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Confess With Your Mouth

Rom. 10:9-10

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ ... you will be saved."

"… one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”

Do we have to say it out loud? Can’t we just think it and keep it to ourselves? What’s the deal in having to voice our decision?

When it comes to following Jesus, there appears to be a definitive "Yes, we have to say it out loud with our mouth!" I admit I don’t know why it has to work that way. I mean, God knows our thoughts, so He surely knows if we truly believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved. Let me offer a few reasons why it might be necessary.

One, Jesus told us to do it. In Matthew 10:32, He promises to confess us before His Father, IF we will confess Him before men. See also Luke 12:8 and 1 John 2:23. It is hard to confess Him before men unless we use our mouths to actually say the words. Raising our hands and coming forward in a service might be a sign, but it could also be a sign of joining the church or a recommitment of our faith. Only when we clearly declare with our own lips that Jesus is Lord are we certain to have fulfilled Jesus’ command.

Second, the first disciples did it. Matthew 16:16 records Peter’s confession. Nathaniel does it in John 1:49. The Samaritan woman does it in John 4:29. The Ethiopian eunuch does it in response to Philip in Acts 8:37 and even “doubting” Thomas says it in John 20:28. If they felt the need to confess it verbally, then we probably should as well.

Third, it confirms the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that no one can say it except by the Holy Spirit. John writes that when we confess that Jesus has come in the flesh, that is by the Spirit of God. The willingness to confess Jesus before men is one of the first signs that the Holy Spirit is living and active in our lives.

Finally, everyone will eventually say it. Philippians 2:11 says “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The only question is the matter of timing. To do so then will be ineffectual for salvation and merely a recognition of the state of affairs at the end. To do so now is to bring about our salvation.

So, have you confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior with your mouth before men? If not, why not do that right now? Get up and go tell somebody! Then share that good news with your pastor or a local pastor this Sunday morning!