01/09/2024 – “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: 9-10). / Commentary attached.
I submit that this commentary note for these two verses from “The Apologetics Study Bible” is an imperative component for understanding of these two verses:
“10: 9-10 Merely mouthing ‘Jesus is Lord’ and proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead cannot secure salvation. Presumably the devil (see James 2:19) and many people (Matthew 7: 21-23) could meet these requirements and not be true followers of Christ. A heartfelt confession of Jesus’ lordship designates a lifelong commitment that issues from the center of a person’s being, the heart. What matters is not saying Jesus is Lord but making Him Lord at the core of one’s existence. This is what Paul meant by calling on the name of the Lord to be saved (10:13).”
Comment on this footnote: I submit that as current Christians it should be evidently clear that we cannot judge another soul, not even a beloved spouse of 50 years. But say, I have a fellow brother that sits in the pews every Sunday for a hour, then the rest of his week, his walk looks no different from the lost “future christians”. Then, I do not “judge” him, but I will witness to him as a future christian: “Let’s go back to ‘square one’.” If he never talks to me again, then would it have been better to avoid that witness, so that so called “peace” would remain between us? Such a “peace” is from the devil and his minions.