5 For Moses wrote that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 6 But the way of getting right with God through faith says, “You don’t need to go to heaven” (to find Christ and bring Him down to help you). 7 And it says, “You don’t need to go to the place of the dead” (to bring Christ back to life again). 8 Salvation that comes from trusting Christ – which is the message we preach – is already within easy reach. In fact, the scriptures say, “The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.”
9 For 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. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They all have the same Lord, who generously gives His riches to all who ask for them. 13 For “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
In verses 5-8, Paul paraphrased Moses’ farewell speech from Deuteronomy 30:12-14, and added his own Christ-centered references. Forty years had passed since the Israelites left Egypt
In Moses time, all they had was the law. They knew in their hearts that no one could be made righteous by keeping the law. They knew it required faith. But faith was not easy. Instead of trusting in God to work His plan in their lives, they took matters into their own hands. They established customs and traditions to add to the law in an effort to make themselves righteous before God. But, no matter how sincere their motives, human effort can never equal the righteousness that is offered by God through faith.
Christ accomplished the whole purpose of the law in two different ways; (1) He met God’s righteous demands by living a perfect, sinless life – as only God Himself could, and (2) He fulfilled the purpose of the law by becoming our perfect sacrifice, again, as only God could.
In Deuteronomy 29, Moses reminded the Israelites of all of the miraculous blessing that God had bestowed on them during their forty years in the wilderness, and reminded them of the covenant they made with God. He would be their God, and they would be His people. Moses summed it up in Chapter 30, verse 10, when he said that the Lord will delight in them if they kept His commandments, and if they turned to the Lord your God with all of their heart and soul. In verse 11, Moses explained that this command he is giving them is not too difficult for them to understand or perform. They needed to come to God in faith, and God’s grace would be sufficient. They didn’t have to add to the law to go to heaven to ask forgiveness, and they didn’t need to sacrifice themselves to please God. All they had to do was ask. God declared Abraham righteous because of his faith.
Christ fulfilled the righteous demands of God completely. There is nothing else that can be added to it. We don’t have to become religious to be saved. Salvation is not for those who go to church, or help needy people, or any number of acts. Salvation is for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ. Just as Moses told the Israelites 1400 years earlier, Paul tells the Church in Rome
Paul went on to explain in Romans 10:9-10, “For if you confess with you mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you are saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”
Both are equally important. One is no good without the other. It is an act of saying what you believe – making a public profession of faith.
One of the most difficult positions to find ourselves in is to be an eyewitness to a crime. As an eyewitness, you have to be willing to sit in the witness box in plain sight of the defendant, and swear under oath that you are 100% certain that the defendant committed the crime. Your testimony could mean life or death for the defendant. You can’t just sit there and think it, you have to say it.
Some polls say that upwards of 85% of Americans claim to be Christians. It would be awesome to believe that, but the moral decline of our culture doesn’t reflect that. Of the 85%, how many do you think are willing to stand up in their workplace, or in the public square, and say it out loud? I don’t know, but I would venture to say that it is far less than 85%.
Everyday, at our local community college, dozens and dozens of Muslims put down their prayer mats, face Mecca
That’s why baptism is such an important part of our Christian walk. It is the ultimate outward expression of the inward commitment to follow Christ.
Is it enough to have faith and not express it? This is a rather deep theological question that has been debated for the past 20 centuries by theologians of every generation. All we can do is go back to the Word of God and hang on the words of Paul and James. Paul clearly said that you have to express it in words, and James said, “So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all – it is dead and useless. (James 2:17 NLT)
In verse 11, Paul repeated Isaiah 28:16 – “Anyone who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” We need to be careful not to take this verse out of context. Paul is focusing on the subject of salvation – are you saved or are you not? The point of view is eternal. If you trust in Christ for your eternal salvation, you will not be disappointed. This could be the understatement of all time.
All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Why do we stumble over this simple statement? Some say it’s too easy. They reason that if all it took was a profession of faith to Jesus Christ, everyone would be saved… but they are not. It’s not as easy as they think. Just as it takes courage and conviction to sit in the witness box, point to the accused, and say under oath that he is the one, it takes courage and conviction to profess your faith in Christ.
As Paul pointed out, it is not enough just to believe, it has to be expressed. And conversely, it is not enough to simply express it in words, you have to believe.
Is the Gospel message of Jesus Christ too easy?
Over and over, throughout his letter to the Romans, Paul emphasized that this gift of God through Christ is free. In our culture today, when we hear “free” we immediately ask, “what’s the catch?” We feel that if we pay for something, then we own it. No one gives something for nothing these days. But, that is exactly what God has done. We absolutely cannot earn our way to God. We can never do enough to be made right with Him in our own power. We are drowning in our sins. Christ didn’t come to teach us how to swim, He came to rescue us. If you were drowning and a lifeguard came to rescue you, would you say, “No, not until I pay you first!” Of course not. You would reach out and grab a hold of him. If you haven’t already, reach out and grab a hold of Christ.
Have you publicly proclaimed your faith in Christ?
This is a very fair question. Public baptism was the method of proclaiming faith in Christ in the first century. These Christians believed so deeply that Christ was their Savior, that they proclaimed it in the Jordan River for all to see – knowing that they would suffer persecution and even death by doing so. I have spoken to people that will say, “ I consider myself a Christian…” You either are or you aren’t. “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” You have to believe, and you have to say it.
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