Bible Strands
Romans 10:9
that 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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Roman church, addressing both Jewish and Gentile believers while explaining how righteousness by faith operates in practice. He speaks at the moment of clarifying the practical response required to receive the salvation previously outlined in his argument.
The words — ὁμολογήσῃς (homologēsēs) translates literally as "you shall confess," and ῥῆμα (rhēma) means "declaration" or spoken word. These terms frame salvation as contingent on a specific verbal affirmation tied to a core proclamation.
The thread — The linkage of confession and salvation appears in Luke 12:8, where public acknowledgment precedes divine acknowledgment, and in Acts 16:31, which ties belief in Jesus directly to being saved. Philippians 2:11 expands the scope to show every tongue ultimately confessing Jesus as Lord.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to align internal conviction that God raised Jesus with external verbal affirmation that Jesus holds authority. It demands a concrete, dual response of heart and speech as the mechanism for receiving salvation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Luke 12:8 I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.
- Acts 16:31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
- Philippians 2:11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- Matthew 10:32 Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.
- 1 John 4:2 By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
- 1 Peter 1:21 Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.
- Romans 8:34 Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.
- 1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.
- Romans 14:11 It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”
- 1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.