Bible Studies for Life: May 9

The Message • Romans 10:8-1

By Don Schuman

Someone needs to be saved today. I say that not as a psychic, but because everyone needs the true salvation that comes in Jesus Christ. The Bible admonishes us that today is the day of salvation, so someone needs to be saved today. Perhaps that statement touched your heart in a way that deep down, you sense a need to share with that somebody the message of salvation. This lesson is about God’s message of salvation to the world.

The Message of Faith (10:8-10). God’s message is about faith — in God the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the Bible as His Word. His Word reveals mankind’s sin problem and God’s solution in giving the Son so that believers should live eternally.

The message is near us in the sense that the believer can profess it in words and know it in his/her heart. The believer has a personal testimony about changes in the heart and mind after hearing and believing the Gospel.

The message is near to the unbeliever, in the sense that it is presented by the believer and is understandable. God has taken the necessary steps to show us how to be saved. No one has the excuse that God’s message of salvation is beyond his reach. The Lord Himself is near to all who call out to Him with integrity (Ps. 145:18).

The message is faith that changes the soul to declare that Jesus is Lord and to believe that He is risen from the dead — alive forevermore at the right hand of the Majesty on high. By faith, the believer sees Jesus as Lord, as in God the Son. His nature is divine, co-equal, and co-eternal with God the Father.

By faith, the believer also sees Jesus as Lord and as his/her Master. Luke 6:46 (CSB): “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?” A good test of our faith is how well we follow our Master’s ways and his will. Confessing Jesus is Lord is acknowledging that He is our God and our Master.

Why is the Resurrection so important? Because it proves Jesus is who He claims to be: the Son of God. It proves that His death on the cross was not a tragic mistake, but part of the divine plan of salvation. It proves that God the Father was satisfied with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

It also proves that Jesus is alive today and seated on the throne on high. It proves that we can believe what He says is true — that just as He is alive, we can have everlasting life in Him. The message of faith proclaims a living Savior.

The Message for Everyone (10:11-13). Verse 11 tells us that the believer will not be ashamed to publicly declare Jesus as Lord. A popular church folk saying is, “I’m just a nobody telling everybody about somebody who can save anybody.” Knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord is worth shouting from the mountaintop!

This message of salvation does not require a Greek (i.e., a Gentile) to become a Jew nor a Jew become a Greek. The same Lord saves everyone who calls upon Him in faith, repents of sin, and trusts Jesus as Lord. This message of salvation does not require a visible, miraculous event. The new birth is miraculous enough.

Evangelist Vance Havner told of his salvation as a ten-year-old boy in his book, That I May Know Him: A Personal Testimony. He remarks:

There were years when I allowed the devil the luxury of worrying me because I did not have the vivid sort of experience that some spectacular sinner could relate. Thank God for all their stories, and I revel in their colourful accounts of Divine deliverance. But I have learned that the most amazing thing is the amazing grace that saves any and all who believe, and I am glad that God brought me to Himself when I had both the years and the spirit of a child.

The initial reaction of conversion may vary, but the same Lord saves everybody who is converted.

The Message to Proclaim (10:14-17). When you and I proclaim the message, it is heard and faith comes from what is heard. God’s message is the greatest ever told. God has given believers the power, the commission, and the opportunities to share the message with someone who needs to be saved today.

Schuman is pastor of Temple Church, Myrtle.