Romans 10:13

                I was young. 13 years, that is, and working at a Christian summer camp in Port Orchard, Washington. We hosted a weekly concert for the campers, and this week was the stellar Christian rock band, Autumn’s Fire. I loved their acoustic sound, their charming biblical references and the fact that the lead singer could make an uncanny Chewbacca noise in the microphone. I had decided that I loved Autumn’s Fire, so I bought their CD and had them sign it after the show. The bassist (whom I had not even noticed behind Chewbacca), signed, “Romans 10:13,” and his name…Amos whatever. Awed by this pearl of wisdom, I immediately referenced the verse and committed to memory. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” it says. So that is how I lived my life, until it completely screwed me over.

                Ehrman says that “those who believe in Christ have been made right with God and will be saved from the wrath of God that is coming upon this world (5:1-11). They will also be delivered from the reign of God’s mortal enemy, death, which entered into the world through the disobedience of Adam, Christ’s counterpart, but which has now been conquered by Christ’s own act of obedience (5:12-21)” (271). One might interpret that this means Jesus has saved humanity from having to deal with the cosmic power of sin, in order to more easily access salvation through God. Upon further review, I would agree that Romans 10:13 assures us of the same fate: if we choose to accept Jesus’ saving of our sins, we can be free of sin and death.

                But, at 13, I completely misconstrued those few words in Romans 10:13. After the “turn the other cheek” Catholic upbringing I’d experienced, I understood Christian salvation—and thus, life on Earth—as allowing others to hurt, harm and do what they please with you, while you turn the other cheek, call out to God, and eventually experience some kind of salvation. Oh, how this confusion of the message destroyed me! I grew laterally from 13 into the biggest pushover humankind has witnessed thus far, which ended with devastating consequences and lessons definitely learned the hard way. Upon reviewing Romans, I don’t see Paul advising against self-defense or social diplomacy. In fact, God is particularly “righteous” in Paul’s works, saving those who reject the confines of the Law and choose to accept Jesus’ sacrifice.

                Word to the wise 13 year-olds out there: Paul’s message in Romans, particularly chapter 10, verse 13, does not imply that anyone should lay across (figurative) train tracks, allowing the forces of sin and death to destroy them, awaiting God’s saving power. Instead, Paul asks us to fearlessly (and confrontationally, as in the case of the Romans!), proclaim the good news of Jesus’ sacrifice to begin the process of eternal sin removal. Now, a much smarter--but still extraordinarily dumb—18 year-old, I feel I have transformed from a adhering-conscious Jew to a stronger Roman, interpreting and awaiting more signals while defending myself and my faith on Earth.