Paul identified the two-step process by which salvation can be obtained. He said, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, ESV). The Greek word translated confess, homologeo means “to confess by way of admitting oneself guilty of what one is accused of, the result of inward conviction” (G3670). Another way of looking at a confession of faith is to see it as a means of identifying oneself with the death of Jesus on the cross. You are confessing that Christ died for or because of your sins. He is your personal savior by way of accepting his death as punishment for your sins.

Placing ones faith in Jesus Christ is a transaction that takes place in the heart, but Paul emphasized that a confession of faith was necessary for the transaction to be complete. He stated, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:10, ESV). Verbal acknowledgement of having placed one’s faith in Christ can be as simple as telling someone, I believe in Jesus. Paul didn’t stipulate that any kind of formal confession had to occur. It was merely the outward confession of the inward faith that needed to take place.

Paul acknowledged the simplicity of receiving salvation by stating that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). The intent behind calling on the name of the Lord is to express interest in being saved. Basically, what Paul was saying was that anyone that wants to be saved can be. There is not a limit to God’s grace. It’s not as if God could say, I’m sorry, heaven is full and I’m not going to let anyone else in. Paul said that God is “rich unto all that call upon him” meaning he can make more room if necessary. The only limit to God’s grace is our willingness to receive it.

Paul emphasized the importance of preaching the gospel in his explanation of how people get saved. He said, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The kind of hearing Paul was talking about was not just listening to a message. The Greek word he used, akoe (ak-o-ay’) means a decision is made in the sense of a courtroom hearing where a verdict is given by a judge or jury after hearing testimony. In essence, what Paul was saying was that you have to decide if what you’ve heard is true or false. I believe this or I don’t believe it. The key to salvation being that your faith is activated when you hear the gospel and you are able to discern the truth because your spirit has been quickened or reanimated by God (Ephesians 2:5).