What about Romans 10:9?

This question was asked on a Facebook page I'm part of. It's also the one of the first questions asked whenever Acts 2:38 is brought up. Br Charles Albert Johnson III gave the following answer. There's nothing I could add to this. It's the best exegesis on this subject I've seen thus far. Thanks, bro Charles, for allowing me to use this!

Before examining the ninth verse of the Chapter, let us get context by examining the first verse of the Chapter.

Romans 10:1 - Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

So Paul is addressing the Church (Brethren), folk who are already saved. Paul is addressing the Church concerning "Israel's" salvation, for they were the ones in the context in need of salvation. Therefore, we understand that Romans 10:9 is NOT addressing the Church about how they get saved, nor is it intended to communicate a generic plan of Salvation for sinners in general. Keep the Scripture in context and you won't err.

Now to the meat of the text. Paul is addressing folk who are already saved, therefore it doesn't make sense for him to be telling them how to get saved. He is, however, speaking concerning the salvation of Israel. Paul quotes the law in Deuteronomy 30 to proclaim that the "word" in that place in the law was the "word of faith" which "we preach." He is talking about the Gospel, to the Jew first (Romans 1:16).

In verse nine, Paul addresses the two main hindrances to Israel's salvation, namely confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in His Resurrection. These two hindrances to Israel's salvation are clearly seen comparing the Scriptures.

Romans 10:9 - That 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.

Israel's "CONFESSION" DILEMMA:

John 9:22 - These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

John 12:42 - Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

Israel's "UNBELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION" DILEMMA:

Matthew 28

11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

14 And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Notice also it says "thou SHALT be saved," not "thou ART saved." More beyond simple confession and belief is necessary, for example, REPENTANCE is clearly necessary for salvation.

Luke 13:3 - I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 13:5 - I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

If we assume that generic salvation is simple confession and belief, as per Romans 10:9, then we'd be forced to conclude that repentance is unnecessary for salvation, though Jesus said otherwise. So you see salvation in the generic sense is absolutely not what Romans 10:9 is dealing with, rather, Romans 10:9 is dealing with the salvation of unbelieving Israel, who culturally and traditionally had issues with confessing Christ (and getting excommunicated from Jewish life ie. put out of the synagogue) as Lord and believing in the Resurrection (the Jewish leadership paid off the Roman soldiers to lie and that lie was commonly reported). To interpret otherwise is error.

Paul goes on to quote Moses and Isaiah (law and the prophets) in that God would use the unbelief of the Jews to bring about the salvation of all the nations (fulfilling His promise to Abraham...father of MANY NATIONS), and for to provoke Israel in unbelief to jealousy, that some of them may be saved.

Romans 10:19 - But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

Romans 11:11 - I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Romans 11:14 - If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

I pray here that I have given you accurate exegesis of the Romans 10 text, and that you have been edified to be able to provide an answer to every man concerning the faith that is in you. Let all God's people be strengthened and sharpened in Jesus' Name.

Sunday School

Titus 2

²That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

 ³The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

 ⁴That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

 ⁵To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

 ⁶Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

 ⁷In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

 ⁸Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

OK, brother Winskie. How do you get Sunday School out of that? 

I realize that the early church, at least from what we can glean in the scriptures, did not have "Sunday School". I'm not saying they were wrong. All I can say is that (and I hate to say this, as it sounds like a cop out, but it really is the truth in this case) "times have changed". 

In the early church, they, it seems from reading the scriptures had house to house fellowship (not in one massive building) DAILY. They even had services so long, time wise,  that one young man fell asleep. From what we can glean from the scriptures, their services lasted many, many hours- not the short services we have nowadays (by comparison).  The mothers didn't work outside the homes. The children didn't have 40 hours a week of forced indoctrination called "public schools", but were generally taught most things at home, until the males got to a certain age, when they began to learn a trade- either through their Father's, or through an apprenticeship, or- if the family had money and could do it- through a Rabbinical school, or some such. (Sorry for the run on sentence) The Fathers tended to work either at home (farms, etc) or very near home in the markets, etc., and tended to be around their families much more than we are now. There also weren't near as many distractions in the form of entertainment, as there is now. 

