Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Monday July 14 2025
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Romans 10:9-10-that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Recently, I have been meditating on Paul’s statement here. Confessing Jesus as Lord today and in our country is a relatively easy process, usually with no negative consequences. But have you ever stopped to consider how amazing this statement is in it’s first century context? Allow me to share a few thoughts with you.
First, notice the subjects in this passage who are doing the confessing. Throughout Romans, when Paul talks to the Christians, he most often uses the pronoun “you.” When he addresses unbelievers, he normally uses the pronouns “they” or “them.” So the ones in Romans 10 who are doing the continual believing and confessing toward salvation are Christians who have already been baptized (Romans 6:3-4), or “brethren” (Romans 10:1). As the Christians continue confessing Jesus as Lord, they do so in the midst of hostile relatives and neighbors to whom they are “sent” to proclaim God’s Word (Romans 10:14-15). Confessing Jesus as Lord would often put these disciples in a bad position of persecution and hardship, yet their willingness to endure such could lead to their neighbors and loved ones being saved.
Second, I want you to see what confessing Jesus as “Lord” actually implies. It is a declaration that Jesus is God!
“(2) There is a strong connection between the Greek kyrios (“ Lord”) and the OT name for God, YAHWEH, thus: in the Greek translation of the OT (the Septuagint), the Hebrew name YAHWEH is translated as kyrios–over 6,000 times. In light of that, the fact that Jesus is predominantly called kyrios (“ Lord”) in the NT is evidence that He is identified with YAHWEH, and is thus one of the three persons of the Trinity. (Why do we say “predominantly”? Consider this: In Acts, Jesus is called “Savior” twice, and called “Lord” 92 times. In the NT as a whole, Jesus is called “Savior” ten times, and called “Lord” about 700 times [says John MacArthur].)”. (Jack Cottrell, Studies in Romans – Part 2: 26 Lessons for Personal or Group Study, 80 (Kindle Edition): Mason, OH: Christian Restoration Association)
Confessing “Jesus is Lord” is acknowledging our faith not only in His authority as Savior, but as the Son of God Himself. By this statement, we continually acknowledge the Deity (i.e., the Godhood) of Jesus. This confession begins at the time of our baptism, and then continues on throughout our Christian life. In fact, this is pretty much identical to the “good confession” referenced throughout the New Testament (cf. Acts 8:37; 1 Timothy 6:12-14). The church fathers document this historically.
For example:
Augustine: “This condition is fulfilled at the time of baptism, when faith and profession of faith are all that is demanded for one to be baptized.” (The Christian Life 13. [FC 16:36.])
Finally, consider this. The Roman Empire insisted that its citizens participate in something called Caesar worship. The people were required once a year to gather at a designated place, offer a pinch of incense, and declare, “Caesar Is Lord.” By doing this, the Roman citizens were affirming their belief that the Caesar was Divine.
Barclay highlights why this was such a serious issue for Christians:
“By the time of Revelation, Caesar-worship was the one religion which covered the whole Roman Empire; and it was because of their refusal to conform to its demands that Christians were persecuted and killed. Its essence was that the reigning Roman emperor, who was seen to embody the spirit of Rome, was divine. Once a year, everyone in the Empire had to appear before the magistrates to burn a pinch of incense to the godhead of Caesar and to say: ‘Caesar is Lord.’ After they had done that, people were able to go away and worship any god or goddess they liked, as long as that worship did not infringe decency and good order; but they had to go through this ceremony in which they acknowledged the emperor’s divinity. The reason was very simple. Rome had a vast and diverse empire, stretching from one end of the known world to the other. It had in it many languages, races and traditions. The problem was how to weld this varied mass into a unity. There was no unifying force such as a common religion, and none of the national religions could conceivably have become universal. Caesar-worship could. It was the one common act and belief which turned the Empire into a unity. To refuse to burn the pinch of incense and to say: ‘Caesar is Lord’ was not an act against religion; it was an act of political disloyalty. That is why the Romans dealt with the utmost severity with anyone who would not say: ‘Caesar is Lord.’ And Christians could never give the title Lord to anyone other than Jesus Christ….The coming of Domitian (AD 81–96) brought a complete change. He was a devil. He was the worst of all things–a cold-blooded persecutor. With the exception of Caligula, he was the first emperor to take his divinity seriously and to demand Caesar-worship. The difference was that Caligula was an insane devil; Domitian was a sane devil, which is much more terrifying. He erected a monument to ‘the deified Titus, son of the deified Vespasian’. He began a campaign of bitter persecution against all who would not worship the ancient gods–‘the atheists’, as he called them. In particular, he launched his hatred against the Jews and the Christians. When he arrived in the theatre with his empress, the crowd were urged to rise and shout: ‘All hail to our Lord and his Lady!’ He behaved as if he himself were a god. He informed all provincial governors that government announcements and proclamations must begin: ‘Our Lord and God Domitian commands …’ Everyone who addressed him in speech or in writing must begin: ‘Lord and God.’ Here is the background of Revelation. All over the Empire, men and women had to call Domitian god–or die. Caesar-worship was the deliberate policy; all must say: ‘Caesar is Lord.’ There was no escape. What were the Christians to do? What hope did they have? Not many of them were wise, and not many of them were powerful. They had no influence or status. Against them had risen the might of Rome, which no nation had ever resisted. They were confronted with the choice–Caesar or Christ. It was to encourage men and women in such times that Revelation was written. John did not shut his eyes to the terrors; he saw dreadful things, and he saw still more dreadful things on the way; but beyond them he saw glory for those who defied Caesar for the love of Christ. Revelation comes from one of the most heroic ages in all the history of the Christian Church.” (William Barclay, The Revelation of John, Volume 2 (The New Daily Study Bible Book 1), 17-22 (Kindle Edition): Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press)
By their declaration that, “Jesus Is Lord” the Christians were taking their stand against the wickedness of the Roman Empire. Our brothers and sisters were often persecuted and put to death for their declaration that Jesus is Lord. May we have the same courage and conviction today as we proclaim that Jesus Is Lord!
Lord, we proclaim that You are Lord. Give us your boldness to make that confession every day in our words and in our daily lives. Thank You for the example in Your Scriptures of our brothers and sisters who courageously made that good confession even when it cost them everything. Make us strong, Lord. Help us to speak Your Word to those who need to hear of Your love and of Your command for repentance. Amen.
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