Salvation is at the Tip of Our Tongue

 


Salvation is at the Tip of Our Tongue

​Romans 10:8-21 (NLT)

[8] In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: [9] If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. [11] As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” [12] Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. [13] For “Everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved.” [14] But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? [15] And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” [16] But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “lord, who has believed our message?” [17] So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. [18] But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have: “The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.” [19] But I ask, did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God said, “I will rouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles.” [20] And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, “I was found by people who were not looking for me. I showed myself to those who were not asking for me.” [21] But regarding Israel, God said, “All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.”

​

​Paul brings a comforting message to a complicated world: salvation isn't hidden behind complex rituals or extreme effort. It is "near." It is a matter of the heart—sincere faith in Jesus—and the mouth—open confession of His Lordship. This promise isn't exclusive; it applies to everyone, Jew or Gentile, providing a rich, accessible, and inclusive hope. It reminds us that the distance between a lost soul and a redeemed life is only as far as a single, sincere prayer.

​However, this passage also highlights a vital chain of responsibility: How can they call on Him if they don't believe? How can they believe without hearing? And how can they hear without a messenger? You are called to be that messenger, bringing the "good news" to others. Your voice might be the very link someone else needs to connect with God's grace.

​Finally, the passage presents a sobering contrast in verses 19-21. While God opens His arms all day long to the disobedient, He also shows Himself to those who weren't actively looking for Him. It reminds us that while we must preach, faith is ultimately a response to the message of Christ. God is relentlessly pursuing the lost, often using the simplest of means to find them.

​The Power of a Simple Act: A Story

​There was once a man named Thomas who had spent years feeling invisible and bitter toward God. One rainy Tuesday, he sat in a crowded diner, feeling particularly hopeless. A young woman at the next table simply noticed he didn’t have a napkin for his coffee spill. She handed him one with a genuine, warm smile and said, "I hope your day gets a little brighter. God really loves you, you know."

​That was it. No sermon, no complex theology. But those few words—the "message on her lips"—pierced his heart. He went home, pulled out an old Bible, and read the very verses in Romans you see today. He realized that if God could care enough to send a stranger with a napkin and a kind word, He surely cared enough to save his soul. Thomas called on the name of the Lord that night and was never the same. Never underestimate the "beautiful feet" of someone who simply shows up with a kind word.

​Today

  1. ​Check Your Heart: Do you truly believe in the resurrection, and is Jesus truly the Lord of your life?
  2. ​Use Your Lips: Are you confessing your faith openly to those around you? Remember, a simple "God bless you" or "I'm praying for you" can be the seed of salvation.
  3. ​Be a Messenger: Who in your life needs to hear the Gospel so they can believe? Think of one person today who needs to hear that the message is "near" them.

​

​Lord, thank You that the message of salvation is near me—not far away or unreachable. I declare today that Jesus is Lord. Help me to believe with my whole heart. Give me the courage to be a messenger with "beautiful feet," sharing the Good News with those who have not heard it. I rest in Your promise that whoever calls on Your name will be saved. Thank you Jesus! Amen!

​Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

​BELIEVE, OBEY, BE BLESSED, AMEN

BOBBA

Love, Penny 

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