Acts 19:18
Acts 19:18
And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
According to the book of Romans 10, salvation comes by believing in the Lord Jesus and confessing His Lordship and that only He can save. One cannot be said to be genuinely saved if he meets one of these conditions but omits the other. When we confess Christ as Saviour, we believe in who He is and what He can accomplish. It is a declaration that we are no longer of the unbelieving world but have become children of the Most High. This action usually precedes water baptism, whereby we identify ourselves with the family of God on Earth - the church. However, the process of salvation is not just about believing and confessing. It begins with repentance of old ways and making a decision to renounce them or forsake them. Proverbs 28:13 tells us that those who confess and forsake their sins will receive mercy (pardon and forgiveness). The new converts in the above scripture confessed their evil deeds and renounced them, having been convicted by the Spirit after hearing the word. They must have regretted their actions of wickedness, and as a sign of surrender to Jesus, they confessed their old ways. Though it is not mandatory and not a requisite to salvation, telling others what we were before we became saved can help us in witnessing Christ to unbelievers.
Romans 10:11
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Psalms 1:1
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psalms 35:17
Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.