Romans 10:9-10
Thoughts from Brian Cook
Dive Deeper
“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation;”
Romans 10:9-10
Behind the Scenes
This week we are looking at the I AM Statement of Christ that He is the Resurrection and the Life. This statement was given well before He ever took that long walk to Calvary hill, before He was killed on our behalf, and before He resurrected back to life. It is a foreshadow of what was to come. But I truly believe Jesus was talking about more than just His upcoming victory over death. I believe He was also talking about the victory He planned to impart on each and every believer who ever lived.
Paul was one such believer who received the resurrection and life of Jesus. Once a devout Pharisee, Paul was responsible for hunting and killing Christians in the first century. He believed that he was doing the Lord’s work. But he was deceived by his pride, arrogance, and inability to see Christ for who He really is. But one encounter with the risen Jesus changed everything. Paul literally moved from death to life, from a life lost to deception and misguided faith to one resurrected to the truth.
As a result, Paul would go on to teach and preach throughout most of the known world, impacting thousands of Christians in his time and millions since. The book of Romans is a letter he penned to the church in Rome. Through his passionate words we receive a detailed and thorough explanation of the Gospel truth. Romans is considered the most theologically rich and detailed book of the Bible. Today’s passage is just one of many through the book of Romans that breaks down the truth of the gospel into a bite-sized chunk that is easy for us to understand and apply.
Make it Real
One of the things I love about the truth of God is how straight-forward and simple it is. Now, don’t mishear me, I didn’t say easy. Just simple, uncomplicated and straightfoward. God didn’t make it complicated for us to say yes to Him. He didn’t require us to do a bunch of religious works or memorize a bunch of scripture before we could accept Him. He didn’t require us to get our lives together, stop sinning, stop the bad habits, or get our finances in order. He didn’t put up a lot of barriers.
Instead, Jesus came and did all the work. All we have to do is accept. It’s just that simple. We believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and we are saved. Simple. Sure, there is a lot that changes after that, and there should be! Take Paul’s life for instance. From the moment that he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was never the same. His new understanding of Jesus and the choice to make Him Lord of his life set him on a new path. But the choice to move from death to life wasn’t complicated, it was simple.
See, Jesus came to give us life. But not just any life, HIS life. He is the true life that we all crave and when we receive that free gift, resurrection happens. In an instant we move from death to life, forever changed, never to be the same. This new life sets us on a path that draws us closer to Christ as we learn from Him, grow in His Lordship and instruction, and shed the trappings of our old self. It is rebirth, moving from the darkness of our former lives into the glorious light of His love.
It’s beautiful and simple. Jesus doesn’t promise ease or comfort. He doesn’t say that your new life will be effortless or free from hardship. In fact, it might be even harder than it was before. But it will also be better… so much better. It will be filled with true life and where you once only saw death, resurrection will come in the power of Jesus Christ.
I don’t know where you are today. Maybe you’ve never said yes to Jesus. Maybe you’ve thought about it but always stopped shy, wondering what might be waiting on the other side. Maybe you’ve been following Jesus for a time and He is asking you to step out in faith. Maybe your yes today is about allowing Jesus to bring life and resurrection into a specific area, a specific hurt, or a specific fear. Maybe where you need Jesus’ life and resurrection is in relationships. Wherever you are at today, I want to challenge you to just say yes. Just let go and watch as that simple choice ushers in the beautiful life and resurrection of Jesus.
Crystal Garnett
ACF Digital Discipleship Pastor
End in Prayer
Jesus,
I realize today that I need to say yes to You. There are areas of my heart that I’ve held back out of fear, pride, or self-sufficiency. Please forgive me and help me to let go today. Help me to say yes to You and let Your life and resurrection fill my life.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen