“…If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame”. Romans 10:9-11
“For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13
Savior and Lord are oftentimes used in the same sentence, in the same breath. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10) In fact, God sent his only son to die for us (because we deserved death) and as a result of his death we have the opportunity to become children of God. Yes, opportunity because not all will receive Christ as their savior. God knows those that are his, those who will hear the call and accept the call, His elect.
Salvation is free, all the work needed for man to be delivered, saved, was done by Jesus. The only parts we have to play in the process are to confess and believe. Confess, in Romans 10:9, means to say the same thing, to acknowledge the Lord Jesus and what he has done for you. Then we must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Believe means to trust and have full assurance that what God said is true. So we must confess with the mouth and believe in the heart……but did you know that God gave each of us a measure of faith in order to confess and believe. So with that said, man had nothing to do with his own salvation.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13.”
“…receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:9”
Now that we have confessed and believed, heaven is our home and we can draw near to God, what’s next? Salvation is twofold, objective and subjective. This is where many fall short. Jesus paid the price for your eternal life (objective reality) now you must pay the price for your soul salvation (subjective reality).
Philippians says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. That simply means now it is time to make Jesus your Lord. Lord means master, absolute ruler, the one in authority. Is Jesus Lord of your life? Does Jesus have control of your soul (your emotion, your mind and your will)? He cannot be Lord unless you give him the authority to lead you and guide you. Lordship brings about change; Lordship takes us into the realm of being born again, being converted.
Unless Jesus becomes Lord, we never experience change on the inside. All we have is a new home, all we have is fire insurance, and all we have is the free gift of life without the benefit of the abundant life. Abundant life comes from a life of surrender to Christ. The price you must pay is death, dying to self. Unless you die to self, Jesus will never be Lord of your life.
So, where are you today? Are you trusting and believing? Are you working out your own salvation with fear and trembling?
God chooses us for salvation – – – – We choose Jesus to be Lord….
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Rosita
