Missusing Romans 10:9

Last year my wife told me a story about a friend of hers that had spent a year considering leaving herhusband for another man. As she determined to find some Biblical refrence as grounds for divorce she only became more frustrated at the lack scripture that would excuse her from her marriage.

One day while in the park (contiplating her sin and maybe a little afraid about stepping in that direction) she was approached by two young evangelists from a local church out sharing their faith. This is how the conversation went:

"Hi, if you died today would you know for sure that you would go to heaven."

"I dont know if I would."

"Well, have you ever asked Jesus into your haert."

"Yes I have."

"Then the Bible Says 'That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.'"

These two young men left her with a track and went on there way thinking they had done God a favor. She has since left her husband and child and lived in an adulterous relationship for the last 8 months.

Doesnt God warn the false prophets not to do the very thing we call "winning someone to Christ". "For they have healed the crushings of my people superfacially, saying peace, peace when there is no peace."

Brothers and sisters before we take people to Romans chapter 10 lets make sure they have had a journey through the first 9 chapters. If Romans 10:9 was the first thing that we needed to do, then it would be written in Romans chapter 1. But instead, Paul declares that he is not ashamed of the gospel and the just shall live by faith.

What exactly does the gospel entail? This is explained in the next 16 chapters of the book of Romans. He begins his analysis by creating an arguement that lasts almost through the entirety of chapter 3. This agrguements sole purpose is to condemn every living person on the face of this planet. Chapter 4 and 5 explains how sin entered in to the world and the remedy for it, which is the propitiation for our sins. Chapter 6 is regeneration explained in detail. By the time we get to chapter 8 we have a saved person "who does not walk according to flesh, but according to the Spirit" and the glorious witness of the Spirit. Chapter 10 is assuming that you have expierenced all of this.

I have seen too many people living for the world, and loving sin, and seeing the rest of the church, claim that they belong to Christ because one time they made a public profession of Jesus.

Everybody knows John 3:16 but before we get to John 3:16, we have to look at John 3:14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpant in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up."

Lets consider this verse for a seconed. 1500yrs b.c. the Israelites have rebelled against God, they spoke against God and Moses, and the Lord sent firey serpants amoung the people and they bit the people, and many of the people died. Therefore the people came to Moses and said 'we have sinned' and the Lord told Moses make a firey serpant and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten shall look up at it and live.

Who rebelled against God? They all did. Who came forward to recieve the healing when the looked upon the brass serpant? Only those who had been bitten and knew that they were about to die condemned.

Lets make sure that before we bring someone to John 3:16, they realize that they have bitten by sin and are now condemned. How else will one turn to God with their whole heart and be saved?

"Put them in fear O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men." psalm 9:20 The implication is that most dont believe they are but mere men.

It takes a greater love to wrestle with the lost over their salvation, with all longsuffering, than it does to quote a verse and declare one saved, and allow them to go into enternal damnation. The truth of this docterine has made us the most unpopular people that we know. This is not pleasing to my flesh but I fear God and not man. Lets pray that we are led by the Spirit of God and not the cunningness of our of our own abilities

The testimony of truth and saving
grace of the gospel should always
be on our lips; and the witness
of GOD'S love and GOD'S Spirit
should be manifest in our hearts
and lives.
A tract seldom wins any to the LORD.
A living witness who shines with the
light of the gospel often does.

A tract seldom wins any to the LORD.

Should Christians still use Gospel Tracts to share the gospel with if they are ineffective?

A living witness who shines with the light of the gospel often does.

Amen!

In light of this tragic story and use of witnessing to a adulterer using gospel tracts... how do we respond when somebody says, "Have you accepted Jesus into your heart?"

