By Timothy W. Burnett
Romans 10:10 does not define what it means to "confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus." But verse 13 does provide helpful information, "'For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'" This is the second and only re-occurrence of this quote from the prophet Joel found in the epistles. This kind of limited use of repetion is meant to grab our undivided attention. The use of the word "saved" is an equally important figure because the same word is used in verse 10. The word "saved" is used with calling upon the name of the Lord, as well as confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus.
We turn to a basic formula in algebraic logic: If A = C, and B = C, then A = B. If the confession is unto salvation; and calling upon the name of the Lord is unto salvation; then to "confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus" refers to the same thing as to "call upon the name of the Lord." Once we ascertain what it means to "call upon the name of the Lord," then we can do the same for the former.
The quote in Romans 10:13 is also used in Acts 2:21 where Peter explained what the other people saw and heard, by quoting from the prophet Joel. What did the people see and hear? When we track backward from verse 21, we come to verse 11, "...we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God." This refers to when the apostles spoke in tongues as recorded in Acts 2:4. Peter then explained that "this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." And with spiritual precision, he stopped at the saying, "And it shall come to pass, that 'whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'"
When we apply basic principles of research for rightly dividing God's word, we find that to "confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus" unto salvation, refers to speaking in tongues. But we should not stop here. Go to the next verse, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?" (Romans 10:14). According to this scripture it is not possible to "call on the name of the Lord" unless people first believe with the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. When compared to Romans 10:9-10, we see an exact match. That which is unto righteousness is pre-requisite to that which is unto salvation. Finally, when compared with Acts 2:4, there is still no contradiction. This is where we find the first recorded fulfillment of Romans 10:9-10.
We will continue this study next week by looking at 1Corinthians 12:3.
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