Romans 11 - All Israel Will Be Saved

Previously in Romans 11, Paul explained that God has not cast off His people, but has saved a remnant according to the election of grace. The rest have been blinded and been given a spirit of stupor because of their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah.

In light of this, Paul asks if they have stumbled that they should fall? In other words, have they been entirely given over to judgment and condemnation? Certainly not! He reiterates that through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles in order to provoke the Jewish people to jealousy. If God was done with them, He would not even bother provoking them to jealousy. The fact that He does so is proof He wants them back. In fact, the Lord wants both Jew and Gentile to be saved, and in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul states that the Jewish and Gentile believers are now made into one new man, meaning there is no longer any difference or separation between them as it relates to the Kingdom of God.

If their trespass and failure have been the riches of the world and of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness? Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles, and he viewed his ministry as part of that provocation in hopes that it would save some of them. If their temporary casting away is the reconciling of the world, their acceptance will be life from the dead.

Next, Paul transitions into an agricultural analogy to help explain what is going on. He says if the first fruit is holy, then the lump is also holy. This is the first of two illustrations: In the Old Testament, the Jews were to make a cake from the first of their ground meal, and offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord Numbers 15:20). The second is that of an olive tree. If the root is holy, then so are the branches. There are different interpretations of this passage, the most common view being that the root is God’s covenant through the patriarchs. However, I also see some similarities between this passage and John 15 where He tells His disciples after the Last Supper, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” In this interpretation, the root spoken of by Paul would be Jesus Christ. The natural branches (the unbelieving Jews) were broken off, and we Gentiles, as wild olive shoots, have been grafted in, being partakers of the root and richness of the olive tree. Because of this, we should not boast against the Jews, for we are not there by our own doing. We are only there because we are supported by Jesus Christ.

The Jews were broken off because of unbelief, and we are only there by faith. We should not be arrogant, but have a healthy fear of falling into the same trap as they. The Jews took great pride in their keeping of the law in order to be right before God, and this caused them to be blind to their own sin and subsequently reject Jesus. If God did not spare the natural branches, then why would He spare us for making the same mistake?

In this we see both the goodness and severity of God: on those unbelieving Jews, severity or harshness, but on us, goodness or kindness if we continue in His goodness by our faith in Christ. If not, we too will be cut off. The word for cut off means to cut out or cut off, and fits with Paul’s analogy of the branches being broken off.

As I stated previously, I do not believe a Christian can lose their salvation, but it does appear from these passages and other similar ones that a Christian can leave it through arrogance and unbelief. I do not believe this is an occasional struggle with doubts, but a deliberate choice to leave the faith and become an apostate. There are good Christians who would argue that not even this is possible, that once you accept Christ, you can renounce your faith and still be a Christian; however, a straight-forward reading of these passages seems to disagree with that position. Most willingly accept that the grafting in again of the Jews is them coming to faith in Christ, but we cannot take this part literally and not the warning of God cutting off the Gentiles for unbelief. If anyone does not agree with me on this, that is alright. I believe it is one of those topics for which we can have what we call an “in-house” debate.

Those unbelieving Jews, if they do not remain in unbelief, God is able to graft them in again, and He has already done so. Normally, wild branches would not be grafted into a cultivated olive tree, so it was considered contrary to nature. The same is generally true with other fruit trees, because the wild branches do not produce fruit with the qualities we typically desire. So then, if we, being branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted into the cultivated olive tree contrary to nature, how much more will God graft in the natural branches again if they choose to place their faith in Christ for salvation?

Paul did not want his readers to be ignorant of the mystery, lest they be conceited, another admonition for Gentiles not to think themselves better than the Jews. Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. This blindness is in part because it is temporary and does not apply to every Jew (there is a remnant according to the election of grace). Again, there are varying views on what the fulness of the Gentiles is, most believing it to be a set number of Gentiles coming to faith, followed by the rapture. However, the one hang-up I have with this view is that no event has to proceed the rapture; it is imminent. The word fulness means completion or filled up, thereby giving us the idea of a set number. However,  it can also mean fulness of time, and if so, would coincide with the times of the Gentiles spoken of by Jesus when He said Jerusalem would be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled in Luke 21:24. This is probably referring to the end of the seven-year tribulation when Jesus sets His kingdom up on Earth for one thousand years Daniel 2:44-45)