Doug

hi, i lovingly would like to disagree and state that this person would have run off with the other guy no matter what the well meaning people who where trying to witness to her would have told her. 46 years ago i was led to the Lord by a man using the exact verse and it took and in my life i have seen many bow their knee to the Lord with this verse being used.i have watched a show on tv called wretched... he witnesses with the are you a sinner method e.g. have you ever told a lie etc. and have never seen him lead anyone to anything but irritation over being humiliated. all have sinned and come short and the wages of sin is death but the GIFT of God is eternal life...Jesus loves you and died that you might have eternal life.He put the cookies on the bottom shelf so that a child could understand and be saved.Now comes the problem...do we follow up on these newly birthed ones and help them to grow and wipe their tears when they fall...i saw a 10 month old trying to walk today and it was beautiful to watch him fall and get back up again and again.that is what babies do...in life and in the spiritual life also.jimp

My mom first came to know the Lord through a gospel tract distributed by door-to-door evangelists. I don't think the specific methodology really matters to God (be it tracts or not), so long as the full gospel is preached.

I also believe Romans 10:9 summarizes the salvation message pretty neatly. However, the significance of saying "Jesus is Lord" is not always understood.

I say this in love and I pray it comes across that way.

If any written material has the Word of God on it it is good. Who knows who will end up reading it. Maybe not even the person who it was given too. Of course our lives of living right before God is most important but to say tracts are not good when they have the Written Scripture in them is wrong. I have passed out tracts in the past and asked the Holy Spirit to get them to the people He chooses.

I agree, this woman had already set in her heart to leave her family. She was just looking for some kind of justification to ease the nagging Holy Spirit's conviction. But God gave us a free will and she used it. Remember, we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Maybe not in this situation but in similar - none of us can point the finger lest we become self-righteous which stinks in the sight of God.

We need to pray for this lady and the family she left and the man she is with. This is what revival is - saving the lost. I pray You Holy Spirit will bring conviction, salvation, comfort and grace to these people. As we are dear Lord, they are in need of a Savior. We pray You will bring Your children into their lives to take them to You Dearest Lord. Give them a hatred for sin and a hunger for You and Your righteousness. We love You Lord and I pray I have offended no one by this reply.

Scripture validates experience more than experience validates scripture.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, that when grown turns into a mighty tree that the birds of the air rest in.

The kingdom of heaven is like heated water passing through coffee beans, that when pressed through, out of measure...the bean fills its bouquet into all the water.

I must apolagize brothers because this thread was not ment to determine as to weather or not passing out tracks is right or wrong. But the burden that the Lord has placed upon my heart is taking scripture out of context.

By all means Romans 10:9 is a very important verse, but it is most powerful in light of the entire book. The question isnt Have you called upon Jesus Christ, But have you seen the enormity of your sin so that you turned to Him with your Whole heart.

Every coffee mug in the Bible bookstore reads Jeremiah 29:11- "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." But we must also recognize Jeremiah 29:13- "And you will seek Me and find Me,when you search for Me with all your heart.

How will sinfull man search for God with ALL there heart unless they become desparate enough to do so. And how will they become desparate unless the FULL councel of God is declared.

We are missing two things in our preaching today. 1) who man is- that is, that he is wretched sinfull being. And not just that he is a sinner, but that all he ever did was sin.2) who God is- He is not just a lamb, but He is the lion of the tribe of judah. We need to remember that he always was and always will be A lion, But He became a lamb.

Brothers and sisters all im asking is that we invest a little time in peoples lives so that we can find out (through the Spirit of God) What there spiritual need is.

"And on some have compassion, Making a distinction: But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, Hating even the garments defiled by the flesh. (Jude 1:22-23).

In Christ,
Matthew

Also I must clearify that my own sins are as equally wretched and dark in the sight of God. Im not pointing fingers at this young lady or the young evangelists. And its not their fault that she left her family. It was in fact her choice.

What i would rather see is a body of believers that love enough to wrestle with souls!

My wife and i have both agonized in prayer and fasting over this womans eternal state. My concern is that there are thousands of these stories because its easy to jump to peek of the gospel instead of preaching the whole thing.

Do people get saved through this kind of evangelism? Yes, but inspite of this technique and not because of it.

