Confession and Belief Unto Salvation

Salvation is received by faith in the risen Lord and confessed openly.

Jesus, crucified and raised, is Lord. Those who believe in his resurrection and confess his lordship are justified and saved. The promise extends to all who call upon him.

Romans 10:5-13 centers on Christ’s incarnation, resurrection, lordship, and saving availability. No one needs to ascend into heaven to bring Christ down, because the Son has already come. No one needs to descend into the deep to bring Christ up, because God has raised him from the dead. The saving response is to believe in the heart that God raised Jesus and confess with the mouth that Jesus is Lord. The risen and exalted Jesus is the Lord upon whose name all must call for salvation.

To contrast law-based righteousness with faith-based righteousness and to declare the simplicity and universality of salvation through confessing and believing in Christ.

Romans 10:5-13 follows Romans 9:30-10:4, where Paul explained that Israel stumbled because they pursued righteousness as though by works rather than by faith, did not submit to God’s righteousness, and failed to recognize Christ as the culmination of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:5-13 now develops that contrast by setting righteousness based on law alongside righteousness based on faith. Paul uses Moses and Deuteronomy to show that the gospel word is near and that salvation is received by believing in the risen Christ and confessing Jesus as Lord. This section prepares for Romans 10:14-21, where Paul will explain the necessity of preaching, hearing, and Israel’s accountability for rejecting the proclaimed word.

Paul writes after explaining that Israel pursued righteousness as though by works and stumbled over Christ. He now shows from Scripture that righteousness by faith is not foreign to Moses but is the proper response to the word God has brought near in Christ. Believers in Rome, including Jewish and Gentile Christians who needed clarity concerning righteousness by faith, Israel’s responsibility, Christ’s lordship, and the universal availability of salvation in the gospel Romans 10:5-13 stands within Paul’s argument that God’s righteousness is revealed in Christ and received by faith. It connects Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and Joel to Christ’s incarnation, resurrection, lordship, and the universal call of the gospel.