Romans 10:9 – “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is such a great stand-alone verse describing the simple process for one to be saved. Paul goes on to say in verse 13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” I’m glad I’m one of those “whosoevers,” aren’t you?
Paul’s comments are part of a greater argument he presents concerning faith and righteousness. In verse 3 Paul defines two types of righteousness: God’s righteousness and our righteousness. He says that Israel is pursuing their own righteousness through the law or through works. But God’s righteousness can only be obtained by faith. Chapter 9 verses 30, 31 and 32 capture Israel’s quest and their failure: “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.”
We must resist the temptation to think we must “do something” to receive God’s righteousness and forgiveness. It is within man to try to appease God through works (do this, do that). Forgiveness, salvation and righteousness come through faith, not in what we can do, but in what Christ has already done.