When I was a young child, I went to a church that had “altar calls” at the end of every Sunday morning church service. The pastor would give everyone a chance to “respond” to … something … by standing up and walking to the front of the church while everyone was watching. As a kid, I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I did know that I wanted to go to heaven when I died and not hell. I would say whatever the pastor told me to say to make sure that happened.
When I “responded,” the pastor led me and a couple of others to his office where he showed us the gospel in a nutshell. Literally, it was a walnut shell with colored ribbons inside that he used to explain how I was a sinner in need of salvation. Apparently, it was enough for me because I repeated the prayer that he gave me and was baptized not long after.
When people ask for my testimony, I tell them the story of me walking the aisle at that small church, but I always let them know that was not when I really understood the gospel. I confessed with my mouth, but didn’t believe in my heart, because I didn’t know. It wasn’t until years later that God softened my heart, I understood that I was a sinner deserving death and only Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient in paying for my sin. Only then did I truly believe in my heart. And that’s the final step on the Romans Road.
If you haven’t yet, feel free to click on the previous steps to see how we got here.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
Step 4 – We respond by believing and confessing
“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.”
Romans 10:9–10
How We Respond
Romans 10:9 shows us how we are to respond to God’s free gift of salvation. We are to confess with our mouths that Jesus is our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. This isn’t in chronological order, by the way. These two things happen concurrently. Also, we can’t confess something that we don’t believe, so really what Paul is saying is our belief is multifaceted. We believe that Christ died for our sins and that God raised Him from the dead. And we believe that Jesus is not only our sacrifice for our sin, but also our Lord. As believers, we are part of His kingdom, a kingdom that He has complete dominion over.
Jesus said as much himself when He said,
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)
Our heart belief naturally overflows into a verbal confession. How could it not?! If we truly believe that Christ is our Lord and Savior, then our desire should be to tell everyone. In fact, we see over and over again in the Bible that eventually everyone will confess that Jesus is Lord. It’s just a matter of when. Some will confess joyfully and others will confess when they are judged at the last day.
“and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:11
How It Works
While verse 9 explains our response, verse 10 shows us what our response does. Our belief in the sacrificial death and resurrection justifies us. In other words, when Christ died for us, He replaced our sinful nature that is worthy of death with His righteousness that is worthy of eternal life. We are no longer found guilty and deserving of God’s judgment, not because of anything that we did, but only because of what Christ did.
Our belief justifies us and our confession saves us. Remember, belief precedes confession, so just saying a prayer or repeating a mantra doesn’t save us. It’s only confessing what we truly believe in our hearts.
If you haven’t received the free gift of salvation, there is never a better time than now! If you know that you are a sinner, deserving death and in need of salvation, and that God provided that salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ, then believe and confess. And if this is the first time you truly believe the glorious truth of your salvation by the grace of God, then
let someone know! There are others in the family of God who are ready to celebrate with you.
By Rob Trahan
