VERSE 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.”

           “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth”
            Literally: “Because if you confess with your mouth.”—

            THAT:  (Grk.-–hoti)—Should be understood as explanatory.

            CONFESS:  (Grk.–omologeō)—This word is often rendered “profess.”  (Matt. 7:23), “Then will I profess to them I never knew you.” (see Titus 1:16; 3:14; Rom. 1:22; I Tim. 2:10; 6:12-13, 21; Heb. 3:1).  It means, “to speak that which agrees with something which others speak or maintain.” 

         A Profession of Faith then denotes a public declaration of our agreement with what God has declared, and extends to all his declarations about our lost estate, our sin, and need of a Savior; to His doctrines about His own nature, holiness, and law; about the Savior and the Holy Spirit; about the necessity of a change of heart and holiness of life; and about the grave and the judgment; about heaven and hell.
         Thus confession, or profession, expresses our agreement or concord with what God holds to be true, and what He declares to be true. It denotes a public declaration or assent to that, here expressed by the words “with thy mouth." One expositor comments that “confess” (omologeō), when used with “sin,” means to say the same thing about it that God says;  but when used in the credal sense (as it is used here) it means to say the same thing that other believers say regarding their faith.

WITH THY MOUTH:
Literally:  “with your mouth”–To profess (or confess) a thing with the mouth is to speak of it; to declare it; and to do it openly and publicly.

Paul is saying that the confession and the life must be in agreement.  There are many who say something with their mouths—they give lip service to God—but their hearts are far from Him.  When you make a public confession, be sure that your heart is in line with your words.

“the Lord Jesus”
Literally: “that Jesus is Lord.” —Shalt openly acknowledge attachment to Jesus Christ. The meaning of it may be expressed by regarding the phrase, “the Lord,” as the predicate; or the thing to be confessed is, that He is Lord (comp. Acts 2:36; Phil. 2:11), “And that every tongue

                      LORD JESUS:  (Grk.–Kurion Iēson)—Others read this as, “Jesus is Lord.” or, “Jesus as Lord.”

         “should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”  Here it means to acknowledge Him as Lord, i.e., as having a right to rule over the soul.

Acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Savior.  Believe in your heart that He who died for your offences has been raised for your justification; and depend solely on Him foryour justification, and you shalt be saved. For the importance which Jesus attached to confession, (see Matt. 10:32;  Luke 12:8, and compare Acts 8:37). To openly confess Christ in those days of persecution was a trial of faith of the severest kind. Note distinctly that there is no promise here to a concealed faith.

“and shalt believe in thy heart”
Literally: “And believe in your heart.”–Shalt sincerely and truly believe this, so that the external profession shall correspond with the real, internal feelings. Where this is not the case, it would be hypocrisy; where this is the case, there would be the highest sincerity.

“confess with thy mouth”—“believe in thy heart”–Paul mentions these two things together because both are necessary for salvation: the inward faith in Christ, and the outward confession of Him.

The two great and principal things which the Gospel requires for our justification and salvation.
1.        Confession of Christ with our mouth; that is, in all times of danger, particularly in a time of persecution, to own Christ Jesus our Lord, and to declare that we will serve him, and adhere to Him, be ruled of Him, and expect to be saved only by Him.
2.      To believe in our hearts, that God hath raised Christ from the dead.

         “that God hath raised Him from the dead”     
         “That God raised Him from {the} dead.”–If this be true, then all about Christ is true. Then it is true…
1. That He came forth from God; that He diedfor sin; and,
2. That God approved and accepted His work.
3. That He ascended to heaven, and is exalted to dominion over the universe, and
4. That He will return to judge the quick and the dead
     For all this was professed and taught; and all this was regarded as depending on the truth of His having been raised from the dead.

To profess this doctrine was, therefore, virtually to profess all the truths of the Christian faith. No man could believe this who did not also believe all the truths dependent on it. The apostles regarded this doctrine as  important, and made it prominent in their preaching.  For belief in this includes everything else. By raising Christ from the dead, God set His seal to Him as the promised Messiah. That He died for our offences has been raised for our justification; and depend solely on Him for that justification.

“thou shalt be saved”
Literally: “You will be saved.”–Saved from sin and hell. This is the doctrine throughout the Gospel; and all this shows that salvation by the Gospel was easy. Such a faith confessed unites its subject to Christ as his loving subject, and imparts to him the righteousness of those who have died to sin and been freed from the Law (see verses 6:1-4).         

VERSE 10:
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
This verse really reiterates, or expands on the previous verse.

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness
Literally: “For with {the} heart {one} believes unto righteousness.”— Believing results in salvation (Eph. 2:8).  Not merely with the understanding, but with such a faith as shall be sincere, and shall influence the life. There can be no other genuine faith than that which influences the whole mind.

        BELIEVETH: (Grk.–pisteuetai)–Literally: “It is believed.” Believing so that justification is obtained.  Believing is a mode of thinking, not of feeling.  In God's Plan of  justifying men, this is the way by which we may be declared just or righteous in His sight.

