Edification Company (Part of Edification Ministries)
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
2nd Issue Date 15.10.2023
1st Issue Date 24.09.2022
People of God GREETINGS!
It is another week and we thank and rejoice in the Living God, the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ for His provision, love, care, and his indwelling peace in us by the Divine Person of the Holy Spirit.
Main Bible Scripture:
Romans 10 v 9
Other Associated Scriptures:
Matthew 3 v 4-5, Romans 10 v 9, 1 John 1 v 9, James 5 v 16, Hebrews 4 v 14, John 16 v 8-9.
Prayer:
Father God, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for another week of divine health, divine peace, divine provision and divine wisdom and revelation of God, the Father. As we come in our own accord to feed our born-again spirit-beings with the rich nutrient of God’s Holy Word, we agree that your Word is the truth. We trust the Holy Spirit to bring the light of God’s Holy Word into our minds and the direction of that Word into our spirits. We trust you, the Lord Jesus Christ that we will be doers of your Word and not hearers, readers or speakers only. In Jesus Name. Amen
Theme/Subject: ‘Confession’
Our theme or subject is Confession.
This is series 01A. It seems that much confusion has been sown in the church as a whole brought about mainly by religion and church tradition teachings regarding the subject of ‘confession’. But the Word of God does not confuse anybody in any subject. The Holy Written Word of God instead blesses and provides sound mind to anyone who willingly listens to it and practices it. Religion and church tradition teachings are not God’s Word so I can understand why so many are confused even in the body of Christ concerning the subject of confession. This is because the subject of confession has been taught from sin consciousness point of view through religion and church traditions instead of the Holy Written Word of God point of view. Today, as soon as confession is mentioned, many in the church circles automatically associates it with confessing of sins and this creates sin consciousness in the minds of the believer instead of praise, thanksgiving and edification consciousness it ought to be in the mind of the believer.
In any subject concerning the Holy Written Word of God, it is absolutely important that the child of God makes time or finds time to go to the Holy Word to know what Holy Word says concerning that particular subject, in this case, confession. Once we know what the Holy Word says then we are obliged to put what we know into practice. For knowledge acted upon brings results.
It is therefore important that we go into the Holy Written Word of God to help us understand the subject of confession.
I am sure that by now you know that the New Testament were originally written in Greek. The Old Testament were originally written in Hebrews. There are three Greek words which translates the words confess, confessing and confession. One of this Greek word is spelt exomologeo which means to acknowledge, to agree fully, confess, profess or promise. This Greek word is used in both Matthew 3 v 6 and James 5 v 16 respectively in the New King James Version. Some of the older versions of King James Bible uses the word ‘profess’ instead of confess or profession instead of confession. Their meaning is the same. Today, you and I are more familiar and confident to use the word confess. The other Greek word which translates ‘confess’ in both Romans 10 v 9 and 1 John 1 v 9 is spelt homologeo which means to assent i.e. covenant, acknowledge, confess, profess, confession is made, give thanks, promise. There is yet another Greek word spelt homologia that translates ‘confession’ which is used in Hebrews 4 v 14 meaning acknowledgment, confession, profession, professed. Please pause and reflect.
Matthew 3 v 6, Romans 10 v 9, 10, James 5 v 16, Hebrews 4 v 14 and 1 John 1 v 9 use the words confess, confessing or confession. These Holy passages will form the foundation of our teaching on the subject ‘confession’.
Our main Holy Scripture from Romans 10 v 9 reads “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Before we speak about the above passage, let us look at the confession of sins that the children of Israel made in response to John the Baptist preaching. Matthew 3 v 4-6 reads “4 Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to John 6 and were baptised by him in Jordan, confessing their sins.”
