Must I confess Christ to go to heaven?

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10

Romans 10:9-10 is used by many sincere Christian workers to justify the use of this invitation in evangelism. By using these verses, believers are telling non-Christians they must believe in Christ plus confess He is Lord to go to heaven. Is this what these verses teach?

It is important to understand the argument of Romans before interpreting these verses. The key to understanding Romans is to look at the first use of the word “salvation” in 1:16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” The words “saved” (sōzō) or “salvation” (sōtēria) refer to some type of “deliverance.” The context determines what one is delivered from. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed [present tense] from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in righteousness.” The book of Romans is the good news (Gospel) of Jesus Christ which provides the power for deliverance (salvation) from the present-day wrath (displeasure) of God which is expressed in sinners being given over to the downward spiral of their own sinfulness (1:18b-32). This salvation from God’s present-day wrath is two-fold (“faith to faith,” 1:17):

1. Justification-salvation before God through faith alone in Christ alone who died for our sins and rose from the dead (Romans 1:20 – 5:9a). This is what delivers us from the penalty of sin and gets us to Heaven. God wants to bring those back who have been given over to their own sinfulness. God sees all people as unrighteous and in bondage to sin (1:20-3:20). God comes to people and gives them His righteousness on the basis of faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (3:21-5:9a). Twenty-six times Paul uses the words “believe” and “faith” as the only condition for justification (being declared righteous) before God in this section of Romans. Nowhere in this section does he mention the word “confession.”

 2. Sanctification-salvation from God’s present-day wrath (degradation of sin) through Christ living in us by faith (Romans 5:9b-8:39). The next time the word “saved” is used in Romans is in 5:9-10: “Much more then, having now been justified [past tense] by His blood, we shall be saved [future tense] from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled [past tense] to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled [past tense], we shall be saved [future tense] by His life.” The salvation being spoken of here is in the future tense and takes place after we are justified and reconciled to God. We were reconciled to God through faith in Christ’s death (3:21-5:9a). We can be saved from God’s present-wrath or the power of sin through faith in Christ’s life (5:9b – 8:39).  

In Romans 9-11, Paul is addressing the need of Jews to be delivered from God’s present-day wrath through justification and sanctification. Paul talks about God’s sovereign use of Israel in the past and His temporary setting aside of Israel in the present due to her rejection of His righteousness through faith in the Messiah (Romans 9:1-10:4). After being redeemed from Egypt by faith, the nation of Israel sought to obtain a sanctifying-righteousness by keeping the Law (Romans 10: 5). In verses 6-7, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30:12-13 when Moses was challenging the redeemed nation of Israel to believe and obey God’s revelation (the Law) as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. There was no excuse for disbelieving and disobeying God’s Law.  The people of Israel did not need to ascend to Heaven nor descend to the abyss to obtain the Law because God had already revealed it to them through Moses. Paul applies this truth to God’s final revelation found in the Person of Christ who had descended to earth (Romans 10:6) and rose from the dead (10:7). There was no excuse for disbelieving and disobeying the Person of Jesus Christ. In Romans 10:8, Paul prepares the way for Romans 10:9-10 by quoting Deuteronomy 30:14. Just as God’s Old Testament revelation was “near” to the Israelites in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 30:14), so God’s message of faith through Jesus Christ was “near” to deliver Paul’s readers from God’s present wrath when they believed in Christ (which takes place in the “heart”) and obey (which takes place in the “mouth”) His commands.

Paul explains the content of this “word of faith” (10:8) in Romans 10:9: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Verse 9 refers to being “saved” from God’s present-day wrath (Romans 1:16-32; 5:9-10). This type of salvation requires confessing “with your mouth” and believing “with your heart.” God’s people could not ask for assistance (with the “mouth”) from Christ to obey God’s commands without first believing (with the “heart”) in Christ resulting in God’s righteousness. Verse 10 explains (“For”) this sequence: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” We come to know Christ by believing in Him from the heart resulting in God’s righteousness (v.10a; cf. Romans 3:21 – 5:9a). We make Christ known to others by confessing Him with our mouths resulting both in salvation from God’s wrath on present-day sin (v. 10b; cf. Romans 1:16-32; 5:9-10) and victory in our Christian lives (Romans 5:98:39; cf. Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8). To believe in the heart resulting in God’s righteousness is justification. To confess with the mouth resulting in salvation is sanctification. One does not have the power to acquire sanctifying-righteousness through public confession of Christ without first obtaining justification-righteousness through faith alone in Christ alone. 

