I have entitled our message this morning “Every Tongue Shall Confess,” and I will be discussing the subject of our “confession.” Our confession is a common theme found in the New Testament, and that’s because it is significant to our Christian walk. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is called our confession, for one thing. Hebrews 3:1 declares, “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,” and then Hebrews 4:14 states, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” So, what exactly does confession, or confessing, have to do with one’s faith in Jesus Christ?
I want to begin by defining the word “confession.” First of all, the word “confess” means, “to own [up to] a crime, a fault, [or] charge” and “to disclose faults, or the state of the conscious.”(1) In The New Bible Dictionary, a biblical understanding of confession “means to declare publicly a personal relationship with and allegiance to God. It is an act of open joyful commitment made to God in the presence of the world, by which a congregation or individuals bind themselves in loyalty to God or Jesus Christ.”(2) We also read in The New Bible Dictionary that the “biblical use of the word appears to reflect the language of ancient treaties where a vassal agrees to the terms of the covenant . . . and binds himself by an oath to be loyal.”(3) So, our confession is an oath made unto to God; and an oath of loyalty to Jesus Christ.
This morning I wish to emphasize that confessing, or confession, is a vital first step in receiving eternal life through Jesus Christ. We go nowhere without confessing. I also want us to see, as the title of our message conveys, that every tongue, or each and every individual on this planet, will one day confess unto God that Jesus Christ is Lord, whether we believe in Him or not, and whether we like it or not. Now that I’ve gained your attention, let’s begin this topical message by looking at Romans 10:9-11.
Confessing Jesus Leads to Life (Romans 10:9-11)
9 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. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
We see here the word “confess” and we are told that if we confess the Lord Jesus and believe in Him with all of our heart that we will be saved; or rather, we will gain eternal life. The first point I want us to understand is that “confessing Jesus leads to life.” Confessing Jesus is a requirement for salvation. I want to share with you a few reasons why we should confess the name of Jesus and how it should be done; but before I do, I first want to point out something we need to consider.
Many people fail to give their life to Christ because they are angry with God, and they reason, “Why would a loving God send someone to hell?” The thing is, God doesn’t send people to hell. We send ourselves to hell by our failure to confess Jesus as Savior and Lord of our life. Max Lucado says, “The only contribution you make to your righteousness is your own confession and admission of sin.”
So, what are some reasons why we should confess Jesus? First and foremost, confessing Jesus brings glory to God. 2 Corinthians 9:13 says, “They glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ.” Secondly, confessing is an important principle to belief and understanding. Whenever we read a book, there’s a noticeable difference in what we remember when we read the book silently versus reading it aloud. When we read aloud there are more senses involved, and this helps us with memory retention. Also, what we speak with our mouth reinforces our mind. The Lord wants us to confess the name of Jesus aloud in order for us to really comprehend the decision we’re making, and to reinforce and strengthen the faith that lies behind our confession.
The second point we need to realize is that “our confession should be before others.” In 1 Timothy 6:12 we are told, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” There is no set number of people that we must confide in when we make our confession of faith. We read in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” So, a worship service can consists of as few as two people, and all that’s required of us is to confess before those who are present, whenever the Lord calls us to surrender our lives to Him.
Here’s something else we need to consider: Our one-time confession is sufficient for salvation. If we have to confess the Lord daily in order to be saved then confessing becomes a work, and we can’t get into heaven by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). I do, however, wish to add that we should still be confessing, or professing, the name of Jesus on a regular basis as a public witness, as we do not want to see anyone die without knowing Jesus Christ.
There is no need to be afraid to confess Jesus’ name, and to share our faith with other people, because we read here that “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame” (v. 11). Whoever – from the belief that lies in his heart – makes a public confession of Jesus Christ as Lord, will not have to worry about being ashamed before other people.
Not Confessing Leads to Death (Matthew 10:32-33)
32 Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
We see something here that relates to being “ashamed” of Christ. We read in Mark 8:38 where Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” If we are ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Words (or the Bible), then we probably will never find ourselves confessing His name before others; however, if we fail to confess His name before other people, then Jesus said that He will not confess our name before the heavenly Father. The third point I want us catch about confessing is that “not confessing leads to death.”
Allow me to read another rendering from the gospel of Luke. In Luke 12:8-9, Jesus stated, “I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” Jesus said that if we fail to confess Him as Savior and Lord, then He will refuse to confess us before the Father and the angels of heaven. This means that He will refuse us before “all” the hosts of heaven! So, if we want Jesus to confess our name before God and heaven, then we must confess Him!
We are told in Revelation 3:5, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Here’s something we need to consider. If we fail to confess Jesus then perhaps we are simply not one of His own. We read in 1 John 4:2-3, “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.” So, if you feel ashamed to confess Jesus publicly, then you need to consider whether or not you really know Him.
Why We Fail to Confess Him (John 12:42-43)
42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
So, why might we fail to confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord? Probably because, like these rulers, we are afraid of what people think. It all boils down to being ashamed of Jesus, and valuing the opinion of people over the opinion of God. In John chapter 9, we are shown a similar scenario. Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth, and when the Pharisees questioned the man’s parents as to how their son was healed, they said they did not know how it happened. The Scripture says in John 9:22, “His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.”
In Mark 8:36, Jesus presents a question to consider. He asked, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” What will we gain if we win the favor of men, and lose the favor of God? We need to be as the apostle Paul and be determined to never be ashamed of Jesus. In Romans 1:16, Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” Paul also said in 2 Timothy 1:12, “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” Instead of being ashamed and living in fear of what other people think of us should we confess the name of Jesus, let’s be determined to declare, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ!”
All Will One Day Confess Him (Romans 14:10b-12)
10b For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
As I said at the beginning of this message, we will all one day have to confess Jesus whether we want to or not, and whether we like it or not. The fourth and final point we need to realize is that “all will one day confess Him.” Hebrews 9:27 tells us, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” and then Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” We may not confess Jesus now, but there will come a Day when we will, whenever we stand before the judgment seat of Christ. In fact, the one thing that everyone will do in heaven for all eternity is confess the name of Jesus, day in and day out, because His name is so holy.
Revelation 7:9-12 says, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen’.”
Time of Reflection
I want to leave you with Philippians 2:9-11, which tells us, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” In Luke 19:40, Jesus said that should His disciples ever fail to confess His name that “the stones would immediately cry out!” The whole of creation cries out His name in praise!
We will all one day confess Jesus Christ as Lord of all. Whether you do it now, or wait until the end, makes the difference between life and death. If the Lord is speaking to your heart this morning to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life, then I want to invite you to come now and confess Him before this body of believers. Come receive salvation and eternal life; and please do not concern yourselves with what other people think. The opinions of people are not worth your soul. Come and confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and receive Him into your heart today.
NOTES
(1) Noah Webster, “confess,” 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 2002).
(2) “Confession,” The New Bible Dictionary, Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House, 1962, taken from Logos 2.1E on CD-ROM.
(3) Ibid.
