A devotional thought presented originally to Swift Current Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 12 March 2015
Read
Romans 10:9-13
Paul
says these three things sum up how Christians live the Gospel. We, 1) say it:
Romans 10:9: “…confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and 2) know it:
“believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead...” And, 3) we do it:
Romans 10:13, “For everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.”
When we accept God’s gift of salvation, we will say it, know it and do it!
1) Say
it! Romans 10:9: “…confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord…’” This is
important. You say you have a personal relationship with Christ. This is great
and if it is true you will tell people about him. When you are married for
instance, even without thinking about it, your spouse comes up in conversation.
No one knows you for twenty years and then exclaims, ‘I didn’t know you were
married’ so why is it that way for some people with Christ?
2)
Know it! Believe in Jesus’ resurrection: It is important to proclaim the gospel
but that is not the end of it. Speaking is one thing but believing is quite
another. If you have any doubt about that, think about the general reputation
(accurate or not) of elected politicians – speaking is one thing, believing
what is said is quite another. Yes, we need to tell people about Christ but we
also have to believe in Him.
3) Do
it! Call on the Name of the Lord. This is important. Saying it is good. Knowing
it is better. Doing it is imperative. Matthew paints this picture quite
vividly. Matthew 25 records the parable of the sheep and goats. Here there are
two groups. Both groups 1) say and 2) know that Jesus is Lord. But it is only
the sheep that do anything about it. As a result, only the sheep are saved. The
goats are not. Matthew 7:21 is quite clear: Jesus says “Not everyone who calls
me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will
of my Father in heaven”: Say it! Know it! Do it!
In
summary, when we are in a relationship with the Lord we will 1) say it: confess
with our mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and 2) know it: believe in our hearts that God
raised him from the dead and, 3) we will do it: because everyone who calls on
the Name of the Lord will be saved.
In our
lives, pertaining to salvation and our relationship with Jesus, in what ways do
we say it, know it, and do it! And our there any ways we can do this more or
more effectively?
[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, Romans
10:9&13: Say it! Know it! Do it! Presented to Swift Current Salvation
Army, 11 Sept. 2011. On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2011/09/romans-109-say-it-know-it-do-it.html
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