Paul quotes Isaiah 28:16, which took place during the Assyrian invasion, to assure his readers that they can openly confess Christ without being ashamed (Romans 10:11). One commentator suggests Paul may have quoted this verse to express “God’s desire to deliver the Jews from the wrath to come at the hand of Rome in A.D. 70.” Deliverance from this expression of God’s wrath begins with believing in Christ (10:11) and culminates in calling upon Him for divine assistance (10:12). The phrase “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (10:13) is a quotation from Joel 2:32. In that verse, the prophet Joel asks God to deliver Israel from His coming temporal wrath (cf. Joel 2:30-31). To be delivered from God’s present-day wrath requires both faith in Christ resulting in justification, followed by calling upon the name of the Lord for divine assistance. 

This sequence is confirmed by Romans 10:14-15a when the verbs in these verses are reversed – “sent …preach…hear…believe… call on Him.” We see that calling on the name of the Lord is done after believing in Christ and is therefore something Christians do after their conversion to obtain divine assistance in living the victorious Christian life (Romans 5:9-8:39; cf. Acts 9:21; I Cor. 1:2). 

In Romans 11, Paul praises God’s wise plans in extending mercy to the Gentiles now and to Israel in the future. In view of God’s great mercy which Paul has declared in Romans 1-11, Paul urges his readers to live a life of surrender to the Lord (12:1-2), which includes serving God by serving others (12:3-16:27).

Conclusion: Going to heaven is based on believing in Christ alone for His gift of righteousness and eternal life (John 3:16; Romans 3:22 -5:10a), not believing in Christ plus confession. It is believing in Christ plus nothing. However, if we want to experience a victorious Christian life and deliverance from God’s wrath on present-day sin, we must openly confess Christ and call upon His name for divine assistance to overcome the power of sin in our lives. 

Does God elect some to go to heaven and some to go to hell?

Some students of the Bible understand Romans 9 to teach that God sovereignly chooses some people to go to Heaven and some to go to Hell. However, this understanding ignores the argument of the book of Romans and the context of Romans 9.

The book of Romans is dealing with salvation from the present-day wrath of God which involves God giving the unrighteous over to the downward spiral of the degradation of sin (Rom. 1:16-32). Because God is holy and hates sin, we must first be delivered from His wrath toward sin through justification which is by faith alone in Christ’s death (Rom. 2:1-5:10a). We can then experience deliverance from God’s present-day wrath and the perversion of sin through faith in Christ’s life (Rom. 5:9-8:39).

The argument of Romans up to the end of chapter 8 is a direct challenge to the commonly held belief of first-century Jews that because they were God’s chosen people they would be saved from hell simply by being of Jewish descent and by keeping the Law (cf. Rom. 2:17-3:20). This assumption, says Paul, is absolutely false. The problem is that the Jews were confusing election to service with election to salvation (cf. examples of election to service: Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:5; Paul – Gal. 1:15-16; John the Baptist – Luke 1:13-17; John 1:23; the disciples (John 15:16). They assumed that because God chose them as the means by which “all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12:3), He also chose them, simply as Jews, for salvation. But now they hear Paul saying, “No! Jews do not have a unique path to heaven; on Judgment Day they will be treated like everyone else.” So now they are thinking, “That’s not fair! God has just been leading us on, giving us promises He never meant to keep. He is going back on His word! Where is the justice?”

So in Romans 9 Paul is defending God’s righteousness in His dealings with the Jews and the Gentiles. The Word of God has not failed (Rom. 9:6a). When God says that only those Jews will be saved who trust God’s promises, like their father Abraham did, He is not breaking His original promises to Israel. His choice of the nation as a whole was not a guarantee of any individual Jew’s salvation. God graciously and sovereignly chose Israel to be the nation from which “Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God” (Rom. 9:5). God’s choice of the nation of Israel to bring the Messiah-God into the world was not based upon their natural descent or works (Rom. 9:6-11), but upon His merciful and sovereign choice (Rom. 9:11b-16). And God certainly has the sovereign right to use any individual or group that He chooses for such a purpose, without any promise of personal salvation from Hell being attached.

An example of God choosing someone for service without providing individual salvation from Hell for him is Pharaoh (Rom. 9:17; cf. Judas whom Jesus chose to bear fruit in ministry even though Judas never believed in Jesus – John 6:64; 13:10-11; 15:16; 17:12). God both “had mercy” on Pharaoh by choosing him for an important role in birthing the nation of Israel, and He also “hardened” him in order to accomplish the same purpose (Rom. 9:18). An example of a nation being chosen for service and not salvation is Israel at this present time (Rom. 9:31-10:4). The nation of Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah which led God to show mercy to Gentiles by including them in the church. An elect person or nation is never guaranteed justification. In the Old Testament, God chose the nation of Babylon to discipline Israel (see Habakkuk). Likewise, He chose King Cyrus of Persia to help Israel and to subdue the nations (Cyrus is even called God’s “shepherd” and “anointed” in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1). But neither of these sovereign choices proves anything regarding individual or corporate salvation from Hell.

