Useful Bible Studies > Romans Commentary > chapter 10
The main subject in the Book of Romans is how God saves (rescues) a person from sin (evil deeds), the devil and death (1:16). For that to happen the person must declare that Jesus is Lord. ‘Lord’ here means God - Paul is using the word that translates God’s most holy name into the Greek language. Also, the person must truly believe that God raised Jesus from death.
Often, people turn to Romans 10:9 in order to help someone who wants to become a Christian. The verse is simple and clear, but not everyone can follow its advice. A person can only declare that Jesus is Lord by the power of God’s Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). We can only believe these things when God shows them to us.
Jesus patiently helped people who had sincere questions and honest doubts (John 3:1-15; John 4:7-26). He encouraged people to think carefully (Luke 14:28) and to examine what the Bible says (John 5:39). God has promised to act in the lives of those people who sincerely ask him to do that (Isaiah 55:6-7; Revelation 3:20). His Holy Spirit has the power to show us things that we could never know without his help (1 Corinthians 2:9-11).
It is interesting to see the relationship between this verse and the previous verses. Christ came down from heaven (10:6). We declare that fact by our statement that Jesus is Lord (in other words, God). Christ rose from death to life (10:7). We believe that in our hearts. We could not cause these things, which are necessary for God to save us, to happen. However, God did these things. We need only to accept what he has done for us. We do that when we believe and trust in him. We show that inner attitude of trust, when we declare our belief in him.
Next part: The connection between our words and our beliefs (Romans 10:10)
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© 2022, Keith Simons.