The average child and adult, if they attend a church every time the doors are opened, generally has about 3 to 4 hours on Sunday, and about 2 hours during the week of biblical instruction. Some of this is taken up in praise and worship (not a bad thing, at all, but it does take up part of the church time). So, you can probably take about 2 to 3 hours away from the time involved, which leaves 3 to 4 hours a week of instruction at church. 

Compare this to the 40 hours a week at school- 40-60 hours a week at work for most parents. Then, there's computer time- especially with the rise and popularity of "social media" like this site, Facebook, My space, etc. Many homes have TV's where they watch News, Sports, ungodly shows (sorry, couldn't resist the dig at the crazy programming on most channels), etc. There tends to be VERY little personal Bible Study at home, much less Family study and prayer. Of course, we all believe that this needs to change, and rightfully so. But, this is still the reality of our society. 

Therefore, brethren, I truly believe that the biggest lack in the church of God today is plain, old fashioned, biblical teaching! Preaching WILL save the lost, but teaching and instruction WILL KEEP THEM SAVED! Unfortunately, in most of our churches, there are MANY subjects that are never taught at all! Acts 2:38 IS the plan of salvation. There IS only ONE GOD. And Holiness IS still necessary, though opinions vary on how to work this out. But, there is more to living for God and being a Christian than these 3 core beliefs!

Sunday school is NOT only for children. Adults need teaching too. Most "adult Sunday school" now are not a school at all. Rather, it has become another occasion for the preacher to preach his 4 or 5 pet doctrines. Most of the scriptures are ignored. There is almost no class room environment where the "students" can ask questions, make comments, or even (gasp)- respectfully disagree. All of these things are implicit in the way Jesus did things. He didn't cram his teaching down the disciples throat. He taught them and allowed them to have questions. 

Children's Sunday school is NOT for teachers to be "glorified baby sitters". These teachers are to be called by God, have a burden for the pupils, and pray about what to teach and how to teach it. Presently, we have Sunday school that is geared only for kids. These classes are not set up to truly teach, but to keep them occupied while the parents are in the service! Many of these classes are now bringing videos into the class room to entertain their students, rather than to do what they should and teach them. They also now have "children's church". Not really a time to teach, but rather a time to entertain. 

Church of Jesus- it's time for a change! 

It is because of this that I believe and have a burden for Sunday School. What I am about to write is by NO means an all inclusive list of topics that need to be taught, but it is a sample list. Feel free to add to it. I do believe that a Godly church starts in a Godly home. But, given the realities of our world, they need to be taught how to achieve this and see that Christianity is NOT simply a religion, but is, in fact, a lifestyle built on relationship with Jesus! 

Now, THIS would be my suggestion on how to organize the Sunday School. Keeping in mind the biblical passage we read above (the older men teaching the younger ones, and the older women teaching the younger ones), here is a small sample:

Nursery (ages 0-3, unless with parents) staffed on a rotational basis by praying older women.

Classes

Ages 4-6

Ages 7-9

(after this age, I believe they should be segregated by gender, depending on the class because there are many subjects that can only be taught in non-mixed audiences- and because the scriptures above suggest it.)

Ages 10-15

Ages 16-19

Adult classes

1) Young Ministers class (men only)

2) Homemaker/Housewife (women only, but probably needs a more palatable name)

3) Man of the Home class (men only)

4) Young married

5) New Convert class

6) Finances according to scripture (with emphasis on how to follow this in todays world.)

7) End Time Prophecy

8) Bible Study training (for those who feel led to teach the lost)

9) Life Issues (catch all. This would be "the main" class for those not interested in the other classes)

10) Outreach class (teaching different methods of outreach)

11) Vintage group (seniors)

12) Divorce recovery (needed in our world!)

13) A.C.T.S. class (Alcohol and Chemical Treatment System. This class is required in many states for those involved in Jail ministry. Also a great way for the church to act as a sort of "half way house" to help people get their lives straight in a legal sense and could lead many of them to Jesus. Some judges will actually order the parolees to attend the class at your church.) 

14) Sewing (women only)

15) Cooking (women only)

16) A study of false doctrines, with emphasis on WHY they are false

17) Music (If a teacher(s) is(are) available in the church that is(are) willing to help the folks who'd like to learn.)

18) College/career (I'm iffy on this one, but some might want it.)