If God chooses individuals and nations to service based upon His merciful and sovereign will, and not human behavior, “Why does He still find fault?” Paul’s listeners would ask him (Rom. 9:19). Paul responds by saying that people are not in a position to criticize their Judge because He is the standard by which we measure justice (Rom. 9:20-30).

God chose the nation of Israel to service and blessings for the purpose of sharing those blessings with others. But since they failed (Rom. 9:31-11:10), God saw fit to elect another group called the Church (composed largely of Gentiles) to accomplish this task (Rom. 11:11-25). Fortunately for Israel, because God is gracious He will again return to them and fulfill His promises and plans (Rom. 11:23-32). How unsearchable is God and His ways (Rom 11:33-36)!?

Conclusion: God’s election relates to His merciful and sovereign choice to choose individuals and/or nations for service (not salvation), especially as it relates to sharing His blessings with others, including the gospel. Just as the nation of Israel was chosen by God to bring the Messiah-God into the world (Rom. 9:5) and be a channel of blessing to all families/nations (Gen. 12:3), so believers (both Jews and Gentiles) in Christ today, are sovereignly chosen by God to be His mouthpieces of blessing to others (cf. Luke 6:13; John 15:16; Acts 1:2, 8; 9:15; 10:41; 15:7; 22:14-15; 26:16-18; James 2:5; I Pet. 2:9).

Must I suffer to go to heaven?

“And if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him.” Romans 8:17

There are differing views about suffering among professing Christians. Some teach that genuine Christians will not have to suffer in this life. If you do suffer, then they say you are not a Christian because according to their view suffering is not God’s will for the believer. Others teach that you must suffer in order to have eternal life and go to heaven when you die. 

However, in the book of Romans, the apostle Paul makes it very clear that to be justified (declared totally righteous) before God and go to heaven all you must do is believe or have faith in Jesus Christ alone (Romans 3:21-5:9a). No amount of suffering on our part will save us from our sins. Only trusting in Christ alone who died for our sins and rose from the dead is required to be saved from sin’s penalty and have a home in heaven. So going to heaven is not based upon our suffering, but upon faith in the suffering of Jesus Christ who paid for all of our sins when He died in our place on the cross. 

But in Romans 6-8, Paul is talking about growing in our Christian lives. And in chapter 8 of Romans, Paul tells us that suffering is part of the process that God uses to help us grow to be more like Christ (8:17-29). All believers in Jesus are “children of God” (cf. John 1:12) which means they are all “heirs of God” (8:16b-17a). This future inheritance of all believers includes a home in heaven and a glorified resurrection body (cf. John 14:1-3; I Corinthians 15:35-58; Revelation 21-22). 

But to be a “joint heirs with Christ” (8:17b) includes ruling with Him in His coming Kingdom (cf. Mark 10:27-30; 2 Timothy 2:12). The book of Hebrews tells us that the Son of God is the Heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2) which includes ruling over all the nations (Hebrews 1:4-14; Psalm 2:6-9). Since mankind lost his dominion over all of creation at the Fall (Hebrews 2:6-8; cf. Genesis 3:1-6), Christ will fulfill mankind’s destiny when He returns to earth and brings all creation under His rule (1 Cor. 15:27-28; Hebrews 1:8-13). Christ had to suffer and die for mankind because He would bring “many sons to glory” and be the Captain “of their salvation …through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:9-10). Before Jesus could lead His “many sons” to glory, He had to be made “perfect” for this role “through sufferings.” Since His brethren would have to suffer, He would have to as well in order to give them the kind of help they would need (cf. Hebrews 2:18; 4:14-16). 

As a Firstborn (Ruling) Son (Romans 8:29), Jesus “learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Since Christ’s pathway to rulership was through suffering, so our pathway to ruling with Him includes suffering. 

The joint heirship mentioned in Romans 8:17 is not common to all Christians, but only to those who “suffer with Christ.” To suffer with Christ means you suffer for doing what honors Him, not for what dishonors Him. For example, suffering with Christ does not refer to the suffering one incurs for robbing a bank, lying, or living an immoral life. To suffer with Christ would be like a former Muslim whose faith in Christ and bold witness for Him leads to the loss of his life. It may also include being ostracized at your work because of your commitment to Christ. 

