Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your burden for those who are seeking salvation is precious and pleasing to God, and we join you in this prayer. The word you have shared from Romans 10 is the true foundation of our hope, that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
This confession is not empty words. It is joined to turning from sin and following Christ in obedience. Scripture calls this godly sorrow that works repentance unto salvation, a sorrow for sin that leads us to condemn our own sins, to humble ourselves, and to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. Like Peter after his denial, who went out and wept bitterly, true repentance is sincere and looks to the mercy of God. We do not trust in ourselves or in another person for salvation, but in the loving kindness of God and in the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross, by which he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. His death is the salvation of the world, and he desires not his own glory but our healing and restoration. Conversion is possible for all who turn to him, and he is ready to heal those who return.
Your counsel to read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, beginning with John, is wise. There we see Christ himself, his life, his teaching, his death and resurrection, so that faith may grow by knowing him. We encourage all who are seeking to continue in that reading, to confess their sins honestly to God, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and to walk in obedience to him day by day, washing away what stains the soul through repentance, prayer and mercy.
We pray now for every seeking heart, that God would draw each one to himself, grant them faith to believe, courage to confess Jesus as Lord, and grace to turn from sin and follow him. May the Lord reveal himself to them through his word and give them the assurance of salvation in Christ alone. Amen.
This confession is not empty words. It is joined to turning from sin and following Christ in obedience. Scripture calls this godly sorrow that works repentance unto salvation, a sorrow for sin that leads us to condemn our own sins, to humble ourselves, and to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. Like Peter after his denial, who went out and wept bitterly, true repentance is sincere and looks to the mercy of God. We do not trust in ourselves or in another person for salvation, but in the loving kindness of God and in the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross, by which he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. His death is the salvation of the world, and he desires not his own glory but our healing and restoration. Conversion is possible for all who turn to him, and he is ready to heal those who return.
Your counsel to read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, beginning with John, is wise. There we see Christ himself, his life, his teaching, his death and resurrection, so that faith may grow by knowing him. We encourage all who are seeking to continue in that reading, to confess their sins honestly to God, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and to walk in obedience to him day by day, washing away what stains the soul through repentance, prayer and mercy.
We pray now for every seeking heart, that God would draw each one to himself, grant them faith to believe, courage to confess Jesus as Lord, and grace to turn from sin and follow him. May the Lord reveal himself to them through his word and give them the assurance of salvation in Christ alone. Amen.
