Tuesday, November 3 2026
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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.
The Apostle Paul here encourages Christians to continue confessing and believing in Jesus. This is written to baptized believers (Romans 6:3-4) who had begun making this “good confession” that Jesus is Lord (or the Son of God-Acts 8:37) at the time of their immersion into Christ. The earliest Christians (known generally as the “church fathers,” the disciples who lived at the end of the Apostolic Age and shortly thereafter) document that is when this confession began to be made. They also discuss that Christians are here exhorted to continue making that good confession throughout their lives.
Have you ever stopped to think about the beauty of the good confession?
Let’s study.
The Good Confession Is Beautiful Because It Shows Our Complete Dependence Upon God
Throughout Romans, Paul deals with the problem of Judaizers (those in the first century who attempted to bind the Old Testament on Christians). At the root of the message of the Judaizers was the belief that by doing enough good works of the Law of Moses a person could save or hydrogel themselves in God’s sight. Yet the Law could never truly save a person from condemnation as its’ primary function was to make people aware of sin (Romans 2:12-15; 3:19-20; 5:20; 7:4). Throughout Romans 10:1-8, the Apostle reminds us of the failure of being able to save ourselves through enough good works.
Instead, God (in His unmatched goodness and grace) has reached down and sent us a Savior. That is why we can have hope, even in the midst of our own failures, shortcomings, and sins.
Romans 10:6-8 (ERV)-But this is what the Scriptures say about being made right through faith: “Don’t say to yourself, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’” (This means “Who will go up to heaven to get Christ and bring him down to earth?”). 7 “And don’t say, ‘Who will go down into the world below?’” (This means “Who will go down to get Christ and bring him up from death?”). 8 This is what the Scripture says: “God’s teaching is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.” It is the teaching of faith that we tell people.
There are a couple of possible reasons as to why Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30 in this passage.
The introductory warning, “Do not say in your heart,” is taken from Deut. 9:4. Paul’s quotation of this clause is not haphazard; he wants his readers to associate these words with the context from which they are drawn. 26 For in Deut. 9:4–6 Moses warns the people of Israel that when they have taken possession of the land God is bringing them to, they must not think that they have earned it because of “their own righteousness.” Paul therefore adds implicit biblical support to his criticism of the Israel of his day for its pursuit of their own righteousness (see v. 5)….Another possibility, then, is to find in intertestamental traditions a bridge between the text of Deut. 30 and Paul’s application of it. Specifically, scholars posit an identification of Christ with the figure of wisdom. They reconstruct the process in three steps: (1) law and wisdom were frequently associated in intertestamental Judaism; (2) one intertestamental text, Bar. 3:29–30, describes wisdom with some of the same language from Deut. 30 that Paul uses here; (3) Paul often associates Christ with the figure of wisdom….The best explanation for Paul’s use of the Deut. 30 text is to think that he finds in this passage an expression of the grace of God in establishing a relationship with his people. 35 As God brought his word near to Israel so they might know and obey him, so God now brings his word “near” to both Jews and Gentiles that they might know him through his Son Jesus Christ and respond in faith and obedience. Because Christ, rather than the law, is now the focus of God’s revelatory word (see 10:4), Paul can “replace” the commandment of Deut. 30:11–14 with Christ. (Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans (New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT), 650-653 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing House)
Whatever the specific reason for Paul’s quotation here from Deuteronomy 30, the overall message is the same: God brought salvation for His people when they couldn’t bring it for themselves.
As we make that good confession that Jesus is Lord at the time of our immersion, we are at that moment fully acknowledging our complete dependence upon Him for redemption. We are saying that we cannot be good enough or do enough good works to merit our salvation. Yet thanks to God’s amazing grace, we can be saved through what He has done!
I have heard people come out of the watery grave proclaiming, “How Great Thou Art!”
But I’ve not yet heard one person emerge from his or her baptism into Christ yelling, “How Great I Am!”
The Good Confession Is Beautiful Because It Shows Where Our True Allegiance Is
There was a custom in that day among the Roman citizens to officially proclaim their belief that “Caesar Is Lord” at public places of worship as they threw in a pinch of incense. That statement was a declaration that the Roman Emperor was Divine. Christians, of course, could not make such a declaration for there is only one true God. That is one reason why the words “Jesus Is Lord” have such significance.
We must say Jesus Christ is Lord. The word for Lord is kurios. This is the keyword of early Christianity. It has four stages of meaning. (a) It is the normal title of respect like the English sir, the French monsieur, the German Herr. (b) It is the normal title of the Roman emperors. (c) It is the normal title of the Greek gods, placed before the god’s name. Kurios Serapis is Lord Serapis. (d) In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, it is the regular translation of the divine name, Yahweh or Jehovah. So, to call Jesus kurios was to place him on a level with the emperor and with God; it was to give him the supreme place in a person’s life and so to pledge him implicit obedience and reverent worship. To call Jesus kurios was to count him unique. (William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans (The New Daily Study Bible), 199 (Kindle Edition): Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press)
The good confession is at its heart a statement of devotion to our belief in the Deity and Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is also a political statement, in which we claim that our ultimate faith and allegiance is to the Son of God and not earthly rulers or human parties. Perhaps in our divisive partisan country today in America, that is an important thought for each of us to ponder.
The Good Confession Is Beautiful Because It Offers Salvation To All
The Christians who continue to confess that Jesus is Lord are thereby teaching their friends and neighbors about Him.
Romans 10:14-15-How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF PEACE, WHO BRING GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS!”
Have you ever wondered who the preachers are in this passage?
Contextually, it is the same Christians who keep on confessing that Jesus is Lord!
We share the Good News of salvation with everyone-Jew and Gentile (Romans 11:19-27). This is because God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:5-11), and desires all people to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). He does not want even the most wicked to be lost (Ezekiel 18:23; 1 Timothy 2:4, 6; Titus 2:11-14).
How beautiful is the good confession!
Lord Jesus, help us to faithfully confess You in our words and lives everyday. We praise You! Amen.
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