You could avoid this type of suffering by being a secret believer or disciple (cf. John 9:22; 12:42; 19:38). For example, the former Muslim could keep his relationship with Christ a secret to avoid physical death. Or you could hide your faith in Christ from your co-workers to avoid their disapproval. You may think this option is better than the pain of suffering with Christ. 

But the apostle Paul would disagree with that conclusion. He writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). No amount of suffering with Christ now can outweigh the glory which shall be revealed in us when we receive the reward of ruling with Him in His coming Kingdom. God assures us that our suffering with Christ will be worth the glorious rewards He will give when He returns for His own.  

Conclusion: Must I suffer to go to heaven? No, because Jesus already suffered for my sin when He died on the cross and rose from the dead. All He asks is that I believe in Him as my only hope of heaven (John 3:14-15). But I must suffer with Christ to rule with Him in His coming Kingdom (Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 2:12).

Overcoming sin through a relationship, not rules

“I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:25

In Romans 7 the apostle Paul talks about his struggle to grow spiritually when he placed himself under the Mosaic Law. After saying that we are now under grace and not the law (6:14-15), he begins by saying that “the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives” (7:1). Paul illustrates this truth by referring to “the law” which binds a wife to her husband until he “dies” (7:2a). But when he dies she is “released from the law of her husband” and is free to remarry (7:2b-3). Since believers died with Christ (cf. 6:2-10) they “have become dead to the law” so that they are no longer under any obligation to keep the Mosaic Law because they are now under grace which avails them to the power “of the Spirit” that enables believers to obey God (Rom. 7:4-6).

Paul’s own experience warns believers not to look to the Law to grow spiritually (Rom. 7:7-25). The result will be defeat. Paul describes his early Christian experience whereby he looked to the Law which only reveals sin without correcting the problem (Rom. 7:7-12). Verse 9 particularly shows that Paul was “alive” in fellowship with God “without the Law” (6:8, 11, 13), but as soon as he tried to include the Law in his Christian life, he “died”experientially when his sinful nature aroused sin to a greater degree which broke his fellowship with God. 

Paul shows that the Law is not to blame for our broken fellowship with God, but “sin” was to blame (7:13). The Law was like the bait that brought sin to the surface. Paul strengthenshis argument about the goodness of the Law by saying the Law “is spiritual,” but he is “carnal, sold under sin” because of his fallen nature which he still possessed (7:14). Sin is still appealing tothe believer especially if he places himself under the Law to grow in his Christian life. 

In Romans 7:15-25 Paul uses the present tense to describe his present struggle as a result of trying to use the Law to grow spiritually. This struggle is between the new “inward man” or born-again-self (Romans 7:22; cf. Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10; I John 3:9) and the “old” disposition or sinful flesh. For example, Paul writes, “For what I [the new] will to do, that I [the old] do not practice; but what I [the new] hate, that I [the old] do”(7:15b). Within every believer there are two competing dispositions – the flesh against the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-17) – which fight to gain control over the Christian. 

It is possible that Paul struggled for years to live the Christian life by trying to fulfill the Law inhis own strength. He explains that even a desire to do what the Law says results in evil that he had no intention of doing (Rom. 7:18-19). He summarizes, “Now if I [old disposition] do what I [new disposition] will not to do, it is no longer I [the person’s desire] who do it, but sin [sin principle dominant in the old nature] that dwells in me” (7:20).

Paul discovered from his experience of trying to grow spiritually under the Law that there is aspecific “law” deeply rooted in his being that exposed his sinful nature and the reason why he could not keep the Law’s commands (7:21). Paul explained his desire for God’s Law even if he cannot carry it out, “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man” (Rom. 7:22). The “inward man” is something within believers that can be “renewed” daily and “strengthened” by the Holy Spirit (cf. Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Ephesians 3:16). Paul equates the “inward man” to “the law of the mind” (7:23a). Paul identifies another law which is “the law of sin” which had defeated or brought “into captivity” Paul’s inward man because at that time when Paul was under the Law his fallen nature was stronger (7:23b).

Having experienced this fruitless battle of trying to grow spiritually under the Law (7:14-23), Paul cried out, “O wretched man that I am!” (7:24a). He acknowledges that an inner desire to do good and obey the Law could not overcome his sinful flesh or disposition. He wants to know who can deliver him from this “body of death” or sin’s power that dwells in his physical body (7:24b; cf. 6:6). Paul concludes by introducing the discovery he made during this struggle early in his Christian life about how to experience victory over sin. He thanks “God” who “through Jesus Christ our Lord” supplied the means to “deliver” him (and all believers) from this struggle between his inward man (“with the mind I myself [new disposition] serve the law of God”) and “the flesh” (old disposition) (7:25). The solution is revealed in Romans 8 – walking in the Spirit.  

