Expositor's Bible Commentary 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)

Building on the Deuteronomy passage, especially its use of “mouth” and “heart,” Paul goes on to speak directly of the content of the Christian Gospel and its availability to Jew and Gentile alike. “The word of faith” (the gospel message) is something to “confess” as well as to “believe” (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:13–14). To “confess” (GK 3933) means to say the same thing as other believers say regarding their faith. This was done within the Christian group especially by new converts in connection with their baptism; when it was done “before men” (Matthew 10:32) it had an evangelizing function. The priority of confession over believing is simply due to Paul’s preservation of the “mouth” and “heart” in Dt 30:14. The influence of the OT passage is also evident in that, whereas it provided a point of contact for citing the resurrection of our Lord (vv.7, 9), there was nothing to provide a basis for mention of the saving death of Christ (contrast 1 Corinthians 15:3–4). The concentration on the resurrection is understandable also when it is recognized that the creedal statement before us pertains to the person of Christ rather than to his redeeming work. “Jesus is Lord [GK 3261]” was the earliest declaration of faith fashioned by the church (Acts 2:36; 1 Corinthians 12:3). It stressed the objective lordship of Christ, the very cornerstone for faith. Paul links his lordship with the resurrection, which in turn validated our Lord’s saving death.