Romans 10:8–10 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote these verses to the church in Rome. In context, Paul is comparing what Moses says about the righteousness that is based on the law of God and New Covenant righteousness based on faith for all people. When Paul asks the question, “But what does it say?” in verse 8, he refers to what the righteousness based on faith says. The righteousness based on faith refers to the trust and reliance on Jesus declared by Christians.
What is “the word of faith that we proclaim”? When Paul shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with anyone, those who come to salvation come to understand who Jesus is and what He came to do. The Spirit of God gives life to dead hearts so that any sinner, whether Jew or Gentile, can wholeheartedly trust in Jesus as their Savior and affirm that He is Lord.
Some reference these verses to support the understanding that people are saved by asking Jesus into their hearts. It is important to note that the instruction to “ask Jesus into your heart” does not occur anywhere in the Bible. If what is meant by this is that all that needs to happen for someone to be saved is that they say a prayer confessing that Jesus is the Savior and Lord of their heart, and that this means Jesus rules over them in a spiritual and undetectable manner, these verses are misunderstood.
Paul is declaring all those who are saved, Jew and Gentile, are brought to life spiritually (i.e. given a sensitive spiritual heart of flesh in place of the dead and unresponsive sinful heart of stone). Because of that life they are convinced in the very core of their being that Jesus provides cleansing and forgiveness for their sins by His atoning death on the cross, and that they are willing to submit and support the rule and reign of Jesus Christ in all of life. Jesus isn’t simply the personal and spiritual Lord of their hearts. All those who are saved openly affirm that the authority and truth of Jesus are pervasive personally and in all of life.
Jesus isn’t a quiet and undetectable Savior. Jesus is a powerful Savior who leads His people in a triumphal procession (Cf. 2 Corinthians 2:14-16), proclaiming His Lordship over all things on His earth.
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