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Romans 10:9-11 (KJV)

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

We have all seen this scripture used in reference to when one accepts the Lord Jesus as savior, and must confess with their mouth to others, or before a congregation during an alter call.

But when I think of our Lord's words in the gospels, he speaks of not being ashamed of Him and his words, which seems to be in the context of one possibly losing their life for their testimony. And the reward that they would receive at his coming (i.e, being saved); which seems to be in the context of partaking in the firstborn inheritance of preeminence in the Kingdom (Col.3.24; cp. Rom.8.29).

Matthew 10:28-32

28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

Romans 8:17

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together

2 Timothy 2:12

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Is this confession, and salvation concerned with partaking in the deliverance from the wrath of God, that is to come upon the world (1 Thes.1.10; 5.8; 2 Thes.1. 5-10;cp. 1 Cor.5.5)?

Romans 13:11

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Is the context speaking of faithfully confessing Christ during the time of persecution, which will result in reward, and the timing of one's resurrection ("the hairs of your head are numbered"; Rev. 6:9; 12:11; cp. 20:4); rather than one just making an initial confession before man to receive life?

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Paul's speech in Romans 10:9-11 is set in an affirmative context. This aligns with 'confession unto salvation' and 'constant confession unto deliverance', but not with 'an initial confession where one receives life' which leaves the final outcome uncertain.

It is noteworthy that Romans 10:9-10 does not emphasize the literal mouth and heart, but rather the genuineness of one's mind and deeds, emphasizsing "integrity". Otherwise, speech-impaired people would have no chance of salvation.

Even more crucial is understanding that, in the Greek text of the New Testament, the verb "believe" is often in the present continuous tense, implying ongoing action. Therefore when one's belief is steadfast and genuine, it will consistently manifest in their deeds.

Jesus warned about the loss of faith during calamity. In the End Time Prophecy in Matthew 24, He said:

10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (NIV)

The last statement underscores that endurance of faith in Jesus Christ is paramount, even more than the suffering one might endure.

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First the two phrases:

  • "confession unto salvation", and
  • "confession unto deliverance"

... do not appear in the Bible so the question is somewhat moot. The operative word in Rom 10:9 & 11 and Matt 10:32 translated "confess" is ὁμο��ογέω (homologeó) which literally means "same speak" ie, "agree" with something. The idea of Christian confession means that someone agrees that:

  • something is true
  • or that they are guilty of something.

BDAG gives four shades of meaning for this word as used in the NT:

  1. to commit oneself to do something for someone, promise, eg, Acts 7:17, Matt 14:7
  2. to share a common view or be of common mind about a matter, agree, eg, Acts 23:8. This meaning readily shades into -
  3. to concede that something is factual or true, grant, admit, confess, eg, Heb 11:1, Acts 23:8 (as #2 above), James 1:20, 1 John 1:9
  4. to acknowledge something ordinarily in public, acknowledge, claim, profess, praise, eg,
  • (a) of a public declaration as such, eg, Matt 7:23, Titus 1:16
  • (b) of profession of allegiance, especially of confessing Christ or the teaching of His community/church ... eg, Rom 10:9, 10, John 9:22, 12:42, 1 John 2:23, 4:2, 3, 2 John 2, 1 Tim 6:12, Matt 10:32, Luke 12:8, etc
  • (c) praise with dative, Heb 13:15.

Thus, there is more than one use for the word in the NT. I do not understand what "confession unto deliverance" means and so will not comment further.

However, as far as the Christian life is concerned, confession appears to be used in two senses:

  • a confession of Jesus Christ as Messiah, Savior and the sinner's need of such - this is the start of the Christian's life with Christ but must be on-going. This is the sense in Rom 10:9-11.
  • a regular confession of sin in order to facilitation divine cleansing and reformation, as described in 1 John 1:9.

Further Notes from the OP's question

  • 1 Thess 5:8 does not mention confession or the . Further, the protection afforded by the armor of God in this verse is a protection from Satan's attacks (see also Eph 6:10-17) and NOT from God's wrath. Indeed, the next verse 9 tells us that the saved have nothing to fear concerning God's wrath.
  • The fifth seal which begins in Rev 6:9 does not describe resurrection nor confession (and this is not relevant) but only the state of the martyrs.
  • Rev 12:11 also does not mention resurrection nor confession (and thus is not relevant) but the source of power for living the Christian life, viz, the Blood of the Lamb.
  • Rev 20:4 does not mention resurrection nor confession (and this is not relevant); however, V6 does mention that the dead do not come to life until the 1000 years are ended. Again, no mention of confession.
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    Doesn't salvation mean delivered? And the word of thier testimony would be synonymous with confession. Commented Feb 9, 2025 at 0:59
  • @ThatwemaybethepraiseofHisglory - salvation means rescued from danger. "word of their testimony" is their testimony about their experience that encourages others. It has little to do with confession. Commented Feb 9, 2025 at 3:10
  • Do you have any links to prove your interpretation. Because "word" of their testimony is pretty clear. While the scriptures I gave are linked by subject and greek words? Commented Feb 9, 2025 at 3:23
  • And don't see you answering my question just trying my disprove my interpretation. Which is really not what this site is designed for I though? Commented Feb 9, 2025 at 3:25
  • @ThatwemaybethepraiseofHisglory - either this question was a genuine question or not - if the question was presenting your "interpretation" then it was not a genuine question. So, what is the problem? I have listed dozens of texts and based the answer on a well-recognized lexicon. So, again, what is the problem? Furthermore the overcoming is over Satan - one does overcome Satan by confession. - Confession is to God not Satan. Commented Feb 9, 2025 at 4:06

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