We have to respond to God’s gift of salvation. Romans 10: 9-10 gives us salvation in a nutshell. In this devotion, we will discuss confessing and believing.
Nuggets
- Salvation starts internally, but then it moves externally.
- If we don’t confess, we don’t have the faith; if we don’t have the faith, we don’t have the salvation.
- God is going to know when we are not making a sincere confession.
Devotions in the What I Believe series
Devotions in the Response to Salvation series
Salvation in a Nutshell
Putting Feet to the Plan of Salvation
Paul gave us what our response should be to the framework of salvation he had been giving us. Really, he summed up the whole gospel in these two verses.
Let's Put It into Context
“On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim” (Rom. 10: 8 CSB)
True salvation starts out with faith. From that comes righteousness. It is a progression on the sanctification road.
The focus should be on the near you part. It is internal, not external. It’s personal.
We are going to have too choose to believe. Our faith must be both in our hearts and mouths.
There is an external part, but it comes from us. We are to proclaim the message of faith.
Call to Action
“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” (Rom. 10: 9 CSB)
Salvation starts internally, but then it moves externally. We don’t want to be accused of being Robinson’s coward or hypocrite when only showing one. We show we are neither by confessing what God has done for us.
If we don’t confess, we don’t have the faith. If we don’t have the faith, we don’t have the salvation.
Pilkington pointed this out. It is interesting that confessing comes before believing.
Sometimes, I think it is easy to forget that Jesus was Lord before Calvary. Jesus was God from before the foundation of the world.
Yes, Calvary was a defining moment. It made Jesus Savior. He was already Lord.
We do have to confess Jesus as Lord. This is where the submission comes into play.
Melvill had a really good list of just what we are submitting. He identified:
- Our understanding
- Our willingness to suffer for His name
- Our willingness to work for His kingdom
We have to believe with our heart, not with our head. No, we don’t have to understand. We don’t need to figure everything out first.
We have to believe.
We have to show the worldview people how we are different than they are. We do that by showing them the peace and joy we find in God.
Okay, we just said that Jesus completed the plan of salvation on the cross. That was because His blood was the atonement for our sins.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
Here, it says “… believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead …” (Rom. 10: 9 CSB). That is because the resurrection is evidence of God’s acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice.
I keep thinking of that saying that pops up occasionally. Would there be enough evidence of my salvation to convict me? Do I confess God with my mouth and with my life so that people know Whose I am.
I love what Vaughn has to say. He wrote, “To talk in generalities about religion requires no effort, and brings no shame. The world likes it. But to talk of Christ requires an effort, and offends people.”
We have to talk the way God approves. It may mean we have to have hard conversations with those we love sometimes.
All Together
“One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation” (Rom. 10: 10 CSB)
In case we missed it, Paul gave a summary. (And it is in the order we expect it to be.)
Belief = righteousness
Confession = salvation
Tyson reminded us that faith is synonymous with belief. What we believe is the testimony that we have been given (I Jn. 5: 9-11).
To me, this restatement is important. It may have been possible that some of Paul’s readers had seen Jesus personally — or knew of someone who did.
There is no way we would have that privilege. True, Paul would have had no idea that his letters would survive this long. However, He knew God would use his words to convince people, who would use their words, and on and on.
However, as we get farther and farther away from the eyewitnesses, it can get more difficult to convince people that Jesus really lived, died, and rose from the grave.
But back to verse 10.
What I am having trouble wrapping my mind around is righteousness comes before salvation. (See, I am learning, too. I don’t have all the answers.)
That seems backwards to me. It warrants more study.
The only conditions placed on verse 10 are we are to respond “… with the heart … and … with the mouth …” (Rom. 10: 10 CSB). We have to be genuine, and we have to be vocal.
The prize is salvation. Spurgeon confirmed that “there never was, and there never will be, a man that with his mouth confessed the Lord Jesus, and with his heart believed that God raised Him from the dead, that was not saved.”
Romans 3: 22 says, “The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction.” If we have faith, we have righteousness. There is no subgroup that does not get the shaft.
To me, it reads like Pilkington pulled works into the confession. “Take the ‘confession’ to stand for practical Christianity, since confessing Christ with the mouth is but one of the ‘works’ wrought by loving faith.”
But look at verse 10 again. Salvation is not gained until confession has occurred.
God is going to know when we are not making a sincere confession. We are not going to be able to pull a fast one on Him.
Making the Connections
Believe and confess. That is what we need to gain salvation. That is what we need to go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
We can’t gain salvation on our own. We have to go through Jesus.
It is important that we gain salvation. If we don’t, we will continue to be spiritually dead. Then we will suffer the consequences of sin.
To read a related devotion, click on the appropriate button below.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
We don’t need to do the do’s and not do the don’ts for salvation. However, obedience is a big part of the sanctification road.
Obedience means to hear and carry out the instructions that God gives us. That means we are going to need self-discipline.
Self-discipline is important because God doesn’t water down the do’s and don’ts. Yes, He knows we won’t have perfect obedience until we get to heaven.
We still have to practice. We have to prepare for our future life.
We are also considering what we would say if a non-believer asked us about this process. Here is the worksheet again. What would you tell someone who had questions about believing and confessing?
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
Watkinson put it beautifully. He wrote, “So the truth which saves, the love which purifies, the faith which uplifts, the power which perfects, are all about us, waiting only the opening of our heart to take them in.”
We just have to reach out and grab it.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Father God. You love us so much that a You designed the plan of salvation to restore our relationships with You. All You ask us to do is to believe, confess, and obey. Lord, we admit our sins, believe Jesus is our Savior and Redeemed, and confess You as Sovereign Lord. Help us to live for You. Amen.
What do you think?
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