This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Considering the Church” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, December 5, 1993.

This morning we are reading from Romans, Paul’s letter to the Romans, and we begin with verse one of chapter ten. This is Romans ten, verse one. Let’s listen to the word of God. Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.

For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven, that is, to bring Christ down from above, or who shall descend into the deep, that is, to bring Christ again from the dead. But what sayeth it, the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart? That is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?

As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed the gospel for Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing. and hearing by the Word of God. But I say, have they not heard? Yes, barely. Their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world. But I say, did not Israel know?

First, Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Isaiah is very bold and saith, I was found of them that sought me not. and was made manifest unto them that ask not after me. But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and namesaying people.”

As you look at this 10th chapter in Romans, I call your attention to that 9th verse. Indeed, a very famous verse, and I’m sure one that many of you have committed to memory. But to underscore the importance of this verse, I want you also to drop down a bit to a parallel text, verse 13, and what Paul says there. And I want you to consider the way in which these two texts complement each other. Underscored, as you look at these texts now together, is the grave seriousness of what the Apostle is indebting to say. That’s certainly set before us by the concluding words in each of those verses the promise laid therein, you shall be saved.” There are weighty matters, then, to be considered as we think about what the Apostle is saying here.

Just how weighty is understood if we See verse 13 in the context from which it is drawn out of the Old Testament. Paul here in the 13th verse of this 10th chapter is quoting from the prophecy of Joel. Joel 2 verse 32. Joel’s interest in that text is the great and terrible day of the Lord, the coming day of wrath. So specifically what is in view as Joel then goes on to speak about salvation is salvation specifically from the wrath that is impending, the wrath that is coming in the great and terrible day of the Lord. Is there anything then more weighty than this? Can we conceive of anything more serious than this? In view is the judgment, and here, in light of the judgment, is set before the people of God this promise, Thou shalt be saved. From what? From unfortunate things that may well overtake us in the ordinary course of our lives, Saved from what? Periodic unhappinesses? Disturbances to our equilibrium? Saved from what? Saved from the wrath of God. From His judgment. and its eternal consequences.

We see then, as we match Romans 10.9 with 10.13, that the most serious matters are most definitely in view. as Paul builds off of Joel 2, verse 32, to bring before his readers, before his hearers, the seriousness of God’s wrath and judgment.

But also laid within that prophecy and statement from the prophet Joel, is Paul’s doctrine whereby we might be saved. For nothing less than justification by faith is present in Joel, no less than in Paul. And you then, when Joel would have us call upon the name of the Lord, It is not with respect to some sort of worthiness that we have inside ourselves, some sort of merit that we can claim, some advantage that we can set before God and say, on the basis of this advantage, you are obligated, God, to save us. No, not at all. What is specifically in view here is the fact that this individual must cast himself in faith completely upon the mercy of God. We are called upon then by Joel to cast ourselves in faith upon the name of our God. who by that name is bound in covenant to save those who put their trust in him.” This means, then, that this thirteenth verse acts as a summary statement, pulled out of the Old Testament, even. A summary statement of Paul’s doctrine, of his teaching, even in its most comprehensive sense.

Judgment and wrath, but also justification of the sinner who casts himself in faith upon the Lord. that we will do well to push beyond the fact that Joel 2.32 serves as a summary statement of Paul’s doctrine, because it can hardly be denied that Paul has Joel 32 in mind already when he writes verse 9, that he frames that ninth verse, which is so important to us, so well-known by us, against the background of that statement in Joel, which he quotes later on in the chapter. This means, then, that Paul, even before he sets that Joel statement before us, is, as it were, providing us a commentary, an explanation of his understanding of that Joel prophecy in light now of what has transpired in and through Jesus Christ. Do you want Paul’s commentary on Joel chapter 2? Here it is. in Romans 10, verse 9. Now, I ask you to note the changes that Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, works throughout this ninth verse. First of all, with regard to the name.

Note the 13th verse again. and Joel’s prophecy. Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord, well, we understand who that is, do we not? Why, that’s the covenantal Lord Jehovah, God of Israel. But you back up to the ninth verse, and how is it that the Lord here is described? At the end of that first line of the ninth verse, it is not simply the Lord, but the Lord Jesus. I don’t have to spell it out for you.

