ANNOUNCER: Is confessing Christ a requirement to be born again? If so, why is it scarcely mentioned in the New Testament? Are there two steps to faith? Some people say three. Let’s have a discussion about it today here on Grace in Focus. Thank you, friend, for joining us. This is the ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. Our website is www.faithalone.org. Find our bookstore at that address. Many titles available there, including Bob Wilkin’s latest book, The Gospel Is Still Under Siege. And get registered for our national annual conference. It’s coming up in May, the 18th through the 21st. Family-friendly, great fellowship, great sessions, and even VBS for the kids. All the information you need at www.faithalone.org. 

And now with today’s question and answer discussion, here are Bob Wilkins and Ken Yates. 

KEN: We’re talking about the plenary sessions or the main sessions that we’re hoping to have at our national conference coming up in May, May 18th through 21. Go on at www.faithalone.org and sign up, and if it’s your first time, you don’t even have to pay any registration fee. 

BOB: Right, you’re only for if you want to lodge there and only if you want to eat food there. 

KEN: Okay, well, one of the themes we’re going to talk about is the book of Romans, the Roman road, a legitimate way to evangelize people. In our previous session, we talked about Romans 3, Romans 6, and then we got into Romans 10, but we realized we bit off more than we could chew. 

BOB: Right, so we’ve got to finish it now, but our initial answer was no, Romans 10, Romans is not a good book to use for evangelism. Yes, you can pick out a few verses that are helpful. But the truth is, for evangelism, you should go to the gospel of John.

KEN: And when we get to Romans 10 specifically, we were looking at this before we stopped in our last session, does Romans chapter 10, here’s the question, does Romans chapter 10:9-10 say that we or the unbeliever must confess Jesus as Lord in order to be saved from the lake of fire?

BOB: And the answer is no that, that is heresy, because John 3:16 says nothing about needing to confess Him as Lord in order to have eternal life. 

KEN: Years ago, I heard a leading evangelical, I won’t say his name and I don’t know if he still holds this, but he said that these verses are saying you must confess him as Lord means you must confess Jesus as God in order to be saved from the lake of fire. In other words, you must believe that He is, now he didn’t go into detail, God in the flesh or second person of the Trinity or whatever. 

BOB: Okay, I heard I read it where, actually this is one of my seminary professors who was struggling with what Romans 10:9-10 means because he knew that it was just by faith. And so what he said was that you need to believe that Jesus is God and you must in your heart confess to Him. Even though it says with the mouth confession is made, he said you don’t have to do it verbally, but you got to acknowledge in your heart that He’s God. 

KEN: You can see where someone who is a lordship salvation person would say, well, this means you got to make him Lord of your life. You have to confess Him that He’s Lord of your life and obviously they’re going to word that differently. You got to be willing to make him Lord or you got to make him Lord or you got to turn from your sins. There’s a lot that’s read into these verses. 

BOB: There really is, but let’s read 10:9-10 and then we’ll also look at the verses which follow, especially 13 and 14. Pretty much every commentator acknowledges that Romans 10:13 is saying the same thing as Romans 10:9-10 concerning the confession. “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” They say calling on the Lord is the same as confessing. That’s another issue, is how do we translate this? Do we translate this whoever confesses Jesus as Lord, whoever confesses the Lord Jesus? There’s even another view that just says whoever cries out “Lord Jesus.” In other words, that’s what they’re saying. But let’s take a look. Would you read 9 and 10? 

KEN: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And then verses 13 and 14, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?” 

BOB: Okay. So would it not be fair to say, Ken, that pretty much every commentator recognizes in verse nine that there are two elements? 

KEN: Yes. 

BOB: And what are the two elements? 

KEN: The two elements are we need to believe and we need to confess. 

BOB: And wouldn’t every commentator recognize and say that the believing is internal. That’s what “the heart means” and that “confessing” is external. That’s what the mouth means. Nobody would say that Romans 10:9 is talking about one thing. 

KEN: Right. And again, I was just in a Sunday school class and they said there’s a two-step process. 

BOB: Okay. So justification according to this is not by faith alone. 

KEN: Right. You got to do two things. 

BOB: It’s by faith, plus confession. 

KEN: Yeah. And they’re going to word it differently. They’re going to say, well, if you really believed you’re going to do this.

BOB: Right. But there are lots of people who will say, I believe in justification by faith alone. And now let’s go to Romans 10:9-10. And when they get there, they say, see, there’s two steps. I’ve heard lots of Southern Baptist pastors say something like this: “Justification is by faith alone. So if you repent and believe in Christ, you will be justified forever.” 

KEN: And they will say it within 20 seconds. They’ll say, it’s by faith alone. So you must believe and confess with your mouth. 

BOB: Or believe and repent. They’ll do different things. 

ANNOUNCER: It’s coming, it’ll be here before you know it. What am I talking about? The Grace Evangelical Society’s National Conference 2026, May 18th through the 21st at Camp Copass, an absolutely beautiful campground in North Texas right on the lake with lots of recreation, great food, a great place to stay, wonderful fellowship, and wonderful Free Grace Bible teaching. Information and online registration now at faithalone.org/events. First timers waive registration fees. Faithalone.org/events.

BOB: Would not all commentators agree that verse 10 also has two elements. 

KEN: Sure. 

BOB: So what are the two elements in verse 10? 

KEN: We believe unto righteousness and with the mouth, we confess unto salvation. 

