Romans 10:10

Romans 10:10

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

 

When we say that something comes from the heart, it means that it is genuine, honest, and sincere. So it’s appropriate that Paul, in writing the letter to the Romans, states that what we have in our heart regarding our relationship with God is what makes us justified before the Lord. If Christ dwells deeply and genuinely in our hearts, then we stand redeemed before the Lord. If he doesn’t, then we are completely out of luck. Jesus hung from that cross and made things right between us and God because we were, we are, and we will always be completely incapable of making things right on our own. We can’t put on a glossy front and fool God. We can’t make things look smooth, polished, and right on the exterior while on the inside we are lukewarm, impartial, and largely uncommitted. God knows the heart…heck, God made the heart and God keeps the heart beating! God knows what we are about…God knows if we are sold-out for him or just going through the motions to keep appearances. If we are sold-out for God…if our heart is fully committed to him, then it should be reflective in our lives. Not because we are trying to somehow prove or earn our faith and salvation. No, rather because when we are filled with the Spirit and truly living as servants to the Lord, the evidence of our relationship with the Lord is actually hard to keep under wraps. It inevitably spills over into our words and actions. God knows we are going to mess up…God knows that at times we are going to seem distant, uninterested, and distracted…and God knows that at times we are going to need to be directed back to the righteous path. It’s an unfortunate consequence of our sinful nature. Thankfully, God doesn’t abandon us but faithfully pursues us with each new day, welcoming us back into the mix as we get our eyes focused back on the right track. If our hearts are not deeply committed to the Lord today, then there is no better time than NOW to seek the Lord in prayer, welcoming the Holy Spirit to dwell deeply in our lives. For whether we live for another 5 minutes or another 50 years, nothing is more important than our faith in Christ…nothing. Seek the Lord today! To God alone be the glory!