What is Confession in Christianity?
Confession in Christianity is the public declaration of Biblical truth. It is the act of speaking out loud what is stated in the Bible.
Many people think confession is only about confessing sins, but this is only a very small part of Biblical confession and has really been twisted beyond its original intent. True Biblical confession is the confession of faith, which means to confess the same thing that the Bible says.
The confession of faith is the declaration of what you believe.
In the Bible, the word confession basically means “to say the same thing as”. For example, if you have received salvation and confess that you are saved, you are saying the same thing that the Bible says about you. You are confessing what you believe. There is great power in this.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10 NKJV
The word “confession” in this verse means to admit, acknowledge, agree with, align with, and to say the same thing as. The word “salvation” in this verse means welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation, and safety. This means that confession is used to bring about the physical manifestation of salvation.
According to Romans 10:10, we first believe what God says in our heart, and then we confess that belief with our mouth in order to see it become a physical reality in our life.
Why is Confession in Christianity Important?
Confession is much more important than you might realize. There is much more power behind confessing what you believe than most people understand.
Confession in Christianity is important because we are actually designed by God to use the power of confession in our everyday lives.
When God created man, He created him a living, speaking spirit just like Him. This is what makes mankind different from the animal world. Humans are speaking spirits, just like God.
When God wanted to use His power and create the universe, He used the power of confession. He spoke, and it was. Everything in creation was created through the confession of His mouth. His Word had creative power then, and it still contains creative power when we speak it.
God designed you to operate in the exact same way He does – to imitate Him like a child imitates their parents. God created you a speaking spirit so that you could use the power of confession to speak His Word just like He does
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. Ephesians 5:1 NKJV
What Should Christians be Confessing?
God has given us His Word so that we can speak to situations and circumstances in our lives. We are designed to speak the same thing He has said. We have this authority and dominion on the earth through the power of our confession.
When we confess God’s Word, it is just as powerful as God’s Word in His own mouth!
When we regularly confess the Word of God, everything in our lives has to change and rearrange to come into line with what God’s Word says because His Word triumphs over everything. His Word has the power to change any circumstance, heal any sickness, and cast out any demon. There is nothing in existence that doesn’t have to obey God’s Word and the Name of Jesus.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 NKJV
God’s Word is settled, eternal and stands firm forever (Psalm 119:89). God has even exalted His Word above His own Name.
I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Psalm 138:2 NKJV
It is important that we learn how to use the power of our confession to bring forth God’s will on this earth. This is what we were designed to do!
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Hebrews 4:14 NKJV
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10: 23 NKJV
Recommended Reading: How is the Tongue Like the Rudder of a Ship?
Is Confessing Sin Important?
If anybody says he’s not a sinner, then he can’t be saved. You have to at least acknowledge that you have sinned and need a savior. This is vital to salvation.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9
However, after you have made this initial confession of sin and received salvation, there is really no need to keep confessing sin!
When you receive salvation, you receive a brand new spirit that is without sin. From this point on, God wants you focused on Jesus and who you are in the spirit – righteous and holy in His eyes.
and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24 NKJV
In fact, God wants you so focused on what Jesus has done that you are not even conscious of sin! After you’re saved, God chooses to completely forget about your past sins. Therefore, you can too.
For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. Hebrews 10:2 NKJV
You have been purified, washed clean, and made holy. There is no more reason to be conscious of sin.
Of course we all still mess up in our thoughts and actions, but that is not what we are supposed to be focused on. We will think and act like whatever we focus on. When you mess up, acknowledge that you messed up and then immediately thank God for the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus that has made you righteous. The more you focus on who you are as a new creation, the more you will act like who you really are.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new 2 Corinthians 5:17
This is the key to living a transformed Christian life. The sin problem has been done away with through the finished work of Jesus and we are now free to live without sin, without guilt and shame, and without the burden of not being good enough for God. Through what Jesus has done, you can have right relationship with God! God is pleased with you.
Recommended Reading: How Many Times Will God Forgive You?
