Confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord

Romans 9:25-10:13 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

 as He also says in Hosea: “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’” ²⁶ “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel may be like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved; ²⁸ for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.” ²⁹ And just as Isaiah foretold:

“If the Lord of armies had not left us descendants,
We would have become like Sodom, and would have been like Gomorrah.”

³⁰ What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, but the righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ however, Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though they could by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ just as it is written:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,
And the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”

10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. ² For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. ³ For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. ⁴ For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁵ For Moses writes of the righteousness that is based on the Law, that the person who performs them will live by them. ⁶ But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), ⁷ or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; ¹³ for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  In today’s text it says:  If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.”  We must believe not only that He was born and lived a sinless life and not only that He died for our sins, but we must also believe that Jesus was raised from the grave. Additionally, if we believe in Jesus, we must also be willing to confess that He is Lord. In Luke 9:26, Jesus Himself says:  “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels.”   Philippians 2:10-11 says:  At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  For those who are unwilling to confess that Jesus is Lord now, they will bow and confess in shame when He returns in glory.

We need to have more than just a verbal acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord. We need to live in subjection to His Lordship. In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus says:  “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.”   If Jesus is Lord, He must be Lord of all that we believe; all that we do and all that we think.  If we truly love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind, then Jesus says in John 14:15:  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” In John 10:30 Jesus says:  “I and the Father are one.”  In Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus says:  “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”  We cannot separate the God of the Old Testament from the God of the New Testament. The Father and Jesus are one. Those who say that because of grace, sin no longer matters; those who relax the commandments of God cannot say that they truly love Jesus and call Him Lord. If we love Him, how could we continue to do the very things He suffered on the cross to redeem us from?

In John 14:1-4;15-21;23-27  Jesus says: “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be. And you know the way where I am going.… If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him. … If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while remaining with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you. Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.” 

Thank You for Your peace. Lord Jesus I am not ashamed to confess that You are Lord. I believed that You died to redeem me from sin and I believe that God raised You from the grave. Because You live, I can live. Because You gave me the Holy Spirit, I can love You with my whole heart, soul and mind. I can abide in You and You in me.  Amen.