Confessing Christ
(All Scripture : KJV unless
otherwise stated; MKJV = Modern King James Version; EMTV =
English Majority Text Version)
What I have to say today is vitally important for the
believer as well as the unbeliever as we shall see later on. A few parts of this talk I have
plagiarised from a talk I heard last year by a minister who, like
me, is very annoyed by the effective denial of Christ by so many
Christian leaders in his country when they do not truly confess
Christ. (email me for link to talk)
I am going to divide this talk into the following sections:
1) WE MUST CONFESS CHRIST
2) WE MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH OUR PROFESSION OF HIM
3) WHAT IF WE JUST STAY QUIET OR DON’T PROPERLY CONFESS
CHRIST?
4) THE HOPE OF OUR CONFESSION
Before
I go further, just a brief word study on the word “confess”. This
word comes from the Greek
“homologia”
(hom-ol-og-ee'-ah),
meaning "to say the same thing” or “declare freely or openly”. Depending
on your bible version, you will have the word confess or profess,
which essentially be taken to mean the same thing in this context.
1)
Now to my first point : We Must CONFESS CHRIST
Heb
4:14
Seeing then that we have
a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Why
should we confess Christ? Since we have One who HAS done everything
for us to be saved, why should we deny HIM? The implication here
is that there is danger if we “drop” this valuable gift given to
us : our profession of Christ. If one reads the book of Hebrews,
what emerges is that one MUST always hold on to your confession
despite persecution as vividly described later in the book.
Heb
13:15
By Him, then, let us
offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the
fruit of our lips, confessing His name. (MKJV)
The
writer to the Hebrews seems to borrow a Rabbinical saying that “in
the time of the Messiah all sacrifice shall cease, except the sacrifice
of praise.”
So,
our confession is something wonderful – something that can even
be looked upon as an acceptable sacrifice to God. In fact,
the ONLY acceptable sacrifice to God! Nevertheless, the confession
of Christ
was -and can still be- costly.
Just think of all those martyrs of bygone eras who boldly preached
Christ to the world and lost their lives for it.
Act
5:40
And to him they agreed:
and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them,
they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus,
and let them go. 41
And they departed from
the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted
worthy to suffer shame for his name.
I
watched a few talk shows and read transcripts of others, where direct
questions regarding Christ were asked. Answering those questions
truthfully, will ALWAYS lead to hatred or antagonism by most . Quite
often, these so-called “religious leaders” of our day fail miserably
in that they DO NOT actually confess Christ. More about this later.
Rom
10:9
that if you confess
with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.
(EMTV)
2) WE
MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH OUR PROFESSION OF HIM:
Quite often the example of “old” Peter is used. I just
love the man! Just like us – jumping in the deep end being bold,
but like the rest of us, also capable of very human failings! I
started a website and called it “Cephas The Bold” – knowing that
I may well say something I will regret later!
Gal 2:11
But when Peter came
to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was to be
blamed. 12
For before certain men
came from James, he would eat together with the Gentiles; but
when they came, he began to draw back and began to separate
himself, fearing those of the circumcision party. 13
And the rest of the
Jews joined him in hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was carried
away with their hypocrisy. 14
But when I saw that
they did not act rightly with respect to the truth of the gospel,
I said to Peter before them all, "If you, being a Jew,
live in Gentile fashion and not in Jewish fashion, why do you
compel the Gentiles to live as Jews? (EMTV)
What
we have here is this: Peter had not stopped believing in Christ,
or that Gentiles were supposed to be part of the same Church. What
he was doing was leading people astray by his CONDUCT.
He was being a hypocrite,
in that he failed to practice publicly, what he believed in private.
He was afraid of the opinion of MEN! Just as a side issue, going
to Peter in private would have done NO GOOD. He was someone of influence
in the church that people looked up to and followed. Those lead
astray, were still going to be left in error – even if Peter privately
believed the right thing! Let us not then waver in our faith but
CONFESS boldly the things of Christ – no matter who is listening
or watching us. The consequences can be dangerous for others,
especially if someone looks
to us for an example.
Heb
10:23
Let us hold fast the
profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is
faithful that promised;)
3)
WHAT IF WE JUST STAY QUIET OR DON’T PROPERLY CONFESS CHRIST?
This section is the
longest because this is where the big problem lies today – the denial
of Christ ,either blatantly or inadvertently.
As kicking off point
let’s look again at Romans 10:9,10
9
Because if you confess
the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised
Him from the dead, you shall be saved. 10
For with the
heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the
mouth one confesses unto salvation. (MKJV)
Mat 10:32
Whosoever therefore
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also
before my Father which is in heaven. 33
But whosoever shall
deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which
is in heaven.
Here we see
that the are no “closet” Christians. To be a true believer we must
make a PUBLIC CONFESSION of our faith. What does it say in Romans
1:16:
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.
