Easy as A,B,C
Romans 10:1-13
On February 24, 1970, The Jackson 5 released, what some to believe their signature song, “ABC.” It is one of the shortest
titles to ever hit #1 on the Billboard Top 100 and stayed at the top of the charts for 4 weeks. It is simply a song written about love
and how easy loving someone can be. The upbeat lyrics compare ‘learning to love’ to ‘learning the alphabet’. I’m sure most of us
here will remember it. The chorus goes like this:
“A B C, easy as one, two, three - Are simple as ‘do’ ‘re’ ‘mi’, ABC”.
Paul, in writing to the Romans, did so with that same specific purpose – to remind the Romans of how simple coming to faith
really was. The roman empire had fallen away from the things of God and was in dire need of spiritual guidance. In 57-58 AD, while
he was in Corinth, Pal wrote his letter, which in Chapter 1:7 he addressed to “God’s beloved in Rome.” The chapters leading up to
the scripture reading that I read earlier, discuss the state of humanity in Rome at that time. A state of humanity that Paul had heard
lots about. Keep in mind though, it was not like today that everything is available on the tv, radio, or internet in a flash. Paul was in
Corinth, over 2100km from Rome... and it was the talk of the town!!
Paul knew, from his personal experience with the risen Christ, that a personal relationship with Him was key to living a
fulfilling life. Yet, the people of Rome had long forgotten that and had wandered on paths of their own making. He had an obligation,
in his ministry, to guide them in back to Christ.
That leads us into Chapter 10 of his epistle. With all the complex rules and regulations, policies and procedures, laws and
governance of the Roman empire, the people of Rome answered directly to the Roman Emperor – the boss. And if they didn’t do it,
they knew it. Paul, as a breath of fresh air, gave them these words... Romans 10:8, 9, 10: “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. 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.”
In other words, he said this, let me paraphrase: “My friends, you have all you need to be a better people. God expects very
little from you to be a changed person. Just admit you need him, believe in your heart, and confess him with your mouth, and you
will be saved.” Paul ineffectively said, like the Jackson 5, to love and serve God, it’s as easy as ABC!
That’s where I would like to turn my attention for a few moments this evening. I’ve entitled my message, “Easy as A, B, C.”
First, “A” – Admit you need God
By definition, to admit something is to confess it to be true and, interesting enough, the dictionary goes on to say that
admitting something is typically done with reluctance. Have you ever taken a wrong turn and gotten lost and had to admit it to your
wife (sorry gentlemen). even though you didn’t really want to do it!! Or admit a mistake or admit that you didn’t know something?
The bible says in Romans 3:10 says that “No one is righteous, not even one.” Therefore, we are included in this; we are all
imperfect, and that goes all the way back to the first man – we are of Adam’s race, flawed, imperfect, and unrighteous.
The bible says in Romans 3:23 reminds us that we have all sinned and fallen short or the glory of the God. There are no exceptions:
we all need of the salvation that the men sang about moments ago. It’s a salvation that is often overlooked because we think we
don’t need it. The bible reminds us that we ALL have fallen short of God’s glory.
Four ministers met for a ministerial association meeting. During the conversation, one preacher said, "Our people come to us
and pour out their hearts, confess their specific sins and needs. We should do the same. Confession is good for the soul."
As the afternoon went on, they began talking from the heart. One confessed he liked to go to movies and would sometimes
sneak off from the activities at his church to do so. The second confessed to liking to smoke cigars and the third one confessed that
he really enjoyed playing cards. When it came to the fourth one, he didn’t say a word. The others pressed him, "Come now, we
confessed ours. What is your secret? Speak freely" Finally, he answered, "I love gossip.... and I can hardly wait to get out of here."
Admitting that we need God to make our lives better is the first step to spiritual freedom. There are things in our lives, each
and every one or us, that keeps us from being truly free. There comes a time when we need to admit that we can’t do it on our own.
We need someone to unload it too.
In the third verse of O Boundless Salvation, the person experiencing this salvation admits the need: My Tempers are fitful, my
passions are strong, the writer writes. They bind my poor soul and they force me to wrong. But listen to this admission… Beneath thy
blest billows, deliverance I see… O come, mighty ocean, and roll over me!!! What beautiful imagery.
Admitting we need salvation is the first step to experiencing it just like the addict, who’s first step is admitting that they have
a problem.
“A” is for Admitting. The second step is: “B” – Believing.
Once we admit that we need salvation, the next step is to believe that God is able to provide that forgiveness. This sounds
easy enough but it far from it. You see, as human beings, we find it very hard to forget. Yes, we often forgive but rarely do we forget.
God is not like that at all. God forgives and forgets. The bible says that the sins are tossed into the sea of forgetfulness and is never
spoken of again.
A man told his pastor he had done a terrible thing and could find no rest for his conscience. The pastor asked him, “Have you
confessed it to the Lord?” And the man replied, “Pastor, I’ve confessed that sin a thousand times.” The wise pastor said, “That is 999
times too many. You only need to confess it once and then praise God a thousand times for his forgiveness.”
The bible says in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions [sins] from us.”
In Micah 7:18-19 the prophet says, “He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have
compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
So, for our human minds to comprehend the fact that God will never, ever, ever hold your sins against you ever again, it is
something to behold. That’s what it takes to truly believe, and we must truly believe it. God is able to make you a better person and
you have to believe it.
