Becoming a Christian (Rom. 10:9-10)

This sermon was preached on 4/3/2012

Becoming a Christian (Romans 10:9-10)

In this chapter, Paul first reveals his loving concern for his countrymen. It was his heart’s desire and prayer that they would be saved. The reason why he was so concerned was because they were pursuing a wrong path for salvation. He acknowledges that they are devout and determined, eager to be saved by God. But as long as they went on their selected path they would not be saved. What was their self-chosen path? It was to find salvation by keeping the commandments of God.

Their mistake is a very common one. Many people think that the way to find favour with God is by obeying him. The range of their obedience can be very broad. They may engage in spiritual activities such as reading the Bible and praying and they may also do all kinds of good works for their neighbours. Obviously such behaviour is good, but it is not the way of salvation. It is possible to become a very religious person and not find salvation.

Yet Paul explains to such persons that there is hope for them if they cease their wrong outlook. One problem with the lifestyle that I have been describing is that it puts salvation into the distance. It becomes something that is attained by a performance, and inevitably we will not be satisfied with our efforts. The result is that salvation becomes a distant goal, one that we cannot be sure about.

Such an outlook is very sad because the opposite is the case. Paul makes it very clear in Romans 10:6-8 that the way of salvation is close by us. He says that no-one has to ascend to heaven and no-one has to descend into the depths in order to find God. Instead he has drawn very near. Paul points out that we can even have the way of salvation in our mouth and in our heart. When a person does both these response, he is a saved person.

So how does one become a Christian? Paul says that the way of mercy is connected to Jesus. All who would be saved do so by believing in their hearts about the resurrection of Jesus and confessing the Lordship of Jesus with their mouths.

 

Believing in their hearts

 

We tend to use the heart as if all it could do was love. The biblical meaning of the heart is far broader than the emotions and affections; it also includes the mind and the will. When a person has a changed heart, more than his affections are affected.

 

 

What do they have to believe? They must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This statement demands that we ask when he raised Jesus and why he raised Jesus from the dead. The when is very clear – it occurred on Easter morning, probably in AD 30. Thinking about the when reminds us of the fact of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, that there is much evidence that it took place. Many saw him alive after his resurrection; there is the great change in the outlook of the apostles (they were willing to die rather than deny they had seen him risen from the dead); there is the failure of the authorities to produce the body of Jesus (after all, it had been in their case). It is to against all the rules of evidence to deny that the resurrection of Jesus took place.

 

The whys of the resurrection takes us to the meaning of it. We can answer this aspect by looking backwards and forwards. Firstly, the Father raised Jesus from the dead because his sacrifice on the cross had achieved all that was required of him. On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty on behalf of sinners. Just before he died, he cried out twice: one statement said, ‘It is finished,’ and the other statement said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ How do we know that Jesus had completed the work and then was taken care off after his death by the Father? The answer is that the Father raised Jesus from the dead because he was satisfied with all that Jesus had done.

 

Secondly, the Father raised Jesus from the dead because he had future plans for Jesus. These plans included his ascension to heaven, his enthronement in heaven, his future judgement of the world and his formation of a new universe. Jesus deserved to receive the honour of performing each of those activities, and each of them is connected to our salvation. The risen Jesus reigns in order that those who believe in him will experience full salvation.

 

Of course, the challenge that comes to us is, ‘Do we believe in the resurrection of Jesus?’ Do we believe it intellectually, fully convinced that the evidence points clearly to the fact that the account of the resurrection of Jesus is true? And do we believe it emotionally and affectionately? Are our feelings stirred and excited by the resurrection of Jesus. Do we love Jesus for being willing to die, do we love the Father for raising Jesus from the dead, and are we delighted that the Father has given those important roles to Jesus to accomplish?

 

Paul says that such persons are only justified by God when they believe in Jesus. Their faith is both doctrinal and trustful. They believe the fact that Jesus is alive and they also believe why he is alive. To be justified means to be accepted fully by God as righteous. To be righteous was the goal of those whom Paul described as going about it the wrong way (vv. 1-4). Instead of a lifetime working for it, righteousness is given immediately to everyone who believes in Jesus.

Confession of the Lordship of Jesus

Paul also mentions another aspect of what a Christian is when he says that a believer confesses that Jesus is Lord and that such a confession indicates a person is saved. It is important to note that Paul is not saying that a sinner remains unconverted until he or she tells someone that Jesus is Lord. Rather the apostle is describing how an individual reveals that he or she believes that God has raised Jesus from the dead.

 

Why is this form of confession necessary? One answer is that it distinguishes a believer from someone who is trying to win God’s favour by obeying his commandments. Outwardly there may be little distinction between an individual who is legalistic and an individual who loves God because both of them will do what God says. The difference is that one of them obeys the Lord out of gratitude and the other, sadly, tries to win God’s approval by self-achievements.

A second answer is that such confession is the believer’s duty. Once an individual has believed in Jesus, he cannot keep quiet about it. He or she has to tell others. They should tell their family members, they should tell their friends, and they should tell the church because otherwise no-one will know.

 

Thirdly, confession should be the believer’s desire. People speak about what they want to speak about. I have been in the company of thousands of people throughout my life and I cannot recall any of them spontaneously deciding to speak about a topic they did not want to speak about. Those who loved politics spoke about it, those who loved a football team spoke about it, and those who loved a person spoke about him or her. All these conversations were confessions of what they delighted in. It is the same with a Christian. He or she desires to speak about Jesus and is disappointed when that does not occur.

Fourthly, confession is about what Jesus has done. By this, I mean that true confession is not taken up with what I do, which was the focus of the legalists, but with what Jesus has done or is doing. It is easy to get sidetracked into all kinds of spiritual cul-de-sacs, but there is only one way out of them. Go back to where you should be on the correct road, focussing on the activities of Jesus. A sign of good spiritual health is speaking about Jesus.

Fifthly, confession is doxological, that is, it is an expression of praise. When a Christian says that Jesus is Lord, he does not say it in the same tone of voice as when he asks a shopkeeper for a Mars Bar. He is aware of the majestic position that Jesus has as the exalted Lord and rejoices in his place of honour.

 

The response of Jesus

 

Paul describes the response of Jesus in verse 12: he bestows his riches on all who call on him. He gives all of his blessings to all of his people. They enter into his inheritance, becoming joint-heirs with him. Yet although they are joint-heirs they can never bypass Jesus in order to enjoy those riches. The riches are innumerable and cover matters such as pardon, peace, provisions of grace, and protection. His people never become poorer in status because his resources never decrease. This verse is a reminder that the Christian life is all of grace.