Salvation 101
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | March 9, 2025
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Read Romans 10:8 – 13 (NIV)
Have you ever received a letter in the mail that said you had been pre-approved for a special offer? Perhaps it was for a new credit card or a home equity line of credit or some other equally enticing deal.
But after looking more closely at the letter and reading the fine print, there were still certain conditions that needed to be met in order for you to fully qualify for the “pre-approved” status that was being offered.
Well in today’s text we find some truly good news. We have all been “pre-approved” for a place in the kingdom of heaven – and there is no “fine print” with certain terms and conditions that apply. There is a straightforward path that we allcan take... and it is with that thought in mind, I want to invite us to think on the subject SALVATION 101.
Now, looking at the first verses of our text as they are found in the Message Paraphrase, we read:
Read Romans 10:8 – 13 (NIV)
Have you ever received a letter in the mail that said you had been pre-approved for a special offer? Perhaps it was for a new credit card or a home equity line of credit or some other equally enticing deal.
But after looking more closely at the letter and reading the fine print, there were still certain conditions that needed to be met in order for you to fully qualify for the “pre-approved” status that was being offered.
Well in today’s text we find some truly good news. We have all been “pre-approved” for a place in the kingdom of heaven – and there is no “fine print” with certain terms and conditions that apply. There is a straightforward path that we allcan take... and it is with that thought in mind, I want to invite us to think on the subject SALVATION 101.
Now, looking at the first verses of our text as they are found in the Message Paraphrase, we read:
Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it’s not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story—no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah.
The fact of the matter is that if we think that we can be saved by simply obeying the law, by following every rule and statute and living a perfect life – we are in for a rude awakening.
It simply cannot be done – because none of us is perfect... and there is just too much when we look more closely at the fine print. The fact of the matter is that if we could live life perfectly to obtain salvation, we would have had no need for a Savior. But as we read in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Try as we might, even when we know all of the right things to say and do, we still find a way to miss the mark.
Case in point – have you ever decided that you were going to give up something during Lent or perhaps made a commitment that you were going to start doing something that you believed would make you a better person?
Let me ask you this... how long did it take before you found yourself having to start all over again?
If we’re being honest, for some of us, it might not have been all that long.
And the reason for that is simple, change is hard. It is hard to stop eating those high-sugar, high-fat foods that we think we just cannot live without.
It is difficult to stop enjoying those “guilty pleasures” in life that we think bring so much satisfaction but have us waking up the next day filled with a load of regret.
And it is challenging to keep doing the “right thing” when everyone and everything else around us seems determined to push us away from the path of righteousness.
And, it is especially challenging when we are trying to do it in our own strength.
But the Apostle Paul reminds us that we do not have to do anything in our own strength. In fact, in Philippians 4:13 Paul encourages us with these words, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Left on our own, we would have been doomed to bear the consequences of our actions, but God knew that we could not do it on our own... so He provided the way for us to have eternal life.
That is why we read in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Or as it reads in the Message Paraphrase, “Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.”
God’s gift has been pre-approved for everyone – no strings attached... it is ours for the taking... all we have to do is accept it... it really is that simple... it’s SALVATION 101.
Thinking back to those offers that you receive in the mail or via email or on your social media page... they all require you to meet certain objective and subjective criteria – must be an adult over the age of 18... must have an annual gross income of x-number of dollars... must demonstrate a high degree of creditworthiness... must have a minimum credit score of x… must not have filed bankruptcy in the past century… I think you get the picture.
So, in reality, it is probably more accurate to say you are really not “pre-approved,” but more like “conditionally approved.”
The issuers of those pre-approved offers have already done some preliminary checking and deemed you to be part of a select group of individuals who may meet certain criteria and might be worthy of whatever it is they are offering.
But in spite of being one of the “chosen ones” and having received that notice that you are “pre-approved” ...you may still be rejected, if you fail to meet their particular conditions.
But I am happy to let you in on a little secret, God’s pre-approved offer of salvation does not work that way. In fact, let’s look back at the first part of our text, at verses 8 and 9, which read:
It simply cannot be done – because none of us is perfect... and there is just too much when we look more closely at the fine print. The fact of the matter is that if we could live life perfectly to obtain salvation, we would have had no need for a Savior. But as we read in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Try as we might, even when we know all of the right things to say and do, we still find a way to miss the mark.
