Online Bible Verses - Romans 10: 9-10 Free of Charge

“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.

Romans 10:9-10

Scripture states quite clearly that the path to salvation is not paved by man; in no way shape or form. Rather, God has done all the heavy lifting. Put another way, Christ’s work is necessary and sufficient as man contributes nothing.

Put yet another way, God’s offer is free. Free to us, but not free of charge, as a heavy price was paid. We do not have to pay it. He did.

Does this mean we do not have to be good? I certainly hope so, as I could never measure up to good as God defines it.

So then, can I be as bad as my flesh drives me? Just go unchecked, tapping the benefits of an eternal free lunch? Not quite, as the Spirit of the one providing said benefit intercedes to convict and shape me into a new person. The shaping takes place according to His plan for me. You see, it really is not about me at the core. I enter into the equation only on the basis of His love for me. He imparts the status of good unto those who are not. He sees me as good, devoid of sin, only as a result of what He has washed clean.

Orthodox Christian doctrine is unique in this way, classifying man as beneficiary vs. contributor. Yet man, in his characteristic way, has a hard time accepting a gift. He has the urge to be relevant in an impractical way. Just being loved by God is not enough. He wants to be like God. So we see the Gospel perverted so as to lift man up to the level of contributor; that as opposed to thankful recipient.

Reality seems to be, upon study and meditation, that grace is the only path to freedom. Give the glory and praise to God and happily accept what he offers. Understand that an infinite gulf exists between He and I, which only He can and has bridged. My feeble attempts to make finite into infinite would never have worked. And He gets credit for showing me that as well. I did not figure it out. He showed me.