Lent
March 3, 2022
Scripture Reading:
Romans 10:8b-13
But what does it say?
‘The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart’*
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 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.’
What does it mean to be saved? We may first conjure an idea of prepaid admission into heaven. Paul’s writing tends to perceive salvation as a part of living our faith in the here and now. How to live like Christ in our everyday life. The Greek word, sózó, translated here as saved means 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)**. That seems to say to me that salvation allows us to be the persons we are called to be without the interference of sin. Christ, the Holy Spirit, saves us from the distractions of the world that separates us from God. We have already been instilled with gifts that are needed to carry out the work that faith requires. Being saved allows us to answer our call to serve without fear and with courage because we work within the safety of God’s love.
Prayer:
Thank You Lord For Saving My Soul,
Thank You Lord For Making Me Whole,
Thank You Lord For Giving To Me,
Thy Great Salvation So Full And Free***. Amen.
*The quote cited above at the beginning of the scripture is derived from Leviticus 18:5, You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing so one shall live: I am the Lord.
**https://biblehub.com/greek/4982.htm
***Thank You, Lord, for Saving My Soul by Seth Sykes, Bessie Sykes. See at https://divinehymns.com/lyrics/thank-you-lord-for-saving-my-soul-song-lyrics/
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.