Salvation

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

Presbyterians are not so good these days at talking about salvation. I like to believe this is because we tend to take our salvation as a given, which is, in many ways a good thing because it implies a deep and abiding trust in Christ.  But it also means that, well, we don't talk about it much, which is a bad thing.  Why is it so bad, you ask?  Well, look back at this passage from Romans.  Paul is talking about the nature of salvation itself, and he says this, "one confesses with the mouth and so is saved."  See, talking about salvation, and faith, has a direct relationship to salvation and faith.  Confused?  You shouldn't be.

Think of it this way.  Are you a fan of something?  A team?  A musician?  A movie?  A politician?  Of course you are, we all are.  But what kind of fan can you be if you never actually talk about that which you care about?  Not much of one.  People know that I am a sports fan because I talk about sports, perhaps too much, but they know because I speak about it.  Speaking about our faith, our salvation, is not something we should do, it is something we should want to do, just as we want to talk about those things which mean a lot to us; just as I want to talk about Oklahoma football or Kansas basketball.  So I ask you, when was the last time you spoke about your faith?  Not about going to church, or serving on a committee, but actually said something to someone about your faith itself?  And I'm not neccessarily talking about a stranger, even a friend, co-worker, or family member; how long has it been since you've said anything to them?  I bet it's been too long.

Prayer:  Holy God, please help me to speak more freely about what I believe. Help me to confess you with my mouth, that all might know how important you are to me.  I pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.

[Phil Blackburn, First Presbyterian Church]