Around thirty years ago, I drove to hear an aging Southern Baptist evangelist by the name of Vance Havner. I cannot remember where he was preaching though I can vaguely recollect the worship area with a rather packed house. Dr. Havner must have been around 80, and was still holding meetings across the country. Known for his pithy, pungent sayings sprinkled throughout his sermons, he did not hesitate to call people to repentance and faithfulness to Christ as Lord, often doing so with stinging barbs. But he was loveable nonetheless because those listening to him knew that he cared about the church and deeply loved the Word of God.
On this particular occasion, Dr. Havner preached on Romans 10:9-10. He told of how the Roman world grew accustomed to declaring, “Caesar is lord,” but Christians could not and would not do so. Rather the telling declaration that one had moved from darkness to light, from spiritual death to spiritual life was found in his confession, “Jesus is Lord.” As the earliest confession of the church, it was the most common way that someone identified himself as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Havner described how the church gathered to hear the Word of God preached, and perhaps in such a setting, a man or woman, young or old, might rise to his/her feet and declare to the rest of the assembly, “Jesus is Lord,” or “Jesus is my Lord.” The rest understood what that confession meant: that person had become a follower of Jesus Christ. Their open confession drew a clear line for all to see: they were now Christians.
At the end of the service, without any fanfare or emotional appeal, Dr. Havner asked if anyone wanted to confess Jesus as his Lord. One by one throughout that church, people rose to their feet and confessed, “Jesus is my Lord,” then sat down. In an era that had grown so accustomed to appeals coaxing people down the church aisle, it was refreshing to see the simple confession common to Christians in every era, “Jesus is Lord.”
Just a few years later, a huge controversy brewed among evangelicals. It became known as the “Lordship Controversy.” One group, influenced by Lewis Sperry Chafer and Charles Ryrie, taught that one did not have to receive Jesus as Lord when becoming a Christian. Lordship was optional—preferable yet still optional. This teaching inevitably grew out of Chafer’s emphasis on two categories of Christians: spiritual and carnal. He had to have room for carnal Christians—those acting like unbelievers—without doing harm to the doctrine of eternal security. So he, Ryrie, Zane Hodges, and others taught that one could receive Jesus as Savior without receiving Him as Lord and still be a Christian.
Many strong voices arose in opposition, among them J.I. Packer, Stephen Olford, James Montgomery Boice, Ernie Reisinger, and John MacArthur. MacArthur wrote what I still regard as his most important book, The Gospel According to Jesus, as a response to “the gospel in vogue today” that he saw holding “forth a false hope to sinners” [The Gospel According to Jesus, Revised & Expanded, xx]. I recall Stephen Olford telling me, “Bro’ that is a classic! Every Christian needs to read that book!” MacArthur’s approach was simple as he responded to those who denied the necessity of Christ as Lord for salvation: just read the Gospels and listen to the words of Jesus Christ. No one can walk away from the Gospels with the impression that Lordship is optional! Nor can one read the Epistles or Acts or the Apocalypse and honestly think that the biblical writers were ready to cheapen the gospel in order to add numbers to the church. If those in the early church were willing to risk everything, including their lives, for the confession, “Jesus is my Lord,” then we dare not think that Christ’s Lordship is optional for true believers. The call of the gospel is the call to confess and follow Jesus as Lord. Believing and confessing go together as we see in our text. What does it mean to confess Jesus as Lord? Let’s spend some time probing this question as we investigate our text.
