(Pastor Chen)
In dealing with the subject of faith, most people have no problem in believing that the Bible is the truth. Whenever a message is ministered, the Holy Spirit also bears witness in our spirit whether or not what we received is true. The majority of us have no problem in believing a message once we know that it is of the truth. But what most of us having difficulty in is the knowing of how to act on the truth that we have heard and believed. We know faith needs to be released through actions because James 2:20 tells us plainly "faith without works is dead." Faith needs corresponding actions for it to become reality. When we have a clear understanding of the corresponding actions that are required to implement faith, we will not grow weary while acting on what we believe, and through patience we will possess the promise.
Throughout the Bible, there are many instances of people who exercised their faith and received the desired result. A careful study of them will reveal that their actions of faith involve either saying something or doing something or both. In this particular issue we will deal with the area of saying something, or confession. Confession plays a vital role in the release of our faith. Romans 10:9-10 state, "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation." Salvation came as a result of what we believe in our heart and the confession of our mouth, and this is the same principle that God has prescribed for us to receive from Him.
The Greek word for confession is "homologeo," which means to say the same thing. In other words, our mouth in agreement with what God says or to say what God says in His Word. Most people equate confession with the confessing of our sins because I John 1:9 tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." In this particular case, the persons who confess their sins are merely lining up their mouth with what God says in His Word about their sins. The result is the forgiveness of their sins according to God's Word. This is the negative side of confession, negative in the sense that we are in the wrong and wanting to get right. But there is a positive side of confession that is equally important, the confession of God's promises.
The teaching of confession has been a subject of controversy because of the past excesses and abuses. The confession of the "faith message" has been criticized and labeled as "name it and claim it" and "blab it and grab it" heresy. People who embrace the message have been perceived as merely positive thinking, problem denying, and self-condescending individuals who try to coerce God into giving or doing what they want. While some of the criticisms are just, however, we cannot throw out the foundational truth simply because of the misuses. Confession is not coercing God into doing what we want but rather lining ourselves up to what He wants in our lives. There is truth in the principle of confession. When properly applied in line with the Word of God, it will produce the result that God wants us to have. In upcoming lessons we will explore the controversies surrounding confession, the biblical perspective of confession, and the proper use of confession.