Saving Faith
A Sermon on Romans 10:9-10
Scripture
9That 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. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Romans 10:9–10 titled “Saving Faith,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives a roadmap through the Christian life as they experience God. Encountering God means that salvation is not only an intellectual decision or that God can be made known through reasonable thinking. Scripture demands that the Christian have faith in God and a faith that includes all of their being. But how can one possess such faith when they are full of fear and doubt? It is hard enough for a person to keep small commitments to themselves. Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows that it is precisely through encountering God that the Christian is given this faith by Him. God initiates this relationship that leads to Godly sorrow over sin, turning from them and putting faith in Jesus Christ. These are the very beginning steps in the Christian life and without them, one cannot be called a Christian. If one has been convicted of their sins, repented, changed their thoughts about God, and grieved over their sinfulness, they have shown the true marks of one who has encountered God and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sermon Breakdown
- Saving faith starts with the mind. We must understand the truth intellectually.
- Saving faith involves conviction. The truth comes with power and challenges us. We become engaged and it speaks to us personally.
- Conviction leads to repentance. We change our mind about the truth and come to a different conclusion. We realize we were wrong.
- Repentance involves sorrow. We feel sorrow for grieving God and not believing the truth. We feel indignation towards ourselves.
- Repentance also involves fear. We fear God's holiness and judgment. We fear falling into the hands of an angry God.
- There is a desire for deliverance. We cry out "who will deliver me?" and "what must I do to be saved?"
- We come to trust and rely on Christ. We cling to Him, adhere to Him, and have faith in Him.
- There is a sense of rest and peace. We are justified by faith and have peace with God.
- There is gratitude, thankfulness and praise. We can't help but feel grateful for what Christ has done.
- We embrace the truth. We greet it and welcome it. We desire to know more about it.
- Saving faith is not a natural quality we all possess. It is a gift from God worked in our heart by the Holy Spirit. Our natural heart is deceitful and wicked. We must be born again.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.