Do you confess and believe?
The apostle Paul writes,
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10: 9,10
Here is a simple question in light of what the apostle Paul wrote.
Do you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart Jesus is Lord?
Please think about.
Between God and man
The apostle Paul writes
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.” 1 Timothy 2:5,6
Jesus said,
“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
This is what Christians believe. We accept these two statements by faith. It’s that simple. I know it is a radical statement, but we Christians believe it to be true.
Blaise Pascal wrote,
“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.” Blaise Pascal.
That being said for most people having faith in anything especially God can be a very hard thing.
Which I believe is why the scriptures tell us,
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8,9.
Because those who truly believe in someone or something are the strongest believers.
So what do you believe?
Please think about it.
An adulterous generation
In the book of James we read,
"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." James 4:4
I live in North America a part of the world where materialism is king. People are encouraged to buy the latest car, the latest smart phone, the latest designer clothing, the big beautiful house with all that goes with it and of course they are trying to get all the money they make.
Now there is nothing wrong with all of these things on their own. There’s nothing wrong with being rich and having the finer things in life.
The apostle Paul tells us,
"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." 1 Timothy 6:10.
Riches can pull us away from God. There are many preachers here in north America that say God wants you to be healthy and wealthy. If your not they say you have sin in your life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Preachers that say these things have been lured away from the true gospel message to enrich themselves with the things of this world.
But false preachers aside each person is responsible for themselves. We have to decide where our friendship lies. Is it with God or this world.
So where does your friendship lie?
Please think about it.
Mercy Judgement, Forgiveness
Jesus made it clear,
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37.
In the book of James we read,
"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!" James 2:12, 13.
So the question becomes, Do you judge people or do you show mercy toward those around you?
Do you obey the words of Jesus who when asked,
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.'
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Matthew 22:36-40.
Please think about it.
Whoever believes
The apostle John writes,
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." 1John 1:9-10.
The apostle Paul writes.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23,24.
When was the last time you confessed your sins directly to God? When was the last time you admitted to God that you fall short of what God wants for your life?
Paul also writes,
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,”1 Corinthians 15:3.
As Christians we believe that Christ died for our sins. The way we see it is God reached down to man. Jesus speaking of himself said,
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17.
God does not wont anyone to perish but they must believe in Christ Jesus. Jesus saying,
"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son". John 3:18.
Do you believe this?
Please think about it.
At the bottom of the glass
In the book of Jeremiah we read,
"You will seek me
and find me
when you seek me
with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13.
An unknown author once wrote,
“Maybe the atheist cannot find God
for the same reason a thief cannot find a policeman.”
Author Unknown.
It’s true you must be truly searching for God in order to find Him. You must be willing to admit that what you believe is wrong. To let God show you what is right. To show you that He exists.
The proof of God is all around you,
William Philips Nobel prize winner in Physics wrote,
“I believe in God more because of science than in spite of it"William Philips Nobel prize winning Physicist.
Werner Heisenberg the father of Quantum Mechanics wrote,
The first gulp from the glass of natural science will make you an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you" Werner Heisenberg father of Quantum Mechanics Nobel prize winner in physics.
So the choice is up to you. Do you believe in God?
Please think about it.
Shama
In the book of Deuteronomy we read,
"Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4,5.
Known as the Shama prayer it is recited by Jews in the morning and the evening.
Jesus when asked,
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest commandment." Matthew 22:36,37,38.
It is a call not to listen with your ears but to let the word of God sink in and generate a response. The kind of love the writer is talking about here is one who is acting loyally and faithfully. It is faithful obedience to an individuals relationship with God.
What is your relationship with God?
Is Christ the Lord of your life?
Please think about it.
For each of us
The apostle Paul writes,
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.
C. S. Lewis puts it this way.
"He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less." C.S. Lewis.
As Christians we believe you cannot live a life good enough to get into heaven. Isaiah the Prophet put it this way.
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6.
That is why we believe Jesus came into this world to take upon himself the sins of all those who would believe in Him.
Jesus speaking of himself said,
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17.
The primary reason for Jesus to come to this world is simple. To save the sinner and all of us at times sinned and fallen short of Gods ideals for our life.
Thus the question becomes do you believe this?
Please think about it.
A new birth
The Psalmist writes,
"The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation."
Psalm 118:14.
The apostle Peter tells us,
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1Peter 1:3-5.
The apostle Paul writes,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.
So do you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord”?
Do you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead?
Please think about it.
From Paul in Athens to you.
The apostle Paul while in Athens gave this sermon,
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
At that, Paul left the Council.
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others” Acts 17:17-34.
This message is as true today as it was when Paul spoke it. And it has the same results. Many hearing it sneer. Many want to hear more. And many believe.
What about you dear reader? Which group are you in?
Please think about it.
If we confess with our mouth
The Prophet Isaiah writes,
"A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever."
Isaiah 40:6-8.
We humans are a frail bunch. The strongest person in the world. The healthiest person in the world have usually past on to eternity before their hundred and fifth birthday.
All of our accomplishments if we are lucky will be written down in a history book destined to accumulate dust on a shelf. Or lost among the myriad of information on the world wide web.
Who remembers good men like William Hamilton Merritt (July 3rd 1793-July 5th 1862) People living around the Niagara region in Canada see his name on many things but do they know who he is and what he did?
