Scripture
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Observation
Paul's message can be summarised as “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.

Faith puts us right with God, but our verbal confession of the Lordship of Christ saves us. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Application
Paul links closely the two aspects of salvation– faith in Christ and confession that He is Lord.

We need to put our heart-level trust in Christ as our Saviour. This is not doctrinal belief but real trust that on the cross Jesus paid for our sins and that having died, he was raised to life. Faith says that I can trust Jesus to handle my righteousness and my eternal salvation.

The second half of the equation is the confession that Jesus is Lord. To say someone is Lord is to give them our loyalty and obedience. In the Roman times everyone had to declare that Caesar is Lord. Christians would not do this for their ultimate loyalty had to be to Christ.

In our society, national leaders, with a few exceptions, do not require us to worship them or to obey them absolutely. However there are other idols that demand our obedience and worship- career, family, sport, possessions. All of these have to be renounced if we are to be saved as there can only be one Lord in anyone's life.

Prayer
Today I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Father please show me any false idols in my life to which I give more loyalty than to you. Help me to turn my back on them and to trust in Christ alone. Amen.