Romans 10

Grace and peace,

Continuing in this Chapter Memory Study in the Book of Romans, we come to chapter 10.

The memory passage for chapter 10 is:

Romans 10:8-10
⁸ But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹ because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

The outline theme is Righteous Word of Faith.

Paul begins this chapter in a similar way to how he started chapter 9; stating his burden for the nation of Israel to be saved. He professes that they have zeal (they were known as 'God-intoxicated' people), but it is based on ignorance not knowledge. By creating their own system of righteousness, they refused to submit to God's righteousness through Christ.

The memory passage begins with a question; 'But what does it say?'. The 'it' here is the word of faith (thanks to Paul's parenthesis). But to establish the word of faith, he quotes from Deuteronomy 30:14, "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart". The Deuteronomy passage shows us that the righteousness of faith was built into the law. It says to obey the Lord, love the Lord, walk with Him, keep His commandments...and you shall live and be blessed.
Verses 9 and 10 are stops on the Romans Road of track evangelism. It speaks of confession and belief in the word of faith. The first phrase mirrors the order from Deut 30 (mouth then heart) and the second phrase reverses the two. This does not ordain two separate paths to salvation, but simply highlights the core of faith; believe in your heart who Christ is and what He did, and then proclaim it (because you can't contain it).
But we must always remember that it is not our faith or words that seal our salvation. The power of salvation is in Who we believe in and the truth that we proclaim. He is the Rock, the foundation that our faith must be built upon.

Verse 13 contains a quote from Joel 2:32 that Paul applies to belief in this word of faith; "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved". To call on His name means to acknowledge and believe all that He is with all of your heart.

14-16 outline the process of coming to belief; some are sent to preach so that many would hear, believe, and call on His name. For 'faith comes from hearing' (17), but hearing must lead to obedience.

Israel has heard of the righteousness of faith but has rejected it. And as He promised in the Old Testament, those who are not 'the nation' will be blessed with the availability of saving faith.

How does this affect my worship?
Confession is an integral part of worship. There are two uses for the word confession, and they both come to bear on true heart-worship. The confessing (admit having done wrong) of our sin to God restores our relationship with Him so that our heart is cleansed and our worship is unhindered (1 John 1:9). Confessing (acknowledge something to be true) that He is Lord (v9, Phil 2:11) is an act of submission to His sovereign rule in our hearts. We do this because He is our Father, we are His children, and He is worthy of all our worship.

How does this affect my discipleship?
It is nice when you and your message are received with grace and enthusiasm. That may not always be the case. Some people will see your 'beautiful feet' and welcome you, while others just think you're messing up their rug with the sand from your sandals. The Great Commission includes commands to preach (proclaim) the Gospel and make disciples. These are not two separate jobs for two separate people with two separate gift-sets. As disciples of Christ we must faithfully proclaim the 'word of faith' AND make disciples of Christ.

May the Word of Faith be always in your mouth and in your heart,

Ethan