“God’s
Requirement For Salvation”
Romans 10:8-15
8)
But what saith it?
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word
of faith, which we preach;
9)
That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10) For
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.
11) For
the scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12) For
there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over
all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13) For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14) How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and
how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and
how shall they hear without a preacher?
15) And
how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is
written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things!
|
G |
od’s
intent for His saints is clear, particularly in this passage. He does desire us
to have a certain zeal for Him, and many do, but at the same time, we must be
submitted to His righteousness. One of the best examples of a zealous people is
Perhaps
one of the greatest problems in teaching man the truth of God’s word today is
the fact that many, though saved, are not submitted to Him. Consequently, we
now have many different “manufactured” types of righteousness. As saved as one
might believe and proclaim that he is, if he does not live by God’s standard,
he does not know Him. Today as in the days of old, there is one standard and
one requirement.
Even
many of those who are already part of the body are in need of instruction as to
God’s requirement. One thing is certain: Man is not capable of bringing himself
to the revelation of salvation. God must reveal this and Himself. In being
saved, we are the Lord’s helpers in His world. This means that we are his
limbs, eyes and ears here on earth. Though we have been given this
responsibility, in order to fulfill it, we must be spiritual ourselves.
One
of the first things the world must understand is that despite the many
religious denominations in existence today, there was no church until the day
of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost came. Once the Holy Ghost came, there was only
one church. This church was the Catholic Church in the sense that it was
universally established on Apostolic teaching. And
yes, everyone who was a member of it, believed in baptism in the name of Jesus
and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Disagreements about when
the true church started and what it was founded upon is what has led to
our “splintered” religions.
How
does the Lord manage to reach those needing to spread the gospel? Luke 24:44
explains to us that though the disciples had heard the words and teaching of
Jesus before, even they did not fully understand until He opened their
understanding.
Verse
10 of our scripture verses today tells us that salvation is confessed with the
mouth. This means that the rest of the world will become aware of your
salvation when they hear you use your mouth to speak with tongues.
Likewise,
we are told that it is the belief exercised in our minds which render us
righteous. The meaning of the Greek word translated “to trust in, adhere to, or
follow after” goes much beyond a mere mental acceptances. Its very definition
suggests and necessitates “words”. Why? Because if one
actually believes, he must step out on faith.
There
is a fear operating in some which keeps them from exercising faith. It
manifests itself in doubt as to what is going to happen if you transfer trust
from yourself to someone. But you see, we allow the devil to steal from us many
of our benefits in the Lord, when reality is that one can never really believe
God without Him manifesting what we are believing Him
for.
Belief
cuts across race, nationality and background. Absolutely none of these are
important to the Lord. No matter what or who you are, if you believe on Him,
you shall be saved.
Those
who know God’s requirement and follow it have the privilege and advantage of
calling upon Him. However, it obviously does no good to try to call on someone
on whom one has not believed. God’s “call” requires us to make preparation to
be His people and to submit ourselves. Because many cannot do this, few are
chosen.
The
Lord is sending out a loud cry today for those who are ready to “go”. However,
once one is called, he then must be sent—by God and God alone, not by self,
family, friends or others.
Following
God’s requirement for salvation will give one a true understanding rather
then just a concept of being saved. Only then will reaching souls become a
priority over simply occupying a church building.