Proclaiming Salvation by Grace Through Faith in Jesus Christ, 856-667-7110

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 it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

Paul is the chief proponent in the Scriptures for Righteousness by faith. He tells us we are saved by grace, through faith; not of works lest any one should boast. But, notice what he says in Romans 10:10. He says that we can be assured that we have eternal life if we believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead. But, he prefaces that statement with, “if you confess with your mouth…”

In verse 10, he reiterates his point by using biblical parallelism. He repeats the same concept, but inverts and rephrases it. As disciples, we need to consider which of the two appears to be optional; the belief that resides in your heart, or the confession that flows from your mouth?

Clearly, Paul states that we must believe in Jesus AND confess that Jesus is Lord! There is no ambiguity. We have to know Him and share Him.

This is not, contrary to what some would have you to believe, Adventist legalism; the notion that we have to “work” for our salvation. Paul says much about being saved by grace. In fact, there are over 200 verses where He makes that clear.

But, there are over 500 verses where God says that He expects us to obey Him. Jesus himself said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Does the bible offer two ways to salvation?

A key contribution to the Christian world by Seventh-day Adventists is not the Sabbath. Rather, it is the ability to reconcile Law and Grace. Admittedly however, there is confusion within Adventists themselves. And, the confusion grows exponentially between Adventists and other Christian denominations.

Generally speaking, on the left side, the “liberal” side, you have some who look down their nose to those on the right and say, “Oh, look at those legalists.” Conversely, on the right side, the “fundamental” side, you have those who look down their nose and say, “Oh, look at those liberals. They are choosing to disobey. They don’t look right. They don’t dress right, or eat right.”

To be honest, even amongst the internal ranks of Adventistism, no one has been able to solve this dilemma. But oddly, it is the Adventist people with the answer.

Remember, Numbers 32:23 says, “…you may be sure that your sin will find you out.”

Why doesn’t it say sins, in plural? Because when it comes to the judgment, there is but one ultimate sin. We are either saved by grace, and under the blood banner of Christ. Or, we are self-reliant and clinging to our own righteousness.

In heaven, Lucifer said to God, “you can make all the rules you want to, but I will look them over and decide the ones I keep.” Clearly, ‘self’ was on the throne in Satan’s heart. He even boasted that he would exalt his throne above the stars.

Consider the experience of Eve, in the garden. As she engages in conversation with Satan, she allows her inner self to deliberate upon God’s word. Genesis 3:6 says “…She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.”

Eve’s sin was not taking the bite of the apple. That was simply the forensic evidence that sin had indeed occurred. Rather, Eve’s sin was deciding to take the bite. She excluded God from the thinking process, and thus all mankind found itself in a twelve foot hole with a six foot ladder.

Some people think the issue is that they have committed a great many sins. So, they confess their sins and offer their penance to counter balance their transgressions. But, in God’s eyes, there is just one sin that separates us from God. It occurs when we say to Him, “Yes Lord, I heard you. But, I think…”

But, I think…

That momentary malfunction that so many of us do, which is to exalt our own judgment and self-righteousness above God, leaves a trail of sin bread crumb throughout our entire lives. The consequences of these sins become the forensic evidence of the condition of the sin in our hearts. The forensic evidence that we have accepted Jesus as our Savior is when we allow Him to be our Lord, and stop arguing with Him.

Obedience is not a requirement for salvation. But, it is a telltale sign that we are connected to Christ. Our obedience and our willingness to do God’s will is evidence of our relationship with Christ Jesus.

1 John 2:3-5 (NLT)

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.

The purpose of God asking for our obedience is not to impress Him. Rather, it is merely to allow ourselves to discover the level of our own hypocrisy. Thus, as Paul states clearly, if you want to be saved, believe in Jesus. But, you will not really believe you are saved until you hear yourself say it and testify to it. Thus, if you don’t hear yourself saying it, perhaps it’s because you don’t really believe it.

Again, it’s simple. You are either in, or you’re out. It sounds a bit cavalier, but there is no such thing as a non-witnessing Christian.