19) Biblical Courtship (needed to combat the whole "dating" scene!)

20) "Walk thru the Bible". (An excellent course [done by a trinitarian ministry, but we can get the literature and teach it ourselves.] It gives a GREAT general overview of the order of the books in the bible, while hitting a few highlights in the scriptures of events to fill out what's being learned. Even now, 21 years after I took the course, I fall back on some of the things I memorized back then in that ONE DAY COURSE to help me keep the order of the books straight in my head. Would be great for New Converts!)

21) Wilderness living (Some of you may balk at this one, depending on your end time beliefs. I believe that these skills- that include Archery Hunting, Fishing, Plant knowledge, Hiding and evasion, Cover in cold and hot weather, "Coats of skins", Safe fires, Natural dangers, Physical exercise, Rock and tree climbing, to name only a few- will be very useful to us in the coming days before the Lord returns. 

22) Any other classes that you can think of.

I realize that some of these courses are not necessarily biblical, but they do relate. Also, I realize that teachers would have to rotate to keep from burning out and for them to learn other things as well. For some of these classes, we would need larger facilities and more people than most of us have at present. But, I truly believe that this is a good structure! The particulars can be done according to what we have available, as the Lord opens doors. 

Also, I really believe that a structure like this would alleviate "the boredom" that some people feel in churches today and build an excitement into their walk with God. What will they learn today when they go to church? They can be free to take part in the subject of their own interest- teachers and students alike.

In short, brethren, I BELIEVE in Sunday School! In todays world it is a NEED! Given the massive amounts of subjects IN THE BIBLE that are NEVER even touched on in 99% of todays churches, I believe that it is very necessary.

God bless you. I look forward to your thoughts.

What about the Epistles? Are they for everyone?

Romans 1

 "¹Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

 ²(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

 ³Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

 ⁴And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

 ⁵By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

 ⁶Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:"

1 Corinthians 1

 ^1"Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

 ²Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:"

2 Corinthians 1

 ^1"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:"

Galatians 1

 ^1"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

 ²And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:"

Ephesians 1

 ^1"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:"

Philippians 1

 ¹Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Colossians 1

 ¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

 ²To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1

 ¹Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1

 ¹Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

1 Timothy 1

 ¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

 ²Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Timothy 1

 ¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

 ²To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titus 1

 ¹Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

 ²In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

 ³But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

 ⁴To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Philemon 1:1
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

Hebrews 2

 ¹Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

 ²For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

 ³How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

 ⁴God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

James 1

 ¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

1 Peter 1

 ¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

 ²Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

2 Peter 1

 ¹Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

1 John 2

 ¹My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2 John 1

 ¹The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

3 John 1

 ¹The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

 ²Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

 ³For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

 ⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Jude 1:1
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

2 Timothy 2:15

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁵Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth 

 I realize that this is a whole lot of scripture- much more scripture than I usually use in a typical post. To some this will seem like overkill. However, sometimes, in order to understand a truth of the word of God, this is necessary.

There are many groups out there that espouse many different doctrines. They all point to scripture and on the surface, from a certain point of view, they all seem to make some logical sense. Yet, they cannot all be correct. Scripture commands us to study the word of God and to RIGHTLY DIVIDE (correctly understand) it.

There are many different beliefs on how to be "saved", or "born again". Everyone points to a pet scripture to try and prove their belief. One of the more popular ones is to use these verses: 

Romans 10:9-10

King James Version (KJV)

 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.

Ephesians 2: ⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

 ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.

1 John 1: ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.                                   

They say, from this- and adding John 3:16 to it- that we are saved by simple belief in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and all we have to do to access this is to believe and repent. 

Sounds good on the surface! Yet, in order to correctly understand a scripture, we must first understand the context of the verse. What is the conversation about? Who is the verse written to? This second question is the sincere point of this blog post. 

Who was Romans 10 written to? Sinners? Or saints? Unregenerate people who have never known the saving Grace of God? Or people who have already become God's children?

Answer:Romans 1: ⁵By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

 ⁶Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:"                                 

So Romans 10 was written to people who have already been saved! The same can be said about 1 John 1:9. Who was this Epistle written to? 

