"But what does it say? 'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess 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 you confess and are saved.
Romans 10:8-10.

IN the previous sermon we saw that Paul was proving that salvation is not achieved by hard labour and completing tasks like the labours of Hercules, but that it is within the grasp of all who will receive the word of truth and believe it. He has pointed out that if we seek to climb up to heaven by our own efforts, or think that hell will embrace us unless we win our freedom from it by our works, then we are denying all that Christ has done. We are denying that Christ rose from the dead and so finished with death for all who believe on him; or we insult Christ by suggesting that when he died he did not make full atonement for sin.

So Paul explains that to believe is only what is required i.e. to believe in Christ and rest our soul upon his work for us.

We need to take to heart these words of Paul that follow, for by doing so the nature of the way of faith that saves will be impressed upon our soul.

THE WORD IS NEAR YOU.

The Word here is the truth of the Gospel that Christ and all the apostles preached, and which is in embryo right through the Old Testament. For us today, and in every day since the time of the apostles, the Word is the truth of the Bible understood and explained in its plain and obvious meaning.

The Word is near us because the Bible is available. Anyone, at least in a large part of the world, can get hold of a Bible, and read it. Even though it is a very large book, and there are difficult parts in it to understand, the Word of truth is still near, and when we read the Bible there is plenty which is plain and clear, specially the central truth of the gospel of salvation.

Further the Word is near because the earnest seeker after salvation will never read the Bible without help. The promise of Christ, and the testimony of the Word itself, is that the Holy Spirit will graciously help our reading and open up our minds to understand and our hearts to receive the Word.

The nearness of the Word is in the fact that all can hear it, by voice and by reading it, if they will. It is near because the truth of salvation is simple enough for the smallest of intellect to understand, and big enough for the greatest intellect to receive. It is near because anybody who will can receive it and believe it. There is no big conditions, no incomprehensible words or sentences. There is no excuse for not believing if we are in earnest about our souls because the Holy Spirit draws near to open our understanding.

All can read, or find someone to read to them if they can't read themselves. If a person does not receive salvation it is not because it is far away, or unavailable, or hard to understand, or cluttered with impossible conditions. All who will may receive the Word because it is within reach.

IT IS IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART.

The word of salvation is in your mouth to speak it and in the heart to embrace it. What Paul is expressing hear is that the word of salvation, the Gospel of salvation, is not something that is outside us which we have to earn like we earn money or earn respect. Rather it is inside a person, working from the inside out. However we must not understand that it is near naturally, because we are certainly not born with it naturally, but rather born without it. What is being declared is that unlike almost everything else, the word of salvation is not obtained by working for it from outside ourself, but is put within us when we receive and believe it.

The word of salvation is near because it is a word presented to us freely in the Bible, but when we receive it by faith, and believe it, a transformation takes place within us. It is a power within our soul or heart which we embrace, and because of this we speak of it with joy and assurance with the mouth. In the next two verses Paul explains what he means.

THAT IS THE WORD WE ARE PROCLAIMING.

This word of salvation is made known by preaching. The truth of the Bible is expounded and explained. In this way the word of truth is brought near all who will listen. Here again we see the nearness is in the fact that it is proclaimed for all to hear and receive. It is not like the Holy Grail which is obtained by acts of sacrifice and bravery, but is offered freely.

It is for this reason that the word of truth is in the reach of everyone. Each of us can refuse to listen or refuse to accept it, but this is not the fault of the word of truth, but our own fault.

If the word of truth is received and believed then it brings about an inner change within which is powerful in the heart. By the heart we do not understand the physical organ that pumps blood around our body, but our inner being where we see our affections, thought and will. The word of truth is a powerful force which takes over our life for good and for God, and governs our life so that it powerfully effects the way we think, and the way we feel. By this word of truth we find that we love God and the ways of God and want to please God. This is not something we work up, but is put within us. We do indeed nurture this new nature by the means God has given us, by faith, and by the Bible, and by prayer, and by the means God has given such as worship and fellowship, but the life is placed within us by the Spirit of God.

What Paul is telling us as we shall see in the next verses is that this inner life is not gained by great tasks or impossible conditions, but is available to all who will receive the word of truth as it is preached.

ASSESSMENT.

It will be good and worthwhile at this point to assess what we has been affirmed by Paul so far.

Paul's main thrust in what he has been saying here is to show believers that the word of salvation is in them, and so prevent them from returning to human effort to obtain salvation. Satan is continually seeking to cause this to happen. He uses our failures and our falling under temptation to return to the idea that before God will forgive and bless we have to do something to show we are sorry, and to atone for our failure and sin, before God will renew his love towards us. Paul tells us here that the word is in our mouth and in our heart, and the way of assurance, acceptance and blessing is in receiving by faith always, and leaning our soul on Jesus.

Paul is also speaking to the religious, like the Pharisees, who see salvation and acceptance with God in terms of works. Catholic theology, whether Roman or Anglican, speak of baptism as canceling all original sin, and giving a person a deposit of grace, after which a person commences life with a clean slate, and this gift of grace to work righteousness which will then win acceptance from God. Paul's teaching here is that by faith in the word preached concerning Christ, and resting our soul upon this word of truth, it is a power within us of new life which can never be lost. The word of salvation is always near us because it is within us through the merits of Christ. It is in our mouth and in our heart. We live for God from this life which he has bestowed. Our works are works of love for God, and not works of merit to win God's favour. God's favour is ours through Christ, and the word of truth testifies to this.

We have also seen that salvation is within the ability of all to receive and to lay hold of. It is near every person because the word of truth in the Bible is there for all to read if they will. We have learnt also that it is proclaimed by preaching for people to hear and believe. It is near for all to receive if they will, but it must be received and believed. Everybody and anybody can read and believe. There is no impediment outside any of us restraining a person from saying yes to Christ, and claiming him by faith as Lord and Saviour. Because of this, salvation is freely offered to all.

Here is the nature of free will. There is no force on earth that can prevent a person choosing Christ if they want to. But this is all we can say about our free will. It is true we have freedom of choice to chose Christ or refuse Christ. The word is near us. We can take it into our minds and we can believe it in our hearts. The crux of the matter is wanting. Here is where free will breaks down.

The Pharisees had no outward reason that made it impossible for them to receive salvation. They could listen to Christ, and they could understand his words, and if they had chosen they could have believed in him. We see this fact illustrated in the life of Nicodemus, who was a ruler of the Jews. It is true that the Pharisees would have to give up much if they believed, but the choice is still free to make for them. This is also true if a totalitarian regime persecutes or coerces people who do believe the word of truth, for a person still can choose to believe, for no one in the end can prevent us thinking and making a choice to believe.

The crunch lies within a person. The Pharisees did not believe because of the condition of their minds. Freedom to chose is always limited by our inner likes and desires. A person is free to eat any vegetable that is available, but if a particular vegetable is loathed by a person, that person will never chose to eat it. The bent of our heart naturally is enmity to God. It does not love God, want God, or is attracted to God. Even if the word is preached, and offered freely, a person though free to chose to believe, will never believe because they do not want to believe. They love darkness rather than light. So we see how sovereign grace opened up to us in chapter 9 is needed. Each person needs God to chose to give salvation and so incline our heart to receive it. Our freedom of choice is always limited by our nature.