Introduction
Eighteen inches – that's the distance between the head and the heart. Unfortunately, that is also the difference between saving faith and eternal perdition. According to our text, some people miss heaven by 18 inches.
Let me explain this by using the example of two people. Today we would probably call then Nick and Joe. Nick and Joe believed in Jesus but they were too scared, at first, to let anyone know about this. They were secret disciples of Jesus. Nick wanted to talk with Jesus but he didn't dare do this until it was night time – for then no one would see him. Joe kept quiet about his faith in the Lord too. In fact, it wasn't until Jesus' death that these two men dared to confess their faith. You can read about Nick and Joe in John 3 and John 19 – we know them as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.
Nicodemus and Joseph were wrong when they kept silent about Jesus. In John 12 we read what God thinks about their secret faith in Jesus:
(Jn 12:42-43) Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; (43) for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
To use the words of our text, Nicodemus and Joseph believed in their heart but they did not confess with their mouth. And that, my brothers and sisters, is wrong because the road to salvation includes both the heart and the mouth and not just the one or the other.
How we praise God that this is not the case with the young people who are before us this morning: what they believe in the heart they also confess with the mouth. Praise God that theirs is not a secret faith! Praise God that their faith is more than just head knowledge! Praise God that what they believe in their heart they also profess publicly before God and man.
Now, the opposite is just as wrong – to confess with the mouth but not really believe in the heart. We know those people as hypocrites.
Mouth and heart. Confession and faith. Paul says that's all we need in order to be saved. That's all we need in order to sit down at the Lord's Table tonight and next week.
I Believe in Your Heart
A A saving faith starts off with believing something in your heart. Paul says those who are saved must believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead.
However, to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead also means you believe He died for your sins, that His ministry was done with many signs and wonders, that He was born of a virgin, that He is the promised Messiah – the Son of God, the Redeemer or Savior, the King. It also means you believe He was lifted into heaven and now sits at God's right hand and someday will return as Judge. You see, it is a total package.
I love the advertisement on TV where this guy goes to the checkout counter and gives a couple of CDs to the clerk. He asks for tracks 2 and 4 on the one CD and track 5 on another CD. The clerk simply looks at him in astonishment because you don't have a choice about what songs you buy on a CD – it is a package deal and to buy one song you have to buy all the songs.
The same thing is true with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The package not only includes the resurrection but also the crucifixion, the ministry, the birth, the ascension, the session, and the second coming.
To believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead means, then, that you accept everything the Bible claims about Jesus. To believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead also means you accept that Jesus accomplished all that He came to perform.
B Notice, a saving faith involves the heart. In the Bible the heart is the center of one's being. Religious life is rooted in the heart. According to Jesus, it is the heart that determines moral conduct:
(Mt 15:19-20) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (20) These are what make a man 'unclean' ...
It is in the heart that we keep God's commands (Prov 3:1). Understanding and wisdom reside in the heart (Prov 2:2,10). So we are urged to guard and protect our heart (Prov 4:23).
Saving faith is not mere knowledge or intellectual assent about the facts and life of Jesus. It is centered in the heart. It involves man's entire inner being: his soul, his mind, his emotions, his affections.
To stand before God and His people – as these young people have done – and to sit at the Lord's Table tonight and next week requires you believe in your heart that Jesus is Who He says He is and that He has accomplished and is accomplishing what He has come to accomplish.
II Confess With Your Mouth
A A saving faith not only includes the heart it also includes the mouth. Paul tells us that those who are saved must confess with their mouth that "Jesus is Lord." Those 18 inches between the heart and the head must be bridged. By grace, you need to confess with the mouth what you believe in the heart.
What is confession? What does Paul have in mind? Confession of faith is not a graduation ceremony. Many students can hardly wait to graduate from highschool or college because then they are done with studying, reading books, writing papers, and preparing for exams. Young people, you can not look at confession of faith as a graduation ceremony from the many long years of Catechism Classes. There never comes a time when the Christian is finished with studying the Scriptures and the doctrines of the church.
In the Greek language the word "confess" has a couple of different meanings. It means "to say with." So with the church of all ages you confess, you say, "Jesus is Lord." But it also means "to say before." So before God and His people you confess, you say, "Jesus is Lord."
It should be obvious that Paul is not talking just about a brief ceremony in this worship service. Confession of faith is not something we do in a worship service and then we are done with it. Oh no, not at all! The public act before God's people is just one of the ways in which we confess the Lord. For, each and every day the Lord sends us endless opportunities to confess Him. And, each and every day He send us countless people to whom we can testify. We are to confess Christ before men at church, school, home, work, play, and on vacation. We always are to confess Christ before men. And, we are to do so until every knee shall bow before Him and every tongue confess that He is Lord.
B Those with saving faith are to confess with the mouth that "Jesus is Lord." "Lord" means Jesus is the Owner, the Master, the King. Not just of the universe but also of me. With all other created things I belong to Him and it is my calling to serve Him and obey Him.
Do you remember what Jesus said just before He ascended into heaven? He said, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me" (Mt 28:18). Not some authority but all authority. Then He added,
(Mt 28:19-20) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Notice that word "everything." The Jesus Who is Lord has all authority and wants us to obey Him in EVERYTHING and not just in some things.
