Do you believe in Jesus’ resurrection?
Romans 10,1-11
“Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Here is this passage, and one of its verses confirm salvation for many people:
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Is it enough to believe in heart, and confess with our mouth, and everything will be alright? This shouldn’t be thought of in a shallow way, as this has much deeper context than what most people think of these passages. Paul said that we have to believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead. Anyone who believes in Jesus says a big Amen to this, but the problem starts when many people are clueless about who Jesus really is. We have talked a lot about Jesus being God’s Word, but to remind ourselves, let’s bring forth a few verses. Jesus’s testimonial:
John 12,49-50
“For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
John’s testimonials:
John 1,14
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
1John 1,1
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—“
Book of Revelation 19,11-13
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.”
So if we understand the foundation correctly, that Jesus is God’s Word, then we will also understand what Jesus’ resurrection from the dead means, for instance. As He came, and He preached the Word free of any human alterations, which was disliked by many people, and He was crucified. In fact, many people do the same nowadays… They crucify God’s Word as they don’t want it, as they have something else in their mind and they don’t like the picture which is being reflected back at them. However, God raised Jesus from the dead, and it isn’t enough to grasp this in our minds, we have to accept this in our hearts too!
Jeremiah 31,31-34
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Not just into our minds (Hebrews 8,10), but it is written into our hearts too. We understand it with our minds, and we accept it with our hearts. Do we believe with our hearts, that God raised His Word so that we may live by him? You might already know that in our starting passage, Paul was quoting from Moses, but he didn’t mention the second part of the verse (as it was obvious back then), so we will address it:
Deuteronomy 30,14
“But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.”
When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, it was obvious that we have to live by God’s Word too. Sadly, most people nowadays don’t even want to hear about this. So if God’s Word (Jesus) is in our mouths and hearts, then we will fulfil it too. Now, let’s move onto the testimonial declared with our mouths. Here is the quote:
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
There is an extremely shallow theory out there today regarding this as well, saying it’s enough to confess with our mouth, and we will be saved. However, the context behind the writings have to be understood as well! These people forget that Paul wasn’t solely talking about confessing with our mouth, but believing in our heart too. There isn’t one without the other. If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus, His Word, and we confess it with our mouth, only then we are saved. As the ones who truly believe in Jesus will not be able to put their faith aside, but they will testify their belief. Let’s look at these verses:
Matthew 5,14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Furthermore:
Matthew 10,32-33
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
But let’s turn around this train of thought. If we think that it is enough to solely declare Jesus with our mouth – although I don’t know how could someone declare Him, if they don’t even know who He really is –, then why did Jesus say the following?
Luke 6,46
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”
The ones who say that being obedient towards God is not a necessity to be saved, the ones who preach and believe that we don’t have to bother with God’s commandments anymore believe in a false jesus, which is idolatry! This is the Everlasting God’s declaration regarding the law:
Jeremiah 31,35-37
“Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord of hosts is his name: “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” Thus says the Lord: “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the Lord.”
I’d like to mention that if the message of this verse wouldn’t be clear enough, that the offspring of Israel didn’t cease to exist, and they are a nation even today. We can’t measure the heavens, nor can the foundations of the earth be explored. On the contrary, they teach that God’s commandments have become obsolete. But these are mockers, who don’t only mock the obedient people but God as well – they will be put to shame.
Isaiah 66,5
“Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: “Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name's sake have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy’; but it is they who shall be put to shame.”
To summarise, the ones who believe that God’s commandments have been abolished don’t believe in Jesus’ resurrection either.
Antal Farkas
(May 1, 2020)
