romans 10: 9 & 10
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.
Romans 10: 9&10
We are told in Romans 10 verse 9 that IF we do two things we shall be SAVED. Firstly a sinner needs to confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus. To confess Jesus as Lord is actually to confess that he is Almighty God!
Secondly a sinner must believe in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is not mere mental assent. There must be faith in the heart! A sinner must put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as his risen Saviour, believing that he is God.
Though Romans 10:9 & 10 talks of two things we must do in order to be saved there are in fact three things we must do! The third thing required is repentance. Repentance has been commanded by God in Acts 17:30 and Jesus said, I tell you, nay: except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:3. Jesus came to call sinners to repentance! He said, 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' Luke 5:32. God does not want any lost sinners to perish, he wants all to come to repentance, as the Bible makes clear in 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Repentance is essential for salvation. Without repentance there can be NO salvation. Repentance is therefore an ASSUMPTION in Romans 10: 9 & 10. Repentance in the context of salvation means, in sorrow for our sin, changing our mind about sin and turning from our own way to God. It means turning from our sin to God in our hearts at the very moment of conversion. The Bible says, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7
Verse 10 tells us that ' ... with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; ...', he is justified by faith, 'and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.' Faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ and confession of Jesus as Lord go together! The Bible says ' ... with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.' What you have already believed in your heart you are confessing with your mouth! Are we then saved by confession? Are we saved by our mouth? NO! We are saved by Jesus through confessing Jesus as Lord, in repentance and faith in Jesus as our risen Saviour! It is God who hears this confession unto salvation! It is God who requires that we confess him with our mouths! One day every knee shall bow to Jesus and every tongue shall confess him as Lord! God gives us the opportunity to come to him in this life and confess him as Lord in repentance and faith - so we won't be forced, as unrepentant sinners, to do it at the great white throne judgment! Romans 10:9 & 10 is not therefore talking about a confession before men! No, it is talking about a confession before Almighty God! In confessing JESUS as Lord you are agreeing with God about who he IS!
The Bible says in Romans 10: 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. As a person comes to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith in him as Almighty God his risen Saviour, confessing him as Lord, he is literally calling upon the name of the Lord! The fact is, we must come to Christ in order to be saved by Christ! We must come to the only one who is able to save us, NOT JUST BELIEVE THE FACTS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST! Jesus said, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. John 6:37.
It is Christ who hears the prayer, the call, of the repentant sinner! Evangelists, especially, understand the importance of giving people the opportunity to call upon the name of the Lord after they have heard the gospel of Christ preached to them. A person can only come to Christ when he is under the reproving work of the Holy Ghost. The so-called sinner's prayer is simply the cry of the repentant sinner to Christ to save him as he confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus! To put it another way, when someone 'calls upon the name of the Lord' he is simply praying a 'sinner's prayer'. It's that simple and it's entirely Biblical. The thief on the cross prayed a sinner's prayer to Jesus when he said ' …. Lord , remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.' The thief made the three steps to heaven! He repented, he believed in Jesus as his Saviour and he confessed him as Lord! The thief CAME to Jesus! He called upon his name!
You may ask the question " What if a person is dumb? Can that person be saved?" The answer is YES! God looks at the heart and ONLY God can bring a person from death to life! A dumb person whom God has brought to repentance and faith in Christ would surely confess the Lord Jesus Christ with his mouth if he was able to and God knows that! One thing is certain regarding confession of the Lord Jesus with the mouth: if you are able to confess him with your mouth, then confess him you must!
A similar question could be raised about a person who was unable to believe in Jesus through being mentally handicapped and not being able to understand the gospel of Christ. Could that person be saved? We can only say that God who knows all things and sees the hearts of all, will surely do what is right in his sight.
Conversion is the work of God not the work of man and is therefore failsafe! It is God who brings us from death to life, who sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. It is God the Son who SAVES us!
Have YOU been saved by Jesus?
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10: 9&10
We are told in Romans 10 verse 9 that IF we do two things we shall be SAVED. Firstly a sinner needs to confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus. To confess Jesus as Lord is actually to confess that he is Almighty God!
Secondly a sinner must believe in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is not mere mental assent. There must be faith in the heart! A sinner must put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as his risen Saviour, believing that he is God.
Though Romans 10:9 & 10 talks of two things we must do in order to be saved there are in fact three things we must do! The third thing required is repentance. Repentance has been commanded by God in Acts 17:30 and Jesus said, I tell you, nay: except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:3. Jesus came to call sinners to repentance! He said, 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' Luke 5:32. God does not want any lost sinners to perish, he wants all to come to repentance, as the Bible makes clear in 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Repentance is essential for salvation. Without repentance there can be NO salvation. Repentance is therefore an ASSUMPTION in Romans 10: 9 & 10. Repentance in the context of salvation means, in sorrow for our sin, changing our mind about sin and turning from our own way to God. It means turning from our sin to God in our hearts at the very moment of conversion. The Bible says, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7
Verse 10 tells us that ' ... with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; ...', he is justified by faith, 'and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.' Faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ and confession of Jesus as Lord go together! The Bible says ' ... with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.' What you have already believed in your heart you are confessing with your mouth! Are we then saved by confession? Are we saved by our mouth? NO! We are saved by Jesus through confessing Jesus as Lord, in repentance and faith in Jesus as our risen Saviour! It is God who hears this confession unto salvation! It is God who requires that we confess him with our mouths! One day every knee shall bow to Jesus and every tongue shall confess him as Lord! God gives us the opportunity to come to him in this life and confess him as Lord in repentance and faith - so we won't be forced, as unrepentant sinners, to do it at the great white throne judgment! Romans 10:9 & 10 is not therefore talking about a confession before men! No, it is talking about a confession before Almighty God! In confessing JESUS as Lord you are agreeing with God about who he IS!
The Bible says in Romans 10: 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. As a person comes to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith in him as Almighty God his risen Saviour, confessing him as Lord, he is literally calling upon the name of the Lord! The fact is, we must come to Christ in order to be saved by Christ! We must come to the only one who is able to save us, NOT JUST BELIEVE THE FACTS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST! Jesus said, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. John 6:37.
It is Christ who hears the prayer, the call, of the repentant sinner! Evangelists, especially, understand the importance of giving people the opportunity to call upon the name of the Lord after they have heard the gospel of Christ preached to them. A person can only come to Christ when he is under the reproving work of the Holy Ghost. The so-called sinner's prayer is simply the cry of the repentant sinner to Christ to save him as he confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus! To put it another way, when someone 'calls upon the name of the Lord' he is simply praying a 'sinner's prayer'. It's that simple and it's entirely Biblical. The thief on the cross prayed a sinner's prayer to Jesus when he said ' …. Lord , remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.' The thief made the three steps to heaven! He repented, he believed in Jesus as his Saviour and he confessed him as Lord! The thief CAME to Jesus! He called upon his name!
You may ask the question " What if a person is dumb? Can that person be saved?" The answer is YES! God looks at the heart and ONLY God can bring a person from death to life! A dumb person whom God has brought to repentance and faith in Christ would surely confess the Lord Jesus Christ with his mouth if he was able to and God knows that! One thing is certain regarding confession of the Lord Jesus with the mouth: if you are able to confess him with your mouth, then confess him you must!
A similar question could be raised about a person who was unable to believe in Jesus through being mentally handicapped and not being able to understand the gospel of Christ. Could that person be saved? We can only say that God who knows all things and sees the hearts of all, will surely do what is right in his sight.
Conversion is the work of God not the work of man and is therefore failsafe! It is God who brings us from death to life, who sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. It is God the Son who SAVES us!
Have YOU been saved by Jesus?
