Hearts and Lips

“The Word is near,” Paul tells us. So near that it is in your hearts and on your lips. While this text reminds us of the passage in Jeremiah which tells us that God will write the new covenant in our hearts, it actually is from Deuteronomy (30:4). There the ‘word’ means the Law. Deuteronomy is the book that outlines the Law. Paul is thinking about Jesus. In fact, Paul may be quoting this text while thinking about Jeremiah’s. He is known to take a bit of license with the Old Testament as we saw last week. Paul then goes on to make this a litmus test for a Christian. If one confesses with your lips that, “Jesus is Lord,” and believes in their heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. While it might be splitting hairs, this does seem to be work’s righteousness. That there are things you must do in order to be saved. A thorough reading of Paul will show that he was not always in agreement with Luther’s interpretation. Although Luther would say that you do not have to believe in your heart or confess with your lips to be saved, you do so because you are saved. 

Paul might see that argument unhelpful in his struggle to bring Christianity to the world. He clearly saw that he could not leave the churches he founded on their own. Instead he continued to instruct and correct them. That is why we have these letters from him. Being one of Jesus’ own is not a once-baptized-then-a-coast-to-heaven. As I have said many times before, if he is an example, being one of Jesus’ own can be a hard and painful struggle. Look at Paul’s life to see another example of what being called by Jesus can mean. 

For you and for me, everyday can be a struggle between the world of sin and the gift of salvation. We confessed that today as we began our worship. We have allowed the lures of the world to get their hook into us and pull us away from the life Jesus is calling us to. That is why Luther suggests that when we rise in the morning that we make the sign of the cross and say a short prayer asking for the strength to do Jesus’ work that day. That is the beginning of your preparation for the day. You also should look to scripture. Again, I have said this before, get into the habit of reading scripture each day. There are several ways that you can do that. First, just pick up the Bible and start somewhere – pick a book – and read it a chapter a day. Another way is to follow a lectionary (a suggested list of Biblical texts. You can also find a daily devotional that gives a verse or two to read each day. Then pray upon the text that you read. You will find that this daily devotion will strengthen you for those things that may tempt you throughout your days. 

I point to Jesus as the guide. As the devil tempted Jesus three times you saw Jesus’ response was scripture. He simply said, “It is written,” and reminded the devil what God desired. I also remember the interview of one of the Iran hostages. When asked how she dealt with her imprisonment, she replied that she recited the Bible stories and songs she learned growing up in the church. Prayer and Bible study is strong stuff. It can get you through many things. That is why it is part of our Lenten journey. When we study God’s word and pray for God’s guidance we are then able to see others as God sees them and work to bring justice and truth to a divided and violent world. We do so not because we have to but because, saved by Jesus, we can do no other.