Jesus told His apostles, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32). Obviously, a proper confession of Jesus is pleasing to the Father. The word "therefore" in Matthew 10:32 directs our attention to what the Master had just said to the twelve. What is the context of this oft-quoted verse about confession?

Jesus charged His apostles to go preach to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (10:5-7). He forewarned them of the opposition that they would face, even persecution, not just in the temporary period when they would preach only to the Jews, but also when they would later stand before governors and kings (10:16-24).

In view of the severe opposition that the apostles would face when preaching for the Master, what did they need to be prepared to do? Answer: to hang tough and not be fearful. When speaking about the adversaries and adversity that were sure to come, Jesus three times told the twelve not to fear. "Fear them not therefore . . ." (10:26). "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul . . . Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows" (10:28-31; all emphasis mine, rdc). It was immediately after this threefold charge of "fear not" that Jesus spoke about confessing Him.

Again, in the context of Matthew 10, whom was it that Jesus was saying should not be fearful? His apostles. And, in view of their need to be courageous, He pronounced His blessing on those that confess Him. From other verses we learn that God wants all men to confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of the Father (Philippians 2:11). We also know that, prior to his baptism, the eunuch from Ethiopia confessed Jesus as God’s Son and the Christ (Acts 8:37,38). But, the context of Matthew 10 is not about confessing Jesus before baptism. Rather, Jesus wanted His apostles to know that when they went out to preach in His name and suffered because of it, they must have the courage ("fear not") to keep on confessing Him. They would keep on confessing Him by preaching Him as both Lord and Messiah (Acts 2:37), and by faithfully living for Him.

So, back to our question: Does Matthew 10:32 teach that all a person has to do to be saved is confess Jesus? If you mean by that, is using the tongue to pronounce the words, "I believe in Jesus" the only condition of receiving the forgiveness of sins, the answer is "no." Just a few words past Matthew 10:32, we read that a person must have proper love for Jesus, loving Him more than all humans (10:37). A person that pleases the Lord is also required to take up his/her cross for Him (10:38). Simply forming the lips to say, "I believe" is of no value if the confessor is "faking it" and not saying it with a sincere heart that is willing to live for Jesus and love Him above all else.

Remember, Jesus also said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). Thus, the one that pleases God is the one that not only confesses Jesus as Lord, which is absolutely required (Romans 10:9), but also obeys the Father’s will. Remember, Jesus is the Savior of those that obey Him (Hebrews 5:9). Such obedience includes confessing Him, but is not limited to it.

"But what about 1 John 4:15? Doesn’t it show that confessing Jesus is all that we have to do to please Him?" In 1 John 4:15 it is written, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God." Some in John’s day were denying that Jesus was God in the flesh, and this verse (4:15) is part of the Book of 1 John’s emphasis on Jesus’ divine nature. This passage was written to those that had already had their sins forgiven, and thus were Christians (1 John 2:12). In 1 John 4:15, to "confess" Jesus as the Son of God includes all that is required of a disciple to serve the Lord faithfully. That is, in this instance "confess" stands for all that one must do as a faithful child of God, and is equal to "walking in the light" (1 John 1:7).

Some read a particular verse of the Bible that mentions a single matter that the Lord requires and mistakenly conclude that that one condition is all that is required to please Him and be saved. Acts 16:31 mentions only the matter of believing in Jesus to be saved, Acts 11:18 mentions only the matter of repenting to have life, Matthew 10:32 (our text) mentions only the matter of confessing Jesus in order to have Him confess us, and Acts 22:16 mentions only the matter of being baptized. Obviously, since God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), there are not four different ways to be saved. Rather, God has one scheme of redemption for all, and each of the four items noted above is required. In those instances where only one condition of salvation is mentioned in a verse or the immediate context, it must stand for or include all that is required in order to be saved.

As Christians, you and I need to be ready to confess Jesus at all times. Every time that we sing a song of praise about God sacrificing His Son, we are confessing Jesus. We confess the Christ when we pray and thank God for sending His Son. We confess Jesus when we pray to the Father in His name. We confess Him when we tell others that we believe in Him, and we confess Him when we live in such a way that others can see Him living in us (Galatians 2:20).

Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:38). Are You ashamed of Jesus and His words?

-- Roger D. Campbell