- Saved
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
This promise of salvation sounds conditional: if you confess and believe, then you shall be saved. However, the confessing and believing is not a cause or a condition of being saved. The confessing and believing is the receiving of the free promise. The promise is granted to all, confessors and believers or not, and the cause is the work of Christ at the cross and the tomb. Faith receives the gift. Though the gift of salvation is freely given to all, only those with simple faith will actually be saved. Rejecting, disbelieving or ignoring the gift will not be saved.
On the one hand, confession and faith is a big deal; for it is Salvation. That’s big. On the other hand, confession and faith is not a big deal in the sense that it is not something difficult to do or hard to reach: “the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” [Romans 10:8]. This saving faith is also a gift of God as the Spirit reveals Jesus as Lord and convinces of His resurrection. The confessing and the believing do not arise out of our own mind, will or emotions: I can’t reason out the Gospel, I cannot choose it on my own, and I cannot work up the proper feeling. Someone speaks the Gospel to me; then the Holy Spirit convinces my mind, will, and emotions; then I confess Jesus is Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead; then I shall be saved.
I am saved from my Enemies. Sin, Death and Devil have kidnapped, enslaved, deceived, scared, hurt and murdered me. But I am saved. All the bad things are gone and all the good things have come. That’s the promise of salvation.