Do I Have To Confess Jesus To Be Saved?

Question: Do I have to confess Jesus as Lord to be saved? Isn’t confessing Jesus a work? I thought we were saved by grace not by works.

Answer: What we say has eternal consequences, because it shows what is in our hearts. What is in our heart has eternal significance because that is what God looks at to judge us. Jeremiah 11:20 explains, “But, O LORD Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind.” God looks into our hearts to see who we are. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." And Jesus teaches that our words flow from what is in our heart. If you will not or do not confess Jesus as Lord, that says something about your heart.

In Matthew 12: 34-37 Jesus said, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

By your words you will deny Christ or by your words you will confess Him. By your mouth you will demonstrate your faith or by your speech you will demonstrate your lack of faith. Like repentance and emersion into Christ, your confession and subsequent speech will demonstrate where your heart is before Him. You show your faith by what you do (James 2:18). Your words will deliver you or damn you, as they show what is in your heart.

The essential nature of confessing Jesus before men is not up for debate. Jesus made it plain when in Luke 12:8-9 He warned us, "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men; the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.” Again Matthew 10:32-33 says, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” If you don’t acknowledge him before men, He will not acknowledge you to the Father or the angels. Confession is more than important, it is essential to salvation. 1 John 2:23 says, “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”

Confession of Jesus is not a “work” of obedience to the Law. It is an act of faith along with repentance and baptism that make your faith complete. James 2:20-24 says, “You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”

Faith is made complete by our actions. Confession was not a “work” of Old Testament law like the Apostle Paul refers to in Romans 3:28 when he says, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” Confession is not part of the Law of Moses. Again Paul writes in Romans 3:20 saying, “…because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” Confession is not one of these “works of the Law.” To apply the above verses about “works of the Law” to confession is to totally misuse and misapply those verses. Rather confession is an act of faith in Jesus’ promises found in Matthew 10:32-33.

Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Paul says here that your confession saves you. Notice your faith and actions are working together in this passage. James said your faith is made complete by what you do. Repentance, confession and baptism are all things we do to demonstrate our faith. They are not “works of the Law” that have nothing to do with salvation. Confession has everything to do with our being saved.

Confession is so important that Philip would not baptize the Ethiopian until he confessed his faith in Christ. Acts 8:36-38 says, “As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” We are not saved by works of the Old Law. We don’t earn salvation. We accept it through faith. We are not saved by being good and keeping the Ten Commandments. We are saved by a free gift given through our faith. And James 2:26 plainly says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” Confession, like repentance and baptism, is a deed of faith by which we accept the free gift of salvation that could not be received by obeying the works of the Law.

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