8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
As I look again at this verse, I am wondering whether I can seriously use the English present tense to say that the process of confessing Jesus as Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead is a continuous action of believing in our hearts being accompanied by an outward confession with our mouths and works of our body and mind. I think it is not a one time thing and neither is it merely an oral confession which gives the opportunity for abuse and open to criticism from other monotheistic faiths. Faith involves action and is realized and perfected in the action. (Even confession involves physical movements of our oratory and respiratory organs.) There are two sides of a coin which cannot be separated. Perhaps we can say that one cannot work without believing and one cannot be said to have believe without working it out. Perhaps it is a dialogic process of one informing the other. I think this fita well with what James said about:
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
As I look again at this verse, I am wondering whether I can seriously use the English present tense to say that the process of confessing Jesus as Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead is a continuous action of believing in our hearts being accompanied by an outward confession with our mouths and works of our body and mind. I think it is not a one time thing and neither is it merely an oral confession which gives the opportunity for abuse and open to criticism from other monotheistic faiths. Faith involves action and is realized and perfected in the action. (Even confession involves physical movements of our oratory and respiratory organs.) There are two sides of a coin which cannot be separated. Perhaps we can say that one cannot work without believing and one cannot be said to have believe without working it out. Perhaps it is a dialogic process of one informing the other. I think this fita well with what James said about:
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
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