fess also before my Father which is in heaven." Luke 12: 8. 1 John 4: 15, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God."
The second requisite is faith. The truth to be believed is, that God hath raised Christ from the dead. That is, we must believe that by the resurrection of Christ, God has publicly acknowledged him to be all that he claimed to be, and has publicly accepted of all that he came to per- form. See Rom. 4: 25. 1 : 4. Acts 13 : 34. 1 Pet. 1 : 3—5. 1 Cor. 15 : 14, &c. Acts 17: 31. In thy heart. Faith is very far from being a merely speculative exercise. When moral or religious truth is its object, it is always attended by the exercise of the affections. The words in thy heart are here opposed to the expression with thy mouth in the previous clause. Confession must be open ; faith must be internal and sincere.
(10) For with the heart man helieveth unto rii^hteousness, and loith the mouth confession is made unto salvation. This is the reason why faith and confession are alone necessary unto salvation ; because he who believes with the heart is justified, and he who openly confesses Christ shall be saved. That is, such is the doctrine of Scripture, as the apostle proves in the subsequent verse. Here, as in the passage referred to above, in which confession is connected with salvation, it is evident that it must be not only open but sincere. It is not a mere saying. Lord, Lord, but a cordial acknowledgment of him, before men, as our Lord and Redeemer. Unto righteousness, or justification, i. e. so that we may be justified. And unto salvation is equivalent to saying ' that we may be saved.' The preposition rendered «n/o expressing here the effect or result. Acts 10 : 4. Heb. 6:8. By faith we secure an interest in the righteous- ness of Christ, and by confessing him before men, we secure the perform- ance of his promise that he will confess us before the angels of God.