Message Notes: Believing With the Heart
Series begun on: February 5, 2012
What it means to believe with the heart. Romans 10:5-10 • The purpose of this teaching is to strengthen the faith of the believer by showing the continual lifestyle of those who claim to believe in Christ Jesus. • To have our trust in the living God and not in the wisdom of men. • To have a faith that is pure and not polluted with worldly desires. A faith that God is pleased with. • To understand how Faith in Christ works in the heart of a believer.
The righteousness of the Law vs The Righteousness which is of Faith Righteousness - the condition acceptable to God. If we take Romans 10 out of it's context, we can make it say what we want it to. For with the heart man believeth and with the mouth confession is made unto... • This does not pertain to whatever you are believing for. Meaning, if I believe it in my heart and confess it with my mouth, it is mine. To believe - to commit to and trust in once for all time. In context, this passage is talking about the difference between the righteousness of the Law and the righteousness which is by faith in Christ Jesus for salvation. • Do I rely upon and trust in the Law of Moses to have a condition acceptable to God or do I rely upon and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ to have the condition acceptable to God?
Note verses 6-8 • Here, Deuteronomy 30:11-14 is alluded to, but modified for the purpose of being applied to Jesus Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection. The point being, that salvation is readily available in Christ by Faith which is different from the Mosaic law. • What saith the Law? - Romans 10:5 • “Ascend … Descend”. Humans do not have to go seeking Christ; God has sent Him publicly for all.
Confess with thy mouth and believe in thine heart. Confess - to agree with verbally and publicly (I believe Jesus is Lord). Believe with thine heart. What is the heart of Man? Heart - Greek Kardia The organ in the body which is the center of the circulatory system responsible to pump life giving blood through the body. God is not telling us to trust Him with a bodily organ. This word is used in a wider sense. Meaning, the center of our being in which our whole being is effected.
Proverbs 4:23 Issues of life - that which flows or springs forth from the center of man. Luke 6:45
What is the heart of man? 1 Thessalonians 5:23 The word “whole“ holokleros - complete in all its parts. Man is Spirit Soul and Body
If man is Spirit, Soul, and Body, then is God Spirit Soul and Body? Genesis 1:26-27
What is God’s likeness and image if we are created after Him? Ephesians 4:22-24 • There is nothing in our creation and form that makes us like God , but rather the condition of our hearts and minds , the standard that we live by that makes us like Him and bare His image. • It is His Word that penetrates our being and judges the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. • The word of God does not work from the outside in. But rather, it penetrates into the innermost part of our being as a powerful two edge sword. Hebrews 4:12 • It reaches the innermost being of a person so that it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. In doing this, it is able to discriminate successfully between what is spiritual in man and what is merely “soulish” or natural (it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit), and does so even when these often-contradictory inner elements are interwoven as closely as joints and marrow. • The inner life of a believer is a mixture of motivations of spiritual and human or carnal. • The word of God is a discerning agent that searches and sorts out to expose what is of the flesh. Galatians 5:16-21
So, the heart of man is comprised of his spirit and his soul, which are woven together as a glove. Man’s spirit - inner glove Man’s soul - outer glove Man’s body is over both
The born again spirit is where the Spirit of God resides. Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord. Searching all the innermost parts of his being. It is here where God will lead us, and it is here where God will reveal His truth.
The Soul: • Mind • Will • Emotions • Before a man is born again he is cut off from God and cannot know anything about Him. • This man can live only by what he knows naturally. What the inner man hears from God, the outer man can receive. 1Corinthians 2:14
Psalm 51 is an excellent illustration of man and how his heart works. Psalm 51:6-10
To believe with the heart is an on going Process. • Believing isn’t a one time event and then we move away. But, a constant state of trusting in God and moving closer to Him with our trust.
We must get the principle correct. • Washed with the regeneration by the Holy Spirit. John 3:3-10 Ezekiel 36:24-27 Titus 3:5
This happens to the spirit of man once. • The renewing of the soul of man.
This is an on going process which many believers fail to continue in or try to replace this process with religious patterns. • The renewing of the mind Without the renewing of the mind, the will of man will never become obedient to the will of God. Romans 12:1-2
A common thought of Christians who are not willing to go all the way with God: “I don’t take it all that serious.“ Or, “It’s just not that serious.“ Colossians 3:1-17