CONFESSION
Allen Rupert
The fourth step in God's Plan for becoming a "Christian"
is confessing one's desire, before one's fellow man, that I am about to
bury the mortified "old man of Sin" and become "a new creature".
The first 3,000 recorded souls who became "Christians" on the day of Pentecost
A.D. 30 give us all 5 steps, as deduced by Peters statement in Acts 2:38.
The verse before lists the completed first 2 steps, hearing and believing:
(2:37. Now when they heard this (hear), they were pricked in their
heart (the type of believing the Bible teaches), and said unto Peter and
to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? - In verse
38 we read; "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." If you were there on the "Day of Pentecost",
being a Jew and bringing the feasts of weeks to a close, the statement
"in the name of Jesus Christ" would have said to you just what is meant
in "confessing before man" that this man whom you were taught by your religious
elders was not the messiah, truly is. The account of the Ethiopian
Eunuch a short time later also plainly teaches the same. Luke's record
says he was reading in the book of Isaiah and was pondering the statement
there of the sheep going to the slaughter, when Philip joined him on his
chariot. As they rode along Philip preached unto him about Jesus.
Here we again see all the steps laid out: He, the Ethiopian was hearing/reading;
he believed to the point of wanting an explanation of the Old Testament
prophet; and Philip (as being instructed by the Spirit), recognized that
he was repenting from the false teachings he had received and wanting to
change, had this further instruction to give him upon his query of "See,
here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” replied "If thou believest
with all thine heart, thou mayest,". Note here the importance of
a complete heart change (all thine heart / repetitive). Next, we
observe the words of the penitent Ethiopian when he said, "I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
I will attempt at this point to make clear what the Scriptures
teach about what was involved here. The Jewish Nation at this time
did not believe Jesus, the son of Mary and the stepson of the carpenter
Joseph, to be the messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. John the
Immerser was only on the scene about four and a half years earlier as the
forerunner unto Jesus, preaching of the one to come after him. Jesus
had taught for only three years prior to this time. And now, the
Ethiopian Eunuch was in Jerusalem for some fifty plus days and returning
home pondering on what had happened this year and of Jesus. His conversion
in process caused him to confess before Philip that "Jesus Christ is the
Son of God". Jesus had taught His Apostles, when He sent them out
to look for penitent people. - (Mat. 10:32. Whosoever therefore shall
confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is
in heaven. 33. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I
also deny before my Father which is in heaven.). Jesus had already put
the listeners to a test when He said in Luke 6:46. And why call ye
me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? When we think
of the many physical weddings of our life we recognize that our laws of
the land want witnesses to the marriage. Paul through inspiration
likens the physical marriage to the spiritual marriage (Eph. 5:-).
Of course we all know that in the spiritual marriage our Groom will never
forsake His promise. But the point here being; 'we as a bride must
be submissive to our Groom'. Sarah called Abraham her lord in (I
Peter 3:6). Witnesses are a major part of any agreement. The
confession that "Jesus is the Son of God puts the confessor in the position
of changing everything in his or her life to whatever Jesus commands.
With this “change of heart" and "the confession of the mouth", as Paul
reminded the Christians at Rome that they had done (Rom. 10:9), harmonizing
completely with Jesus' words before His ascension. The Great Commission
given to the Apostles carried a command often forgotten, that one is to
continue to learn more of Jesus' commands and commit them into our lives.
(Mat. 28:19,20). The confession or commitment before man lets the
world know of the "change of heart" or the "repentant heart". Philip
tested the heart of the Ethiopian by answering his question about immersion;
"if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest”. If one is
not willing to make this open declaration, then, all baptism does is get
that person "wet". Since A.D. 30; one can go to Hell "wet" but one
cannot go to Heaven unless one is buried in baptism. The five steps
that one has to do to become a "Christian" can be thought of in the statement
Jesus made about entering the strait (or restricted) gate in Mat. 7:13.
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it. There is only one Book
(Acts) shows us how to become a Christian and then there are twenty-two
that tells us how to live the Christian life or remain a Christian.
In final words "Confession" is an open declaration that I am going to study
the Words of the New Testament and submit to every one of them as I learn
them, like them or not. Jesus said it all in John 12:48; "He that
rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