In our previous study that focused on verses 5-8, we considered the answers to several questions raised in response to the primary question: how can Christ be righteousness for us (v. 4) before God? We saw first that this righteousness cannot be found in the law (v. 5)—not due to a deficiency in the law but due to our own spiritual and moral deficiencies. If one is going to be saved by the law then he must “live by that righteousness” clarified in the law. Yet even with practice, one cannot become perfect. Second, that makes salvation impossible for us to achieve. That is right, as long as we are trusting in our abilities to achieve righteousness. Paul queries from Deuteronomy 30 concerning the attempt to find righteousness. Can someone ascend to heaven to bring Christ down so that He might stand in our place as righteousness? No need to do that since God has already sent Christ to become one of us! Then seeing Him crucified, can one descend into the abyss to bring Him up from the dead? No need to do that either since God has raised Him from the dead (vv. 6-7). In both cases, Paul emphasizes that God has already given the answer to our need for righteousness through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
In spite of this, salvation seems so distant, so impossible to experience. But no, that’s not the case, since “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (v. 8). Through the preaching of the “the word of faith,” the gospel to be believed, God has drawn near to us to save us from our sins. That gospel is delivered through the preached word. We ended our previous study by just glancing at the proper response to the gospel as explained in verses 9-10. Let’s work our way through this in more detail.
What does it mean to confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”? We noted previously that the phrase, “Jesus as Lord,” is actually a double accusative so that a better translation is “Jesus is Lord.” That makes the confession more personal—for it is very personal as well as corporate for the church: “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” The first word, “that,” indicates that Paul is giving an explanation. It is the explanation of the content of the “word of faith which we are preaching.” Let’s think about the historical context of this confession.
After Julius Caesar strengthened his grip on Rome so that he essentially became dictator, the rest of the Roman emperors followed his lead. In the eastern part of the empire it was common for people to deify their rulers, so as the early emperors began to claim the title of kyrios or Lord, they fell right in line. The western portion of the empire had more difficulty swallowing this but over time, the will of Caesar prevailed. Temples sprang up throughout the empire to show honor and allegiance to the emperor by worshiping him as “Lord.” Being good polytheists, they still worshiped other gods, so they had no qualms about coming yearly to the emperor’s temple to offer incense or make a sacrifice and utter the confession, “Caesar is Lord.” Even the coinage of the time often identified Caesar as lord or as Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of the Roman religion [James Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era, 151]. In the latter part of the first century, Domitian demanded to be addressed as Dominus et Deus, Lord and God [Jeffers, 101].
In this setting, people heard the gospel and its exclusive claim of Jesus as Lord. To follow Jesus meant to deny Caesar’s lordship. In some cases, Roman officials turned a blind eye in an effort to keep peace in the empire, knowing that the ‘Caesar is Lord’ confession repulsed both Jews and Christians. But at other times, that was not the case. Pressure mounted. Either confess Caesar as Lord or suffer the consequences.
What would you have done if you had faced this quandary? Would you have gone along with the crowd and tried to show allegiance to Caesar as Lord publicly but only privately confessing Jesus as Lord? That would not have lasted for very long. Christianity is not a private religion. It is an open confession, a public life as a follower of Jesus Christ the Lord. So Paul responds to the question of where the preaching of “the word of faith” is heading. It is the gospel call to confess Jesus as Lord and to believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. What’s the importance of this confession?
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord [or Jesus is Lord]…you will be saved.” The confession distinguishes who this Lord is. It is not Caesar or Apollo or Zeus or Bacchus. It is Jesus Christ alone. He is the one prophesied by Moses, David, Isaiah, Zechariah, and Micah. Jesus is the one anticipated for centuries, talked about around the table during the days of Kings Hezekiah and Josiah, as well as during the great period of trials in the Maccabean era. He is the one announced by the angel, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Of Him, Simeon declared only eight days after His birth in Bethlehem, “For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32). John the Baptist proclaimed Him to be mightier than he, even though John was highly regarded by the people of Israel. He would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire; He would judge the unbelieving and gather the believing (Matt. 3:11-12).
This Jesus is the one of whom Andrew spoke to his brother Simon Peter, “We have found the Messiah,” (John 1:41) and Philip likewise declared, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45). Not Caesar, not Apollo, not Zeus, nor any of the pantheon of Roman or Greek gods—Jesus alone is the one proclaimed as Lord.
This confession that Jesus is Lord is distinct because of what Jesus said of Himself.
