Sunday, August 12, 2018 pm
OUR NEED TO CONFESS (2)
Matthew 10:32-33
a.
Confession of sins has
always been part of making oneself right with God.
Leviticus 5:5 describes confessing sins as part of the trespass offering
David, in Psalm 51 confessed to God
Daniel 9 records a prayer of confession (we addressed this last week).
Nehemiah 1:6, Nehemiah prays for the people and confesses the sins of
the children of Israel
Proverbs 28:13 notes, He who
covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes
them will have mercy.
b.
As John was preaching
and teaching repentance we read that the people came, confessing their
sins - Matthew 3:6 – they came to John to be baptized, confessing their
sins
c.
1 John 1:9 – we are to
confess our sins as Christians, if we are to be forgiven.
d.
James 5:16 – there is
even a time to confess your trespasses to one another.
What all is involved in this is for another lesson.
a.
Certainly, we must
believe in and make confession of Jesus Christ to become a Christian,
but is that the end? My
answer is – NO! Not by any
stretch of the imagination.
The “good confession” is only the beginning.
It is a confession of Jesus as
Lord and Christ and God, before Christians. But is that it?
As one author observed,
It is one thing to confess Christ before believers; but will we confess
Him before infidels?
That is really where the life of a Christian is seen.
Consider:
b.
Again, consider
Romans 10:9-10 – the very
idea of confessing that Jesus is Lord, means that we now belong to Him.
He is our Master.
That is NEVER a one time act, but a way of life.
In fact, Romans 10:10 – both believes and confession are present
tense verbs – ongoing action.
Consider how Jesus in His life called for this commitment – Luke 6:46,
Why call me Lord and do not the things that I say?
You find that in the answers of Jesus, as various individuals
make excuses for delaying following Him (Luke 9:57-62).
In Matthew 16:24-26 – He calls for us to forsake all that we have
to be His disciples.
c.
Consider Peter’s failure
– he denied Jesus.
John 12: 42-43, John 9:22 – note those who were unwilling to speak up
for our Lord.
d.
Matthew 10:32-33
– when we examine this text, Jesus is speaking to His disciples.
It is part of the text as He sends His apostles to preach the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
He gives instructions for those who would be receptive and those who
would reject them. Our text
is toward the end of that discourse.
He encourages them to not be fearful of men and what they can do.
Rather they are to fear God who can destroy both body and soul in
hell. THIS leads to our text
about confession. In this I
see two points:
i.
There is the warning to
His disciples to NOT shirk their need to confess Him.
This is about our willingness to stand up for Him, even after we become
Christians. IN fact,
that is when it becomes a part of who we are.
Our standing before the Father depends upon this.
Do we confess Him or deny Him?
ii.
The same could be said
of those they try to teach.
While secondary to this text, this is akin to our discussion this
morning. The statement certainly
applies.
iii.
Also in Luke 12:8 –
possibly a different occasion, as Jesus would have emphasized many
things on multiple occasions to different audiences.
Here we wind that whoever confesses Him before men, He will
confess us before the angels in heaven.
e.
1 John 4:1-3, 15
– dealing with gnostic teachings (which misunderstood the person of
Jesus), John is challenging us to not believe everything we hear, but to
test it (by His word).
He noted, By this you know the
Spirit of God: Every spirit that
confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and
every spirit that does not
confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And
this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming,
and is now already in the world.
Even though the word “spirit”
is used here, and that could refer to a spiritual force, we can
certainly apply the warning. If
John is dealing with false teachers, the “spirit” would obviously be the
ONE who is teaching their errors about the person and deity of Christ
(and whatever is influencing them).
TO US, the point is, we need to know who Jesus is and we need to
continually confess that (both words for confess in vs. 2-3 are present
tense verbs.
f.
Hebrews 3:1
- Therefore, holy brethren,
partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest
of our confession, Christ Jesus.
The Hebrew writer is challenging brethren who might be considering
leaving Christ to return to (or go to) Judaism.
He makes the case for who Jesus is, including all that He endured
for us. We then read our
text. Note how He is
the Apostle and High Priest of our confession - the One whom we must
confess. This would be
something we do AS Christians continually in our lives.
a.
Verbally
– we need to speak up. This
is the primary meaning of the word confess.
Acts 24:14 – Paul before Felix, “confessed” that he followed “the
Way which they call a sect…”
1 Timothy 6:12-14 – This “good confession” that Timothy made “before
many witnesses” would continue as a Christians.
He was to keep it “Until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing”.
By giving a defense for the hope
that is in us – 1 Peter 3:15. We need to prepare ourselves to
defend our faith. Far too
many are ill prepared to stand up and SHOW what they believe and why.
This verse calls for us to give a defense for the hope within us.
In so doing you are clearly confessing Christ.
b.
By our example
- 2 Corinthians 9:13 while,
through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the
obedience of your confession
to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all
men
Be reminded of Matthew 5:13-16 – when we are good salt, we “season” the
world for better. Our light
causes God to be glorified.
Philippians 2:15 – we are to be shining as lights in the midst of this
crooked and perverse generation.
1 Peter 2:11-12 – we have conduct that is honorable among the Gentiles,
which they observe causes them to glorify God.
Acts 4:13 – when Peter and John appeared before the counsel, they were
observed and they realized that
they had been with Jesus.
c.
By our sacrifices and suffering –
when we give up the ways of the world, we are
confessing Him.
Consider how Peter noted “they think it strange….” (1 Peter 4:12-16) –
the point is, our sacrifices are often noticed by others.
It is a declaration of our faith.
Notice in vs. 15 Peter mentions what we are not to suffer for
(being a murderer or busybody, etc.) – these are actions.
Then in vs. 16 – when we suffer as a Christian because we ARE
DOING the right thing, we can glorify God in that.
1 Peter 3:15-17 notes that with a good conscience, your good conduct
puts to shame the ungodly.
d.
When we come together
– 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 describes the Lord’s supper.
Why we partake and what we are to do.
Notice in vs. 26, “For as
often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s
death till He comes.”
This is declaring (confessing) to the world that Jesus rules in our
lives.
As we teach and admonish one another in singing, we are confessing to
each other our faith in the Lord Jesus.
1 Corinthians 14:22-25 speaks of the unbeliever who comes into our
assembly. He observes what
we say and do. When he
observes that which is proper, he worships God and reports His presence
among us.
Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks of stir up love and good works among us, by
assembling together and exhorting one another.
Truly, when we assemble is a confession, to those with us AND those who
know where we are that Jesus is Lord in our lives.
Perhaps there are other ways that we can confess Christ Jesus as Lord,
but these show that confession is something needed as we obey the gospel
and as we continue to live (and obey) the gospel in our lives.
How are we doing at this?
In
conclude with Revelation 3:5, where our Lord is speaking to the church
as Sardis and says, He who
overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out
his name from the Book of Life; but I will
confess his name before My
Father and before His angels. What
about you? When you stand
before God in judgment, will He confess you to the Father?
Have you confessed Him (cf. Matthew 10:32-33).
Think about it.