10:9
In order to be saved we need to confess Jesus as Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead. There is a twofold importance (at least!) to confessing Jesus as Lord. In the immediate political situation it declared that Caesar is not Lord, I direct confrontation with the Roman Empire. This would become very important, and is important in our day. However, Paul here is more concerned with the Jews, and in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) “Lord” is used over 600 times to translate “YHWH”. So it is declaring the divinity of Christ.
10:10
“With the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Believing with the heart is more than a mere intellectual assent. It is also more than an emotional response. The heart was seen as the centre of the will. So to believe in one's heart meant the direction of one’s life was determined by the belief that Christ was raised from the dead. If Christ was raised from the dead then that changes everything, including how we should live our lives. We also need to declare publicly that Christ is Lord.
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