BELIEVE AND PROCLAIM
“…The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: IF YOU DECLARE WITH YOUR MOUTH, “Jesus is Lord,” and BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART that God raised him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED. 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.” (Romans 10:8-10) [Jesus is close to us, for His word is close to us: close definitely: it is IN OUR MOUTHS, and IN OUR HEARTS; there is no difficulty in understanding, believing, and owning it. The work we have to do lies is within us: because the kingdom of God is within us! Therefore the key to our activating our faith is believing then proclaiming the living Word of God!] “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord WILL BE SAVED.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS!” (Romans 10:13-15) [We cannot call on someone we do not believe in. So, unless we believe that he is God, we or ‘they’ will not call upon him in prayer; why should we if we do not believe? The GRACE OF FAITH is absolutely necessary to the fulfilment of our prayers; we cannot pray effectively, or pray to acceptation, without it. He that comes to God by prayer must believe:] “…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him MUST BELIEVE THAT HE EXISTS and that HE REWARDS those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) [We must believe that God is, and that He is who He says He is, what He has revealed about himself in the scripture, a Being of infinite perfections, existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Observe, The practical belief of the existence of God, AS REVEALED IN THE WORD, would be a powerful enforcement upon our souls, a restraint of restriction to keep us from sin, and an incentive of control to help us in our obedience of the gospel!] “Now faith is CONFIDENCE in what we hope for and ASSURANCE about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) [Faith and hope go together; the things that are the object of our hope are the oblect of our faith. Faith proves to the eye of our mind the reality of those things that we cannot see.]
Be blessed as you praise The Lord, knowing that IT IS WITH OUR HEART THAT WE BELIEVE AND ARE JUSTIFIED, AND IT IS WITH OUR MOUTH THAT WE PROFESS OUR FAITH AND ARE SAVED!
Bill Stockham
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