THE TIMELESS WORD OF FAITH
Romans 10:5-10 NKJV
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that 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. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
These are some of the most powerful verses in the New Testament. These six verses form the foundation for the evangelical church and have been a cornerstone principle of The Ark since our beginning.
The law of Moses presented a right standing with God based on works, man's efforts to keep God's laws. Then Paul contrasts that righteousness with the righteousness of faith. The righteousness of faith does not try to bring Jesus down from heaven to save people. Jesus, come and save so and so is not a good prayer. Nor do we need to bring Christ up from the dead. He is already risen and does not need to rise again to provide salvation. Okay, so we don't bring Jesus down to save, nor do we raise Him from the dead again. So, what do we do? How do we attain righteousness by faith?
Great question. Here is what we say. The word of salvation is near us. It is not in heaven or in hell; it's in our heart and in our mouth. It is the word of faith that we proclaim. The word of faith says we don't have to get Jesus to do anything. Instead, we confess with our mouth that Jesus is our Lord. And we believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead. When we believe and confess, salvation becomes ours.
The timeless word of faith is not a movement or a denomination. The word of faith is a principle of receiving from God. The most important thing we can ever receive from God is our salvation. And the word of faith that we proclaim says we are no longer trying to get Jesus to do anything. He has already provided salvation for every man and woman, every boy and girl. Since salvation is available, we receive that salvation by believing in our heart and confessing or speaking with our mouth. This is the very reason that every service at The Ark ends with a prayer of confession. We give people the opportunity to believe on Jesus and then confess Him as their Lord and Savior. We are simply showing people how to be in right standing with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
APPLICATION
This principle of believing in our heart and confessing or speaking with our mouth applies to us receiving salvation. And this same principle applies to us receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit, wisdom from God, strength to overcome, and healing for our souls and bodies. By believing and confessing, we are not trying to get God to do anything. We are not trying to bring Jesus down or up. We are finding out what has already been done for us through Christ and making it ours personally.
The word of salvation is near us. The word of strength is near us. And the word of healing, wisdom, guidance, and provision is near us. Grace has given us a wonderful inheritance in Christ. So now we are learning to receive what Jesus has done.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, that I have already received the greatest miracle when I received the salvation You provided. Show me how to receive all that You have given me in Christ.