I want to begin by reading from Romans, Chapter 10, verses 5-13:

Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them".  But the righteousness that is by faith says:  Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down) or, 'Who will descend into the deep?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  But what does it say?  "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart", [Deut 30:4] that is the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says "Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame" [Isaiah 28:16].  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" [Joel 2:32].

The word "confess" appears in verses 9 and 10 and tonight I want to take a look at the word confession.  I suppose when we think of that word, confession, there may spring to mind a particular thought and it's usually to do with a particular denomination, or it may be to do with a particular verse of scripture - 1 John 1:8-9 "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness".  And yes, it is necessary to do that, but we must recognise that that is just one aspect of the whole business of our confession.  There is another side to our confession which is sometimes overlooked, but is very important.

Confession is saying the same thing with our mouth that God says in His Word.  It is literally making the words of our mouth agree with the written Word of God.  Sadly, we are not too good at doing that.  Very often, even as Christians, we say things that do not line up with the Word of God - that are, in fact, actually in opposition to His Word!  And, folks, things will not work for us if we are confessing the opposite to what the Word of God is saying.

God and His Word are one.  You cannot separate them.  You cannot put God over here and the Bible over there. God and His Word are one.  The first reference I want you to look at is Psalm 138:2: "For you have exalted above all things your Name and your Word".  If a man's word is no good, the man himself is no good.  If I cannot trust your word, then you are untrustworthy and no good.  I'm sure you've heard the phrase: a man is only as good as his word.  It's true, isn't it?  If my word cannot be depended upon, then I am an untrustworthy person.  If my word says one thing and I do something else then I'm a fake and a fraud.  The bible says that God has exalted above all things His Name and His Word.  If I cannot trust His Word, His Name is no good - His Name depends upon His Word.  In John 1:1 we read: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God" - again a declaration that you cannot separate God from His Word.  God and His Word are one.  Therefore you cannot say on the one hand that you believe in God and then turn around on the other hand and disbelieve or doubt His Word. For example, God's Word says He forgives all my sins and He heals all my diseases (Psalm 103:2-3).  I cannot accept the saving grace of God on the one hand and yet doubt the healing power of God on the other.  If I do so then I am double-minded.  God and His Word are one and they cannot be separated.

"Jesus answered and said:  I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).  Jesus said He was the truth.  If He's the truth (and He is) and God and His Word are one (and they are), then surely my confession must keep in line with God's Word.

Here is something for you to note down: The facts are not always the same thing as the truth.  That's a big statement and worth remembering.  I can go to the doctor and he can tell me I've got this or that wrong with me.  It may be a fact, but it's not the truth because the truth, according to Scripture, is I can be healed.  The facts are only the state of things at a given moment in time.  So, while a fact may be a fact, it is not the same thing as the biblical truth.  Again to go back to Psalm 103:2-3:  "Praise the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases".  I may have a particular disease - that's a fact - but the truth is God is my healer.  The fact is I'm a sinner; the truth is He forgives my sin.  So the fact and the truth are not always necessarily the same thing.  He forgives and He heals.

The words of our lips give active expression of the faith within us.  Faith that does not speak is still-born.  The mouth is the centre of spiritual warfare for the universe.  Someone who is saved will have a testimony.  They will be able to speak, declare and say what God has done for them.  You may find that someone who doesn't have a testimony is not really saved.  Now don't misunderstand me - I don't mean that by having a testimony you need to be able to come up here and speak for 15 minutes at the front.  You can give your testimony in 3 seconds flat - simply saying, "at a particular moment in time I asked Christ into my life and He came and He saved me".  That's testimony!  Long or short, it doesn't matter.  But if you don't have a testimony then I question the true depth of your faith.  Faith will always manifest itself and express itself through our mouths.  The major part or place that our faith works through, is our mouth.  If you have never spoken to another person about Jesus, how deep is your faith?  If you've never taken another person by the hand and prayed with them, how deep is your faith?  If you've never shared your own personal testimony with another soul, how deep is your faith?  You may have not have thought of this before, but faith that does not speak is still-born.

