Sir, please explain Romans 10:9 as you would explain it to the unsaved.
Let’s read Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (NASB). God has been pleased to use these two verses for the salvation of many souls. They are clear and straightforward and in presenting them to the unsaved, we must do the same; we should use simple language that is easy to understand and stay focused on the blessed truth that this passage teaches.
After quoting those verses, I would ask the person a couple of key questions. The first question I would ask is, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ was not merely a man, but that He was ‘God manifest in the flesh’?” Many believe Jesus was a great teacher and even a worker of miracles, but they don’t believe that He is God. The Bible teaches us in John 1:14 that, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” 1st Timothy 3:15 states, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.” These words clearly teach us that “God became a Man” and that Man is Jesus Christ! To confess “Jesus as Lord” is to believe that “Jesus is God.” Do you believe that?
I would then ask them, “Do you believe that God raised Him from the dead?” Of course I would need to speak of His death on the cross and how it is only through His atoning sufferings for our sins on the cross that we can be forgiven of our sins and saved from hell. I would be sure to tell them that the Bible teaches us that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the PROOF that God had accepted His Son’s work on the cross for the sinner’s salvation. One could quote several verses to show this, but Romans 4:24-25 is one of my favorite passages. It reads, “It (God’s righteousness) shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was RAISED BECAUSE OF OUR JUSTIFICATION.” These two verses speak clearly of His DEATH (for our sins) and His RESURRECTION (for our justification). They prove that the work Jesus accomplished on the cross for our sins was accepted by God and that He can now justify the sinner who believes in Jesus.
So, if one truly believes that the Son of God became a Man to die for our sins and that He was raised from the dead because God was satisfied with the work He did on the cross to save sinners, he will confess what he believes with his mouth. This is the focus of verse 10, where we learn that salvation starts “with the HEART” and is then manifested “with the MOUTH.” The very moment a sinner believes in Jesus Christ as the One who died for him and was raised from the dead, he is counted as RIGHTEOUS in God’s eyes. Let’s read a few verses in Romans chapter 3 to prove this. Verses 20-22 declare, “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified (declared “righteous”) in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD apart from the law is revealed…even the righteousness of God, THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, to all and on all who believe.” God is ready to justify the sinner who believes in Jesus Christ! The gospel declares “His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (verse 26).
We have just learned that one is justified BEFORE GOD the second they believe in Jesus Christ, but verse 10 goes on to say, “and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Does this mean that “confession” is necessary in order to be saved?” No, for one is already saved from the penalty of their sins and justified by God when they believe “with their heart.” What this DOES mean is that the one who has truly believed in Jesus Christ WILL confess Him as their Savior and Lord BEFORE MEN. Confessing Jesus Christ as your Savior is the “fruit of faith”; it is the PROOF that you really have believed on Him as your Savior and Lord. One has said, “If on Jesus Christ you trust, speak for Him you surely must!” If one is NOT willing to confess Jesus Christ as their Savior, it is doubtful that he has truly believed. (279.1) (DO)