9) "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."
13) "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
The minister stands before the spiritual hungry, sincere souls who are gathered around the podium in response to his invitation to come to Jesus. Following a few personal remarks, he opens the Bible to Romans 10:9 and instructs those who would be converted to repent and repeat the prayer of salvation after him, "Lord Jesus I am a sinner. I repent of my sins. Come into my heart and cleanse me from my sins. I believe that You died and shed your blood to save me and that God raised You up from the dead. Thank You for Your salvation. Amen." At the conclusion of that, he pronounces them to be "saved". Is that really how conversion is accomplished? Have those searching souls really found life's answer by participating in that little ceremony? If so, why are there no such examples of conversion in the Bible? Modern Evangelist's usage of the above verses to "get sinners saved" is incomprehensible on two accounts. First, a sensible and prayerful examination of Romans 10:9-13 will show that those verses were never intended for sinners, and are not an explanation of how one is converted. Second, it is astonishing that apparently no one among evangelicals has noticed this gross misinterpretation of Scripture, even though, they, above all, demand that others study the Bible carefully. As a result, this abuse of Holy Scripture has mushroomed into a standard church event, and has made Romans 10:9-13 possibly the most abused of all Biblical passages. To understand Paul's meaning in Romans 10:9-13, we must start with the ancient sermon of Moses from which Paul was drawing his words. Here, then, is the proper explanation:
They had celebrated the Passover 40 times during those 40 years in the wilderness. They knew it by heart. Having observed the somber Day of Atonement ceremony 40 times, and during that season hearing the entire Law read aloud by the elders of Israel, the Law of God was familiar to them. Through that journey from Egypt to Canaan, the Israelites had experienced both the goodness and severity of God, and Moses saw to it that they knew and understood the truth of all they had experienced. The Israelites needed not to sigh and long for someone to reveal God's way to them. God's way was the Law under which they lived. It was an integral part of their behaviour. It was so close to them that it was in their mouths and in their hearts and minds.
Camped across the Jordan from the promised land, the Israelites were given a last message from the 120 year old man who had led them out of Egypt, knowing that these words would be among his last to his much-beloved people, Moses obviously chose his words with extreme care and passion. It is instructive to observe that these final words spoken by Moses were words of pleading exhortation to his people for them to be faithful to what they already knew. For them to resist the temptations that, would cause them to forget the God of Truth was among them. There were no new commandments, no surprises.
Here are the words of Moses, the same words which Paul was quoting in Romans 10: "This commandment that I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off" (Deut 30:11). Why did Moses say that? Because they had possessed the commandments of God and lived 40 years by its standards.
"It [God's Law] is not in heaven that thou shouldst say 'who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it?"' (Deut 30:12)
Compare that to what Paul said, "...Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above" Romans 10:6)
Why should Israel not say that in Deut. 30:12? Because 40 years previously God Himself had brought it down from heaven and delivered the Law to them. In the same way, why does not the Church need to long for the Christ to come? Because He had already been sent to live on earth. It would be unbelief for the Church now to wonder who the Christ is.
"But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thine heart..." (Deut 30:14)
What did Paul say? "...The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thine heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach" (Romans 10:8)
Moses' last sermon, then, was not an evangelistic message for those who did not know God, but an exhortation to God's people to be faithful to Him. Moses was saying to his people what Jesus would later say to His disciples: "He that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved". (Math 24:13)
And as Moses was exhorting the Israelites, the Apostle Paul was exhorting the church at Rome to endure to the end, using in his exhortation the pattern of Moses' words. As with Moses, Paul was not speaking to unbelievers, but to saints whose faith was world-renown (Romans 1:7-8) - who were already born again according to Acts 2:4 & 38.
Continuing then in Moses's pattern of exhortation, Paul told the saints that they also need not say, "Who shall descend in to the deep? (that is, to bring Christ again from the dead)." (Romans 10:7) Why? Because they knew He is already risen! The Believers in Rome knew it, rejoiced in it, and preached it to the world. Paul was simply exhorting them to trust in what God had already done, and not to be lured away by deceivers to look for another way of salvation.
This confession in Christ according to Romans 10:9-13 can only be made by born again believers. Sinners can no more confess Christ than the ancient heathen nations could obey the Law. They did not have the Law to keep. And sinners do not have Christ to confess Him. Sinners confess sin. Saints confess Christ. Paul was no more telling sinners how to be converted than Moses in his last sermon was telling Egyptians how to become Israelites. Heathen nations weren't there to hear Moses' words, and unbelievers were not there to read Paul's letter. Both Moses and Paul knew that in order for the people of God to be saved in the end, they must first "be" God's people, and second, continue trusting in what God had already provided them. In other words, one must be baptized into the Body of Christ (by immersion in water in Jesus' name and receiving the Holy Ghost Acts 2:4,38) for these words to apply to them. Therefore, ministers who use Romans 10:9-13 as Scriptures for "conversion" have not been sent by Jesus. They don't know what they are talking about, and the Church must reject such unsound doctrines, and seek the Truth.
"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?..." (Romans 10:14)
"But they have not all obeyed the gospel" (Romans 10:16)