In summary, the key to gaining victory over sin in our Christian lives is to focus on our relationship with Jesus Christ, not rules. Rules tell us what is wrong, but they do not provide the power to grow. Only a relationship with the living Lord Jesus Christ can transform our lives. We must look to our Savior, not our sin, if we are going to become more like Him.

How do I overcome the power of sin in my Christian life?

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lust.” Romans 6:12

For a believer in Jesus Christ to overcome the power of sin in his Christian life, he must… 

1. “Know” that he is “united” with Christ in “His death” and “resurrection” (6:2-10).

2.  “Reckon” or count it to be true (6:11). 

3. Yield or “present” himself to Christ as “alive from the dead” for God’s possession and use (6:12-13). The issue in overcoming the power of sin in his life is surrender. He can either surrender to sin’s control or Christ’s control in his life. That is what it means to present himself. Notice that a believer now has a choice not to “let sin reign” or control him so that he “should obey it in its lust” (6:12). God does not promise to keep him from having lust or fleshly desires. But He does make provision for him so he does not have to let his fleshly desires be “the boss”in his life. He does not have to do what his fleshly desires are telling him to do. The believer is to present himself to God because “sin shall not have dominion over” him since he is “not under law [which arouses sin] but under grace [which gives him a new identity to overcome sin] (6:14). 

4. “Obey” Christ as his Lord (6:15-23). One reason Christians may not be seeing more victory over sin in their lives is because they have positioned Jesus as their Savior, but not as their Lord. This is why Paul writes, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness” (6:16). If we obey what sin tells us to do, we will experience “death” and “more lawlessness” in our Christian lives (6:16, 19). But if we obey what the Lord Jesus tells us to do we will experience “righteousness,” “holiness,” and “everlasting life” (6:16, 19, 22). 

Tony Evans illustrates what Paul is saying in Romans 6 when he refers to performing a wedding ceremony. Near the beginning of the ceremony, Tony asks, “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” Usually it is the father who says, “I do.” When that happens, the father can sit down because Tony is done with him because the bridegroom steps up to take the place of the bride’s father. He and the bride now stand before the minister, they go through the service, and then Tony closes by saying to the couple, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Then the audience stands and receives the new Mr. and Mrs. ______________. 

The young lady has been changed because she is now under a new authority when her father presented her to be married to the bridegroom. She has entered into a new relationship. The first man is overruled by a newer man because the woman has transferred identities. 

Romans 6 tells us that we have transferred identities the moment we believed in Christ for salvation. So when the old man called the flesh starts to tell us what to do, we can respond, “I have a New Husband now. I have a new name. I am not going to listen to you.” We must yield ourselves to Christ every day. We can begin each day by saying, “Lord Jesus, I am married to You now. I am under Your authority, so please tell me what You want me to do and help me to do it.”   

How can I experience victory in my Christian life?

“For if by one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness wil reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17

As Paul transitions from his section about justification before God by faith alone in Christ alone (1:16-5:11) to his section on sanctification or growing in the Christian life (6:1-8:39), he contrasts two Adams (5:12-21). See the above chart for more contrasts. The First Adam brought sin and death into the world through his one act of disobedience in the Garden (5:12, 15, 17-19), whereas the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, brought justification and life (to all who believe in Him) through His one act of obedience on the Cross (5:18). Through the Last Adam, what once reigned over us – sin and death (5:12-14, 17a, 21a) – is now reigned over by grace in life through Jesus Christ (5:17b, 21b). 

Grace is much more than a doctrine or theology. Grace is a Person. Grace came to us through the Person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 17) and He now lives inside every believer (Galatians 2:20). When we believed in the Person of Jesus Christ, He gave us eternal life and His righteousness as a gift, and seated us next to Him at the right of God the Father in the heavenly places (John 3:16; Romans 5:17; Ephesians 2:5-6). He saved us from the penalty of sin so we can now reign over sin and death through His righteousness to eternal life which indwells us (Romans 5:21). 

We might compare this to the game of checkers. When playing checkers, if you make the right moves which get you to the other side of the board, you get crowned as a king. But if you don’t make the right moves, you will be removed from the board and experience defeat. What Romans 5:12-21 is telling us is if we make the right moves in our Christian lives, we will reign over what once reigned over us – sin and death! This is possible now because the One who conquered sin and death now lives in us. His righteousness has been given to us as a gift the moment we believed in Him. And as we understand and believe this, and act upon it, Christ will empower us to make the right moves so we will rule over sin and death and experience victory in our Christian lives! But if we don’t make the right moves in our Christian lives, we will experience defeat.

