I like what Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) said: "A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one." It would be bad Bible interpretation to base a doctrine on one verse, like Romans 10:9, “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.” Countless fools have lifted this Scripture text out of context to create a new pretext (heresy). When properly interpreting the inspired Holy Bible, we must compare Scripture with Scripture to solve the puzzle. If a puzzle piece (i.e., your suggested interpretation) fits, by making sure that it agrees with the whole of Scripture, then you know you've got the correct meaning. If your suggested interpretation doesn't fit, then you've got the wrong meaning and need to keep studying.
The entire Gospel of John was authored by God for the specific purpose of showing humanity how to get to Heaven (John 20:31). In the book of John we find the word "believe " mentioned 85 times without any mention of confessing with the mouth. If "confession" were required to obtain the new birth, then John would have mentioned it. Likewise, in the book of John neither will you find any mention of following Christ, water baptism, surrendering all, or repenting of your sinful ways to be saved. Ungodly, but well-meaning, religious men added these embellishments to pervert God's simple plan of salvation. Woe be unto them in eternity when they are judged!
Also, the same Apostle John who penned the book of John penned the Epistle of 1st John. According to 1st John 5:13 the purpose of John's book is so that believers can "know" that we are saved. Nowhere does John require that we must "confess" to be saved. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) shared this wisdom:
“'Pray to be saved. Ask the Lord to save you.' This is what I heard a minister say to a convicted sinner who came forward for prayer at the close of an evangelistic service. Nowhere in the Bible are men told to pray to be saved. There are examples where men did pray and were saved. Men are told to repent, to believe, to obey the Gospel, but the Bible never says to pray for salvation. It does say that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, but nowhere does the Bible command men to pray to be saved. I think I know why, God, who made the human heart, knew that it was not necessary to tell convicted sinners to pray. If a sinner can see Jesus Christ on the cross, it is as natural for him to pray as it is for birds to sing or flowers to bloom. 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'” —Dr. Bob Jones Sr., “Comments On Here And Hereafter,” chapter: Prayer And Praise, page 163; Bob Jones University Press, Inc., © 1942It is heresy for anyone to tell someone that they must pray, call or ask to get to Heaven. The inspired King James Bible is abundantly clear that the man who BELIEVES is saved. John 6:47, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."
Jesus did tell the Samaritan woman in John 4:10 that if she knew who He was, she would have asked Him for the water of life; but if you read the rest of the chapter, nowhere does it say that any of the Samaritans asked, called or prayed to be saved, it says they BELIEVED on Him. There is nothing wrong with calling, praying or asking Jesus to save you, just so long as you don't trust in prayer to save you. But to say that a person cannot be saved without praying, calling or asking is a perversion of God's simple plan of salvation.
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