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 real 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. 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, and in his explanation of justification by faith there is no mention of confession in addition to belief to be justified before God. 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. 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.
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 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 shows a person does not fully understand their sinful state, it also demonstrates they do not fully understand what Jesus did on the cross for them. 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, 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment