Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—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 10:5-13
Salvation is the acceptance of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins by him. When you say yes to following Jesus, you have been forgiven of your sin and experienced salvation—it’s received by one act: acceptance of Jesus. From there, Jesus does the work, and he does this for everyone who accepts him!
Verses 9 and 10 of this passage say, “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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” So, when you accept Jesus—that’s the heart—and say yes to him—that’s professing with your mouth—you are saved. Beyond these two acts, the rest is the work of Jesus. We don’t have to repeatedly go through this process to earn his love and grace. Jesus finished the work on the cross. All we have to do is say yes and follow him!
The enemy tells us that we’re never enough, so it’s easy to get caught in the trap that you have to earn salvation, to earn the love of Jesus—but you don’t! Although we have a shared responsibility of becoming like Jesus, we don’t have to work and strive for his love, forgiveness, and grace. He freely and willingly gives that to us!
So, what was your moment of accepting Jesus like?
If you haven’t accepted Jesus yet, what questions do you have? We’d love to talk to you more!