The Message of Faith
(Romans 10: 8-13)
I know I’ve used this story in at least one sermon in the past, but it was so impactful for me as it showed what faith could do for a person facing an uncertain future, so bear with me. It was back when I was a court-appointed attorney representing indigent defendants accused of committing felony offenses in Smith County, Texas. The usual practice was for me to get a fax from the court advising me of a new client with the instructions that I go to the county jail as soon as possible to meet with my captive client. On this particular day I got a fax telling me that my new client had been charged with three counts of Vehicular Homicide and two counts of Vehicular Assault. According to the probable cause affidavit he had run one car off the road and then hit another head on injuring the two occupants of the car he ran off the road, killing his girlfriend who was riding with him, and killing the two people in the car he hit head on. He was highly intoxicated and facing up to eighty years in prison for his first offense. I pulled up his booking photo and saw a very angry young man looking back at me. I dreaded our first meeting as I expected to hear nothing but excuses and that I would have to do all I could to save him.
Off I went walking down the hill to the county jail to meet my newest client. I got a good look at him as they escorted him into the attorney’s visitation room, and he didn’t look too angry or upset, which was a relief. Just as I got my introduction out of my mouth he said: “I want you to know that I’m guilty. I know what I’ve done and there are no excuses. There will be no trial and your only job is to get me the best plea bargain you can.” Not expecting that, I was pretty much speechless as he then went on and gave me his personal testimony, professing that Jesus Christ was his Lord and that he had been saved. Jesus didn’t get him out of his predicament, but He was right there walking him through it and went to prison with him helping him survive some very difficult situations where he had to fight with other inmates for survival, had to deal with an abusive guard who he eventually witnessed to, and started a Bible Study for other inmates. He carried the message of faith with him asking nothing in return.
And that’s the message the Apostle Paul is conveying to the church in Rome, that God requires that we confess Jesus as Lord, believe in his victory over death, and that such faith is equally available to both Jew and Gentile. That it’s for anyone who asks. It’s even available to a repentant sinner convicted of three counts of Vehicular Homicide and two counts of Vehicular Assault.
The Apostle starts out this portion of his letter stating: The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is where Paul’s training and experience as a Jew and a Pharisee steeped in the Jewish faith comes in handy. For his Jewish listeners they would have recognized this statement as coming from Moses. Paul is quoting what Moses said in Deuteronomy 30: 11-14 which is considered as Moses’ last sermon to Israel before his death. Moses says: This commandment that I’m giving you right now is definitely not too difficult for you. It isn’t unreachable. It isn’t up in heaven somewhere so that you have to ask, “Who will go up for us to heaven and get it for us that we can hear it and do it?” Nor is it across the ocean somewhere so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the ocean for us and get it for us that we can hear it and do it?” Not at all! The word is very close to you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart, waiting for you to do it. What a great opening line! Paul is using the words of Moses to demonstrate that righteousness by faith is not far off and inaccessible but is as near as a person’s mouth and heart and that all one has to do is repent, believe in Jesus, and confess that belief.
Paul, in reference to Moses, says that this is the same message of faith that he and his followers preach, it’s nothing new. He continues by stating: Because if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and in your heart you have faith that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It’s just that simple. Even someone locked up in jail can make such a confession and be saved. The apostle continues by telling his readers that trusting with the heart leads to righteousness, and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation. What he is saying is that the condition for righteousness, that is for being justified, is internal faith. The condition of salvation, meaning deliverance from wrath and from the power of sin, is external confession, which is calling on the Lord for help. Paul reaches back to what the scripture says in Isaiah stating: All who have faith in him won’t be put to shame. He says that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, who gives richly to all who call on him and then references the prophet Joel who said: All who call on the Lord’s name will be saved. By calling upon what the prophets Isaiah and Joel testify to Paul shows that they agree that righteousness and salvation are available to all who trust and have faith in the Lord, whether one does these things in the Law as a Jew or receives righteousness from faith as a Gentile. Again, it’s just that simple.
God’s righteousness is revealed in the good news, come through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, and is credited to those who trust God who makes the ungodly righteous. Attaining God’s righteousness sounds kind of daunting and something most of us don’t feel worthy of. But a person does not need to accomplish superhuman feats to attain this righteousness but simply needs to trust the message of Christ attested by the Law, fully revealed by Jesus Christ, and proclaimed by his apostles. Yeah, but how does that happen? You may have someone come up to you and ask: “How do I become a Christian?” Now, before you go into panic mode and refer them to your pastor or offer them one of your spare Bibles, the answer is as simple as telling them that their salvation is as close as their own mouth and heart. Chances are that if they’re asking about becoming a Christian there are at least three things in play. First, they believe in a higher power, second, they’ve heard some good things about Jesus Christ, and third they’re under the impression that you, yourself, are a Christian by the way you act and talk. You’re off to a good start and have at least three talking points. People think it must be a complicated process that involves reading all sorts of authoritative books, attending classes, and memorizing scripture, but it is not. If we believe in our hearts and say with our mouths that Christ is the risen Lord, we will be saved which is as good a place to start as any other. Now, that’s not to say that we don’t have a responsibility in making this pathway to salvation available. For people to call upon the Lord for salvation, however, messengers must go and preach the news of salvation so that all might hear of the Lord Jesus who has been resurrected from the dead. Yeah, you can be like John Wesley, the founder of our Methodist denomination, who took to the streets and preached the good news to the crowds that gathered who were wondering what it took to be saved, or you can just share your story of how you came to be saved which, no doubt, is something they can relate to and identify with.
The point Paul is making is that salvation is right in front of us. Jesus will come to us wherever we are, even if we are behind bars, in our own personal prison, at our lowest point in our lives, questioning whether or not we are worthy of His mercy and love. All we need to do is respond and accept his gift of salvation and go where we are led from there.
Let us pray.
All to Jesus I surrender; all to him I freely give; I will ever love and trust him, in his prese4nce daily live. Yes, my brothers and sisters, we must humble ourselves before God and surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, if we are to live a life free of sin, guilt, and shame. All it takes is for you to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and, in your heart, have faith that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved. It’s just that simple. Once you’ve done that then a whole new life of freedom opens up to you, a life that you will want to share with others. If you haven’t already surrendered to Jesus won’t you do it now? And maybe it’s been a while since you first surrendered to Jesus and maybe you’d like to rededicate your life to Jesus. It’s never too late. Jesus is waiting, he’s waiting for you and for me. Amen.
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If we believe in our hearts and say with our mouths that Christ is the risen Lord, we will be saved, which is as good a place to start as any other.