Audio commentary on this verse

Note 10 at Rom. 10:10: For true salvation to take place, there must be confession with the mouth and belief from the heart. People tend to major on one or the other of these requirements but that fails to obtain the desired results.

Confession is scriptural, but it is a result of faith in the heart. Only when a person has already believed with his heart will confession release the power of God. Confession without sincere belief in the heart is dead works (Heb. 9:14).

Likewise, faith without works is dead (Jas. 2:17). When a person really believes in his heart, he will speak what he believes (Mt. 12:34; Lk. 6:35). A faith that won't confess what is believed is not God's kind of faith (see note 6 at Rom. 4:17, p. 765).

Failure to properly combine these two truths has caused some people to fail in their attempts to receive from God and reject "faith teaching" or "confession teaching." However, if one of these truths was presented without the proper emphasis on the other, then it wasn't scriptural teaching. The truths of faith and confession will work when used according to the instructions in this verse.