Hello Karl,
Thank you for replying, it is about seeking God rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6).
The power of God to Salvation is found in the Gospel of Christ. That is where one starts and finds and learn about many things about Jesus, and God.
The Gospel of Christ is where transformation of the hearts is found.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)
It’s not always just about professing with your mouth Jesus Jesus; but it has to come from the heart that is what you truly believe.
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Romans 10:9-10 NASB1995
That word confess is meaning from your heart your mouth speaks the same thing. So if you really believe that Jesus came, died, was risen again from your heart and mind it will be something that comes from your own mouth because it what you truly believe, friend.
3670. homologeó - confess/profess
1. properly, to say the same thing as another, i. e. to agree with, assent, both absolutely and with a dative of the person; often so in Greek writings from Herodotus down; hence,
2. universally, to concede; i. e.
The resurrection plays a key role in the Gospel of Christ as well… it’s not something to just play off as not important.
You can’t have faith in the Gospel if you don’t believe Jesus was risen again from the dead.
Thank you again for sharing and taking time to comment,
With love,
Matthew G
Ps:
Here is something of the same thing Jesus declared from his heart, to the people about the day of wrath would fall upon the nation of Israel that they professed with their mouth but their hearts where far from them; and Jesus told them to depart away from Him because he never knew them. Because they did not believe from their heart that he was the promised Messiah.
Who came, eventually killed by the Jews, died on the cross, and was buried after dying a horrible death and was raised again.
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
Matthew 7:22-23 NASB1995
Politicians are known for saying things without really saying anything. It's just put together to sound good.
You combine that with the fact the the Lord tends to speak in parables and saying and you can get some things said that really just throw off anyone. It's goes back to what the Lord told Isaiah:
Is 6:9,10 He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
“Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”
It's not really hard to understand, but you won't unless you actually figure out the very simple thing, which is that the Lord is there to speak to you personally and explain.
Let me give an example:
it is about seeking God rewards those who seek him
I find the above interesting because it is actually a correct statement, but I am not sure by the reading it that anyone is going to actually understand how it is actually correct. What are God's rewards?
To seek something you kind of need a rough idea what you are seeking. The statement does actually give you an idea though. It says 'who seek him" Jesus is God's reward, but that same statement says 'rewards' not reward. So what are the rewards?
The rewards are His words!!!
So if you seek Him and find Him, you find His words that He personally speaks to you!!
The most common words/ rewards I get from Him are "Karl, I love you." Now you can read your Bible and find out that God is love, but the Bible was written to all, so it is not to you personally. Yet when He tells me personally, "Karl, I love you", that is personal and specific to me and it is His reward to me for seeking Him.
Now there is an interesting verse in the Bible:
Jn 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
Please note a couple of things. The Bible is not spirit, it is ink on pages. It is a record that includes many words that the Spirit spoke to those who wrote the Bible, but those words were heard by them, not you. Those words were recorded and kept for all to read, and since they were from God to those who wrote them, and then written down for all, we should read them, but reading them is not the same as hearing Him say something personal to you, like "... I love you".
Now if you still don't understand; faith comes from hearing those personal words that He has to say to you! Those words of His are from His Holy Spirit to our spirit, and you don't read them you hear them with your spiritual ears. They are your reward for seeking Him.
So it is about seeking God's rewards (His words personally spoke to you), and He does reward (speak to) those who seek Him. Yet would anyone understand that from the way the statement was worded?
Now as far as the resurrection, We would not and could not hear the words from our Lord Jesus Christ, via His Holy Spirit, if He had not been resurrected. So it was important, and I was not "just play off as not important." as someone assumed. Yet the important part is Him speaking to you!! That is the reward (Him) who we are supposed to be hearing from Today! Of course if you do start hearing from Him you find out that He explains this to you, so it does not sound so much like a parable or something a politicians, who is trying to sound smart but is saying nothing, would say.
Paul, because He was hearing the Lord wrote it down as a parable or saying:
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
It means that Paul is not ashamed to speak the Good News (which is that we can hear from the Lord Jesus Christ if we seek Him). Because His words give us life which is salvation. Of course you have to hear by faith that He is there, because His words are spirit. And of course we read that God spoke to Abraham and the physical line went to the Jews first, but also the rest of the world also. So anyone can open up to Jesus Christ and hear from Him.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
But does everyone hear His voice and open up to Him, so that they might eat together (and hear words like "Karl, I love you")
I was at a church with a small prayer team that church had, when suddenly the Lord ask me to ask the couple of other people there if they had ever heard the small voice of the Lord tell them that He loved them? It turned out they had never heard Him say that to them, and wind up taking offense at the question, as if they needed to hear the Lord say that He love them because they already knew that. It says so in the Bible.
So how much do Christians hear from Him. How many are really opening up to Him? He is alive, because He was resurrected and the Kingdom of God is in your midst!
He also once told me, "Like instructions are given to servants, wisdom to sons, jokes to friends, so 'I love you' is told to a bride."
I hear people at church talk about the personal relationship we are supposed to have with our Lord Jesus Christ, so can I assume they get instructions, wisdom, jokes, and hear Him tell them 'I love you'. That small prayer team, when I asked per the Lord, had not heard that. Some do though. I was at a thrift store one day and had just found a nice parallel Bible for a buck when a man came by telling people about Jesus Christ. So I asked Him what Jesus told Him. He stopped, considered and told me, "Jesus tells me He loves me just as I am." It was nice to hear from someone with such a great understanding!!!
