Romans 10:5-15

April 18, 2022

5 since Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: The one who does these things will live by them. 6 But the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this: Do not say in your heart, “Who will go up to heaven?” that is, to bring Christ down 7 or, “Who will go down into the abyss?” that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. 8 On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.


14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.


Romans 10:5-15 CSB

  • What does this teach us about God?

    • Jesus is near to us (v8)
    • Jesus is Lord (v9)
    • Jesus died and was resurrected by God (v9)
    • God justifies and saves (v10)
    • God will not turn anyone away who believes (v11)
    • God does not discriminate (v12)
    • God saves all who beleive (v13)
    • God has called us to go! (v15)

  • What does this teach us about people/ourselves?

    • Without Jesus our righteousness came through the Law (v5)
    • With Jesus our righteousness comes through faith (v6)
    • We do not have to recruit Jesus out of Heaven (v6)
    • We do not have to rescue Jesus from Hell (v7)
    • We need only to believe the work that has already been done (v8)
    • When we confess with our mouths (external) and believe in our hearts (internal) we are saved (v9)
    • We are justified by faith and saved by confession (v10)
    • We will not be forgotten by God (v11)
    • We can all be saved (v13)
    • Our testimony matters (v14)
    • We are sent (v15)

  • By God's grace, how will you obey?

    • I will believe in my heart that Jesus is the only Son of God, died, and was ressurected by God as a propitiation for my sin
    • I will confess that Jesus is Lord and that through his death and resurrection I am saved
    • I will share my testimony - who I was before I met Jesus, the moment He rescued me, and who I am in Christ - with everyone, making no distinction about who I share the Gospel with

Prayer: Lord God, the one who created me and everything around me, thank you for sending your only son, Jesus, to pay a debt that we could never afford. You did not make us ascend to Heaven to find you, nor did you ask us to rescue you from death, for we know you have authority over life and death. You have only asked us to confess and believe. Lord we confess that we carry burdens, we confess that there are things we are holding onto too tightly for comfort and security, we confess that we have sought satisfaction in other things, we confess that we are not, nor have ever been, perfect. Lord we ask that our daily confession would be that You are Lord. We pray that you would increase our faith so that we can, with all confidence, believe that you lived a perfect life we could not live, died the death we deserved, and raised to life defeating the power of sin and death. We pray that this truth would be so real to us that it not only changes our hearts, but changes our lives. We pray that you would send us into this world with this message so that others might also hear and believe. Amen.

OVERTIME


Sometime between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC a Roman playwright named Titus Maccius Plautus coined the phrase, "You must spend money to make money." Fast forward to the 21st century and you have the battle cry of marketing departments all over the world.


Here's a snapshot of U.S. Marketing in 2020:

  • US companies spent $240 billion on marketing
  • Wal-Mart invested $2.42 billion in marketing and generated $559 billion in revenue
  • Apple spent $1.8B, P&G spent $4.7B, AT&T spent $4.8B, Comcast spent $5.2B, and Amazon spent $6.8B on marketing


It’s widely accepted that marketing is not only a valuable endeavor, but a critical one for growth. This concept, however, is not something that manifested itself during the advertising boom in the 1950's. Approximately 250 years after Plautus uttered that paradoxical phrase, Paul penned a letter to the Romans outlining his own marketing plan for the purpose of Gospel advancement.


The Four P's of marketing (Product, Place, Price, and Promotion) is a modern-day concept that companies use to assure they are being as effective as possible with their marketing efforts. As we put the Four P's next to Paul's plan (Romans 10:14-15) ask yourself if you're being as effective as you can be at sharing the Gospel.

The Gospel

The Gospel is the message that tells us that we are all sinners that have been separated from God, but because of God's great love for us He sent his one and only Son, Jesus, into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. Jesus' gave himself to death on our behalf to satisfy the wrath of God, but three days later God raised Jesus from the grave which defeated the power of sin and death. Now, we can be reunited with God by declaring that Jesus is Lord and believing that God did in fact raise him from the dead!


As Christians our objective is to freely share this Gospel message with everyone. God makes “no distinction” in regard to who He will save, but “richly blesses all who call on Him.”


For more examples of the Gospel check out Mark 10:45, John 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Titus 3:3-7, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 4:9-10

Are you where you’re supposed to be?

When you received salvation by confessing in believing in Jesus you became a part of God’s family. Just as you received the invitation, He wants you to extend that invitation to others. A natural question to ask would be: Where?


Some feel called to take the Gospel to the most remote and/or dangerous parts of the earth. Some feel called to work for the local church or parachurch ministries. The mission field for many might be their co-workers, teammates, or classmates.


If the ultimate goal is to advance the Gospel we should always be asking ourselves:

  • Are you where you're supposed to be AND telling people?
  • Are you NOT where you're supposed to be and need to go?
  • Are you on your way to where you're supposed to be?
  • Are you part of sending (time, resources, giftedness) people where they're supposed?

For more examples to where check out Matthew 11:28, Mathew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8, Romans 1:16, 2 Peter 3:9

What is the personal cost?

Before we continue let’s make one note about the “cost”. There is a production cost – what it takes to produce the product – as well as a marketing cost – the investment in promoting the product. The production cost of the Gospel was paid in full through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no cost to receive the salvation offered by Jesus Christ. He simply asks that we confess and believe.


There is, however, a personal cost when one chooses to advance the Gospel. Our personal "cost" will range from an investment of time, resources, and giftedness. Following Jesus may even cost us some of our relationships, reputation, and rights (depending on where we go for the sake of the Gospel). 


For more examples of the price check out Matthew 8:18-22, Matthew 10:37-39, Matthew 16:24-26, Matthew 19:21, Mark 8:34-36, Luke 9:23-25, Luke 18:22

Who are you sharing this with?

There are several different types of advertising. Today we see everything from newspaper ads to TV commercials, to things promoted on social media. Companies can even pay search engines to put their name first among search results. However, above all these, the method considered to be the most effective form of advertising is word-of-mouth.


The reason word-of-mouth is so effective is because instead of a sales pitch being delivered from company to consumer, it's a testimony delivered from friend to friend. The message is coming from someone we love, trust, and rely on. This is how we ought to share the Gospel with others.


If you are a follower of Jesus, you have a testimony of how the Gospel has changed your life. Reflect on the following:

  • Who were you before you received the Gospel?
  • Where were you the moment Jesus changed your life?
  • How has your life changed since then?

Who is someone who you think needs to hear the life-changing message you heard?


For more examples to go & tell check out Psalm 107:2, Matthew 10:32, Mathew 28:18-20, Mark 5:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 8:39, Acts 1:8, 2 Timothy 1:8

Paul tells us that if you confess and believe you will be saved. Which side of "confess and believe" are you on? If all this is still a mystery to you, if you have not confessed and believed, or if you have more questions about all this don’t feel like you have to figure all this out on your own. Email me (Ryan Folkes) at rfolkes@fca.org. I’d be more than happy to answer any questions (that I can!) or if you have want to get together I’d be happy to find a time to meet!

Share by: