9 because, 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. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ESV
Re:
How is that not a physical action that is required for salvation to be received?
It is not "
physical action that is required for salvation to be received" IMO because "confessing with the mouth" and "believing in your heart" are the effects of salvation and not the cause. The verse could be construed as "something we must do" or "something that we must manifest" if we are to be saved.
Similarly from,
James 1:20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless ... from this we might conclude that "works" is required for salvation.
So, IMO, one applies the Hermeneutic rule: Interpret the implicit by the explicit; the unclear by the clear. Example: John 3:16b “whomsoever believes (every believer) shall inherit eternal life”; does this mean the anyone can believe or does it mean that eternal life is a result of belief. You must find explicit verses to judge the correct meaning.
So what verses explicitly show "confessing with mouth" and "believing" are a 'cause for' or an 'effect of' salvation. IMO the following do:
Ephesians 2:8-9 says faith comes from God and not ourselves and thus our manifesting faith is an effect of salvation (I exegeted it above; rather, someone helped me ... I am smart enough to do it on my own)
The following verses show we are not saved by works and therefore "confessing with the mouth" cannot lead to salvation. (Dictionary definition of "works": physical or mental activity in order to achieve a result). John 6:29 Jesus answered, “This is the work of God: that you believe [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the One whom He has sent.” Clearly this verse defines “faith” as a work. Thus faith must originate from God since God’s grace does not include man works (Galatians 5:2). 2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 3:5, 1 Corinthians 12:3b And no one can [really] say, Jesus is [my] Lord, except by and under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. (thus "confession" that Jesus is Lord" is caused by God and we saying it is an manifestation (effect) of salvation.
I could expound, but I think you know where I am coming from.
What is your agenda behind your questions?
Let's read what the verse says, not what you want it to say based on your preconception.
Rom 10:9-10 -
"that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and [if you] believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
[then] you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
This is a conditional statement. IF you do this, THEN I will do that, God says. Now, IF you don't do this, then I am not bound to do that, is also inferred.
So
IF you confess AND
IF you believe
THEN you will be saved. If you do not believe, or if you do not confess, then you will not be saved.
Because,
verse 10 says, your belief leads to righteousness, and your confession leads to salvation.
This passage is not about the
results of salvation. It is a mandate for (some of) the things that
lead to salvation.
James 2 does tell us that works are required to make faith alive (
James 2:26), and living faith is the only faith that is capable of being the conduit through which saving grace can be applied to an individual (
Eph 2:8-9).
Eph 2:8-9 does not say that faith is the gift of God. Grace is the gift of God that is delivered through our faith.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
The question here is what does the "that" that I highlighted above refer back to? It must refer back to one of two things, "grace" or "saved". It cannot refer back to faith, because faith is not the subject of the preceding phrase. Faith is the object of the preposition "through", which modifies the understanding of "grace".
Thus
"by grace you have been saved" and you received that grace
"through faith, and that" grace is
"not of yourselves; it" (grace)
"is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."