We see in 2 Corinthians 4:13  "It is written: I believed, therefore I have spoken.  With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak". If God has done something in our life, we will speak about it.  It's a natural progression.  It happens automatically.  If God has done a work in your life, you will want to talk about it.  "I believed, therefore I have spoken", Paul said.  There is a connection between the mouth and the heart.  Luke 6:45 says "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart, for out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks".  Whatever is in your heart will always come out through your mouth.  If there is bitterness in your heart, it will manifest itself through your mouth.  If there is hatred in your heart, it will exhibit itself through your mouth.  Whatever is in your heart will always flow out through your mouth. "Out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks".

You may have heard me tell the story before about the renowned Japanese neurosurgeon, who became very excited  and actually threw a party to proclaim and celebrate his latest finding.  He had discovered that the part of the brain that controls our speech and tongue is also the part of the brain which controls our nerve endings.  So when you make a statement like 'oh, if that happened to me, I would die', because you have made the statement with your mouth and because it is the same part of your brain that operates your nerve endings, automatically, without you knowing, your brain sends a signal to your nerve endings saying 'body, prepare to die'.  The Japanese  neurosurgeon was the first person to discover this - or at least he thought he was, until he met a famous preacher who told him "I'm sorry to have to disillusion you, but if you read the book of James you will find that that particular "discovery" has been in the Bible since the Bible was written, so I'm afraid you haven't discovered anything new".  But it's interesting, isn't it?  The part of the brain that controls our speech also affects and controls our nerve endings.  Out of the heart the mouth speaks.

The confession of your lips - is it in line with the word of God?  The Word of God says He "forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases".  Therefore the confession of your lips must be in line with the Word of God, irrespective of what the facts might appear to be at this moment in time.

I want you to notice in our reading from Romans 10 that Paul mentions the mouth and the heart three times. In verse 8 he mentions first the mouth and then the heart, in that order "it is in your mouth and in your heart".  In verse 9 he mentions them again saying - "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" - the speaking is first, the heart is second.  And then in verse 10 Paul again emphasises the mouth and the heart, but this time in reverse order.  This time the heart comes first and then the mouth. "For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved".  This confession of what God's Word says is necessary to re-educate our minds.  Do you recall back when you were in school and you used to learn your two and your three and your five times tables etc?  How did you learn those numerical tables?  You learnt them by heart didn't you.  You keep saying the thing over and over again until it gets down into your heart and then when its in your heart you can recall it from memory and speak it out.  It's still the best way of learning and a method that today's educationalists are considering re-introducing in our schools.

Notice too in verse 10 that a progression is indicated. Our being saved is not just something that happens, end of story.  We are being saved, continually, all the time and this is the process of confession.  Our words must be in line with God's Word, before we can see anything happening in our lives.   Learn what the Word of God says about your situation and confess it over your situation.  When the Devil attacks, respond with the Word of God.  Where we are at the moment is only temporary.  We must resist our feelings and emotions and make the words of our mouth agree with God's Word.  We can speak in confidence when we speak in line with God's Word.  His Word is not merely a concept - it's not something that you just think about, it's something that you know in your heart.

As you read through the New Testament make a note of everywhere your see the words "in Him" or "in Christ" or "in God".  It will surprise you the number of times those phrases appear - in fact you'll end up with a notebook full of them!   I want to take a moment now to look at just a few examples of who we are in Christ. Who, in accordance with God's Word, you and I can confess ourselves to be, if we are in Christ Jesus.

1)  "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).   Now folks, you can look at me tonight and you can have your own thoughts about me and you can say whatever you like about me but the Bible says I am God's workmanship - whether you or I like it or not!  That's what God's Word says about me.  From the moment I accepted Him and He came into my life, He's working on me and I am God's workmanship.  That's what I confess.  It doesn't matter what mistakes I make, I am still God's workmanship and nothing can change that.  That is the confession of my lips.

