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CHAPTER 7
POSITIVE CONFESSION
Introduction
Positive confession is a biblical truth. Like any other
truth, it can be misused on the one hand, or maligned on the
other. The important thing is to accept all biblical truth,
including positive confession. Then, it is vital to walk in the
light of all truth.
Confession as Diagnosis
Since HOMOLOGEO means to agree with God in one's speech,
what does it mean when we discover that one is not "saying the
same thing" that God says? It means at least two things: (1) one
needs correction in that particular area and (2) one has a
decision to make: one must change and agree with God.
By listening to oneself and comparing one's confession with
the Word of God, one can diagnose his own spiritual pathology.
Then, with God's help, he can begin a course of treatment.
The logical progression of God's work in the Christian
begins with GOD himself. Then God speaks, producing THE WORD OF
GOD, the believer is LISTENING to God's Word, then BELIEVING
God's Word, then THINKING in line with God's Word, then SPEAKING
in line with God's Word, then ACTING in line with God's Word.
"God said it, I believe it, that settles it," is a popular
saying. A more accurate way of stating the same thing is, "God
settled all truth in eternity. God spoke the truth through his
Son and in his Written Word and I believe it." Receiving the
Word of God into the heart produces New Testament faith:
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God. (Romans 10:17).
Unless one is deliberately being a hypocrite, what he says comes
from his heart. It is his faith speaking. Jesus said,
...out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good
treasure of the heart bringeth forth good
things: and an evil man out of the evil
treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I
say unto you, That every idle word that men
shall speak, they shall give account thereof
in the day of judgment. For by thy words
thou shalt be justified, and by thy words
thou shalt be condemned. (Matthew 12: 34-
37).
Salvation and Confession
Confession is essential to our salvation. We are justified
by faith. We are kept justified by faith. The writer of Hebrews
tells us to maintain that confession/profession of faith:
Let us hold fast the profession [HOMOLOGIA,
"confession"] of our faith without wavering;
(for he is faithful that promised;) (Hebrews
10:23).
As we continue to believe, we continue to confess our faith in
Christ.
Christian Walk and Confession
The Christian's speech is an essential part of his life.
Let us analyze some Christian roots of confession as found in
some of the Old Testament saints.
Joshua and Caleb were two of the twelve spies sent out by
Moses to gather intelligence from Canaan. [Adapted from Kenneth
E. Hagin, "Confession Brings Possession" [Cassette Tape] Tulsa:
Kenneth Hagin Ministries, n.d.)]. Before they were sent, God
told Moses that he was going to give Canaan to Israel:
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Send
thou men, that they may search the land of
Canaan, which I give unto the children of
Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall
ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
(Numbers 13:1-2).
This word from God was received into the hearts of Joshua and
Caleb whereas the other ten chose to believe what their senses
and mere human reason told them instead of the word of God.
Israel believed the majority report, which in this case was not
right.
Joshua and Caleb's confession was:
And Caleb stilled the people before Moses,
and said, Let us go up at once, and possess
it; for we are well able to overcome it.
(Numbers 13:30)
And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son
of Jephunneh, which were of them that
searched the land, rent their clothes: And
they spake unto all the company of the
children of Israel, saying, The land, which
we passed through to search it, is an
exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in
us, then he will bring us into this land, and
give it us; a land which floweth with milk
and honey. Only rebel not ye against the
LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land;
for they are bread for us: their defence is
departed from them, and the LORD is with us:
fear them not. (Numbers 14:6-9).
The other ten spies and Israel rebelled against God by rejecting
God's word and accepting "common sense":
But the men that went up with him said, We be
not able to go up against the people; for
they are stronger than we. And they brought
up an evil report of the land which they had
searched unto the children of Israel, saying,
The land, through which we have gone to
search it, is a land that eateth up the
inhabitants thereof; and all the people that
we saw in it are men of a great stature. And
there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak,
which come of the giants: and we were in our
own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in
their sight. And all the congregation lifted
up their voice, and cried; and the people
wept that night. And all the children of
Israel murmured against Moses and against
Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto
them, Would God that we had died in the land
of Egypt! or would God we had died in this
wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD
brought us unto this land, to fall by the
sword, that our wives and our children should
be a prey? were it not better for us to
return into Egypt? And they said one to
another, Let us make a captain, and let us
return into Egypt. (Numbers 13:31-14:4).
From a military analysis, Israel was no match for the Canaanites.
However, Israel as a whole discounted both the Word of God and
his faithfulness. His faithfulness to Israel had already been
proven by his past protection and providence through miracles.
God rewarded or judged everyone according to his own faith
and resulting confession. That generation of Israelites said
that they could not conquer and enter Canaan and they did not.
Joshua and Caleb both said that they were able to conquer and
enter Canaan and they did, even though they had to wait until the
present generation of Israelites died in the wilderness:
Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the
LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will
I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this
wilderness; and all that were numbered of
you, according to your whole number, from
twenty years old and upward which have
murmured against me. Doubtless ye shall not
come into the land, concerning which I sware
to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son
of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
(Numbers 14:28-30).
The familiar fight between David and Goliath also has an
important lesson about "saying the same thing that God says."
David was a teenager with no training as a soldier. Goliath had
been trained from his youth as a soldier and was a combat
veteran. Goliath was a giant and had full fighting equipment
including a shield-bearer. Goliath believed in himself and what
he said was based on his past experience:
And when the Philistine looked about, and saw
David, he disdained him: for he was but a
youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a
dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And
the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And
the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and
I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the
air, and to the beasts of the field. (1
Samuel 17:42-44).
