The Way of Salvation – Rom 10:5-13; John 14:6
Imagine with me for a moment that someone has offered you a full ride scholarship to college or offered to pay of your mortgage. However, you decide you do not want to receive this generous offer but will pay for it yourself. As long as you make your monthly payments over time you will have accomplished the same objective but on your own merit. However, if you miss one payment, just one payment, you lose everything.
This illustration pales in comparison to the reality of God’s offer in Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls and the forgiveness of our sins. You and I can pay for our own college education. We can pay for our own house. But we cannot pay for our own sins. It’s a debt that is too large.
Paul says in Romans 10:5, “For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.” Seems simple enough, but we have to remember what he has already taught throughout the book of Romans.
Romans 3:20
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
It is in man’s inability to keep they law that he can understand that he is a sinner.
Romans 3:23
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
And later, Paul writes in Galatians 3:23–24
“Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.”
Paul uses the imagery of a guardian or schoolmaster in reference to the law, that it teaches us that we need a Savior. The purpose of the Law was to point us to our need for God in our lives through faith.
But we have this human condition that wants to justify ourselves and earn our salvation. That is why all of the religions of the world, apart from Christianity, teach a works-based salvation. Man wants to earn his own way and naturally thinks that “as long as my good outweighs my bad, then I’ll be ok.” This is simply not true. Paul’s word in Romans 10:5 is a reminder that if you want to claim righteousness by the law then you have to keep the entirety of the law perfectly for the entirety of your life. Only Jesus did that.
But that is not the way of Christ. John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The way of Christ is a righteousness by faith. It is not an expedition into heaven to find a secret message and bring it back. It is not a journey into the worst of humanity to find the meaning of life. It is about knowing Jesus, who is risen from the dead, and is “near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Rom. 10:8).
I remember a scene from the Dark Knight, where Bruce Wayne has to go on an impossible journey to find a rare blue flower and then traverse the rugged wilderness to accepted at the gates of the monastery for The League of Shadows. Paul, using Deut. 30, demonstrates that the Way of Jesus is not about elaborate works or pilgrimages. If that were the case, one could boast about finding the flower or climbing the mountain. Then we would find ourselves comparing how long it took and who arrived the fastest.
Ephesians 2:8–9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The Way of Jesus is a righteousness by faith. Romans 10:9-10 give us the most succinct and clear teaching of how salvation works. Belief in the heart and confession with the mouth. These are two sides to the same coin. Genuine, heartfelt belief in Jesus will be demonstrated through an outward expression. The significance of belief in the heart means at total commitment to the lordship and authority of the risen Son of God. It recognizes Jesus is God who came to die in the place of sinners, who conquered death by rising again, and who stands in victory over sin. Confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord is admitting to others that you are identifying with Jesus. It is an outward expression of an inward decision, much like believer’s baptism. Faith begins in the heart, is confessed with through the mouth, and demonstrated through an obedient life.
It is important that we understand the order. If we reverse it, obedience leads to confession and then belief, we have fallen into a works-based religion. Faith produces confession, which produces obedience. This is the way of salvation for all people, both Jew and Gentile alike. God is no respecter of persons. Anyone, and everyone, who calls on the Lord will be saved. Which means we have a message that needs to be spread to all people.
The Mission of Salvation – Rom 10:14-18; Matt 28:18-20
The mission of God is for all people to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. But how will people hear unless we go? Paul askes a series of questions to provoke us into action as ambassadors of God carrying the message of Christ.
Matthew 28:18–20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus has sent us, his church, to be witnesses to all people. They need to hear because “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). John Stott encouraged reading these verses in reverse, which inspired me to write it out like this, “when those who are sent preach, they will hear. Having heard, they will believe. Having believed they call on him.” This is the power of the Gospel (Rom. 1:16) that we proclaim. People will be saved by the proclamation of the Good News if we are obedient in sharing it.
It is important to be reminded that we do not save anyone. God is the one who saves. We are called to share his message, and he transforms hearts! We do have to be perfect in our presentation or be a professional evangelist. We just need to be faithful witnesses of gospel truth.
The first time I had the opportunity to witness someone receive Christ after sharing the gospel, I could not believe that God used me to be his messenger. I was 19 years old and on a mission trip to Trinidad. I was scared to talk to people I did not know and signed up for a work trip. However, the rain kept us off the work site, so my leader said we were going house to house to tell people about Jesus. My anxiety levels spiked, and I was so afraid. However, we broke up in teams and started canvasing the neighborhoods. I chickened out a lot that day and allowed my teammates to take the lead.
However, as we approached one house, I heard myself say, “I will take this one.” I couldn’t believe I said it and my teammates were super encouraging. An 83-year-old Hindu lady answered the door. My hands were sweating, my mouth went dry, and I didn’t even know where to begin. Fortunately, we had been studying and marking the Roman’s Road to Salvation, a gospel presentation from a few verses in Romans. I asked her if we could share some verses from the Bible, and she said yes. So I took her to the first verse, Romans 3:23 and had her read it. Then I asked her what she thought it meant. After she answered, I turned to the next verse and asked her the same question. This was how I did it through the whole conversation. When we read Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” I asked her if she wanted to call on the Lord for salvation. She said yes!! So I told her, “well you should pray and tell Jesus what you want to do.” She bowed her head and said a sweet prayer of repentance and belief, and asked Jesus to save her. With tears in her eyes after the prayer, she asked us to come back later and tell her son.
Every time I am in this passage, I remember that encounter. I remember how God was faithful to his Word by saving that woman that day. I was forever transformed by the reality that God would use me to share his eternal word. It was not eloquent, it was not rehearsed, it was faithful. In my fear, I trusted and was obedient, and God was glorified that day.
We cannot rest on the past, we have to keep our eyes on Jesus and keep following him, lest we slip into spiritual apathy and self-reliance.
Hearing v Hearing: The Danger of Self-Reliance – Rom 10:18-21
Paul concludes this section with a sad reflection on how the Jewish people had the opportunity to hear God’s word, but the rejected it. This reminds me of a parable that Jesus taught about a great banquet.
Read Luke 14:16-24
In this parable, we see the host offer and invitation to several who found excuses to reject it. The host’s response was not to cancel the banquet, but to invite anyone and everyone that wanted to join, no matter their status. The poor and needy received the invite and came to the feast.
The self-reliant, self-righteous ones rejected the invite thinking they had everything they needed. They heard the invitation but were not compelled by it.
However, those who heard the invitation and responded received the blessing of being at the banquet. When Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah, God chose to invite the Gentiles into his kingdom through Jesus Christ. They heard the invitation and received Christ through belief and confession. The Church was born.
Do not allow your past achievements, your present comforts, or you family history to keep you from hearing the word of Jesus. Listen to him and respond. You will find him faithful and never be ashamed.
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