Someone may say, “Why do I still keep making the wrong moves in my Christian life?” One reason is because Satan has deceived you into thinking that sin and death still reigns over you. That nothing has changed in your life since you believed in Jesus for His gift of eternal life. But nothing could be farther from the truth! The truth is Jesus Christ now lives inside of you! The truth is Jesus Christ has already won the victory for you! He now wants you to live from victory, not for victory! 

In Romans 13:14 Paul writes, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Every day, we have a choice to put on Jesus Christ Who fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law or to put on our old sinful self. When we put on the Lord Jesus Christ, we become more sensitive to sin. For example, when you put on a beautiful new white shirt, you become more sensitive about getting it dirty. You will tend to avoid dirty places and things because you want to preserve the whiteness of that new shirt. But if you put on blue jeans and an old worn out shirt, you are not so sensitive about getting them dirty. 

What God is telling us in the book of Romans is that if we will put on the Lord Jesus Christ every morning, we will become more sensitive to sin. Instead of letting sin and death reign over us, we will begin to reign over them as we put on the Lord Jesus Christ Whose grace empowers us to live victoriously for Him. Putting on the Lord Jesus is a mindset that God wants us to have (Romans 8:5-7). We can put on our old sinful self or we can put on the Lord Jesus Christ. One leads to sin and death and the other to life and victory. 

Overcoming the sin of homosexuality

The Bible is clear that homosexual relations are an “abomination” before God (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; cf. Romans 1:24-32; I Corinthians 6:9-10; I Timothy 1:10) and violate God’s design for marriage between one man and one woman for life (Genesis 2:24; Mark 10:6-9). How then can a person overcome the sin of homosexuality (or any sin)?

I believe the answer is found in the book of Romans. The key to understanding Romans is to look at the first use of the word “salvation” in 1:16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” The words “saved” (sōzō) or “salvation” (sōtēria) refer to some type of “deliverance.” The context determines what one is delivered from. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed [present tense] from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” The book of Romans is the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ which provides the power for deliverance (salvation) from the present-day wrath (displeasure) of God which is expressed in sinners being given over to the downward spiral of their own sinfulness (1:18b-32). 

Notice that when people “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” and choose to worship creation instead of their Creator (1:20-25), God gives them over (1:24, 26, 28) to the consequences of their own sin (1:24, 26, 28). As people move farther away from God, they “dishonor their bodies among themselves” (1:24). As they continue to rebel against God, He gives them up “to vile passions,” which includes leaving “natural” heterosexual relations to pursue homosexual relations which are “against nature,” that is, they are contrary to how God made us (1:26-27; cf. Gen. 1:28; 2:24). The final stage of this downward spiral is God giving them over “to a debased mind” which accepts as normal what is immoral and irrational to a holy God (1:28-32). Clearly, the farther people move away from God, the more confused they become about their own sexual identity. This is an expression of the present-day wrath of God. God’s present-day wrath can rest upon Christians and non-Christians who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. 

How can a believer or unbeliever overcome this downward spiral of sin? This salvation from God’s present-day wrath is two-fold (“faith to faith,” 1:17):

1. If you are not a Christian, you need justification-salvation before God through faith alone in Christ alone who died for our sins and rose from the dead (Romans 1:20 – 5:9a). This is what delivers us from the penalty of sin and gets us to Heaven. God wants to bring those back who have been given over to their own sinfulness. God sees all people as unrighteous and in bondage to sin (1:20-3:20). God comes to people and gives them His righteousness on the basis of faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (3:21-5:9a). Twenty-six times Paul uses the words “believe” and “faith” as the only condition for justification (being declared righteous) before God in this section of Romans. Once a person believes in Christ alone to be declared righteous before a holy God, he or she can then experience…

2. Sanctification-salvation from God’s present-day wrath (degradation of sin) through Christ living in them by faith (Romans 5:9b-8:39). The next time the word “saved” is used in Romans is in 5:9-10: “Much more then, having now been justified [past tense] by His blood, we shall be saved [future tense] from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled [past tense] to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled [past tense], we shall be saved [future tense] by His life.” The salvation being spoken of here is in the future tense and takes place after we are justified and reconciled to God. We were reconciled to God through faith in Christ’s death (3:21-5:9a). We can be saved from God’s present-day wrath or the power of sin through faith in Christ’s life (5:9b – 8:39).  