The moment a sinner believes:
1.      He is justified; that is, declared by God to be without sin.
2.      His sins are pardoned; that is, his past sins are forgiven.
3.      He is introduced into the favor of God.
No man can be justified without this; for this is simply God's plan for saving sinners, and He will not depart from it. 

         Be sincere in this: for with the heart, duly affected with a sense of guilt, and of the sufficiency of the sacrifice which Christ has offered, man believes unto righteousness. That is, the sinner believes to receive justification; for this is the meaning of the term here, and in many other parts of this epistle as well.
          One object of Paul’s is to show the simplicity of the Gospel Plan of Salvation; and at the same time, to show its great efficacy.  It is simple, and so unlike the Law, which was full of rites, ordinances, ceremonies, etc., each of which required that they be perfectly fulfilled  Whereas both Jews and Gentiles, who believe on the Lord Jesus according to the simple declarations of the Gospel, are freely justified from all things from which they could not have been justified by the Law of Moses: and they had the witness in themselves that they were passed from death unto life.

            RIGHTEOUSNESS:  (Grk.–dikaiosunē)–Paul here seems to be referring back to v. 6 and the righteousness of faith. Reminding his readers that a right standing with God is obtained by faith, and not by works.  The word corresponding to “righteousness”  really the word “salvation” that Paul uses in v. 9.

“with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Literally: “With the mouth one confesses unto salvation.”–He who believes aright in Christ Jesus will receive such a full conviction of the truth, and such an evidence of his redemption, that his mouth will boldly confess his obligation to his Redeemer

           CONFESSION:  (Grk.–homologeitai)–Literally: “it is confessed.”  This is referring   to the initial act of placing one’s faith in Christ as Lord.

These two verses (vv. 9-10) are of prime importance for they give us the basis of the first Christian creed.
1.      That we must say that Jesus Christ is Lord.
2.      That we must believe that Jesus has been risen from the dead.
3.      That we must not only believe in our hearts, we must also confess with our lips.
         a.      Christianity is belief plus confession; it involves witness before others. 
         b.     Not only God, but also our fellow men must know what side we are on.
The faith of the heart must be openly confessed. This is a test of the faith.

         The whole Christian life is a confession.  I am reminded that when I was a boy, my father said to me, “Son, you may be the best Christian that someone knows, and you may never know who that person is.  He may judge all of Christianity by watching how you live your Christian life.” This confession of Christ's Name, especially in times of persecution, and whenever censorship or attack is attached to the Christian profession, is an indispensable test of discipleship.

“When Paul wrote in v. 10 that believing leads to justification and that confession leads to salvation, he was not speaking of two separate processes.  Justification and salvation are being used interchangeably to this this context.  To believe with one’s heart means to commit oneself at the deepest level to the truth as revealed and experienced.  Confession  is giving expression in words to that conviction.”–Robert H. Mounce, in his Romans Commentary, p. 210

VERSE 11:
“For the Scripture saith, ‘Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.’”

“For the Scripture saith,”
Literally: “For the Scripture says.”  In Isaiah 28:16. This was the uniform doctrine of the Scripture, that he who holds an opinion on the subject of religion will not be ashamed to avow it. This is the nature of the Christian faith, and without this there can be none (see this passage explained in v. 9:33).

The Scripture (Isa 28:16) predicted a Salvation by Faith, when it says, “He that believeth shall not be put to shame,” and hence such a plan of righteousness was provided for in the Jewish Scriptures.  And howsoever the Jews may despise this Gospel, because it does not come to them with pomp and ceremony, and it puts those who receive it into possession of every heavenly blessing. And this is according to the positive declarations of the prophets; for it is written, in Isaiah 28:16; 49:23: “Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” He shall neither be disappointed of his hope, nor ashamed of his confidence; because he has that faith which is the evidence of things not seen, the subsistence of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1)).

“‘whosoever believeth on Him”–
Literally:  “Everyone believing on Him”– Paul further develops this “whosoever” message in v. 12 where we see the words, “no difference between the Jew and the Greek.”

“shall not be ashamed’”
Literally:  “will not be put to shame”–This quotation is from the Septuagint (LXX), which   renders those words of the original, “shall not   make haste” (that is, to flee; to escape, as from conscious danger), to “shall not be put to shame,” which comes to the same thing.

        The most real human dilemma, the most devastating “evil” is man-made righteousness.  It is man’s religion which is the supreme expression of sin; man’s compulsive effort to justify himself; man’s attempting to establish his own righteousness; ie., coming to God on his own conditions, rather than God’s.  Man has been doing this since Cain came to God and offered the fruit of his own hands.  This was the chief error of Israel.
        There two kinds of righteousness:  the righteousness of God and the righteousness of man, and the two are utterly incompatible because the righteousness of man invariable to self-righteousness.

            WHOSOEVER:  (Grk.–pas)–Paul adds this word to the quotation from Isa 28:16 already made in 9:33.