During the Tribulation, otherwise known as the 70th week of Daniel, the Jews will be deceived into signing a seven-year peace treaty with the antichrist. Half way through, the antichrist will put an end to the daily sacrifice and set up an image in the temple to be worshiped Daniel 9:27). At this point, the Jews will realize they’ve been duped, and flee into the wilderness for safety. This is described as a place prepared for them by God where they will be fed three and a half years, 1,260 days, (Revelation 12:1-6). The word for ‘prepared’ is the same word Jesus uses in John 14 where He says, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (Jn 14:2-3) Just like Jesus has prepared a place for us, He has also prepared a place for the Jewish people during the latter half of the tribulation. This is thought by many to be the rock city of Petra south of the Dead Sea, where the descendants of Esau used to live. Interestingly enough, Christian businessmen have stocked the city with food and evangelistic tracts written in Hebrew in preparation for this time.

It is here where the Lord will begin dealing with them to show them He is their true Messiah. In fact, the Scriptures indicate Jesus will not return until they are ready to acknowledge Him as such. Jesus said, “for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Mat 23:39) He was quoting from Psalm 118:26, and this was sung during the Passover celebration by the congregation to welcome the vindicated King (how interesting). Each of the four Gospels records His triumphal entry, and the people spread their clothes and palm branches on the road, and cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” It is this Messianic passage that the Jews will quote from when Jesus comes the second time.

Zechariah also prophesies of this time, “And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says the Lord, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; and each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” (Zech 13:8-9) Apparently, not all the Jews will escape to the city of Petra, but two thirds of them in the land will be killed. However, the ones that survive will call on the name of the Lord, and will say ‘the Lord is my God.’

Coming back to Romans, Paul says, “And so all Israel will be Saved.” Two thirds of the nation will be wiped out, but the remnant of the nation that is left will turn to the Lord. Some like to make the case that this is spiritual Israel, but it is the same Israel as in verse 25 who were partially blinded to the Gospel. Also, we know this is not spiritual Israel because Paul says this is a mystery, and it is no mystery that spiritual Israel will be saved. He then quotes from Isaiah, “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

Paul said that concerning the Gospel they were enemies for the then Gentiles, and no doubt they were. The first wave of persecution for the early Church came from the Jewish leaders. Paul used to be one of them, but when he got saved, they turned on him too. However, concerning the election, they are beloved of the Father. In addition, God doesn’t change His mind regarding His gifts and calling, they are irrevocable. God has made specific promises to Israel regarding their redemption and the right to the land that He gave them, and He will not go back on them ( see Genesis 12:1-7, Genesis 15, and Genesis 17:1-8). As I stated in a previous study, if God does not keep His promises to the Jewish people, then what confidence do we have that He will keep His promises to you and me? So, to say that God is done with the nation of Israel is really an attack on His character. It makes Him out to be a liar when He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Just as we once were disobedient to God and have obtained mercy because of their disobedience, even so will they obtain mercy in their own disobedience through the mercy we have been shown. Eventually this provoking them to jealousy will work. God has concluded both Jew and Gentile in disobedience that He may have mercy on us all. As we saw back in chapter five, we have all inherited our sin nature from Adam, and are incapable of fixing ourselves. Therefore, our only hope is the Lord.

Paul ends this section with a marvelous doxology: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?’ ‘Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?’ For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

In this topic of God’s election where He hardens some and has mercy on others, it can be difficult to understand or wrap our minds around it all. However, we are not called to understand it necessarily, but to believe it. The understanding may come little by little, but in Heaven it will be in full. In this we see the riches of God’s wisdom and knowledge, and we see the depths of His judgments and ways. No one knows His mind, neither has He come to any of us for counsel. No one has given to God and needs to be repaid. This is what makes Him God. A God small enough for us to figure out, take our advice, or enter into judgment with us is not God. Everything we have is of Him or through Him, and we give it back to Him with our praise and worship, now, and for eternity. In the next chapter Paul will shift his focus to giving more practical instruction for the daily lives of believers.

 

Additional Links

 

Middle East: War And Peace - Part 1 This is probably the best series I have heard on the whole Israeli/Palestinian conflict. It was given by Jon Courson at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa several years ago.

What is the fullness of the Gentiles (Romans 11:25)?

