Topic: Believe and be Saved
Reading: Romans 10:11-15
Introduction and Overview
In the earliest days of the church, the Jews at that time missed the point. Jesus came and preached the gospel of salvation, but they didn’t get it. They did not understand the simplicity of the gospel, which can be summed up in just a few words: Believe and be saved.
It is not a complex gospel. It is not deeply mysterious or intended to be only understood by academics. The gospel of salvation is based upon faith. Believe and be saved. That is the essence of what this section of scripture is telling us today.
The Jews did not understand this. They thought salvation and righteousness were based upon keeping the works of the law. They though it was necessary to work hard to be righteous and to receive salvation. Under the law it was necessary to keep all the tenets, commandments, and ordinance of the law, including the blood sacrifices. And the Jews believed that was necessary if they were to be saved. But they failed because no man is capable of keeping God’s law perfectly. And the law makes no-one perfect as the scripture says in Hebrews 7:18-19.
Sadly, many in the church are trying to follow the same path. In many churches, people are taught that they must keep the law, and if they fail to keep the law they are sinners. People are required by their churches to tithe, fast, not eat certain foods, keep religious holidays, wear certain clothing, and so on. But the truth of Christianity is that we are no longer under the law and Christ has taken us away from the law, as the scripture says:
3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified. (Romans 10:3-4)
So, salvation is based upon faith. Righteousness too is received as a free gift from God through faith. This is the essence of these words today that tell us we need to believe and be saved. But to believe we must first hear the truth. We must look and find the truth for ourselves. God has gifted some people to be teachers and preachers and w need to listen to their words as they explain the salvation f the Lord. But then we must also check and confirm their words against the truth of the scriptures to ensure we are not led astray. Seek God through sincere prayer and He will guide you to the truth.
Key points from reading:
- The Lord will be with and protect His people
- We all need to believe and be saved for salvation is based upon faith
- The Lord will appoint His preachers to speak the truth and preach the gospel of salvation correctly.
Discussion:
- Scripture: Romans 10:11
- This verse is a testament to the love and protection of God for His people. It states boldly that, “No one who believes in Him will be put to shame.” When we believe in the Lord, He protects and saves us from the shame of this world.
- The shame of this world is found in their sinful ways. The scripture talks in places about those who call evil good and good evil. (Read Isaiah 5:20) The apostle Peter also talks about those who “revel in the daytime” and who have, “eyes insatiable for sin.” Such people follow shameful and degrading pursuits. And as if that were not enough, Paul writes in Romans 1:28-32 that, “…they not only do them but approve those who practice them.”
- It is this shame of sin and sinfulness that the Lord protects us from. When we come to Him in faith, we choose to do the will of God and to follow Jesus. We learn from Him that sin is an abomination. It is not good and will lead to destruction. We learn that we must believe and be saved, and when we do we walk a better path.
- Scripture: Romans 10:12-13
- And it doesn’t matter who you are. The great difference between Christianity and Judaism is that Christianity is for all people. It was sent out to be preached to all mankind. Every person on the face of the earth can believe and be saved, and there is no discrimination.
- Judaism was the religion of the people of Israel. It was given to Israel by Moses and Israel and the children of the twelve tribes of Israel were the focus of the Old Covenant. Others could join the religion, and many did, but the focus was initially on the people who came out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, that is, the children of Israel.
- But when Christ appeared and taught the gospel of salvation, it was always intended to be a religion for the whole world. There is no distinction in Christianity. Jews or Gentiles, Jesus is the same Lord and Lord of all. As Paul writes in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In Christ, every person, regardless of background or status in this world can believe and be saved in Jesus Christ.
- Scripture: Romans 10:14
- And now we see the importance of hearing the word of God. It is one thing to say that you must believe and be saved, but believe in what? What is this gospel of salvation? Where can you find it and learn about it?
- It is by the preaching of the gospel that we learn all that is needed to be able to believe and be saved. The gospel is the word of God, first delivered by Jesus, and then spread throughout the world by His apostles and disciples down to this day.
- The Great Commission given to the disciples after Jesus rose from the dead, and as defined in Matthew 28:19-20, says:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
The disciples were commissioned to go out and preach the word so that all mankind would hear the gospel of salvation and hopefully choose to follow Christ to believe and be saved.
- Scripture: Romans 10:15
- In that last scripture we saw the need to preach the gospel so that people could believe and be saved. But the Lord did more than just say those words.
- God has given gifts of ministry to the church to be able to do the work of preaching. There were five ministry gifts identified in Ephesians 4:11, and their work was to equip the people of God for the work of ministry. The gifts were, “…that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers”
- The main focus of apostles, and evangelists was to spread the word to the world. Pastors, teachers and prophets were mainly focussed on the work of teaching and preaching inside of the church. Their role was to grow the believers so that they could and would become strong and mature in the Lord.
- And this verse in Romans 10:15 ends with the words, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!” Whenever someone brings good tidings, it is a wonderful thing. They are accepted with open arms and those who hear the good word rejoice at the insight received. And this is especially true of those who preach the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that the hearers can believe and be saved.
Key Takeaways:
- God protects and comforts His people so that they are not put to shame in the cesspool of sin.
- To receive salvation, a person must believe and be saved.
- God appoints His people to go out and preach the word so that others can believe and be saved. Without preachers, the Bible is just words in a book. But when God inspires His appointed preachers to speak the words, He opens the gospel of salvation up to people and offers the opportunity to all to believe and be saved.
Prayer Points
- Pray for understanding of the gospel of salvation.
- Pray that the Lord will lead you to preachers and teachers who preach the truth and not the many false doctrines in the church that masquerade as truth, but are lies.
- Pray for understanding of His word as you read the Bible so that you can ensure the words you hear preached are aligned with the word of God in the Bible.