My favorite Bible verse

A professor walked into a full classroom of students. Without a word he very carefully cleaned the chalk board. He took a piece of chalk and in the center of the chalk board he placed a tiny dot. He said, “Imagine for a moment this chalkboard is in mathematical terms an infinite plane. Imagine this chalkboard extends infinitely in both directions. It never stops. There is no end. Imagine that tiny dot represents our earthly lives. Imagine the infinite plane represents eternity.” Eternity is long. This life is short. The most important thing is to be right with God.

I am a very simple person. The cookies need to be put on the low shelf for me! My favorite Bible verse is Romans 10 verse 9. This is my favorite verse because it explains the path of salvation. In life, only one thing matters. Jesus said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) The most important thing is to be saved.

The question is, “To be saved from what?” The answer is the wrath of God. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved (from what?) from the wrath of God through Him” (Romans 5:8-9). God is a just God. Every sin must be punished. We are all under the wrath of God because of our sin. God is loving but God is also holy. The problem is our sin. The solution is the person and work of Jesus.

Romans 10:9 says, “…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…” There are two conditions for salvation. If you meet these two conditions you will be saved!

The first condition for salvation is to confess Jesus as Lord. There must be a submission to the Lordship of Christ. Confessing Jesus as Lord includes our entire being. It is not just mouthing the words. It is confessing something with our entire being. Confessing Jesus as Lord means that Jesus is God. Jesus is equal to God the Father. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) All the attributes of God the Father are found in God the Son. Jesus said, “I and My Father are One” (John 10:30). Jesus claimed equality with the Father. Matthew 1:23 reads, “Behold, the virgin shall be with Child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel which translated means, ‘God with us.’” Jesus is God.

Jesus left heaven and came to earth as the God-Man. This is known as the incarnation. Jesus had to become the God-Man in order to gain our salvation. Jesus came to earth on the greatest rescue mission. As God, Jesus could offer an infinite sacrifice. As Man, Jesus could die for our sins. Jesus is God.

Confessing Jesus as Lord means that Jesus won the greatest victory. You and I face three major enemies — sin, Satan and death. On the cross, the wrath of God was poured out upon Jesus. Jesus became the lightning rod for God’s anger toward our sin. Like an inverted pyramid, all of God’s wrath toward my sin was poured out upon God’s only Son- the Lord Jesus.

Confessing Jesus as Lord means that you will follow Jesus. Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and yet do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46) He is God. He won the greatest victory. He paid for our sins. We must follow Him. There must be repentance.

The second condition is to believe in the resurrection. “…believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead” (Romans 10:9). To believe in the resurrection is to believe in the entire ministry of Jesus. It’s one thing for Jesus to leave heaven and come to earth. It’s another for Him to return to heaven. It’s one thing for Jesus to die for our sins. It’s another for that sacrifice to be so perfect the Father resurrected Him from the dead. The resurrection is the supreme evidence for the deity of the Lord Jesus. Romans 1:4 says, “Who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead…”

In the year 156 AD, Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, was burned at the stake. He refused to throw incense into the fire and say, “Caesar is lord.” Polycarp refused to call Caesar Lord because Lord means God. Jesus is God- not Caesar. The sacrifice of Jesus was so perfect it demanded a resurrection. Turn to Jesus today!

Ethan Hansen is the pastor of Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake.