TURN TO JESUS FOR HELP (CONFESSION)

If repentance is one side of a coin, confession is the other. Just as it is not sufficient to merely have an academic faith in Jesus, it is also not sufficient to merely turn away from rejection, for Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30a).

If you were developing an exclusive relationship with someone, it would not enough just to turn away from a previous relationship. You must also turn to this new person—this is what confession is about. There is no formula for confession—it can be as simple as an affirmative response to the question, “Will you make Jesus Lord of your life?” But scripture indicates the confession should be public: “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33) These words of Jesus seem to contradict that popular notion that you can simply “pray Jesus into your heart.”

Why would anyone who believes in Jesus refuse to confess? The Apostle John reports one such instance: Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. (John 12:42-43)

The Apostle Paul also wrote about confession: But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, in your mouth and in your heart”…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:8b-10)

Clearly, confession is absolutely essential to salvation. But again, even confession is not sufficient: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. (Matthew 7:21) One can go through all the “steps”—hearing the Word that leads to faith, turning away from unbelief in repentance, confession of Jesus, and yet if all that leads to no action, it is meaningless because it has all been done clothed in our sinful nature. This then leads us to an important event along the path: baptism.

Intro • Recognition • Faith • Repentance • Confession • Baptism • Church • Maturity • Fruitfulness • Conclusion