Romans 10:9'

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Romans 10:9

“That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you shall be saved.”

Does this passage instruct and give an obligation to the Christian to continually “witness for Jesus”—to continually “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus”?

Note that it says to “confess” Christ, not profess Him. A confession implies standing up and being counted when faced with persecution (Matt. 10:27-32). Remember, when under pressure, Peter denied Christ three times—he was unwilling to confess that he was a follower of Christ, a Christian.

Perhaps the most important passage on this subject is I Peter 3:15, which states that Christians should “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you.” Answers are given to questions. Christians are careful not to ignore Christ’s admonition by “casting pearls before swine” (Matt. 7:6). They should answer with their beliefs when ASKED or challenged about them—in other words, when questioned!