Question: Dr. Younce: I go to church almost every Sunday. At the end of the preaching, the pastor invites whoever wants to be saved to slip out of their seats and come forward to receive Christ as their Savior. He then quotes Romans 10:9,10 as a requirement for salvation. This is a good-sized church and some have responded. Honestly, Pastor Younce, I am embarrassed to do what he asks. Does my refusal to stand before all these people condemn me to Hell? I really need an explanation of these verses.
Answer: This person’s question is not isolated, as I have been questioned hundreds of times about these two verses during my 42 years as a pastor. I will quote the two verses in question:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (V.9)
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Introduction
One thing you never do is to take a verse and isolate it from the context of the other verses and present it as Bible doctrine. You also research all other verses that pertain to the verse in question to see that no verses contradict each other. If no contradiction is found, you have the correct interpretation. If a contradiction is found, then you have a false doctrine. You must always read the surrounding verses which are in the context.
In Romans 10:9, 10, the text is concerning salvation. The context is the defining information which amplifies and clarifies the meaning of the text. The context is found in Romans 10:1-8.
1. Romans 10:1:
“Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”
We will see the reason the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write in convicting the Jews of their self-righteousness and denying that Jesus Christ is their Messiah. We, as Americans, can certainly identify with the way the Apostle Paul felt when he wrote,
“Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”
We, as Christians, in this once-great country of the United States of America are praying for our country to be spared; or, rather, saved from the judgment of Almighty God.
We inherited this great nation from our Founding Fathers who were led by God to write the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other documents to guide this great country. As a result we, as Americans, felt like we were traveling in the “Cadillac of Life” down an expressway of happiness, liberty and justice for all, with freedom from our enemies.
But, it has all changed. Our President, House of Representatives, Senate, and others have forsaken God’s righteousness and left this expressway. They are now traveling down the dirt road of human reasoning; guided by their own intellectual, Satanic philosophy and totally blinded to the fact that at the end of the dirt road is nothing but the garbage dump!
Yes, we are praying for new leaders that will put America back on the expressway, just as Paul was praying for his nation to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:21)
2. Romans 10:2, 3.
“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge."
(V.2) “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” ( Romans 10:2-3)
Paul could bear them witness because he had been practicing the same religion and was of their same nationality, a Jew.
“My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; (V.4) Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.” (Acts 26:4-5)“For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: (V.13) And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.” (Galatians 1:13-14)“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)
Paul had met Christ and was convinced that He was the Jewish Messiah that had been prophesied to come. (Read Acts, Chapter 9, for the account of Paul’s change of mind to accept Christ as His Savior and Messiah.) After a few days in Damascus, he went and preached Christ to the Jews (Acts 9:20) They were amazed and couldn’t believe the change in Paul (V.21). He confounded the Jews by proving that Jesus (humanity) was the Very Christ (deity). “Christ” in Greek is “Christos” meaning “the Anointed; i.e., the Messiah.” (V.22) In Verses 23,24, these religious Jews planned to kill Paul.
Christ encountered these same self-righteous Pharisees and told them to their face how hypocritical they were.
“And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15)“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:” (Luke 18:9)
They celebrated the various feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. (Leviticus, Chapter 23) Their main feast was that of Passover and Unleavened Bread, which were two feasts in one that lasted eight days. (Leviticus 23:5,6).
Hundreds of thousands came long distances, which made it impossible to bring their live sacrifices for their offerings. The priests made a lucrative business by selling the lambs, doves, and oxen to these worshippers, at a huge, astronomical profit! They were dishonest thieves and pretenders hiding under the camouflage of religion. Christ drove them out of the Temple on two different occasions.
The first time is John 2:14 as they were selling oxen, sheep and doves. The second time is found in Matthew 21:12, 13, when Jesus cleaned out the Temple again of these religious parasites.
“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, (V.12) And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:12-13)
All of these religious activities were to convince the people how righteous they were in worshipping God. Therefore, they could fleece the innocent out of their money to fill their own coffers.
There are approximately 720 laws given to Israel for the priests to teach the people. These were of little interest to the priests, as they were guilty of ignoring and breaking most of them themselves. Almost all people love to celebrate certain days of an event. It makes them feel good as if they are doing something in their zeal concerning God; BUT, “not according to knowledge.” That knowledge is God’s Word written to everyone, as contained in the Bible. They refused to accept the true knowledge concerning Jesus Christ as their Messiah, proven by His Resurrection approximately 25 years prior to Paul’s writing the Epistle of Romans.
“(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) (V.2) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; (V.3) And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:” (Romans 1:2-4)
Whenever leaders are in love with themselves, spiritually or secularly, you will find that they are blinded to God’s Word and the feelings of the people.
3. Romans 10:4:
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
The 720 laws of God to Israel demanded perfect obedience. If there is only one sin that is committed by a person, it excludes that person from Heaven; as there is no sin in Heaven.
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10)
Without a law of any kind, there is nothing to say that anything is wrong.
“Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:15)“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)
Christ fulfilled the law, being perfect without sin.
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Since there is no sin in Heaven, one must be absolutely sinless to enter, which is impossible for all humanity.
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
The “glory of God” is His absolute perfection. When any person accepts Jesus Christ by faith, believing that He went to the hell of the Cross to pay for their sin so they would not have to go to a literal Hell (the Lake of Fire) to pay for their own, they are saved for all Eternity. The moment one believes in Christ, an exchange takes place immediately. The eternal payment for our sins are acknowledged as “Paid in full” by Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection. Included in this exchange is that God puts to our account the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which we could never attain ourselves.
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
4. Romans 10:5.
“For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.” (Romans 10:5)
These Jewish men in New Testament times were called scribes and were the students and interpreters of the Old Testament Scriptures. They would be like our college professors of Theology today and were held in high esteem by the people. They were avowed opponents of Christ and were publicly denounced by Him for making the Word of God of none effect by their traditions.
The Pharisees. They arose in the time of the Maccabees and were called Separatists because they separated themselves from the ambitious political parties in their nation. They were the exponents and guardians of the written and oral law and they were the so-called “conservatives.” Their religious orthodoxy was spiritually empty; therefore, they were pretenders instead of defenders of their true Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, they revealed themselves to the condemnation of Christ.
“And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.” (Mark 7:2)“Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?”(Mark 7:5)“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias (i.e. Isaiah) prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” (Mark 7:5-6) “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Mark 7:7)“And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” (Mark 7:9)
You may recall in Matthew, Chapter 2, when Herod the King wanted to know where Christ was to be born, he gathered the scribes and chief priests for the answer. They knew the Old Testament prophecies well concerning Christ, and answered immediately.
“And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,” (Matthew 2:5)
In Matthew 23:1, 2, 4, 5, 6 is a reference to what Paul was addressing concerning the Jews in Romans 10:5.
“Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, (V.1) Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:” (Matthew 23:1-2)“For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” (Matthew 23:4)“But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,” (Matthew 23:4-5)“And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,” (Matthew 23:6)
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