I thought I needed to say more

October 23, 2026

Question:

Hello,

I have been baptized into Christ. I have been taught the gospel and why I need to be baptized. Going into it, I fully believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and publicly confessed that. My dad asked me that question and quickly dunked me under. At the time, I thought I had to say more, like I had to confess more before the baptism. I got scared that I didn’t say enough, or that I doubted I said enough. Did I violate Romans 14, or am I just overthinking it?

Answer:

There are numerous confessions of Jesus in the Scriptures:

  • Peter's: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16).
  • Thomas': "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).
  • John's: "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30-31).
  • Nathanael's: "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" (John 1:49).
  • An angel's: "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).
  • The eunuch's: "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:37).

Even though the wording is different in each confession, the confessions are all essentially saying the same thing:

  • Jesus is the Son of God -- He is deity who came in the flesh to live among men.
  • Jesus is the Anointed of God (the Christ or Messiah) -- He fulfills all the prophecies concerning God's plan to save mankind from their sins.
  • Jesus is our Lord (or our King) -- The Messiah was the heir to David's throne and would establish a never-ending kingdom. As King, he holds complete authority over our lives. He is not just King of the Jews, but King of all kingdoms.

Confession starts with a public statement about what you believe, but confession is not a one-time act. It is a way of life. Asking a person before baptism ensures they are willing to continue confessing Christ throughout their life. In both Matthew 10:32-33 and Romans 10:9-10, confess is in the present tense in Greek. It means it is ongoing and not a one-time event in the past.

Before baptism, I prefer that people state in their own words what they believe; however, I recognize that many people are nervous when they decide to be baptized into Christ, so I'll ask if they believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Some will only say "yes," but others will state their belief in greater detail. Since this is just the beginning of living a life that proclaims the Savior, either is acceptable. After all, Jesus' confession before the Jews and before Pilate was merely an affirmation of what they stated.

Your doubts about whether it was enough at the moment of your baptism don't invalidate what you affirmed in your confession. Your confession of belief still continues to this day.

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