Living in the Spirit
August 7, 2014
Scripture Reading: Romans 10:5-15
Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that ‘the person who does these things will live by them.’ …because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ — Romans 10:5, 9-13
I am thankful for people like N. T. Wright* who help me understand where I have landed when I jump right into the middle of a scripture that deals with issues of the first century. Particularly how those issues relate to the history of God recorded in the Hebrew Bible to which Paul often turns as he does in this scripture today. This background is crucial to our understanding, but since my purpose in writing these daily devotions is to draw attention to wholeness, oneness, and justice, I ask your indulgence, if I head immediately in toward those subjects and recommend further study regarding the wealth of learning that can be excised from this scripture as you will find in the citation below regarding The New Interpreter’s Bible.
The word “saved” translated from the Greek may have a different connotation than our use of the word today would suggest. Merriam-Webster Dictionary suggests “hoarded” as a synonym for the word “saved”. Somehow, “hoarded” does not seem remotely connected with Jesus’ intentions, although it may be the way we sometimes live out our faith. I am reminded of the parable of the rich fool who built bigger barns to store his abundance. (Luke 12:13-21) The Greek suggest that saved has the connotation to deliver out of danger and into safety; used principally of God rescuing believers from the penalty and power of sin – and into His provisions (safety).**
If God is not a hoarder, than surely God has some purpose in delivering us out of danger and rescuing us from the power of sin. Our primary purpose is to love God and to love one another to the extent that we become one together in a just world. We have been saved to make that happen.
Prayer: Give me the courage and the wisdom in joining with each of your other servants in loving myself and each of your other children into wholeness, oneness, and justice. Amen.