Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 29, 2023: SOAP #4925: Proverbs 10-12; Romans 10 (reworked)

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

OBSERVATION:  Here Paul says it clearly.  It is a confession with the mouth of what is believed in the heart.

Faith without works is dead, and the confession of the mouth is an expression of the faith in the heart.  It is commonly the first expression of faith’s presence.

This faith accompanied by its confession brings salvation!

The confession is of the Lordship of Jesus.  We surrender to His control and rulership.  Our lives are now His to be lived as He directs.  This is completely reasonable.  He is omnipotent and omniscient and motivated by love.  He died for me.  It would be unreasonable not to surrender to His Lordship!

His death, as payment for my sins, did not end His life.  He is the resurrected Lord with power over death.  His death paid the penalty for the sins I have committed, and now His life within is the power to live in victory over sin!

APPLICATION:  I need BOTH!  I need His payment for the penalty of my sins.  AND I need His presence for the power to live each day.  His payment is a historical fact; His presence is an everyday reality!

PRAYER:   Lord, with my mouth I confess that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness.  In my heart I believe that you died on the cross in payment for my sins.  Forgive me.  Come live inside me as my Lord.  Help me to live in a way that demonstrates both:  the historical fact that you died for my sins, AND the current reality that you live within me. Thank you!  Amen

Pastor Leon
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