CALEB CUNNINGHAM: CONFESSION OF THE FAITH

Confession of the Faith

I’ve heard it said that “Confession is good for the soul.” When it comes to our confession as Christians there are basically two different aspects: confession of sins & confession of faith.

Confession of sin is obviously that act whereby a sinner confesses that he has sinned, as a criminal confesses his crime.
It is a command of God to confess sin:
James 5:16 – confess your sins to one another…
It is a sin to deny having ever sinned when you are guilty:
1 John 1:8 – If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Confession of faith is the act whereby we publicly acknowledge our belief in Jesus as the Son of God. It is an admission; we admit that we believe in Jesus. And it is a declaration because it is not something we do in private, but we publicly acknowledge Jesus as Lord.

When I was a child I learned the “Five Steps of Salvation”: Hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. Believing, repenting, and being baptized, have received much more attention than any of the other steps. Out of the five steps “confession” probably receives the least amount of attention. As I surveyed my library, I couldn’t find a single book on the topic of confession, thus showing that it is about as unpopular as repentance.

But what about the act of confession? Do we give enough time and attention to the “fourth step to salvation,” confession of faith? Probably not, but why not?
It is not included in The Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:46-47)
It is only included once in all the conversion examples of Acts (Acts 8:36-37, eunuch, it wasn’t required of him by Philip but the eunuch confessed faith).

Though confession of faith in Christ doesn’t take a large portion of Scripture or fill up the shelves of our libraries and bookstores today, the fact of Jesus’ identity confessed by Christians is the foundation of Christianity: Matthew 16:13-18

Does it matter who Jesus is? Does our confession matter? What one believes and confesses about Jesus affects everything else. At one point in German history the people of that country believed that the Bible was the Word of God and that Jesus was the Son of God. This is not to say that every person in the country was a Christian but that the mindset and world-view was fixed on those realities at their center. Out of that period of history Germany produced some of the greatest names in the histories of the arts—Bach and Beethoven to mention only two. However that same country later in time failed to believe and to live Christ’s lordship, and they gave the world the second world war. It does matter what you believe and how you acknowledge Christ.

But why do we include confession as one of the steps of salvation?

1. Confession of Faith is a Commandment of God

Ezra, the scribe, commanded the people of God, “Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will” (Ezra 10:11).

Our confession is made in Jesus Christ our Lord:
Hebrews 3:1 - Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.

Brother Roy H. Lanier, Jr. wrote of the confession of faith, “It is one of the grandest privileges afforded any person and it is a pivotal point in the allegiance and loyalty of one coming to Christ.” (Spiritual Sword, Vol. 29. No. 2, Confession of Christ)

A. It was practiced in the New Testament:

This is clearly seen in a reference that Paul made to Timothy about a “common confession” (1 Timothy 3:16): “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness”

Paul again reminds Timothy of his earlier confession of faith in order to motivate him to fight the good fight:
1 Timothy 6:12 – fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
His confession was in the sight of many people.
Paul is telling Timothy: “Be true to what you believe and what you have said publicly.”

B. It is a proof of your faith

Our words carry a lot of weight with both men and God. Jesus said on one occasion: “By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:37). Why is this so? Because with out tongues we can “bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God” (James 3:9).

The proof of our faith is revealed by the sounds that come from our mouths, by what we communicate to others:
How do we know if someone has a relationship with the Father?
“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:15).
On the other hand, “Whoever denies the Song does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).

1 John 4:1 we are commanded to test the “test the spirits to see whether they are from God”. But how are we to test the spirits? How are we to know if someone is from God? John tells us in the next two verses:
1 John 4:2-3 - By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Ignatius (A.D.) was brought before Trajan, the Roman emperor, for being a follower of Christ, he didn’t shy away from the good confession but boldy said, “There is but one God, who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that are in them; and one Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, whose kingdom may I enjoy.” Trajan the pronounced sentence as follows: “We command that Ignatius, who affirms that he carried about with him Him that was crucified, be bound by soldiers, and carried to the great [city] Rome, there to be devoured by the beasts, for the gratification of the people.” (ANF, Vol. 1, The Martyrdom of Ignatius, pg. 129-130).

1 Corinthians 12:3 - Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

C. It is a necessary for salvation

After Solomon brought the ark of the covenant into the newly built temple of God, he prayed before the people:
1 Kings 8:33-36
Here acknowledgement of the name of God results in forgiveness of sins.

Matthew 10:32-33 - 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.
These verses make it abundantly clear that your salvation is conditional on our confession. If a man is loyal to Christ in this life, then Christ will be loyal to him in the life to come.

The New Testament adds a condition to this confession:
Romans 10:9-10 – 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.

D. We must keep our confession in Christ

What happens with many of us is that we make the confession of faith, and we mean sincerely mean it, but we don’t continue to confess faith in Christ. Confession of faith is not something we only do once at conversion and then forget about later. We hold on to our confession:
Hebrews 4:14 (written to Christians who were thinking about giving up)- Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

The church at Philadelphia faced immense pressure to turn their backs on Jesus. The situation for was so bad that Jesus that the “synagogue of Satan” was there (Rev. 3:9). But God gave them relief, an open door of escape because they “have not denied My name” (Rev 3:8).

It doesn’t matter what our situation is in life, we must keep our confession if we’re going to be saved. Whether it be persecution, stress, or weariness we must “hold fast the confession of hope without wavering.” (Heb. 10:23)

Isaiah 26:13 – O Lord Our God, other masters beside You have ruled us; But through You alone we confess Your name.

