Chapter # 10 Paragraph # 2 Study # 4
August 5, 2018
Humble, Texas
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Thesis: The "near" word is "in your mouth".
Introduction: In our last study we considered what the divine declaration of righteousness that man obtains does say, having considered what it does not say. In that study we saw that "the word of the faith which we are preaching" is a proclamation that the message from God about whether, or not, He will determine a person to be "righteous" so that he/she may participate in the blessedness of the experience of Eternal Life is not rooted in a "difficult" requirement. Paul's argument is that God has, by this message, placed both the necessary "words" in the mouth of the hearer and the necessary "belief" in the heart of the hearer. However, we also considered the reality of the facts presented in Hebrews 3-4 where we are told that, as "near" as the word is, it is not so "near" that it does not have any opposition. In order to receive justification from God, man does have the requirement upon him that he, as Hebrews 4:2 says, must "mix" his "hearing" with "faith". And, the content of that "mixing" is explained to be one issue: when "hearing" one must not "harden" his heart. In other words, there is no "positive" requirement to come up with a commendable "something" in order to receive a declaration of righteousness from God. Rather, there is a "negative" requirement to desist from a despicable "something": do not keep on hardening your heart. The present tense of this verb indicates that resisting God's truth is "knee-jerk-automatic" and it must be blocked.
Some might say that this insistence by God of a cessation of resistance to His "word" is, in fact, a very difficult problem. And it is, except for the argument of Paul that the "difficulty" has been overcome by God's placement of the necessary "faith" in the "heart" and the necessary "words" in the "mouth". Thus, though not removed as an obstacle, compensations for the difficulties have been put in place. "Salvation" is as near as the willingness to stop resisting what is already in the heart and in the mouth.
Now, in our study for this evening, we are going to look a bit deeper into God's placement of the "words" that are required by God for justification in our mouths.
- I. Technically, The Order is Reversed in Romans 10:9.
- A. The actual order of the involved issues is given in Romans 10:10.
- 1. Paul, in 10:10, reverts to the biblical standard that all things begin "in the heart".
- 2. Then, in harmony with Jesus' "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34 and Luke 6:45), Paul moves to the "final stage" of "confession with the mouth".
- B. Since we are considering Romans 10:9, we will address the issues involved in "confession with the mouth".
- 1. There are two fundamental issues involved.
- a. The first is that "the confession of the mouth" is focused upon the actual issues of "the word of the faith" which Paul was preaching (10:8).
- 1) The first issue is the overall negative (do not "say") that has two sub-parts.
- a) This first issue is the over-riding principle of "faith" that insists that men refuse to turn "promise" into "demand".
- b) The two sub-parts consist of two particular promises.
- i. The first is that God will supply "the Christ" from heaven (men are not to try to ascend into heaven to bring Him down).
- ii. The second is that God will supply "the Christ" from the Abyss (men are not to try to raise Him from the dead).
- 2) The second issue is the specific content of this "word of the faith".
- a) God has supplied a Redeemer from heaven Whose redemption word has been effective.
- b) God has resurrected this Redeemer from the Abyss so that men might have a sure foundation for faith in His effectiveness as "the Son of God".
- b. The second fundamental issue is that "the word of the faith" must be proclaimed specifically so that men might "believe in their hearts" that God has raised Jesus from the dead and might "confess with their mouths" that Jesus is the actual Promised Son.
- 2. Then, there are the particulars concerning the word being "in your mouth".
- a. First is the reality that significant speech has its origins in the heart.
- 1) I use the phrase "significant speech" because of 1 Corinthians 12:3.
- a) This is not glib, or mindless rote, speech created by mindless pablum and cliche.
- b) Any one can "say" the words "Jesus is Lord" if their vocal capacities are normal.
- c) But Paul claims that no one can say those words with comprehension and understanding except by the Holy Spirit.
- 2) I use the phrase "origins in the heart" in harmony with both Jesus and Paul in their fixation that actual doctrine believed and spoken always starts in the heart.
- b. Second, there is the "if".
- 1) This is the Hebrews 3-4 issue.
- 2) It is not automatic that what is "believed" in the heart will actually win out because a "heart-faith" that is rejected at the mouth level dies.
- 3) This is the problem of man's penchant for resistance and the necessity that he/she reject that penchant at the point of "hearing His voice".
- c. Third, there is the "confession".
- 1) This brings the issues of "saving faith" to their pinnacle: "faith" that does not produce its commensurate response is "dead" and does not "save".
- 2) This also raises the issue of "to whom" the confession is made: it is not "confession before men" (as in Matthew 10:32); it is, rather, a verbal acknowledgement to God in the form given in 10:13 (whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord).
- 3) And, critically, this identifies precisely what is to be said to God.
- a) This is not, as many preach today, a human declaration of unmitigated loyalty as per the "lordship salvation" thesis.
- b) It is, rather, the human declaration that Jesus of Nazareth is God's "Lord" as per Acts 2:36.
- i. It was this issue that created the entire opposition to the Gospel: that Jesus of Nazareth claimed to be God's "Lord and Christ".
- ii. It was for this that God raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead: that men might have confidence that He is, in fact, the Son of God.
- iii. And, it is this that Paul doubles down upon in our context: belief in the heart is all about whether, or not, God raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead.
- d. Fourth, there is the promise of "salvation".
- 1) It is not made at the level of a heart "belief" that God raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead.
- 2) It is made at the point of the utterance of that "belief" to God with the mouth.