BOB: So aren’t there the same two elements in 9 and 10? 9 and 10 have believing and confessing, believing and confessing. So according to verse 10, what does the believing result in? 

KEN: The believing results in righteousness. 

BOB: Now in Romans, the word for justification is the Greek verb, dikaioō, and the noun form of that is dikaiosunē, righteousness. This is dikaiosunē, right? So when he says in verse 10a, “for with the heart one believes unto righteousness.”

KEN: Romans 1 through 4.

BOB: Isn’t he saying that justification is by faith alone? 

KEN: Right. I’m declared righteous by faith alone. 

BOB: And isn’t he saying that in order to be delivered or saved, however you understand this word, it takes more than believing. 

KEN: You must confess with your mouth. 

BOB: Two things. Believing and confessing. What Hodges argues, and I think he’s absolutely right here is that this deliverance is deliverance from God’s wrath. Here’s what he says: “Although the Jewish believer may be assured that God has granted him righteousness on the basis of faith in his heart, God will not grant him deliverance on the basis of that faith alone. For deliverance from God’s wrath, the Jewish convert must not suppress the truth he believes, he must confess with his mouth.” And the reason he talks about the Jewish convert is Romans 9:10-11 are about the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. And then he goes on to say, “To be justified by faith in the heart, but to refuse to confess Lord Jesus,”—that’s the way Hodges translates it.—Lord Jesus, exclamation point, you’re crying out Lord Jesus—’with the mouth, will leave the believer tragically still opposed to God’s temporal anger.” 

KEN: Not hell it’s temporal. 

BOB: Right. Look at verse 13. So what does that say? 

KEN: Verse 13 says, “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ “ 

BOB: Now, that’s a quote from the Old Testament, isn’t it? Joel, 2:32. At the end of the Tribulation, there will be Jewish believers. 

KEN: This is talking to the Jews here in Romans 9:10-11. 

BOB: Now, a lot of people say what it’s saying is, as the army surrounds Jerusalem, if a Jewish believer cries out, “Lord Jesus,” then they’re going to be saved from all of the armies that surround Jerusalem. But what Hodges argues, and I think he’s right is, A, this is corporate. This is the believing community. And B, it’s not a one-time confession. It’s an ongoing confession of Lord Jesus. In other words, if at the end of the Tribulation, Jews are part of the believing worshiping community that cries out to the Lord on a regular basis, then they will be delivered. It’s not like they need to say some magic prayer as Jerusalem is being surrounded by armies. They’re going to be delivered because they’re part of the worshiping community. And by the way, based on Matthew 24 and verse 13, the only ones who are going to be alive at the end of the Tribulation among Jewish people, are going to be believers. All adult Jews, unbelieving, will have died. And so you’ll be left with believers. And those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Now, how do we know that the salvation is not salvation from hell? I think verse 14 brings this out, doesn’t it? 

KEN: I mean, we could say that those who call upon Lord will be saved. If I’m a believer who, I’ve believed in Jesus, I already have eternal salvation. 

BOB: So this has got to be something else. 

KEN: This is something in the future. 

BOB: So read verse 14. 

KEN: “How shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?” They’ve already believed. 

BOB: So the believing precedes the calling. So the people calling on the name of the Lord in verse 13 and in 10:9-10 have to be believers. 

KEN: And it’s believers who call upon the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul refers to the Church as those who call upon the name of the Lord. You know, it is believers. How can I call upon it, somebody who I haven’t believed? 

BOB: That’s right. And then he goes on to say what? 

KEN: “And how shall they believe in Him in whom they have not heard?” 

BOB: So you hear before you believe. 

KEN: And then you believe before you call upon Him. 

BOB: And then what’s the next sentence? 

KEN:”And how shall they hear without a preacher?” 

BOB: So first there’s the preacher, then you hear the preacher, then you believe the words of the preacher, then you can call on the name of the Lord. 

KEN: And then the verse, “And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” So they’re sent, they preach the people here, those who believe, and then they call upon the name of the Lord. Obviously there’s going to be people who say, well, if you really believe you’re going to do this. But that’s not Paul’s point at all. 

BOB: No, not at all. Romans 10:9-10 is saying that justification is by faith alone, but that the deliverance from God’s wrath requires us to be part of the worshiping community. And although that’s going to be true in the Tribulation, it’s also true now. 

KEN: It certainly can apply it to us. 

BOB: We need to be people who are confessing Lord Jesus as part of the believing local assembly, regularly, each week we’re calling on the Lord Jesus. 

KEN: Believers have the privilege of calling out to the Lord Jesus to deliver them. 

BOB: And He does. 

KEN: Right. Well, this will be part of our discussion at our national conference. We hope you’re interested in this and we hope to see you there. And in the meantime, keep grace in focus. 

ANNOUNCER: Be sure to check out our daily blogs at faithalone.org. They are short and full of great teaching, just like what you’ve heard today. Find them at faithalone.org/resources/blog. We would love to hear from you. Maybe you’ve got a question, comment, or some feedback. If you do, please don’t hesitate to send us a message. Here’s our email address. It’s radio@faithalone.org. That’s radio@faithalone.org. And when you do, very important. Please let us know your radio station call letters and the city of your location.

On our next episode: do the birds in parables of Matthew 13 and Mark 4 represent Satan? Come back and join us. And in the meantime, let’s keep grace in focus.