Why Does Romans 10 Mention Calling Upon The Lord?

Romans 10:9-14, “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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 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. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

I am going to amaze you dear reader. So often when we study the Bible, we pay attention to big fancy words like: imputation, propitiation, justification and sanctification. But who ever pays attention to the little prepositions and conjunctions like: a, an, and, to, but, et cetera? Well, to understand the accurate meaning of Romans 10:9-14 in the Bible, it is critically important to study the meaning in verses 9 and 10 of that little seemingly insignificant conjunction “and.” I know what you're think, the word “and” just means something additional. That is what everyone thinks, that the word “and” simply connects two or more things in grammar. But in the Greek language, the word “and” has multiple meanings and uses. The Greek language is much more powerful than the English language, very similar to C++ being a much more powerful computer programming language than Visual Basic.

In fact, there are different Greek words and meaning for the word “and.” Yes, it is true! I'd say that at least 99.99% of people who read and study the Bible would never think twice about a tiny little word like “and,” but as I will show you, it makes all the difference when attempting to rightly divide the Word of Truth. I am going to quote part of our text passage from Romans chapter ten:

Romans 10:9-10, “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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Carefully notice that the word “and,” which is used in both verses 9 and 10, are two completely different Greek words and meanings! . . .

The Word “and” in Romans 10:9

Strong's #G2532

kai
kahee

Apparently a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so, then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words: - and, also, both, but, even, for, if, indeed, likewise, moreover, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yea, yet.

Total KJV occurrences: 9264

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The Word “and” in Romans 10:10

G1161

de
deh

A primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.: - also, and, but, moreover, now [often unexpressed in English].

Total KJV occurrences: 2841

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The word “confess” in verse 9 means “to assent, or agree with.” And the word “For” in verse 10 literally means “a reason.” So what I humbly think the Bible is saying in verses 9 and 10 is this dear friend:

To be saved, you must acknowledge the FACTS of the Gospel, AND believe those facts in your heart; and the reason for this is that, a man's faith in his heart is counted by God for righteousness, BUT with his mouth a man acknowledges that he is saved.

I sincerely think I have this passage correct.

However, for those who may disagree with me, please consider something helpful that Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) said: "A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one." Clearly, Romans chapter 10 is an obscure passage of Scripture. That is, it is hotly debated. I have had numerous people insist that Roman 10 only applies to the Jews in the future kingdom. I totally disagree. All of the Bible was written to all men, although the unsaved person won't be able to understand most of it until they get saved (1st Corinthians 2:14-16). But all men CAN understand the plain and simple Gospel of John, which was written to get people saved (John 20:31).

In the entire Gospel of John, which is God's Gospel tract, not one mention is made of "calling" upon the Lord to be saved. The Apostle Paul for whatever reason, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, chose to go a step further in Romans 10, speaking of "calling" upon the name of the Lord to be saved. It would be wrong to base God's simple plan of salvation upon one passage of Scripture, especially when it would contradict the entire Gospel of John.

The Church of Christ cult bases their false teaching that a person must publicly confess Christ to be saved upon Romans 10:9-10. We know from other passages of Scripture, such as John 12:42-43, that public confession is not necessary to be saved. Apart from Romans chapter ten, I cannot think of any other passage of Scripture that teaches to call (pray a sinner's prayer) regarding salvation.

We must also consider that Paul penned numerous other Epistles in the New Testament. The book of Galatians is a masterpiece! Not once in this Epistle does Paul mention calling or prayer to be saved. Galatians 3:26, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." I do know 100% that a person doesn't have to call or pray to be saved, otherwise the Gospel of John would have mentioned it, and Galatians, and for that matter the Epistle of 1st John as well (which was written so that believers can KNOW that we are saved - 1st John 5:13).

Romans 10:19-14 plainly teaches us that a person is saved the very moment we BELIEVE, and not when we call (or pray). Perhaps this is the very reason why God put this beautiful truth in His Holy Word. I would like to think so. I don't believe that anything in the Bible was just a coincidence. I believe God carefully chose every inspired Word for a good reason. Romans 4:4-5, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”