Sermon 30

Jesus Christ, The Savior

Romans 10:1-13

In Romans 10, Paul moves from the national to the personal; from Israel to the individual; from the Jew to you. This is one of the great chapters in the Bible. In fact, if you have been a Christian for any length of time, you probably have verses from Romans 10 committed to memory. This chapter has verses that are often used in leading someone to salvation in Christ, vs. 9, 10, 11, 13, 17.

But for today, we need to start at the beginning of the chapter and get the whole message that Romans 10 has for us.

The theme of this chapter is that Jesus Christ is the Savior. Saved! It is an old fashion word which many modern people do not use nor understand. I grew up hearing the word regularly and using it often when witnessing. "Are you saved?" I would ask. "24 got saved at camp!" I might report. But, if you use that word, a lot of people would have no idea what you were talking about. A guy once said to me, "What do you mean by saved? Saved from what?" So Christians, in an effort to be understood sometimes use different terminology. Are you a Christian? Are you a believer? Have you been born again? Have you received Christ? Have you been converted? Have you called upon the Lord? Do you know for sure that if you were to die tonight, you would go to heaven? Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?

I have heard people say that they found God or that they got religion. In Canada they say, "Have you made a commitment?" I am told that in Russia they say, "Have you repented?"

Although we may use other terms to express the same idea, it is O.K. to use the word "saved". We use that word because it comes from the Bible. The New Testament uses the word "saved" 57 times and when you add the word "save" and "salvation" and "Savior" it brings the total up to 195 times. The word means "to deliver, to protect, to heal, to preserve, to make whole, to rescue." It is used then to speak of that moment when an individual is born again, redeemed, converted from being a sinner to being a saint.

The word "saved" is used in our text for today. In fact, Paul uses the word "saved" several times (vs. 1, 9, 13) and the word "salvation" in verse 10. That Jesus Christ is the Savior is the theme of Romans 10.

A Savior Required, vs. 1-3

When Paul writes in verse 1 that his "heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved", he is, in fact, establishing that individually the Jew needs to recognize his lost condition. The Jew and everyone else need a Savior, they need to be saved. Romans 3:9-10, 23 - ... For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: ... For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Before a person will ever come to Jesus Christ and receive Him as Savior, that person must first realize that he or she needs a Savior, that he is a sinner, in a lost condition, needing to be saved from that sin.

Israel's big problem is that they didn't really believe that they needed a Savior. Verse 2 says that they had a zeal for God and verse 3, that they thought they could establish their own righteousness. That's the way a lot of people are. They are religious - they believe in God. They think themselves to be basically righteous - not perfect, for sure, but as good as the next guy, as good as the average person, better than some - basically righteous.

But according to these same two verses (vs. 2-3) their religious zeal is misguided and their righteousness is the wrong kind. They have religious zeal but lack knowledge of the truth. Whatever righteousness they have is not that which comes to them from God, but it is self-righteousness, that which they have accomplished by their own effort.

A person who remains in this condition really is lost. He is misguided, lacking in knowledge, ignorant, self-righteous and unwilling to submit to God. For a person to be saved, they must first realize that they cannot save themselves by being religious or by being a good person. You can be religious and still be lost. You can be sincere and zealous in practicing your religion and still be lost. You can be basically a good person and still be lost. It isn't how good you are or how religious you are or how sincere you are. No. First, you have to come to the point where you see yourself as God sees you - that you are a sinner in need of a Savior.

A Savior Revealed, vs. 4-8.

For you to be righteous before God a Savior is required. You see, according to verse 5, if you are going to be righteous on your own, then you are going to have to be perfect, sinless - past, present and future. Paul quotes the Old Testament (Leviticus 18:5) when he writes in verse 5 - For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. In other words, Moses wrote that if a person could be perfect and hold out against temptation all his life and never sin once, only then could he be righteous on his own. But no one is perfect. Even if you could be perfect from this day forward (which you cannot, but even if you could), no one has a perfect past. And so we cannot become righteous on our own. In order for me to be righteous, someone who is righteous has to give His righteousness to me.

