What must mankind do to be saved
In parts 1-3 we have seen that mankind needs to: hear, believe and repent in order to be saved. In this lesson, we will see that confession of Christ is also clearly taught in the New Testament.
Confession
An interesting story unfolds for us in Acts 8. It depicts a man (v. 28-39), an Ethiopian eunuch, who was treasurer for Candace, Queen of Ethiopia. He had great authority, but we are not even told his name. An angel told Philip to join the eunuch in his chariot. We are told the eunuch was reading from the prophet Isaiah. The New Testament had not yet been written. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading. He could not (v. 31).
What I personally find interesting about this story is the fact that we are not told even one word of what Philip taught him. All that is said is that “he preached unto him Jesus” (v. 35. Even without words of the sermon, we know of at least two things taught:
- Confession of Jesus Christ as Lord was taught.
- Baptism was taught (we will cover baptism in the next lesson).
How do we know? Acts 8:36 says that when they came to a certain water, the eunuch asked “what doth hinder me to be baptized?” Philip told him, “if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” The eunuch said (confession), “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So we see confession and baptism.
In Matthew 10:32 Jesus said, “whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” A similar comment is found in Luke 12:8. Acts 2:21 says “and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Further proof is found 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.”
In our next lesson, we will look at the necessity of baptism in answer to the question “What must mankind do to be saved?”