God bless you guys,
Matthew

My view on Romans 10:9 is that that it is an all-encompassing verse, and I believe the emphasis of the verse is on addressing Jesus as Lord. However, people don't always understand the implications of that i.e. what it truly means to have Jesus as Lord (as mentioned in my earlier post). Romans 10:9 is then twisted into a verbal formula, by which you can get to heaven.

Dear brothers and sisters I must reiterate that this thread is not about weather or not we should pass out tracks or not. The truth is that she would have gone full speed in to her sin weather or not someone would have explained the gospel correctly.

The whole point is that the two young men were so quick to declaring her saved without talking to her. I pulled this story from my memory bank out of many of the same kind.
My concern is that this wonderful verse that is used so often has become the cliche of the modern church.

Before we bring someone to Romans 10:9 lets find out if they have been through the first 3 chapters (spiritualy speaking).

hi, i understand that we must not quote a reaping scripture before we quote a hoeing or planting scripure but sayin that... there is no qualifying for salvation ...the only thing you must do is turn your lifes rule over to the Lord and believe and confess this publicly...i also hate the method of asking if someone had ever told a lie or stolen etc...the key is the Holy Spirit must do the birthing and not a method or a story or me.jim

Dear Jim,
You are absolutely right in saying that there is no prerequisite for salvation but only through the work of the Holy Spirit. My concern is in the lukewarm soul, that does not understand that he is poor, wretched, naked and blind, but has confessed Jesus with his lips and feels himself to be comfortable and content with his "salvation".

John MacArthur once said and rightfully so "Do you know what your profession of Chirst means...absolutely nothing, because in Matthew Chapter 7 Jesus said 'Not everyone who says to me 'Lord,Lord', shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father...and then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me you workers of iniquity'."

Dear brother, we must invest our lives in others, and wrestle with souls. There is a entirely different reality, hidden beneath the surface of every person. When we speak to someone we must reach their conscience by the Holy Spirit. The majority of mankind does not believe that they are guilty, and the law is to demonstrate that they are. This is the sole purpose of the first three chapters in the book of Romans. We have spent a great deal of time counseling inmates, in which case very few believe they are guilty according to the law. They will be more apt to give excuses and blame others rather than accept personal responsibilty.

I dont neccessarily agree with the method of bringing asking someone if the have ever told a lie either. Especially when its not done in love but rather a technique to prove your point. We must not manipulate people into the Kingdom of God, but they must first see their need for a Savior. George Whitfield said that he preaches Mt.Sanai before he preaches Mt.Zion.

You say that these people are only humiliated by this technique, but does not God give grace to the humble?
Jesus told a story about a father that told his son to go into a field and work for him, initially the son said no, but later regretted it and went.

Sir, if I am wrong, then please correct me through the scriptures.

God bless you brother.
Matthew

I agree with you Matt that people abuse the passage, you are right absolutely. God ONLY gives grace to the humble...one of the most remarkable statements in all scripture if you ask me.

hi, i also agree with you but it has never been my experience to minister to many people who did not know they were as dumb as i am and as lost as cooter brown. we are who we are because of Jesus and see things differently because of our history with life. i have usually ministered to the bottom of the barrel type folks because i do love them... i start off by telling them how we all are sinners,but some are paying the price for their sins now and that makes it more obvious to everyone when you stand out in the crowd like i used to and you still do...it is like you have a sign on you that says how much you need Jesus to come and deliver you out of your sin and bring you to higher ground.jimp

Hi,I thank everyone for good discussion. I just want to add. 2Timothy 2:19 says,
"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (KJV)
"Nevetheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this insripition,: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." (NIV)

I agree with what has been said, it is truly a tradgedy and a terrible sin that men would use God's words out of context to fuel their lies for the farce that they call "salvation"

hi, and you must turn away from wickedness...if you do this than you can say look what i have done...the power of the cross...the Holy Spirit must be the convictor and deliverer of sin.jimp

amen augustine! i was just thinking of those verses the other day. Sealed! :)