The BIG Picture (Q&A)

QUESTION: Please read I John 1:9. The passage goes like this. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. In this passage, isn’t John giving clear instructions that we shouldn’t ignore. Is it important that we are to confess our sins to God?  ANSWER: To answer this question in the correct context, we must interpret the Bible from a dispensational view. It is of great importance to recognize that scripture must be understood in the context of the dispensation in which it was written. If you do not take this into account, you can easily misinterpret the passage and end up learning a wrong doctrine. John addressed his letters to his Jewish brethren (because of this reference in Gal.2:9; that the Jewish apostles would minister to the circumcision (Jews), and Paul would minister to the uncircumcision (Gentiles)). Not only was John writing to the Jews but notice the word "if" in John's statement. He says that confessing sins is the conditional requir...

Answer Request: Do you have to call upon the name of the Lord or Confess the Lord to be saved? In the Old Testament and the four Gospels, it was required by Jews to call upon the name of the Lord, or confess His name. The purpose of this was to proclaim Him as one's Messiah, to identify Him as your Lord and King. This requirement, to call upon the name of the Lord, or to confess Him as your Saviour, was a necessary requirement of salvation during the law dispensation and in the Kingdom gospel and the gospel of God. Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered : for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Although Jesus has fulfilled many prophecies and did countless miracles to prove His identity as the promised Messiah and Son of God, he never openly claimed it and it was up to a persons faith in their scriptures to believe in J...

No . The act of confessing Jesus as Lord was a required condition that was part of the Kingdom Gospel. Salvation in the grace gospel today simply requires you to BELIEVE that Christ died for your sins and was raised for your justification. For us today, the act of confessing that Jesus is Lord does not add one iota of value to actually save you. If it was a necessary act to save you, it would become a work, a condition, and it would diminish the 100% grace of the work of Christ on your behalf, (Rom.11:6). The 'confession (profession)' of faith as seen in the verse below is often cited in the wrong context, and misused . The common 'sinner's prayer', and even the Roman Road salvation technique often uses this verse as instruction for a new believer to do in order to be 'saved.' Rom.10:9-10 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. 10 For...