Q: Romans 10:9-10 states: “because, 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. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (ESV). This passage seems to indicate that it is very important for people to speak about their faith to someone—not important enough for salvation to hinge on, mind you, and I’m sure there will be plenty of people in heaven who never spoke about their faith but had true faith in their hearts. However, isn’t it good to encourage new believers to declare their faith to someone—not in a legalistic way but because, at the very least, God says this is a sign of salvation?
A: Romans 10:9-10 uses a chiasmus: mouth – heart – heart – mouth. What this chiasmus shows is that the confession with the mouth and the believing in the heart are things that happen simultaneously. The moment we believe, we confess with the mouth; and we confess with the mouth the moment we believe. Often people claim that this confession has to be public, but that is not the case. The new believer confesses to God with his mouth that he believes the gospel, and that is all that is essential for salvation. Those who claim that there must be some kind of a public confession as part of the salvation package add a work element to salvation, and salvation always was, is, and will be by grace through faith apart from any work.
One is not saved because of a confession made to an audience, nor is one saved because he walks down the aisle. One is not saved by reciting a sinner’s prayer or by filling out a little card. One is saved strictly by grace through faith plus nothing, and the content of faith is spelled out in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
