"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."
There is an adage around these days that goes "fake it till you make it." It has wide application. People advising others about how to survive in a new job say it to impart the idea that new work peers will assume you know what you are doing if you act like it. Eventually you will learn the job, and you will impress them with your confidence.
Other applications are found in the world of pop-psychology: if you find yourself less-than-happy, put on a grin anyway. Eventually your smile will convince you to be happy. That one I have a hard time buying, but so it goes.
"Fake it till you make it" is probably not the best advice to give some people, who might just endanger others along their learning curve. Trying to fly a plane or drive a locomotive comes to mind. In those cases, I'm fairly certain there is a reason you'd better be trained properly. Faking it is no substitute for knowledge.
It is interesting advice that Paul gives to the Romans above. When it comes to matters of faith, you really can't fake it till you make it. Both your mouth and your heart need to be aligned. I've seen a lot of preachers who thump a Bible talking about loving others, but then turn around and do some pretty hateful things. You heart has to believe, and then your mouth will profess.
Sometimes we may not always be standing on solid ground when it comes to faith. Situations arise where we may have little faith that our words will match our hearts. In prayer, we may ask God to meet our need, but our faith is tentative. We might not believe it possible that our prayers will make it all the way to God's ears. Even as we ask, we plan for contingencies.
God invites us to test him. He knows our trepidation. Remember, he built us this way. He instilled in us all mechanics to operate independently, and frankly, uncertainty is part of the kit. Uncertainty and doubt is a survival tool that protects us. We know that there are situations that arise where we need to test the waters... or frozen ice on a pond. Check the lines on a rope bridge before you get out to the middle.
What Paul is telling us is to proclaim our faith, and choose to believe. Talk to your inner soul and get aligned. Faith is a choice. You may sometimes be challenged to keep the faith you have chosen, but stick with it.
The amazing thing about choosing Christ is that as life becomes more complex, you will discover that your faith will grow in equal complexity. You will be able to think deeper thoughts, be wise in a multitude of challenges, and discover more about the world around you as you stick to one simple truth: The resurrection of Jesus Christ is real. His resurrection is the ultimate triumph over this world.
Develop a faith in your heart, and you will triumph too.
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