____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ May 15, 1994 ____________________________________________________ Confessing Christ by Lynn Wessel ``Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven'' (Matt. 10:32). We are impressed with the fact that confessing Christ is an important element in our relationship to Him. Our going to heaven is dependent upon His confession of us before His Father, and His confession of us is dependent upon our confession of Him before our fellowman. While confessing Christ is an important step in becoming a Christian, it is also an ongoing part of being a disciple. We'll give this subject prominence in this article by considering several things about it. What It Means ``Confession'' is from ``homologeo'' which literally means ``to speak the same thing'' and signifies speaking something with the mouth to make a verbal acknowledgment. What would be spoken is the ``same thing'' God has said about Christ--an acknowledgment of His true identity, not what some man has conceived Him to be. The full concept of confessing Jesus involves more than just the mouth. Paul said, ``because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God 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'' (Rom. 10:9-10). The very idea of confessing includes expressing with the mouth what is already in the heart. While confession is the mouth saying something, it is the heart being heard. Confession of Jesus is meaningless unless it is a sincere expression of conviction. What It Involves What are we confessing when we confess Jesus? We've already noted above that we are to confess His true identity--who He is and what He is as revealed by the word of God. Confessing Jesus involves confessing Him as: A Historical Man. Confessing Jesus involves confessing a belief that he actually became a man and lived upon the earth. This is a confession of the human nature of Jesus, that He was in the flesh. Notice what John said: ``For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the anti-Christ'' (II John 7). The Christ. ``Christ'' means ``anointed of God'' and is equivalent to ``Messiah'' in the Hebrew. The kings of Israel were anointed of God. Through the prophets, God foretold of sending one who would be the Saviour of the world and King of an eternal kingdom. Confessing Jesus involves confessing a belief that He is the one God sent to be the Saviour and King which He promised. The Son Of God. That this is a proper confession of Jesus is seen from the example of Peter. In Matthew 16:15, Jesus asked His disciples, ``But who say ye that I am?'' Peter answers and said, ``Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God'' (v. 16). Jesus verified the correctness of Peter's confession when He said, ``Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven'' (v. 17). Confessing Jesus involves confessing a belief that He is equal to God (John 5:16-18), that His coming to the earth was an incarnation of Deity. The Lord. When Thomas was given the opportunity to see and touch the wounds of Jesus, he said unto Him, ``My Lord and my God'' (John 20:28). Confessing Jesus involves confessing Him as Lord and Master, as one who is the possessor of all authority and Sovereign over all. Paul said, ``because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved'' (Romans 10:9). What It Implies Confessing Jesus as indicated above has implications. There are certain things that such a confession necessarily implies. Commitment. Confessing Jesus is far more than just a casual admission. When we verbally acknowledge our belief in something we are committing ourselves to what we believe in and its required activities. This is certainly true of confessing Jesus. He said, ``Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?'' (Luke 6:46) and ``Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven'' (Matt. 7:21). Confessing Jesus implies a commitment to do the will of God and to conform to the teaching of Christ. Love of God's Approval. ``Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God'' (John 12:42-43). A confession of Jesus would have indicated a love for the glory that is of God more than that of men. When we confess Christ, we imply that we are more concerned with what God thinks of us than we are with the disapproval and rejection we may experience from men. Willingness To Fight Good Fight. Paul said to Timothy, ``Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses'' (I Tim. 6:12). Notice that Timothy did what we have been talking about in this article--he verbally acknowledged his conviction in Christ before many others. Because he did this, he is now to engage in battle for the truth of the gospel of Christ. If you are not a Christian, you need to think about confessing Christ before it is too late. As a child of God, how long has it been since you confessed Jesus to someone else--your spouse, children, neighbor, or co-worker. We, like Timothy, can lay hold on life eternal as we make the ``good confession.'' ___________________________________________ Have You Thought About Your Soul? by Walt Huntley Have you ever stopped to wonder What this life is all about? Why you're here and where you're going when your lease on time runs out? Maybe you've been far too busy, Trying hard to reach your goal; Would you let me ask you kindly, Have you thought about your soul? You may reach the highest portals, And your dreams may all come true: wealth and fame may be your portion, And success may shine on you. All your friends may sing your praises, Not a care on you may roll; What about the great tomorrow--Have you thought about your soul? Don't forget your days are numbered, though you may be riding high; But like all of us poor mortals, Someday you'll just up and die. Your success and fame and glory won't be worth the bell they toll; Let me ask you just one question, Have you thought about your soul? If you've never thought it over, Spend a little time today; There is nothing more important that will ever come your way than the joy of sins forgiven, And to know you've been made whole in the name of Christ the Savior. Have you thought about your soul? ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________