Tag: Search Me God and Know My Heart

What Does it Mean to Really Walk with God in Faith? Genesis 5:21-24

Genesis 5:21-24Amplified Bible

21 When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Methuselah. 22  Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah and had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him [away to be home with Him].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Walking with others is often a time of sacred, deeply personal fellowship.

As people traverse a trail or path together, they can talk to one another about their struggles, goals, or worries.

Many people might not even ever think about those steps they take with a friend, but walking with a friend can truly help a relationship grow stronger.

The same is true about our relationship with God.

From the very beginning, He wanted to walk with us, to know us personally, and for us to follow Him all of our days – we were created to walk with God.

When we choose to place our faith in Christ for salvation, we can walk with Him in fellowship.

No longer, do we or must we, live our lives according to the ways of our sinful nature, but we can out the days of our lives by the Spirit.

Biblical Examples of Walking with God

When God created humans, we almost immediately read He walked with them. 

Genesis 3:8 describes how Adam and Eve heard the Lord walking in the Garden, they heard Him walking on leaves and branches which prompted them to hide.

They did not want Him to discover they had sinned.

Adam and Eve recognized the sound of God coming towards them, indicating apparently that He regularly walked on earth with them in Eden before the fall.

However, after Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord had hid, God could no longer physically dwell with humankind because of the presence sin.

Later, the Bible describes how other people “walked” with God, although He was not physically dwelling with them as He did in Eden.

Enoch loved the Lord and “walked faithfully” with Him (Genesis 5:24). 

Interestingly, Scripture tells us that Enoch did not taste death but was taken up by the Lord (Genesis 5:24 and Hebrews 11:5).

Noah, the great-grandson of Enoch, is also described as someone who walked with the Lord (Genesis 6:9).

His close fellowship with God is significant when we remember that the people during Noah’s time were wicked and did not worship the Lord (Genesis 6:5-7).

When God the Son took on human flesh and came to earth to save humankind from their sins, He dwelled among us (John 1:14).

As part of His ministry, Jesus walked everywhere, traveled by foot constantly.

In fellowship, Christ talked to them and taught them as they walked.

For example, after Jesus was resurrected, He walked with two of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and taught them (Luke 24:13-35).

In the future, when God establishes the New Heaven and New Earth, He will physically live and walk among humans again.

John describes this truth in Revelation 21:3:

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

The Lord will dwell with and walk with believers for all eternity.

A Relationship with the Lord

Based on the examples of those who walked with the Lord in the Bible, to walk with God means we have a relationship with Him.

Adam and Eve walked with God physically but also had a close relationship with their Creator.

After the Fall of Man, humans lost the privilege of dwelling physically with God.

Also, sin separated them from the Lord (Isaiah 59:2).

Only those who had faith in the Lord, like Enoch and Noah, were able to have a close relationship with God.

The reason Jesus came to earth was so we could receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

When a person trusts in Christ’s death and resurrection for salvation, they receive an everlasting relationship with Him (John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Compared to knowing Jesus, everything else seems like trash (Philippians 3:8).

At salvation, we enter a relationship with the Lord.

However, just as people need to spend time with each other and communicate to build a relationship, we also need to spend time with God and talk to Him.

To “walk” with the Lord involves communicating and listening to Him.

Praying to God is essential, but we must also read and study and pray through His Word, which is the way He speaks to us (Hebrews 4:12).

Furthermore, Christians need to discipline themselves to regularly examine their lives to ensure nothing hinders their walk with God. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Sin interferes with a believer’s relationship with God. 

If we confess our sins, telling God that we know we did wrong, then He is “faithful and just to forgive” (1 John 1:9, NLT).

Thus, we need to examine ourselves regularly and confess our sins to the Lord.

In addition to confessing sins, believers need to be aware of anything that distracts them from walking with Christ.

Some of these distractions include sinful thoughts, behaviors, and doubt (Matthew 6:14-15, 24; James 1:6-7).

However, good things can also distract us, such as focusing too much on a career, a family, a human relationship, a comfortable home, or a hobby.

In these instances, we need to obey the words of Scripture and die to ourselves, so we can learn better follow the Lord and invest in our relationship with Him (Matthew 16:24).

A Way of Life

A Way of Life

In the Bible, to walk with the Lord involves having a relationship with Him, but it also means living a specific way.

To walk with God means we are living in obedience to His standards instead of our own.

Scripture poignantly, succinctly, tells us to “walk humbly with your God,” which means humbly submitting ourselves to His direction (Micah 6:8).

At salvation, we receive the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who baptizes us (John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Titus 3:5).

Holy Spirit enables us to live and walk in the way God desires.

In turn, we must follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our own Christian walk (Galatians 5:16).

As Paul emphasizes in his letter to the Galatians, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25, NKJV).

To live in obedience to God, we must have faith.