In summary, whether you think homosexuality is caused by the environment or a genetic disposition, it does not matter. All people are born with a predisposition to sin, whether it is sexual immorality, lying, or a violent temper. The solution is still the same. Believe in Christ’s death for His gift of salvation from the penalty of sin (Romans 1:18-5:10a), so you can trust in Christ’s life to save you from the power of sin in your Christian life as you learn to yield daily to the Holy Spirit who now dwells inside of you (Romans 5:10b-8:39). 

What kind of person does God welcome into heaven?

“But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5

1. God welcomes into heaven the person “who does not work.” Getting to heaven is not based upon your works. It is not based upon going to church, praying a prayer, confessing your sin, persevering in good works, confessing the Lordship of Christ,  surrendering to the Lordship of Christ, or promising to commit your life to Christ. God does not welcome the person on the basis of his or her works. This is what distinguishes Christianity from world religions. World religions teach that getting to heaven is based upon what you “DO.” Christianity teaches that getting to heaven is based upon what Christ has already “DONE” when He died on the Cross (John 19:30).

2. God welcomes into heaven the person who “believes on Him who justifies the ungodly.” Getting to heaven is not based upon behaving, but upon believing in Jesus Christ “who justifies the ungodly.” It does not matter how well you have behaved, you are still “ungodly” before a holy God. You may say, “Well, I’m not as bad as him or her.” You need to understand that God is not comparing your life to other sinful people. He is comparing your life to the only perfect Person who has ever lived on earth – Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Jesus never told a lie, but you have told many. Jesus loved everyone, including His enemies. But you have days you cannot stand to be with your own family. The good news is that the moment you believe or trust in Christ alone who paid the full penalty for your sin when He died on the Cross and rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:3-6), God “justifies” you which means He declares you to be totally righteous as if you had never sinned.  

3. God welcomes into heaven the person whose “faith is accounted for righteousness.” The fact is that all people are “ungodly” sinners who deserve to be separated from God forever in a terrible place called the “lake of fire” (Romans. 3:9-23; Revelation 20:15). But the moment you believe in Jesus Christ alone, God gives you a right standing before Him as “your faith is accounted for righteousness.” 

Conclusion: What kind of person does God welcome into heaven? He welcomes the believing person, not the behaving person. He welcomes the ungodly person who trusts in the only Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. And He welcomes the person whose faith in Christ gives him or her a right standing before a holy God.

Must I continue in doing good to receive eternal life?

“God, who will render to each one according to his deeds:’ eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality.” Romans 2:5b-7

A casual reading of these verses has led some to include that one must continue in doing good in order to receive eternal life. But how does one harmonize such an interpretation with the many verses that clearly teach that eternal life (salvation) is a free gift which one receives by believing in Jesus alone (John 3:15-16, 36; 4:10-14; 5:24; 6:40, 47; 11:25-26; 20:31; Acts 10:43; 13:39; 16:31; Romans 3:22-26; 6:23; Ephes. 2:8-9; I Timothy 1:16; I John 5:13; Rev. 22:17)?

A more consistent way to understand these verses is to realize that Paul is speaking to the self-righteous moralist who thinks he is good enough to enter heaven on the basis of his own morality (Rom. 2:1-4). Paul warns the self-righteous person that he is as guilty as the person whom he condemns because the longer he persists in his self-righteousness, the more guilt God will add to his record until the day His wrath is poured out on the unbeliever (Rom. 2:5; cf. Rev. 20:11-15). On that day God’s judgment of the unbeliever will be perceived as “righteous” because He will “render to each one according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). 

Those who patiently continue doing good would receive eternal life (Rom. 2:7). It must be noted, however, that Paul later shows that no human being on earth will do that (Rom. 3:10-12, 23), and therefore, would need to be justified by God through faith alone in Christ alone (Rom. 3:22-5:9a). Why? Because Jesus Christ is the only Doer of the Law (Matt. 5:17, 48; Rom. 8:3-4). Jesus never broke the law and He never will. So guess what happens when you put your faith in Christ who kept all of the Law?  You are made “perfect forever” through His sufficient sacrifice on the Cross (Heb. 10:10, 14). There will be no charges or condemnation against the Christian to determine his or her destiny in eternity (John 5:24; Rom. 8:31-34) because God has already declared him righteous (Rom. 3:22-4:5). 

So in that context of Romans 2:5-11, the meaning of verse 7 is that “if he continues in doing good, and no one does, he would receive eternal life.” On the other hand, “those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God” (Romans 2:8-11). The emphasis of this paragraph (Rom. 2:5-11) is stated at the beginning and the end, namely, that God will judge everyone equally and without partiality. 