David likewise had something to say. Through his past
experience he knew that God was faithful and he knew that it was
God's will that this enemy of Israel be defeated:
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou
comest to me with a sword, and with a spear,
and with a shield: but I come to thee in the
name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine
hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine
head from thee; and I will give the carcases
of the host of the Philistines this day unto
the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts
of the earth; that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel. And all this
assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not
with sword and spear: for the battle is the
LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands.
(1 Samuel 17:45-47).
David's confession was quite a proclamation for a young shepherd
boy. Someone today might be considered presumptuous who would
make a statement like David's. The difference between
presumption and faith is that faith is based on God's will.
Notice that David believed God, confessed his faith and
acted out his faith. Then, God brought his will to pass--David
received what he said.
God appeared to Abraham and told him to offer Isaac as a
burnt offering:
And it came to pass after these things, that
God did tempt [test] Abraham, and said unto
him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son
Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into
the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a
burnt offering upon one of the mountains
which I will tell thee of. (Genesis 22:1-2).
From the time God promised Isaac to Abraham and Sarah until
Isaac's birth, they had to wait twenty-five years. (Joshua had
to wait forty years and Noah had to wait one hundred twenty years
until God's word was fulfilled--faith looks to God and not the
calendar. However, one must not be discouraged--it usually does
not take this long for prayers to be answered!)
Abraham's faith was severely tried during the three day trek
to Mount Moriah. This particular command of God seemed to
contradict the nature of God. (God commanded not to offer human
sacrifices. Jesus was the only human sacrifice he ever required
and he raised Jesus from the grave on the third day). Yet
Abraham had the promise of God that, "...through Isaac your
descendants shall be named." (Genesis 21:12, New American
Standard Bible). Abraham's faith was revealed in his speech to
his servants:
He said to his servants, "Stay here with the
donkey while I and the boy go over there. We
will worship and then we will come back to
you." (Genesis 22:5, New International
Version).
Some have wondered if Abraham were lying again as he had
previously concerning Sarah. The writer of Hebrews sets our
minds at ease:
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered
up Isaac: and he that had received the
promises offered up his only begotten son, Of
whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy
seed be called: Accounting that God was able
to raise him up, even from the dead; from
whence also he received him in a figure.
(Hebrews 11:17-19).
Abraham placed God first in his life by not sparing his son
Isaac. His speech and his action demonstrated his faith in God.
Moving to the New Testament, we see an excellent example of
a woman who had an "incurable" disease:
And a certain woman, which had an issue of
blood twelve years, And had suffered many
things of many physicians, and had spent all
that she had, and was nothing bettered, but
rather grew worse, When she had heard of
Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched
his garment. For she said, If I may touch
but his clothes, I shall be whole. (Mark
5:25-28).
Before coming to Jesus, she said to herself that if she could
just touch Jesus' clothing, she would be healed. Her confession
was silent, but God heard her faith speaking. Possibly the enemy
and the angels heard her also. Sometimes it is not wise to make
a confession of faith openly. She was ceremonially unclean and
was supposed to be segregated; she was a woman; and she would
have to fight crowds--quite a few obstacles to overcome--some may
not have understood if she had spoken out loud. The beautiful
story ends with her being healed. She received what she said.
Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he made quite a
bold statement:
Then they took away the stone from the place
where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up
his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that
thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou
hearest me always: but because of the people
which stand by I said it, that they may
believe that thou hast sent me. And when he
thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice,
Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead
came forth, bound hand and foot with
graveclothes: and his face was bound about
with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose
him, and let him go. (John 11:41-44).
Jesus confession was that the Father had HEARD him (past tense).
Jesus was speaking as though Lazarus had already been raised from
the dead! He was "practicing what he preached," because he had
just told Martha that if she believed, she would see. Most
people practice this in reverse: they believe AFTER they see,
because they have not listened to God.
One of the boldest statements Paul makes is the ultimate
confession of faith. He speaks as though he were already
glorified:
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he
also called: and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he
also glorified. (Romans 8:30).
Ralph Earle comments on EDOXASE (glorified) in this passage.
First, he quotes Denney and then concludes in a single sentence:
...Denney declares: "The tense in the last word is amazing.
It is the most daring anticipation of faith that even the
N.T. contains"(EGT, 2:652) [EXPOSITOR'S GREEK TESTAMENT (5
Vols.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d.)] In the divine
foreknowledge our glorification is already seen as an event
accomplished. [Ralph Earle, ThD, WORD MEANINGS IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT: ROMANS Vol. 3. (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill
Press, 1974), pp. 167-168].
Paul's confession reached way into the future, where he would be
glorified. He so believed God's word that he spoke as though he
were already glorified, that is, that his salvation were already
completed. To God, it was. To Paul, it was. Therefore, it is
biblical to say that Christians are "saved."
Christians are usually taught that they have been: Justified
(have been saved), Sanctified (are being saved) and Glorified
(will be saved). Paul exceeded this teaching by proclaiming that
he WAS glorified!
If one listens to God, he will talk like God, that is, he
will say the same thing that God says. A diagnosis of one's
faith can be made through his speech. The prognosis is good if
one will accept scriptural correction. The prescription is the
Word of God.
As one internalizes the Word, speaks the Word and acts on
the Word, he becomes conformed more and more to the image of
Christ. Faith will rise correspondingly and one's prayers will
become more in accordance with God's will. Therefore, more
prayers will be answered!
END
