Romans 10:8b-13

“For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” vs. 10

Through his entire ministry Paul struggled to convince his audience that salvation did not come through obedience to the law but through grace to any and all who believed. Here in his letter to the Romans he makes it as clear as possible. Righteousness comes by grace through faith, and is available to all, both Jews and Greeks. His insights have been a great gift to believers, but we should never underestimate that power of the law to undermine faith. Legalists have taken over Paul’s words of grace and have managed to turn them into a new law. Now it is said that unless one confesses with their mouth that Jesus is their Lord and Savior they cannot be saved. Countless believers live with fear in their hearts because their loved ones have never said the “Jesus Prayer.” They seem not to realize or care that their insistence on the letter of the law means the condemnation of billions. Paul wasn’t defining the boundaries of the kingdom of God, on the contrary he was trying to let people know that it was a lot bigger than they had ever dreamed. And so it is with us. The minute we get uptight about who’s in and who’s out, we’ve lost the inclusive vision of Christ. 

Thought for the Day: When have I worried about the salvation of a loved one?