Is Salvation heart-first or word-first?
Now I have to say these two verses are pretty tricky. Or to be more precise, verse 9 is pretty tricky if you just read it alone out of context. It goes like this:
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. (Romans 10:9)
Here Paul seems to refer to an order that goes from mouth to heart. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord, then your heart must have followed. That is why this verse is always used to support the idea that if you pray the sinner's prayer, then you at that moment is saved.
But Paul hid a tricky turn in the following verse, which reads,
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:10)
NRSV goes like this:
For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
HCSB:
One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
It shows pretty clearly that heart comes before the mouth. You are justified when you have a conviction in your heart, then the confession of your mouth comes as a manifestation of what your heart believes. It is not and can never be another way round. For Jesus says clearly that heart goes before the mouth:
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. (Matthew 15:18-20)
For example, if you say you believe in your heart that a cup of water is drinkable, then you are surely going to drink it. But you can also drink it because other people forced you to. So just by drinking the water itself, nobody can tell what your heart conviction is like. For the same reason, nobody can guarantee your salvation simply by praying with you a sinner's prayer.
Your heart has to be touched by the Lord, and then comes the confession of your lips. If the order is reversed, then the result of lip service is clearly shown in Matthew 7:22-23, the two most controversial and frightening verses from Jesus,
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:22-23)
Let us not be deceived, beloved, but take the matter of salvation seriously. But let our heart also not be disturbed, for the Lord is merciful and full of grace. So seek Him diligently while He can still be found. Draw close to God and He will draw close to you. (James 4:8)
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