(Any suggestions for improvment will be appreciated.)
Intro
Context is king when it comes to meaning. For someone to understand what
someone else has said, he must first understand the setting. If someone
doesn’t account for what was taking place when something was said, the
conclusions he will come to will often reflect more about himself then what the
speaker meant to say.
When we read Scripture, we are often like the child who hears something,
understands the words, but then completely misses the meaning. When that
happens, adults will often burst out laughing, because the misunderstanding was
so comical. When it comes to the Bible, the errors are just as great. But in
this case, they aren’t funny, for people’s eternal lives may be at stake.
If we don’t understand the setting and what was going on when Paul wrote his
letter to the Romans, we too may completely miss the meaning.
Main Body
Paul wrote to a church in Rome going through many struggles. Some of their
struggles dealt with understanding the tie-in between faith and works. Does
what I do save me? Do I have to finish what God started? If I’m saved, should
I sin even more so I can experience even more of God’s grace? To all these
questions, Paul answered a huge and powerful, “NO!”
But some of their struggles dealt with doubts about salvation. Has God really
saved me? How do I know if I’m saved? And so in our Epistle reading Paul is
dealing with those doubts. And so he says, “‘The Word is near you, in your
mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the Word of faith that we are preaching.”
Is the Word of God, is Jesus Christ, near you? Is He in your mouth and in your
heart? Is He is in the preached Word you hear? If He is, then what is all the
doubt about? Have you received Jesus in the Lord’s Supper so that He’s in your
mouth? Have you heard the preached Word and believed? And have you confessed
that Word of Jesus, such as in the creeds? Then why do you doubt?
It is as Paul says:
For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your
heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart
a person believes, so that he is counted righteous, and with the mouth a person
confesses and then he is saved. For the Scripture says, everyone “who believes
in Him will not be put to shame.” . . . For “whoever calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.”
Paul wrote such words to comfort doubting Christians. Think about everything
that happens in the verses I just read. Where do all those things take place:
confessing, believing, and calling on the name of the Lord? That all take
place during worship--or at least they are supposed to!
Paul tells those doubting their salvation to key in on observable events, not
feelings. To tell someone to rely on his feelings when He doubts his salvation
is like a dog chasing his tail. That’s why Paul says, “The Word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the Word of Christ that is preached.
For it’s the Word of Christ--the Word who is Christ--being near someone, in
contact with him, in his mouth and in his heart, that continues to save him!
That may seem obvious. And it is, except many misunderstand the verses in
today’s Epistle. For instance, take verse 13, which says that “whoever calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And so many think that “calling on the
name of the Lord” causes one to be saved!
Well, they are a correct--a little bit! For those who do call on the name of
the Lord, will they be saved? But when, when will they be saved? That’s the
question that few ever answer.
You see, salvation isn’t only a one-time event. Ephesians 1:4 says, “God chose
us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in
His sight.” So all Christians were saved before the foundation of the world
was set.
On the cross before Jesus died He said, “It is finished!” That was when Jesus
finished all He came to do, even accomplishing your salvation. And so you were
saved when Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago, when He paid for your sins
in full.
But were you also saved after you were born? Of course! 1 Peter 3:21 says,
“Baptism now saves you.” And then Peter tells how God saves through baptism:
“[baptism is] an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ.” So God saved you when He came to you in the Word and water
of baptism. That’s were He forgave you of your sins so you could have a good
conscience that could make an appeal to God.
But there’s more. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing
through the word of Christ.” So you were also saved when the spoken Word
brought you to the Word-made-flesh, Jesus Christ.
But if that wasn’t enough, there’s even more, because salvation isn’t only a
one-time event. You are also saved when Jesus comes to you in the Word of
absolution. You are saved when Jesus comes to you in His body and blood in His
Supper.
To those already saved, Paul writes, “For the word of the cross is folly to
those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(1 Corinthians 1:18) Yes, God is still saving those who are already saved!
And it gets even better! Earlier in his letter to the church at Rome Paul
wrote, “Since we have now been declared righteous by Christ’ blood, we will be
saved through Him from wrath” (Romans 5:9). So those who are already saved,
those who are being saved, will still be saved!
So salvation is also a future event. And this salvation will be made fully
known on the Last Day. That’s when Jesus will welcome His chosen by saying,
“Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).
So when Paul says that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,”
he’s right. He speaks the truth. They will be saved, even on the Last Day.
And so it’s also true for those here today: “whoever calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.”
But I know, and you know, that our Protestant friends understand today’s
Epistle to mean: “If you want to be saved, you first have to believe and then
you have to confess that faith with your mouth.” If you don’t do those two
things, you won’t be saved.
Let’s go back to the first verse of today’s epistle reading. In that verse it
says: “The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” Now who has the
Word, that is, Jesus, in his heart? Only a believer does, only someone who is
already saved.
So, as you can see, Paul is writing to believers, who also happen to doubt
their salvation, not those outside the fold of the Church. Paul is pointing
them forward to their salvation on the Last Day for comfort and assurance!
So if you doubt your salvation, what should you do as one who is already saved?
Come to where God still saves you. Come to church and received the gifts of
Jesus: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. That’s what you should do.
For that’s where confessing, believing, and calling on the name of the Lord
takes place.
For it’s in church that you “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe with your heart that God raised Him from the dead.” And because the
Holy Spirit continues to breathe into you the gift of faith, “you will be
saved.” Why? Because “Scripture says, everyone ‘who believes in Him will not
be put to shame.’”
Conclusion
Know this: on the Last Day you will not be put to shame. Jesus will welcome
you, by saying, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Amen.
--
Rich Futrell, Pastor
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Kimberling City, MO
Where we are to receive and confess the faith of the Church (in and with the
Augsburg Confession): The faith once delivered to the saints, the faith of
Christ Jesus, His Word of the Gospel, His full forgiveness of sins, His flesh
and blood given and poured out for us, and His gracious gift of life for body,
soul, and spirit.
___________________________________________________________________________
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