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 upon Him. (13) For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The towering letter to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul, Hebrew of Hebrews and zealous for the Law until he met Christ Jesus on the road to Damascus. In chapters 9 and 10 of Romans, Paul writes expressing concern for the Jews who did not accept God’s plan of salvation in the gospel. The Jews felt justification was confined to their nation and thought they could establish their own righteousness. The gospel Paul preached taught we have no righteousness of our own and can only be justified through the right of God imputed to us and received by faith in Christ. The Jews believe in salvation by works and the Christians by faith and available to all. The point is that Righteousness on which we depend is not of ourselves but of God.
The gospel Paul preached proclaimed Jesus is the Lord; faith in Jesus as the Messiah is truth to be believed and acknowledged – we are to renounce all dependence on our own merit. Faith is not a speculative exercise but an act of the mind that includes understanding and affection. A doctrine of Scripture is that he who believes with the heart is justified and he who openly confesses Christ shall be saved. Faith is necessary as a means to an end and confession is a duty. Lack of courage to confession is evidence of the lack of heart to believe.
God is the God of both the Jews and the Gentiles. In God’s eyes there is no difference; all are sinners and will be judged by the same principles. The Jews saw the gospel as a message that clashed with the Old Testament and Paul is citing the Old Testament to show that the message he preached came right out of Jewish Scriptures. All need to be reconciled to God before they die and face judgment – the gospel is that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. Since the good news is for all it must be proclaimed to all (we are responsible for the effort but not the outcome). Intellectual belief alone without commitment is NOT saving faith. Any mention of good works earning salvation is NOT good news because it depends on sinful people who inevitably fall short. We need a humble sense of our own sinfulness and a willingness to receive eternal life as offered in the gospel. This invitation and assurance extends to all nations and people of all times.