Title: Faith precedes confession
2014. 7. 20 Sunday morning sermon
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Bible: Romans 10:9-10
Title: Faith precedes confession
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Romans 10:9-10 ‘9. 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. 10 With the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
- Amen.
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In Korea, society was booming with the economic revival in the 1980s, but it was greatly contracted by the IMF. In the 2000s, real estate speculation intensified. Finally, House Poor occurred and dishonest economic activities were In a state of social structural instability, it turned out to be a society in which there was no trust in officials and all cultural fields, including the Sewol ferry disaster.
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Currently, the Korean church has lost its credibility. The church is now in a bubble because of false teachings about the faith. Now again we must learn what true faith is. First, you should know the fact that <faith precedes confession>.
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1. To receive eternal life by first believing in the life and death of Jesus
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Christianity is a religion that takes Jesus as the foundation of one's life and is a religion of eternal life. No matter how blessed you are, if you do not receive eternal life, you will be cast out of hell as much as an unbeliever.
Romans 10:9 “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.”
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To receive eternal life, you must believe in Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection. When we say that Jesus died in the text, it is intended that our sins must die in Jesus as such. You must repent and believe.
Mark 1:15 “…Repent and believe in the gospel.”
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Repentance must be believed as an atonement and thanksgiving for the Lord's death on the cross for me. And we must rejoice in the fact that we have received eternal life by believing in the resurrection, and we must feel that eternal life begins in our hearts. The early Korean church had a good life of repentance, but when they realized the economic value, they became more arrogant and blinded to material things rather than repentance.
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2. Faith takes precedence over confession
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Text Romans 10:10 “With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made, resulting in salvation.” Look at the order of faith here. It is important to believe in your heart first, but it is not the biblical gospel to say that you confess with your mouth.
Even believing in Jesus as Savior requires an experiential process of repentance.
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Miracles don't happen in some strange rumored prayer hall. Or going to a large chapel does not mean experiencing miracles. It will be possible if you sincerely believe in God, rely on Him, and pray wherever you are. Faith must be trained. You should not try to gain faith as if you suddenly become a loser by speculation. The word of God should not be called “I believe” unconditionally, but must go through suffering for the experience of the word. Psalm 119:71 “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”
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True faith involves a certain process rather than a confession of faith. In the experiential process of trying to live according to God's will, you may experience trouble, pain, misunderstanding, sorrow, and even pain. The process must go through a painful time that seems to be misunderstood and harmed by the world, like the death of the cross, regardless of the position. Otherwise, a sudden confession of belief is irresponsible.
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I hope you have sincere faith, knowing that to truly believe requires first repentance and going through the process of faith. From now on, rather than making a good confession, I hope that you will cleanse your heart of faith and gain experience with the determination to risk your life and follow the truth. Then a good day will surely come.