Romans 10:9 AMP
[9] because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Paul was writing to a specific audience: those beloved of God, called to be saints, and set apart for a sanctified life. That is specific. God is not the author of confusion. He has a purpose for every life He has made. The Bible makes that very clear. The accounts of the new testament started with the ministry of Jesus amongst His own people the Jews, before it spread out to the uttermost parts of the world. This is in line with the plan of God for the salvation of the whole world. Paul, a Jew, found himself as a minister of the gospel of Jesus to those that the Jews thought were beneath them, and not worthy of the benefits and blessings of the new life available in Christ.
Thank God that the story did not end with the message to the Jews only. When the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost, He descended on all who were in the upper room, but His touch also extended to all who were in Jerusalem at the time. 3,000 souls were saved, and the move of God amongst nations was now in full force. Men and women have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus, not because of where they were from, or their tribe or language, but simply by the power of the gospel of Jesus. Men and women who the world had given up on because of their past, now had a new lease of life, by virtue of the operation of the Holy Spirit.
How does this work? The verse above lays a bit of an emphasis on both an inner witness and an outward expression. Both are critical and important. There has to be an inner witness that cannot be shaken by earthly experiences. It comes from a conviction that only Jesus can save, and that only in Him is there true salvation and eternal redemption. It is this harmony between the heart and the mouth that makes it a complete experience. If the heart does not believe, it becomes a case of hypocrisy. I do not want to pay lip-service to faith; God cannot be deceived by outward piety that is empty of inner conviction. Have you come to both believe and confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour?
Remember: the door is open to all who seek to come. God does not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. It is an open door, but it will not remain open for all of eternity. He offers eternal life to all who come to Him. At least, you know with certainty what lies at the end of your decision, whatever it is: if I confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in my heart that His Life is now my own life, I am saved. This is the simple message of the cross that many struggle with. It does not ask for money, labour or striving; it just asks me to believe and confess. If you have tried others and not experienced the joy only God can give, why not try Jesus? He waits for anyone who will come. God's time of favour is here.
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