How can a sinner be saved? In Romans 10 Paul declares that we must, first, “confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus” (Rom. 10:9), which means to fully lay our lives under the authority of Christ’s Lordship. Second, we must “believe in [our] heart that God has raised Him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9). This is not mere intellectual assent, for the demons believe, and tremble (James 2:19). It requires truth faith which completely trusts in God. And, finally, we must “call on the name of the Lord” (Rom. 10:13), which is not simply a prayer in His name, but a prayer of sincere devotion to Him. 

Sermon: https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/6756880a4c4226b5b7dfea7b

How can a sinner be saved? Well, in Romans 10, 1 through 13, there's very simple and beautiful language that explains it. Verse nine, 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. To confess is not just to say words, It is to say the same thing that the Lord Jesus Christ says about you and about your sin.

In other words, to confess isn't just a mumbo jumbo, It's to actually bring your whole life into agreement with God, to put your whole life under God's authority. And what are you confessing? Jesus is Lord. Confession happens in public worship. It happens in the Lord's Supper.

It happens in baptism. It happens in the fellowship of the saints, in evangelism. It happens in the heart. The next thing that he mentions is to believe in your heart. Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.

What kind of belief is this? This is not just intellectual assent. The true meaning of faith is that faith completely trusts in the Lord. There's this old story, really old story, I've heard it many times over the years, of a tightrope walker, Charles Blondin, who was famous for walking over Niagara Falls blindfolded, sometimes on stilts. Sometimes on stilts.

But he was famous in about 1859, 1860 for demonstrating what he could do, you know, taking a wheelbarrow over Niagara Falls and then coming back and asking the audience if they believed he could do it. And the crowd would cheer, yes, yes, and then Blond would ask for volunteers and no one would volunteer. And of course that really illustrates the difference between belief that is just intellectual assent and belief that trusts. The kind of belief that saves is the belief that throws the whole weight upon the Lord Jesus. And then the third is call on the name of the Lord.

Verse 13, for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And this is a prayer for allegiance and devotion to the Lord. It's a prayer of worship. It's calling on God for help. It's calling on the name of the Lord, meaning you're calling on everything that His name represents.

You are in this sense praying in His name. Praying in Jesus name is not just tacking on in Jesus name at the end of a prayer. Praying in Jesus name is to pray according to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. So how can one be saved? Confess that Jesus is Lord and to believe and to call on the name of the Lord.

That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord 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. It's as easy as one, two, three. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Scripture applied as a production of Church and Family Life.

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