In the steps one is to take in becoming a Christian, I submit to you that confession is of utmost importance, just as is every other step. Why is confession important for conversion to Christ?
1. We are led to salvation with confession. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). In Acts 8, we learn of a wealthy man—the treasurer to the Queen of Ethiopia—traveling back from Jerusalem to the country where he lived and worked. As he traveled, he studied from a scroll of Scripture which is the same text that we have at Isaiah 53. Philip was sent by God to preach to this eunuch from Ethiopia. Beginning with the text of Isaiah 53, Philip preached Jesus to him. “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him” (Acts 8:36–38). With his mouth, the eunuch confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and his confession led him to salvation which was granted at the point of baptism. Therefore, “when they were come up out of the water … he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39).
2. We must live our lives in Christ by confession. If a person believes his allegiance to Christ is only to be confessed before baptism, he is mistaken and not ready for baptism. The Christian life demands a continual confession of Christ as our Lord. By our words and actions, we can confess to others our Christian faith. By our response to temptations, trials, and threats, we can confess to others our Christian faith. “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23). “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12).
3. We reach Heaven with confession. The aforementioned life of confessing Christ is culminated in our goal of Heaven. Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven, But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32–33). This is not necessarily the initial confession of faith, but the continual confession of faith that must follow our conversion to Christ.
There was a time when keeping one’s word was a practice more generally used. Today, we have to sign our names, put our houses up for collateral, and sign over all of our earthly gain in order to enter an agreement with many.
However, there are those who stand by their word—their confession. They are followers of Christ. Are you confessing Christ as your Lord and Savior?
Clifton Angel preaches for the Coldwater Church of Christ.
