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. Romans 10:9-13

When you read these scriptures from a 21rst century American perspective, we think “Hey Christianity is easy” just say Jesus Is Lord and you get the golden ticket into Heaven. Unfortunately this is what most modern day Western Christianity has become anymore, a very shallow , consumer minded Churchianity. Most people today ask “What can Jesus do for me”? Instead of how can I serve the One True King!

So looking at this text from a correct cultural context lens, this letter was written to the Church of Rome in the 1rst Century, a place where Christians were often tortured by being fed to lions for everyone’s entertainment. The region where Caesar was Lord and ruled with a rod of iron, in fact the Roman coin had an inscription on it that stated “Ceaser is the Son of God”

To publicly profess Jesus Is Lord is a guarantee you are an enemy of Caesar, that would mean you will lose everything, including the possibility of your life. To profess your allegiance to Christ instead of Caesar , literally meant to deny yourself, carry your cross, and follow Jesus. Your ultimate fate would be in prison, or being fed to lions while a great crowd cheers on, or being tied to a stake and burned alive, which was called a “Roman Candle” So are you ready to profess Jesus Christ is Lord now?

Christianity was not for the faint of heart in the 1rst Century, to profess Jesus is Lord, meant truly in your heart you believed Jesus is the Son of God who rose from the dead. If you didn’t truly believe that, you will never make this public profession, because it would cost you everything! As the Apostle Paul states “the same Lord over all” Jesus Is Lord and King over all Creation

“Everyone who calls upon the name of The Lord shall be saved” Call upon the name of Jesus and you shall be saved, the Risen Lord is King of His eternal Kingdom, Amen!