1 John 2: "¹My little children..." What does John mean by this? His fleshly children or spiritual children? 

 John 1

 ¹The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

3 John 1

 ¹The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

 ²Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

 ³For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

 ⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

It is evident from these scriptures that John called his spiritual converts his "children". He's not alone in this. Paul did the same thing in 1 and 2 Timothy 1 and Titus 1, calling Timothy and Titus his sons in the Gospel. 

What about Ephesians? Who was this Epistle written to? 

Ephesians 1

 ^1"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:"

So, again, this letter is written to people who are already saved. Indeed, all the letters (Epistles), from Romans through Jude are written to already saved people. 

So does it follow that the doctrine of the majority of today's "Christian churches" is true? No. 

Does the Bible give any examples of teaching salvation to unsaved people? Yes. What does it say there that we must do to be saved?

^{John 3:1}There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

 ²The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

 ³Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

 ⁴Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

 ⁵Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

 ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

 ⁷Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

 ⁸The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

 ⁹Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

 ¹⁰Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

 ¹¹Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

 ¹²If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

 ¹³And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

 ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

 ¹⁵That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

 ¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 ¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

 ¹⁸He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

 ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Here Jesus explains that we must a) believe (verse 16), b) be born of water and of spirit" (verse 5). 

Most groups whole heartedly accept verse 16, but either ignore or try and explain away verses 3-5. Rather than try and argue here, lets look at how this teaching translated into what the Apostles taught to unsaved folks. 

Acts 2: ³⁷Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

The day of Pentecost comes and the "church" is born (Acts 2:1-4). People gather and Peter preaches the first sermon of the church's history. The power and truth of his words is so convicting that his hearers become convicted of their own sins. They immediately ask, in essence, "How do I rid myself of this sin". 

It's a valid question. It's not very hard, if a soul is honest, to admit that we are sinners in the eyes of God. So what do we do with that knowledge? Peter gives us the answer.

Acts 2: ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

This answer agrees with everything Jesus taught in John 3. Jesus said we must believe. A person will not repent of their sins unless they first believe God exists and that they are indeed a sinner in need of a savior.

Jesus said we must be "born of water". Peter said we must be "baptized in Jesus name for the remission of sins". Paul says in Romans 6:4 that we are "buried with him (Jesus) in baptism". Peter says in his Epistles that we are saved by water in baptism, just as Noah and his family were saved by the waters in the flood. 

Jesus said we must be "born of the spirit". Peter said we would "receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". Paul said in Romans that if we don't have the spirit then we are "none of his". 

Read Acts 19:1-7 and Acts 8 and 10. The same plan of salvation is taught here as Peter taught on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

The Epistles are great scripture, but they are all, as you can see by the scripture references above, written to already saved people- explaining how to stay saved, not how to get saved. 

To get saved, do what Jesus, Peter, and Paul all taught:

Acts 2: ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

Be careful to stay between the lines!

Deuteronomy 12:32
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.


Revelations 22: 18-19

¹⁸For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
 ¹⁹And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.


Being a Christian and studying the word of God is exciting. Maybe I'm weird (of course, as we learned last week, God says we are Peculiar, so being weird in the eyes of this world is how we should be), but I enjoy digging into the word of God and learning new things, deeper things, than I ever did before. However, we must be careful. 


Just as on natural roadways, the spiritual road we are to follow- the highway of holiness (Isaiah 35:8)- has lines we are to stay within. These lines (or boundaries, if you prefer) are spelled out in the word of God. As such, it is absolutely necessary that we study God's word to discover these lines. There are a few rules we all need to adhere to when we are doing this. 


1) The word of God is MORE SURE than the voice of God. 


In 2 Peter 1:16-21 tells us an amazing truth. Peter says that, even though they heard the voice of God on the mount of transfiguration (and through the lips of Jesus), the disciples ultimate trust in God was built not on what they heard, but on the WRITTEN word of God itself. In fact, he tells us that the written word of God is MORE sure than the voice that they heard. Why is this true? 


2 Corinthians 11

¹³For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
 ¹⁴And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
 ¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

There are many voices in this world. The vast majority are not of God. Not every preacher who gets behind the pulpit and preaches is actually preaching the true word of God. Not every teacher is a teacher of truth. Not every voice you hear in prayer is the voice of God. Always check everything you here, irregardless of it's source, against the written word of God (the KJV Bible). If what you heard is right, then say Praise the Lord and take it to heart. If what you heard is wrong, then don't accept that teaching into your lives.