What Is the Rapture? - David Jeremiah Blog

     

Romans 11 - Israel's Future

 

Last time in Romans, we saw how Israel is presently in unbelief. They have sought their own righteousness, and have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is by faith, and it is near in our mouths and in our hearts. Its greatest evidence is that it confesses Jesus Christ as Lord, even in the face of persecution. I also expounded on this topic more in a separate post. The Jews have been given the good news, but have rejected it. So, the Lord is provoking them to jealousy by bringing salvation to the Gentiles. He ended with a quote from Isaiah that the Lord had stretched out His hands to a disobedient and contrary people.

If the Jews are a disobedient and contrary people, has God cast them away? Paul, again, answers his own question with, “Certainly not!” If He had, then Paul would not be a Christian, because Paul was a Jew, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Israel is the only nation that God has foreknown Amos 3:2, and as He says in Jeremiah, “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the Lord.” (Jer 31:37)

Paul then references Elijah who, after killing all the prophets of Baal, flees from Jezebel into the wilderness. Elijah complained to the Lord that Israel had killed His prophets, torn down His altars, he was the only one left, and they were seeking to kill him too. However, the Lord responded to him, “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” In this day and age where it can be easy to think we are the only ones who are staying on the straight and narrow path, we can be sure God still has a remnant. This remnant is according to the election of grace. There have always been Jews throughout history who have accepted the Gospel; in fact, the early Church started with only Jews. This is yet another proof God has not cast away His people. This election is not of works, because none of us, Jew or Gentile, are deserving of this grace. Paul seems a bit redundant in verse six, and I believe his purpose was to make a point. So many people cannot simply accept the grace of God, but attempt to add to it by some sort of work they do. You can’t have it both ways, we operate under grace, or we operate under works. Since the latter is impossible, we should eagerly and willingly accept the former.

Israel has not obtained what it seeks, except for those who are the elect, and the rest were blinded. The word for blinded here means to become hardened or callused. Paul goes on to quote from Isaiah 29 who spoke of God giving them a spirit of stupor so that they did not have eyes to see or ears to hear. David prayed in Psalm 69 that their table (their sitting and feasting comfortably) would become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a recompense to them. He prayed that their eyes would be darkened so they could not see, and that they would bow down their backs always.

This may seem harsh that God would give them over to a spiritual stupor, but Israel has been hardened or callused to the Gospel because of their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. If we recall when Jesus was on trial, all the people answered Pilate, “His blood be on us and on our children.” God still loves His people and has a plan for them, but you just cannot say something like that without there being consequences.

Again, we see Israel hardening themselves, and God hardening them. This will happen to many during the Tribulation. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thes 2:10-12)

Another part of this is God’s punishment on the nation by causing them to be dispersed. On His triumphal entry, Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and said, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Lk 19:42-44) The Messiah had come down to Earth, lived among them for almost His entire life, ministered to them for over three years, and then presented Himself as King to the nation. Hundreds of years earlier, the angel Gabriel had appeared to Daniel to give him a prophecy concerning their coming Messiah: “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.  And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.  The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.” (Dan 9:24-26) In the Old Testament a week is commonly used to refer to a period of seven years.  So, from the command to restore and build Jerusalem, there would be a period of 69 weeks (483 years), and after these 69 weeks, the Messiah would be cut off.  We know from history this command to restore and build Jerusalem came on March 14, 445 B.C. by Artaxerxes Longimanus, and took place under the leadership of Nehemiah.  Using a Jewish calendar that consists of 360-day years, this translates into 173,880 days.  When counting 173,880 days from the decree by Artaxerxes, this comes out to April 6, 32 A.D.  On the very day, guess who rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey?  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zechariah 9:9) Jesus Christ presented Himself as King on the very day that the angel had predicted.  In other words, Gabriel’s margin of error was zero. In my opinion, this is one of the most astounding prophecies in the entire Bible. The Jews (especially the religious leaders) should have known better from these two prophecies in Daniel and Zechariah alone, but according to gotquestions.org, Jesus conservatively fulfilled at least 300 prophecies during His earthly ministry. That’s an incredible testimony, folks! They stumbled at the Stumbling Stone because they did not come to God by faith as mankind has always had to do. This resulted in the Diaspora in which Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 70 A.D., and the Jews were dispersed throughout the nations for the last 2,000 years. This was predicted by Moses in Deuteronomy 28:64-67 and Deuteronomy 31:17-18, and  by Jesus in Luke 21:24. However, the Lord promised to bring them back again as seen in Jeremiah 31:7-8, Isaiah 43:5-7, and in Isaiah 66:8. This began happening after WWI., but really picked up in May of 1948 when Israel became a nation again. The horrific events of the Holocaust moved the world to sympathize with the Jewish people, and to give them a homeland to return to.

