LIVING IN TWO PLACES
ROMANS 10:8-10 NKJV
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.
If you have ever wondered why we say the Yes prayer out loud at the conclusion of every service, here is your answer.
The Yes prayer or prayer of salvation is clearly presented in these verses.
We are not trying to bring Jesus down from heaven to save us. We are not asking that Jesus rise again from the dead. He has already done everything He is going to do about our salvation.
The word of faith, what Jesus has done for us, has been given to us. That word is near us in our hearts and in our mouths.
Now all that must be done regarding salvation is to believe the work Jesus did and that God raised Him from the dead. Then confess Him with our mouth as the Lord of our life.
That's it! No works of goodness or sacrifice. No begging and pleading for God to save us. We believe the word about Jesus in our hearts, and we confess, speak, His Lordship in our lives.
But notice that God's word is to be in two places, in our hearts, and in our mouths. This principle is important but is too often overlooked. We need God's word in two places for salvation and for the rest of our walk in Christ.
APPLICATION:
Possibly because some people took confession to an extreme and said some crazy things, the confess it and possess it label was stuck on everyone. But here is another phrase. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Just because of extremes, we don't throw out biblical truth. It is important for us to believe in Jesus and confess Him as Lord. And it is important to believe what He has done for us and to confess that as well. To believe we are new creations and confess that. To believe He has made us right with God and confess that. To believe we are more than conquerors in Christ and speak that. To believe we are forgiven, healed and loved and to speak that.
God's word needs to live in two places, in our hearts, and in our mouths. Speaking God's word does not change or move God. But speaking His words makes spiritual truth a reality in our lives.
PRAYER:
Thank You, Father, for Your word. I believe it, and I choose to speak what You say.