I like to point out to you that this was confessing of sins the children of Israel made to God before Jesus paid the ultimate penalty of sin. The confessing of sins to John the Baptist that these children of Israel does not apply to the sinner or an unbeliever today. The sinner or an unbeliever today or in this dispensation where Christ has come and glorified does not confess his or her sins rather he or she confesses Jesus Lord (see Romans 10 v 9). This is because the sinner or unbeliever’s nature is sinful regardless how naturally good he or she is, regardless of how philanthropist he or she is in the natural and he or she cannot remember all his or her sins to confess anyway. Therefore, in the plan of redemption, the Father of spirits in His wisdom made it so simple for the sinner or an unbeliever regarding the subject of confession. This simplicity lies in the fact that the sinner or an unbeliever does not need to confess his or her sins but he or she confesses Jesus as Lord in order to become a born-again child of God or to be saved (see Romans 10 v 9, 2 Corinthians 5 v 19-20). In the plan of redemption through Christ, the Living God gave you and I a ministry of reconciliation which does not entail us requiring from sinners or unbelievers to confess their sins in order to be saved or to become children of God in Christ. Rather, in God’s plan of redemption for humanity, he gave us the ministry of reconciliation to informs the sinner or the unbeliever that the Living God is not mad about them because of who He has for the world in Christ Jesus; not inputting the world’s sins against them (see 2 Corinthians 5 v 19-20). All the sinner or the unbeliever has to do in response to what the Father of spirits has done in Christ for the world is to confess Jesus Lord and believe in his or her spirit that the Father of spirits raised Jesus from the dead and as part of the Father raised Jesus from the dead; the sinner who acknowledges this act of grace is also raised from the dead with Christ Jesus (see Ephesians 2 v 4-6). Please pause & reflect!
The sinner or an unbeliever today confesses with his or her mouth the Lord Jesus or Jesus is Lord. For with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (see Romans 10 v 9-10). The sinner has to publicly or privately confess with his or her mouth Jesus is Lord. In other words, he or she is making a proclamation that Jesus Christ is his or her Lord and not Satan.
What is it that the sinner ought to ‘believe’ to be saved?
We were wrongly taught that we must believe God to be saved. But that is not what the Holy Written Word of God teaches.
No doubt that others today are still dividing God’s Word wrongly on the subject of salvation. I have personally met many people that ‘believe’ that there is a ‘god’ but that does not necessarily mean that they are saved in Christ Jesus. The Word of God teaches that the sinner or an unbeliever must ‘believe’ that God raised Jesus from the dead in connection with salvation (see Roman 10 v 9). In my babyhood stage in Christ, I used to tell people believe God instead of me leading them to know what to believe as the Holy Written Word of God teaches. You will be glad to know that I have grown in Christ since then and now I inform unbelievers to believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead in their hearts or spirits (see Romans 10 v 10).
The sinner today is to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. He or she believes this in his or her heart (spirit). According to John 16 v 8-9, the unbeliever today is guilty of one sin. This one sin is not believing in Jesus Christ. It is this one sin that leads unbelievers to hell and it is the will of the Father of spirits that all people be saved in Christ Jesus. But God cannot push His will on us, we have our own freewill. He created that way.
John 16 v 8-9 reads “8 And when the Holy Spirit has come, He will convict the ‘world’ (unbelievers/sinners) of sin, and of righteousness and of judgement. 9 Of sin, because they do not believe in Me – Jesus said.” Today, the one sin the sinner or an unbeliever is guilty of is the sin of not believing in his spirit that God, the Father of spirits raised Jesus from the dead. The above passage clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit has come to convict the ‘world’ that is to say sinners or unbelievers of one sin, singular not of sins.
Therefore, the sinner has to confess the Lord Jesus with his or her mouth and he has to believe in his or her heart that God raised Jesus from the dead to be saved and become a new creation in Christ Jesus.
What does the believer confess today?
We shall explore this question next week in the Name of Jesus.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father in Christ Jesus we thank you for your incorruptible living Word, that Word has come to us, help us to be doers thereof. In Jesus Name. Amen.
To God be the glory forever and ever in Jesus Name by the power of the Holy Spirit. I know that you are blessed by these teachings, why don’t you share them with others to be blessed also? It is also important to get your feedback and how together, through these teachings we are growing in faith in God’s Holy Written Word.
By: Bro Thomas Boakye
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