I believe it is important to point out here that God’s love for His people does not cause Him to gloss over their sins. If the Lord does not gloss over their sins, then we should not either. They are back in their land, but the majority are there in unbelief. As a result, it is largely a secular society with much of the same immoral practices that go on in our own country. If you speak with a Jewish person today about the Gospel, there really is a blindness or hardness there in many of them. In the conversations I have had with Jewish people, some do not even believe their own Scriptures. The Lord will fix this problem with one more major trial, and it is called the Tribulation. It is unfortunate this will be what it takes, but one of the main reasons for the Tribulation is to wake up the Jewish people to the fact that Jesus is their Messiah.

So then, the nation is being disciplined by God because of their rejection of His Son, but as we will see in the remainder of the chapter, they will be restored. This restoration in spite of Israel’s failures and rejection of the Lord will make it all the more glorious.

Salvation By Belief or Confession - A Commentary on Romans 10:9-10

There is a passage in the book of Romans that many well-meaning Christians use in leading people to Christ that states, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Rom 10:9-10) If we were to only look at this passage, it does seem to be saying that both confession and belief are necessary for salvation, but if we adopt this view, it presents some challenges to all of us as it relates to salvation by grace through faith alone. The doctrine of salvation by grace through faith is a central doctrine of Christianity, and is one of the things that separates Christianity from every other man-made religion. So, which is it: is it salvation by belief, or by belief plus confession? Let’s examine this in more detail.

For starters, we must be careful not to take one passage from the Bible and formulate doctrine from it. Each passage must be compared with the rest of the counsel of God's Word to make sure we are interpreting it as we ought to. There are at least 160 New Testament verses that speak to the fact that justification is through faith in Jesus Christ alone apart from works. In the Gospel of John alone there are around 98 occurrences of the Greek word that is translated ‘believe’, and in the majority of these instances it is referring to the response of the heart to the call of God bringing eternal life. The word means to have faith in, to be persuaded of, to credit, or to place confidence in. Obviously, here the context is placing one’s confidence in Jesus Christ for salvation. There is no mention of confession or any other work in the definition of the Greek word.

Probably the most notable of these passages is in Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. He stated, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:14-16) Jesus was referencing an Old Testament story here that Nicodemus would have been familiar with. When the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them because they were murmuring against Him. After the people confessed their sins and asked Moses to pray for them, the Lord had Moses put a bronze serpent on a pole, and whoever looked on the bronze serpent would be healed from the poisonous snake bite. Now in the Bible the serpent is a symbol of sin, and bronze is a symbol of judgment. So, Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he would be lifted up in like manner, referring to His death on the cross. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us, and suffered the wrath of His father in your and my place. Now, all who look upon Him by faith will be saved and receive eternal life.

We also see several examples in the book of Acts. Consider the following Scriptures: When the Ethiopian eunuch asked what hindered him from being baptized, Philip responded, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” (Acts 8:37) When Peter spoke to Cornelius and those gathered with him, Peter stated, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” (10:43) Lastly, when the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas what must he do to be saved, they stated that he and his house should believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (16:31)

In the first five chapters of the book of Romans, Paul gives one of the most definitive explanations of the Gospel in the entire Bible. Surely if confession was a requirement for eternal life, he would have mentioned it there, but if he had, he would have been directly contradicting himself. Paul writes, "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Rom 4:1-5) Paul is saying that if Abraham were justified by works, he could boast, but not before God. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. The person who works for their righteousness will be indebted to God, but the person who believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith will be counted unto him for righteousness just as Abraham's was. Again, Paul writes, "Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all." (Rom 4:15-16) The person who is indebted to God by his breaking of the law will face God's wrath, but the person of faith receives the grace of God and the sure promise of eternal life. Lastly, Paul writes, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Rom 5:1-2) We are justified by our faith, made at peace with God, and by this same faith have access to an endless supply of His grace. Notice, there is no mention of confession as a prerequisite for eternal life in any of these passages, but it is only belief or faith (the noun form of the word). In fact, Paul does not mention confession in connection with salvation anywhere else in his epistles. So, salvation based solely on the mercy and grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ is a consistent and reoccurring theme throughout the entire New Testament, and to interpret Romans 10:9-10 to say that confession is also required is erroneous because it contradicts everything else we see in the Scriptures. It’s really no different than saying that an individual must be baptized or take communion in addition to believing in Jesus to be saved.

