The Salvation of Jesus - Confessing

 CONFESSING Daniel Lange December 17, 2017 “Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33 Whoever Whoever: pas, every, all, anyone who is found within the perimeters of performing the following deeds: 1). Confessing Me before men. “Whoever confesses Me before men,” says Jesus, “him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.” Or 2). Denying Me before men. “Whoever denies Me before men,” says Jesus, “him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Confesses Confesses: Homologeon, homo – same, logeon – speak, “to speak the same.” Confess, con – with, fess – to speak, “to speak with.” I’ll speak with what He speaks. I’ll say with what He says. I’ll give a hearty “amen” to whatever He is preaching. “Whoever says with what I say about Me before men, him I will also say with about what he says, before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever does not say with what I say about Me before men, him I will also say with about what he says about Me, before My Father who is in heaven.” Me Me: Jesus. The self-proclaiming and one whom all of heaven and earth testify to as the Christos, the Christ, the anointed one. The one who was prophesied from the days of the Garden of Eden even unto the days of the prophet Zechariah. “Behold, the day of the YHWH is coming… and in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.” Zec. 14:1, 4 “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” “If you do not believe that I am,” says this same Jesus, “you will die in your sins.” John 8:24 “Whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” But again He says, “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.” Before Men Before men: A public acknowledgment. That which is done in the sight of man, male or female, Greek or American, young man or old man, sinner or saint. The apostle John speaks of rulers in his account who believed in Him, Jesus Christ, but because of a certain Jewish sect whose opinions about Jesus were far less than anything Divine, they did not confess, lest they be put out of the synagogue, in other words, lest they be put out of their place of worship. John 12:42 You see then that confession differs from belief in that confession, the confession we speak of from the lips of our Savior in Matthew 10:32-33, is one of external, public acknowledgment. It is something you do that leads others to find out that something about you. That is why when someone makes a sarcastic or possibly genuine inquiry about confession via the mouth of the mute, my response is simply this, “Can they hold up a sign? Can they write a word? Can they nod their head? Can they blink their eyes twice? Can they even mouth the words possibly so that men who stand before them can read their lips? Can they in some way, in anyway, make a public confession as with the Ethiopian Eunuch at his baptism and declare in some form or fashion, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Acts 8:37 Can they in some form or fashion publicly declare that Jesus is the Christos, so that those who witness can take a snapshot of that one’s life as did Paul Timothy, and perhaps some day write an encouraging letter of their own saying, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which also you were called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Tim. 6:12 “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.” Before My Father Who is in Heaven Before My Father who is in heaven: Not the earthly father, but the Father of heaven and earth, Jehovah God. To borrow from the lips of Jesus’ own enemies, “we have one Father—God.” Abraham called Him, “the Judge of all the earth.” Gen. 18:25 Remember what David said about the Lord saying about His Lord, in other words, the God of His God? “Sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.” Psa. 110 “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool,” says the Father of heaven and earth. Acts 7:49 Hence we see in John’s vision of that Last and Final Day, “the dead, small and great, standing before God,” and John tells us, “they were judged, each one according to his works.” Thus, when Jesus says, “before My Father in heaven,” one can envision something like this: God, sitting upon His throne. You, standing before His throne. Jesus, sitting beside His throne. God asks Jesus, “Did this one confess You before men? Jesus then confesses, “Yes,” or He denies, “No.” What Happens at Confession or Denial? We’re only really left with one final question, “What exactly will happen to those who confess and those who deny Jesus?” Admittedly, the Scripture before us is somewhat ambiguous about the details, although common sense would reasonably conclude that heaven and hell is obviously at stake here, heaven to those who confess, condemnation to those who deny. But if we wanted a bit more clarity in the matter, we really wouldn’t need to leave the passage here and venture away from it very far. Truly, the context in which Jesus speaks of this confession is set within what we often refer to as the “limited commission,” in other words, the sending out of Jesus’ twelve disciples, versus the latter “great commission,” which includes all of His disciples and followers. It is within this context of the limited commission that Jesus is exhorting His disciples to be bold and courageous. Three times the Lord declares unto His disciples, “do not fear (26) … do not fear (28) … do not fear (31).” The confession that Jesus speaks of is truly first and foremost an instruction to His already confessing disciples. Those like Nathanel who already said, “Rabbi! You are the Son of God.” John 1:49 Do not fear says Jesus unto His disciples. Confess Me before men! And why does that help us with the details? Because clearly throughout all of this commission, the souls of both disciples and listeners are at stake. Passages like Matthew 10:14, 15, “Whoever will not receive you nor hear your words… assuredly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” Passages like Matthew 10:22, “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” Passages like Matthew 10:39, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” So indeed, when we hear those words from our Savior, “Whoever confesses Me… whoever denies Me,” we know that life is at stake. Conclusion Confess then this day that Jesus is the Christ, and be baptized into His name. Confess this day and every day that follows that Jesus is the Christ, and proclaim His name boldly. “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”