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Romans 10:9

in Romans 10

that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved:

KJV

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.

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This verse in Romans 10

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

In the book of Hebrews we learn that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the certainty in our hearts of what we cannot see. We are also given encouragement that the Lord rewards those with faith as we accept Him and accept his chosen ambassador who he has perfectly revealed himself through.

Salvation is the greatest accomplishment of man and it is attributed to only one man, Jesus of Nazareth. In part, his way was marked by total submission to his Father, our Creator, through absolute obedience even to the point of death. Jesus is our example of perfect alignment. Outwardly, we might suppose that this alignment was by accomplished by his perfect works and try for ourselves to come into a favorable position with God through our well-intentioned behavior. This is not the case, Christ's works were outward evidence of the inwardl identity. His actions were perfectly consistent with his identity, which we recognize as integrity.

Likewise, for ourselves to lay hold of the gift of salvation purchased for us, we most not only believe that God is as he claims to be through the person Jesus of Nazareth, but we must also be congniscent of our need for salvation and cry out "Lord, Save me!" Which is Hebrew sounds something like "Elohim, Yeshua ti!"

If we stop here, we fall short of repentance. "And confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord." This is not simply an acknowledgment, it is an oath. By this decree we establish Yeshua as the ultimate authority in our lives and submit ourselves to obedience to him.

We might be tempted once we have prayed such a prayer to continue on our way, pleased with our own wit and intellect to have called upon the One who has the power to save. Forgetting that now Christ bids us to follow him, to pick up our cross and come after him.

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Cost of Discipleship.

on Romans 10:9-10

You see? No confession, no salvation. It is good to believe in the heart, but belief alone is not sufficient. We must not only believe in our hearts, but we must also say it out boldly with our mouths.

This site's exposition

confess with your mouth

on Romans 10:9-10

Two acts stand together here, confession with the mouth and belief in the heart. Confess translates homologeo, which is to say the same thing openly. The content of the belief is named exactly, that God raised Jesus from the dead, and verse 10 keeps the order of the heart and the mouth, believing and justified, confessing and saved.

The words behind it

23 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Luke 12:8I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.132 worksActs 16:31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”106 worksPhilippians 2:11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.91 worksMatthew 10:32–33Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.62 works1 John 4:2–3By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,48 works1 Peter 1:21Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.43 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Romans 8:34Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.37 works1 Corinthians 15:14–18And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.35 worksRomans 10:10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.34 worksRomans 14:11It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”33 works1 John 4:15If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.28 works1 Corinthians 12:3Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.26 worksJohn 12:42–43Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue.25 works2 John 1:7For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.23 worksJohn 20:26–29Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”18 worksJohn 9:22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.18 worksActs 2:24But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.16 worksActs 8:36As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”15 works

Where this verse connects

1 approved connection.

  • A mirrored structure

    Romans 10:10

    Chiasm across two verses: confess/believe (v.9) reversed to believe/confess (v.10), ordering the two halves of saving response.

    Source: Lund, Chiasmus in the New Testament

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Acts 16:31

    They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”

    it leads to

    • Romans 10:9–10

      that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • John 1:12

      But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—

    • John 3:36

      Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

    • Acts 2:38–39

      Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

    • Acts 11:13–14

      He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.

  • Through

    Philippians 2:11

    and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

    it leads to

    • 1 John 4:15

      If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

    • Romans 14:11

      It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”

  • Through

    Luke 12:8

    I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 10:32–33

      Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.

Where this verse is studied

About Romans

The Crucifixion — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Crucifixion — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Romans: the study guide →Read Romans 10 →

This page draws on Derek Prince, The Heart and the Mouth (devotional); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, and on the writing of Marcus Brown.

Read on in Romans 10 →