You will be saved
Romans 10:9 - “This is the faith that saves the soul”
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9 NIV
Just a few minutes ago, Barb and I were talking about fulfilling the requirements to become full members of our new church. One of the listed requirements is being baptized as a believer. I was baptized both as an infant in the Catholic church and as an adult through full immersion at the church we recently left. Barb was also baptized as an infant (in the Lutheran church), but has not been baptized as an adult. As she noted, she’ll probably do that someday soon, but it is not a requirement for salvation.
Today first verse from the Book of Romans explain clearly what is required for salvation — “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It is really that simple.
By declaring (or confessing in some translations) that Jesus is Lord, we are saying that we agree with both what God told us about Jesus and what Jesus said about Himself. We are making a verbal statement that Jesus is God, He is the Messiah, and through His crucifixion He made it possible for mankind to be saved.
In the time that Romans was written, declaring that Jesus Christ is Lord could be cause for persecution and even death! The Ancient Greek word for Lord is κύριος (kyrios), which was a term also used for the Roman emperor and God. To the Roman people, it was essentially blasphemy to give Jesus the same standing as the emperor (who was considered to be godlike), and to the Jews, stating that Jesus was God was definitely blasphemous.
One had to truly believe in those days that Jesus Christ is Lord and be willing to suffer or die for Him, either at the hands of the Jews or the Gentiles (Romans)!
There’s another part to Romans 10:9 in addition to declaring that Jesus Christ is Lord — “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead”. David Guzik in Enduring Word says:
We must also believe this. Some wonder why Paul didn’t mention the crucifixion in this passage. But when Paul emphasizes the need to believe that God has raised him from the dead, it is not that we believe the resurrection as opposed to the cross, but encompassing the work of Jesus on the cross.
One can’t just agree with the facts of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus — you must “believe in your heart” as well. Belief goes hand in hand with action — declaring with your mouth. Spurgeon said of this verse:
“We believe everything which the Lord Jesus has taught, but we must go a step further, and trust him. It is not even enough to believe in him, as being the Son of God, and the anointed of the Lord; but we must believe on him... The faith that saves is not believing certain truths, nor even believing that Jesus is a Savior; but it is resting on him, depending on him, lying with all your weight on Christ as the foundation of your hope. Believe that he can save you; believe that he will save you; at any rate leave the whole matter of your salvation with him in unquestioning confidence. Depend upon him without fear as to your present and eternal salvation. This is the faith which saves the soul.”1
While I was studying this verse, I considered adding in Romans 10:10 as well. However, I’ll leave that companion verse for my next devotional.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer comes from Knowing Jesus:
Heavenly Father, thank You that Your only begotten Son came to earth to die on the Cross and to rise again so that all who believe in Him, both Jew and Gentile alike, would not perish but have everlasting life. Thank You that You have not forgotten Your people Israel, and thank You that all who confess that Jesus is Lord, the eternal God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel and believe in their heart that He rose from the dead will not perish but have everlasting life. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)