Confessing Christ Before Men

Confessing Christ before men

Praise and Glory to Our Lord Jesus Christ for all the faithful and bold young people that identified with Jesus this morning by attending the See You at the Pole Event at their school!

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Matthew 10:32-33

³²"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. ³³But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

CHRIST'S ULTIMATE aim is to secure peace for our sin-stricken race, and the proclamation of the tidings of peace is spreading throughout the world. We must not falter in our testimony, or hide in our heart the truth which has been committed to us, because it may bring us to abuse and suffering. Being a Christian is not easy. Everyone who comes face to face with Christ must do one of two things concerning Him. They must either confess Him or deny Him. There is no neutral ground. It is foolish to say "I do not confess Him, but neither do I deny Him". By not confessing Him when we should is to deny Him.

Matt 12:30 says, "He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad".

What does it mean to confess Him before others?

It means to identify, announce, and advertise ourselves with Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord by openly acknowledging by life and lip. Notice the object of our confession: We do not confess our church affiliation. We are to confess the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

In Acts 1:8, the resurrected Lord said," Ye shall be witnesses unto me". We do not witness about, "the One upstairs", or "Providence", or any other scriptural name given some deity. We are to confess The LORD JESUS CHRIST.

There Are Five Reasons Believers Should Confess Christ Openly!

1. The After-Salvation Plan Includes It. (Rom 10:8-10)
2. The Word of God Assumes It. (Psalms.107:2)
3. The Lord Of The Harvest Expects It. (Matt 28:19)
4. The Day of Judgment Requires It. (2 Cor 5:10 )
5. The Sacrifice of Calvary Demands It. (Heb 2:11)

When our Lord died for us, He died openly. He was not ashamed of His act for us. He suffered the great humiliation for us, for all to see.

Ways Believers Confess Him Openly

1. Believers Should Start the Christian Life by Open Confession.

This is important, an open public confession will strengthen their faith. Look again at the words of Rom.10:9-10.

Rom 10:9-10 That 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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Consider the experience of the healed man.
Mark 5:19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

Jesus told him to OPENLY CONFESS and HE DID.
Mark 5:20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

2. Every Believer Should Discretely And Constantly Confess Christ Openly Before Others By Mouth.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek

3. Every Believer Should Confess Christ Before Others By Baptism

Baptism is not a denominational matter. It is a Scriptural matter. In Acts they first believed and then confessed Christ by water baptism.Act.2:37-41 // 9:17-18 //10:44-48.

Acts 2:37-41 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one

of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Acts 9:17-18 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

Acts 10:44-48 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

4. Every Believer Should Confess Christ By A Godly Life

We make Him known by what we are and what we do. Our lives reflect on Him. Our reaction to the trials, and sufferings are an opportunity to confess our faith in Him.

Romans 6:13 “……..present your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

5. Every Believer Should Confess Christ By Church Affiliation

Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

A story is told of a great surgeon who performed a delicate and skillful operation on a patient who had been thought incurable. Afterward the patient told the surgeon, "As long as I have a tongue in my mouth folks shall hear of you and what you have done for me". When a believer confesses Christ before others there is a deep indescribable joy within that makes known a love for Him.

Our personal testimony is invaluable. The woman of Samaria brought the entire city to the feet of Jesus by her confession. Many of the Samaritans believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, "He told me all that ever I did." That was the beginning of a great revival.

Fear will always be the biggest reason we avoid acknowledging Christ in public. Yet every man and woman of God in the Bible experienced a time where they overcame their fear by drawing on the Holy Spirit for strength and boldness. If this is your heart felt desire, pray right now to God to give you the boldness and courage to stand firm for Him, then set back and watch our Faithful Lord change your attitude and deliver on your request!