We'll continue looking at confession today. The most important confession we can make as a believer is our confession of faith in Jesus of Nazareth as our Lord and personal Saviour. We looked at Romans 10 recently:
Rom 10:9-10 (KJV)
9 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.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The Amplified Bible says:
Romans 10:9-10 (Amplified)
9Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.
We believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead which results in righteousness (right standing with God, the right to stand before a holy God as thought we've never done anything wrong because of the precious blood of Jesus!) and THEN we confess (declare our faith openly and freely) which results in salvation (soteria, deliverance, preservation, safety, health, wholeness). Now you're ready to find out what else God has declared about you in His Word, so you can declare that, too! We discussed in the last post about finding out who we are in Him. Let's look at one such Scripture now:
Acts 17:28 (KJV)
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being;
What does this verse say about who we are? We read here that in Him "we live", the Greek word, zao, which means: to live, to be full of vigor, to be fresh, strong, efficient, active, powerful and efficacious (having the power to produce a desired effect), and "move", the Greek word, kineo, which means: to stir, to cause to move, set in motion, to excite, and "have our being", the Greek word, esmen, which means: we are. So what do we confess from this? We say this:
Jesus of Nazareth is my Lord and personal Saviour. I AM in Him! His storehouse of power lives in me, therefore I AM fresh, strong, active, powerful, efficient and effective. I have life! I have energy! I can move when God tells me to! I can do what God says I can do! I can be all that God says I can be! I have His strength for impossible tasks!
Here is another "in Him" Scripture that we can and should confess over ourselves:
2 Cor 5:17 (KJV)
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
As born again believers we are In Christ, therefore we are "new", the Greek word, kainos, which means: new, recently made, of a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of, "creatures", the Greek word, ktisis, which means: an original formation or creation. Our old life is gone and "behold", the Greek word, idou, which is an imperative word that means: See! Look! Listen! "All things", the Greek word, pas, which means: individually and collectively, each, every, all, the whole, everything, "are become", the Greek word, ginomai, which means: to become, to come into existence, to begin to be, to come to pass, "new", the word kainos from above.
The Amplified Bible says this:
2 Cor 5:17 (Amplified)
17Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
So what should you and I say? We say:
I AM a new creature in Christ Jesus. I am a new creation being with the life of God, the nature of God and the ability of God IN ME! I can accomplish ANYTHING He calls me to do because I do it by His ability IN ME! Hallelujah!
When you really believe that, living this Christian life will get so much easier and simpler for you! You won't have to try so hard to do the right things. His nature will rise up in you to help you! You should begin expecting it to! We'll look at more "In Him" Scriptures in out next post. Get these inside of you until they are real to you! Make them yours!
Shalom in Him!