So then we must
not be like some who did come to believe Jesus, BUT:
John
12:42
Nevertheless among the
chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees
they did not confess him, lest they should be put out
of the synagogue: 43
For they loved the
praise of men more than the praise of God.
What
we also have here is the fact that if we evade confession of Christ,
the Scripture calls it DENIAL !!
Mat
26:69
Now Peter sat outside
in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You
also were with Jesus of Galilee." 70
But he denied
it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are
saying."
Peter
never denied WHO Jesus was or said anything bad about Him. what
he did was to evade the issue. The Scripture calls it DENIAL.
So
whenever you hear a “religious leader” evade basic salvation issues
– Christ the only way etc.- HE IS DENYING Christ!
How
then can we identify
a
VALID CONFESSION?
First
of all we must remember that not all who claim to preach Christ
are true believers:
1Jo 4:1
Beloved, believe not
every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because
many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Remember,
those that are not of God DO NOT HAVE A LABEL SAYING “I’m False”!
Here
then is the objective test we can apply:
1Jo 4:2
Hereby know ye the Spirit
of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is of God: 3
And every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not
of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof
ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it
in the world.
Firstly,
what does “confess that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh” mean? This is the apostles shorthand
way of referring to the person and work of Christ in that He
1) Is fully God and became
fully man on earth also (dual nature)
2) His death on the cross
and the subsequent shed blood is sufficient to pay the penalty of
our sins
The
old Bible commentator John Gill:
every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh,
is of God; or of
the Spirit of God; that is, every doctrine which carries this
truth in it; or every man that owns, and professes, and publishes
this doctrine concerning Christ, is on the side of God and truth;
and which contains several articles in it, respecting the person
and office of Christ; as that he existed before he came in the flesh,
not in the human nature, or as man, or as an angel, but as the Son
of God, as a divine person, being truly and properly God; so that
this confession takes in his divine sonship, and proper deity, and
also his true and real humanity; that the Messiah was incarnate,
against the Jews, and was God and man in one person; and that he
was really man, and not in appearance only, against the heretics
of those times: and it also includes his offices, as that Jesus
of Nazareth was the Christ, the Messiah, which the Jews denied,
and that he was the anointed prophet, priest, and King; and so is
a confession or acknowledgment of all the doctrines of the Gospel,
which came by him, as a prophet; and of his satisfaction, sacrifice,
and intercession, as a priest; and of all his ordinances and commands
as a King; and that he is the only Saviour and Redeemer of men.
Now, whoever owns and declares this system of truth, "is of
God"; not that everyone that assents unto this, or preaches
it, is born of God; a man may believe, and confess all this, as
the devils themselves do, and yet be destitute of the grace of God;
but the spirit, or doctrine, which contains these things in it,
is certainly of God, or comes from him; or whoever brings these
truths with him, and preaches them, he is, so far as he does so,
on the side of God and truth, and to be regarded.
So
then, any system or teaching that denies the person and/or the work
of Christ as described above, IS NOT OF GOD! Anyone who by word
or deed goes counter to anything that relates to the person and
work of Christ , then has a FALSE CONFESSION, even if they claim
belief in Christ!
Furthermore,
the Apostle says:
1Jo 4:5
They are of the world: therefore
speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
The
world will always listen to something that appeals to their “worldly”
nature for :
1Co
1:18 For
the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but
unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
ALSO:
1Co 2:14 But
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.
Verse 5
is written as if for today. What is happening more and more, is
that the things of the world are being brought into the church.
But remember :
Luk 16:15
And he said unto them,
Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth
your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men
is abomination in the sight of God.
Of course
church membership will grow when you have a “worldly” confession.
You have to have at the least a weakened confession if you have
to draw the world into the church. By “ducking the issue” you are
basically DENYING CHRIST and leading people along the broad highway
into hell:
Mat
7:13
"Enter in through
the narrow gate; because wide is the gate, and broad is the
way which leads to destruction, and many are those who enter
in through it.
Once
again echoing the thought of Luke 16:15.
If you have an UNAMBIGUOUS,
TRUE confession, those that listen to you will NOT be many. BUT
those that do listen, will hear the TRUTH.
In
closing this section: remember:
1Jo
4:6
We are of God: he that
knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.
Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error
2Jo
1:7
For many deceivers are
entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
4)
THE HOPE OF OUR CONFESSION
The believer
who CONFESSES Christ has something to cling to even in the face
of adversity:
Heb
4:14
Seeing then that we
have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus
the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15
For we have not a high
priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin.16
Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need.
Remember,
you ALWAYS have access to Jesus who has gone before us. We can come
to Him in our prayers and find comfort in HIM, despite whatever
consequences our confession of Him may bring!
Heb
13:5
Let your conversation
(=way of life, conduct) be
without covetousness; and be content with such
things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee,
nor forsake thee. 6
So that we may boldly
say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what
man shall do unto me
Finally
our reward for confessing Christ:
Rev
3:5 The
one who overcomes, this one will be clothed in white clothing.