Of Him Peter said, “Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:22-24). Because of who Jesus is, because of what He accomplished in His death and resurrection, Peter and John told the religious leaders of Jerusalem, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (4:12). Not Caesar’s name or Apollo’s name or Zeus’ name—there’s no power to save us from the wrath of God in their names. Only in the name of Jesus is there salvation—this Jesus who is Lord of all.
Without rituals or ceremonies or elaborate schemes, we’re called to confess simply, “Jesus is Lord.” There’s no long drawn out process like the ancient mystery religions. There’s no mediator that has to offer sacrifices to make you acceptable. The call of the gospel is right to the point: “…confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord.” That confession excludes all others. It identifies the person to whom you give all allegiance and honor. Confessing Him gives hearty agreement with the biblical revelation concerning Jesus Christ, that God has exalted Him as Lord of lords and King of kings (Philippians 2:8-11; Revelation 19:11-16).
Though it is simple, this confession is most difficult when we are unbelieving and unrepentant. Some of you may be thinking, I could never do that; I could never confess Jesus as Lord. The reason you struggle is because you do understand that it means something. It’s not merely mouthing a few words to make you feel better. You know that it means you will no longer live for yourself; you will no longer go the way of the world or follow the crowd. You know that it means a new allegiance altogether—not some kind of half-commitment of your life. To stand before others and declare, “Jesus is my Lord,” sets you apart for Him who died and rose from the dead.
“Jesus is Lord” totally identifies Him with Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. First century Jews understood this more clearly than perhaps many of us do. They did not use the title “Lord,” lightly. So sacred was the divine name, Yahweh, that the Jews would not even utter it. They substituted ‘Adonai,’ or Lord for this One who created, sustained, and redeemed them. So when a Jew made the confession, “Jesus is Lord,” he was declaring that Jesus is God the Creator, the God of the covenants, God who has come to us personally, the God who has redeemed us by His own substitutionary death. Jesus was not a new god but the God of the Old Testament come in the flesh. The God whom the Israelites could not approach on the mountain and before whom Elijah hid his face, this God has come to us!
This good confession of Jesus as Lord also recognizes Him in His three-fold offices that were illustrated throughout Old Testament history in the life of the covenant people of God: Prophet, Priest, and King. The confession acknowledges Jesus to be our Prophet who has revealed God to us and who has spoken the Word to us with finality (Heb. 1:1-4). The confession relies upon Jesus Christ as the Priest who mediated the way to God for us, and who remains exalted in heaven as our Great High Priest interceding for us (Heb. 4:14-16). The confession bows to Jesus Christ as King who rules over an eternal kingdom and exercises an actual reign (Rom. 14:7-12).
Have you confessed Jesus as Lord and in doing so, acknowledged Him as your Prophet, Priest, and King?
Notice the word “confess.” It does not mean that you have originated an idea but rather that you are in agreement with something previously known. You did not come up with the idea of Jesus’ Lordship; you simply agree with God’s own declaration of His Son as Lord. Your confession of Him is public. Why is that important? (1) Jesus is worthy of our open devotion and worship. One of the ways that we confess Him is in our worship. We do it as well as in our witness. We declare in those corporate and private settings, “Jesus is my Lord.” (2) Public confession of Him seals the inward trust we have exercised upon Him. It is actually a wonderful way of helping us with assurance. It may take some courage to confess Jesus publicly but in doing so we realize that we’re simply expressing the belief that has already taken place in the heart. (3) Confession of Jesus as Lord draws the line for the world to see that we no longer belong to the world or to Satan but to Christ alone. That may make us a target of other’s persecution. Recently, a young man in his early twenties living in the Islamic world who has been a Christian for a number of years, continued to make open confession of Christ as Lord. He did this with the friends that he had known, gone to school with, and played with for years. They threatened him harm if he continued his confession of Jesus. Even though he knew they might kill him, he would not be bullied by them, and thus fail to confess Jesus as Lord. And they did kill him but he lived his life with no regrets as one that openly confessed Jesus as Lord, drawing a line in the sand to identify himself as one of Christ’s followers.
Have you openly confessed Jesus as Lord?
