By Timothy W. Burnett
This study is meant to ascertain exactly how God interprets what it means to "confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus," which is unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10). In order to avoid confusion, please understand that this study is based on an underlying principle that God is not vague. The word that He gave meant one thing. Any changes in meaning are specifically defined by God in His word.
Romans 10:9-10 teaches that two distinct conditions must be met in order to obtain salvation. Last week we briefly looked at the first condition which is to believe with the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. According to verse 10, this condition is unto righteousness. The second condition is to "confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus." The Biblical Greek word for "confess" was homologeo, and meant to declare openly and speak out freely. A word study of homologeo reveals that it is used often without the word "mouth." In all these cases it can be understood to confess from the heart with or without the mouth. The only exception is where it is specifically used with the word "mouth." As seen in Romans 10:9-10, the two conditions distinguish between the heart and the mouth. More specifically, the use of the two bring about distinctly different results as seen in verse 10, "...and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
A number of interpretations of this scripture utilize a basic principle from God's word, "...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34). It is explained that the confession must ultimately come from the heart that makes Jesus the Lord. When this explanation is put against the standard of God's word they don't match. If we adjusted God's word to match the above explanation we have the following, "...and with the mouth confession is made from the heart unto salvation." Or it could read, "...and with the heart confession is made unto salvation." Compare this with what it says, "...and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." The above good-intentioned explanation contradicts verse 10 where God clearly separates and distinguishes between the conditions and their corresponding results.
As we continue in this study, let us not rule out this important distinction. There might actually be a way to confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus without mentally understanding what is spoken. This is no doubt foreign to the world, yet it is not foreign to God's word. It is available for a person to speak in other languages by God's spirit (See Acts 2:4 and 1Corinthians 14:14-15).
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