Chapter # 10 Paragraph # 2 Study # 6
August 19, 2018
Humble, Texas
(068)
1769 Translation:
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
1901 ASV Translation:
10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame.
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same [Lord] is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him:
13 for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
- I. Paul's Explanation of How His Gospel Produces "Salvation" For People.
- A. Clearly, the "for" introduces an explanation.
- B. Just as clearly, there is a two-fold picture involved.
- 1. The "mouth/heart" duality was first, most clearly, introduced by Paul in 10:8.
- 2. But it was strongly implied in 10:6.
- a. There is the prohibition to refrain from "saying", which, though a metaphor, brings "mouth" issues into play.
- b. Then there is the "placement" of the "saying" as "in your heart", which, if it follows that Jesus' words regarding the primacy and influence of the heart over speech in Matthew 12:34 is applicable, fits as the heart motivating the mouth.
- 3. Then it is made fundamental in 10:9 where "mouth" and "heart" are both required to be involved for "salvation" to occur.
- C. Interestingly, "salvation" is promised as the outcome of "confession", not "believing".
- 1. Paul's explanation is that it is the "heart" that believes "unto righteousness", but it is the "mouth" that confesses unto "salvation".
- a. Fascinatingly, the verbs "believe" and "confess" have altered "voices" in 10:10. [Robertson interestingly says this voice switch "calls for no comment", but I disagree (though he is doubtlessly the greater scholar).] Paul switches from "if one should confess/believe" with both verbs in the active voice to "with the heart/mouth is being believed/confessed" with both verbs in the passive voice. This is awkward. The most likely meaning is that Paul is not concerned with a "person" believing as much as he is with a "truth" that is being believed. Thus, literally, Paul says, "For with the heart it is being believed unto righteousness and with the mouth it is being confessed unto salvation" and the "it" in both cases is the previous verse's "Lord Jesus" (as the "it" of "it is being confessed") and the "God raised Him from the dead" (as the "it" of "it is being believed"). Point: Paul is focused upon the content of "the word of the faith which we are proclaiming".
- b. The question here is this: does "unto" indicate "resulting in" or "in view of the ultimate objective"? Is Paul declaring that if a person "believes in his/her heart" he/she will be justified regardless of the "confession" issue, or is he simply pointing out that justification is the divine intention behind the call for "faith"?
- c. If "confession with the mouth" is an unnecessary part of a "process", why is it even mentioned, let alone declared to be the final stage of the process? If a person "believes unto righteousness" are they not "justified" by faith? If justified by faith, can "salvation" be withheld because of a failure of the "mouth" to confess?
- d. Paul is declaring the process that results in a man's reconciliation with God so that he may become a child of God. "Confession" is an integral aspect of this process and cannot be set aside.
- e. Thus, "unto" does not indicate a "result"; it indicates the objectives involved in the overall process.
- 2. Paul is not pitting the heart against the mouth, or the mouth against the heart; rather, he is explaining the details of how the process "works".
- a. In both phrases ("unto righteousness" and "unto salvation"), the "unto" indicates the direction of thought.
- b. In no biblical text is the notion presented that the presence of one of the issues can take up the slack for the absence of the other. In other words, no amount of "mouth confession" can compensate for the absence of "faith in the heart" and no amount of "faith in the heart" can compensate for the absence of "confession with the mouth".
- c. Rather, the Bible teaches that the process of "hearing" with the goal of "salvation" can be corrupted by an intervening "hardening of the heart" (Hebrews 3:8; 3:15; and 4:7). In other words, as a person is "hearing" truth the possibility is very real that there will be a decided resistance that blocks the process that is designed to lead to salvation. That resistance will be rooted in "the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:13) as the "hearing" person is confronted by some one or more implication(s) of the Gospel for his/her life and experiences. If that "deceitfulness" gains traction, the person will "harden his/her heart" and the process that is moving toward salvation will be blocked.
- 4. The straightforward implication of "salvation" resulting from the combination of both "confession" and "believing" is that there must be the beginning of conversational interaction between the one moving toward salvation and the God making the offer. No conversational interaction means no establishment of a genuine relationship. No relationship, no salvation. Salvation is the restoration of the broken relationship between God and man.
- II. Reminders.
- A. The "confession" is not to men, or even in the presence of men; our text in its context is all about "calling upon the name of the Lord" for salvation. No call, no salvation. The "calling" is that of a man addressing God because of His promise(s).
- B. "Salvation" is all about the restoration of fellowship between a creature and the Creator. John claims that the revelation of Jesus Christ through incarnation is "in order that" those coming to understand that revelation might have fellowship with The Father and His Son (1 John 1:3). He also defined "eternal life" in terms of a methodological definition by the words of Jesus, "...this is life eternal: that they might know Thee and ... Jesus Christ" (John 17:3). With these sentiments Paul is in full agreement.
- C. The "word of the faith" of Romans 10:8 is "the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart". The "word of faith" is not "the word is in your mouth" isolated from "the word is in your heart" nor "the word is in your heart" isolated from "the word is in your mouth" because it is both "confession with the mouth" and "believing with the heart" that ends up constituting the promise that "ye shall be saved".
- III. The Final Argument.
- A. Paul adds "For...".
- B. The Scripture says... .
- C. Everyone who is believing upon Him shall not be put to shame.