The Bible tells us that “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, ESV).

Often, when we follow the Lord’s leading, we will not know what lies ahead.

For instance, Abraham had to walk by faith when God told him to sacrifice Isaac, his promised son (Genesis 22:1-2; Hebrews 11:17-19).

For clarity, God did not want or command human sacrifice (see Jeremiah 19:5; 32:35).

He wanted to see if Abraham would trust Him (Genesis 22:12).

Likewise, some of the things that the Lord asks us to do might not make sense at the time, but we can trust Him and step out in faith.

Finally, when individuals walk with God, others will take notice.

The fruit of the Spirit and Christlikeness will characterize their life (Galatians 5:22-23; 1 John 2:6).

Those who walk with Jesus will talk about His love and demonstrate that love practically to others.

Instead of seeking their desires or preferences, they will want to obey God’s Word no matter the risk.

This does not mean they are perfect.

All believers will continue to struggle with sin.

However, Christians who are walking (Micah 6:8) with the Lord will enjoy a strong relationship with Him, will seek to live according to His principles, morals and ethics, instead of the sinful standards of the flesh and the world.      

What Does This “Walking With God” Mean for My Life?

Walking with God means having a connectional relationship with Him and living, walking, a certain way that follows His standards based on Scripture.

This is important to all people because humans were created by God to love God and ultimately give all the glory, honor and praise and their thanks to God.

However, our sin separates us from Him.

Believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection is the only way to restore this vital relationship.

Once we trust in Christ (John 14:1-14), we can begin walking (Micah 6:8) with Him.

As part of our walk with the Lord, we need to prioritize our relationship with Him by spending quality time in reading, studying His Word and talking to Him.

Also, we need to examine ourselves regularly to see if any sins or other things in our life are hindering or distracting us from spending time with God (Psalm 51).

Finally, we need to listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance so that we live and walk in a way that is more consistently pleasing and perpetually honoring the Lord.

“Walking” with our Lord in fellowship and obedience is the best way to live.

More on this tomorrow ….

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 15 The Message

15 God, who gets invited
    to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?

2 “Walk straight,
    act right,
        tell the truth.

3-4 “Don’t hurt your friend,
    don’t blame your neighbor;
        despise the despicable.

5 “Keep your word even when it costs you,
    make an honest living,
        never take a bribe.

“You’ll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this.”

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Living Life Under Pressure: Dr. Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde and Our “Christianality.” Ephesians 4:17-24

Ephesians 4:17-24 Amplified Bible

The Christian’s Walk

17 So this I say, and solemnly affirm together with the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the [unbelieving] Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds [and in the foolishness and emptiness of their souls], 18 for their [moral] understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded; [they are] alienated and self-banished from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the [willful] ignorance and spiritual blindness that is [deep-seated] within them, because of the hardness and insensitivity of their heart. 19 And they, [the ungodly in their spiritual apathy], having become callous and unfeeling, have given themselves over [as prey] to unbridled sensuality, eagerly craving the practice of every kind of impurity [that their desires may demand]. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way! 21 If in fact you have [really] heard Him and have been taught by Him, just as truth is in Jesus [revealed in His life and personified in Him], 22 that, regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires, 23 and be continually renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude], 24 and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature], created in God’s image, [godlike] in the righteousness and holiness of the truth [living in a way that expresses to God your gratitude for your salvation].

The Word of God for the Children of God

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

I would like to share about the pressures of life we encounter on a daily basis.

It is important for us as believers to recognize that all of the who’s, the what’s the where’s the when’s and the why’s we are bombarded by everyday will have either a significantly positive or a very negative form of influence in our lives.

There are people, places an things who, which if we let them, will cunningly manipulate, pressure us, into situations where we got no business being in.

In today’s world pressure begins at an early age.

There’s the social pressure of fitting in.

There’s the pressure of looking a certain way, financial pressures.

I once told a former boss I needed a raise, that 4 other companies were after me.

He asked me which ones, I said;

“anywhere else north, anywhere else south, anywhere else east and anywhere else west, just anywhere else except here!”

We experience mounting pressures in the workplace, emotional and social relationships pressures, fitting in, making keeping new friends, moving, being a caregiver, divorce, illness, the pressures of measuring up, having all the latest gadgets, the pressures of social media, pressure of keeping up with the Joneses.

Pressure will have stress and anxiety eventually creep up on you and it will get in the way of your daily life, your work life, your family life, social life, church life and even your daily walk in God, the Father, Savior Christ and Holy Spirit.

But my bible tells me …

Something pretty radical and diametrically opposite ….

Psalm 23 Amplified Bible

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want.
2 
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.
3 
He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.

4 
Even though I walk through the [sunless] [a]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
5 
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with [b]oil;
My cup overflows.
6 
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.

