Albert Barnes Commentary Romans 10:9

"because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved:" — Romans 10:9 (ASV)

That if you confess. The word rendered "confess" here—homologēsēs—is often rendered "profess." For example, Matthew 7:23 says, Then will I profess to them I never knew you. (Titus 3:14; Romans 1:22; 1 Timothy 2:10; 1 Timothy 6:12, 13, 21; Hebrews 3:1 and following). It properly means to speak that which agrees with something which others speak or maintain.

Thus, confession or profession expresses our agreement or concord with what God holds to be true, and what He declares to be true. It denotes a public declaration or assent to that, here expressed by the words with your mouth.

A profession of religion, then, denotes a public declaration of our agreement with what God has declared. This extends to all His declarations: about our lost condition, our sin, and need of a Saviour; to His doctrines about His own nature, holiness, and law; about the Saviour and the Holy Spirit; about the necessity of a change of heart and holiness of life; and about the grave and the judgment, about heaven and hell.

As the doctrine concerning a Redeemer is the main and leading doctrine, it is presented here prominently, as in fact involving all others. To publicly express our assent to this is to declare our agreement with God on all related truths.

With your mouth. To profess a thing with the mouth is to speak of it, to declare it, to do it openly and publicly.

The Lord Jesus. You shall openly acknowledge attachment to Jesus Christ. The meaning of it may be expressed by regarding the phrase "the Lord" as the predicate; or the thing to be confessed is that He is Lord. (Philippians 2:11, And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.) Here it means to acknowledge Him as Lord, that is, as having a right to rule over the soul.

And believe in your heart. You shall sincerely and truly believe this, so that the external profession corresponds with the real, internal feelings. Where this is not the case, it would be hypocrisy; where this is the case, there would be the highest sincerity, and this religion requires.

That God has raised Him from the dead. This fact, or article of Christian belief, is mentioned here because of its great importance and its bearing on the Christian system.

If this is true, then all is true. It is then true that He came forth from God, that He died for sin, and that God approved and accepted His work.

Then it is true that He ascended to heaven, is exalted to dominion over the universe, and will return to judge the quick and the dead.

For all this was professed and taught, and all this was regarded as depending on the truth of His having been raised from the dead. (Ephesians 1:21; Acts 2:24, 32-33; Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians 4:14; 1 Corinthians 15:13–20).

To profess this doctrine was, therefore, virtually to profess all the truths of the Christian religion. No one could believe this who did not also believe all the truths dependent on it. Hence, the apostles regarded this doctrine as so important and made it so prominent in their preaching. (See the notes on Acts 1:3).

You will be saved. From sin and hell. This is the doctrine of the gospel throughout, and all this shows that salvation by the gospel was easy.