If anyone continues to seek good (and no one does – Rom. 3:10-12), he will receive eternal life. If anyone continues in disobedience (and all will – Rom. 3:23), he will fall under God’s wrath. So each one will receive what he deserves. Hence, the self-righteous moralist must repent or change his mind and understand that God will judge him or her righteously according to what they have truly done or not done. Not what they hoped or intended to do. But according to what they actually did or did not do. Therefore, the self-righteous moralist is just as deserving of condemnation as the worst sinner because he or she falls short of the glory of God. The solution to this problem is to trust in Jesus Christ Who alone was a Doer of the Law and could pay the full penalty for our sin (John 19:30; Rom. 4:5; 5:8; I Cor. 15:3-6). 

Failure to understand these verses in their rightful context leads to misinterpretation such as all true believers will persevere in good works. Or those who profess faith in Christ but fail to persevere in good works were never genuinely saved. That is not what the text says in this context.  

Does God give me more than I can handle?

I remember hearing the assurance that God will not give us more than we can handle when Christians were talking about I Corinthians 10:13 when it says, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.” But this is talking about temptations, not trials. 

The same author of I Corinthians 10:13, the apostle Paul, also wrote 2 Corinthians 1:8 which says, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8). Notice that Paul says they were burdened beyond their own strength to the point of despair. Paul was in a situation where it seemed hopeless. Whatever he and his mission team were facing, was beyond their own resources to overcome. He felt God had put more on him than he or anyone on his mission team could handle.

Have you ever felt this way? That God has given you more than you can handle? That there is no way you can overcome this situation with your own resources? Your abilities and connections with others cannot rescue you from the hopelessness you are facing? You are tempted to give up because you cannot escape this place of despair? 

Why does God permit this to happen to us? Is He being unloving to us when He allows us to have more than we can handle? Paul also explains why God gives us more than we can handle in 2 Corinthians 1:9,“Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.” God does give us more than we can handle so “that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.” What God wants to do in these hopeless situations is to teach us to depend more on Him than on ourselves or others. He wants to “raise the dead” for us. He longs to do what is humanly impossible for us to do. 

This is very difficult for us to accept because we do not like to sit in our pain. Our natural tendency is to withdraw from the pain. We try to avoid pain by turning to a quick fix such as alcohol, busyness, depression, drugs, romance, sarcasm, theology, or even ministry instead of turning to God. But these options only lead to more pain and hopelessness.

God did not originally create people to have to deal with pain. Pain was not Adam and Eve’s experience before the Fall (Genesis 1-2). They lived in a perfect environment and enjoyed perfect fellowship with God and one another because there was no sin and death. Before the Fall, all their needs were met by God in the Garden of Eden. But after the Fall (Genesis 3:1-6), there was a separation from God resulting in fear and shame (Genesis 3:7-10). Adam and Eve’s first response was to fix the pain and shame by covering themselves with fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). But this covering did not remove the effects of their sin. God had to do that when He “made tunics of skin” through the death of an innocent animal (Genesis 3:21). 

By providing a covering with animal skins, God provided forgiveness through the “shedding of blood” (Hebrews 9:22). God later provided forgiveness through the Old Testament sacrificial system which pointed ahead to the ultimate sacrifice of God’s perfect Son, Jesus Christ (John 1:29; Hebrews 9:23-10:25). Like that first animal that was sacrificed for Adam and Eve, Jesus Christ would also be innocent and without sin because He was and is God (John 1:1, 14, 17; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; I Peter 3:18). And like that first sacrificial animal, Jesus was born to die for the sins of others (John 1:29; Romans 5:8; I John 4:9), that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). 

Like Adam and Eve, we have a natural tendency to turn to other things to remove our pain. But God wants us to sit in our pain so we will draw closer to Him. If we do not sit in the pain, we do not need to go to God for comfort and strength. 

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Christ does not say to “Come to a religion or to your pastor, priest, parents, or peers.” No, He says, “Come to Me.” Nor does He say, “Come to Me and I will give you fear, guilt and shame.” No, Jesus says to come to Him in faith and He “will give you rest.” The rest Jesus offers here refers to a state of mind that exists when a non-Christian realizes he or she does not have to earn or work for their salvation. This refers to the positional rest of eternal life that is based on trusting in Christ’s accomplishment on the cross. 

If you do not know for sure that you have eternal life and will go to heaven when you die, accept Jesus’ invitation and come to Him just as you are for spiritual rest by believing in Jesus for His gift of eternal life (11:28; cf. John 3:16). Then He can give you the comfort and strength you need when you face more than you can handle.

If you have believed in Jesus for everlasting life, understand that there will be times when He gives you more than you can handle so you will learn to draw near to Him and depend on Him to do what you could never do on your own (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). He wants to take you deeper in your relationship with Him so you can experience His resurrection power.