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July/August 2015 • SR
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Father who is in heaven.” The context clearly explains
that the issue is not eternal life; the issue is discipleship.
Then show your people that confession is not an issue of
salvation by pointing out three things.
The first is John 12:37-43. The miracles of Christ were
designed to wave a flag before the Jewish people pro-
claiming Christ as God. Many refused to believe. John
tells us “although He had done so many signs before
them, they did not believe in Him.” Some, though, did
believe. John 12:42-43 says, “Nevertheless, even among
the rulers, many believed in Him, but because of the
Pharisees, they did not confess Him, lest they should be
put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of
men more than the praise of God.” In the book of John,
the words
believe in
are used consistently for saving
faith. Jewish rulers had trusted in Christ the Messiah,
who could save them from their sins. But confessing Him
in public would have resulted in their excommunication.
You can also show them the many verses that condition
salvation upon faith alone, apart from any public con-
fession. For example, John 1:12 says, “But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
Romans 4:5 says, “But to him who does not work, but
believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
accounted for righteousness.”
You might also point your audience to the thief on the
cross. The thieves on the cross were divided in their view
of Christ. One extended the condition, “If you are the
Christ, save yourself and us” (Luke 23:39). The other
placed his faith in Christ, asking, “Lord, remember me
when You come into Your kingdom” (vs. 42). Christ’s
response was the best news a dying man can hear.
“Surely I say unto you, today you’ll be with Me in para-
dise” (vs. 43). There was no way this dying thief could
have told others of his salvation. He was saved by
recognizing Christ as who He said He was — the only
One who could save him from his sin.
Romans 10:9-10 is many times used to support the
misconception that if you don’t confess Christ publicly,
you can’t be saved. We read “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 unto righteousness and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Above all else,
it’s worth noting that the word
righteousness
in Romans
10:10 is a noun form of the verb translated “justify.”
Romans 5:1 reads, “Therefore, having been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
Justified
here means “to be declared righteous.”
Therefore, the meaning of the first part of Romans 10:10
is “with the heart man believes and is justified before
God.” But
confession
in Romans 10:9-10 is a part of
what’s necessary to live a victorious Christian life. The
context is arguing that one has to be willing to confess
Him publicly in order to triumph over sin. For further
explanation of this passage, I would direct you to my
book
Free and Clear
, which has a chapter titled “If I
Don’t Confess Him, Do I Possess Him?”
Regardless, the passage itself clearly says that believing
is what justifies a person before God. A public confession
of Christ is very important, but the importance is not
related to our eternal salvation. Upon trusting Christ,
we receive His gift of eternal life. By confessing Christ
consistently and unashamedly, we experience victory
over sin and gain eternal reward when we see the
Savior face-to-face.
Conclusion
Misconceptions can be damaging and defeating. The
above five can be a particular hindrance in our out-
reach to non-Christians. The result is a confusion of the
message, the questioning of our own salvation and even
a lack of boldness in speaking to others about the Lord.
Dr. R. Larry Moyer is a veteran evangelist and a frequent
speaker in evangelistic outreaches, training seminars,
churches and universities around the world. Born with an
inherited speech defect, Larry vowed to God as a teenager
that if He would allow him to gain control of his speech he
would always use his voice to declare the gospel. In 1973,
Larry founded
EvanTell,
where he now serves as President
and CEO. He has written several books on evangelism and
frequently contributes articles to ministry publications.
More from R. Larry Moyer
or visit R. Larry at
Reprinted with permission from EvanTell, Inc., Dallas, TX
Ed.Note:
The Editor replaced the word “Sunday” with the word “Sabbath.”
5 Things God Never Said
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