What did Paul mean then, when he, under inspiration of the Spirit, penned that with the mouth confession is made unto salvation? When we look at verse 10, the first thing Paul says is "For with the heart man believes unto righteousness." From what we have covered so far, we have already seen that God imputes the righteousness of Jesus Christ to us as a result of our faith. However, one also cannot deny the obvious link Paul makes between confession and salvation. The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible, so I believe it will be helpful to look at a similar passage to shed some light on this for us. The only other time that confession is directly linked with salvation in the NT is when Jesus stated, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." (Mat 10:32-33) It appears then that this confession is a public declaration of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is important to remember that correct beliefs produce correct actions. Our faith in Jesus should naturally produce our public confession of Him as it does any other good work. Notice the Ethiopian Eunuch’s response to Philip after Philip told him he must believe, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:38) If a person is consistently unwilling to confess the lordship of Jesus Christ to others, we have a legitimate reason to question the genuineness of their faith. This does not mean there will not be moments of fear or timidity in our lives, but a true Christian will repent from this and seek to conquer his fear through the power of the Holy Spirit. We see this in the case of Peter. Peter denied he knew Jesus three times, but he later repented and was restored by Jesus Himself.

At times in the Scriptures, we see ideas like this closely linked together because there is a direct cause and effect relationship between them. Another example of this is in the Gospel of Mark.  Just prior to his ascension Jesus stated, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (Mark 16:16) Here we see Jesus closely link salvation and water baptism, and the reason He did so is that baptism is to be an act of obedience that closely follows one's faith in Christ. It is an outward sign of an inward faith in which a person states publicly that he or she is a Christian and identifies with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. Notice however, the only thing that causes damnation, according to Jesus, is unbelief. Baptism, just like any other good work, is merely the evidence that that person has already been saved. So too, public confession of Jesus Christ as Lord is an act of obedience that closely follows our belief on Him. Confession is important because Jesus stated out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If we are willing to confess Jesus as our Lord, it is the greatest evidence that we believe it. Like baptism, once someone has declared his or her faith publicly, they are also a lot less likely to go back on their commitment. There's just something about confession with our mouths that helps in bringing our sin nature (including unbelief) into submission to the will of God. If we are faithful in our profession of faith in Jesus Christ until the end (even in the face of death) Jesus will confess us before His Father in Heaven.

So, can we use this passage in Romans 10:9-10 in leading someone to Christ? Absolutely! We just cannot make the jump from confession being the evidence of our salvation to that it is the means of it. The original Greek carries the idea of confirming with the mouth what has already taken place in the heart. It is possible for someone to state the truth of the Lordship of Jesus Christ without having faith. For example, many Catholics (and Protestants for that matter) will state their belief that Jesus Christ is Lord, but they are trusting in their keeping of Church rituals and other good works to save them. Interestingly enough, Jesus anticipated this when he stated, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”  (Matthew 7:22-23) You see, a person’s profession is meaningless unless it proceeds out of a heart of faith.

In summary, the confession referred to by Paul in Romans 10:9-10 is a public one that is not the means for salvation, but rather the greatest evidence of it. Those who say it is a requirement for salvation may be well meaning, but there are many people who are well meaning and still wrong. This line of thinking is dangerous, because it causes people to place their trust in a work they have done rather than solely in Jesus Christ. It also places doubt and confusion in people's minds that should not be there.  “If I don’t pray the prayer just right, then maybe I am not saved.” Jesus plus works is still just works. Works-based theology not only demonstrates a person does not fully understand the depths of their own sin, it also demonstrates they do not fully understand the mercy and grace of God given to them because of what Jesus did on the cross. It is either a complete trust and reliance on Jesus Christ or it is not. So, when we encounter difficult passages like this, again it is important to balance them with the rest of Scripture. The overwhelming evidence in the New Testament is that we are saved by grace through faith alone, and this needs to be the lens through which we filter somewhat difficult passages like the one found in Romans 10. If you are reading this today and are trusting in your own works, whether it be your public confession, baptism, communion, or something else, repent (change your mind about what God says about your sin) and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. Believe on Him, and He will give you everlasting life. Then confess Him as Lord to others, and tell them about what He has done for you.

 

Additional Links

 

Is public confession necessary for salvation (Romans 10:9-10)?