Four Confessions That Everyone Should Make

Introduction:

I.                   AT THIS TIME, LET US CONSIDER FOUR CONFESSIONS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD MAKE.

A.     One of these confessions will be made by everyone.

B.     The word "confession" means to declare, make a thing known, to express faith in, and to acknowledge.                   

Discussion:

I.                   THE GOOD AND NOBLE CONFESSION.

A.     The acknowledging that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God can rightly be called:  "The good and noble confession."

1.      Simon Peter made this confession unto the Lord. 

Matt. 16:13-18, "When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist:  some, Elias; and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona:  for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

B.   This confession is to be made as a condition of salvation.

1.      In making this confession, we are pronouncing our faith that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.

2.      We must confess Christ before our fellowman in order for Him to confess us before the Heavenly Father. 

Matt. 10:32-33, "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." 

3.      We are to confess Him by mouth unto salvation. 

Rom. 10-9-10, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." 

4.      This confession is to be made prior to being baptized for the remission of sins. 

Acts 8:35-39, "Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.  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.  And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more:  and he went on his way rejoicing.

II.                THE CHRISTIAN'S CONFESSING.

A.     After obeying the gospel of Christ, we are to acknowledge Him as being the Son of God by both our conduct and manner of speaking each day of our life.

1.      We acknowledge Jesus Christ in the five acts of public worship.

a.       In some of our songs we sing about Jesus.  There are even songs that are actually addressed unto our Lord.  The words and principles of Christ are to be the basics of the songs that we sing. 

Col. 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." 

b.      When we partake of the Lord's Supper on the first day of each week, we commemorate His death upon the cross. 

Acts 20:7, "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

Matt. 26:26-27, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." 

c.       Our prayers are addressed unto the Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ. 

John 14:13, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

1 Tim. 2:5, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 

d.      The Son of God is to be the center of our teaching and preaching

Acts 5:42, "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." 

e.       We financially support the cause of Christ, in our giving upon the first day of the week

II Cor. 9:7, "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:  for God loveth a cheerful giver." 

2.      Jesus should be seen in us by the life that we live. 

Matt. 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Acts 4:13, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

B.     Such things as the following are not necessary in our acknowledging of Jesus as the Christ in our daily life.

1.      That we are to go around continually orally confessing Christ.  However, if some one inquiries about our faith in Jesus, then we should not hesitate to do so.

2.      Nor do we need to wear a badge saying, "I am a Christian!"

3.      Neither is it necessary to wear special attire distinguishing us as Christians.  We are certainly to wear "modest apparel" (1 Tim. 2:9). 

C.     But it is necessary that our life to be conformed to that of the Son of God. 

Phil. 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Gal. 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ:  nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

1 Pet. 2:21, "For even hereunto were ye called:  because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

III.             THE CONFESSION OF FAULTS.

A.     Since it is possible for a child of God to fall from grace, one who does needs to seek forgiveness of their sins.

1.      An erring child of God must repent, confess their sins, and pray to the Heavenly Father for forgiveness. 

1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

2.      Every Christian is a priest under the new covenant (1 Pet. 2:5, 9).  Therefore, it is not necessary for a child of God to seek forgiveness thru a special ordained ecclesiastical order.  Jesus Christ, Himself, intercedes in our behalf when we pray unto our Heavenly Father. 

1 Tim. 2:5, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."                               

3.      However, sins should be confessed as publicly as they were committed.  When a brother or sister in Christ sins privately, then it is not necessary for them to acknowledge that sin to anyone else. Instead, that individual should go directly to God in prayer confessing their sins and asking for forgiveness.  If we have sinned against someone personally, then we should go to them seeking forgiveness (Matt. 5:23-24).  On the other hand, if it is a public sin then it should be confessed before the church. 

James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." 

4.      We have the example of the Simon of Samaria, who believed and was baptized, was told by the Apostle Peter to repent and to pray to God for forgiveness (Acts 8:5-24). 

5.      There is also the example of the prodigal son who, after living a sinful life, repented and in confessing his sins sought forgiveness of his father (Luke 15:11-24).                                       

IV.   THE CONFESSION THAT EVERYONE SHALL MAKE.

A.     Some may refuse to make the good and noble confession in this life. 

B.     Others may become Christians, but refuse to confess Christ in their life. 

C.     Still others, as erring children of God may refuse to confess their faults. 

D.    But all will confess to God in the last day. 

Rom. 14:11-12, "For it is writte, AS I LIVE, SAITH THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

E.     There will not be any unbelievers in hell.  Souls will be eternally lost because of their unbelief in this life, but they will no longer be unbelievers in hell.

Conclusion:

   Have you made the good and noble confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God prior to being baptized for the remission of your sins? 

   Do you, as a child of God, need to confess your sins and seek forgiveness of your Heavenly Father? 

   Are you as a Christian striving to acknowledge our Lord in your daily life? 

   We urge you to make whatever confession that you need to make and then one day the Lord will confess you before the Father in Heaven. 

--Dub Mowery