Taking the Right Stand!
Romans 10:8-13 " But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of alland richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
There are times in our lives where we need to stand up and publicly proclaim what we believe in. If you are married, at your wedding ceremony you had to declare your love for your spouse and make a promise to be faithful until death do us part. Today Paul talks about the importance of our confession of faith. He says if you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved."
Paul connects hearing the word, believing in it in your heart, and then proclaiming it. The word is the Word about Jesus which is told throughout the old Testament and comes to fulfillment in the New Testament. As John says in chapter 1, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." So when we publicly declare with our own words that Jesus is Lord we are personally claiming Jesus is our Savior and Lord.
Paul also says if you "believe in your heart God raised him from the dead." Believing always has to do with trust. Trust comes from within oneself and then is proclaimed through our mouths. Like the wedding day example, we put our trust in a person we are going to marry and make a commitment through the public vows we make them.
You might have had a time in your life where you publicly confessed Jesus was your Lord. For youth that grow up in a traditional church often it happens at the Confirmation service, where the Confirmand publicly proclaims their belief in "God the Father, God the Son and the God the Holy Spirit. In non-denominational and baptist churches it is often called an altar call when someone comes up publicly to declare that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. There is no one way but we are all called to be ready to share the reason for the hope we have within us. Jesus tells us not to be ashamed of him, or one day he will be ashamed of us. He says this in Luke 9:26,
"Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9:26
Jesus was not ashamed of us when he went to the cross and died for us. When you have the opportunity don't hesitate to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. Of course, we don't force that on anyone, but every once in a while i think we are called to declare our allegiance to him for the world to see. And Paul says that when people here the Word about God they too have a chance to believe!
There are times in our lives where we need to stand up and publicly proclaim what we believe in. If you are married, at your wedding ceremony you had to declare your love for your spouse and make a promise to be faithful until death do us part. Today Paul talks about the importance of our confession of faith. He says if you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved."
Paul connects hearing the word, believing in it in your heart, and then proclaiming it. The word is the Word about Jesus which is told throughout the old Testament and comes to fulfillment in the New Testament. As John says in chapter 1, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." So when we publicly declare with our own words that Jesus is Lord we are personally claiming Jesus is our Savior and Lord.
Paul also says if you "believe in your heart God raised him from the dead." Believing always has to do with trust. Trust comes from within oneself and then is proclaimed through our mouths. Like the wedding day example, we put our trust in a person we are going to marry and make a commitment through the public vows we make them.
You might have had a time in your life where you publicly confessed Jesus was your Lord. For youth that grow up in a traditional church often it happens at the Confirmation service, where the Confirmand publicly proclaims their belief in "God the Father, God the Son and the God the Holy Spirit. In non-denominational and baptist churches it is often called an altar call when someone comes up publicly to declare that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. There is no one way but we are all called to be ready to share the reason for the hope we have within us. Jesus tells us not to be ashamed of him, or one day he will be ashamed of us. He says this in Luke 9:26,
"Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9:26
Jesus was not ashamed of us when he went to the cross and died for us. When you have the opportunity don't hesitate to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. Of course, we don't force that on anyone, but every once in a while i think we are called to declare our allegiance to him for the world to see. And Paul says that when people here the Word about God they too have a chance to believe!
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