Three Things The Resurrection Gives Us
THREE THINGS THE RESURRECTION GIVES US
Romans 10:9-13
This Easter, I want to talk about "Three Things The Resurrection Gives Us." The passage we are going to look at is found in Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 10 (Page 802 in the pew Bible in front of you).
I. THE RESURRECTION GIVES US SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN
"If you . . . believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified . . . As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Romans 10:9-11
A. When a person believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ . . .
Used as a "collective expression" for belief in the gospel message
"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved . . For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time." 1 Co 15:1-6
If this be true, then all is true.
B. "Believe in your heart," "For it is with your heart that you believe."
"In your heart" not just intellectual belief or a mere understanding
Seriously, sincerely and truly believe this.
C. This belief in your heart is essentially "trust"
"Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." v.11
"I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." 2 Ti 1:12
I There was a man who was walking down a long, narrow path one night, not paying much attention to where he was going. Suddenly he slipped over the edge of a cliff. As he fell he managed to grab hold of a branch growing out of the side of the cliff. Not being able to see because of the darkness of night, he had no idea that he was just two feet from the bottom where he could safely drop without injury. Believing that he could lose his grasp and plummet to his death, he began to cry out for help. He yelled…“Is anybody up there?” A voice was heard, “Yes! I am here.” Who’s that?” the man asked. “It’s the Lord!” “O, Lord! I am glad you’re here. Please help me!” “Do you trust me?” asked the Lord. “I trust You completely, Lord.” “Good. Let go of the branch.” “What?” “I said, Let go of the branch.” “Help! Is anybody else up there?”
Now that Jesus has been resurrected from the dead, you can now trust him, place yourself into his arms, and if you will do that he will take to to heaven when you die.
II. THE RESURRECTION GIVES US COURAGE TO CONFESS
"If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” . . . you will be saved. . . it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10
A. It is required that we confess our belief and faith in Jesus Christ openly to the whole world. And it is the resurrection that gives us the courage to do that.
"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Mt 10:32-33
A church in Portland this morning is having spontaneous, Impromptu baptisms at the Rose Garden.
When the will of Henry J. Heinz, wealthy distributor of the famous “57 Varieties” line, was read it was found to contain the following confession: “Looking forward to the time when my earthly career will end, I desire to set forth at the very beginning of this will, as the most important item in it, a confession of my faith in Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I also desire to bear witness to the fact that throughout my life, in which there were unusual joys and sorrows, I have been wonderfully sustained by my faith in God through Jesus Christ.
B. Confession flows from belief
"It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken (confessed).” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us." 2 Co 4:13-14
III. THE RESURRECTION GIVES US A REASON TO CALL UPON GOD
"The same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:12-13
A The word "call" is introduced here
to bring the ideas of "confess" and "believe" to their practical application. It tell us what to do in response to what we believe. MKB
B. Calling upon God is our response to the invitations to come tho Christ.
"Whoever is thirsty, let him come (call); and whoever wishes, let him take (call) the free gift of the water of life." Re 22:17
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world"
"Put your trust in the light (call) while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." Jn 12:36
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me (call) will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." Jn 6:35
C. "But the tax collector stood at a distance.
He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said (call), God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Lk 18:13
"In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears." Ps 18:6
If the grace of God would only let us know the desperate situation we are in; how we are drowning in our own sin with no one to rescue us.
IV. RESULTS OF BELEIVING, CONFESSING, AND CALLING
!! A. By God Richly Blessing. v.12
"The same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him," Ro 10:12
Paul refers to, "the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." Eph 2:7
B. By Giving Righteousness v.10
"For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified (Resulting in righteousness)." Ro 10:10
Declared or pronounced righteous in his sight.
C. By Saving Your Soul
Shall be saved v.9, Resulting in salvation. v.10, Shall be saved. v.13
Someone once said it is presumptuous to declare that you know you are saved. The truth is it is presumptuous to doubt what God has said in His eternal Word.
John 10:28,29 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
"USA Today" took a survey several years ago and asked Americans in the top 1% income bracket how much they would spend for three things: Great intellect, true love, and a place in heaven. Those wealthy people said they would be willing to spend an average of $407K for great intellect, $487K for true love, $640K for a place in heaven!
D. By Making You Unashamed
"Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame (ahsamed)" Ro 10:11
A promise that you will never feel duped or embarrassed for having come to Christ.
J A very persuasive man called on the phone to sell to sell you a fly trap guaranteed to kill flies every time. You send your $19.95 away and soon get back in the mail two small pieces of wood with instructions that say, "Place fly on one board and hit with the other."