The Strand Study Bible

Written From Corinth During Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

ROMANS

1866

In other words, what these advocates are advocating is that a person cannot be saved until he makes Jesus the “Lord” of his life. However, this verse is not teaching us that we must make Jesus our Lord in order to be saved; it is teaching us that Jesus is “Lord,” and if we are to be saved, we must accept the fact that He was God in flesh on earth (Jn 5:17-18 & 8:24 & 10:30-33). That’s what the thief on the cross did. He did not get saved because he “turned from sin” and made Jesus his Lord. He got saved by realizing he was a sinner (Lk 23:39-41) in need of a Savior, and recognized Jesus to be the “Lord” (Lk 23:42-43). Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:23-24, “ Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins (go to Hell) : for if ye believe not that I AM he, ye shall die in your sins . ” Jesus said that salvation is based on two things (making Him “Lord of your life” not being one of them – Jonah 3:5 and Mt 3:2 ): 1. Who we are (Lk 5:31-32 & 13:1-5 and Mt 27:3 ) – God tells us that we are “sinfully” sick and in need of the Savior and that we cannot save ourselves (Rom 3:10,23). 2. Who Christ is (Mt 4:13-17 & 11:20-24, Mk 1:15, Acts 3:12-19 and Acts 2:38 a ) – Jesus is God (Lord – Jn 8:24,58-59), not a god. Jesus is the only Savior (Acts 4:10-12). NOTE – James M. Gray, an early president of Moody Bible Institute, was correct when he wrote the hymn titled, O Take the Gift of Mercy . In it he notes: It is not what you’re doing or what you’ve left undone; You say, “I read the Bible, in prayer I daily bow”; Or giving up a habit, by which salvation’s won: You say, “Why, I am doing the best that I know how!” Salvation is not winning, it’s something you receive, But even were you perfect, the old sin still remains; God’s free and gracious off’ring to all who will believe. It needs the blood of Jesus to wash away your stains. 3 Unfortunately, Lordship Salvation doctrine hinders unbelievers from being saved because it presents them with a distorted view of the Gospel of God’s grace. 10:16 “ They ” here are speaking of the people in Isaiah’s day (c. 700 BC) that rejected the Gospel of Christ. Four thousand years before Christ came to this earth as our sacrificial LAMB , men like Cain rejected Him and what He could do for mankind (Gen 4:1-7). The same is true of the people of Noah’s day (I Pet 3:18-20). THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Christianity didn’t start with the birth of Christ, but with the promise of Christ before the world began (Titus 1:2 and Rev 13:8) 10:17a D.L. Moody, the un-ordained man that God used to reach millions for Christ, once said: I suppose that if all the times I have prayed for faith were put together, it would amount to months. I used to say, “What we want is faith. If we only have faith we can turn Chicago upside down, or the right side up.” I hoped that someday faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” I closed my Bible and prayed for faith. I then opened my Bible and began to really study God’s Word and my faith has been growing ever since. 4 Those in need of more faith need to spend more time in God’s Word ( faith cometh by hearing – Lk 17: 3- 6 -10). Angus Buchan in A Mustard Seed notes: THE ADAGE IS TRUE: What you do with the Bible determines what God does with you 10:17b This word ( word ) is the Greek word U ‘ KPDτο9 ( rhematos ) and means, “ that which is spoken in speech or writing, i.e., passages of Scripture that have particular application to our lives ” (Jn 15:7). Those who apply passages of Scripture, that have particular application to their lives , build faith ( I Thess 3:2 and Heb 11:1 ). 11:6 Grace and works don’t mix ( And if by grace, then is it no more of works – Rom 4:1-6 & 10:1-4, Gal 2:21 & 3:11,21-22, Eph 2:8-9 and Heb 7:11,19). In his book Why I Am a Mormon , former U.S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett said: The Mormons reconcile the apparent conflict between “grace” and “works.” We see both as needed for complete salvation. 5 Because the Mormons are taught to believe that the Bible is limited and that the Mormon scriptures ( The Book of Mormons , Covenants , and the Pearl of Great Price ) are above the Bible in authority, the Mormons unashamedly challenge the sacred Scriptures and call Romans 11:6 an “apparent” conflict. The only thing “apparent,” however, is their willingness to take a man’s word over God’s Word. People often ask me to pray for them so that they can have more faith. My response is, “I won’t pray to God to give you more faith. I’ll pray to God to give you such a hunger for His Word that you’ll start to read it every day. As you read it, so your faith will grow.” 4

1 Montgomery Boice, James. Chirst’s Call to Discipleship . Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1986. Print. 2 MacArthur, John. The Gospel According to Jesus , Grand Rapids, MI, Academic Books, 1988. Print. 3 Gray, James M. “ O Take the Gift of Mercy ,” music by Alfred B. Smith, published in Living Hymns , edited by Alfred B. Smith, Greenville, SC, #FUUFS .VTJD 1VCMJDBUJPOT 1SJOU 4 Buchan, Angus. A Mustard Seed , Grand Rapids, MI, Monarch Books, 2012. Print. ”Wallace F. Bennett.” Wikipedia. 14 Jan 2008 .