The acceptance and confession
Updated: Jul 28, 2022
Previously, I promised to elaborate on each Scripture reference in the post titled "Glimpse into salvation" and I pray that the Holy Spirit further illuminates and guides our understanding of God's Word In Jesus Name.
The lead scripture for this post is; 1 Timothy 6:12 and it states;
12. "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."
How do we accept Jesus Christ?
We accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour through faith. The Christian life for every believer is a continuous journey of faith as faith activates the power of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us;
8.For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9.not of works, lest anyone should boast.
When does the confession happen?
The Bible speaks of different confessions such as confessing our sins. However, for this particular post, I speak of the confession that starts with us believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; God abides in Him and He in God and He came in the flesh (1 John 4: 2 &15).
This confession usually starts off when we receive that conviction on the inside of us after hearing the Word of God especially for those of us who maybe unsaved. This conviction is usually unexplainable in words but inclines us to get a deeper revelation of Jesus.
This conviction is not based off our good behaviours or acts of kindness but only by God's gift to us which is His grace through faith as seen above in Ephesians 2:8-9. This Scripture also shows us that grace and faith are partners. You can't have one without the other.
In fact, for some of us, only when I had come to the end of myself, my actions and of almost every 'self-help' you can imagine did the grace of God come to save me. The Bible says that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.
So what does it mean to call on the name of the LORD?
It means as believers we give reverence and honour to the Almighty God who is the Creator of heaven and earth.
It means as believers, we recognize the saving power that is in the name of Jesus Christ.
It means as believers we can do nothing except through His strength.
It means as believers that we are consciously aware and acknowledge that God is in and with us at all times. When we acknowledge that we cannot live life without Him, this becomes a great foundation for building relationship with Him and He gladly takes over and guides our paths.
Also worthy to note is that the confession of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour with our mouths and heart (Romans 10:8-11) does not imply that God has always been far from you. Instead it means, that you are now able to recognize God's love and His power and wisdom through Jesus Christ.
The power of God is too great to be hidden and He has never had intentions of hiding it from us.
One of my favourite scriptures in the Bible puts it best, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you..."(Jeremiah 29:13-14).
I'm still amazed at God's grace that is always ready to meet us wherever we are without questions about our past or what took us so long to search for Him.
What about water baptism?
At the beginning of my salvation journey, I believed that if I privately confessed with my mouth and believed in my heart that Jesus Christ was Lord and Saviour, that's all that mattered because the most important aspect is personal relationship with God and without a doubt, this is the first step.
However, I invite you to consider how taking a pause at this first step may be a hinderance to experiencing the fullness of salvation that God has prepared for us as His children. The day I decided to take the next step which was a water baptism by my Pastor, in the presence of many witnesses, I started to receive an understanding of God I had never previously experienced.
In Acts 2:38, we see Peter responding to the people that were moved by the Word of Christ that he was preaching to them. He said to them; "...Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
This portion of Scripture is one of many that confirms for us as believers, a water baptism is not permissive but rather very integral to building a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ during the course of our salvation journey.
Consider the example of a personal relationship in the context of a parent & child or husband & wife who love each other dearly in their hearts but it can never express their love towards each other. Surely, we can agree that relationships where people feel the need to hide the love they have for each other are usually a breeding ground for complications and strife.
But let's imagine this example is a possibility for some relationships, it is most certainly unimaginable for God as He loves us and everything He created (including us) is with an eternal love that is unhidden. Jesus in Matthew 10:32 re assures us that "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven."
It is important to remember that believing Jesus Christ is the Son of God precedes a water baptism (Acts 8:37).
The power in our confession
In Genesis 1:1-3
1.In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2.The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3. Then God said; "Let there be light"; and there was light.
The above Scripture reiterates the power of our words that when we speak, it is. God had to speak light using His Word for the darkness to be transformed to light. If God had to speak for His own power to manifest on the earth, what does that say for us as believers who were created in His image? It means we have our Heavenly Father's DNA to create and as believers, there is power in our confession when we believe and proclaim the Word of God over our lives and to those around us.
I invite all of us to consider what may possibly be holding us back from openly accepting and confessing salvation or from a water baptism or from renewing our relationship with God? It could be the desire for a deeper revelation about God or any other reason that maybe a hinderance to activating the fullness and power of Jesus Christ operating in your life.
At the end of these deliberations, I encourage you friend to always have faith in the gospel and hold fast to the good confession as Paul advised Timothy in our lead scripture above. He who called you, the Almighty God is faithful and trustworthy.
I will conclude with a reminder of God's deep love for me and you reflected in Romans 5:6-10 (NLT) and I pray that we continue to receive His love for us everyday In the Name of Jesus;
6. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
7. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.
8. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
9. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's condemnation.
10.For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son."
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