Yes, go to church gatherings and services, but take notes. The scriptures tell us to "test the spirits to see whether they be of God". Pray as you go in, that the Lord will illuminate your heart and mind to catch ANY false teaching that may come across the pulpit or across the table. Then, when service is over, on your own time (even if nothing triggered as being false), go over your notes using these fundamental rules of study and make sure what you have heard is indeed true. As one person said, "Eternity is too long to be wrong."

2) Look for second and third scripture confirmation.

2 Corinthians 13¹This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.


Look for other scriptures that agree with your understanding of the verses in question. If you cannot find verses that agree (and they must be taken IN CONTEXT, not twisted out of context), then your understanding of a passage (or the preacher/teacher's understanding) is wrong. Be very wary of any "doctrine" that cannot be confirmed with more scripture. 


3) God and his word NEVER change. 


Malachi 3
⁶For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.


Whenever we are looking at scripture, the surface understanding of the scripture is the main meaning of the text. There can be, and often times are, deeper understandings of the scriptures in question, but these understandings will NEVER contradict the surface teaching of the verse. 


For instance, "The joy of the Lord is our strength" the scriptures say. This is absolutely true! However, it can be asked is it the joy WE feel, or the joy GOD feels, that this scripture is referring to? Many a Christian has been tripped up because they don't FEEL joyful in the midst of their trials. Are we supposed to? Job didn't. Yet, God obviously took Fatherly pride and JOY in the fact that, no matter what was thrown at him, Job still kept his testimony and faith in God intact. Job didn't understand his situation, but he held on to what he KNEW about God from the written word. Therefore, GOD was joyful in his child's life. It is STILL the joy of the Lord that is our strength, for we can endure ANYTHING as long as we know God is getting glory and joy from our lives.


Deuteronomy 6:4 (and other places) Clearly states that there is only ONE God. ANY teaching that tries to change this truth to being two, yet one, or three, yet one God, is simply NOT true.


There is such a thing as progressive (or ongoing) revelation, BUT this process will never contradict the original. If we hear something that does, we need to ditch that teaching, in favor of the original. 


4) Remember the breakdown of the divisions in the word of God.

2 Timothy 2:15

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁵Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If we keep in mind the proper divisions in the word of God, then we are not as apt to misinterpret or misuse scripture. For instance, in the law it is commanded to give physical sacrifices for sins and trespasses. If, we do not keep that in mind, then we can find ourselves trying to follow the laws that Jesus sacrifice fulfilled! 


The law was the school master to lead us to Christ. It shows us what is sin and what is not. But the sacrifices are paid through Calvary. 


Matthew through John, are the Gospels. These books are the basis of the church doctrine. We find here the life, acts, and teachings of Jesus while he walked this earth. 


Acts. This is the only New Testament book that contains the direct teaching of the Apostles TO THE LOST, telling them how to be saved. It is where the Apostles walked out what Jesus taught them in the Gospels. We MUST go through the Gospels and Acts to GET saved.


Romans through Jude. These are the Epistles. They are LETTERS written TO the church telling us how to STAY saved, not how to get saved.


Revelations. Book of prophecy, that explains in symbolic language, end time events to come. 


5) We need to pray, study, and work out (work AT KEEPING) our own salvation with fear and trembling.


1 Thessalonians 5:17

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁷Pray without ceasing.

2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.


Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.


6) We DO need to fear God, not just respect him.

Luke 12:4-5

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁴And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
 ⁵But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.


We study the word of God because we love him and want to learn his ways and obey. But, we all have weak moments. We ALL have times when we don't FEEL like it. So, if we have legitimate fear of God in our lives, this fear will cause us to do what we are supposed to do when not doing it would be the easier way.   


Because we fear God, we will be diligent in our studies to try our best and ensure that we are NOT mishandling the word of God or misinterpreting the word of God. It really is that simple. 


Yes, over time our fear of God changes into a deep love for and longing for God. But, the fear is still the basis we must stand on. 


In closing, my friends, we MUST "study to shew ourselves approved, a workman that needeth NOT to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth". Get in there. Compare what you hear to the Bible. Let God teach you through his word. Stay between the lines on God's highway of holiness and you won't find yourselves running into a tree for going off the road.