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And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32
(The
following article is from the website http://www.bible-infonet.org.)
Confession
by Louis Rushmore
Recognizing Jesus Christ
to be the Son of God and the willingness to publicly state that
belief is essential to salvation.
"That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"
(Romans 10:9-10) .
Such a confession of
Christ was required of the Ethiopian nobleman in Acts Chapter
Eight. Immediately after he stated his faith in Christ, the nobleman
was immersed in water for the forgiveness of his sins.
"And as they went
on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch
said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou
mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand
still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and
the eunuch; and he baptized him" (Acts 8:36-38).
Following a person's
baptism into Jesus, his whole life as well as his words become
public statements of belief in Christ. Then, Jesus also confesses
that one to the Heavenly Father. "Whosoever therefore shall
confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father
which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32).
Do you believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God? Are you willing to tell others of your
faith in Jesus? Have you been baptized for the forgiveness of
your sins? Do you want Jesus to speak to God the Father about
your faithfulness and profession of faith? The churches of Christ
will gladly help you learn more about Jesus so that you might
believe, confess His name and be baptized; then Jesus will confess
your name to God in Heaven.
H. A. "Buster"
Dobbs, email: had@worldnet.att.net
P. O. Box 690192
Houston, Texas 77269-0192
(281) 469-3540
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[EGW
editor’s note: This article was first posted here
in 2003. When I last tested these three links to www.bible-infonet.org
on July 18, 2014, the website was not online and the domain name
was listed as being for sale. Presumably the email address
is no longer valid as well. I did not attempt to test the
mailing address or phone number.
According to 1 Peter 3:21, baptism
saves us through the resurrection of Christ. Peter says
quite plainly that baptism is not a bath for washing away dirt,
but that it is how a good conscience answers God. Doesn’t
it makes sense that if God asks and instructs people to become
Christians by being buried & raised with Christ in baptism,
the person conscientious of God would want to please Him by obeying
Him according to His wishes?
Click here
to locate more Exploring God’s Word articles
on the subject of confession;
or the subject of baptism.] |