And that's exactly what Jesus Christ does. Verse 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. That is, the law is ended in Christ in that everything a person is trying to get by keeping the law, he receives when he trusts in Christ. A Savior has been revealed who can make us righteous. And that Savior is Jesus Christ.

Verse 6-8 are another quotation from the Old Testament (read Deuteronomy 30:11-14). Moses said to Israel, "You don't have to go up to heaven to get the law. You don't have to go across the sea to get God's law. God's law is not hidden. God has revealed it." And here in Romans 10, Paul is saying that just as God revealed His law to Israel, He is also revealing the Savior to mankind.

Moses said that God's law was near - as close as your mouth and your heart. Paul says that the Savior is just as near - as close as your mouth and your heart. A Savior is required. And a Savior is revealed.

A Savior Received, vs. 9-13.

You have a need. It is a need that you cannot meet on your own. It is a need for righteousness. God has a gift. His gift will meet your need. God will give you His righteousness by giving you His righteous Son.

But for a gift to be yours, it has to be both offered and accepted. A Savior is required. A Savior has been revealed. But that Savior must be received.

How does one accept Jesus Christ, the Savior? The answer is in verses 9-13. It involves the heart and the mouth.

There is an emphasis in these verses that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He proved that by His resurrection from the dead. And it is that which must be believed in the heart and which must be confessed with the mouth.

How do the heart and the mouth fit together with regard to receiving Christ the Lord as one's Savior? In verse 9, Paul follows Moses' order of the mouth and then the heart. But in verse 10, the order is reversed - the heart, then the mouth. This is the order in which things are experienced. Believing comes before confessing. The "confessing" here is not some legalistic requirement nor some pat little sinner's prayer. You are not saved by praying a prayer. You are saved by faith in Christ. Confessing with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord is the natural consequence of true faith. Matthew 12:34 - Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Salvation comes from a heart trust that provokes a true confession. In essence, these two are one. Confession without belief is either hypocrisy or self-deception and trust without confession is cowardice. The faith, the trust is internal while the confession is the external manifestation what has transpired internally. The confession is vital and valuable in that it reveals one's faith.

According to verse 11, it also serves as a means of assurance of salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. A true believer will not be ashamed of confessing Christ before men. Paul certainly was not. I am not ashamed of the gospel, Romans 1:16. Nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day, II Timothy 1:12. He wrote to Timothy (II Timothy 1:8) - 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Jesus said (Luke 9:26) For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

So, in order to receive Christ personally as your Savior, you must believe heart that Jesus Christ is the Risen Lord. That faith will manifest itself outwardly in that you will confess Christ as your Lord to men. Those who do this have the promise of God that they are saved. Verse 10 says that if you do this, you will be saved. Verse 13 reiterates the promise with another quotation from the Old Testament - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Now all this time, Paul has been specifically speaking about the Jewish people. But in verses 12-13, he makes it clear that there is only one way to be saved. There is not a Jewish way and a Gentile way. There is not an Old Testament way and a New Testament way. There is not a Catholic way and Protestant way and a Baptist way. There is only one way. It is the Bible way. Jesus said, "I am the way, ... no man comes to the Father except through me . " And Paul says here, "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Today, I ask you to acknowledge your need of a Savior. You cannot save yourself. Not by religion, not by good deeds. Today, I point you to Jesus Christ, as God's answer, God's gift to your need. He provides for you and offers you as a free gift what you cannot provide for yourself.

And today, I ask you receive Christ as your Savior by in your heart believing in Jesus as your Savior and Lord. And the trust that takes place in your heart will be revealed and reassured by openly and unashamedly confessing with your mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord.

I was once asked, "Why do you have an invitation at the end of every Sunday sermon? Cannot a person believe in Christ in their heart in the pew? Must they walk down the church aisle in order be saved?" My answer is this, There is nothing magical about coming down these aisles, taking my handing or saying something to me. Indeed you can make the decision to trust in Christ right where you are, in a pew, in your living room or driving down the road in your car. But this invitation serves, in part, as a way those who have trusted in Christ to publicly confess Him as their Lord.

That's what I am asking you to do today. Trust Jesus Christ in your heart and then confess Him as your Lord in this public invitation. If you will do this, the Bible promises you, you have God's Word on it, that you will be saved.