That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine 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 (KJV)
What are you going to believe and speak? You are going to believe and say you have been made the righteousness of God in Christ! You quit struggling and trying. You put your trust in God and you receive this free gift. You believe with your heart that God loves you, God accepts you, and He has made you as righteous as Jesus.
Believing you have been made righteous and receiving the gift of righteousness is a radical, revolutionary revelation and can be difficult for some people to comprehend. Sometimes people will not receive it because they think they’ve got to work for it. Sometimes people get proud and think “I don’t want a handout. You don’t have to give me that.” But when it comes to this righteousness, you had better take it!
I once ate at a restaurant where some of the waiters worked who attended the church where I was preaching. I gave each one of them a hundred-dollar bill. Do you know only one worker took it? The other three said, “No, that’s too much. You don’t have to do that.” It seems there is something about human nature that questions when God wants to give a gift, saying, “Are you sure about that? That’s too much. I don’t really think that’s necessary.” What Jesus did for you is entirely too much, but you must receive it!
Confession: I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and I openly confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. Salvation is mine; righteousness is mine.