Jesus Archives - Creation Beckons

Romans 10:9 Jesus Is Lord and Savior

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (NIV).

The great part of this verse for us is “you will be saved.” We will be saved from sin and its consequences, which are, living without the blessings of God while on earth and living throughout eternity in hell with satan. We often say, “It’s easy, just ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins,” and then you will be saved, you will spend eternity in heaven. Let’s look again at Romans 10:9. It does list two conditions for being saved. First we have to use our mouth to say, “Jesus is Lord,” and second, “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.”

We must recognize Jesus as Lord. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines “lord” as, “a person having great power and authority; ruler; master.” If I declare that Jesus is Lord, then I must recognize Him as the one who has authority in my life, the ruler, the master. Wow, then I have to obey all the Ten Commandments given by Moses, and obey all the rules and laws listed in Leviticus? Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment, and His answer, in Matthew 22:37-40, was, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” It sounds like we need to pay attention to these two commandments as given by Jesus, and if we do, we will satisfy all the Ten Commandments and the rules of Leviticus; we will be satisfying the heart of God.

God realizes that none of us is free of sin, so we will not be keeping His commandments all the time. And that’s why Jesus is our Savior, to gain God’s forgiveness for our sins, to reserve our place with Him in heaven. Even though we fail and are forgiven, it should be our heart-felt desire to abide by the Words of Jesus.

Do I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead? Yes, I do. The Bible tells of several times that Jesus met with His followers after His resurrection. The tomb was empty, and our souls were filled by the love of Jesus Christ. The important part of “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead” are the words, “in your heart.” I think we all understand the difference between belief in the head and belief in the heart. The belief in our heads can be changed by circumstances, but nothing will change the belief we hold in our hearts. That sounds like a commitment on my part. Well, it is. If I desire for Jesus to save me from my sins, I must be willing to commit myself to believing Him and following Him for the rest of my life.

So, salvation is free, but we do have a part to play: Declare Jesus as our Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. Welcome to a wonderful life that begins now and lasts for eternity.

Colossians 2:9 Son of God, Son of Man

“For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (NLT).

The clouds obviously separate the snow-capped mountains from the desert foliage. We know that the two parts of the scene, snowy mountains and desert plants are connected behind the cloud. It may be difficult to believe that desert plants and snowy peaks can exist so close to each other, to actually be part of the same section of earth. One thing it shows is that the mountain peaks are high above the desert plants. Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man in John 9:35-37: “When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ The man answered, ‘Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.’ ‘You have seen him,’ Jesus said, ‘and he is speaking to you.’” God the Father calls Jesus the Son of God in Luke 3:22: “…and the Holy Spirit in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, ‘You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.’” While living on Earth, Jesus was known as the Son of Man and the Son of God—two separate names for the same person. It is a blessing to realize that the Son of God came to earth and became the Son of Man in order to provide the only possible sacrifice for all the sins of mankind. While we may think of the “Son of God” to be high above the “Son of Man,” He is one and the same. Thank you, Jesus, for becoming as one of us to atone for my sins. I am eternally grateful, and I will be able to thank you daily throughout eternity for your sacrifice.