Sin (Ugh)!

This morning I was thinking about 'sin' (ugh) and about Jesus Christ (un-ugh!). I don't really understand some religious groups who require confessing publicly sin for salvation. 'Sin' is a given in the old man nature. We are all sinners. (Look 'sin' up in Bullinger's Lexicon*) So-o What else is new? God is no dummy, he knows everything. Does He require us to to list our sins to be saved?

'Salvation' or true wholeness is wrapped up two wonderful verses in Romans 10:9-10:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

People get confused about the word 'confession'. In the Greek it is the word 'homologeo' which means to say the same thing. (Another word to check out in Bullinger's Lexicon!). In Greek 'homo' means same and 'logos' means word.

Somehow 'confession' got linked to humbleness and humbleness got linked to listing all the evil one has done.  I'm sure God wants to hear all about that! (NOT!) The humbleness that God asks from us is to act upon His plan which involves saying the same thing or figuratively speaking the same language about His son, Jesus Christ.  What God wants wants to hear is that we are on board. The Lordship of Jesus Christ really involves understanding God's Word, the whole Word from start to finish, not just isolated soundbites. When one starts to see the biblical time zone  we live in, post gospel period (Romans -Thessalonians), it is apparent how much God loves us and wants true wholeness for our lives! Hallelujah!

*A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament ...

 By Ethelbert William Bullinger