Belief and Resurrection in Romans 10:9

Preamble:

Romans 10:9 is an interesting verse with regard to "belief" and "resurrection".  We evangelical tend to encapsulate the gospel by saying that it primarily involves Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.  That is, salvation just is forgiveness of sins, and this salvation is appropriated simply by believing this fact.  However, in Romans 10:9 Paul does not encapsulate the gospel in this way.  That he does not, is a telling strike against how we evangelicals view such matters as the atonement and salvation.

Romans 10:9 in Context

Romans 10:9 (NRSV):

because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The "if" in this verse may simply correlate the confessing/believing with Jesus' Lordship and resurrection.  Nevertheless, what is interesting here is the Paul highlights two moments in the "Christ event", namely the exaltation and resurrection, that do not involve Jesus' death for the forgiveness of sins.  The two moments are chosen because they correlate nicely with Deuteronomy 30:12-14:

• Deuteronomy 30:12 Who will go up for us into heaven
• Romans 10:6 Who will ascend into heaven
• Deuteronomy 30:13 Who will go across to the other side of the sea for us
• Romans 10:7 Who will descend into the abyss

Of course, it could be argued that Paul quotes Deuteronomy precisely because it made reference to two moments in the Christ event.  But still, Paul highlights Jesus exaltation and resurrection and will relate them to righteousness and salvation (see 10:10).

In Romans 10:8, Paul talks of "the word":

This is the word of [Jesus'] faith[fulness] which we preach."

Note, I have translated the pisteos in this verse as Jesus' faithfulness and not our belief.  This is where the cross comes in because it was Jesus' faithful obedience to die on the cross that led to the reward of resurrected life.  [This is why I think Leviticus 18:5 is used by Paul in 10:5 in a positive, Christological, way.
The righteousness of the law, of which Jesus is the goal (10:4!), states that the one having done these things (Jesus) will live by them (be resurrected).]  But note that here the cross represents obedience and not animal-like sacrifice.

The Resurrection

When we come to Romans 10:9 we are told that those who believe in the resurrection (and confess Jesus' Lordship) are saved.  In verse 10 we have the following correlations:

• With the heart one believes resulting in righteousness
• With the mouth one confesses resulting in salvation

The "righteousness" here is no doubt equated with salvation.  God's righteousness leads to salvation (see Romans 1:16-17 where righteousness and salvation are paired).  Belief in the resurrection leads to salvation.  I think this is so because the resurrection is for Paul just what "salvation" means.  Resurrection means new life/creation and power over death.  That is salvation!  Sure, forgiveness of sins in included, but there is no overt mention of Jesus' death as an animal-like sacrifice which constitutes forgiveness of sins=salvation.  This is crucial for our self-understanding as Christians.  Paul uses "resurrection" language to refer to the renewed creation that Jesus' resurrection adumbrates.  This means actual transformation and not imputed righteousness.  For Paul, salvation is a victory "believers" share with Jesus because they are "in" Jesus.  They have died to sin's power to live for God, not in a fictitious sense but in a real sense.

Theological Upshot

We evangelicals need to broaden our concept of salvation and that by doing so we will not show our faith to be futile (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17)!