The Unbreakable Contract

In 1787, when the delegates at Philadelphia debated every comma of the Constitution, they understood something we often forget: the precise wording of a document determines everything. A single altered phrase could mean tyranny or liberty for millions. The words themselves carried binding authority.

Romans 10:9 operates with that same unyielding precision. Paul does not say, "If you feel something warm in your heart." He does not write, "If you generally agree that Jesus was a good teacher." The Holy Spirit, through Paul, chose exact words: "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." Two conditions. One promise. No ambiguity.

As B.B. Warfield reminded the church, Scripture's inerrancy means God superintended every word so that what was written is wholly true and wholly trustworthy. This is not a suggestion or a sentiment — it is a divinely guaranteed declaration. "You will be saved" carries the full authority of the God who cannot lie.

Notice the breathtaking specificity: confession with the mouth, belief in the heart, and the historical, bodily resurrection as the object of that belief. Each element is load-bearing. Remove one and you no longer have the gospel Paul preached.

Christian, rest your eternal hope not on shifting feelings but on the immovable, inerrant Word of God. What He has written, He will perform — to the letter.