Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word. This week's question:

As we hear the word of God spoken and study to see if those things are so just as the people of Berea examined the scriptures and many of them believed (Acts 17:11-12). Faith is built the same way today as the first century church as faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). But as we see in James 2:19 "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder.", so we realize that our faith must be more involved than belief in God to be pleasing to our Lord. Then we might ask,

"What next?"

And that brings us to our question , "What about: 'confession'? Naturally, to confess means to speak out, admit as true or acknowledge something. Jesus says in Matthew 10:32 "Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven." To recognize that there is a God, or a higher being, is a humbling experience as the person who comes to this conclusion understands that man is not the center of the focus of earth, let alone the universe, and then to confess Him before men also takes courage as men can often poke a little fun at those who do believe. Paul is a good example in proclaiming God before the philosophers at the Areopagus in Athens where some began to sneer at the teaching of the resurrection of the dead in Acts 17:32. Peter was asked by Jesus, "…"But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16:15-16. So Peter makes the good confession of the Christ. Paul encourages the men of God to "pursue righteousness" and then to "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:11-12). Once again we are told to make the good confession before many witnesses.

Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in

your heart", that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with

your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,

you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and

with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

So there we have the answer to our question again, once we have believed the word of God from the heart that He raised Jesus from the dead, then we are to confess with our mouths Jesus as Lord Jesus that it will result in salvation.

So even though we have the answer to our question, one might still ask "How does it result in salvation?" To take a closer look at this question, we will take a look at the court official who was in charge of the treasure of the Queen of the Ethiopians named Candace. This court official was an Ethiopian Eunuch who was traveling on his chariot and reading form the book of Isaiah. And as he read, Philip was sent by the Spirit to his chariot and asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "Well, how can I unless someone guides me?" (Acts 8:29-31). It would have been easy for the court official to have taken a whip and used it on this intruder to his daily reading, and to especially asking such a question to such an official. But his humility and desire to know the truth were more important than the pride that can often rise in peoples hearts when our knowledge of something is questioned. So then Philip is invited up on the chariot and beginning from the passage he was reading he "preached Jesus to him" (verse 35). Soon they came upon a body of water and the eunuch says, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized? And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him." (Acts 8:36-38)

As we can see, preaching Jesus not only includes the good confession as the eunuch makes before Philip, but it also includes that burial (Romans 6:1-6) of baptism (1 Peter 3:21) as they immediately go down into the water-(both of them!) and the eunuch is baptized. That results in righteousness as the sins of the individual are washed away in that watery grave of baptism (Acts 22:16).

That is because we have done what God has requested us to do.

Matthew 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them,

may be compared to the wise man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell

and the wind blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for It had

been built upon the rock. Everyone who hears these words of min and does not act upon

them, will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. Then rain fell, and

the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell-and

great was its fall."

Let us be ready to not only study the word of God to understanding, but also be ready to act upon these words for righteousness leading to salvation..