We’ve spent quite a bit of time talking about believing and faith in Christ during our study of Romans, so I will not give as much attention to this as the confession. But I also do not want to presume that all of us understand what it is to exercise this kind of faith. Notice a few things concerning faith in Jesus Christ the Lord.
Whenever we see the resurrection as the focal point of discussion in Scripture, we must remember that it does not stand alone. It always includes the crucifixion of Christ. When Paul wrote, “If you…believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved,” he used typical apostolic language in which the part—resurrection—stands for the whole—the entire redemptive work of Christ. He already alluded in verse 6, to the coming of Christ in the Incarnation for the purpose of His substitutionary death, and to the resurrection in verse 7. Here, resurrection confirms the effectiveness of the work of Jesus on the cross. If there had been no resurrection then we would not have known if Jesus really did finish the work that God sent Him to do. It also confirms God’s acceptance of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on our behalf to satisfy eternal justice. The resurrection implies God’s approval of all Jesus accomplished in His saving work.
To believe in your heart does not exclude your mind. As James M. Boice rightly stated, heart in the Bible means “intellect, will and emotions” [Romans: God and History, vol. 3, 1208]. He adds, “The faith that saves is a faith that takes all we are and commits it to all that Jesus Christ is.” This heart belief must have a basis. It is not a feeling we have about God so we work things out. Instead, it is grounded in the promises of God in the gospel. That’s why the best thing we can do in explaining the gospel to our friends is to give them the Word of God. Tell them God’s promises in Christ Jesus.
Faith also has an object—Jesus Christ the Lord. By focusing on believing that God raised Him from the dead, the believer is relying upon Christ as the one who made an end of sin, death, and hell for all who believe.
Faith in Christ is God’s chosen means to receive what He has given to us in Christ. It is the only way that we can be involved in the process of salvation without works or personal glory. Faith is no work but rather a gift of God’s grace (Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:29). And if it is a gift then we cannot boast about our believing as though we have done something but rather we boast in the Lord; we glory in the grace of God (1 Cor. 1:26-31).
The heart is the point of change; the center of one’s being that affects the whole person. To “believe in your heart,” leads to confession with the mouth. Paul follows the order of Deuteronomy 30:14 in verse 9 by using mouth first then heart. In verse 10, he reverses, showing heart belief first and then confession. Should we make much of this? I agree with Boice that Paul is not giving us steps or a plan but showing us that believing and confessing, “are actually all of one package” [1191]. And when one believes in Jesus Christ, the heart becomes a fountain that spills forth in praise and confession of Him as Lord.
So rather than focusing on a two-step process for salvation, see these truths as parallel truths: if one exists so does the other. Confession gives outward, public affirmation of what has already transpired through faith in the heart. For some, the moment of faith is the moment of confessing “Jesus is Lord.”
The elephant in the room, though, is the word “saved.” We’ve danced all around it. But what does it mean? Saved from what? The word implies deliverance or rescue. Jesus Christ delivers us from the wrath of God. Or as I heard R.C. Sproul put it one time, “God saves us from God!” Do you need to be saved from God? If you are a sinner, then I assure you, you don’t want to face God in His wrath! Yet apart from confessing Jesus as Lord and believing that God raised Him from the dead, you cannot escape facing God in a way that you do not want to meet Him—a God of wrath and judgment.
Paul gives us parallel terms to explain what this word “saved” means. First, he calls it “righteousness.” That’s been the focus of our study for the past two years in Romans. In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith (Rom. 1:17). “Saved,” therefore means that you are accounted as righteous before God, and therefore, you can never face His wrath but only His love. “Salvation” is the comprehensive term. It includes righteousness but also all of the justifying, sanctifying, and glorifying work that takes place in all who believe and confess Jesus as Lord.
So what is your confession? You make one everyday. Do you confess Jesus as your Lord? Or do you offer some other confession: perhaps that you are lord of your life or everyone’s opinion is lord of your life or pleasure is lord of your life. Only one confession can save: Jesus is Lord!
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