Romans 10:9-11, “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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
This is a commonly misunderstood passage of Scripture in verse 11, “For
the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” I
have heard countless preachers interpret this passage to mean that if we are
really saved, we won't be embarrassed to mention the name of Jesus. But
wait, wasn't Peter ashamed of the name of Jesus? Yes!
Mark 14:66-68, “And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.”
Peter said: “I don't know what in the world you are talking about, I've never even heard of someone called Jesus!” And then Peter cursed the precious name of Jesus, to confirm his denial. Mark 14:71, “But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.” Clearly, Romans 10:11 cannot mean what many pastors and preachers claim. Peter was embarrassed because he was afraid, but he in fact was still ASHAMED OF JESUS!
But wait, there's more, did not many of the Pharisees who received Christ, also refuse to confess Him? Yes!
John 12:42-43, “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
Again we see that the Scriptures do not agree
with those preachers, who say you are not saved if you are ashamed of Jesus.
The King James Bible Translators Got it Correct in Romans 10:11
Kindly,
I heard one sincere pastor attempt to correct the King James Bible. He said
that the translators got it horribly wrong, claiming that the King James
Bible should have been translated “should not be ashamed” instead of “shall
not be ashamed.” It is my humble opinion that the studious preacher overlooked the
key phrase in Romans 10:11a, “For the Scripture saith.” Hence, Romans 10:11 is a quote from the Old Testament
book of Isaiah:
Isaiah 28:16-18, “"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.”
Here we see that the intended meaning of the word “ashamed” is “to make haste.” The Lord is essentially saying to each person of every generation: “Look, if you put your trust in Me friend, I won't let you down! There will never come a day down the road, where you will find out that the Hindus, Buddhists or Muslims were right and you'll be ashamed that you ever believed in my name. You put your reliance in Me friend, and you'll never have to make haste like a dog with his tail between his legs, you won't be ashamed, I won't let you down if you trust in me!” That is what Romans 10:11 means, in my humble opinion. I don't see how it could be taken any other way. The context of the passage in Isaiah 28 is that deliverance is coming through the PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE, which is none other than THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! The New Testament quotes the Old Testament 855 times. I love that! Thus, the saying is true that the Old Testament is the New Testament CONCEALED, and the New Testament is the Old Testament REVEALED. They compliment one another: LAW and GRACE.
Let's examine another wonderful New Testament passage which quotes Isaiah 28:16. 1st Peter 2:6-7, “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.” Boy, I love the way God authored the Bible! Whew, this is exciting! Take a look at that word “CONFOUNDED.” Here again we see the built-in dictionary at work in the King James Bible. To be confounded means: “to be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly.” The Bible promises that whosoever BELIEVES on the name of Jesus won't be confused by disappointment. If we take all of these Scripture passages into consideration, there is no way that we can walk away with the wrong conclusion that being ashamed of Jesus is evidence of being lost.
Thus, the King James Bible translators got it
100% correct in Romans 10:11 with the rendering, “shall not be ashamed.”
Those who believe on the name of Jesus won't be disappointed. That is
the proper meaning, according to these multiple passages of Scripture we
have examined, in my humble opinion. My goal is never to refute other
preachers; but rather, to defend the inspired King James Bible. Kindly, I
find no fault in the King James Bible and I firmly believe it is 100%
inspired Word-for-Word! There is nothing wrong with the rendering of the
King James Bible in Romans 10:11.
Further Exegesis On Romans 10:11
Here in the following Scripture passage, the RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS OF FAITH through Christ is contrasted to the RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS OF THE LAW under Moses. No one has ever been able to perfectly keep the Mosaic LAW, which is the whole reason for salvation being made freely available by God, through faith alone in His only Begotten Son, by GRACE...
Romans 10:5-13, “For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, 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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The meaning of the word “ashamed” in verse 11 is hinted to in verse 12—“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.” The apostle Paul is writing to the Gentiles at Rome, assuring them that the same eternal salvation offered to the Jews is freely available to the Gentiles too. The use of the all-inclusive word “WHOSOEVER” in verse 11 alludes to verse 12—that is, WHOSOEVER, whether he be JEW or GENTILE, trusts upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ SHALL BE SAVED! The reason why they won't be ashamed for believing, as Gentiles, is because God is not a respecter of persons and welcomes all to receive the free gift of eternal life, which is through faith alone in His only begotten Son. Any Gentile who believes upon the name of Jesus Christ won't be ashamed for making that decision. Simply believe the 'GOOD NEWS' and be saved now dear reader! John 11:25, “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
