“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13 ESV)
“And in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken,”d we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow, to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:13-18 BSB)
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:33-37 NKJV)
Look down between your feet. What do you see? I see two words which I didn’t notice before. I wonder why I didn’t notice them on this walkway to the Door of Salvation before? Well, what are they? They are “confess” and “believe.” They must have something to do with salvation. I think you’re right. Let’s take a minute and talk about them.
There are two key components that are involved in what we call “salvation.” There is what I “believe” in my heart and what I “confess” with my mouth. One without the other is incomplete. If I simply mouth the right words but do not actually believe what I am saying then my words carry no power for change. If I believe something in my heart but for some reason refuse to speak it out then according to scripture my believing falls short. There is power activated when I both believe and speak the truth.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21 NASB)
“Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:23 ESV)
What I believe in my heart and speak out of my mouth will open the door of salvation. I am so glad that we looked down and noticed those words written on the walkway. They are the key that unlocks the door to our eternity.
Tomorrow we will look closer at just what is included in “salvation.” Until then, go ahead and dig deeper into what the Bible reveals about the dynamic duo of believing and confessing as you move ahead of……Eric’s Life Lesson # 471: Pathway to Restoration – Part 11