2)  "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come"
(2 Corinthians 5:17).  I can remember the moment I got saved!  I can remember leaving work on that Friday evening and I can remember going back into work on the following Monday morning and I knew that I was a different person.  I know I am a new creation.  Not because of something I've done, but because of something God has done in me, through Jesus Christ.  So again, whether you want to believe it or not, my confession is: I am a new creation.  We sang the chorus earlier: "I am a new creation, no more in condemnation, here in the grace of God I stand".  That's me; and that's you too, if you know Jesus Christ.

3)  "God made Him who had no sine to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).  If I am in Christ I am the righteousness of God, irrespective of who I am, irrespective of what I do or how I behave.  I am the righteousness of God, according to God's Word and that is the confession of my lips.

4)  "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit" (Galatians 3:14).  I am redeemed!  Nothing can change that fact.  I am redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and I'm redeemed that the blessing given to Abraham might come to me that I might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.  God says it in His Word and I accept and confess it.

5)  "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God" (2 Corintians 5:20).  I am an ambassador for Christ!  You may say: "well Cecil, you're not a very good one" and that's your opinion, but it doesn't change what the Bible says about me if I am in Christ.  I am Christ's ambassador.

6)  "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29).  If I belong to Jesus Christ I am grafted in to God's people.  I am grafted into the true vine.  I am in Christ and, therefore, I am Abraham's seed and heir and as such am a candidate to receive all the promises that God made to Abraham.  And as far as I'm concerned, I don't want to miss one of them!  I want them all.  I want everything God has promised through Abraham and the Bible tells me that if I'm in Christ, then I am Abraham's seed and heir to the promises.  That's the confession of my lips and the belief of my heart

7)  "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." (Ephesians 1:7-8).  There is a lot in there.  First of all I'm reminded that I'm redeemed.  My sins are forgiven through His blood.  He has richly lavished His grace upon me.  He has lavished His blessing upon me with all wisdom and understanding.  It may not seem like that to you; it may not even seem like that to me sometimes, but nevertheless that is what the scripture says about me, if I am in Christ.

I have picked out only seven examples here - you might find 200 or 300 as you go through the New Testament.  And they are all what God's Word says about you, if you are in Christ.

Let me close with three final Scriptures: "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21). We shall eat the fruit of our words and what we speak, irrespective of whether it is negative confession or positive confession.  We have the ability to speak life or death into a situation.  I have been in situations where people have needed prayer and the majority of the folk around them seemed only to be able to say "ahh, it's too bad - it's only a matter of days".  That was the fact, but not necessarily the truth.  There are times, I believe, when things we've seen happen would not have occurred if only the church had spoken out its confession in line with the Word of God.  Jesus Himself said He could do no mighty miracles there because of the peoples' unbelief.  Negative confession - doubt and unbelief.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). Who can claim to be a righteous man?  Well, we learnt earlier that if we are in Christ, we are the righteousness of God.  Not because of anything we have done but because of what Christ has done in us.  If we are in Christ, we are righteous and therefore our prayers are powerful and effective.  There is no point in saying that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective and then looking at a difficult situation and saying "well, there's not much point in praying for that".  We need to get ourselves and our confession in line with God's Word in order to work in harmony with Him.

"Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess"  (Hebrews 3:1).  Our confession is linked to Jesus.  He is the One whom we confess as Lord and Saviour.  Only when we confess the Word of God can He act on our behalf.

Seek out what the Word of God says.  His Word is "sharper than a two-edged sword".  It is trustworthy and wholly true and inseparable from Him.  Why would you want to confess anything else?  Why would you want to have doubts?  Why would you want to confess negative doubts?  Believe in the Lord and let your confession stay in line with His Word.  The greatest demonstration of your faith comes out of your mouth.