Step 3 - Confession

So far, we have covered in the gospel plan of salvation Faith and Repentance. After fully believing in what God’s word says (faith), and resolving to turn away from all that is contrary to what His word teaches (repentance), Confession of the name of Christ before others is commanded. 

To confess means “to own, acknowledge, or to avow.” Why would God have us confess that Jesus Christ is His Son? Because one cannot be anything of value secretly. There is no such thing as a “closet Christian.” Notice in Jn. 19:38 that Joseph of Arimathea, who at first was a secret disciple of Christ because he feared the Jews, eventually comes out into the open to render service to the Lord. God needs us to openly & publicly confess our allegiance to Him; that is how we become "salt" and "light" for the Lord and His kingdom (Mt. 5:13-16). More importantly, we need to openly and publicly confess Jesus as the Christ. One will never fully embrace what he only avows secretly. Others need to know where our allegiance lies. Only then can we serve God faithfully. 

Consider the following Biblical reasons for confessing Jesus Christ as Lord: 

w To be confessed (acknowledged) by Christ, we must confess Him.

In Mt. 10:32-33, Jesus plainly teaches that He will deny knowing us before God the Father if we deny, or do not confess, His name before others. If we think about it, this is only fair...the Lord will go as far we go in confession.

w Confessing Christ shows we want God’s praise more than man’s.

In Jn. 12:42-43, some Jewish rulers believed (had faith) that Christ was the Son of God. Yet, because of fear of losing status among the Jews, they would not publicly acknowledge it. Notice the text states they believed in Christ (v. 42). Would those who claim to be saved by faith only be willing to state that these men, though not confessing Christ as Lord, were saved because of their faith? Again, faith only will not save.

w Confessing Christ leads to our salvation.

In Rom. 10:9-10, Paul states that confession works with our faith. Are we saved at the point of confession only? Some would say “Yes”, based upon v. 9. Yet v. 10 states that confession is made “to” or towards salvation. Just like repentance (previous article), confession is "to" or "towards" salvation.

We have an example in Acts 8:26-39 of a conversion of a sinner where confession was made. The evangelist Philip preached Jesus to an Ethiopian (v. 35). Judging from the man’s question regarding baptism, we must conclude that Philip obviously taught about it (v. 36). Philip tells him he can be baptized if he believes Jesus is Christ the Lord. Upon that, the Ethiopian makes his confession of Christ (v. 37). Was he saved at the point when he made his confession? No...he had to do something else. After doing all that was commanded of him (submitting to N.T. water baptism), only then could he go on his way rejoicing in his new found freedom from sin (v. 39). His confession of Christ put him one step closer to salvation. Our confession will do the same for us today. 

Whether or not you confess Jesus as the Christ, He still will be just that... the Messiah. Your confession or failure to do so will not change who He really is. He came as the Christ (Jn. 1:1-2, 14; Phil. 2:6-7), and God the Father has enthroned Him as the Christ (Acts 2:36; Eph. 1:18-23). So, as you can see, the real benefit to openly acknowledging what is already the truth will be for your soul's salvation. For your eternal sake, have you confessed the name of the Lord Jesus?

- Jeff Smith

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