And I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but
I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
(MKJV)
Rev
21:7 He
who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God,
and he will be My son.
May we always
hold on to our true confession and never be afraid to CONFESS Christ
before the world!
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CNN
LARRY KING LIVE :
Interview With Joel Osteen
(EXCERPT only)
Aired
June 20, 2005 - 21:00 ET
THE
MAN WHO DOES NOT KNOW
--
--
--
KING:
What if you're Jewish or Muslim, you don't accept Christ at all?
OSTEEN: You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and
wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know ...
KING: If you believe
you have to believe in Christ? They're wrong, aren't they?
OSTEEN: Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe
here's what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this
is what I believe. But I just think that only God with judge a person's
heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don't know
all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don't
know. I've seen their sincerity. So I don't know. I know for me,
and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus.
--
--
--
CALLER:
Hello, Larry. You're the best, and thank you, Joe -- Joel -- for
your positive messages and your book. I'm wondering, though, why
you side-stepped Larry's earlier question about how we get to heaven?
The bible clearly tells us that Jesus is the way, the truth and
the light and the only way to the father is through him. That's
not really a message of condemnation but of truth.
OSTEEN:
Yes, I would agree with her. I believe that...
KING: So
then a Jew is not going to heaven?
OSTEEN: No. Here's
my thing, Larry, is I can't judge somebody's heart. You know? Only
god can look at somebody's heart, and so -- I don't know. To me,
it's not my business to say, you know, this one is or this one isn't.
I just say, here's what the bible teaches and I'm going to put my
faith in Christ. And I just I think it's wrong when you go around
saying, you're saying you're not going, you're not going, you're
not going, because it's not exactly my way. I'm just...
KING: But you believe your way.
OSTEEN: I believe my way.
I believe my way with all my heart.
KING: But for someone
who doesn't share it is wrong, isn't he?
OSTEEN: Well,
yes. Well, I don't know if I look at it like that. I would present
my way, but I'm just going to let god be the judge of that. I don't
know. I don't know.
KING: So you make no judgment on anyone?
OSTEEN: No. But I...
KING: What about atheists?
OSTEEN: You know what, I'm going to let someone -- I'm going to
let god be the judge of who goes to heaven and hell. I just -- again,
I present the truth, and I say it every week. You know, I believe
it's a relationship with Jesus. But you know what? I'm not going
to go around telling everybody else if they don't want to believe
that that's going to be their choice. God's got to look at your
own heart. God's got to look at your heart, and only God knows that.
HOWEVER:
John
14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Romans
8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so
be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
John
3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he
that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Acts
4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved.
If
you want to see what the modern denial of Jesus Christ looks like,
I encourage you to watch this video
clip. This clip features megapastor Rick Warren as he
addresses the attendees of the TED Conference in Monterey, California.
TED describes itself as a conference that brings together more than
1,000 thought leaders, movers and shakers every year to share ideas.
The website claims that,
''After four days, you gain
an understanding of how your own work fits into the larger web of
knowledge and you get to connect with extraordinary individuals
who are helping in creating a better future for all of us.''
As a Christian pastor, what
did Rick Warren have to say to this group of people? He spoke for
a little over 20 minutes. He said everyone had a purpose and that
God wanted everyone to use their gifts and talents. He talked about
his crisis in purpose when he made "tons and tons of money"
with his famous book. He told about how he and his wife use a reverse
tithe and how they started foundations to help solve the world's
problems. He quickly established that he was a "pluralist".
He said that everybody is betting their life on "something".
The implication was that you believe in
this, I believe in that.
It's all good. Despite his repeated references to "God",
Rick Warren never told this group of unbelievers who God was. He
told the crowd that meaning in life is found through service and
giving of ourselves. He never told them that we don't find salvation
through service, but rather through a right relationship with our
Creator, through His Son Jesus Christ alone. He talked of God smiling
when we use our gifts. He never talked of the perilous state of
our souls unless we repent and believe the Gospel. He gave these
conference attendees a message of works righteousness--salvation
through serving. This man with the label of Christian pastor seems
to have ignored a very basic Bible verse, Titus 3:5:
Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
If any man had the right to
boast in his service of Christ, it would have been the Apostle Paul.
Yet even he said this in I Timothy 1:15:
Here is a trustworthy
saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.
Rick Warren did not follow
in the train of the Apostles who preached Christ fearlessly and
without apology, as the great Apostle described in I Corinthians
1:22-24:
For Jews demand signs
and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified, a
stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God.
(Emphasis added.)
Could any true minister of
the Gospel be handed such an opportunity to bear witness to Jesus
Christ and instead talk about purpose and meaning and just leave
it there? Rick
Warren denied Christ because he was ashamed to tell these people
what the Gospel really says.
These haunting words
of Jesus should shake all of us who are too embarrassed to speak
forth what God has done for us through His Son.
So everyone who acknowledges
me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in
heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before
my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew
10:32-33
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