and through the Messiah to accomplish the redemption of the whole world. This is possible through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which isn’t expressly stated in Romans 10 but is referred to in other letters from Paul, such as 1 Corinthians 12:3. Transformation is Paul’s point, a faith-based covenant relationship. Paul contrasts the Law with reality of Christ, who reveals God’s righteousness and love.
Let’s consider how the righteousness of God and restoration are presented in Romans 10:8b–13.
The righteousness of God
Our sermon text clarifies what is meant by the righteousness of God found earlier in Romans 10:
Not knowing the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they [Israel] have not submitted to God’s righteousness. Romans 10:3 NRSVUE
The word translated “righteousness” is dikaiosynē, and it can be interpreted as the “righteous status which humans receive from God,” according to theologian N.T. Wright (1168). Wright further fleshes out what this means, practically speaking, when he writes that it “denotes not so much the abstract idea of justice or virtue as right standing and consequent right behavior within a community.” In Romans 10, Paul is clarifying that he, too, once sought to establish his own righteousness, and his narrative about righteousness was turned upside down by his mystical encounter with the risen Christ (Acts 9:1–9).
Much of the discussion of righteousness in the passage pertains to “who’s in and who’s out.” In other words, Israel thought they were “in” and everyone else was “out.” Paul uses their Old Testament scriptures to prove that righteousness is defined differently than strict law-keeping. Wright suggests that since “God’s people are to reflect God’s own character, it is not illegitimate to extrapolate from them to the justice God desires and designs for his world.” God intends righteousness to be a communal blessing, not just an individual blessing.
Restoration
Just before our passage, in verses 6-8, Paul uses evidence from the Old Testament, specifically quoting Deuteronomy 30, where the Greek term rhema is translated “word.” According to Wright, Paul rarely uses the word in other writings, but in Romans 10, he uses it several times to convey “the idea of the divine initiative which, in the form of the spoken word, brings new life and new possibilities” (1173). God is offering readers of Romans a “new way” of keeping the law, one that will be in our mouths and hearts, while enabling us to live it fully. It is this restoration that Paul is praying for in the first verse of the chapter.
Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them [Israel] is that they may be saved. Romans 10:1 NRSVUE
Paul quotes Joel 2:32 in Romans 10:13 to support the restoration of all people to God:
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls. Joel 2:32 NRSVUE
The evidence from Deuteronomy and Joel is used to address Israel’s struggles with continued oppression despite the covenant with Abraham. Paul points out that their question (why are we still oppressed?) has been answered differently than they had expected through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Wright says that “in God’s plan, Christ offers covenant membership to all who believe the gospel.”
It’s also interesting to note that Paul repeats certain words in the passage: mouth/lips and heart. To Paul, the heart represented the center of one’s intellectual, physical, and spiritual lives, while the mouth was used to express what was in the heart. We can see parallels with the way living in integrity connects heart and speech in this week’s gospel reading found in Luke 4:1–13, recounting Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. While the devil twisted Scripture to suit his purposes, Jesus spoke with integrity from the heart. Similarly, our restoration includes right speech that is congruent with our hearts that are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Romans 10:8b–13 can be misread to imply that our salvation is ensured or sealed by saying the “sinner’s prayer” or by speaking aloud the name of Jesus. We must guard against believing that we ourselves are making it true simply by our special words — that’s superstition. That’s making this passage about the “form” rather than the “substance.” Confess and believe is not a formula. The substance is “everyone.” It’s as if Paul is saying to the Jews, “Look. Before it was birthright that saved you. But the Greeks believe the gospel is true (their confession proves it), and they’re saved too! Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.”
A transactional interpretation of what it means to simply confess and believe in Jesus in exchange for salvation is similar to Israel’s belief that their righteousness came from their law-keeping. Paul challenges us to see the connections between Old Testament promises and their surprising fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as the righteousness and restoration we’re to be a part of in this world. We’re also challenged to live in integrity with what we say we believe and the way it is expressed through our speech and our behavior. Our faith in Christ must be more than knowing the magic words.
Call to Action:
- Consider how you communicate your faith through your words and actions.
- How does your faith inform your behavior?
- Does your faith inform your treatment of those who disagree or are different from you?
- Contemplate if your actions convey the generosity God shows all human beings.