Know that when you go to God, He will provide you with every last measure and degree of His Shalom, His peace as necessary to withstand the pressures of life.

Which God did when He sent His Son Jesus to us and Jesus died for us at Calvary.

Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, The World, Living Out Our Christianality

Do you ever feel as if sometimes you are two different “Christian” persons?

Under one circumstance you are staunchly Christian because that is what your Mother and Father taught you when you were too busy trying to just “grow up.”

Then you encountered the “real world” where you had to really live your life on your own – you got your first apartment, went off to college in another state or country, you got your very first job in a fast food place or department store and all of a sudden life comes at you at warp 10 – you have to adjust, then readjust?

When you realize that real life is not always going to be, cannot always be really lived, realistically understood by what your Mother and Father had taught you?

Economics change.

Politics change.

Society and Culture changes.

We are caught up in those changes.

Subtly or “in a heartbeat” suddenly we have to adjust life to those changes.

What Mother and Father taught us – biblically or not so biblically.

What the world is teaching us – challenging our perceptions of “biblically.”

Moment by Moment, do I live my life “Biblically versus Realistically?!?”

Moment by Moment, can I live my life “Biblically versus Realistically?!?”

Moment by Moment, should I live my life “Biblically versus Realistically?!?”

Then comes the inevitable progression to inserting the question – “WHY?”

And that becomes the greatest question we all have to grapple with everyday, in everyway we were probably never taught either by our Mothers and our Fathers.

Back in the nineteenth century, Robert Louis Stevenson explored that idea in his short suspense novel titled “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

In an effort to become a better person, Dr. Jekyll, a mild-mannered man of science, develops a potion that can separate his good self from his bad self.

Expectedly or Unexpectedly, what happens instead is that his good side fades more, more away, the bad side turns out to be much more evil than expected.

At night he changes drastically and dramatically and he becomes Mr. Hyde, a mysterious, ugly and violent man whose life can think only of its own desires.

Once Dr. Jekyll realizes his own evil, he makes “the only choice possible” and clamps down on his Mr. Hyde, resolving not to take the magic potion anymore.

But Mr. Hyde has become too powerful, strong, too influential to overcome.

In despair of ever changing himself for the good, Dr. Jekyll commits suicide.

In no way do/would I ever advocate the act of suicide as any solution to crisis!

As such thoughts enter into your mindset – get professional help immediately!

Do NOT ever act upon those self-destructive thoughts – Call 911 locally

Home
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

International Suicide Hotlines

International Suicide Hotlines

One Biblical versus Worldly Response

Some of you are probably feeling like you’re losing it, you’re at a breaking point.

God is surely, certainly telling you today, Pray! stay with me, I’m going to get you thru this, stay in my will, don’t lose your courage, come stay in my house …

Psalm 23 The Message

23 1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my life.

A Father, Son and Holy Spirit Inspired Response:

The apostle Paul speaks of the same struggle in different terms—“old self” and “new self.”

One of the great issues of life is how we can change permanently and deeply so that we look, live and love far more like Jesus and less of ourselves all the time.

Will it take moral effort, or meditation, or what?

In Ephesians 4 Paul says it requires “the truth that is in Jesus.”

There is much to learn about how the power of the cross creates that truth in us.

But today let’s give thanks Christ can change our old self into a new self which honors all of him and nothing of ourselves.

There is a significant difference between the pressures of the world upon our shoulders and the pressure God our Father sometimes want you to grow thru.

You see the world wants to do everything it can to crush you, to drive you into despair, make you feel forsaken, destroy you, but my bible tells us otherwise.

Ephesians 4:17-24 J.B. Phillips New Testament

Have no more to do with the old life! Learn the new

17-19 This is my instruction, then, which I give you from God. Do not live any longer as the Gentiles live. For they live blindfold in a world of illusion, and cut off from the life of God through ignorance and insensitiveness. They have stifled their consciences and then surrendered themselves to sensuality, practising any form of impurity which lust can suggest.

20-24 But you have learned nothing like that from Christ, if you have really heard his voice and understood the truth that he has taught you. No, what you learned was to fling off the dirty clothes of the old way of living, which were rotted through and through with lust’s illusions, and, with yourselves mentally and spiritually re-made, to put on the clean fresh clothes of the new life which was made by God’s design for righteousness and the holiness which is no illusion.

Sometimes there are seasons in which there is one trial after another.

Remember this Verse to the Hymn …. “What a Friend We Have in Jesus?”

“Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.”

Temptations are around us at all times, so we can answer the first part of this Hymns verse with a great big resounding, heaven shaking, “Yes!!!”  

We all well understand that many times in the midst of trials and temptations that our hearts can subtly, so quickly and suddenly lose hope and be tempted to descend into deep discouragement if we do not stay focused and remain in faith.

