Living in the Spirit
August 11, 2023
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.’ But the righteousness that comes from 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 abyss?” ’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 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.’
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’
My Bible titled this scripture, Salvation Is for All. What does it mean to be saved? When I was a child, being saved meant not going to hell. My mother told us she was so afraid of the devil as a child that she ran as fast as she could to the outhouse at night so the devil could not grab her and pull her to hell.
The Greek word translated as saved in this scripture is 4982 sṓzō (from sōs, “safe, rescued”) – properly, 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)*.
To me, the word saved speaks to the here and now. I love the phrase that God draws us within God’s provision. Sin is a moral evil, the intentional separation from the will of God. When one believes in God, one accepts that God’s purpose and plan for humanity is the right and just way to live. We have been gifted with the Ten Commandments, the words of the prophets, for example, Micah 6:8: He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Jesus taught us how to live through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Jesus tells us how he judges us and our nation in Matthew 25:31-46. We know what is right and what is just. We sometimes choose not to practice what is right and what is just. In those times when we separate ourselves from God, we must time and again confess our sins and return to the safety of God’s plan for all life.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we get caught up in the ways of the world that pull us away from your loving Spirit. Save us. Amen.
* https://biblehub.com/greek/4982.htm
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.