Salvation
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-"‘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
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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.
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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] |