Back to the Basics

My favorite books in the Bible are those written by Paul.

I especially like Philippians and Ephesians.

Romans is good, too, though. And my Bible reading plan has me reading through Romans right now. Last night I read through Romans 10, and some things hit me that I would like to touch on today.

One reason the book of Romans is so great to read is because it plays such a large role when it comes to the Christian theology of salvation. (Does "the Romans Road" ring any bells?) Many verses from Romans have become household recitations or quotable quotes.

And that can be a problem.

When the familiar becomes commonplace, it loses its effectiveness. We hear many of these verses recited to us without it even registering their meaning or importance.

Maybe you don't fall into this generalization. I hope you don't. But I'm saying it's an easy trap to fall into, so we need to stay vigilant not to let God's Living Word become just another text that we skim or read for the sake of reading or highlight when we read something of good literary quality.

We need to read the Bible as a call to action, because that's what so much of it is.

That digression finally leads me to the original point I was trying to make with this blog entry. So let's get back to Romans.

I hope you're not expecting some profound, jaw-dropping, ground-breaking revelation today. Because today I want to go back to the basics a little bit. Here's some simple stuff I thought about when I was reading through Romans 10 last night.

First, an important foundation of the Christian faith relies on the fact that salvation is not by works, but by faith. Humans are fallible creatures, and thanks be to God that He loved us enough to die for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8)! He was our atoning sacrifice. Our salvation does not come from perfectly following the law, but from a belief in Christ.

It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. (Romans 9:16, NIV)


For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4, ESV)


For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. (Romans 10:10, NLT)

When you put your faith in Christ, He is the fulfillment of the law. He's our buffer. His blood covers us and our feeble attempts at obeying the law. And ok, so everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). Right. We know that. And that's great news! But wait...we as Christians have a role to play in the lost turning to Christ.

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? 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!" (Romans 10:14-15, NLT)

Here's a great note about this verse from my ESV Study Bible:

"With a series of rhetorical questions, Paul considers the chain of events necessary for a person to be saved. ... The logic of these verses is clear: (1) People will call on Jesus to save them only if they believe he can do so; (2) belief in Christ cannot exist without knowledge about him; (3) one hears about Christ only when someone proclaims the saving message; and (4) the message about Christ will not be proclaimed unless someone is sent by God to do so. That is why Paul was so urgent about spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth, for he believed that the only way to be saved was to hear and believe in the gospel."

Paul says at the beginning of chapter 10 that it is his "heart's desire...that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1).

When we're Christians, when we're loving others the way we should, it will be our heart's desire as well. And so we need to make our feet swift to carry His message to all those who have not heard.

We live in a dangerous world, and it's not getting any safer. We live amid earthquakes and tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes, fires and floods, oppression and rebellion, rape and murder. Both natural and manmade disasters around the world define the nightly newscast.

Spreading the Gospel of Jesus is a matter of life and death - not for now, but forever.