Confessing Christ

John Grubb

God's plan to save man from his sins includes the confession of our belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. People can know of our faith in Jesus Christ only if we confess Him. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" (Matthew 16:13-19). People were not sure that Jesus was really the Messiah. Some thought He was John the Baptist. Others thought He was Jeremiah, Elijah, or one of the prophets. But Simon Peter was sure that Jesus was the Christ. He confessed: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). Jesus told Peter he would be blessed because he made this confession: "Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (v. 17). Every person who makes this same confession Peter made will be blessed.

When we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, we are confessing His deity. John wrote: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). He then explains who the Word is: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Jesus is "Immanuel," which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). When we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, we are confessing that He was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). We are also confessing He lived a perfect life, without sin (I Peter 2:21,22; Hebrews 4:14,15). This confession includes belief that the miracles of Jesus were real for they proved His deity (John 3:2; 20:30,31).

When we make the good confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, we are accepting His authority (Matthew 28:18-20). Our authority is not Moses, or Elijah, or one of the prophets. We must listen to Jesus Christ (Matthew 17:5). We will be judged by Him and His Word at the Last Day (John 12:48; Acts 17:30,31).

When we confess Christ, we are also submitting ourselves to be His servants. Paul wrote: "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness" (Romans 6:17,18). We must make up our minds who we are going to obey (Matthew 6:24). If we confess Christ, this means we will obey His commands (Matthew 7:21-23; John 14:15).

In addition to the occasion at Caesarea Philippi when Peter confessed Christ, he also made it clear on other occasions that he believed Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (John 6:69).

Many others also confessed Christ. John the Baptist confessed Christ as "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). After Philip had preached Christ to him, the Ethiopian eunuch confessed, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:37). This was the only way Philip could know the eunuch believed. Philip then baptized him (Acts 8:38). If we want to go to Heaven, we too must make the same confession the eunuch did (Matthew 10:32, 33; 1 John 4:15).

There were others who did not confess Christ. The parents of the blind man healed by Jesus would not confess Him (John 9:22). Others among the rulers would not confess Him (John 12:42,43). They believed in Him, but would not confess Him, and therefore could not be saved. This shows us that faith alone will not save!

One cannot become a Christian unless he confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Romans 10:9,10). One day, everyone will confess Christ (Romans 14:11,12; Philippians 2:9-11). But if we wait until Judgment Day to confess Christ, it will be too late for us to be saved! "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). If you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then confess Him today and be baptized into Him (Galatians 3:26,27).