Confession

Upon the truth of the proposition that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, salvation of the world rests.  It underlies the whole scheme of man’s redemption.  For if He be not the Son of God, He was an imposter, the Bible is a fable, and no man was, is, or ever will be under obligation to believe in or obey Him.  On the contrary, if this is true, His claims are, and every man who professes to believe it puts himself under obligations to accept the terms He imposes.  How vital, then, is our study of the confession.  We need to know what it is, when it is to be made, and the benefits to the one who makes it.

The cause of Christ has always demanded open confession of His divinity.  The disciples of the Master must take his stand before men.  There are no secret Christians.  The confession is made before men.  We are to hold fast to His name.  Jesus made this fair offer to men in Matthew 10:32, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven.”  Here he tells us plainly the importance of confessing Him before men.  But how did they confess Him?  When the parents of the blind man were questioned, they feared the people, for “the Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess that he was the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue” (John 9:22).  Then to confess Him was to confess that He was the Christ, and to deny Him was to deny that He was the Christ.  Of course, some were making this confession, and others denying it, or the Jews would not have made such an agreement concerning those who did make it.

One of the great tests made in the days of persecution was to hold fast to His name.  Jesus writes to the church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3:8, “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and has kept my Word, and hast not denied My name.” 

Paul writes to Timothy that he has witnessed the “good confession before many witnesses,” in 1 Timothy 6:12.  Thus we learn there is a confession not founded by human creeds, but by inspiration of God.  In Acts 8, the eunuch, ready to obey the gospel, asked Philip in verse 36, “What doth hinder me to be baptized?”  Philip’s answer was, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.  And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”  Therefore the good confession was made by the eunuch.

The careful student will notice in the following verses, these great truths about the confession:
I. Confession is necessary to salvation.
II. Confession is with the mouth.
III. Confession comes before, and is a prerequisite to baptism and salvation.

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1. The good confession, according to Peter, is that Jesus is the ________ , the ________ of the living God (Matthew 16:16).

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2. Young Timothy made the good confession (profession) in the presence of many _________ (1 Timothy 6:12).

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3. Did Timothy have to make his confession (profession) publicly in view of what Jesus says in Matthew 10:32?

Our confession of Christ must likewise be before men.  Christ will have no disciple that is afraid or ashamed to let the world know who He is and what He stands for.  It is worthy of note that the “fearful” are among the number of those whose part is in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).

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4. Must one make the good confession in order to be saved? (Romans 10:9)
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5. The Ethiopian eunuch, before his baptism, confessed that Jesus was _________ the  _________ of God (Acts 8:37).

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6. What did Christ say about Himself? (Matthew 26:63-64). 

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7. Jesus promised to _______ before His Father the person who ________ Him before men (Matthew 10:32).

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8. Christ will _______ those who  _________ Him (Matthew 10:33).

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9a. When did God confess that Jesus was the Christ and His Son? (Matthew 3:16-17). *
9b. When Jesus appeared with _______ and _________, God told them to hear _________ . (Matthew 17:1-5) *

10. Confession is before or after baptism? (Acts 8:37-38)

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11. The chief rulers would not confess Christ because they loved the _________ of men more than the praise of ________ . (John 12:42-43)

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12. The confession is made with the ______ . (Romans 10:10)

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13. What price did Jesus have to pay for confessing that He was the Christ before Pilate? (John 18:37-19:3)

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14. Stephen was _____ for confessing his faith in Jesus (Acts 7:57-60).
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15. What blessings do we receive for confessing Christ? (1 John 4:15).

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Now that you have made a careful study of all the Scriptures in lesson 6, you have found that confession is unto salvation.  Paul declares in Romans 10:10, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  The confession taught in the creeds of men are different from this confession that the New Testament teaches.  For example, if in making the confession you said, “I believe that God for Christ’s sake has pardoned my sins,” you have made the wrong confession.  The “good confession” looks forward unto salvation.  The salvation has not yet been realized, but like the eunuch in Acts 8, upon this confession valid baptism can be administered.

If is sad indeed to realize that there are many who will not confess Christ unto the salvation of their soul, yet a time is coming in which all will confess.  Paul said in Romans 4:11-12, “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.”  He also said “that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11).  What an occasion that will be when the skeptics; the infidel; the person who believed in Him but no sufficiently to confess Him among men; the faithful follower; ALL, confess Him to be Lord “to the glory of God.”

Think what a wonderful thing it is to sweeten your lips with the most precious thing in heaven and earth; to stand unafraid and unashamed before men and say, “I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

 

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