A closer look at Romans 10:9

The book of Romans is a letter of the Apostle Paul that was directly addressed to the saints in Rome, however it was also written for us today. Yet to understand the context of this inspired message, we ought to place ourselves in the shoes of the early century Roman believers. In those days polytheism was the predominant lifestyle. It was acceptable to have multiple gods and society would have embraced Christianity if Jesus could simply be added to their pantheon of deities. Of course this detestable compromise was blatantly unacceptable to the LORD God as revealed in Scriptures; "for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:14) What made their situation grim was the deification of the emperor that imposes to his subjects the offering of incense as an act of worship and the declaration of his lordship as a sign of one's fidelity to the throne. Not submitting to these laws, deprived the Christian of public freedom for fear of being exposed and forced to venerate a god-wannabe. So even sourcing necessities essential to live such as food, water and the need to earn a living became perilously unsafe. The worst case for the non-compliant disciple when caught is the certainty of death. I imagine the believers may have been tempted to participate in the pagan rituals without meaning it just to survive, or face the terrible choice to leave their homes, or if they stay, risk persecution and death in the Name of the Lord. If you think about it, it wasn't really their belief in God that placed a threat on their lives, they could have kept silent and quietly endured. But in an environment that demands exclusive fealty to Caesar – in word and in deed – the Christian's sole allegiance to his King Jesus makes him unpatriotic, unRoman, a rebel, a target. The declaration that Jesus alone is Lord is what made the gospel criminally offensive and its bearer deplorable. In our present age, what we modern day believers view as a harmless confession of faith was deemed as politically subversive by the ancient Roman authorities. Professing Christ as Lord treasonously defies the emperor as the sovereign ruler of his own empire, tantamount to death; either by instant execution, a slow torturous end, beheading, be fed to the lions, burned at the stake or be crucified. As a disciple, knowing and believing there is only one Lord but confronted by the state to declare otherwise, will you yield to Rome and confess Caesar is Lord? Or face death as you express your loyalty and love for God in affirming Jesus Christ alone is Lord? As you contemplate on the following verse, please do not lose the societal conditions I described earlier. Romans 10:9 reads; "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." Do you see that doing this seemingly simple act in the context of Roman rule meant death to the confessor? I hope we keep this historical background in mind before haphazardly using the passage in our evangelism. I often hear this verse quoted then expounded to mean that a person only has to confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God brought Him back to life, and that's it, you're eternally saved! Really?! Knowing now the Biblical backdrop, is this the plain application of this text to persuade lost souls about life eternal? There's no doubt we can use Romans 10:9 in our proclamation of the gospel, but using it solely as the basis to assure people of their eternal destination is dangerously presumptuous, because we are not God who can see through men. We do not have any clue if his heart of stone was replaced with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), if the miracle of regeneration (Titus 3:4-7) transpired making him into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We humans simply do not know, so having the audacity to blanketly declare those who professed (prayed) as saved, may have produced weeds (false converts) among the wheat. In Matthew 7, Jesus in judgment will disown people who claim Him as their Lord but are far from doing the will of God the Father. In a country that has been blessed with the visitation of the gospel since the 16th century, it is not uncommon to hear folks profess faith in Christ the Risen Lord, yet sadly see no evidence of a transformed life nor the fruits thereof. As the Lord said; "you will recognize them by their fruits". If we do not inject that there is a cost – your very life itself – in following Christ, wouldn't that be an insult to both the Divine inspiration behind the verse and the Roman martyrs who shed their blood for the Son of God? In the church culture I grew up in, we promulgate salvation as a free gift of God (which indeed it truthfully is; Romans 6:23) but we stop short and leave out the portion that it will cost the abandoning of one's attachment to sin and this world, and surrendering them all to Christ. I also hear how easy it's supposed to be to become a follower of Jesus by simply inviting Him to your heart, but how do you reconcile this with what the Lord Jesus Himself said to someone who asked; “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” To this He replied in Luke 13:24; "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." And in the gospel of Matthew in chapter 7, Jesus also said; “[13] Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. [14] For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." In both accounts, since the Lord Jesus describes the entrance into the kingdom of God as hard, why then do we hear it presented as easy. We get a deeper understanding of what kind of exertion was meant to pass through the narrow entry when we look at the original Greek for the word 'strive'; agōnizomai from which we get the word agonize. Does this mean one has to strive hard with good works (works-based salvation) to enter? No, because salvation is by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But it does mean one must let go of his earthly baggage and trade them for the one true treasure of the kingdom; Jesus Himself. It's giving up all of you and all you have and turning them over to Christ's Lordship. While God opens the opportunities to us to share the good news, as we hopefully yearn to see souls saved, may we not shrink from proclaiming the true gospel or water down its message, thinking we can cunningly craft ways to win over more people with our version. May we not dare tamper with the only tool the LORD has ordained for us to use; His gospel, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). God go with you as you sow and reap for Christ... + jourNics 2022-Oct-21