I praise God that my Savior Jesus knows me inside and out and He also knows very well EVERY single last one of my least and greatest weaknesses within me.  

I pray as I may descend into measures and degrees of discouragement, I may remember to stay in fellowship with Him in prayer and He will reveal to me calm meadows filled with lush grasses and still waters to slake my thirsty soul.  

I deeply this wonderful BFF Friend named Jesus will not only show me my weaknesses but He will enable encourage and inspire me to learn, grow and sitting at His table, to become far strong in those weak places within my soul.  

I encourage you to take your known and unknown weaknesses to Him in prayer, and to ask Him for wisdom and healing.  

To reveal in His times the weaknesses within you that you are not aware of.

Many times it is when we are standing in the midst of hardships that we awaken our awareness of His awareness to areas within our soul weak or broken down.  

We can think we are so strong to find out differently in the midst of a trial.  

Let this not become a constant or instantaneous source of discourage for your heart but rather a source to determine yourself to grow in the midst of it all.

I thank God today that I serve and walk with my good friend Jesus.  

He said He would share in all of my sorrows,

and even though He knows every weakness of yours’s and mine,

He continues to forever stand with us and vigilantly walk beside us.  

What a friend we have in Jesus!!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Most glorious, kind, and blessed God of the present moment, I beg Your grace and Your presence that I might be able to reject the temptations of the enemy and my flesh that drive my mind to obsess on the past or worry about the future. Help me instead to embrace the sufferings and challenges of the present moment knowing that You are with me in them and that if I surrender myself to You and the duties of this life in the present moment, You will give me all I need to endure or overcome any challenge, take care of all matters that are outside of my control, and will reveal Yourself and Your holy will within and through them. By Your grace I reject, in Jesus’ name, all regrets, laments, frustrations, or other temptations that draw my thoughts and attention away from the duties of this present moment and more importantly, away from Your presence and provision. I affirm, invoke, and implore the power of Jesus’ name against the efforts of the enemy to draw me out of Your presence in this moment, and I, by God’s Grace, His Divine Will, my human will, through the power of thy Holy Spirit, choose to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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What about our Preaching the Gospel? Who has Believed our Message? What of our Excuses for not preaching, not speaking God’s Word? Romans 10:16-21

May the Word of God speak unto “Our Excuses and Our Mighty Mouths”

All of us attempt to justify our actions at one time or another with excuses. When people give an excuse, they give a reason or explanation to defend or justify an action or an inaction, a fault or offense; Usually we will give others a reason for NOT doing something, or a reason why something went wrong.

“Excuse” comes from the Latin meaning “out of cause”: We offer a cause or a reason for not doing something that we should…. we give a bizarre “excuse.”

Billy Sunday, the baseball star turned evangelist who lived from 1862 – 1935, said that “An excuse is the Skin of a Reason, Stuffed with a Lie.” Today, we are going to look at a few excuses Apostle Paul states Israel used for not believing.

Romans 10:15-21Disciples’ Literal New Testament

15 And how may they proclaim if they are not sent-forth?— just as it has been written[a] [in Isaiah 52:7]: “How beautiful are the feet of the ones announcing-good-news–of good things!” 16 But[b] they did not all obey the good-news, for Isaiah says [in Isaiah 53:1], “Lord, who put-faith-in our report?” 17 So[c] the faith[d] comes from a report-hearing[e], and the report-hearing through a word[f] about[g] Christ.

But It Is Not As Though Israel Did Not Hear

18 But I say[h]— it is not that they did not hear[i], is it ? On the contrary: “Their voice went-out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world” [Psalm 19:4].

And It Is Not As Though Israel Did Not Know

19 But I say— it is not that Israel did not know[j], is it? First, Moses says [in Deuteronomy 32:21] “I will provoke you to jealousy over what is not a nation. I will provoke you to anger over a nation without-understanding[k]”. 20 And Isaiah is very bold and says [in Isaiah 65:1] “I was found by the ones not seeking Me. I became visible[l] to the ones not asking-for Me”. 21 But with-regard-to Israel He says [in Isaiah 65:2], “I held-out[m] My hands the whole day toward a disobeying[n] and contradicting[o] people”.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

The most meticulous and thorough presentation of the glorious Gospel of Christ is found in the book of Romans. It also meticulously details man’s own depravity, humanities estrangement from God and man’s reconciliation back to God. The book of Romans could be called the seedbed for all Christian doctrine… giving us a systematic, step-by-step teaching of the fundamentals of our faith.

Paul pounds home the truth that God’s gracious offer of righteousness is by faith. He points out that it is equally accessible to Jew and Gentile alike… for all are sinners and have fallen short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23).

All have the sentence of death over their heads.. and without exception, all of us need a Savior. Paul points out that no-one, Jew or Gentile alike, is exempt from God’s condemnation for all have sinned and are in need of a Savior – all need to be justified by grace, through an abiding faith in the Son of God – Christ Jesus.

