Pastor's Paragraphs | March 4, 2022
Christianity: More Than Just A Sinner's Prayer
“The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart”
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:8-13
on your lips and in your heart”
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:8-13
December 1, 2000: this is the date that I was guided down the 'Romans Road' (a series of verses from Romans that supposedly lay out salvation) and led to pray the 'sinner's prayer' to become a follower of Jesus.
I remember that night vividly. I was wearing my puffy Dallas Cowboys jacket (no idea why because I've never been a Cowboys fan) as I sat in the circle of Sunday School chairs in a second floor room at Olive Chapel Baptist Church in Apex. The youth pastor, who'd I just met that night, moved through the verses in Romans that make up 'the road' and then had me repeat after him the prayer admitting that I was a sinner and that I believe in Jesus.
One of those verses on the Romans Road comes from the Lectionary Epistle verses in Romans 10 this week. "... if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
In my early days of Christianity I was taught to take this verse literally: in a specific moment, to pray the sinner's prayer of confession and belief. The verse was limited to being a formula for salvation and forgiveness.
As I've grown in my faith and understanding of scripture, I've come to discover that the 'formula' understanding of Romans 10 limits its meaning –– and gives Christians an "out" that Paul never intended.
You see, 'confessing with our lips that Jesus is Lord' is a life-long endeavor, not a one-time thing. To view it as a one-time prayer is to take an out from having to live into its meaning every day. It is not a 'sinner's prayer' moment, but rather a living-life mission. We continually confess Jesus with our lips as we share kindness with others, as we stand up for those who are oppressed, as we pray for those who are sick, as we worship with the fullness of our hearts, and, yes, as we confess the ways that we don't do those things (i.e. sin).
The issue with the 'sinner's prayer mentality' of confession is that it limits our faith proclamation to a singular moment when Jesus calls us to journey and grow every day we are alive.
The same is true for our belief in the resurrection of Jesus. Salvation comes through stepping into every day with the full assurance that that day contains resurrection as much as the day before it –– and as much as the resurrection we believe comes after death.
As we do this, we share the gospel with those around us. We become a people who don't move through life complaining about our difficulties or bemoaning the changes in the world, but rather a people who can see the smallest pinprick of light in every darkness. A light that we latch onto with all of our being so that we can remind the world that there is always resurrection.
As we move through the season of Lent, I encourage you to rethink what it really means to journey as a disciple of Jesus. Is your faith in process, or is it stuck in a singular moment? Are you spending your days focused only on what is difficult, dark, or overbearing, or are you living into the resurrection discovered when we remember Jesus is Lord of it all?
Our God is generous with resurrection, with grace, and with love. If we commit to following God's path we must be too –– every single day of our lives.
Blessings on your Lenten path,
I remember that night vividly. I was wearing my puffy Dallas Cowboys jacket (no idea why because I've never been a Cowboys fan) as I sat in the circle of Sunday School chairs in a second floor room at Olive Chapel Baptist Church in Apex. The youth pastor, who'd I just met that night, moved through the verses in Romans that make up 'the road' and then had me repeat after him the prayer admitting that I was a sinner and that I believe in Jesus.
One of those verses on the Romans Road comes from the Lectionary Epistle verses in Romans 10 this week. "... if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
In my early days of Christianity I was taught to take this verse literally: in a specific moment, to pray the sinner's prayer of confession and belief. The verse was limited to being a formula for salvation and forgiveness.
As I've grown in my faith and understanding of scripture, I've come to discover that the 'formula' understanding of Romans 10 limits its meaning –– and gives Christians an "out" that Paul never intended.
You see, 'confessing with our lips that Jesus is Lord' is a life-long endeavor, not a one-time thing. To view it as a one-time prayer is to take an out from having to live into its meaning every day. It is not a 'sinner's prayer' moment, but rather a living-life mission. We continually confess Jesus with our lips as we share kindness with others, as we stand up for those who are oppressed, as we pray for those who are sick, as we worship with the fullness of our hearts, and, yes, as we confess the ways that we don't do those things (i.e. sin).
The issue with the 'sinner's prayer mentality' of confession is that it limits our faith proclamation to a singular moment when Jesus calls us to journey and grow every day we are alive.
The same is true for our belief in the resurrection of Jesus. Salvation comes through stepping into every day with the full assurance that that day contains resurrection as much as the day before it –– and as much as the resurrection we believe comes after death.
As we do this, we share the gospel with those around us. We become a people who don't move through life complaining about our difficulties or bemoaning the changes in the world, but rather a people who can see the smallest pinprick of light in every darkness. A light that we latch onto with all of our being so that we can remind the world that there is always resurrection.
As we move through the season of Lent, I encourage you to rethink what it really means to journey as a disciple of Jesus. Is your faith in process, or is it stuck in a singular moment? Are you spending your days focused only on what is difficult, dark, or overbearing, or are you living into the resurrection discovered when we remember Jesus is Lord of it all?
Our God is generous with resurrection, with grace, and with love. If we commit to following God's path we must be too –– every single day of our lives.
Blessings on your Lenten path,
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