If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. – Romans 10:9-10 NLT

The Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Rome, encapsulated the fundamentals of Christian conversion. In so doing, he invited us to read for ourselves exactly what God requires of us in order to be adopted into His family as totally forgiven sinners, with the guarantee of eternal life in Heaven. In short, the Bible assures us that we “will be saved” if, in fact, we comply with the two essential requirements for salvation.

First, we have to CONFESS. This involves much more than a simple acknowledgement of the existence of God. Even the demons acknowledge God! Confession carries the deep and abiding conviction that God alone is sovereign.

The proof of genuine conviction will be accompanied by repentance from sin, absolute trust in Jesus Christ’s ability and authority to provide the “way” to salvation, and an unapologetic submission to His Lordship. We do not “make” Jesus Christ Lord; He is Lord!

When we confess Jesus Christ as Lord, we place ourselves at the foot of the cross in absolute surrender to God who, through the Lord Jesus Christ, has made it possible for sinful man to be reconciled to a holy and righteous God.

Second, we have to BELIEVE. The act of “believing” carries the distinct idea of an ongoing spiritual condition whereby the human heart genuinely capitulates before the throne of God. This act of abandoned trust is the essential ingredient of saving faith because it recognizes that the sinner is totally incapable of providing what only God’s supernatural and gracious gift can give. It literally presents to a holy God a mind that understands and accepts the biblical truth about Jesus Christ. At the same time, it offers God a human heart that is humbled by the seriousness of God’s rejection of sin in any form. Such rejection lies at the heart of “the wages of sin” and means the complete condemnation of the sinner without remedy apart from God.

On the other hand, this act of abandoned trust is accompanied by a spiritual joy and gratitude because of the unimaginable mercy and grace of a loving God.

It should also be stated that the act of “believing” must be proven by the act of submission. When we “believe in our hearts” we are bowing our entire beings before a holy and righteous God. We are submitting our wills to the Lord Jesus Christ and trusting in Him as the only hope of our salvation.