But what does it say?  “The word Is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (That is the word of faith which we preach):  (9) 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.  (10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (11) For the Scripture says “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”  (12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call on Him.  (13) For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The letter to the Romans was written to the Christian church in Rome by the apostle Paul. Paul had been kept from visiting Rome and in his place he sent this letter of doctrine and instruction and truth. Our verses today contain a message of eternal salvation – this message he keeps repeating is that the way to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ – belief in Jesus as Lord.

This letter contrasts righteousness based on law with righteousness by faith and we cannot be saved by keeping the law. Paul is saying we don’t have to go through a difficult process to find Christ and that we are saved through faith in Christ – that we must believe in our heart and express or confess that belief. Confession is not a requirement but an inevitable outcome of genuine saving faith.  Israel failed to achieve righteousness because they tried – the Jews wanted to establish their own righteousness, not to receive it as an act of grace. Righteousness by works is a man made system for salvation. It is not Biblical and it will not work.

Saving faith is a matter of heart. It is also an intellectual assent to the gospel. We must first know Jesus to trust in Him – and this does not mean the Jesus of our imagination -and this all boils down to knowledge of  Scripture.