Paul
the apostle told the people in Rome,
“The
word is near you, even
in your mouth, and in your heart:
that
is, the word of faith, which we preach;”,
and he added, “That
if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall
believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you
shall be saved”.
In
chapter ten and verse ten of Romans,
Paul shares with his readers why the, “heart”
and
“mouth”
are important to “salvation”
where
we read:
For
with the heart man believes unto righteousness;
and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The
verse begins, “For
with the heart man believes unto righteousness;”
Paul
began with the words, “for”
which means “even as, indeed, seeing then, no doubt, verily and
therefore” “with
the heart”
which means “the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of
the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes and
endeavors” “man”
or “a human being whether male or female” “believes”
which means “thinks to be true, is persuaded of, credits and places
confidence in” “unto
righteousness”
or “toward the state of him who is as he ought to be and the
condition acceptable to God”. Paul shared how “the soul and mind”
of a person “places confidence in” “the state and condition
acceptable to God”.
The
verse goes on to say, “and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Paul
continues with the words, “and
with the mouth”
which means “and by the orifice in the front of the face which is
used for speech” “confession”
which means “saying the same thing as another, agreeing with,
assenting and conceding”
“is made”
or “is formed and fashioned” “unto
salvation”
which means “toward deliverance, preservation, safety and future
benefits and blessing which Christians who are redeemed from all
earthly ills will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from
heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God”. Paul shared
how the profession a person's “mouth”
“agrees with and concedes” to God and “fashions” a person
toward “deliverance and redemption.
When
we think through these words of Paul, we see how the “heart”
and
“mouth”
are important for the “salvation”
of a person. The “soul and mind” of someone must “believe”
God,
and the “mouth”
demonstrates “agreement with Him”. Jesus said, “out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew
12:34), and when a person “believes” in the gospel or
“good news” of God and their “mouths” profess
“agreement” with it, God “saves” them. Jesus Christ
came to the earth to “seek and to save that which was lost”,
and those who “believe and trust” in Him while professing the
same shall be “saved”.
Next
time we
see Paul refers to the scriptures again as he tells his readers,
“whoever
believes on him shall not be ashamed”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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