It baffles the mind of those that have taken up God’s free gift of salvation.. that His offer of reconciliation should be quickly, summarily rejected by so many.

It is astonishing that so many refuse to believe on His name and be rescued from condemnation and an eternity in hell.

And yet throughout the old and new testaments we discover with no small amount of astonishment.. the foolish depravity to which the human race has fallen and man’s arrogant refusal to accept God’s free gift of salvation.

Prophets like Jeremiah grieved at the unbelief in the heart of man when his call for Israel to return to the Lord was treated with such blind, malicious contempt.

Isaiah mourned at the hardness of men’s heart, when he wrote:

LORD: who has believed our report?’

Who has believed the saving message that God has tried to deliver through so many prophets?

Who has believed the word of the Lord and who is willing to admit that there are none that are righteous – not even one.

How few see the need to turn from their sins and believe on the Word of the Lord – and the gospel of grace?

In the first part of chapter 10 of Romans, God tells us what happens to a heart that calls on, believes in, and confesses the name of the Lord Jesus Christ .

We concluded with the prophecy which was first fulfilled in Christ and now is fulfilled in us as the Church in Romans 10:15: “Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS (the Gospel) OF GOOD THINGS!” (Quoted from Isaiah. 52:7)

The Lord Jesus set His feet on this earth from His Heaven and proclaimed the Gospel in His Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension.

His Ministry of miracles and healing proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, that no one but God could do those things! He proved over and over again HE WAS MESSIAH, THE ONE PROMISED from God, who would DIE FOR OUR SINS.

But, still, there was disbelief, there was unacceptance of the Gospel message.

Excuse #1: A Hearing Problem?

WHO COULD POSSIBLY REJECT THE Power and Clarity of the GOSPEL of God’s Grace in Jesus Christ?

Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit continues in Romans 10:16: “However, (UH-oh!) they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”

The truth is that VERY FEW believed the report. Israel killed the prophets who preached God’s Word, and then they killed THE ONE, the LORD JESUS, which the prophets had foretold. But that does not change the way that God works:

Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” 18 But I say, surely they have never heard, have they?”

Paul is saying: With such clear and powerful prophecy, could it at all be possible that Israel never heard the MESSAGE of the Gospel? Could it be possible that MOST of Israel had a “self-centered” hearing problem? Can Israel honestly stand up and give the excuse: We didn’t hear the message of salvation?

Paul responds with the second half of verse 18: Indeed they have; (NO WAY! NO EXCUSE; THEY HAVE HEARD THE MESSAGE) “THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.”

Here Paul quotes Psalm 19:4: “Their sound has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world.” Psalm 19:1 begins: “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” Day and night, CREATION SPEAKS LOUDLY AND CLEARLY of the Glory and the power and the work of the Almighty God.

The excuse does not stand because Creation sings the Father’s song:

Romans 1:18-23Disciples’ Literal New Testament

God’s Wrath Is Upon All Sin

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness[a] and unrighteousness[b] of people holding-down[c] the truth in[d] unrighteousness.

Because God Revealed Enough of Himself In Creation For The World To Be Without Excuse

19 Because the thing known of God is evident[e] in[f] them, for God made it [self] evident to them. 20 For His invisible things— both His eternal power and divine-nature— are clearly-seen, being understood since the creation of the world in the things made, so that they are without-excuse.

And Having Known This Truth About God, The World Did Not Honor Him As God

21 Because having known God, they did not glorify Him as God or give-thanks, but became futile in their thoughts, and their senseless heart was darkened.

They Turned From The Glory of The Immortal God To Their Crafted Images of God

22 While claiming to be wise, they became-foolish 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a likeness— an image of a mortal person and of birds and of four-footed-animals and of reptiles.

If you go back to the beginning of Romans, read Romans 2-3, you find that NO ONE IS RIGHTEOUS and there is not one single usable excuse, and everyone is liable! No one can say: I don’t believe because I never heard.

Excuse # 2: Lack of Understanding?

Here’s excuse number two:

Romans 10:19 “But I say, surely Israel did not KNOW, did they?”

OK let’s bury deep the first excuse: We can admit Israel heard the word, but maybe they just didn’t UNDERSTAND (know) the Word. Could that be valid?

That they heard it but didn’t understand it? Could Israel’s excuse be that over the long course of years, “we just didn’t understand the message of salvation?”

Paul’s response Romans 10:19b is:

“First Moses says, “I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION, BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I ANGER. (YOU)”

Paul’s response comes from:

Deuteronomy 32:21-22 New American Standard Bible

21 They have made Me jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their [a]idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,
22 For a fire has flared in My anger,
And it burns to the lowest part of [b]Sheol,
And devours the earth with its yield,
And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

In essence, Israel caused God to be jealous by going after other gods, so God’s hope is to arouse jealousy within them, not by rejecting them, but by drawing other people outside of Israel to come to His Salvation.

