Conversion
#4 - Confession

Imagine the following scenario. A man has led a life of sinful indifference with regard to spiritual things. He hears a simple sermon on sin and God's plan of forgiving it. He develops faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Having developed faith, the man starts to feel very, very sorrowful. He acquires the sense of godly sorrow that leads to repentance. (2Cor.7:10) And thus he repents. Is he converted? No. He has only resolved to be rid of his past life. It is, at present, still attached to him.

What Man Knows? This brings us to the Bible concept of “confession” and the Ethiopian referred to in the first article. This was a man whose story is recorded in the book of Acts, chapter 8, verses 26-39.

He was riding along in his chariot reading an Old Testament scripture (Isaiah 53 to be exact) and was approached by Philip, a disciple of Jesus. Philip asked the man if he understood what he was reading. Since he did not understand, Philip resolved to teach the man, give him a proper understanding of the facts of history, and thereby produce faith within his heart. (v.35; compare Rom.10:17)

They later came upon a body of water and the Ethiopian man said, “See here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” (v.36) Now, the careful reader would be curious as to what prompted this man to want to be baptized in water. Of course, the simple conclusion one is forced to reach is that in preaching Jesus (v.35) there was the preaching of water baptism (v.36).

Our concern in this lesson on “confession”, though, is Philip's response to the Ethiopian. He asked what hindered him from being baptized. “Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.'” (v.37a) Have you ever wondered why Philip said that? Don't you think he knew this man now believed in the Jesus he had been preaching to him? I think Philip probably knew that this man believed and therefore could have simply said, “Nothing hinders you from being baptized, my friend. Let's go.” But, ultimately, Philip could not know if the man had faith in his heart toward Jesus unless he revealed it to Philip. (See 1 Corinthians 2:11a)

Pledging Allegiance So this penitent man needed to make his faith known. Philip, realizing he believed and was penitent, put the condition on him. He showed the man that he needed to make his faith known. “And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'” (v.37b)

When this man issued such a response, he pledged his allegiance to a new king. Back in elementary school, we used to “pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America”. Don't you think everyone in the classroom understood that the others present were patriotic Americans? Sure. But there was still the need to express such patriotism and the same is true with one's newfound allegiance to the Christ.

Confess What? So confession is a necessary element in the process of conversion. But what is to be confessed? The Ethiopian simply confessed his faith in the Savior from heaven. He did not have to confess sins to a priest. And friends, he did not confess, “I believe that God, for Christ's sake, has pardoned my sins.”