I confess with my lips and believe in my heart
If thou shalt confess with thy lips the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)
There must be confession with the mouth. Have I made it? Have I openly avowed my faith in Jesus as the Savior whom God has raised from the dead, and have I done it in God’s way? Let me honestly answer this question.
There must also be belief with the heart. Do I sincerely believe in the risen Lord Jesus? Do I trust in Him as my sole hope of salvation? Is this trust from my heart? Let me answer as before God.
If I can truly claim that I have both confessed Christ and believed in Him, then I am saved. The text does not say it may be so, but it is plain as a pikestaff and clear as the sun in the heavens: “Thou shalt be saved.”
As a believer and a confessor, I may lay my hand on this promise and plead it before the Lord God at this moment, and throughout life, and in the hour of death, and at the Day of Judgment. I must be saved from the guilt of sin, the power of sin, the punishment of sin, and ultimately from the very being of sin.
God hath said it—“Thou shalt be saved.” I believe it. I shall be saved. I am saved. Glory be to God forever and ever!
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Many women and men imagine that they must do something to earn their way into God’s Kingdom.
They tell us, “I’m not good enough. God doesn’t want me.” Truthfully, they don’t know what they are talking about. Are you so grand that you may instruct Almighty God about what His judgment and sentence should be?
Jesus died to rescue us and told a thief who was also a man of many other sins running with a gang of highwaymen, that even he—that thief—would be saved. So who are you and who am I to contradict Jesus our Christ?
There are those who SAY they believe but don’t, and they should do some serious study and self-analysis, “soul-searching,” to finally reach the conclusion NO ONE is good enough. God doesn’t want anything more than your true sincerity.
If you sincerely want Him in your life and sincerely want to be cleansed of your bad thoughts and habits, HE will rescue you. Most of us hide similar secrets. If you’re Christian, speak to your pastor. If you’re Catholic, speak to the priest during confession.
The most important thing we can do is forgive those who hurt us lately and long ago, and then say again, “Lord, I forgo my desire for revenge or to tell that person off. I GIVE this issue to you. Please forgive me of my sins, as I must forgive them. in Jesus Holy Name I pray, amen.”
Do not pity yourself anymore. Do not think you’re not good enough. Murderers and monsters have come to The Christ to be saved. So should YOU. So also have I.
Your Editor, Stephen Newdell
