Audio commentary on this verse

Note 10 at Ro 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 people have already believed with their hearts 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 people really believe in their hearts, they will speak what they believe (Mt 12:34 and Lu 6:45). A faith that won't confess what is believed is not God's kind of faith (see note 6 at Ro 4:17).

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.