the word of faith, which we preach

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.

Romans 10:9

What The Old Words Mean

thou

you

thy

your

thine

your

hath

has

shalt

If you know of any word in the modern American English language, that means exactly the same thing as "shalt", please tell me.

Some Bible translations leave this word out, (like "if you confess... and believe in your heart...",) or change it to "will," (like "you will be saved.")

I think it has a little stronger meaning than "will," since "If you will" could mean you want to, but "If thou shalt" has more of a sense of it certainly being done by you.

What This Verse Makes Me Think

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

What God Says, in the Bible, About How to be Saved

if you confess... and believe...

This verse uses the word, "if." That gives us a choice. We may either do the things it says, or not. If we do these things, then we will be saved.

confess with your mouth

The way I confessed the Lord Jesus with my mouth, to be saved, was in prayer. You could pray something like, "Dear God, please save me, in the Lord Jesus' name, Amen."

the Lord Jesus

It's all about Him. You can't just believe whatever you want to believe about Jesus, and be saved. You have to believe that He is who He says He is.

the Lord

A "lord" is a master, and a boss, like the "lords and ladies" in Europe, and like "landlords." He's not "just another lord," but He's The Lord, and you have to admit it.

confess... and believe

This says, "and". You cannot be saved just by saying, "Lord, Lord," to Jesus.

believe

It's like being completely convinced. It's simple. Either you think it's true (you believe it,) or you don't.

in your heart

It can't be a lie. You have to actually mean it. Your true and strong thoughts and intentions are deep in the middle of you. That's where you really have to think that Jesus is true.

God raised Him from the dead

Believe that He did what He says He did. God raised Jesus back up, so He's not dead any more, but He's alive again.

from the dead

This verse uses the word "dead." How did Jesus get to be dead? Jesus suffered and died on the cross, to pay the punishment for the bad things you and I have done.

you will be saved.

This is a promise from God. Every one who believes in the only begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, will be saved. If you have ever asked God to save you, in the Lord Jesus' name, and meant it, you have become a Christian. That means you won't have to be cast into the lake of fire to be burning in torture for ever and ever. Instead, you will receive everlasting life.