Case in point – have you ever decided that you were going to give up something during Lent or perhaps made a commitment that you were going to start doing something that you believed would make you a better person?
Let me ask you this... how long did it take before you found yourself having to start all over again?
If we’re being honest, for some of us, it might not have been all that long.
And the reason for that is simple, change is hard. It is hard to stop eating those high-sugar, high-fat foods that we think we just cannot live without.
It is difficult to stop enjoying those “guilty pleasures” in life that we think bring so much satisfaction but have us waking up the next day filled with a load of regret.
And it is challenging to keep doing the “right thing” when everyone and everything else around us seems determined to push us away from the path of righteousness.
And, it is especially challenging when we are trying to do it in our own strength.
But the Apostle Paul reminds us that we do not have to do anything in our own strength. In fact, in Philippians 4:13 Paul encourages us with these words, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Left on our own, we would have been doomed to bear the consequences of our actions, but God knew that we could not do it on our own... so He provided the way for us to have eternal life.
That is why we read in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Or as it reads in the Message Paraphrase, “Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.”
God’s gift has been pre-approved for everyone – no strings attached... it is ours for the taking... all we have to do is accept it... it really is that simple... it’s SALVATION 101.
Thinking back to those offers that you receive in the mail or via email or on your social media page... they all require you to meet certain objective and subjective criteria – must be an adult over the age of 18... must have an annual gross income of x-number of dollars... must demonstrate a high degree of creditworthiness... must have a minimum credit score of x… must not have filed bankruptcy in the past century… I think you get the picture.
So, in reality, it is probably more accurate to say you are really not “pre-approved,” but more like “conditionally approved.”
The issuers of those pre-approved offers have already done some preliminary checking and deemed you to be part of a select group of individuals who may meet certain criteria and might be worthy of whatever it is they are offering.
But in spite of being one of the “chosen ones” and having received that notice that you are “pre-approved” ...you may still be rejected, if you fail to meet their particular conditions.
But I am happy to let you in on a little secret, God’s pre-approved offer of salvation does not work that way. In fact, let’s look back at the first part of our text, at verses 8 and 9, which read:
But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
One – declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.”
Two – believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
And three – you will be saved.
SALVATION 101... as simple as 1-2-3.
And in verse 10 we read, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Or as it reads in the Message:
Two – believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
And three – you will be saved.
SALVATION 101... as simple as 1-2-3.
And in verse 10 we read, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Or as it reads in the Message:
You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”
So, if God has set everything right between us already... why do we try to make things more complicated?
Perhaps it is because the world has conditioned us to look for loopholes and red tape... we have become skeptical and suspicious of things that appear to be too good to be true... and that is rightly so when it comes to the things of this world.
But when it comes to the things of God... His promises are absolutely good and positively true. We can wholeheartedly accept God’s word at face value... because it is definitely NOT too good to be true.
Which is great news, especially as we keep reading in the text:
Perhaps it is because the world has conditioned us to look for loopholes and red tape... we have become skeptical and suspicious of things that appear to be too good to be true... and that is rightly so when it comes to the things of this world.
But when it comes to the things of God... His promises are absolutely good and positively true. We can wholeheartedly accept God’s word at face value... because it is definitely NOT too good to be true.
Which is great news, especially as we keep reading in the text:
The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. For, “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
No one who believes will be put to shame…
That means that regardless of our past indiscretions... we will not be put to shame. We have the blessed assurance that God is not like us... He does not hold onto grudges. In fact, it is just the opposite.
Over in Hebrews 10 (17- 18) we read, ‘“Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”
God has already made a way for us to let go of the shame of our past...
And yet, so often we feel a need to hold onto it... almost as if it is some warped badge of honor.
Shame is something that we impose on ourselves. It arises when we have a negative sense of who we are and the things we have done and what we believe other people think about us and our actions.
But we have been forgiven completely through Jesus’ sacrifice for us at Calvary... so there is no need for us to dredge up the things of the past. As the prophet Micah wrote (7:19), “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”
So instead of dragging the bottom of the sea to bring up our past sins... let me suggest, in the words of Elsa from the movie, “Frozen,” we need to just “Let It Go, Let It Go!”
Because when the word of God says, “No one who believes will be put to shame,” that is exactly what it means.
