Rom. x. 8 — 10. That is, the word of faith, which we preach; 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 he saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and tvith the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
IF we would know with certainty what the Gospel is, we should examine carefully what the Apostles preached. But in various places their discourses ap- peared to have a different aspect, according as they were called to lay the foundations of religion, or to huild up the superstructure : and therefore we are concerned to receive from these inspired teachers a summary of their own doctrines : and this is precisely what we are favoured with in the passage before us. Let us, then, take these words as our guide : for in them we may clearly see,
I. The terms on which salvation is offered to us —
We are told, in few words, what was " the word of faith which Paul preached." Two things he insisted on, as indispensably necessary to our salvation :
1. Faith in Christ as our crucified and risen Sa- viour—
[The Lord Jesus Christ was " sent of God to be the Saviour of the world a." All that was necessary for man's salvation he effected on the cross : and God, in token that he himself was satisfied, raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, and exalted him to his own right hand, that there he might carry on and perfect the work assigned him. Of us he requires, that we believe in Christ, as thus sent, thus accepted, thus qua- lified : and that, discarding every other hope, we place our dependence on him alone.
This mode of salvation is contrasted with the law, which proposes obedience alone as the ground of hope. But by obedience can no man living be saved ; because we have already violated the law ; and, even if at this moment our past violations of it were forgiven, we should be unable to render to
a 1 John iv. 14.