In 1927 the wife of Scottish preacher named Arthur Gossip, died suddenly. When he eventually returned to the pulpit, he
preached a sermon titled “When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” In that sermon He compared life to watching a plane pass through
the sky during wartime. There you are, lying on your back watching a plane fly gracefully across a brilliant sunlit blue sky when, all of
a sudden, it is blown apart by gunfire and falls to earth a tumbling, tangled mess of metal. Only for him, the gunfire was the tragic
unexpected death of his beloved wife.
The preacher ended his sermon by saying this: he didn’t understand life, but what he did know was that during this darkest
period of his life, he needed his faith more than ever. He said, and I quote: “You people in the sunshine may have the faith, but we in
the shadow must believe it. We have nothing else.”
Those of us who believe also have a personalized faith in him - that’s how relationships work. I have a great relationship with
my wife, and I trust her wholeheartedly and vice-versa. Many of you here tonight enjoy that same experience. The same is true for
my relationship with God. I have full faith in him. And yet, those who do not have that faith in him must believe in him. It is
essential.
John 3:16, and listen for the key point I’m making here, says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
‘that whoever believes in him’ shall not perish but have eternal life.”
In Romans 10:9, Paul said to the Romans, “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.” Paul knew this first-
hand. He was a living, breathing witness to the risen Christ and his life changed on the road to Eumaeus. He wanted the people of
Rome to believe it too.
In the song we will sing to close our service tonight, the songwriter expressed his belief. Unable to explain the grace and love
of God, unworthy of such a gift, and overwhelmed by the glorious life of a believer, Daniel Whittle writes in song 730, “But I KNOW
whom I have believed…” That’s it! That’s enough… We don’t have all the answers and, at many times in our lives we won’t know
how to explain it, but the walking, living proof we carry is in the fact that we believe!
We must admit that we need God’s salvation, believe that God, through Jesus’s Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, can indeed
forgive us, and
Finally, we must: C – Confess.
Knowing that we need it and believing that we can get it are only part of it. This is where this gets a little tricky for some. Salvation,
or the forgiveness of our sins, is not something that we can and keep a secret. To be honest, and I'm speaking for me and each of
you here tonight who have that relationship with Him can speak for yourselves and testify to the fact, that we don’t want to keep it
to ourselves!! Am I right? Jesus addressed this with his disciples in Matthew 5:15 when he said to them, “Neither do people light a
lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” The experience of
salvation must be experienced and shared.
Major Arley was telling me that people keep asking him why he dances up and down and side to side while he’s playing the
according and singings. He said that he always tells people the same thing: He’s excited for what God has done for him and he wants
to share it. That’s the joy of telling others that you’re spiritually free!!
Paul wanted the Romans to know that same excitement. In Romans 10:9 he said that they must “declare with their mouths
that Jesus is Lord.” To declare a relationship with God is to publicly acknowledge that you are a new person. The biblical practice of
Baptism is just that. Not to overthink it but baptism is simply the outward expression of a life that changed by the submersion in
water. That same public declaration can be the standing during sharing time and telling people of what God has done for you and
encouraging others, it can also be that public kneeling at the alter here, or anywhere, to let the world know that you are a child of
God. How do you confess him in your life?
Martin Luther said, "The life of Christianity consists of possessive pronouns." He says, “It is one thing to say, "Christ is a
Saviour"; it is quite another thing to say, "He is my Saviour and my Lord." The devil can say the first; the true Christian alone can say
the second.
Over 10 years ago, I was asked to sing at a Sunday night meeting. The officer at the time told me that he was preaching on
salvation. I searched for a song that fit well with the topic and couldn’t find one that I thought was perfect. So I wrote one and sang
it. It was about getting to know Jesus – making that relationship with him. I remember thinking, at the time, that salvation is so
simple. A. B. C. The first verse reminds us that many people are preoccupied with the things of the world – the houses, cars, things,
material kingdoms, etc. And yet they put their relationship with God on the back burner. And in the second verse I talk about time –
how many people think there will always be a tomorrow. Yet, we may not see tomorrow for the bible says that he may come in the
blink of an eye. The only thing that matters then is that relationship with God.
The words of the chorus are actually my three points for tonight. It says:
“Admit you need Salvation
Believe He is the way
Confess your sins to Jesus
And know Him today”
I’ll have Bruce put the words up as I sing them. I ask you to read along as I sing them, and think about your own life, and your
own relationship with God. We’re going to have a time of prayerful reflection after I sing this song, and if there is even one among
us who is in need of that right relationship with God, I would encourage you to seek him tonight. Starting that relationship with God
is as simple as ABC… I know we have always used the word “saved” in our church and many others, and sometimes that scares
people off. Let me explain it to you like this: It’s not about religion - because each church, denomination, and congregation, have
their own rules, policies and “do-this, and Don’t do that” attitudes – a lot like the Romans did when Paul wrote them his letter. But
it’s not about religion, it’s about relationship. It’s about your personal relationship with God. It is YOU that has to admit you need
Him. It is YOU that has to BELIEVE in him. It is YOU that has to Confess him as lord and savior of your life. When you close your eyes
in death- and be assured you will – you alone will stand and give account of your live. Only YOU will be accountable for your
relationship.
May God bless you and speak to you through these words…
