Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This verse highlights the importance of verbally confessing faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in order to receive salvation.
Here are some reasons why it is important to confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth:
1. Confession is an outward expression of inward belief.
Confessing Jesus as Lord with your mouth demonstrates the faith you already hold in your heart. As Romans 10:10 says, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” The inward belief and the outward confession go hand-in-hand.
Simply believing in Jesus in your heart is not enough. Your faith and commitment to Him should be evident in your words and actions. Verbally confessing Jesus as Lord manifests the faith in your heart in a tangible way.
2. Confession identifies you with Christ.
Confessing “Jesus is Lord” aligns you with Him and His lordship. It is a way of proclaiming your allegiance to Christ and pledging submission to Him as the ruler of your life. It demonstrates your commitment to making Jesus your master and following His ways.
Romans 10:9 does not say to just confess “Jesus.” It specifically says to confess “Jesus is Lord.” This confession recognizes His power and authority over your life. Aligning yourself with Christ through confession determines who you will follow.
3. Confession brings salvation.
Romans 10:9 clearly states that confessing Jesus as Lord results in salvation. The verse says, “If you confess…you will be saved.” Salvation comes not merely through inner belief, but also through outward confession.
There is power in verbally proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. It activates faith and leads to salvation. Your voice has spiritual authority when wielded in agreement with God’s truth. Confessing Christ as Lord and Master boldly proclaims your faith and saves you.
4. Confession spreads the Gospel.
When you confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, it helps spread the message of the Gospel to others. Your verbal witness makes Christ known and expands His influence in the world. As Romans 10:14 says, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?”
Your confession of Jesus as Lord plants seeds in people’s hearts. It confronts them with the truth about who He is. Your testimony can prompt others to believe in and confess Christ themselves. So confession plays a vital role in evangelism.
5. Confession defeats the enemies of God.
Verbal confession of Jesus’ lordship helps overpower spiritual forces of evil. As Romans 10:6 says, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” There is mighty strength when the word of truth resides in our hearts and proceeds from our mouths.
When you boldly proclaim that “Jesus is Lord,” it breaks strongholds and pushes back darkness. Your confession enforces Christ’s victory over evil spiritual powers. The enemy flees when believers wield the sword of the Spirit through confession.
6. Confession brings blessing and protection.
God blesses and protects those who use their voice to honor Christ as Lord. Jesus said, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Confessing Christ opens the door to spiritual blessing.
Furthermore, Revelation 3:5 promises, “The one who conquers…I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” We reap eternal rewards when we confess Jesus’ name on earth.
7. Confession unleashes the power of God.
There is creative power in speaking the name of Jesus out loud with faith. As King David proclaimed, “I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day” (Psalm 71:14-15).
When we confess Christ as Lord, we unleash the power of God to act on our behalf. Declaring Jesus’ name and deeds releases His delivering and healing power into situations. Confession is a form of spiritual warfare and praise.
8. Confession reflects obedience to Scripture.
Confessing Jesus as Lord shows obedience to the clear command in Romans 10:9. It demonstrates submission to the Word of God. Our lips and lives should align with biblical truth. That includes openly testifying that Jesus Christ is the risen Lord.
Faith comes through hearing God’s Word (Romans 10:17). So verbal confession flows out of hearing and heeding what Scripture says. It is an act of spiritual obedience that exhibits trust in God’s Word.
9. Confession is a condition for discipleship.
To be a disciple of Jesus, you must follow His mandates. Christ said, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Only those willing to confess Him will be confessed by Him before the Father.
Part of discipleship is verbal commitment to Jesus. If we deny Him before others, He will deny us before the Father (Matthew 10:33). Confessing Christ reflects a disciple’s loyalty to Him when all eyes are upon them.
10. Confession activates participation in Christ’s body.
When you confess Jesus as Lord, it connects you to the greater body of Christ. You become part of His living church, indwelled by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3 states, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit enables this confession.
Confession also links believers together in Christ’s body: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). It unifies the church.
In summary, confessing with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord” plays a vital role in salvation, evangelism, spiritual warfare, obedience, discipleship, and participation in Christ’s body. This simple but profound confession activates and expresses faith in many powerful ways. That is why verbally proclaiming the lordship of Jesus Christ is so fundamental and important.