Here is one of those texts in which Paul is very deliberately, however subtly, laying before his audience his conviction that Jesus is himself the Lord, the Lord in the sense that he is the visitation of Jehovah, the God of Israel, to this earth, come in the flesh. Jesus is Lord and He is God. If there then is to be any calling upon the name of the Lord in light now of what God has recently done, it must be a calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus. No other approach will do. But I want you to note also the further change which Paul makes in this ninth verse. Very important.

You see how the Joel prophecy reads, whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. There’s a certain liability to that prophecy. Now, by that I’m not suggesting there is an error or in terms of the inspiration of Joel the prophet, but there is a certain liability. For, can you imagine the Israelites standing before that text in the days of Joel, thinking, well, yes, judgment coming on Israel, but if I trust in the Lord, I, by myself, personally, individually, then I, personally, individually, will be saved. And the focus is liable to be deflected from a people to purely the individual. But note now the alteration given by Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

As he reflects on that sure prophecy, he sets it down, if you confess with your mouth, the Lord Jesus.” The calling upon the name of the Lord here is translated into a confession. And what is this business of confession? What is a confession? We hear about it in the Old Testament. In fact, we sang of it as we opened the service this morning from Psalm 40, as the psalmist speaks about confessing the wonderful works of God before His people. There’s the line of it. We hear of it also in the 51st Psalm as David speaks about confessing his sin.

You might recall what took place in David’s confession of his sin. It wasn’t just him privately making his confession. He actually goes to the tabernacle and, in a public display, confesses his sin. Adding weight to this understanding of confession, we have the words of Jesus Himself from the 10th chapter of Matthew, the 32nd verse, where He speaks about His disciples being willing to confess Him before men.

Again, a public act. Now, granted, in the Matthew passage, in view is persecution, and the fact that we must be bold to confess our Lord when our life is on the line. Here, as we move now to the tenth chapter of Romans, something else is brought into view.

Oh yes, it is public. Isn’t that clear? Don’t the words, by your mouth or with your mouth, make it clear to you that this is a public act? Here is something that is done so that other people can hear it. A confession, then, is a public act. But we push a little bit further in understanding this notion of confession.

If we were to translate the word literally, it would mean to say the same thing as. To say the same thing as who? Well, to say the same thing as God Himself, for instance, with respect to His Son, that in fact, Jesus is Lord, and God, by raising Him from the dead, has made Him to be Lord, and worthy of that name. But also, to say the same thing as all other people who acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, and that in a public declaration.

You see what Paul is thriving at here? laid beneath the lines in this statement in Romans 10-9 is the public act of confession by which people come into the congregation of God’s people and declare themselves for the Lord. And that, in the presence of others who can scrutinize what they say, and even hold them accountable for what they say.

Am I out of bounds, then, to suggest to you that in this text, Romans 10.9, the Church is very much at the forefront of the consciousness of the Apostles? Do you understand, then, the seriousness of what you have done when you confessed Jesus as Lord, even in the presence of this congregation?

Read the verse again. In the balance is your salvation. If you will confess with your mouth in the presence of God’s people, before God himself, that Jesus is Lord, and if you will maintain integrity in that confession, if you will persevere, you will be saved. From what The wrath of God. The wrath of God. Paul isn’t naive. He knows, as we all do, that words can come very easily. So he adds to this statement, which begins the ninth verse, that other parallel statement. Not just that you confess with your mouth, but that you believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. O, that our hearts would match our mouths, and our affections our confessions.

Won’t you give yourself fresh, you who have confessed Jesus as Lord? to the full power of what you see and read here in this verse for your internal well-being. And those of you, those of you who haven’t, in fact, will you think about that matter in light of what we’ve said? And then those of you who struggle because you suspect your heart doesn’t match your words. Won’t you think again? Meditate on the verse. Come to appropriate conclusions.

Mend your life and live for God’s glory. Give us grace, our God. Give us grace, indeed, through your means of grace, that even the word which we’ve heard today would prove beneficial and effective in us. That our prayers might not be hindered, but heard, your grace communicated to us through them. And also, as we have the word set before us in the form of the sacrament, may we be instructed by it. And in this, our God, may we know that this matter of our salvation is not just a private and individual concern, but indeed we are called into the fellowship and communion of your people. And may we honor that relationship that you have established for us in the midst of the assembly, and give you glory. We pray in Jesus name, who presides over his church, who saves his

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