How could anyone possibly not understand the message of salvation?

Not only did God give Israel the general revelation which He gave to EVERY CREATURE on this planet, but He gave to them HIS WORD and LAW, and they still disobeyed and followed other Gods.

We looked at the first part of Psalm 19 where the theme of God’s General revelation in creation is explained.

If you look at the second half of Psalm 19, you hear that Israel received the Perfect WORD and LAW of God, and they STILL rejected God.

So both of Israel’s excuses are groundless: They HEARD and UNDERSTOOD and still rejected God’s Grace. God’s response is heard in Roman 10:20:

Romans 10: 20 And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.” (from Isaiah 65:1: “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To a nation which did not call on My name.”

The overwhelming majority of the nation of Israel both heard and understood the message of God’s salvation of justification faith, but did not believe God’s promise, and when His Promised ONE arrived, they rejected and crucified Him.

They would NOT admit they needed God’s salvation nor submit by faith and grace. They were offended by the hearing and understanding of God’s Word and Grace and by a righteousness which comes by faith.

They were quite content to remain in their own self-righteousness and sin.

Their response to Deuteronomy 32 was basically: “Go ahead, give your grace to the Gentiles; at least we have our Judaism and we’re happy with that! We don’t want or need anything else.”

Romans 10:16 Disciples’ Literal New Testament

16 But[a] they did not all obey the good-news, for Isaiah says [in Isaiah 53:1], “Lord, who put-faith-in our report?”

What a disheartening thing to know that not everyone will accept Christ Jesus as Lord. Eventually they will confess this with their mouths (Philippians 2:11) but the timeframe to accept this gospel message is while we are in the world.

Christ came to redeem the world, although he knew, not everyone would accept him.

John said, 

John 1:11-13 Disciples’ Literal New Testament

11 He came to His own things, and His own ones did not accept Him. 12 But all who did receive Him, He gave them— the ones believing in His name— the right[a] to become children of God, 13 who were born not of bloods[b], nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a husband, but of God[c].

Jesus came first to the nation of Israel and proclaimed peace between them and God. However, they received him not.

Paul says the same thing in today’s passage, 

“not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” (Romans 10:16). 

Isaiah foretold that the Israelites would reject Jesus.

Paul is quoting from Isaiah 53, which is a passage about Jesus. This is one of the most powerful chapters in the entire Old Testament.

It foretold everything Jesus would suffer on the cross. Isaiah starts out this beautiful word with saying, 

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?  He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  (Isaiah 53:1-3).

Christ knew that his own people would reject him and esteem him not. Yet he still came to redeem them, what a marvelous thing.

Why did the 1st Century Israelites reject Jesus?

For us, in 2022, we can look back through the Hebrew (Old) Testament with Jesus as our filter and identify every passage that was spoken about him. We can even read these passages out loud to others without telling them where they were found and the listener can tell you that it is talking about Christ, often the assumption is that the passage is actually the New Testament.

However, the Israelites read these same passages but looked for something entirely different than what Christ turned out to be.

They were looking for a warrior king and not a servant.

When the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, that Word fell on deaf ears, fulfilling what Isaiah prophesied about them. 

” ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10).

Jesus spoke about the same truth in the parable of the Sower of the seed.

There are four kinds of soil to sow and depending on the condition of the soil is whether or not the seed grows and bears’ fruit. Jesus spoke this parable to this nation and when the disciples asked him what was meant by it, he quoted this passage in Isaiah. He spoke to them in parables because of the condition of their heart which kept them blind and deaf to these amazing truths. If their heart would have been ready to hear it, he would have turned and healed them.

The Israel of the 1st Century in this case was the first kind of soil.

The farmer went out to sow seed, but it fell upon the path and the birds ate it up quickly. When Jesus told this parable to the disciples, he explained… 

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Luke 8:11-12, Mark 4:13-18).

Jesus told in Matthew’s version the reason the seed is quickly stolen, 

“When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path” (Matthew 13:18-19). 

Now the condition of the soil made it easy for the seed to be eaten up by the birds, because the soil fell upon a path. A worn path is hard and compacted. In many cases it is impenetrable by something like a seed. For a seed to germinate it has to get down into the soil. But when it falls upon hard ground germination is not possible. The seed can be easily eaten because it is lying upon the surface.

Jesus said the seed was the word of God and Satan comes to steal it. If we don’t understand the word and the word falls upon deaf ears and the condition of the heart is impenetrable than stealing the word takes no effort. 

In this case, 1st Century Israel was the first kind of soil. They were expecting a Messiah that was entirely different than Jesus, so their notions blinded them to the truth of God’s word.

