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1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. 5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by 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 deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 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. 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10.1-13).[1] Memory Verses: 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. 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. (Romans 10.9-10) & Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10.13). The law, we can all understand the law, as we live in a world with laws. If we break a law there is consequences, punishment for breaking the law. God gave a law to the children of Israel in the wilderness through Moses. This law is known as Moses’ Law, and can be found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. There are about 613 laws that each Israelite was required to keep or they were found in violation of the law. In verse 5 of Romans Paul writes, “Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” This comes from Leviticus 18.5, and what Moses was telling the Israelites is righteousness comes by obeying the law, all of it. The apostle James reminds us how hard this is, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it (James 2.10).[2] How difficult would it be to keep all 613 laws? It would be hard to remember them all, yet obey them all perfectly to obtain righteousness, and still the law only pointed to our need for a Savior. So just as difficult as the law would be, we also have to be careful with ‘righteousness by faith’ and the arrogance that it can bring to us. We can allow our hearts to deceive us saying, “I can go up to heaven and get God,” or “I can go down into the deepest regions and bring God up to me.” How foolish and ridiculous to think we have anything to do with having God in our lives; to bring God close to us, to have a relationship with Him. However, God is very near each of us, His Word is in our hearts and mouth. How is this possible, when we go to church, hear a message on TV, when a friend tells us about Jesus Christ, when we step outside and see His mighty handwork in the sky, trees, and the surrounding environment. God is everywhere and we just need to look for Him, listen for Him and allow Him to work His way into our lives. Salvation is made possible by Jesus Christ, to all who will confess Him as Lord and Savior of their lives, and who will believe in their hearts God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. It is very important we do not miss these two elements, many people believe it is ok to confess Jesus Christ, to ask Him into their life. But they are missing an important element ‘Lord,’ this term ‘Lord’ means “One who exercises supernatural authority over mankind.” We do not like to ask Jesus Christ to be Lord of our lives because it means He will be in-control and we want to be in-control. But to really be a follower of Christ we need to allow Christ to have full access to our lives, to be able to open every door in our hearts, minds, and soul. If we are closing off rooms to Him what are we trying to hid? Remember God knows everything anyway, so what are we thinking by keeping Him out? Think on these verses by the apostle Paul as he was instructing the church at Galatia, “For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose (Galatians 2.19-21).[3] Paul reminds us just where the law stands when it comes to righteousness and allowing Christ to be in-control. He says, “I died to the law so I might live in Christ.” The law representing our old life, how we used to be. Jesus put it this way, “If you want to come after Me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me (Matthew 16.24). See, ‘deny yourself’ we must give up ourselves so Christ can take over, be in-control of our lives. Because let’s be honest if righteousness could have come from the law, if we could make it on our own, then what was the purpose of Christ’s death? As Paul said, “He died in vain.” Application
Prayer MY Saviour, my Almighty Friend, When I begin Thy praise, Where will the growing numbers end, The numbers of Thy grace? Thou art my everlasting trust; Thy goodness I adore; And since I knew Thy graces first, I speak Thy glories more.[4] Lord thank You for Your righteousness, love and mercy; thank You, You did not require me to fulfill all the law, but to trust in Your Son’s shed blood, His death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection. I know Lord, without Your plan I would still be destined for eternal separation from You, but because of Your Son, I now will be in Your presence now and forever, Amen. I ask You provide me the ability to see the opportunities to share Your gospel today, to seize upon them and share Your truth without fear or shame. All this I pray in Your Son Jesus Christ’s Name, Amen. [1] The New International Version. (2011). (Ro 10:1–13). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. [2] The Holy Bible: N-ew Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Jas 2:10). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. [3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ga 2:19–21). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [4] Spurgeon, C. H. (1883). Our Own Hymn Book: A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Public, Social and Private Worship. London: Passmore & Alabaster. You Can Download This Blog Here – November 9 – Romans 10.1-13 Pt 3
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