Wednesday, September 9, 2026
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10
What does believe mean?
Israel has rejected God and Paul is addressing Jews and Gentiles alike in an effort to provide them with a clear and simple path to salvation. Israel has pursued righteousness through the law (works) rather than faith and now Paul is explaining where true salvation comes from – confessing and believing.
When you say confession most people understand what it means to confess something. But in Paul’s day, this bold declaration, “Jesus is Lord,” was especially important because of the Roman Empire that demanded loyalty to Caesar as lord. It wasn’t just a preference. It carried consequences for many.
When we confess what we believe, we are making a proclamation. We are giving our thoughts and beliefs power because we are proclaiming to the world this is what is in my heart. As long as it remains in your heart and mind and not shared, it is your secret, not a confession of belief. The confession that you believe Jesus is Lord and how he has transformed you and changed your life is too good not to share. It also holds accountability. When we confess something, we are setting a standard for ourselves that others will hold us to. When we say “This I believe…” we are even telling ourselves – this is what I believe! Spoken words make our beliefs a reality. We don’t just confess with our mouths. We confess by the way we live our lives every day.
Salvation comes through confessing with the mouth and believing with the heart God that raised Jesus from the dead. Belief and confession go hand in hand. Confession of Christ flows from belief in our heart. The overflow of our heart is a natural response to the transformation God has done in our lives. We have to tell. We have to sing his praises. We have to share with those we know need the transforming power of God in their lives.
When we believe in our hearts, confession will happen naturally. Believing in our hearts means that we believe in God so deeply that we are willing to commit our lives to Him and live the way we know He wants us to live. We are willing to surrender to be transformed and to live differently than we have been living. We are willing to repent – or stop doing the sinful things we have been doing. It means running away from our sin and running to Jesus to follow him the rest of our lives.
Jesus’ whole ministry was built on word of mouth. Those who were ministered to by him or who witnessed his ministry and miracles went and told others that this must be the Messiah. That is what he calls his church to do as well. We are to tell others what he has done in our lives and the lives of others.
What do you believe? Does your life and your lips confess this belief to others?