2. Why Do People Not Confess Faith?

2 John 7 – Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

A. Fear

Jesus healing the blind man:
John 9:22-23 – His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

The escalation of the Apostle Peter’s denial (Matthew 26:69-74)
“I do not know what you are talking about”
“I do not know the man”
“Then he began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know the man!’”
Fear is a habit that only gets worse each time we give in to it. If you put off doing something because of fear, it will be twice as hard to do it tomorrow. Don’t let fear keep you from confessing Christ.

When it comes to our confession, we’ve been commanded to “fear not”:
Matt. 10:26-27 - “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”
Jesus calls us to have a bold faith, an obvious faith. This is a faith that is seen (“speak in the light”) and heard (“proclaim upon the housetops”).

Before Polycarp (70-156 A.D.), an elder at Smyrna, was burned at the stake for being a follower of Christ, the proconsul pressed him to deny Jesus and pledge allegiance to Caesar. Polycarp, in the stadium surrounded by the mob of blood thirsty Romans, responded, “Since thou art vainly urgent that, as thou sayest, I should swear by the fortune of Caesar, and pretendest not to know who and what I am, hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian.” (ANF, Vol. 1, pg. 41, The Martyrdom of Polycarp)

B. Shame

Some people are just ashamed to be Christians. The concept of being good and well behaved is scorned by the movie and music industry in general. The heroes in movies drink, cuss, sleep around, aren’t religious. Many of the rappers boast of having women, money, and drugs. As a result, some may be ashamed of their Christian faith, ashamed of their Christ, and ashamed to confess their allegiance to Him.

This shame is similar to the experience of many Christ deniers in the N.T.:
1 Corinthians 1:23 – We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness.
But the Apostle continues to write, “but to those who are the called…Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24)

Thus Paul would write to the Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (1:16)
2 Timothy 1:12 – I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

Just as Paul wasn’t ashamed, we too shouldn’t be ashamed:
1 Peter 4:16 – If anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
2 Timothy 1:8 – Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…

God is not ashamed to be our God (Heb. 11:16) and Jesus isn’t ashamed to call us brethren (Heb. 2:11). And he will not be ashamed of us on the Judgment Day if we’ll confess Him here on earth. But to those who are ashamed to confess Jesus as Lord He says:
Mark 8:38 - For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

One man asked a Christian, “What would you be if you weren’t a Christian?” The Christian responded, “I’d be ashamed of myself.” Amen!

C. Desire to be accepted of men

This was the problem during the earthly ministry of Jesus. There were many people who believed in Jesus, and many people who agreed with Jesus and would love to follow Jesus. But because of their desire to be acceptable of men, they rejected Jesus. They were posers, sell outs, caring only about popularity.
John 12:42-43 - 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.

These would be disciples didn’t want to be rejected by their neighbors and friends and family. They didn’t want to be ridiculed and put down. They especially didn’t want to be excluded and cut off from the popular crowd. But that is exactly what it means to be called out (the church). We are in a sense divided and cut off from the world:

Matt. 10:34-39 - Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

3. How Can I Confess My Faith?

A. At conversion

Acts 8:37 – and Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may [be baptized]. And he [the eunuch] answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

B. In the way we live and words we say

Confession is not limited to the lips; it includes the life. Our actions verify the veracity of our vocalizations. Jesus asked:
Luke 6:46 – Why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?

Confession must be backed by actions:
Matthew 7:21 - 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.
1 John 2:4-5 - The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.

C. In evangelism

The boldest confession you’ll ever make is the one you make when your telling others about you faith in Jesus.

D. In standing up for righteousness.

Life brings us the opportunity to speak some word for Christ, to utter a protest against evil, to take a stand, and to show what side we are one. Again and again on such occasions it is easier to keep silence than to speak. But such a silence is a denial of Jesus Christ. It is probably true that far more people deny Jesus Christ by cowardly silence than by deliberate words.

Mordecai’s concern for Esther remaining silent (Esther 4:14).

E. In abstaining from sinful activities.

We can live in such a way that our life is a continuous denial or confession of the faith we profess.
When asked if he was a Christian, one man responded, “Yes, but not offensively so.” He meant that he did not allow his Christianity to interfere with his social life and the pleasure he loved.

But by not participating in sinful activities, we’re confessing that we are followers of Christ.

Conclusion

Confession of Faith is probably the neglected act of salvation. But it is a commandment from God and our salvation is conditional upon our making the good confession, not just once at conversion, but throughout our lives.

We mustn’t let fear, shame, or pride, hinder us from confessing Christ. Instead we will boldly confess Jesus as Lord in our words and actions. Our behavior will confess Jesus as Lord over our lives. As we stand up for righteousness and abstain from sinful activities it will be another testimony that we are followers of Christ.

And the ultimate act of confession is sharing the good news of eternal life in Jesus with unbelievers.

If you have denied Jesus as Lord, then the Good News is that you can be forgiven. Peter too denied knowing the Lord but he repented and became a great servant of God.

The time is coming when all will make a mandatory confession of Jesus Christ as Lord:
Philippians 2:10-11 – Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
But wouldn’t it be far better to confess Jesus as the Lord and Master of your life now?

Have you confessed Jesus as Lord? If not, begin doing so today.