C In the early church many Christians died for confessing and professing that Jesus is Lord. The reason they were killed is that they believed Jesus alone is Lord – not Caesar, not local deities. They were unwilling to add Jesus to the long list of gods that people could worship. The Romans, by way of contrast, were always willing to add another god or lord to the long list of gods and lords they already had. But not those early Christians. They confessed with the mouth that there is but one Lord – the Lord Jesus Christ. And this one Lord did not share His lordship, His rule, His authority with anyone else. To the Romans this simply was unacceptable. You could believe anything you wanted about Jesus just so long as you also acknowledged that "Caesar is Lord."
Things are not much different today. Not that any of us have to give up our lives like those early Christians had to. But many people today take the view that faith in Jesus is just one among many acceptable religious options. They say that it makes no difference what you believe just so long as you believe. They claim that all paths, all roads, and all religions lead to glory and salvation. But that was not true at the time of Paul and it is not true today either. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is Lord.
So, when you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord," you are saying no one else is Lord. You reject all other religious claims. You recognize that Jesus alone has all authority in heaven and on earth.
D Those with saving faith are to confess with the mouth that "Jesus is Lord." When you say that you are saying something about your relationship with Jesus. You are saying that the Jesus Who rose and died and was born and ascended is not just your Savior but that He is also your Lord. He is your Master and King and rules over your life.
Maybe you have heard the heresy that you can accept Jesus as Savior without accepting Him as your Lord. Remember the 18 inches between the heart and the head? Well, this heresy does not bridge that gap. It says all you need to do is believe in the heart that He died and rose and ascended. It thinks forgiveness, salvation, redemption, and eternal life comes by believing without submitting to Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords.
When it comes to Jesus, many people prefer to believe in their heart without also confessing with their mouth. They want to keep that 18 inch gap between the heart and the head. That way you can get what you want from Jesus without any cost or sacrifice or submission on your own part. That way you can have Him as Savior without also having Him as Lord.
Not only is this way of thinking nonsense, it is also heretical. Jesus is Lord. He didn't come only to save you. He also came to rule you. So, when you believe in Christ Who was raised from the dead you also accept Him as Lord of your life. What does the Bible say? Does it say, "Believe in Jesus and you will be saved?" No, it says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).
The Gospel is not just a set of facts to be believed or a gift of salvation to be received. It is also a Majesty to be adored, an Authority to be obeyed, and a King to be served.
Let me put this down to the most basic terms: if you don't have Jesus as Lord, you don't have Him as Savior either. To stand before God and His people – as these young people have done – and to sit at the Lord's Table tonight and next week requires you believe and confess. It involves the heart and the mouth. The 18 inches between the heart and mouth are to be bridged.
III You Will Be Saved
A Do you know what happens if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead? Our text gives this word of assurance: "you will be saved."
Queen Victoria had attended a service in St. Paul's Cathedral and had listened to a sermon that interested her greatly; then she asked her chaplain, "Can one in this life be absolutely sure of eternal safety?" His answer was that he "knew of no way that one could be absolutely sure." This was published in the Court News and fell under the eye of a humble minister of the Gospel, John Townsend. After reading Queen Victoria's question and the answer she received, John Townsend thought and prayed much about the matter, then sent the following note to the Queen:
"To her gracious Majesty, our beloved Queen Victoria, from one of her most humble subjects:
"With trembling hands, but heart-filled love, and because I know that we can be absolutely sure even now of our eternal life in the Home that Jesus went to prepare, may I ask your Most Gracious Majesty to read the following passages of Scripture: John 3:16; Romans 10:9,10?
I want to tell you, I need to tell you, that those who confess and believe can be absolutely sure of their salvation. There doesn't have to be any doubt.
B Why can we be sure of salvation? When we look at our Scripture reading we notice that Paul speaks against the Jewish use of the law as a means of salvation rather than as a guide for the saved life. He says there can be no assurance of salvation for those who keep looking at their own righteousness, at their obedience to the law. They are like the old cartoon figure of the young man thinking of a young lady and plucking the petals off a daisy – she loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not – until he gets to the final petal and the final she loves me or she loves me not. Likewise, those who look at their own righteousness are left plucking the petals off a daisy, saying about God, He loves me, He loves me not, He loves me, He loves me not.
Our assurance is not based upon our obedience, or our faith, or our works, or our confession. It is based upon the completed work of Christ.
Topic: Salvation
Subtopic: Assurance
Index:
Date: 11/1998.101
Title: The Glass Between
A woman was once awakened by a strange pecking noise, or something of the kind. When she got up, she saw a butterfly flying back and forth inside the window pane in a great fright, and outside a sparrow pecking and trying to get in. The butterfly did not see the glass, and expected every minute to be caught, and the sparrow did not see the glass, and expected every minute to get the butterfly. Yet all the while that butterfly was as safe as if it had been millions of miles away, because of the glass between it and the sparrow.
So it is with the Christian. Satan cannot touch the soul that has the Lord Jesus Christ between itself and him. That soul is forever safe and can rest in Christ.
Conclusion
Eighteen inches – that's the distance between the head and the heart. Unfortunately, that is also the difference between saving faith and eternal perdition. According to our text, some people miss heaven by 18 inches.
To stand before God and His people – as these young people have done – and to sit at the Lord's Table tonight and next week requires you believe and confess. It involves the heart and the mouth. The 18 inches between the heart and mouth are bridged.
(Rom 10:9) ... 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.