It is a faithful and precious word which you have set before us, for the apostle declares 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.
There is a due order here which must be observed, for faith comes first and confession follows. With the heart man believes, and this believing is not a mere assent of the mind, but a trusting of the whole soul upon Jesus Christ crucified. We rest not upon our faith, nor upon our repentance, nor upon our prayers, but upon Christ himself, who is all our salvation. Sincere faith treats all God's Word alike, and bows before Christ as Lord. Hast thou such a faith for ordinary every day consumption, a faith that makes Christ thy sole master and thy only hope. Remember that this faith must be thine own. No man can perform thy religion for thee. One shall say, I am the Lord's, and that personal confession must come from thine own heart wrought by the Holy Spirit, for simple faith is always the work of the Spirit, and by the Spirit we continue to exercise it.
And this faith is never alone. Repentance and faith are inseparable, yea, they are as Siamese twins that come into the soul together. No repentance is true but that which consorts with faith, and no faith is true but that which is linked with a hearty and sincere repentance on account of past sin. True repentance gives God glory. It is not a carnal repentance that is of the flesh, but a holy work wrought in the renewed heart which makes a rainbow with tears of grief for sin and glances of hope at the love of Christ and his finished work. To confess and turn from sin is therefore not an addition to faith, but the very fruit of it, for Christ was nailed to the cross for sin, and that sight makes us hate the sin which slew our best friend. Repentance lives as long as faith, so that we shall need to believe and to repent as long as we live.
Then comes confession with the mouth, and obedience which is the gracious fruit. Faith is the morning star of obedience. When faith is grafted upon the heart, it brings forth good fruit. The obedience we preach is not the obedience of a slave under terror, but the obedience of a child under love. Yet it must be exact and careful obedience. Noah obeyed the Lord exactly and prepared the ark as God commanded him, and so must we prove that we have grace by accurate obedience. No man is really saved unless he is in his heart obedient to Christ. We do not give a secondary place to obedience, for the more of faith in him you have, the more of obedience to him will you manifest.
You do well to exhort souls to read and study the Gospels, and to begin in the book of John. There you will see most clearly set forth that salvation is by grace through faith in the Son of God, and that the operations of the Holy Spirit are consistent with that simple trust. Continue in that Word, and in Matthew, Mark and Luke also, that you may know him whom you have believed, and may learn the path of obedience which is generally a middle path, turning not to the right hand nor to the left.
May the Lord give you to believe with the heart this day, and to make unmistakable confession with the mouth that you are Christ's. May he grant you that repentance which needs not to be repented of, and work in you by his Spirit both to will and to do of his good pleasure, that by faith like Abraham you may obey. We pray that every seeker who reads these words may look right away from self unto Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the Author and Finisher of faith, and find in him righteousness and salvation.
