From the Heart

Romans 10:9-10 says: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (KJV) What does it mean to believe from the heart? Too many try to convince others just to mentally agree that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Savior. However, that will not help anyone break additions or turn from sin. What enables a person to confess Yeshua as Adonai (Lord) is believing from the heart. When the Hebrew is examined the verse makes perfect sense. The Hebrew word for "heart" is lev. It is composed of the Hebrew letters Lamed and Bet. Lamed has the word picture of control. Bet has the word picture of house, family, or inside. When they are put together, it means to control the inside. Now Shaul's (Paul's) writing becomes clear. If you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and allow Him to control your inside, then you will be saved. It is about control. Your inside determines your outside. If you are exercising, your foot cannot make you run. It is the inside that controls the body. When Yeshua controls your actions, then you are believing from the heart.

Too often you will hear in the church, "It was my flesh that made me fall." Now compare that thinking with the word picture of the heart. If something other than Yeshua is controlling the inside, you have left the state of believing. Nothing should control you but Yeshua and the written Word of God. Yeshua is the living Word and the Bible is the written Word of God. Yeshua came to earth to show us what it meant to be controlled by the Word. He demonstrated the power of the Word to overcome the world, sin, and the devil. When we believe, we have the same authority and power. We do not become a "god." However, we have His power controlling our inner person that will control the outer behavior.

Shaul's writings are the opposite of "easy believeism." To believe from the heart is not a matter of mentally agreeing to a statement of doctrine. It is allowing yourself to be at the control of God and the teachings of Yeshua. What controls you? When you answer that question, you will know what you really believe.