He Has Set His Affection On Us

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 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. Romans 10:8-9

A very familiar passage, but as I read it yesterday I wondered why is it crucial that we believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. (bear with me - i’m not losing it!) Out of all of the things that Jesus did during his life why for salvation is it vital that we believe this one aspect. As I dialogued with the Lord about it, I felt like this is crucial because our hearts need to be set free in the knowledge that sin and death are defeated and we serve a powerful God! We don’t serve a weak God, but a very strong One who is capable of breaking the chains of sin. Then during class later that day, Andy spoke about this very thing. The old man is dead! Our sin nature has been crucified with Christ! For us to live as if we can’t have righteousness or be truly forgiven of sins is as if to say to Jesus that his sacrifice wasn’t enough. When we believe that we can’t have victory in a certain area of our life, it is like saying that Jesus isn’t powerful enough. Is any addiction, stronghold or bondage stronger than the power it took to raise Jesus from the dead? No! We serve a capable God. Let us live that way! Let us honor the sacrifice Jesus made and live and believe like it’s true. Forgiveness of sins is a reality through Jesus Christ! Freedom is a reality! Joy is a reality! The cross and resurrection is enough!

17 July 2011 ·