Like Isaiah said, their hearts are calloused, their ears dull and their eyes are closed (Isaiah 6:10). As Jesus spoke to them, Satan walked right behind him and picked up the seeds of eternal life that he spoke.

They allowed him to steal the word of God that had the power to save them because they had not prepared their hearts to receive it.

What a discouraging thing this must have been.

But this stands as a warning for us.

Paul said in the very next verse of Romans 10 that “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).

This is how faith comes, by hearing the gospel and believing and receiving it.

This message comes from Christ and just like the hard condition of the heart blocked the words of life, the fourth kind of soil received it with gladness and produced an abundant crop. 

“But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23, Mark 4:20, Luke 8:15).

When called, separated by God, we will always have our excuses to either act on that calling or not act on that calling. Invariably, our first choice is to reject the Word of the Lord as Samuel did, but with help and guidance from others, we will respond to God as He needs, requires us, to respond. (1 Samuel 3:1-10)

The Word of God is the Word of God. The seed is the seed, but the condition of the soil determines the abundance of the crop or even whether it sprouts at all.

Praise God the message of salvation continues to be equally efficacious for Jew and Gentile alike, and in his epistle to the Roman followers, the Apostle Paul presents in minute detail every aspect of God’s righteous condemnation of sinful man… and his gracious offer of reconciliation through the death burial and resurrection of Christ our God and Savior.

Let us undertake to read, mark, learn, inwardly digest its truth and tell others the message of reconciliation and redemption – although sadly the are likely to be those who do not obey the message through pride, unbelief and rebellion.

This is a good word for us today; we can hear the Word of God; we can prepare our hearts to receive the Word of God, then speak of them. It is my prayer that we keep your heart soft and pliable before the Lord ready to receive his word.

Be the fourth kind of cultivated soil and receive this word with gladness. Let this seed penetrate and germinate in your heart yielding much eternal fruit, amen.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God, from the beginning, you were the word. You sent your only son to save us all and he even allowed himself to be tortured and crucified to obey you. Bless me with the gift of understanding and of unshaken faith in you. Let me know the meaning of your words in the Bible and how to live accordingly. Open up to me the door of my heart and fill me with your light and understanding. Amen.

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The Heart Believes and it is Justified, the Mouth Confesses and is Saved. Is Public Confession Necessary or Even Essential for Salvation? Romans 10:9-10

In the back of my mind, I have always wondered but never questioned, can a person be saved without a public demonstration, such as walking down an aisle, raising their hand, standing, kneeling at an altar, or signing a commitment card? Romans 10:9–10 is often used to indicate that a “public profession” is essential to salvation. Having a clear understanding of these verses is vital.

Romans 10:8-10 Disciples’ Literal New Testament

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”, that is, the word of [a] faith which we are proclaiming, 9 that[b] if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is believed with the heart resulting-in righteousness, and it is confessed with the mouth resulting in salvation.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

As in all serious Bible study there are three things we always want to do:

  1. Study the contents of the passage. To do this, we ask, “What is in the verse or verses under consideration?” We want to be careful not to overlook anything.
  2. Study the context of the passage. What is the setting of the verse or verses I am studying? What is the subject? What has the writer been discussing? To whom is he speaking?
  3. Study all other related passages. This involves a disciplined study of the topic under consideration as it is discussed throughout the Bible.

If we are serious about knowing what the Bible teaches, we dare not be in a hurry. Rushing to a conclusion without the careful and prayerful study of the Scriptures nearly always proves to be disastrous. Folks tend to resort to hurry-up methods when preparing for a Bible class or in “working up” a sermon.

Whenever we approach the Bible in that way, we are trivializing it, and will one day give an account before God for such a slipshod treatment of His holy Word.

Now let’s discuss Romans 10:9-10.

Verse 9

9 that[a] if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Considering the Contents

I have concluded that the key word in Romans 10:9 is “and”.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/rom/10/9/t_conc_1056009

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2532/kjv/tr/0-1/

The word “and” in this verse is a translation of the Greek word kai. Depending on the context and the author’s purpose, kai may be variously translated. It has more than one use and more than one meaning in the New Testament.

Kai is usually translated “and” when it is used as a simple connective word.

For instance:

Matthew 2:11 Disciples’ Literal New Testament

11 And having come into the house[a], they saw the Child with Mary His mother. And having fallen down, they paid homage to Him. And having opened their treasure-chests, they offered gifts to Him— gold and frankincense and myrrh.

All four occurrences of kai in this verse are used to connect each thought.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mat/2/11/t_conc_931011

This is the common way we use “and” in English.

Kai is also used to indicate contrast.

