Every cop I know is bilingual. They all speak English and another language unique to law enforcement, called the Ten Code. The radio abbreviations we use daily aren’t something we have to translate. The ten codes are words to us, just like their English equivalents.

If my partner told me he was “10-39 on a 10-32,” I may say, “I’m 10-10, but I am getting 10-8 and 10-84!” He would understand me immediately. He just told me in ten code that he has pulled over a car occupied by a man with a gun. I replied that I am eating, but I am getting back in service and headed his way. If he didn’t hear me or understand what I said, he’d say, “10-9.”

Ten-nine means, “Repeat what you just said.” Depending on the tone used to say it over the radio, it could mean, “Say what?!” Or, “You gotta be kidding?” Or even, “What you talking about, Willis?!” Its basic definition, however, simply means the hearer didn’t fully comprehend the intended message. “Say it again, possibly clearer this time.” 


Perhaps no other message needs repetition more than God’s plan to save the souls of men. People often hear this good news many times before it finally clicks. Ironically, it is spelled out very clearly in Romans 10:9. Yep, it’s in Romans Ten-Nine. “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

This one verse explains the simplicity of salvation, and it bears repeating. The first part, “If you declare “Jesus is Lord,’” written to early Roman Christians, is the opposite of what Rome required of its citizens. Their government forced all Romans to swear an oath to Caesar and publicly declare Caesar to be lord. A Christian declaring his allegiance to King Jesus was considered an act of treason. Calling Jesus “Lord” came with an extreme cost.

The remainder of the verse, “…Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, (and) you will be saved.” That’s self-explanatory. Simply take God at His word. Trust in the completed work of Jesus, when He died for our sins, and rose again from the dead. Stop trusting yourself to earn salvation and put your trust in what He did for us. That’s what Romans 10:9 says. If you need a ten-nine, I’ll be glad to repeat it.