Who remembers Charles Lightoller (30 March 1874 – 8 December 1952). If they remember him from the Titanic. Do they even know he rescued 127 British servicemen from the beaches of Dunkirk during world war two in addition to doing other things for the British Admiralty during world war two.
We might remember Guglielmo Marcon (April 25, 1874-July 20, 1937) or Albert Einstein ( March 14, 1879-April 18, 1955) but how many of us know what the full extent of their contribution to human history was?
While these men in their own way were great. Their flowers have faded with the passing of time.
Their place in eternity determined.
I don’t know where any of these people are spending eternity. That is between them and God.
I do know however the way to heaven.
The apostle Paul writes,
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" Romans 10:9-13.
Do you believe this?
Please think about it.
Equal
In the book of Galatians we read,
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28.
Here Paul makes it clear that we are all equal in the eyes of God. When it comes to salvation it doesn’t matter who we are.
We are not born Christian and being rich does not give us a better place in heaven. Men and women are also equal.
While we don’t have slaves today we do have workers and in Gods kingdom they are equal to the people they work for.
All get to heaven the same way. The apostle Paul writes,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
Romans 10:9-13.
Do you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and do you truly believe this in your heart?
Please think about it.
The conclusion of the matter
In the book of Ecclesiastes we read,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes12:13,14.
I believe there is a God. Furthermore I believe what the writer of Ecclesiastes is saying here about Him. If I am wrong and God doesn’t exist. I will have lived a good life. A happy life.
If on the other hand I am right then many people in this world have a lot to fear.
What about you dear reader. What do you believe about God?
Please think about it.
How about you?
The Psalmist writes,
"I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together."
Psalm 34:1-3.
If nothing else the New Testament shows Jesus and his apostles experienced all that it is to be human. They attended weddings. The followed the rules set down in the Torah. They interacted with people of all walks of life.
They were also beaten, thrown in prison all but one dying for their faith. Yet through all of this they praised God. They praised him not only in the good times, but after they’d been beaten and while they were in prison.
They praised God because they knew that even in their darkest hour God was with them.
How about you, if you profess to be a true Christian, a true follower of Christ Jesus, do you praise God in the good times and in the bad?
Please think about it.
Believe and Confess
The apostle Paul writes,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.
This is as simple as it gets. The apostle Paul states that if you “confess with your mouth “Jesus in Lord” and believe in you heart God raised him from the dead you will be saved.
So the question becomes have you done this?
Please think about it.
God gives us a choice
Jesus speaking of Himself said,
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son". John 3:16-18
The sole purpose of Jesus coming to this earth was to save each individual from their sins and to offer each individual the way to heaven. To give each individual a choice.
Jesus saying
..."I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
A statement you can believe or reject.
What I would say however before you make a decision is to take time to study the New Testament, pray and ask God if it is true.
Please think about it.
Joshua’s choice
In the book of Joshua we read,
"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24: 14,15.
When we become Christians. True followers of Christ Jesus we are asked to make similar choices to the Israelites. Our Gods in this day and age are different than the Israelites. Our gods are materialism, wealth, sex, and many others. All of which we must be willing to give up when we accept Christ as our saviour.
We must believe in faith that God exists and will help us change our life around.
The writer of Hebrews telling us,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
Do you believe this?
Do you serve the LORD?
Please think about it.
Something very hard
In the book of Hebrews we read,
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1
"And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe
that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Hebrews 11:6.
Faith in anything can be a hard thing. Yet scientist do it all the time. They see something is happening and come up with a theory as to what is causing it. Many such theorise are not solved in the scientist life time. Even Einstein went to the grave having some of what he postulated unproven. Still he knew from what was happing that his theory was correct.
It’s the same with those who believe in God. The Psalmist states,
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
Psalm 19:1
Robert Brault stated.
"God left so many fingerprints at the scene of Creation that you wonder — does He want to be found, or does He want to be stopped?" Robert Brault.
We only have to look around us to see Gods handiwork. The universe from the greatest galaxy to the smallest subatomic particle are mathematically perfect. Arranged in such away that life as we know it can exist.
This tells me there is a Creator God who made it all.
Still that being said it requires faith to believe this, and that is for many a very hard thing.
Please think about it.
Bet without hesitation
The apostle Paul wrote,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.
Simply put this is the unapologetic view of Christians. We believe the words of Jesus as quoted in John’s gospel.
“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
If we as Christians are wrong then no one has anything to fear. If we are right then the rest of the world has at the very least something very important to think about.
Blaise Pascal wrote,
"Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists." Blaise Pascal
Please think about it.
The reality of God
Jesus said,
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7,8.
In the book of Hebrews we read,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
You must have faith that there is a God in order to find Him. If you say emphatically there is no God. More likely than not you will not even search for Him or evidence of His existence.
Ben Zion Bokser wrote,
"I have not seen the robin but I know he is there because I heard him singing through my window from the tree-top outside.
I have not seen God. But I have looked at my child's eyes, and have been overwhelmed by the miracle of unfolding life.
I have watched the trees bedeck themselves with new garbs of green in the spring, and have been stirred by the miracle of continual rebirth.
I have looked at the stars, and have been overcome by the miracle of the grandeur and majesty of the universe.
I know that God exists, because I have heard the song of His presence from all the tree-tops of creation."
For me it is inconceivable that the universe we live in was not made by God." Ben Zion Bokser
The Psalmist said,
"The heavens declare