We see it used this way in John 16:13 Disciples’ Literal New Testament:

13 But when that One, the Spirit of truth, comes— He will guide you in all the truth. For He will not speak from Himself, but He will speak whatever He will hear. And He will declare to you the things coming.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/jhn/16/13/t_conc_1013013

A third use is seen when the intention of a passage is to emphasize something. This emphatic use is clear in

2 Corinthians 11:1 King James Version:

11 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed, bear with me.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/2co/11/1/t_conc_1089001

Finally, it is important to note that kai is used at times when the Holy Spirit wants to give some additional explanation to what has just been said.

When used in this way kai is generally translated “even”, as in 1 Corinthians 2:10: “For the Spirit searches all things, even [kai] the deep things of God.” In this instance “all things” particularly includes “the deep things of God.”

https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/1co/2/10/t_conc_1064010

Now, how does all of this apply to our verse from Romans 10:9?

Simply this: I believe kai in Romans 10:9 should be translated “even” — so that it would read: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, even believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Applying this usage, “confess with your mouth” is further explained to mean “even believe in your heart.”

What has brought me to this conclusion?

Two things primarily (other than the actual contents of the verse): context and the testimony of all other Scripture on the same subject of salvation.

I will try to illustrate.

Considering the Context

The emphasis in Romans 10 is twofold:

righteousness by faith in contrast to righteousness by works (especially the works of the Law), and the recognition of Jesus as Lord, that is, His deity.

Righteousness by faith

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 10:1-4

The Lordship (deity) of Christ

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus [literally, Jesus as Lord] … For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:9, 10:12-13

These were the very two things the Jews of the day refused to do: yield to a by-faith righteousness provided by God through Messiah Jesus (see Romans 9:30–33) and recognize the full deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Also, in the context it is essential for us to notice that in Romans 10:9 Paul places confession with the mouth before believing in the heart which follows the order stated in verse 8.

The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach).

Romans 10:8

But in verses 10 and following Paul gives the order of actual experience, and we see that believing comes before confession.

This is verified in verses 13–15:

For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

Romans 10:13-15

The “confession” in verses 9 and 10 is the “calling” in verses 13 and 14.

Notice the order as we work our way backwards from verse 15 to verse 13: 

How shall they preach unless they are sent? Which comes first, the preaching or the sending? The sending.

How shall they hear without a preacher? Which comes first, the hearing or the preaching? The preaching: otherwise, there is nothing to hear.

And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? 

Which comes first, the believing or the hearing? The hearing comes first, as stated in verse 17. Without the hearing there is nothing to believe.

How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? 

Which comes first, the calling or the believing?

The believing. The mouth confesses what the heart has already believed. So, the call of verse 13 is a call to the Lord (not necessarily to people) springing from a heart that already believes.

Considering the Testimony of All Scripture

The united testimony of Scripture on salvation is that God offers salvation to the lost on one condition and only one condition — belief in Christ.

To be justified we must have God’s righteousness credited to our account:

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

Romans 4:5

In the first five chapters of Romans, God carefully explains that salvation is by faith in Christ, plus nothing else. This agrees with 160 New Testament verses.

After giving the most detailed explanation of salvation by faith found in the Bible, Paul would not then teach there is something more that must be done for one to be saved; namely, verbal confession.

There is also the further testimony of those who were genuinely saved but who did not publicly declare their faith.

They were, at least for a time, secret believers.

Nicodemus is described as he who “came to Jesus by night” in all references to him in the Scriptures (John 3:1–2, 7:50, 19:39).

He did not actually demonstrate he had already believed in Christ until after Christ’s crucifixion when he brought the weight of spices for Jesus’ burial.

Joseph of Arimathea, “being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38). We must accept this testimony of God’s Word as being valid.

The “MANY” in John 12:42:

Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.

John 12:42

Some choose to declare these were not genuine believers, but who shall we believe, men or God?

The verse says they “believed in Him with their whole heart.”

So, public confession of Christ, though expected by God and normal for the believer, it is not a condition for receiving eternal life, nor is it the subject of Romans 10:9–10. Public Profession of belief was quite literally dangerous in those first century times. “Lest they should be put out of the Synagogue!”

The subject of this verse? “Private, inward Profession of Belief in Him.”

Then absolute trust and belief and sight and hearing and judgment of God!

King David’s Prayer from Psalm 139:23-24 (Amplified version)

23 
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 
And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

God’s Sovereignty over our hearts 1 Samuel 16:6-7 (Amplified Version)

6 So it happened, when they had come, he looked at Eliab [the eldest son] and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks [a]at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Let those who have eyes to see – those who have hearts which beat – Pray –

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Mighty God, your Son is my Lord and my Savior. I love him and praise him for his redeeming sacrifice. I thank him for his conquest of the grave. I marvel at his sacrificial and triumphant grace. Jesus is Lord. I know it sounds sweet in your ears, so I say it again, Jesus is my Lord. Thank you for being so great that you would be so sacrificial. In the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Son of God, my heart and my soul quietly shout and offer to you these thanks. Amen.

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