Scripture 7

“For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:10)

Mike shared a story in Residency last week out of 1 Samuel 15, comparing King Saul (the king the people wanted) and King David (a man after God’s own heart). You see God using Saul but Saul’s heart is far from God. He is much more concerned about himself, his reputation, his own image. When he finally does confess to being disobedient, he only does so to save face and avoid consequences. He does not want his sin to embarrass him in front of the people. Meanwhile, he has no concern for how his sin hurts God. The final verse of the chapter says “And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.” (1 Samuel 15:35).

Mike summed up King Saul by saying “It seems as though God was on his lips, but never in his heart.” WOW. Convicting!

Is God on your lips, but not in your heart? We have been reading through Romans in life group and as I thought about this story, I was reminded of Romans 10. “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:10) I looked at this scripture, and do you notice where belief, justification, and salvation start? In your heart. It begins in your heart! We went through Romans 12 last week, talking about how we are “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1). Can we live this way if God is not in our hearts?

Notice though, it doesn’t just say believe in your heart, but confess with your mouth. After inward belief comes outward evidence. My ESV commentary says “saving faith is not mere intellectual agreement but deep inward trust in Christ at the core of one's being.”

It is only when we have both, the deep trust (inward belief) and the confession from our lips (outward evidence) that we are saved. Believe Him, trust Him, let Him and His word dwell in your heart . . . and be saved!