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PART I: THE WORD OF GOD AND PRAYER
CHAPTER 6
CONFESSION
The New Testament word translated "confession" or
"profession" in the King James Version is HOMOLOGEO which means
"to speak the same thing." [Robert Young, YOUNG'S ANALYTICAL
CONCORDANCE TO THE BIBLE (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Pub.
Co., 1969), s.v. "Confess, to"]. In the Christian context it
means "to speak the same thing that God does." (This is the
literal meaning in Christian context. Michel sees three meanings
in the New Testament: (1) the general Hellenistic sense of "to
assure," "to promise," to admit." and "to concede"; (2)
"judicially `to make a statement,' in the legal sense `to bear
witness.'" It is "...an act of proclamation in which the
concrete relation of man to Jesus is expressed in binding and
valid form..."; and (3) "`to make solemn statements of faith,'
`to confess something in faith.'" THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE
NEW TESTAMENT, 1967 ed., s.v. "HOMOLOGEIN," by Otto Michel).
Old Testament Confession of Sin
Openness, confession and repentance were required in the Old
Testament as represented by the following Proverb:
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall
have mercy. (Proverb 28:13).
Openness, confession of sin and repentance were also part of
John the Baptist's ministry:
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all
Judaea, and all the region round about
Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan,
confessing their sins. But when he saw many
of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his
baptism, he said unto them, O generation of
vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits
meet for repentance: (Matthew 3:5-8).
Confession and Justification
According to Paul and Jesus, one must confess Jesus as Lord
and Savior before he is justified:
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee,
even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is,
the word of faith, which we preach; 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. (Romans
10:8-10).
Whosoever therefore shall confess me [Jesus]
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).
Notice that this is a positive confession--a confession of a new
relationship with God through Christ! This is a confession of
life! It is the most critical confession and yet many religious
leaders do not emphasize it.
This is not to underemphasize that all human beings are
sinners and that each one must admit that he is a sinner in order
to make the positive confession. Paul teaches,
For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God; (Romans 3:23).
Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit would convict individuals
of the sin of unbelief:
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is
expedient for you that I go away: for if I go
not away, the Comforter will not come unto
you; but if I depart, I will send him unto
you. And when he is come, he will reprove
the world of sin, and of righteousness, and
of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not
on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my
Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment,
because the prince of this world is judged.
(John 16: 7-11).
The sin of unbelief will keep people from God.
The idea that one must give up sins by his own human
strength before accepting Christ is not biblical. After
confessing Christ as Lord and Savior, God empowers the believer
to overcome sin.
Since everyone will eventually confess that Jesus is Lord,
it makes sense to do that now:
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall confess to God. (Romans 14:11).
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every
name: That at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven, and things
in earth, and things under the earth; And
that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. (Philippians 2:9-11).
It is morally insane to reject Christ as Lord and Savior.
Confession of Sin by the Believer
The believer's fellowship with the Father is broken by sin.
Confession is the way to restoration:
That which we have seen and heard declare we
unto you, that ye also may have fellowship
with us: and truly our fellowship is with the
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And
these things write we unto you, that your joy
may be full. This then is the message which
we have heard of him, and declare unto you,
that God is light, and in him is no darkness
at all. If we say that we have fellowship
with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and
do not the truth: But if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin. If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in
us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we
say that we have not sinned, we make him a
liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John
1:3-10).
Unconfessed sin produces guilt, which sometimes produces
sickness. Confession of sin is a key to healing in this case:
Is any sick among you? let him call for the
elders of the church; and let them pray over
him, anointing him with oil in the name of
the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save
the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up;
and if he have committed sins, they shall be
forgiven him. 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. (James
5:14-16).
After one has confessed his sins, he should forgive himself.
Continuous confession of sins that have been forgiven is
unbelief. By continually confessing forgiven sins, one builds
weakness, doubt and sin-consciousness into his soul. Satan can
take advantage of a believer this way. God has promised to
forgive:
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions for mine own sake, and will
not remember thy sins. (Isaiah 43:25).
Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is
within me, bless his holy name. Bless the
LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
who healeth all thy diseases; (Psalm 103:1-
3).
God forgives our sin and expects the believer to forgive himself
also. God's Word is our assurance.
Confession As A Christian Lifestyle
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have
faith in God. For verily I say unto you,
That whosoever shall say unto this mountain,
Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the
sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that those things which he
saith shall come to pass; he shall have
whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto
you, What things soever ye desire, when ye
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye
shall have them. (Mark 11:22-24).
Not only does the Lord want us to be right with him, but he
yearns to bless us in every way, personally. Also, each one of
us has a ministry to which God has called us and for which he has
equipped us to accomplish that ministry. In order for us to
fulfill our calling, we must exercise faith. One aspect of faith
is to line up our mouths with what God says, for every aspect of
our lives. It is his will that we speak in accordance to his
Word, as a Christian lifestyle.
Speaking anything less of ourselves than God does will rob
us of what he has for us. It will also rob those to whom God
wants us to minister. And it will certainly rob us of an
effective prayer life.
END
