One day, either at work or in your school classroom, you are told that an important assignment is due. However, the fact is, you were never told about this assignment. Your boss, your teacher, your fellow co-workers and classmates, no one ever told you about it. How could you possibly know to do that work? What about if some new traffic laws were put in the books? If the police or government never told anyone, how would the people know to do or not do certain things when driving? You need to be told about these assignments and new traffic laws. Important information needs to be shared! In our Scripture today we read the same thing, how important information needs to be shared, and how Paul did his part to be sure that it was.
What is this important information that Paul wanted to give to others, to be sure that they were told, and were not left in ignorance about? As you could probably guess, he wanted others to know how to be saved, about salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul opens this passage with saying how his life has been spent in preaching the Word of faith, and that message is that if one confesses, if they agree with and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, in all that He said and did, especially His dying for their sins, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, that they would be saved (vs. 9). It is really that simple! Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved.
God wants us to know that salvation is promised to those who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord. We are saved when we genuinely trust in Jesus as Savior. We can trust what God’s Word says. He has given us what we need to know in order to be saved, and we can trust Him. God has never broken a promise. The promise is to whoever puts their faith in Jesus. They will be saved, and will receive eternal life. This is an absolute guarantee (vs. 13). When Satan comes against us with his lies about our eternal destiny, we can go to this promise and rest assured that if we follow what God says, we have salvation.
Salvation can only come through faith in Jesus Christ. Confessing with our mouth puts our faith in action. Believe in our heart that He triumphed over death. Confess that Jesus is the Lord of Glory and Savior of mankind, and that He died on the Cross that we might be saved, and that He rose from the dead (vs. 9). Jesus not only has the ability to save us, but the authority and wisdom to transform us. One is not saved just by saying any old set of words. Rather, the mouth testifies of the grace of God in Jesus, which has been received by faith (vs. 10-11). We have a deep, personal conviction that Jesus is who He says He is.
However, what if we haven’t heard this good news? What about family members, friends, and neighbors who have not heard? As we look around our cities and neighborhood, how many truly know how to be saved? I’m rather certain that it is not that many! Paul lets us know that it is our responsibility to tell them (vs. 14-17). Our loved ones and neighbors will not hear the Gospel unless someone tells them. God calls and sends believers to preach His message. Christians need to obey the call and proclaim His Word. When people hear that message, faith can then be born in their hearts to believe.
People need to hear this message. Our Scripture passage closes with the verse stating that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (vs. 17) . We are to verbally witness for Jesus. No where in Scripture does it ever say to be a silent witness. Many people like to say that they will be a “silent witness” for Jesus. They say this so they won’t have to speak up. They don’t want to get into any awkward conversations, they don’t want to be “pushy”. They feel that their neighbor will just see how good they are, and then that will lead them to Jesus. However, that doesn’t happen. Few, if any, people ever get saved just by seeing how “good” their neighbor is! Faith comes by hearing. Someone needs to be speaking the Gospel in order for others to hear it.
Faith comes about by what is heard, but it doesn’t come by hearing just anything, but by hearing God’s Word, and believing that Word. Preaching of the Word of God can give birth to faith. The seed of the Word of God gets planted by someone verbally telling others the message of Jesus.
In closing, Paul reminds us that people can’t believe unless they hear the message, and they can’t hear the message unless people tell them. Those people are you and me. Of course, we have to be sure that we are saved, ourselves. Have you personally confessed that the Lord Jesus is Lord and Savior, and believed in your heart that He died for your sins and rose again from the dead? If so, then you are saved. If not, do not hesitate one minute more. We are not guaranteed the next hour, let alone the next day! And then, spread the news to your family, friends, and neighbors!
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