Why Does Romans 10:9-10 Not Mention Baptism?

Some denominational preachers claim, "There's not a drop of water in Romans 10:9-10. It's as dry as a desert wasteland." Not only does the statement betray a myopic view that contradicts many plain New Testament passages, but it also reveals ignorance of, or bias against, sound biblical interpretive principles.

The passage to which our friend refers reads as follows:

[B]ecause if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God 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 (Romans 10:9-10, ASV).

One of the most fundamental principles of Bible interpretation is known as "the analogy of faith." In his classic work on biblical hermeneutics, Professor Milton Terry noted that there is a:

general harmony of fundamental doctrine which pervades the entire Scriptures. It assumes that the Bible is a self-interpreting book, and what is obscure in one passage may be illuminated by another. No single statement or obscure passage of one book can be allowed to set aside a doctrine which is clearly established by many passages (449).

Though expressed in a rather formal way, the statement above actually merely reflects the explicit testimony of the Scriptures and of logic itself.

First, the inspired psalmist proclaimed: "The sum of your [God's] word is truth" (Psalm 119:160). The term "sum" (Hebrew: rosh) in this context suggests a functional system which encompasses the entirety of a thing (Muller, 1192).

Second, since God is a perfect Being who is the author of neither confusion nor contradiction (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:33) and since the Scriptures were issued from him, logic demands that the instruction contained therein will be harmonious.

So, what are we to make of the matter when we confront the theme of salvation but see different conditions mentioned in various texts? The answer does not lie in rejecting some passages and accepting others. Rather, we must seek a harmonious solution.

There is a common mode of expression in the Bible known as the synecdoche. It is a figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole, or vice versa.

For example, Paul was on a ship that housed 276 "souls." These were not bodiless "souls." Rather, the term "soul" stands for the entire person (see Acts 27:37). How do we arrive at this conclusion? Because other passages teach that human beings have bodies as well as souls (Matthew 10:28).

How Does the Analogy of Faith Apply to Romans 10:9-10?

With this interpretive principle in view, let's turn to the passage our courteous reader cited (Romans 10:9-10). The passage outlines two conditions—believing in the resurrected Christ and confessing that belief before others.

But where is "repentance"—that godly sorrow accompanied by a change of conduct (2 Corinthians 7:10)? Surely that requirement cannot be dismissed merely because it isn't mentioned here. Repentance is required in a host of other New Testament passages.

Jesus declared that one who refuses repentance will perish (Luke 13:3, 5). Repentance was part of that Commission given by the Lord (Luke 24:47), and it was also proclaimed by an inspired apostle on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38). This sorrowful, changing obligation is required of all people everywhere in view of the coming Judgment (Acts 17:30-31).

Since Paul did not contradict himself between Acts 17:30-31 and Romans 10:9-10, "believe" and "confession" in the latter text must embrace all of God's redemptive conditions.

Similarly, though only repentance is mentioned as the condition by which the first Gentiles were converted (Acts 11:18), the principle of "the analogy of the Scriptures" demands that the "believing" and "confessing" of Romans 10:9-10 be included in the divine plan of salvation as well.

Now if this can be seen with reference to the conditions just mentioned, why is it so difficult to comprehend that baptism must also be included in the sacred scheme of redemption? Especially so, since baptism is inseparably connected with salvation in so many New Testament passages (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21).

A completely unbiased view of the subject can only lead to the conclusion that water immersion is an essential part of God's plan of salvation for humankind. This truth was not denied until the Christian movement was well into those stages of digression that eventually developed in the post-apostolic age.