“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord stunned His audience when He told them, On that day many will say to me, “’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them
‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
People think they are going to heaven, but aren’t? Note the word
many’ – this is a large number. How can a person think they belong to
God but they don’t? Many will claim they said the words of Romans 10: 9-10 sometime in their life. They confessed Jesus as Lord, they said the magic words. God promised. So what does this verse mean?
If This is an “if…then” promise of God. God keeps His word depending on the action of a person. Since this verse deals with salvation it is critical we understand the conditions God specifies about eternal life.
You This is an individual decision. No one can make this decision for another. No one can be prayed into heaven or bought out of “purgatory” after they die. God speaks to each person individually and holds each person accountable.
Confess The word confess is a critical word. It does not mean to just say words. It means to willingly and publicly declare exactly the same thing. It is total agreement with God about who His Son is. It is the same word that the Lord used in the Sermon on the Mount when He declares ”I never knew you”. In other words Christ does not confess
the same thing as the one who claims to know Him. The relationship with Him does not exist.
With your mouth This is a person’s testimony. They speak verbally from their mouth the confession that others hear.
That Jesus is Lord What is it that the person agrees with God about and declares with their mouth? The Greek word indicates a person who has complete ownership rights. In this case a person agrees with God that Jesus is God, full man and full deity. It is a confession of the truths of the Lord’s life – the virgin birth, a perfect life, His death for for the sins of others, not Himself. In other words what God has revealed about His Son is accepted and proclaimed as truth. A person cannot believe Jesus is just a good teacher, an example to be followed or even a god that we can eventually become identical to (the Mormon’s belief of Jesus). He is the unique, incomparable God, creator and ruler of all.
And There is a second condition that must be met. It is not only confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord.
Believe in your heart The Lord moves to the seat of the beliefs – the heart, the mind. This is where what one treasures is established. Believe is the word for trust or faith. This word means personally persuaded. This belief is unshakeable despite what might happen around us. This belief governs the way we live.
That God raised him from the dead The person believes that God raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. This means God is satisfied that the the Lord fully paid for every sin and there is no more debt owed to God for that sin. Christ’s resurrection is the evidence that our debt is paid in full. To accept Christ as Lord and Savior is to confess our sin and to accept His death as full payment for what we owe. To deny His resurrection, that He is alive and coming again, is to deny who God and Christ are. This is total belief Christ is who He claimed to be.
You will Put a then in front of will. Upon the confession from the heart of one’s faith and trust in the risen Savior for payment of one’s sin, God grants His unchangeable promise. You shall – there are no exceptions.
Be saved Strong’s concordance says saved means “properly, deliver out of danger and into safety; used principally of God rescuing believers from the penalty and power of sin into all He is (safety). This is what the name of Jesus means, it is why He came to earth. “You shall call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins.”
What can we learn? Paul follows Romans 10:9 with verse 10. “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” The heart and mouth are both involved in accepting the truth God reveled to us about who His Son is and what he has done for us.