There are certain things that we must do in order to be saved. If any one of these things is left off, salvation is not ours. So we carefully examine God’s word to see what those things might be, and we make certain that they are done. Jesus said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). Can we afford to leave anything out? John wrote, "I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book" (Rev. 22:18-19). We must do all that God has commanded us.

Some have said that we have a checklist religion. For some it takes making a list and checking off the items as they are done. If that is what it takes to do what the Lord wants, then by all means do it. A heart of devoted faith will not refuse, but do anything and all that the Lord asks of him.

We know that true conversion involves more than just checking off items on a list. One could do that with very little measure of devotion. Rather, taking care to do all that the Lord commands is an outgrowth of that devotion that we have for him.

We have discussed the need to hear, believe, and repent. But there is also the necessity of confessing. When we are talking about the five steps that we must take to be saved, the step of confession is not the confession of sins. People talk about the "Good Confession" and they have differing ideas. If you look up "Good Confession" in the Catholic Encyclopedia, all it talks about is confessing sins to the priest. There are other sources that accord it an altogether different meaning.

In the American Standard Version of 1901, which I use, Paul said to Timothy, "Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. I charge thee in the sight of God, who giveth life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession" (1 Tim. 6:12-13). In this passage, the word translated "confess "(in the noun form "confession"). Thayer gives this Greek word and definition: "homologeoo, 1. properly, to say the same thing as another, i. e. to agree with, assent, 2. universally, to concede … b. not to deny, i. e. to confess; declare: John 1:20 3. to profess Titus 1:16 …" The King James Version uses the words "profess" and "profession" in verse 12, and that makes more sense in our modern understanding, but switches to "confession" for the same word in verse 13.

Whereas it is essential for us to confess our sins in order to get forgiveness (James 5:16; 1 John 1:9), that is not what Paul is commending Timothy for. It is the profession of what he believed that Paul is referring to, as Timothy made that profession before many witnesses.

Paul said that such a profession was necessary. He wrote, "Because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God 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" (Rom. 10:9-10). So we need to be ready to make it.

What is it that we profess? Paul tells us in 1 Tim. 6:13: "…Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession." The good confession of Timothy is the same confession of Christ. What was it that Jesus professed, or confessed, to Pilate? "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice" (John 18:36-37). What Jesus professed, and what Pilate understood, was that he was God’s king, that he had come into the world to establish a spiritual kingdom. The claim that he was the Son of God is inherent in his profession to Pilate. Timothy professed the same thing, that Jesus was God’s king, the Son of God. That is the confession we all must make with our mouths if we are going to be saved.

When is it appropriate for us to make this profession? What makes it the 4^th step in the plan of salvation. In Acts 8 we have the story of Philip and the Eunuch. We find that Philip began preaching from Isaiah 53 and preached unto him Jesus. His response to what he heard is an indication that he accepted what Philip said as truth, and that he was ready to turn his life to the Lord. "And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy 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 both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him" (Acts 8:36-38). Before Philip would baptize the Eunuch, he wanted to know if he believed. Jesus taught the apostles, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned" (Mark 16:16). There is no use baptizing someone until you know for certain what they believe. So Philip told the Eunuch to profess his faith.

I have never baptized anyone without first asking them if they believed that Jesus is the Son of God, and that what the Bible says about him is the truth, and I never will. Philip and the Eunuch serve as an example.

There will be many times that we will be called on to make the good confession as Christians. We dare not falter. Jesus said, "Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 10:32-33). There are many ways other than verbally that we make that confession. We make it by the way we live and what we teach. Sometimes we don’t have to say a word. Our profession is written in our attitude for all to read. Sometimes we make the profession by standing against error, one of the wiles of the devil, when it would be so easy to preserve peace by compromising just a little.

Our confession of Jesus may bring us into grave danger or under the scornful gaze of the scoffer, it may cost us our family and friends, but it will also bring us into glory.

In all of that, there is no more precious even than when one confesses his faith in Jesus, then steps into the water.

We must confess!