Believe and Confess

Rom. 10:9-10

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."

Belief and confession go hand in hand for a genuine conversion.  If I believe in the resurrection, then that same resurrection gives me newness of life and justification. The blood of Jesus now becomes my covering so that when God looks at me He sees not my heinous sins but the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I am just-as-if-I'd-never-sinned or justified! Not only do I believe, but I confess. This is an outward, verbal confirmation of this deep, inward change. When I confess that Jesus is my Lord, I am saying that I have given up ownership of my life and now obey Jesus Christ thus making Him my Lord and master. If His righteousness covers me, then His leadership must call my moves.  If His blood affects how God views me, then His Holy Spirit must indwell in me controlling all that I do. This is regeneration.  This is new life in Jesus. 

After I am His, do I still confess Him as Lord and Master by what I do and what I say?  Am I quick to share His name with those God sends my way?  Or have I become afraid and keep my belief and my confession so quiet that few, if any, ever hear about my glorious transformation?  It is an exhortation to me to keep my belief and confession strong so that I will share the wonderful gift of salvation with others.  It is also an exhortation to me to remember the great cost of my salvation, the great cost that Jesus paid for me so that I could believe and confess, and the great cost that God paid in sending His own precious Son.  My salvation is something that I should never take for granted but that I often relegate to the back of my mind. That is something that through the grace of God I must change!

Father,

I confess my attitude of forgetfulness about this great gift of salvation.  When I think about it, I am in awe, but when I don't, it seems to take a back seat.  Keep me coming to the cross for the grace that I need to live daily for You.  Keep me strong in belief and confession.

In Jesus name,

Amen