VERSE 12:
“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.”
Paul is expounding on his “whosoever” theme of the previous verse.

“For there is no difference”– In the previous verse Paul had quoted a passage from Isaiah 28:16, which says that every one that believes shall not be ashamed.  That is, every one of every nation and kindred. This implies that it was not to be confined to the Jews. This thought    he now further illustrates and confirms by expressly declaring that there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.

This doctrine it was one main design of the epistle to establish, and it is fully proved in the course of the argument in Romans chapters 1-4. See particularly 3:26-30. When Paul says there is no difference between them, he means in regard to the subject under discussion. In many respects there might be a difference; but not in the Way of Justification before God.  All have sinned; (3:23),  all have failed of obeying the Law; and all must be justified in the same way: by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

          FOR:  (Grk.–gar)-–This is referring to the “whosoever” of v. 11. 

        DIFFERENCE: (Grk.–diastole)—Literally means-ing “distinction, or diversity.”  It may also mean “eminence, excellence, advantage.”  There is no eminence or advantage which the Jew has over the Greek (Gentile) in regard to justification before God.

The Jew objected to Salvation by Faith, instead of by the Law. Paul has just shown, (1).. that righteousness could not be obtained by the Law, and (2)., that the prophets had predicted Salvation by Faith. But the Jew is now supposed to object that this salvation was only for Jews yet Paul is preaching it to the Gentiles.

“between the Jew and the Greek”
Literally:  “Both of Jew and of Greek.”–All are equally welcome to this salvation.  Here the Jew has no exclusive privilege; and from this the Greek is not rejected

        THE JEW:  (Grk.–Ioudaiou)—Literally: “of {the} Jew.”  That portion of mankind which professed to yield obedience to the Law of Moses.

       THE GREEK:  (Grk.-–Hellēnos)–Literally, those who dwelt in Greece, or those who spoke the Greek language.

         As the Jews, however, were acquainted chiefly with the Greeks, and knew little of other nations, the name Greek among them came to denote all who were not Jews; that is, the same as the Gentiles. The terms “Jew and Greek,” therefore, include all mankind.
         There is no difference among men regarding the terms of salvation for they are the same to all. This truth is frequently taught throughout the Bible.. It was a most important doctrine, especially in a scheme of religion that was to be preached to all men. However, this was offensive to the Jews who had always regarded themselves as a peculiarly favored people. All their prejudices were roused against this doctrine as it completely overthrew all their own views of national eminence and pride, and it admitted despised Gentiles to the same privileges with the long-favored and chosen people of God. But the apostles were at great pains to establish it (Acts 10:9; Gal 3:28).

“for the same Lord overall”
Literally: “for the same Lord {is Lord} over all”–For there is the same Lord of all; that is, the Jews and Gentiles have one common Lord (comp. 3:29-30).

The same God had formed them and ruled them; and that same God now opened to all the same path to life. We see this presented in Paul's address to the people of Athens, in Act 17:26-30 (see also I Tim. 2:5). As there was but one God; and as all, Jews and Gentiles alike, were His creatures; as one law was applicable to all; for all had sinned (3:23); and as all were exposed to wrath; so it was reasonable that there should be the same way of return to God .- Against this the Jew should not rightfully object; and in this both should rejoice.

“is rich unto all that call upon Him.”
Literally: “Is rich to all the {ones}” calling on Him.”–God does not have alternate methods of salvation for groups from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The one Lord is Lord over ALL.

            IS RICH:  (Grk.–ploutōn)—Literally: “to have abundance, to have in store much more than is needful for present or personal use.”  This is a favorite Pauline term that he uses   to express his excitement and enthusiasm over that saving grace which is in Christ Jesus.

 

This word (rich / ploutōn)—is commonly applied to wealth; but when it is applied to God, it means that He abounds in mercy or goodness towards others. Thus, Eph. 2:4, “God, who is rich in mercy,” etc., (I Tim. 6:17-18), “Charge them that are rich in this world–that they be rich in good works;”  (James 2:5), “God hath chosen the poor–rich in faith;”  that is, abounding in faith and good works, etc. Thus God is said to be rich towards all, as He abounds in mercy and goodness towards them in His Plan of Salvation.

        THAT CALL UPO HIM: (Grk.–tous epikaloumenous auton)—Literally:  the {ones calling on Him.”  This expression, “to call upon” means, “to supplicate, to invoke, as in       prayer.”  The Greek verb(epikaleō) refers to the cry of confession that Jesus is Lord (Grk.–Kyrios).

As prayer constitutes a large part of our faith, and as it is a distinguishing characteristic of those who are true Christians, (Acts 9:11), “Behold he prayeth,” to call on the Name of the Lord is put for the faith itself, and is descriptive of acts of devotion towards God. (I Pet. 1:17), “And if ye call on the Father,” etc.; (Acts 2:21; 9:14), “He hath authority to bind all that call on thy name;” (Acts 7:59; 22:16).