No one… regardless of who we are, how we look, what we have done or where we have come from... “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him.”
There is no distinction because God does not look at the outer person... God looks at the heart... to the place where our deepest beliefs are held... to the place where love resides. It is as we read in 1 Samuel (16:7), “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
People look at the things that allow us to categorize one another... to segregate one another... to isolate and marginalize one another. But the Lord’s desire is that we would all come together as one. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 (11, 21, 22) was “that they may be one as we are one.”
And that is why that last verse of our text says, “and every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
It does not matter who we are, where we have been or what we have done – we have already been unconditionally, pre-approved to receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. It is basic SALVATION 101.
We do not have to wait until we get our act together and get our lives in order... we are able to come to the Lord just as we are.
That is because God already loves us... always has loved us... and always will love us... flaws and all. He gave His only Son for us because He loves us just that much. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And further on in Romans 8:39, we read that there is absolutely nothing that can ever separate us from that love.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I, for one, am glad to know that because of God’s unconditional and everlasting love... we have already been pre-approved... and let me just say that God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord is an offer that is simply too good to refuse.
It is SALVATION 101... we have received an offer that we would do well not to pass up... because it comes with more benefits than we could ever imagine... including deliverance from sin, guilt, and shame... and the promise of eternity in God’s kingdom... along with the right to become the children of God... to live as siblings in Christ... joined together as the church... not the brick and mortar, stained glass and sanctuary, pulpit and pews, kind of church... but the body of believers... the followers of Christ... His new creation... built on a solid foundation that can never be shaken.
And in a world that feels increasingly more shaky day by day, let us thank God for the sure foundation that we have as we stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: The Church's One Foundation (v. 1, 2, 5) #272.
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That means that regardless of our past indiscretions... we will not be put to shame. We have the blessed assurance that God is not like us... He does not hold onto grudges. In fact, it is just the opposite.
Over in Hebrews 10 (17- 18) we read, ‘“Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”
God has already made a way for us to let go of the shame of our past...
And yet, so often we feel a need to hold onto it... almost as if it is some warped badge of honor.
Shame is something that we impose on ourselves. It arises when we have a negative sense of who we are and the things we have done and what we believe other people think about us and our actions.
But we have been forgiven completely through Jesus’ sacrifice for us at Calvary... so there is no need for us to dredge up the things of the past. As the prophet Micah wrote (7:19), “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”
So instead of dragging the bottom of the sea to bring up our past sins... let me suggest, in the words of Elsa from the movie, “Frozen,” we need to just “Let It Go, Let It Go!”
Because when the word of God says, “No one who believes will be put to shame,” that is exactly what it means.
No one… regardless of who we are, how we look, what we have done or where we have come from... “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him.”
There is no distinction because God does not look at the outer person... God looks at the heart... to the place where our deepest beliefs are held... to the place where love resides. It is as we read in 1 Samuel (16:7), “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
People look at the things that allow us to categorize one another... to segregate one another... to isolate and marginalize one another. But the Lord’s desire is that we would all come together as one. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 (11, 21, 22) was “that they may be one as we are one.”
And that is why that last verse of our text says, “and every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
It does not matter who we are, where we have been or what we have done – we have already been unconditionally, pre-approved to receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. It is basic SALVATION 101.
We do not have to wait until we get our act together and get our lives in order... we are able to come to the Lord just as we are.
That is because God already loves us... always has loved us... and always will love us... flaws and all. He gave His only Son for us because He loves us just that much. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And further on in Romans 8:39, we read that there is absolutely nothing that can ever separate us from that love.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I, for one, am glad to know that because of God’s unconditional and everlasting love... we have already been pre-approved... and let me just say that God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord is an offer that is simply too good to refuse.
It is SALVATION 101... we have received an offer that we would do well not to pass up... because it comes with more benefits than we could ever imagine... including deliverance from sin, guilt, and shame... and the promise of eternity in God’s kingdom... along with the right to become the children of God... to live as siblings in Christ... joined together as the church... not the brick and mortar, stained glass and sanctuary, pulpit and pews, kind of church... but the body of believers... the followers of Christ... His new creation... built on a solid foundation that can never be shaken.
And in a world that feels increasingly more shaky day by day, let us thank God for the sure foundation that we have as we stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: The Church's One Foundation (v. 1, 2, 5) #272.
