Wednesday, August 5, 2026
For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, … “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, 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. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For “everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.” … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:5-6a, 8b-13, 17)
This passage used to cause me a lot of trouble when I was a teenager. I had some evangelical friends, and we read that bit about confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and we turned it into a scary requirement. We thought, “That means I have to make a scary, public confession of my faith in Jesus—the more public, the better. Basically, it has to be embarrassing and painful. And I have to use those exact words, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ or else it won’t count.”
You can see all the problems in this, right? As immature Christians, we were making God’s salvation all about what we do, not about what God does. We created a new law for ourselves.
But that’s a huge mistake. Paul wasn’t setting up a rule for us to follow so we could guarantee our own salvation! No, he was describing what happens naturally to anyone who believes in Jesus. The Holy Spirit plants faith in our hearts, and then that faith overflows into our lives. God handles the whole thing from beginning to end—not us.
It’s actually quite hard to hide your faith in Jesus, even if you want to! Things come flying out of your mouth that make it clear you belong to Jesus, whether you meant to say that or not. You promise to pray for people in trouble. You turn down an invitation to breakfast, as you’ll be in church at that time. You do something that seems natural to you but surprises the non-Christians around you—for example, lending your car to a neighbor, or forgiving someone who’s spread rumors about you. And then people want to know why. And they ask you!
The Lord handles our salvation from beginning to end, not us. Jesus is the One who suffers and dies for us; who rises from the dead for us; and who gives us His Holy Spirit. And the Spirit lives in us, doing His work, even when we aren’t conscious of it.
WE PRAY: Jesus, You are my Lord; please live in and through me, so that the people around me can come to trust in You, too. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions: