Question: In Romans 10:9-10 it states 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. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So why do you teach works and keeping the law?
Donald Bohanon: That’s a verse in scripture that’s normally taken completely out of context by false unlearned ministers. And when misinterpreted seems to suggest that based on this one verse it dictates that a verbal acceptance of Jesus Christ as one’s savior is all that’s required to be deemed righteous and justified in the eyes of God.
In actuality, it’s a soul-destroying doctrine that’s not consistent with the totality of God’s word at all. And in reality, it’s the primary reason you have so much religious hypocrisy in societies today. Because it promotes hypocrisy by encouraging rebellion against the ten commandments and the Bible as a whole. By teaching the lie that dead faith/unbelief/disobedience alone is sufficient to be considered repentant and or righteous in God’s eyes.
They will cling to this one verse and foolishly form a whole doctrine based on it. But blatantly disregard the other 99.99% of the Bible which emphasizes that faith along with obedience to the ten commandments and the word of God as a whole, in conjunction with good works are the true determining factors as to whether one is deemed or considered righteous in the eyes of God. And is what repentance is defined as. And is the only way to be saved from the wrath to come 1 Thessalonians 1:10. It is further clarified in Romans 10:16 that the unwillingness to obey the gospel/ word because of their unbelief is the problem. Notice how the unbelief correlates with disobedience.
Proverbs 10:2
King James Version (KJV)
2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Proverbs 11:4
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4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Romans 2:6-10
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6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Romans 2:13 KJV
13 For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Romans 10:16
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16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
1 Thessalonians 1:10
King James Version (KJV)
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
The verse in Romans 10:9-10 is simply stating that confession is the act of faith in believing that God gave his son as a sacrifice and raised him from the dead for the sins of men. It goes on to say ” with the heart one believes unto righteousness” because true heartfelt belief produces action. And righteousness can only be attained by following all of God’s instructions as is outlined in his word.
For instance, if I told you, you were going to die if you didn’t lose 20 pounds within a month and you didn’t believe me, you probably wouldn’t lose the 20 pounds and would laugh at such an assertion.
But if you really believed from the heart that you were going to die you would feel a sense of urgency, and desperation, and would be about the business of taking the necessary steps to lose weight as quickly as possible.
Some attend College, for instance, because they feel strongly they will secure a brighter future if they do. They are motivated to take tangible action based on the strong belief they will greatly increase their chances of success in life if they consider College as a viable option in securing their futures. Their strong belief in this motivates them to take action.
The same thing applies to Romans 10:9-10 If you really believe from the heart what the Bible says in terms of its warnings to the wicked and its rewards for the righteous, your actions will reflect that in terms of obedience to everything that is outlined and commanded by God in the Bible. Or your unbelief will be expressed by disregarding it. Romans 10:16. The fact that you don’t obey what’s outlined in God’s word is proof of your unbelief in God’s eyes. True heartfelt belief regarding a matter has and will always result in the believer taking action in some form. Whether it’s belief regarding a social issue, relationship issues, employment issue, etc.
If your boss for instance told you, you needed to make it a habit of arriving to work on time as opposed to a few minutes late because your job would be in jeopardy if you didn’t. If you believed him from the heart you would obviously change your behavior for fear you would lose your job.
If your wife told you she was going to leave you if you didn’t spend more time with her, if you loved her and believed it and it mattered, you would spend more time with your wife because you loved her and didn’t want to lose her. And the examples are endless. The point is, true heartfelt belief always produces action in some way, shape, or form.
If you really believe from the heart, sincerely, everything that is outlined in the Bible, you are not going to cling to one verse and disregard the other 99.99% of the Bible which instructs true followers of Christ to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God which is the whole Bible…Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4.
And a part of that biblical instruction emphasizes that faith without works is dead James 2:14, James 2:18, James 2:20. Satan and the demons believe God exists, in fact, they know he exists ( and the Bible says they tremble for good reason) James 2:19. But does that mean or determine they are righteous in God’s eyes? The answer to that question would obviously be “absolutely not!!”
If simply believing in God and Christ was sufficient to be considered righteous by God, then Satan and his Demons would be the epitome of righteous beings because their belief in God and Christ is much more profound than man’s belief. Because they don’t just believe, they know God exists. Because they’ve seen him face to face. But we know that is not the case.
Matthew 4:4
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4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Luke 4:4
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4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Luke 6:46
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46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Righteousness and justification as the Bible defines it involves obedience to the whole Bible which emphasizes obedience to the ten commandments and word of God as a whole in conjunction with faith and good works, which is true repentance, and then being baptized and filled with the holy spirit John 14:15-17. Not just focusing on one verse taken completely out of context. And forming a doctrine around that one verse while disregarding the other 99.99% of the Bible which teaches otherwise.
Also, notice John 3:16, which is another verse many false ministers use to promote the false teaching of “salvation by grace through faith” while completely disregarding John 3:18-19. Christ himself emphasizes in these verses, them that believed not are condemned already, and condemnation is coming upon men because they didn’t believe/obey the truth but instead hated the light/truth and loved evil. Emphasis on evil or wickedness which is a higher more offensive level of disobedience /sin
Matthew 19:17
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17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
John 3:16-19
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16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 14:20-24
King James Version (KJV)
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
1 John 2:4-6
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4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
1 John 3:10
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10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
Romans 3:31
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31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
James 2:20
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20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:24
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24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Galatians 5:24
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24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Colossians 3:5-10
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5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
2 Timothy 3:17
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
1 Timothy 6:18
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate
Titus 1:16
They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Titus 2:7
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity.
Titus 2:14
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Titus 3:8
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
1 John 3:3-4
King James Version (KJV)
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
1 John 3:7-8
King James Version (KJV)
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
The Bible does not contradict itself men simply misinterpret the Bible and twist verses in an effort to falsely justify certain behaviors. And Paul is not the primary authority figure Christ and God are. When in doubt always refer back to what Christ and God taught.
The act of faith is expressed by confession, and the act of belief/obedience is expressed through true heartfelt belief which produces obedience to the ten commandments and word of God as a whole.
True belief simply means to sincerely obey the whole Bible from the heart. That is what Romans 10:9-10 really means. That becomes quite evident and clear when you allow the totality of scripture to interpret itself as opposed to applying your own personal interpretation to one or two verses in scripture, completely misinterpreted and taken completely out of context.
Obedience to the ten commandments and word of God as a whole in conjunction with faith and good works is what really determines whether one is considered righteous and repentant in the eyes of God, as is clearly outlined by the word of God.
This is the doctrine that Christ taught which is expressed throughout the Bible. I could have added many more verses in scripture to validate that point.
But anyone with some basic common sense and belief in what the whole of the Bible teaches should be able to clearly see that faith in conjunction with obedience to the ten commandments and the whole of the Bible is how true repentance is defined by God and the Bible.
2 John 1:9-11
King James Version (KJV)
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
The true and original publish date for this Q&A was May 17, 2016 11:55 pm. I intentionally changed the date so it would appear at the top of the site because it’s important that people understand what the verses in Romans 10:9-10 really mean.