Public Confession
About public confession, the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome: “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
Salvation by Faith
Paul in Romans 10:9-10 doesn’t mean that a person is saved merely by public confession of his faith. The Bible teaches that “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). And Salvation is not effected by human effort. For it is a free gift, without money or price (Isaiah 55:1; John 4:14; 2 Corinthians 9:15; 1 John 5:11). Works are not a cause but an effect of salvation (Romans 3:31). Christians don’t do works to be saved but because they are saved. Works are the fruits of salvation.
Confession – A Sign of Inward Change
By referring to belief “with the heart,” Paul points that faith involves a full inward change. And this transformation of character results in sanctification (Romans 3:22; 5:1). The outward proof of the inward transformation is the confession of the mouth, the standing up for what is believed to be true.
A willingness to confess Christ in word and actions has always been the acid test of true discipleship (Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8; Revelation 3:5). Public confession does not save anyone it is simply the fruit of salvation. A good confession before the world, maintained to the end, will result in salvation (Revelation 2:10).
At Paul’s time, the believer who accepted Christ and confessed Him as Lord, faced persecution and, possibly, death. This public confession was an indication of genuine experience. The words “you will be saved,” does not show a condition for salvation by the public confession but rather truth that someone is willing to confess the Lord even if that would lead him to death.
Conclusion
Paul, in Romans 10:9-10, is not stating that public confession is a necessary condition for salvation. But he is simply confirming that when a believer in Christ confesses Christ as Lord, with the full knowledge that persecution may follow, that person proved that his experience is true.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
